1793, September 22: (The Defection of the ‘Wild Geese’): The British were able to occupy Môle St. Nicolas without a fight because the 150 Irish soldiers of the Dillon Regiment chose to…

1793, September 22: (The Defection of the ‘Wild Geese’): The British were able to occupy Môle St. Nicolas without a fight because the 150 Irish soldiers of the Dillon Regiment chose to surrender. Known as “Wild Geese,” these soldiers had been perennially loyal to the Kings of France, but after the execution of Louis XVI, they felt they no longer had a sovereign to serve. Major O’Farrell turned over 200 guns and intact fortifications to British Commodore John Ford, asking only for his men to be put ashore in America. This surrender gave the British immediate control of a strategic point commanding the Windward Passage. It illustrates how the collapse of the French monarchy directly compromised the defense of its richest colony.