The battle of Cape St. Vincent, 14th February 1797

After some early successes, notably the battle of the Glorious First of June (1794), the war with revolutionary France and her allies was not going well for Great Britain as 1796 drew to a close. A Franco-Spanish expedition to invade Ireland was being prepared and the large but undermanned Spanish fleet was ordered to join its French counterpart already making for Brest. The Spaniards under Admiral de Cordova, put to sea from Cartagena with twenty-seven ships-of-the-line in company with twelve frigates only to find Admiral Sir John Jervis lying in wait for them off Cape St. Vincent. On 13th February Jervis was joined by Commodore Nelson's squadron and, the following day, Jervis brought the enemy to action in what proved a landmark victory despite the numerical superiority of Cordova's fleet. Aided by Nelson's tactical brilliance at a crucial moment in the battle, Jervis decimated the Spanish fleet and forced the remnants to withdraw to Cadiz.