Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)

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The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a fleet action fought on 14 February 1797 between the British and Spanish navies off Cape St. Vincent in Portugal as part of the War of the First Coalition. In one of the opening battles of the recently declared war between Britain and Spain, a British fleet under Admiral of the Blue Sir John Jervis defeated a larger Spanish fleet under Lieutenant-general José de Córdoba y Ramos which had left Cádiz to confront the British navy. Commodore Horatio Nelson distinguished himself in the battle by boarding and capturing two Spanish ships of the line. Córdoba's fleet ultimately suffered 430 killed and 856 wounded while having 4 ships of the line and 3,000 men captured, while the British suffered only 73 killed and 227 wounded. The defeated Spanish fleet returned to Cádiz where it was blockaded until the 1802 Peace of Amiens, while the 3,000 prisoners were landed in Portugal. Jervis and his officers were rewarded for the victory, which allowed British forces to...

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