Why was it difficult for Gálvez to keep supplying the Americans with goods?
There were British spies in New Orleans.
O Oliver Pollock would not help Gálvez,
o The Spanish king did not want to be involved.
O The Mississippi River was hard to navigate.
Beginning in 1777, Spain started to smuggle gunpowder,
weapons, and other supplies to the Americans. When the
British blockaded the American coast, the Spanish
transported goods up the Mississippi River. It was up to
Galvez to keep that important supply line open. This was
increasingly hard to do, as New Orleans was home to
many British spies.
Using his resourcefulness, Galvez worked through
various brokers to buy supplies, always managing to
conceal the involvement of the king and the government
of Spain. He worked closely with an Irish-American
patriot named Oliver Pollock, who used his personal
fortune to aid the Americans. Together, the two men
provided valuable shipments to the Continental army,
always managing to successfully sneak them past the
British