Battle of Roatán

The Battle of Roatán was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on March 16, 1782, between British and Spanish forces for control of Roatán, an island off the Caribbean coast of present-day Honduras.

A Spanish expeditionary force under Matías de Gálvez, the Captain General of Spanish Guatemala gained control of the British-held island after bombarding its main defenses. The British garrison surrendered the next day. The Spanish evacuated the captured soldiers, 135 civilians and 300 slaves, and destroyed their settlement, which had been used as a base for piracy and privateering.