Attack on San Juan

Date: April 17, 1797 • Location: Valletta, Malta

Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in the Americas.

Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank of lieutenant general in the British army, he was commander-in-chief, Ireland, and was noted for his military service during the French Revolutionary Wars, which included defeating the French invasion of Egypt and Syria.