Action of 7 December 1804 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action of 7 December 1804 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 Spain |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John Lawford Graham Hamond |
Juan José Salomón | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 Ship of the line 1 Frigate |
1 Frigate | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| light | 1 frigate captured | ||||||
The Action of 7 December 1804 was a small naval battle. It happened early in the Napoleonic Wars. Two British Royal Navy ships captured a Spanish frigate.
The British ships were HMS Polyphemus, a large 64-gun ship-of-the-line, and HMS Lively, a 38-gun frigate. Captain John Lawford commanded Polyphemus. Captain Graham Hamond commanded Lively. They captured the Spanish frigate Santa Gertrudis. This happened near Cape Santa Maria, off the coast of Portugal.
The Battle Begins
War had started between Britain, France, and Spain in 1804. The British ships Polyphemus and Lively were sailing near Spain. They had already captured a few Spanish ships.
On December 7, 1804, they saw a ship in the distance. It was off the coast of Cape Santa Maria. The Polyphemus and Lively quickly sailed towards it.
A Quick Capture
The British ships caught up to the Spanish frigate. After a short fight, the Spanish captain saw that he could not win. He decided to surrender. To show this, his crew lowered their flag. This is called "striking the colours."
The captured ship was the Santa Gertrudis. It was a frigate designed for 40 guns. However, it only had 14 guns on board at the time. The Santa Gertrudis was sailing from Peru and Mexico to Coruna, Spain.
After the Battle
After the capture, a strong storm hit the ships. The Santa Gertrudis was damaged. But it still managed to reach Plymouth, England, on January 10, 1805. Another British ship, the Harriet, helped tow it in.
The Santa Gertrudis was carrying a lot of valuable cargo. It had $1,215,000 in money and other goods. The British captains and crews shared this money. This made the captains very rich.
The Royal Navy took the Santa Gertrudis into its service. They renamed her HMS Santa Gertruda. However, the ship was already 40 years old. So, it was not used for fighting. Instead, it became a "receiving ship." This means it was used as a place for new sailors to stay before joining their main ships.
See also
In Spanish: Acción del 7 de diciembre de 1804 para niños
