action of 8 January 1780
{{Short description|1780 naval battle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict = Action of 8 January 1780
|image = File:George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney - Project Gutenberg eText 18314.jpg
|image_size = 220px
|caption = George Rodney. Engraving from Edward Francis Finden
|partof=the American Revolutionary War
|date=8 January 1780
|place=off Cape Finisterre
|coordinates = {{coord|43|00|N|20|15|W|source:kolossus-ruwiki|display=inline}}
|result=British victory
|combatant1={{flagicon|Spain|1701}} Spain
|combatant2={{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
|commander1={{flagicon|Spain|1701}} Don Juan Augustín de Yardi{{POW}}
|commander2={{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} George Rodney
|strength1=1 ship of the line
4 frigates
2 small warships
15 merchant ships
|strength2=20 ships of the line
6 frigates
|casualties1=All ships captured Basil p.218
|casualties2=Light
|campaignbox=
{{Campaignbox Anglo-Spanish War (1779)}}
}}
The action of 8 January 1780 was a naval encounter off Cape Finisterre between a British Royal Naval fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warshipsSyrett (2007), p. 304Syrett (1998), p. 85 of the Guipuzcoan Caracas Company, under the command of Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi. During the action the entire Spanish convoy was captured. Rodney's fleet was en route to relieve Gibraltar, and this action took place several days before Rodney's engagement and defeat of a Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
Background
{{main|Great Siege of Gibraltar}}
One of Spain's principal goals upon its entry into the American Revolutionary War in 1779 was the recovery of Gibraltar, which had been lost to England in 1704.Chartrand, pp. 12, 30 The Spanish consequently planned to retake Gibraltar by blockading and starving out its garrison, which included troops from Britain and the Electorate of Hanover.Chartrand, pp. 23, 30–31, 37 The siege formally began in June 1779, with the Spanish establishing a land blockade around The Rock.Chartrand, p. 30 The matching naval blockade was comparatively weak, and the British discovered that small fast ships could evade the blockaders, while slower and larger supply ships generally could not. By late 1779, however, supplies in Gibraltar had become seriously depleted, and General George Eliott appealed to London for relief.Chartrand, p. 37
A supply convoy was organized, and in late December 1779 a large fleet sailed from England under the command of Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney. Although Rodney's final destination was the West Indies, he had secret instructions to first resupply Gibraltar and Menorca.Syrett (2007), p. 237
Action
On 4 January Rodney parted with the ship of the line {{HMS|Hector|1774|6}} under Sir John Hamilton, and the frigates {{HMS|Phoenix|1759|6}}, {{HMS|Andromeda|1777|6}} and {{HMS|Greyhound|1773|6}} under Captains Hyde Parker, H. Bryne and William Dickson respectively, to escort the West Indies-bound merchants.{{cite book |last=Beatson |title=Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain|pages=232–3}}Syrett (2007), p. 303 The following day Rodney encountered a Spanish convoy consisting of 22 ships, bound from San Sebastián to Cádiz.{{London Gazette|page=1|issue=12056|date=8 January 1780}}
He closed on them, the copper sheathing on some of his ships allowing them to outsail the Spanish. The whole convoy was captured, except for one merchant vessel.{{London Gazette|page=2 |issue=12050|date=18 January 1780}} Vessels which had been carrying naval stores to the Spanish fleet at Cádiz, and baled goods for the Royal Guipuzcoan Caracas Company were sent back to England, escorted by {{HMS|America|1777|6}} and {{HMS|Pearl|1762|6}}.{{cite book |last=Syrett |title=The Rodney papers: Selections from the Correspondence of Admiral Lord Rodney|pages=304–5}}
Aftermath
Rodney found the Spanish ships to be carrying provisions useful to Gibraltar and so used them to relieve the British forces there. In addition Rodney commissioned and manned the captured Spanish flagship, the 64-gun Guipuzcoana, naming her {{HMS|Prince William|1780|6}}, in honour of Prince William, who was present at the engagement.{{cite book |last=Winfield |title=British Warships of the Age of Sail |page=101}} Rodney remarked in his despatches to the Admiralty that the loss of the ships "must greatly distress the enemy, who I am well informed are in much want of provisions and naval stores". Several days later Rodney engaged and defeated a Spanish fleet under Don Juan de Lángara at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, on 16 January 1780, before going on to relieve Gibraltar and Menorca. The 16-gun San Fermin that was captured in this action was also commissioned to serve in the Royal Navy, and then would be recovered by the Spanish in April 1781.
Ships involved
=British fleet=
- {{HMS|Sandwich|1759|6}} (90) Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney, Captain Walter Young
- {{HMS|Prince George|1772|6}} (98) Rear-Admiral Robert Digby, Captain Philip Patton
- {{HMS|Royal George|1756|6}} (100) Rear-Admiral John Lockhart Ross, Captain J. Bourmaster
- {{HMS|Alcide|1779|6}} (74) Captain J. Brisbane
- {{HMS|Ajax|1767|6}} (74) Captain S. Uvedale
- {{HMS|Bedford|1775|6}} (74) Captain Edmund Affleck
- {{HMS|Culloden|1776|6}} (74) Captain George Balfour
- {{HMS|Cumberland|1774|6}} (74) Captain J. Peyton
- {{HMS|Edgar|1779|6}} (74) Captain John Elliot
- {{HMS|Montagu|1779|6}} (74) Captain J. Houlton
- {{HMS|Monarch|1765|6}} (74) Captain Adam Duncan
- {{HMS|Shrewsbury|1758|6}} (74) Captain Mark Robinson
- {{HMS|Terrible|1762|6}} (74) Captain J. Douglas
- {{HMS|Resolution|1770|6}} (74) Captain Chaloner Ogle
- {{HMS|Invincible|1765|6}} (74) Captain S. Cornish
- {{HMS|Defence|1763|6}} (74) Captain James Cranston
- {{HMS|Marlborough|1767|6}} (74) Captain T. Penny
- {{HMS|Dublin|1757|6}} (74) Captain S. Wallis
- {{HMS|America|1777|6}} (64) Captain S. Thompson
- {{HMS|Bienfaisant|1758|6}} (64) Captain John MacBride
- {{HMS|Convert|1778|6}} (32) Captain Henry Harvey
- {{HMS|Pearl|1762|6}} (28) Captain George Montagu
- {{HMS|Triton|1773|6}} (24) Captain Skeffington Lutwidge
- {{HMS|Pegasus|1779|6}} (24) Captain John Bazely
- {{HMS|Porcupine|1777|6}} (24) Captain Lord Hugh Seymour
- {{HMS|Hyaena|1778|6}} (24) Captain Edward Thomson
=Spanish fleet=
==Caracas Company warships==
- Guipuzcoano (64) Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi, Captain Don Tomás de Malay
- San Carlos (32) Captain Don Firmin Urtizberea
- San Rafael (30) Captain Don Luis Aranburu
- Santa Teresa (28) Captain Don Jose J. de Mendizabal
- San Bruno (26) Captain J. M. de Goicoechea
- San Fermín (16) Captain J. Vin. Eloy Sanchez
- San Vicente (10) Captain Don José de Ugalde
==Merchants==
- Nuestra Señora de L'Oves
- San Francisco
- La Concepción
- San Nicolás
- San Jerónimo
- Divina Providencia
- San Gavilán
- San Pacora
- San Lauren
- La Providencia
- La Bellona
- Esperanza
- Le Cidada de Mercia
- La Amistad
- San Miguel
References
=Citations=
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book| last = Allen| first = Joseph| year = 1853| title = Battles of the British Navy| publisher =H.G. Bohn| volume=1}}
- {{cite book| last = Beatson| first = Robert| year = 1804| title = Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, From 1727 to 1783| publisher =Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme| volume=6}}
- {{cite book |last=Chartrand |first=René |others=Courcelle, Patrice |title=Gibraltar 1779–1783: The Great Siege |year=2006 |url=http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php/title=S9770 |edition=1st |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-84176-977-6 |oclc=255272192 |access-date=15 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003243/http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php/title=S9770 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=-cEePmTtgg0C&q=January+1780&pg=PA218 The life and correspondence of the late Admiral Lord Rodney, Volume 1] By Godfrey Basil Mundy
- {{cite book| last = Syrett| first = David| year = 1998| title = The Royal Navy in European waters during the American Revolutionary War| publisher = Univ of South Carolina Press| isbn = 1-57003-238-6| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/royalnavyineurop00syre}}
- {{cite book| last = Syrett| first = David| year = 2007| title = The Rodney Papers: Selections from the Correspondence of Admiral Lord Rodney | publisher =Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.| volume=2|isbn=978-0-7546-6007-1}}
- {{cite book | last = Winfield| first = Rif|title = British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates | publisher = Seaforth| year = 2007|isbn=978-1-86176-295-5}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action of 8 January 1780}}
Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain
Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Spain