Battle between the Spanish ship of line San Francisco de Asís and three British frigates and a sloop during the action of 25 January 1797.
History
Spanish flag 1748-1785 Spanish flag 1785-1873
NameSan Francisco de Asis
NamesakeSaint Francis of Assisi
LaunchedGuarnizo (Cantabria), 1767
FateWrecked 23 October 1805
General characteristics
Class and type74-gun third rate

San Francisco de Asis was a Spanish 74-gun ship of the line launched in 1767 from the royal shipyard in Guarnizo (Cantabria). She was wrecked after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 near Puerto de Santa Maria.

History

On January 25, 1797, the San Francisco de Asís, under the command of Captain Alonso de Torres y Guerra, was on patrol off the coast of Cádiz for the protection of Spanish ships arriving with goods from America when it was attacked by three British frigates and a corvette. The Spanish ship faced them in hard combat and despite the inequality of forces, the San Francisco de Asís made the English ships flee causing them various damages and without hardly suffering them.[1][2] The ship was repaired and on February 14 of that same year took part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

Later it participated in the Battle of Trafalgar under the command of Captain Luis Antonio Flores. He did not perform much because of his unfavorable position in the course of the combat. After the battle and after repairing some of the breakdowns caused throughout the war, he went out again with several Spanish and French ships to try to dam the ships captured by the English, managing to dam the Santa Ana and Neptune. Later it sinks on the coast of Puerto de Santa María as a result of the storm that followed the combat. The number of casualties it had were 5 men killed and 12 wounded.

References

  1. ↑ Gaceta de Madrid no 11, p. 105. 7 February 1797
  2. ↑ Historia del Navío de línea San Francisco de Asís Todo a Babor. Revista de Historia Naval

Bibliography

  • John D. Harbron Trafalgar and the Spanish Navy (1988) ISBN 0-87021-695-3
  • Winfield, Rif; Tredrea, John M; García-Torralba Pérez, Enrique & Blasco Felip, Manuel (2023). Spanish Warships in the Age of Sail 1700—1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9078-1.
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