Britain in 1797 was in big trouble. They wouldn't have used that term back then, but that is what it amounted to. French advances had seized British naval bases in Italy, and to compound matters Spain had now sided with Bonaparte. Things, indeed, looked bleak. On the 13th of February, 1797, Commodore Horatio Nelson, sailing in the frigate Minerve, came up with the British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis some 25 miles west of Cape St Vincent, the south-western tip of Portugal. Jervis's mission had been to ride herd on the Spanish fleet based at Cadiz, under Don Jose de Cordoba. At the meeting, Nelson transferred his belongings to the 74 gun Captain, one of only fifteen ships which faced off against twenty-seven Spaniards. In actual fact, the strength of the British fleet should have been twenty-two, but Admiral Man deserted his post against orders and returned to England. It is disappointing to note that he was not shot, but merely ordered to lower his flag. Jervis was hoping that Cordoba would sally out of Cadiz to give battle, mistaken in the belief that numbers counted for very much in sailing ship fighting. The British opinion of their potential opponents can be summed up by Nelson himself: "The Dons can make fine ships, they cannot however make men." Jervis intended to decimate the Spanish, strengthening Britain's hand in the Mediterranean. Intelligence Nelson had passed through the Spanish fleet in Minerve the previous night, and was able to provide Jervis with some useful intelligence. The Spanish, it appeared, were heading east, led by the gigantic Santissima Trinidad, at 136 guns, the biggest fighting ship in the world. At 8.15 a.m. on the morning of February 14th, Valentine's day, Jervis sighted the enemy fleet. In clear weather, they were plainly visible sailing in two divisions, line ahead. The British in turn formed a single line ahead. The wind was practically due west, on Jervis's starboard beam, and astern of Cordoba who was fleeing back for Cadiz. The manoeuvring wrecked the Spanish formation, which began to straggle badly, breaking up into two parts, with the leading six ships almost seven miles ahead of the main body. Jervis intended to break straight through the main enemy body. At 11.30 a.m., Culloden, captained by Thomas Troubridge, burst through the Spanish, raking the Principe de Asturias with double-shot. As the other British ships moved through, Cordoba ordered a course change to north, intending to fashion an escape. Jervis countered by ordering his ships to tack in succession. It was now that the returning Spanish van arrived, beating back against the wind and intending to break the British line as it turned. Regrettably for them, slow speed combined with ferocious British gunnery drove them away, only one vessel passing through to regroup. Escape It did now, however seem that the Spanish might extricate themselves from impending disaster, and head for home. The British ships were currently in a U shape as they turned about in line. Cordoba realised that by piling on full sail he could cut across the top of the U and rejoin his own van, effecting an escape. He did not, however, count on the possibility of one of the British captains disobeying standing orders. Nelson had been watching the engagement three from the back of the line, awaiting his turn in action. He rapidly realised what the Spanish intended and he decided to break the Fighting Instructions - which strictly determined how ships-of-the-line should fight - which stated that no ship might leave the line without orders from the Commander-in-Chief. Nelson turned Captain 180 degrees towards the enemy, and headed straight for the Santissima Trinidad. The only other ship in immediate support was Culloden at the other end of the U. Seeing the manoeuvre, Excellent, commanded by Cuthbert Collingwood, and Blenheim (Thomas Elfrederick), swung out of line in support. Aboard the Victory, Jervis's flagship, Captain Calder said to his admiral: "Sir, the Captain and Culloden are separated from the fleet and unsupported, shall we recall them?" Jervis replied: "I will not have them recalled. I put my faith in those ships." Brutal Fighting The fighting was brutal, and Culloden, Blenheim and Captain all got a taste of it. They in turn were bailed out by Collingwood's Excellent, whose gunnery was famous. Captain, rather obviously, suffered worst of all, having been right in the thick of it. Her fore-topmast had gone, as had the wheel. Nevertheless, Nelson got her aside the 80 gun San Nicolas, and personally led the boarding party. Collingwood then took the San Ysidro and Santissima Trinidad struck her colours, but subsequently escaped under cover of darkness. As the action ended, four Spaniards were now British prizes: San Josef,112; Salvador del Mundo,112; San Nicolas,80; and San Ysidro,74. Ten further ships were badly damaged and 800 of their crews dead, against just 300 British losses. Nelson had subsequently moved his flag to the undamaged Irresistible in an attempt to catch the Santissima Trinidad, but was recalled. He must have been nervous as to how Jervis would receive him. However, Nelson needn't have worried. The Admiral was elated, greeting his free-spirited Commodore with open arms. He was subsequently promoted to Rear-Admiral and made a Knight of the Bath. The greater part of credit for the victory must also be his. Refighting the Battle The rules used were Clear For Action, the computerised rules available from Langton Miniatures. We decided to begin the refight at the point where Culloden was about to cut the Spanish line. From then on it was a free for all, with no historical weighting. Regrettably, perhaps there should have been, at least from my point of view as admiral Jervis. Sadly, my ability to maintain a tight formation was not as good as his, and the Spanish succeeded in getting away, and taking Colossus and Orion with them. Oh the ignominy! I did manage to blow up Salvador del Mundo, but that hardly made up for it. Luckily, Rob Jones is about as useful at sea as he is fighting Prussian Hussars, so I claimed a draw. The list of ships below were easily selected from Clear For Action's capable ship lists, so I have merely listed them here with their ratings. Those of you using different rules will undoubtedly be familiar with your needs. The weather throughout the engagement was fine, with a steady wind which we decided was on a bearing of about 75 degrees. We battle at 11.00 a.m. BRITISH FLEET - Jervis Victory (flagship) 100 guns Egmont 74 guns Barfleur 98 guns Excellent 74 guns Blenheim 98 guns Goliath 74 guns Britannia 100 guns Irresistible 74 guns Captain 74 guns Namur 90 guns Colossus 74 guns Orion 74 guns Culloden 74 guns Prince George 98 guns Diadem 64 guns SPANISH FLEET - de Cordoba Santissima Trinidad (flagship) 130 guns Salvador del Mundo 112 San Antonio 74 Atlante 74 San Domingo 74 Bahama 74 San Formin 74 Concepcion 112 San Francisco de Paula 74 Conde de Regla 112 San Genaro 74 Conquistador 74 San Ildefonso 74 Firme 74 San Josef 112 Glorioso 74 San Juan Nepomuceno 74 Mexicano 74 San Nicolas 80 Neptuno 80 San Pablo 74 Oriente 74 San Ysidro 74 Pelayo 74 Soberano 74 Principe de Asturias 112 Terrible 74 Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #24 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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