Action of 5 October 1804

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Anglo-Spanish War
partof=the Napoleonic Wars


caption=The action of 5th October 1804, a painting by Francis Sartorius.
date=5 October 1804
place=Off Cape Santa Maria
result=British victory
combatant1= flagicon|Spain|1785 Kingdom of Spain
combatant2=UK
commander1=Rear Admiral Jose Bustamante y Guerra
commander2=Commodore Graham Moore
strength1=4 frigates
strength2=4 frigates
casualties1=269 killed and 80 wounded
600 Spanish sailors captured
casualties2=2 killed and 7 wounded

The Battle of Cape Santa Maria, also known as the "La Batalla del Cabo de Santa María", was a naval action that took place off the southern Portuguese coast, in which a squadron commanded by Brigadier Don Jose Bustamante y Guerra fought a British squadron under the command of Commodore Graham Moore.

Background

Under the terms of a secret convention Spain had to pay 72 million francs annually to France, until they declared war on Britain. The British had learned of the treaty, and knew it was likely that Spain would declare war on them soon after the arrival of the treasure ships. Since the British also knew that by law the fleet could only land at Cádiz, as well as its place and approximate time of departure from South America, it was not difficult to position a squadron to intercept it.

Bustamante had set sail from Montevideo on 9 August 1804 with four frigates loaded with gold and silver, as well as much other valuable cargo. On 22 September Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood ordered Captain Graham Moore, commanding the 44 gun frigate HMS "Indefatigable", to intercept and detain the Spanish ships, peacefully, if possible.

Moore's ship arrived off Cadiz on 29 September and was joined on 2 October by "Lively", and by "Medusa" and "Amphion" the day after. In line abreast they patrolled the approaches to Cádiz.

The battle

At dawn on 5 October, the Spanish frigates sighted the coast of Portugal. At 7 a.m. they sighted the four British frigates. Bustamante ordered his ships into line of battle, and within an hour the British came up in line, to windward of the Spaniards and "within pistol-shot".

Moore, the British Commodore, sent Lieutenant Ascott to the Spanish flagship "Medea", to explain his orders. Bustamante naturally refused, and impatient of delays, at 10 a.m. Moore ordered a shot be fired ahead over the bows of "Medea". Almost immediately a general exchange of fire broke out. Within ten minutes the "Mercedes" was destroyed when her magazine exploded, and only about 40 of her 240 crew were rescued. Within half an hour the "Santa Clara" and the "Medea" had surrendered, and the "Fama" broke away and attempted to flee, pursued by the "Medusa". Moore ordered the faster "Lively" to pursue, and she was also captured a few hours later. The three frigates were taken to Gibraltar, and then to Gosport, England.

The results

Spain declared war on Great Britain on 14 December 1804, only to suffer a catastrophic defeat less than a year later at the battle of Trafalgar in October 1805. Napoleon, having crowned himself Emperor on 2 December, gained Spain as an ally in his war against Britain.

Under the terms of the Cruizers and Convoys Act of 1708 ships captured at sea were "Droits of the Crown" and became the property of their captors, who received the full value of the ships and cargo in prize money. However, since technically Britain and Spain were not at war at the time of the action, the Admiralty Court ruled that the three ships were "Droits of the Admiralty", and all revenues would revert to them. The four Spanish ships carried a total of 4,286,508 million Spanish dollars in silver and gold coin, as well as 150,000 gold ingots, 75 sacks of wool, 1,666 bars of tin, 571 pigs of copper, seal skins and oil, although 1.2 million in silver, half the copper and a quarter of the tin went down with the "Mercedes". Still, the remaining ships and cargo were assessed at a value of £900,000 (equivalent to £formatnum:Inflation|UK|900000|1804|2008|r=-3 today.Inflation-fn). After much legal argument an ex gratia payment was made which, according to one account, amounted to £250,000. If so, each of the four Captains would have received £23,500 each (around £formatnum:Inflation|UK|23500|1804|2008|r=-3 at present day values.Inflation-fn).

The "Medea" was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS "Iphigenia" (later renamed HMS "Imperieuse"), "Santa Clara" as HMS "Leocadia" and the "Fama" as HMS "Fama".

Order of battle

pain

*"Medea" (40), Flagship, commanded by Capitán Francisco de Piedrola y Verdugo
*"Fama" (34), Capitán Miguel Zapiain y Valladares
*"Mercedes" (36), Capitán Jose Manuel De Goicoa y Labart
*"Santa Clara" (34), Capitán Aleson y Bueno

Britain

* HMS "Indefatigable" (44), Commodore Graham Moore
* HMS "Lively" (38), Captain Sir Graham Eden Hamond
* HMS "Amphion" (32), Captain Samuel Sutton
* HMS "Medusa" (32), Captain John Gore

In popular fiction

* The action is portrayed in C. S. Forester's "Hornblower and the Hotspur" in which his hero Horatio Hornblower is attached to the squadron, but misses out on the captures while fending off a French ship.
* In Patrick O'Brian's novel "Post Captain", Captain Aubrey is in temporary command of "Lively", and captures the "Santa Clara" and the "Fama".

References

External links

* [http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/1804/c_santamaria.html Seizing the Gold of Spain]
* [http://genealogy.northern-skies.net/genealogy.php?number=187 Account of the action]
* [http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=1346 HMS Lively]
* [http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=1207 HMS Indefatigable]