As governor of Spanish Louisiana from 1777 to 1783, Bernardo de Gálvez smuggled weapons to colonial fighters in the Mississippi Valley during the American Revolution. After Spain declared war on England, he defeated the British at the battles of Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Pensacola in 1781, for which he wrote this poem, dated May 12, 1781. Because of his efforts, Spain recovered Florida as part of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the American Revolution officially. Galveston, Texas, is named after him.