Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1719)

The Battle of Cape St Vincent was a minor naval engagement of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, fought on 20 December 1719 near Cape St. Vincent between a squadron of two British ships of the line and a frigate, under Commodore Philip Cavendish and a squadron of the Spanish ships of the line Conde de Tolosa, Hermione and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe under Don Rodrigo de Torres sent from Santander to Cádiz to avoid its capture by the Anglo-French forces patrolling the Bay of Biscay.

Battle of Cape St Vincent
Part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance
Date20 December 1719
Location
Near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain Spain
Commanders and leaders
Philip Cavendish Rodrigo de Torres
Strength
2 ships of line
1 frigate		 3 ships of line
Casualties and losses
40 killed and wounded[1][2] 20 killed
27 wounded[2]

The Spanish squadron, which had captured a British frigate and a sloop few days before the battle, forced the British fleet to withdrew to Gibraltar with about 40 casualties after 5 hours of combat, arriving to Cádiz on 2 January 1720. Pedro Messía de la Cerda, future captain of the ship of the line Glorioso during his famous voyage carrying gold from the Spanish Main to Spain and Viceroy of New Granada, took part in the action aboard one of the Spanish ships.[3]

Ships involved[4]
  • British squadron
    • HMS Norwich (50 guns)
    • HMS Advice (50 guns)
    • HMS Dover (40 guns)
  • Spanish squadron
    • HMS Conde de Tolosa (64 guns)
    • HMS Nuestra Señora de Guadelupe (62 guns)
    • HMS Hermione (50 guns)
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References
  1. Charnock vol.3, p. 217.
  2. Fernández Duro p. 172.
  3. Arsenal p. 226.
  4. Charnock, John, Biographia Navalis, Volume 3, p.217. (London, 1795)

Bibliography
  • Arsenal, León; Prado, Fernando (2008). Rincones de historia española. Madrid: EDAF. ISBN 978-84-414-2050-2.
  • Charnock, John (1795). Biographia Navalis. 3. London: Naval & Military Press (republishing).
  • Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de León. VI. Madrid: Est. tipográfico "Sucesores de Rivadeneyra".

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