Action of 31 May 1762
Action of 31 May 1762 | |
---|---|
Part of the Cadiz, Spain | |
Result | British victory[1] |
Philemon Pownoll
1 Sloop
The action of 31 May 1762 was a minor naval engagement that took place off the Spanish coast off
Background
The war with Spain was only four months old when the Royal Navy sent a blockading force to the Spanish coast. The blockade aimed to block the dispatch of Spanish reinforcements to the
Action
On 15 May 1762 Captain
The Hermione, under Lieutenant Juan de Zabaleta, had sailed from Callao, west of Lima on 6 January 1762, before, and probably ignorant of, the declaration of the Anglo-Spanish War. On sighting the Active and Favourite in the morning, the officers were slow to prepare for battle, only relocating officers and passengers to make way for the gunners by ten o'clock. The guns were not prepared, and the path to the powder magazine was cluttered. At one in the afternoon, the British ships tacked and started to head toward the Hermione. At three o'clock Lieutenant Francisco Javier Morales de los Rios, in charge of artillery, warned Zabaleta to call battle stations who inexplicably responded by refusing to do so until after dinner at five o'clock.[5][6]
The British vessels came up beside Herminone and fired a few rounds. The Spanish replied with a broadside, and then both Active and Favourite let loose their broadsides.[7] Soon Hermione only had her mizzen mast still standing. As his casualties rose, and having lost the ability to manoeuvre, the Spanish captain struck.[1][2]
There was confusion and misunderstanding between the Spanish officers, and the Hermione only managed two broadsides. When Zabaleta struck his colours, he stated that the English had confused the Hermione for a French frigate, though Morales was preparing to continue fire. When the English boarded, Lieutenant Zabaleta surrendered without the agreement of the other officers.[5][6]
The British soon took possession; only then did they realize this was no ordinary frigate as they discovered the riches on board.[1][2] Hermione had been bound for Cadiz with a cargo of bags of dollars, gold coin, ingots of gold and silver, cocoa, and blocks of tin.[4][8]
Her captors took Hermione into Gibraltar. She was eventually condemned as a prize, with her contents, hull, and fittings valued at
Consequences
Sawyer and Pownoll were now suddenly extremely wealthy. Pownoll used his money to buy the
In contrast, on returning to Spain, Zabaleta was tried in a court-martial held aboard the Guerrero in the port of Cadiz and sentenced to death. He was later pardoned by Charles III of Spain and instead dismissed from the Navy and served ten years in prison despite an appeal for his release and an offer to fund the construction of a frigate to replace the lost vessel. Morales de los Rios was suspended for two years, during which he served in Xebecs. Another officer, Lieutenant Lucas Galves, was suspended for one year.[5][6]
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ ASIN B009ZMMQ56.
- ^ ISBN 9781841623221.
- ^ Laughton, J. K.; Gwyn, rev. Julian. "Sawyer, Herbert". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c d Wareham, Tom. "Pownoll, Philemon". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ tertiary sourcereuses information from other sources without citing them in detail.
- ^ tertiary sourcereuses information from other sources without citing them in detail.
- Lloyd's Evening Post and British Chronicle. 6 August 1762. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009.[verification needed]
- ^ "The Monthly Chronologer". The London Magazine. 1762. p. 396.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Nelson and His Navy - Prize Money". The Historical Maritime Society. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- Bibliography
- Clowes, William Laird. (2003). The Royal Navy: v. 3: A History - From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1861760128.