 | The Battle of Cape St. Vincent
After the signing of the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796 allying Spanish and French forces against Great Britain, the British navy blockaded Spain. In the meantime, the British Mediterranean Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jervis, had sailed from the Tagus with 10 ships of the line to try to intercept the Spanish fleet. Heavy Fog concealed the British Fleet as well as the strength of the Spanish Fleet. Unaware of the size of his opponent's fleet, Jervis' squadron immediately sailed to intercept. Meanwhile, the unaware Spanish continued toward Cádiz. Early on the 14th, as dawn broke, Jervis's ships were in position and prepared to engage the Spanish. On the quarter-deck of Victory, Jervis, Captain Robert Calder and Captain Benjamin Hallowell counted the ships. It was at this point Jervis discovered that he was outnumbered nearly two-to-one. Seeing that it would be difficult to disengage, Jervis decided to continue because the situation would only get worse if the Spanish fleet managed to join up with the French. To the British advantage, the Spanish fleet was formed into two groups and was unprepared for battle, while the British were already in line. Jervis ordered the British fleet to pass between the two groups, minimizing the fire they could put into him, while letting him fire in both directions. To the rear the San José and the San Nicolás had lost their main sails, leaving them dead in the water. The 11th boarded these vessels with ease and forced the Spanish aboard to surrender, successfully capturing them. Jervis resumed his blockade of the Spanish fleet in Cadiz for most of the following three years, largely curtailed the operations of the Spanish fleet until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. |
