Voyage Of The Glorioso
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The voyage of the ''Glorioso'' involved four naval engagements fought in 1747 during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
between the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
70-gun
ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
''Glorioso'' and several
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
squadrons of ships of the line and
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s which tried to capture it. The ''Glorioso'', carrying four million silver dollars from the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
, was able to repel two British attacks off the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and
Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...
, successfully landing her cargo at the port of Corcubión, Spain. Several days after unloading the cargo, while sailing to Cadiz for repairs, ''Glorioso'' was attacked successively near
Cape St Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...
by four British
privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
frigates and the ships of the line HMS ''Dartmouth'' and HMS ''Russell'' from Admiral
John Byng Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passa ...
's fleet. The ''Dartmouth'' was repeatedly hit and blew up, killing most of her crew, but the 92-gun ''Russell''Duro p.341 eventually forced the ''Glorioso'' to strike the colours. The British took her to
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, where she had to be
broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...
because of the extensive damage suffered during the last battle. The commander of the ship, Pedro Messia de la Cerda, and his men, were taken to Great Britain as
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
, but were considered heroes in Spain and gained the admiration of the British. Several British officers were
court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
ed and expelled from the Navy for their poor performance against the Spanish.Laughton p.240Schomberg p.241


The battles


First battle

In July 1747 the Spanish ship of the line ''Glorioso'', launched at
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
on 1740 and under the command of Captain Pedro Messia de la Cerda, was returning to Spain from America, carrying a large shipment of about four million silver dollars, when on 25 July, off the island of Flores, one of the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, a British merchant convoy was sighted blurred by the fog. At noon the fog began to dissipate and de la Cerda found that there were ten British ships, three of which were warships: the 60-gun ship of the line ''
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
'', the 40-gun frigate ''
Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occu ...
'', and a 20-gun brig. De la Cerda cleared for action, but he tried to avoid combat, keeping to
windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
so as not to risk losing the cargo for which he was responsible. The British ships began to pursue the Spanish ship, and at 9:00 p.m. the lighter sloop caught up with the ''Glorioso'' and there was an ineffectual exchange of fire between the two. But at 2:00 p.m. there was a
squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...
that took the wind from the ''Glorioso'' and allowed the other British ships to come up. John Crookshanks, commanding officer of the convoy’s escort, sent the brig to protect the
merchantmen A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...
and ordered HMS ''Lark'' to attack the ''Glorioso''. The result of this was that the heavy gunfire from the Spanish ship of the line left the British fifth-rate frigate badly damaged in the hull and the
rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...
. HMS ''Warwick'' then arrived and began to engage the ''Glorioso'', only to be completely dismasted and forced to withdraw. The ''Glorioso'' was hit by four cannon balls in the hull, and suffered damage to the rigging. There were five killed (two of whom were civilians) and 44 wounded on the ''Glorioso''.Duro p.341 Despite widespread damage, HMS ''Warwick'' had only four seamen killed and 20 wounded.Jefferies, F. (1747)
Gentleman's magazine'', Volume 17, p. 508
/ref> When the
British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...
was notified about this engagement, Crookshanks was court-martialed for denial of help and negligence in combat. Declared guilty for the defeat, he was dismissed from the Navy, although he was allowed to retain his rank.


Second

After this first engagement, the ''Glorioso'' continued sailing to Spain. Some of the damage sustained during the battle could be repaired during the passage, but the more substantial damage needed to be repaired in a port. Despite this the ''Glorioso'' was able to repel the attack of three British ships from Admiral John Byng's fleet in sight of Cape Finisterre. These ships were the 50-gun ship of the line HMS ''Oxford'', the 24-gun frigate HMS ''Shoreham'' and the 20-gun brig HMS ''Falcon''.Laughton p.240 After a three-hour-long fight, the three ships had suffered heavy damage, and they were forced to withdraw.Duro p.341 Captain Callis of HMS ''Oxford'' was later court-martialed, but unlike Commodore Crookshanks, he was honourably acquitted. The ''Glorioso'' lost her
bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestays. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle L ...
and sustained several casualties, but the next day, 16 August, she finally entered the port of Corcubión, Galicia, and unloaded her cargo.


Third and fourth

In Corcubión, ''Glorioso''’s crew could make the necessary repairs to make the ship seaworthy. After that, Captain de la Cerda decided to head to Ferrol, but contrary
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
s damaged ''Glorioso''s rigging and the ship was forced instead to make for Cadiz. She initially sailed away from the Portuguese coast to avoid further clashes with British ships. However, on 17 October, she encountered a squadron of four British privateers under
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...
George Walker near Cape Saint Vincent. This squadron, called the 'Royal Family' because of the names of the ships, was composed of the frigates ''King George'', ''Prince Frederick'', ''Princess Amelia'' and ''Duke'', altogether carrying 960 men and 120 guns. At 8 a.m. the ''King George'',
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the division, managed to approach the ''Glorioso'' and the two ships exchanged fire, with the British frigate losing her
mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ligh ...
and two guns as a result of ''Glorioso''s first
salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...
. The Spanish and British ships duelled for three hours, taking heavy damage that forced her to break off contact. The ''Glorioso'' continued sailing to the south, being pursued by the three frigates, which were later reinforced by two ships of the line, the 50-gun HMS ''Dartmouth'' and the 92-gun HMS ''Russell'', adding a total of over 250 guns and thousands of men to the pursuers. The captain of the ''Dartmouth'', John Hamilton, managed to place his ship next to the ''Glorioso''; nevertheless after a fierce exchange of fire the British ship caught fire on her powder magazine and blew up at 3:30 PM of 8 October. Captain Hamilton and most of the crew perished in the flames. Only a lieutenant, Christopher O’Brien, and 11 seamen survived the explosion. Some sources mention 14 survivors from a crew of 300. According to one survivor, HMS ''Dartmouth'' was already dismasted and heavily damaged by the Spanish gunfire when a round from ''Glorioso'' hit the light-room of the magazine, starting a fire that ignited the powder and blew the ship up. He recalled 15 seamen rescued out of a crew of 325. Kimber, Isaac (ed.),(1747)
''The London magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer'', Volumen 17, pp. 172-173
/ref> These men were saved by life boats from the ''Prince Frederick''. The three frigates joined the ''Russell'' the following evening and together riddled the ''Glorioso'' with all their guns. The Spanish ship resisted from midnight to 9 AM, when about to sink, almost completely dismasted, without ammunition, and with 33 men killed and 130 wounded on board, Captain don Pedro Messia de la Cerda, seeing that the defence was impossible, surrendered her. HMS ''Russell'' had 12 seamen killed and several wounded.Beatson, p. 374 Another eight men died aboard ''King George''.


Aftermath

After the battle the British ships sailed to Lisbon, taking the disabled ''Glorioso'' with them. The Spanish ship of the line was surveyed, but not taken into the Royal Navy, and was broken up. Commodore Walker, commander of the four privateer frigates, was severely reprimanded by one of the owners of the ''Royal Family'' for risking his ship against a superior force. Walker, dissenting, responded: Captain de la Cerda and his men, who had been taken on board the ''Prince Frederick'' and the ''King George'', were brought to Great Britain and imprisoned in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, where they became the subject of the admiration of the British. De la Cerda was later promoted to commodore for his performance in combat and the surviving crew received rewards on their return to Spain. According to some British sources, the defence of the ''Glorioso'' ranks foremost in Spanish naval history.Allen p.166


See also

*
Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet ( es, Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the es, label=Spanish, plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to ...


References


Bibliography

* Allen, Joseph (1852). ''Battles of the British Navy'', Volume 1. London: Henry G. Bohn. *Beatson, Robert (1804). ''Naval and military memoirs of Great Britain, from 1727 to 1783'', Volume 1. Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme. * Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). ''Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de León'', tomo VI. Madrid: Est. tipográfico "Sucesores de Rivadeneyra". * Johnston, Charles H. L. (2004). ''Famous Privateersmen and Adventures of the Sea''. Kessinger Publishing. . * Keppel, Thomas Robert (1842). ''The life of Augustus, viscount Keppel, admiral of the White, and first Lord of the Admiralty in 1782-3'', Volume 1. London: H. Colburn. * Laughton, John Knox. ''Armada Studies in Naval History''. Biographies. Adamant Media Corporation. {{ISBN, 978-1-4021-8125-2. * Schomberg, Isaac (1815). ''Naval chronology: or An historical summary of naval and maritime events... From the time of the Romans, to the treaty of peace of Amiens...'', Volume 1. London: T. Egerton by C. Roworth. * Walker, George (1760). ''The Voyages And Cruises Of Commodore Walker: During the late Spanish and French Wars''. In Two Volumes. London: Millar. Glorioso Conflicts in 1747 Naval battles involving Great Britain Naval battles involving Spain Battles of the War of Jenkins' Ear