Craig Chapman
Disaster on the Spanish Main: The Tragic British-American Expedition to the West Indies during the War of Jenkins’ Ear
From the publisher
Disaster on the Spanish Main unveils and illuminates an overlooked yet remarkable episode of European and American military history and a land-sea venture to seize control of the Spanish West Indies that ended in ghastly failure. Thirty-four years before the Battles of Lexington and Concord, a significant force of American soldiers deployed overseas for the first time in history. Colonial volunteers, 4,000 strong, joined 9,000 British soldiers and 15,000 British sailors in a bold amphibious campaign against the key port of Cartagena de Indias. From its first chapter, Disaster on the Spanish Main reveals a virtually unknown adventure, engrosses with the escalating conflict, and leaves the reader with an appreciation for the struggles and sacrifices of the 13,000 soldiers, sailors, and marines who died trying to conquer part of Spain’s New World empire.
Disaster on the Spanish Main breaks new ground on the West Indies expedition in style, scope, and perspective and uncovers the largely untold American side of the story.
Reviews
“Craig Chapman’s fine treatment of an all but forgotten episode in the history of the Americas offers scholarly and general readers much to admire and much to learn. Historians who have lamented the lack of a comprehensive, deeply researched account of the Cartagena Expedition of 1741 need complain no longer. Readers interested in the American colonial period will find it hard to put down this vivid narrative of a one of the greatest fiascos in British military and naval history. Above all, Disaster on the Spanish Main will compel every reader to confront matters as vital today as they were three centuries ago: the folly of imperial ambition and the tragedy of war.”—Fred Anderson, author of Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766
“This work is a splendid operational history, drawing on both traditional narratives and the latest research in English and Spanish. Chapman has provided a riveting study of a sadly neglected episode.”—Richard Harding, author of The Emergence of Britain’s Global Naval Supremacy: The War of 1739–1748
“A vivid account of a dramatic episode in British imperial history, written with great verve.”—Jeremy Black, author of The British Seaborne Empire
“Disaster on the Spanish Main is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in the British military in the period, particularly because the campaign helped set the stage for British success in the Seven Years’ War.”—A. A. Nofi, NYMAS Review
“A well-researched, expertly written narrative history of the first military campaign in which American soldiers fought for empire in a distant land, and which until now has remained relatively unknown.”—Glenn F. Williams, author of Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era
“Disaster on the Spanish Main will appeal to many audiences, including those interested in combined arms operations, command, and eighteenth-century warfare.”—Westin E. Robeson, Army History
We’ve featured talks on a wide variety of military history, including . . .
- Elizabeth Cobbs, PhD — The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers
- Becky Aikman — Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II
- Alexander Rose — Phantom Fleet: The Hunt for Nazi Submarine U-505 and World War II’s Most Daring Heist
[Broadcast on June 29, 2023 and rebroadcast on August 6, 2026]
Craig S. Chapman, BBA, MBA, (craigschapman.com | Facebook) spent thirty years managing dual careers in telecom network sales and the U.S. Army/National Guard. As an author he has combined his lifelong passion for historical research with his expertise as an infantry officer to publish an article in Military Review, a Civil War history, More Terrible Than Victory (Brassey’s 1997), a World War II biography, Battle Hardened: An Infantry Officer’s Harrowing Journey from D-Day to VE Day (Regnery History 2017) and his most recent work, Disaster on the Spanish Main: The Tragic British-American Expedition to the West Indies during the War of Jenkins’ Ear (Potomac Books 2021). His style of writing delivers academically rigorous research and analysis in an engaging manner for both scholars and general readers.
Craig earned a BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MBA from Michigan State University and is a graduate (Commandant’s List) of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College. He resides with his wife in Raleigh, North Carolina.
