The Mobile District, now coastal Mississippi and Alabama, remained under Spanish control until the War of 1812 with Britain, with whom Spain was allied. On May 14, 1812, the claimed portion of West Florida east of the Pearl River was assigned to Mississippi Territory, though at the time, the area around Mobile Bay remained under the control of Spanish Florida. Following that Congressional declaration of annexation and an act of February 12, 1813, (3 Stat. L. 472) authorizing the President to occupy that area, U.S. General James Wilkinson sailed from New Orleans to Mobile in April 1813 with a force of 600, whereupon he received the surrender of the Spanish commander.