Saints, battle of the

Saints, battle of the, 1782. This was the last important naval action in the American War of Independence. The loss of naval superiority in 1781 forced Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown. The French and Spanish then began picking off British West Indian islands and an invasion of Jamaica was expected. Rodney left Plymouth in January 1782 with reinforcements and on 10 April 1782 won an important victory over de Grasse at the battle of the Saints in the Leeward Islands.