Capture of Grenada ( 1779 ) The Capture of Grenada was an amphibious expedition in July 1779 by French forces of the comte D ' Estaing against the British - held West Indies island of Grenada during the American War of Independence . Having landed on 2 July , the French forces assaulted British fortifications on Hospital Hill , overlooking the island capital Saint George ' s on the night of 3 – 4 July . Cannons captured there were turned against Fort George , and Governor Lord Macartney opened negotiations to surrender . Admiral d ' Estaing controversially rejected Macartney ' s terms of capitulation , insisting on adoption of the harsh terms he had written . Macartney rejected these , choosing instead to surrender unconditionally . D ' Estaing thereafter permitted his forces to loot the town , and Macartney was sent to France as a prisoner of war . French forces were reembarked on the fleet on 5 July when word arrived that a British fleet under Admiral John Byron was approaching . The two fleets battled the next day , with the French severely damaging several British ships . Both fleets then returned to their bases . Grenada was returned to British control at the end of the war , under the terms of the Treaty of Paris . Background . Following the entry of France into the American War of Independence as an American ally in early 1778 , French Admiral the comte D ' Estaing arrived in the West Indies in early December 1778 in command of a fleet consisting of 12 ships of the line and a number of smaller vessels . At about the same time a British fleet under Admiral William Hotham also arrived , augmenting the West Indies fleet of Admiral Samuel Barrington . The British then captured French - held St . Lucia , despite d ' Estaing ' s attempt at relief . The British used St . Lucia to monitor the French on Martinique , where d ' Estaing was based . The British fleet was further reinforced in January 1779 by ten ships of the line under Admiral John Byron , who assumed command of the British Leeward Islands station . Throughout the first half of 1779 both fleets received further reinforcements , after which the French fleet was superior to that of the British . Furthermore , Byron departed St . Lucia on 6 June in order to provide escort services to British merchant ships gathering at St . Kitts for a convoy to Europe , leaving d ' Estaing free to act . D ' Estaing and the French governor - general at Martinique , the marquis de Bouillé , seized the opportunity to begin a series of operations against nearby British possessions . Their first target , the isle of Saint Vincent , fell on 18 June , and d ' Estaing turned his attention to other islands . He had hoped to capture Barbados , a key British possession , but after making no progress against the prevailing easterly trade winds , he turned his attention instead to Grenada . British defences . Grenada was at the time one of Britain ' s richest colonies , producing significant quantities of sugar on its plantations . Lord Macartney , the British governor , had been alerted to the possibility of a French attack . He made repeated requests for support to Admiral Byron and the British commander at St . Kitts , but was told that Saint Vincent was the principal French interest , and that Byron would bring relief should Grenada be attacked . Macartney had at his disposal 101 soldiers drawn from the 48th Regiment of Foot and 24 artillery men . He also had over 400 militia and volunteers , but he did not consider these forces dependable , especially since one third of them were of French extraction . He ordered the construction of significant fortifications on Hospital Hill , a prominence overlooking the island capital St . George ' s . The steep hillsides were fortified by stone walls , and the hilltop had a palisade surrounding a series of entrenchments . French capture . The French fleet anchored off the Grenada coast just north of St . George ' s on 2 July . The troops that d ' Estaing landed that day consisted of the 1 , 400 man Irish Dillon Regiment and 700 troops drawn from the regiments Champagne , Foix , Auxerrois , and Hainault . With the arrival of the French , Macartney ordered his forces to withdraw behind the fortifications of Hospital Hill . D ' Estaing spent 3 July reconnoitering the British position . Concerned that Byron might appear at any time , he decided to launch an attack on Hospital Hill . He first sent a parley flag to Macartney demanding his surrender ; the British governor rejected the demand . D ' Estaing ' s plan of attack called for three columns to attack the back side of the fortifications with bayonet s , while a small fourth detachment made a demonstration from a location where the British might more reasonably expect an attack . On the evening of 3 July these formations moved out . The columns , each numbering 300 men , were led by Arthur Dillon , his brother Édouard , and the comte de Noailles . Arthur Dillon ' s column was also accompanied by an advance guard of 180 under the comte de Durat , and the demonstration force numbered just 200 . At 4 : 00 am on the 4th the demonstration force opened fire , while the three columns charged up Hospital Hill . The British defenders panicked , and most of them fled down the hill to the apparent safety of Fort George . The British , in their haste to leave the premises , neglected to spike some of the cannons ( by driving a metal spike into the touchhole , rendering the cannon inoperative ) . They also abandoned many valuables that had been brought up on the heights for safekeeping . The French used the captured cannons to fire upon Fort George . Realising the situation was hopeless , Macartney raised the white flag . The French took about 700 prisoners , and claimed casualties of 36 killed and 71 wounded . British reports , however , claimed the French casualties numbered closer to 300 . The French also claimed as prizes 30 merchant ships anchored in the harbour . Admiral d ' Estaing rejected Macartney ' s proposed terms of capitulations , countering with a list of articles that he had drafted . Macartney found d ' Estaing ' s proposed articles " not merely unprecedented and humiliating , but so ensnaring and uncertain in their nature , extent , and aim that they might at any time supply a pretext for taking away the lives , together with the fortunes , of the capitulants . " His council was unanimous in rejecting the proposed capitulation , and the British chose to surrender unconditionally instead . As a consequence , d ' Estaing permitted his troops to pillage St . George ' s . Among the items taken or destroyed were most of Macartney ' s silver and plate , much of his clothing , and his personal papers . ( The latter came as a particularly harsh blow to the governor , for copies of those papers sent to St . Lucia with his wife for safeguarding were destroyed by fire . ) When d ' Estaing invited Macartney to dine with him , the governor apologised for his garb , noting that the coat he was wearing was the only one left him . Macartney and other leading Grenadians were also refused parole , and were sent to France as prisoners of war . Aftermath . Admiral Byron had been alerted to the capture of Saint Vincent on 1 July , and was en route with a force to retake it when he learnt of the attack on Grenada . He immediately sailed there , arriving on the morning of 6 July . D ' Estaing , alerted to Byron ' s intentions on the 5th , embarked most of the troops and weighed anchor at 4 : 00 am on the 6th . The fleets battled off Grenada , with d ' Estaing prevailing over Byron ' s disorganized attack . There were no further major actions in the West Indies before d ' Estaing sailed north and led an unsuccessful siege of British - held Savannah , Georgia in September . D ' Estaing ' s successes in capturing Grenada and defeating Byron made him immensely popular in France . Playwright and actor Pierre - Germain Parisau wrote " Veni , Vidi , Vici , ou La Prise de Grenade " containing a reenactment of the capture . D ' Estaing did not see the popular work , but John Paul Jones attended a performance during a visit to Paris . During their occupation , the French began construction of a series of fortifications on Richmond Hill . Designed to defend against an attack like theirs , its cannons pointed to the landward rather than seaward side . These defences were completed by the British after 1783 . Both Grenada and Saint Vincent remained in French hands until the end of the war , when they were returned to Britain under the terms of the 1783 Treaty of Paris . The rule of the comte de Durat , who was appointed governor by d ' Estaing , was reported by British residents to be harsh and oppressive . After the British resumed control , they cracked down on the predominantly Roman Catholic French - speaking population , leading to discontent and an exodus of French Grenadians to Trinidad . These religious and cultural divisions in Grenadian society contributed to the rise of local resistance which culminated in the nearly - successful Fédon Rebellion in 1795 – 96 .