Napoleonic Newsdesk

The Battle of Cape St. Vincent
14 Feb. 1797


The year 1797 was eventful for Britain. It witnessed two of the navy's greatest victories; St. Vincent in February and Camperdown in October. Yet between these battles the navy passed through a serious crisis of fleet mutinies at Spithead and the Nore. The year also marked the rise to fame of Horatio Nelson whose dramatic actions at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent secured victory.

At the battle Admiral Sir John Jervis (later created Earl St. Vincent) led a squadron of 15 sail against a Spanish fleet of 27. He fell upon them off the south western coast of Portugal as they were running for Cadiz and divided their line into two parts. From his flagship Victory he ordered his ships to tack one by one after the leader and prevent the gap from being closed. Nelson, last but two in the line, saw that this manoeuvre would not be completed in time and made an on-the-spot decision to sail his ship, the Captain, into the gap. He took on seven Spanish ships, including the Santissima Trinidad, the largest ship in the world, and two other three-deckers, the San Nicolas and the San Josef. Through a fire of pistols and muskets he led boarding parties onto both and captured both - such was 'Nelson's Patent Bridge for Boarding First Rates'.

By nightfall four ships had been taken and ten others crippled. Jervis was generous in his praise of Nelson who was knighted and promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue.

Battle of Cape St. Vincent: 200 Years

The Signal Flag Hoist Ceremony, HMS Victory, Friday 14 February.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, signal flags will be hoisted from the poop deck of HMS Victory and guns will be fired from Fort Nelson.

The flag hoist will replicate some of the more important signals recorded in the ship's logs, and will start at 11.00 am with Admiral Sir John Jervis's order to 'form in a line of battle ahead and astern of Victory as most convenient'. Other signals will include:

    11.12 Engage the enemy
    11.26 Admiral means to pass through enemy line
    12.15 Pass through the enemy line
    12.51 Take suitable stations and engage as arrive up in succession
    13.05 Engage the enemy close
    14.00 Fort Nelson guns mark Nelson leaving the line

The Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, Special Exhibition

This museum will mount a special exhibition relating to the battle of Cape St. Vincent, between February and October 1997.

The Cape St. Vincent Conference, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth

    Saturday 15 February 1997

    The 1805 Club, The Nelson Society and the Society for Nautical Research, in conjunction with the Royal Navy, will be presenting Cape St. Vincent: Nelson's Forgotten Battle, an all-day conference at the Victory Club, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth. Naval and Nelson specialists will present current thinking on different aspects of this dramatic battle, including the development and deployment of tactics; the Spanish navy; John Jervis Earl St. Vincent; Horatio Nelson; and the popular commemoration of the battle. The fee for the conference is 30 pounds. This includes coffee and lunch at the Victory Club and tea in the historic Wardroom Mess of HMS Nelson. The anniversary celebrations conclude with a cocktail party on the lower gun deck of HMS Victory. Delegates may attend for an additional charge of 10 pounds.

For further information about these naval events contact Helen Gooding, Battle of Cape St. Vincent Celebrations, The Royal Naval Museum, address as above.

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