N efson at Santa Cruz:
A Minor Battfe of Major Importance by Joseph F. Callo
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ice Admiral Lord Horati o Ne lson is a larger than li fe hi storica l fi gure, best known fo r hi s unparalleled series of victories at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, Copenhage n in 180 I and Trafal gar in 1805. However, the Battle of Santa C ru z in 1797, in which Nelson led an attack on that city in Spain 's Canary Islands, was ac tuall y a crushing defeat--one that almost ended hi s career. An analys is of that littl e-known battle y ie lds important insights into an amazing li fe .
Prelu de to Battle In February of 1797, during the Battl e of Cape St. Vincent, Ne lson as toni shed both fr iend and foe by turning hi s ship, HMS Captain , out of the British li neahead form ation . It was a startling breach of the Roya l Navy's Fi ghting Instructi ons of the time. But hi s career-ri sking acti on created an opportunity fo r the rest of the Briti sh fo rce to engage the Spanish ships close ly, and a major British victory res ulted. His commander-in -chi ef at the time, Admira l Sir John Jervis, prai sed Nelson fo r hi s bo ld maneuver. When another captain comp lained that Ne lson had violated the almost sacred Royal Navy Fighting Instructions, Jervis said , " It certain ly was so, and if ever yo u commit such a breach ... I will fo rg ive you also." Following the events at Cape St. Vincent, which included the dramatic capture of two Spani sh ships-of-the- line by Ne lson, he was kni ghted , ho isted hi s new rear admiral 's fl ag aboard the 74-gun HMS Theseus and continued to operate in the Mediterranean under Jervis. In earl y Jul y, while commanding a small , inde pendent squadron , Nelson undertook a bombardment of Cadiz. During that miss ion, he led a ni ght attack against Spani sh gunboats, di stingui shing himself in hand-to-hand combat with the crew of a Spanish launch. Jervis's descriptio n o f the action sa id , " Notwithstanding the great di sproportion of numbers, 18 of the enemy were killed, all the rest wounded , and the ir launch taken. " A by- product of the Cape St. Vincent and Cadi z successes was a sense of in vi ncibil ity that infl uenced Nelson 's planning fo r, and actions at, Santa Cruz.
nary Island s. In the ir tim es, D ra ke, Haw kins and Bl ake had all attacked the city, and Bl ake had achieved a notable success in 1657 , des troyi ng a sizable Spani sh fl eet there. Nelson recognized that Blake had benefited fro m an onshore wind during that earlier attac k and rea lized that he could not re ly on the same condi tions in the fu ture. Presumab ly, that was a consideration when in Apri I 1797 Nelson proposed a pl an fo r an assault against Santa Cru z that wo uld include major arm y units and that would not depend on idea l weather. But the troops were not fo rthcoming, and in June, Admi ralJerv isasked Nelson if he was willing to try the attack as a strictl y naval operati on. Nelson, in a characteristic response, said that with 200 ex tra marines, and "with General T roubridge as hore and myself afloat, I am confi dent of s uccess. " At that time, T homas T ro ubridge was captain of the Culloden, one of the ships-of-the- line in Ne lson 's squadron . The fac t that two British frigates had successfull y cut out the French fr igate Mutine during an attac k on Santa C ru z in May probabl y contributed further to Nelson's cocki ness about the project.
Initial Phases of the Battle On 15 Jul y, Ne lson departed from the Mediterranean with eight ships. In addi tion to the Th eseus, there were the 74gun Culloden, the 74-gun Zea lous, the
50-gun Leander, the 38-gun Seahorse, the 36-gun Emerald, the 32-gun Terpsichore and the 10-gun Fox. Nelson'sorders from Jervis were typi call y general for the time, when bas ic communi cati on coul d take weeks or months. The objective was to capture a Spani sh treasure ship believed to be in Santa Cru z, and to " ... take, burn, sink or otherwise destroy all enemy vessels of every descripti on." Ne lson's pl an was straightfo rward , and its success depended heav il y on surpri se. On 22 Jul y, Ne lson arri ved within sight of Tenerife 's Mount Te ide. He intended to keep the ships-of-the-lineTheseus, Culloden, Zealous and Leander--o ut of sight, while the smaller
ships-Seahorse, Emerald, Terpsichore and Fox-would work inshore under the cover of dark ness. The inshore ships wo uld launch an assa ult on two fo rts to the northeast of Santa Cru z, where volcani c roc k and heavy surf line the coast. Ne lson planned fo r the fri gates to disembark the assa ult fo rce, ro ughl y 1,000 strong, under Troubridge. He antic ipated that the assault force wo uld overrun the fo rts, and at daw n the shipsof-the- line would enter the harbor and bombard the c ity's defenses. Ne lson be lieved that the combined action would quickl y cause the city's capitul atio n. The first problem was the wi nd, which was strong and offshore. As a res ult, the
The Bri1ishflee1, commanded by then Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, attacks Santa Cru: on 1he island of Tenerife in !he Canaries, 24 July 1797. Painting by Esleban Arriaga, 1995 . Courlesy Muse0Mi!i1ar Regional de Canarias , Santa Cruz, Tene rife.
Background Circumstances Santa Cru z is the main harbor of the island of Tenerife, one of the major CaSEA HISTORY 79, AUT UMN 1996
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