The Great Hurricane of 1780

The hurricane season of 1780 was the deadliest and one of the most destructive ever observed in the Atlantic.  Of course, the records from that time are not nearly as complete as today, but we know there were at least eight named storms and at least four major hurricanes.  That doesn’t sound so impressive, at first glance, but the 25,000 fatalities do.

The season started early, as a hurricane arrived June 13^th at the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean.  It went on to affect Puerto Rico.  In August, a powerful hurricane hit Louisiana on the 24^th.  The very next day, one hit the island of St.  Kitts.  But the season was saving its worst for October.  At least five hurricanes formed in the tenth month.

The first, named the Savanna-La-Mer hurricane, struck Jamaica on October 3^rd.  It was so named for the tiny settlement on the island which was completely destroyed by the storm’s tides and winds  The storm would cross Cuba and the Bahamas before encountering the British fleet east of Daytona Beach.  Another fleet of British ships would be seriously damaged off the Virginia Coast.  Over 1,000 deaths were attributed to the storm.

The storm which destroyed the Windward Islands October 10-12 is the deadliest ever in recorded Atlantic history.   It became known simply as the “Great Hurricane of 1780.”  It is believed that 22,000 perished in week long rampage of The Great Hurricane.  9,000 died on the island of Martinique, 5000 in Euststius and 4000 in Barbados.  Thousands more died at sea.  It was just one of three deadliest hurricanes that month.  The first week of the month saw a hurricane strike Jamaica, killing 1000.

Spanish Admiral Solano was enroute from Havana to Pensacola in October 1780 to capture the important port city.   The third major hurricane of the month swept north through the Gulf of Mexico catching and scattered the fleet of 64 warships on October 21st.

The October storms scuttled much of the British and Spanish navies and aided the colonies in the American Revolution.  The British Navy suffered heavier losses from the hurricanes of 1780 than it did in the actual battles with the American Revolutionaries.

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