On May 8, 1779, King Charles III issued a formal declaration of war against the British. Spain had officially entered the American Revolutionary War. On August 27, Bernardo de Gálvez, the colonial Governor of Spanish Louisiana, set out from New Orleans by land.
He captured Fort Bute, south of Baton Rouge, from British forces on September 7. Then, On September 21, after a short seige, Baton Rouge fell as well. The commander surrendered the remaining British outposts as well.
Gálvez returned to New Orleans and planned for future moves against the British.
American Tories from the colonies moved into the Floridas during and after the American Revolutionary War.
