David Manley
02-13-2012, 23:37
The Battle of Cape St Vincent
Fifteen British ships of the line and five frigates under the command of Admiral Jervis engage a Spanish fleet of twenty seven liners and seven frigates. Four Spanish ships are captured. The Santissima Trinidad strikes her colours, but is rescued by other Spanish ships and makes her escape.
At the onset of the battle Jervis did not realise he was so heavily outnumbered, which led to an interesting series of exchanges on the quarterdeck of HMS VICTORY as captains Calder and Hallowell reported the increasing numbers of enemy ships in sight:
"There are eight sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty five sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty seven sail of the line, Sir John"
"Enough, sir, no more of that; the die is cast, and if there are fifty sail I will go through them"
More details, including orders of battle and charts for those inclined to refight the action, can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_St_Vincent_(1797)
I might well break out my fleet action rules and my 1/2400 Hallmark collection and give this one a go tonight :)
Fifteen British ships of the line and five frigates under the command of Admiral Jervis engage a Spanish fleet of twenty seven liners and seven frigates. Four Spanish ships are captured. The Santissima Trinidad strikes her colours, but is rescued by other Spanish ships and makes her escape.
At the onset of the battle Jervis did not realise he was so heavily outnumbered, which led to an interesting series of exchanges on the quarterdeck of HMS VICTORY as captains Calder and Hallowell reported the increasing numbers of enemy ships in sight:
"There are eight sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty five sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty seven sail of the line, Sir John"
"Enough, sir, no more of that; the die is cast, and if there are fifty sail I will go through them"
More details, including orders of battle and charts for those inclined to refight the action, can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_St_Vincent_(1797)
I might well break out my fleet action rules and my 1/2400 Hallmark collection and give this one a go tonight :)