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Cape St Vincent, battle of
Cape St Vincent, battle of, 1797. On 14 February 1797, four months after the start of hostilities with Spain and after the British fleet had been forced to evacuate the Mediterranean for the first time in a century, 15 ships under Sir John Jervis met the Spanish grand fleet of 27 more heavily gunned ships 25 miles off the south-western cape of Portugal. The Spanish line was disordered and, in a westerly wind, Jervis steered through a wide gap from the north. Nelson in Captain broke out of the line to prevent the westerly Spaniards rounding the British rear to re-unite with their easterly ships. Captain, only later ‘nobly supported’ by Excellent and Culloden, was fought to a standstill; Nelson then vaulted with boarding parties first into the San Nicolas and then into San Josef: his ‘patent bridge’. In all, four Spaniards were taken, Nelson's irregularity in leaving the line matching Jervis's expressed resolve upon ‘a considerable degree of enterprise’. Jervis was sent to the Lords as Earl St Vincent.
David Denis Aldridge |
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JOHN CANNON. "Cape St Vincent, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Cape St Vincent, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-CapeStVincentbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Cape St Vincent, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-CapeStVincentbattleof.html |
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Cape St Vincent, battle of
Cape St Vincent, battle of, 1797. On 14 February 1797, four months after the start of hostilities with Spain, 15 ships under Sir John Jervis met the Spanish fleet of 27 ships off the south‐western cape of Portugal. Nelson in Captain broke out of the line to prevent the westerly Spaniards rounding the British rear to reunite with their easterly ships. Captain was fought to a standstill; Nelson then vaulted with boarding parties first into the San Nicolas and then into San Josef: his ‘patent bridge’. In all, four Spaniards were taken.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Cape St Vincent, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Cape St Vincent, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-CapeStVincentbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Cape St Vincent, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-CapeStVincentbattleof.html |
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Cape St Vincent, Battle of
Cape St Vincent, Battle of (14 February 1797) A naval battle off the south-west coast of Portugal in which NELSON and JERVIS defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet of 27 ships. The British were outnumbered almost two to one, but the disorder of the Spanish fleet cancelled out its advantage in numbers. After this victory the British fleet was able to continue its blockade of Cadiz and to re-enter the Mediterranean in pursuit of Napoleon in Egypt.
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Cite this article
"Cape St Vincent, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Cape St Vincent, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-CapeStVincentBattleof.html "Cape St Vincent, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-CapeStVincentBattleof.html |
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