A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness.

Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.

The total eclipse was visible in a path across New Spain (some in present-day Mexico) and the southeastern United States and ended across northern Africa.

General George Rogers Clark and his men observed the eclipse as they passed over the Falls of the Ohio on their way to take Kaskaskia during the Illinois Campaign, regarding it as a good omen.

[1] U.S. troops marching south through Georgia in an abortive attempt to invade British East Florida also subsequently recorded the event.