First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)

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France needed to keep shipping lanes open in order to maintain her overseas empire. To this end she assembled merchantmen into convoys protected by warships. Anson on {{HMS|Prince George|1701|2}} and Rear-Admiral Sir Peter Warren on {{HMS|Devonshire|1745|2}} had sailed from Plymouth on 9 April to intercept French shipping. When a large convoy was sighted, Anson made the signal to form line of battle. Rear-Admiral Warren, suspecting the enemy to be manoeuvring to promote the escape of the convoy, bore down and communicated his opinion to the admiral; the latter threw out a signal for a general chase.

{{HMS|Centurion|1732|2}} under a press of sail, was the first to come up to the rearmost French ship, which she attacked severely, and two other ships dropped astern to her support. The action became general when three more British ships, including Devonshire, came up. The French, though much inferior in numbers, fought till seven in the evening, when all but two of their ships were taken, as well as nine East India merchantmen. The French lost 700 men killed and wounded, and the British 520. Over £300,000 was found on board the ships of war, which were turned into British ships.

François de Grasse, later the famous Comte, was wounded in this first battle. He was taken prisoner among the crew and officers on La Gloire, which was captured.

File:Bataille du cap Ortegal mai 1747 panorama du combat.jpg

Following his victory, Anson was raised to the peerage. The French assembled another, much bigger, convoy which set sail in October. After Edward Hawke's defeat of this fleet in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre, the French naval operations were ended for the rest of the war.

According to American historian William Williamson's 1832 account, the battle was a

"most severe blow to the French interests in America. Besides immense property taken, there were found on board … numerous articles designed for the Acadians and Indians".{{cite book|title=The History of the State of Maine: From Its First Discovery, 1602, to the Separation, A.D. 1820, Inclusive|author=Williamson, W.D.|date=1832|volume=2|publisher=Glazier, Masters & Co.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEMlAAAAMAAJ|access-date=10 August 2019}}

File:Chevalier de Saint-George.jpg|Chevalier de Saint-George of Invincible surrenders his sword to Admiral Anson after the battle

File:Invincible 74 canons capture en 1747 au cap Ortegal.jpg|Print of Invincible captured after the battle

• Second Battle of Cape Finisterre
• Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)

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• {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Flag |volume=10 |pages=454–463 }}
• {{Cite AmCyc|title=Flag |volume=8 |page=250 |url=https://archive.org/stream/americancyclopae07ripluoft#page/249/mode/1up }}
• {{cite web |ref={{harvid|Vinkhuijzen collection|2011}} |orig-year=2004 |date=25 March 2011 |url=http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgdisplaylargemeta.cfm?strucID=585779&imageID=1236061&parent_id=585395&word=&s=¬word=&d=&c=&f=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&lword=&lfield=&num=0&imgs=12&total=98&pos=1&snum= |title= The Vinkhuijzen collection of military uniforms: France, 1750–1757 |publisher=New York Public Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406164952/http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?strucID=585779&imageID=1236061&parent_id=585395&word=&s=¬word=&d=&c=&f=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&lword=&lfield=&num=0&total=98&pos=1&snum=&e=w |archive-date=6 April 2015}}

• {{Commons category-inline|First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)}}

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Category:Conflicts in 1747

Category:Naval battles of the War of the Austrian Succession involving France

Category:Naval battles of the War of the Austrian Succession involving Great Britain

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