Antonio de Escaño y García de Cáceres ( Cartagena, Murcia, 1750 -

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, 12 July 1814) was a Spanish military officer and government official. He served in several naval battles including the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

. He was Spain's Minister of the Navy and a member of the Council of Regency. A Spanish Navy school named for him states: "He is regarded as one of the best naval tacticians of the 18th century. An enlightened man, he devoted himself to the study of shipbuilding and other academic disciplines such as chemistry, botany and history, of which he was an academic."Escuela de Especialidades "Antonio de Escaño" (PDF)
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Biography

Early career

Escaño became a midshipman at the age of 17 and took part in almost every major Spanish naval operation of his time. These included the

Battle of Cape Spartel The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully resup ...

(1782), which was an indecisive naval battle between a British fleet under Admiral

Richard Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations a ...

and a Franco-Spanish fleet under Spanish Admiral Luis de Córdova; an expedition against Algiers (1783) to attack Barbary raiders; and the

Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent (14 February 1797) was one of the opening battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808), as part of the French Revolutionary Wars, where a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a greatly superior ...

, where thanks to his military perceptiveness while in command of the '' Príncipe de Asturias'', he helped to save the Spanish flagship, the '' Santísima Trinidad'', when the squadron commander

José de Córdoba y Ramos José de Córdoba y Ramos, ( Utrera, September 26, 1732 – Cádiz, April 3, 1815), was a Spanish explorer and naval officer who sailed around the world and fought in several battles while in the service of the Spanish Navy. Biography Born int ...

lost control over the situation while under attack by British Commodore Horatio Nelson. For this, Escaño was rewarded with the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...

. He was then part of the successful defense of Cadiz (1797) against a British fleet under Admiral John Jervis and Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson. Escaño later served during the Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805) when a British fleet under Admiral

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career ...

fought an indecisive naval battle against French Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve's combined Franco-Spanish fleet as it was returning from the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

Trafalgar

Due to his military and nautical experience, and as the second in command of the Spanish ships under

Federico Gravina Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli, born Federico Carlo Gravina Cruyllas (12 August 1756 – 9 May 1806) was a Sicilian admiral in the service of the Spanish Empire, during the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. He died of wounds sustained d ...

, Escaño was appointed to speak for the Spanish captains at a meeting on the French flagship . It was his opinion that it would be best to remain within the Bay of Cadiz and not try to breakout of the British naval blockade, which had been reinforced by Admiral Horatio Nelson. This was contrary to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's orders to French Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve, who ignored this advice and ordered the Franco-Spanish fleet to sail out against Nelson and his ships. Escaño was temporarily the acting commander of the Spanish ships due to Gravina being severely wounded during the

(both were on the Spanish flagship ''Príncipe de Asturias'', one of the few ships to not surrender and make it back to Cádiz). Despite having been wounded himself during the battle, Escaño communicated to Spanish Prime Minister

Manuel Godoy Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó (12 May 17674 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many t ...

the results of the battle since "the situation in which Lieutenant General Don Federico Gravina finds himself, as a result of a shrapnel bullet that at the end of yesterday's action he received in his left arm, does not allow him to give V.E. (His Excellency) news of this bloody combat".

Later life

Escaño was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

of the Navy and was the Minister of the Navy between 1808 and 1810. In 1810 he was elected to be a member of the Council of Regency of Spain and the Indies. When this body resigned after the convening of the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous ones. The General ...

, he was the only member who was authorized to continue to reside in the city and became a member of the Cortes which developed the

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitut ...

. Escaño was appointed captain general of Cartagena in 1814, a position he did not assume since he died a few days later.

Legacy

There is a Spanish Navy school that bears his name: Escuela de Especialidades (School of Specialties) "Antonio de Escaño", located in

Ferrol, Spain Ferrol () is a city in the Province of A Coruña in Galicia, on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city has a population of 64,785, mak ...

. The major areas of expertise are Telecommunications Systems, Weapons Systems, and Power and Propulsion Systems.Escuela de Especialidades Antonio de Escaño (school website)
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References

Content in this article is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at :es:Antonio de Escaño; see its history for attribution.

Bibliography

External links

Escuela de Especialidades "Antonio de Escaño" (PDF)Escuela de Especialidades Antonio de Escaño (school website)
1750 births 1814 deaths Military personnel from Cartagena, Spain {{Spain-mil-bio-stub