On This Day 23 September

[Coog]

USS President captured HMS Highflyer on 23 September 1813 off Nantucket Sound. President's captain, John Rodgers, had captured British recognition signals and so was able to decoy Highflyer alongside. He then captured her without firing a shot, together with a number of despatches and more British signals. A prize crew then took Highflyer to Newport; her captain, Lieutenant George Hutchinson, remained a prisoner on board President. The Americans did not take Highflyer into service.

[Coog]

The Battle of Flamborough Head was a naval battle that took place on 23 September 1779, in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire between an American Continental Navy squadron led by John Paul Jones and the two British escort vessels protecting a large merchant convoy. It became one of the most celebrated naval actions of the American War of Independence despite its relatively small size and considerable dispute over what had actually occurred.

Details:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flamborough_Head

[Coog]

The Merchant Royal also known as Royal Merchant, was a 17th century English merchant ship lost at sea off Land's End, Cornwall in rough weather on 23 September 1641. On board were at least 100,000 pounds of gold (nearly one billion USD in today's money), 400 bars of Mexican silver (another 1 million) and nearly 500,000 pieces of eight and other coins, making it one of the most valuable wrecks of all times.

The Merchant Royal spent three years trading with Spanish colonies in the West Indies from 1637 to 1640. England was at peace with Spain at this time. The Merchant Royal and her sister-ship, the Dover Merchant, called into Cadiz on their way home to London. By all accounts she was leaking badly after her long voyage.

When a Spanish ship in Cadiz at the same time caught fire just before she was due to carry treasure to convert into pay for Spain's 30,000 soldiers in Flanders, the Merchant Royal's Captain Limbrey saw his chance to make a little more cash for his owners. He volunteered to carry the treasure to Antwerp on his way home.

The Merchant Royal went on leaking after she and her sister-ship left Cadiz and, when the pumps broke down, she sank off Land's End in rough weather on 23 September 164.

Eighteen men drowned in the sinking. Captain Limbrey and 40 of his crew got away in boats and were picked up by Dover Merchant. It is not likely that the treasure was taken aboard the Dover Merchant.

[Coog]

The Battle of San Juan de Ulúa was a battle between English privateers and Spanish forces at San Juan de Ulúa (in modern Veracruz) on 23 September 1568. It marked the end of the campaign carried out by an English flotilla of 6 ships that had systematically conducted illegal trade in the Caribbean Sea, including the slave trade, imposing it even by force.

The English fleet consisted of 5 ships: the Royal carracks Jesus of Lübeck (leased from Queen Elizabeth I) under John Hawkins, the Minion under John Hampton, and the barques Judith under Hawkins' cousin Francis Drake, Angel and Swallow. A captured Portuguese caravel joined the privateers near the coast of Ghana, where the English competed with Portuguese slave traders. The ship was renamed Grace of God. A seventh ship, the barque William and John, sailed back home before the battle, but after reaching Ireland on February 1569, she was lost with all hands on her way back to England. Following a full year of plundering and illegal trading, Hawkins decided to anchor his ships in the port of San Juan de Ulúa on 15 September for repairs and resupply before the return voyage to England. But while they were carrying out this reprovisioning a Spanish escort fleet also arrived in the port.

Initially the English did not fear for their safety, since they had on board several hostages who had confused the English fleet for a Spanish one, and so at first arrived at an accord with viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza. The English had repeatedly broken the peace by attacking unarmed merchant shipping but at this point they believed the Spanish would respect a truce on this occasion. However, Luján had been informed of the English fleets activities and, after many attempts at an accord, he launched a lightning attack on them in which the English lost 4 ships and 500 men as well as almost all of their year's loot, which was re-captured by the Spanish. Luján's fleet lost the vice-admiral ship, the galleon Santa Clara, which burnt and sunk inside the port. The flagship San Pedro, the only full-armed Spanish ship at San Juan, was also badly hit during an exchange of fire with Minion, which also suffered damage. The early assault and capture of the island's batteries—held until then by the English—by a Spanish pinnace, commanded by a captain Delgadillo, became decisive to the fate of the English fleet. Angel sank after a few salvoes, and Swallow was seized by the Spaniards soldiers manning the batteries. The French commander of the Grace of God, Robert Blondel, set her on fire before joining Hawkins on board the Jesus. Both of them, along with some members of the crew of the Jesus were later rescued by a pinnace after Hawkins gave the order to abandon the ship. Hawkins took command then of the Minion.

Only the Judith, commanded by Drake and Minion escaped, whilst battle was still raging on, leaving behind them the Jesus of Lübeck and some members of her crew still on board. The surviving vessels sailed out when two ships on fire were driven on them by the Spanish. The Englishmen feared a fire ship attack. The Jesus was eventually boarded by a Spanish party who had been lurking inside a nearby hulk, the San Salvador, under the command of captain Juan de Ubilla. A first Spanish attempt had been beaten off by Hawkins' crew, not before suffering some dead and injured. There are allegations that Ubilla allowed his men to loot the booty left on board the Jesus by Hawkins.

During their withdrawal, the Minion and the Judith were hopelessly overcrowded, and some of their men had to be abandoned on what is now the southern coast of the United States to save on supplies for the Atlantic crossing. Hawkins left behind 110 men to surrender to the Spanish. He eventually arrived back to England with a crew of only 15. Drake had reached Plymouth just days before, on 20 January 1569. Only 70 or 80 sailors from the original expedition returned to England at all.

While Hawkins accused the Spaniards of treason for not honouring the truce, Almanza's only intention was to hold his authority and the Spanish monopoly in West Indies.

The battle was a clear precursor of the war that broke out between Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth I of England in 1585.

[csadn]

*NOT* a Good Day for British naval power.... ;)