Action of 10 December 1800 | |||||||
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Part of the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
Spanish Gun-boat circa 1800 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Spain | Kingdom of Great Britain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Miguel Villalba | Lieut. Charles I. Nevin | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 Gun-boat (3 guns) |
1 Brig (16 guns) 40 men | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown, minor |
1 Brig captured 3 dead 10 wounded |
|
The Action of 10 December 1800 was a minor engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between a hired brig of the Royal Navy commanded by Lieutenant Charles Nevin and a Spanish gunboat under Don Miguel Villalba. On the 10 December, the British 16-gun brig Admiral Pasley, armed with two 6-pounder long guns and fourteen 12-pounder carronades, was sailing off Ceuta on her passage from England to Gibraltar with despatches.[1] A 3-gun gunboat from Algeciras sighted her and rushed to fight Nevin.[2] After a defence that lasted an hour and a half, and with the brig cut to pieces by the long gun of the Spanish ship, Villalba boarded and captured the brig.[3][4] Other references state that there were two Spanish gun-boats, and that having previously throw overboard her despatches, Charles Nevin struck to the Spanish.[5]
Nevin faced a court-martial for the loss of his ship and was honourably and deservedly acquitted.[6]
Notes[]
- ↑ Gosset p.30
- ↑ Sources say that this ship could had intercepted the brig, sailing from Ceuta
- ↑ Duro p.243
- ↑ James p.59
- ↑ James p.38
- ↑ James p.38
References[]
- Patrick Gosset, William (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793–1900. New York, United States: London & New York: Mansell Publishers.
- Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1902). Armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón. 8. Madrid, Spain: Est. tipográfico "Sucesores de Rivadeneyra".
- William James. The naval history of Great Britain, from 1793 to 1820[1]
External links[]
The original article can be found at Action of 10 December 1800 and the edit history here.