Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1833) - The Battle

The Battle

Napier’s command was essentially a mere squadron of six ships: three frigates, a corvette, a brig and a schooner, mounting a total of 176 guns. (He had some small steamers under his command which he hoped to use as tugs, but they abandoned him while the two forces were becalmed on the 4th of July: thus the subsequent battle was perhaps the last engagement of consequence between two fleets of sailing warships.) On 5 July the wind eventually got up and at 4.00 p.m. he attacked the Miguelite force of 3 ships of the line, a frigate, a xebec, 3 corvettes and 2 brigs, mounting altogether 372 guns. Knowing he could not long sustain a cannonade from such a superior opponent, Napier closed against enemy fire and boarded, so that the battle was decided in hand-to-hand fighting. In the event the Liberal forces captured all three ships of the line, a frigate and a corvette, whose crews agreed to fight from now on for Maria II; another ship came over the next day; the remnant of the Miguelite force fled to Lisbon or Madeira. Napier’s losses were about 30 killed (including the captain of Rainha de Portugal and two other captains) and about 60 wounded (including Charles Elers Napier), as against somewhere between 200 and 300 of the enemy, including the Miguelite commander, Admiral Manuel António Marreiros. On 6 July, receiving news of the victory, Dom Pedro named Napier as Viscount Cape St Vincent in the peerage of Portugal. Immediately afterwards his fleet was ravaged by cholera (which was raging on mainland Portugal), with appalling loss of life, but he was able to bring it safe into Lisbon, which the Miguelistas had precipitately abandoned after being defeated by Terceira’s army advancing from the south at the Battle of Almada. Napier visited Rear-Admiral Sir William Parker of the British navy who was in the vicinity of the Tagus, and was received according to his Portuguese rank as an Admiral. Though he was subsequently struck off the Navy List at the insistence of the French, he was restored to his rank in the Royal Navy within two years and the Battle, largely won by British officers and crews fighting for Maria II, was viewed in England as bringing honour to the British navy. The sea victory, making possible the capture of Lisbon from the Miguelites, was the single most important event contributing to Miguel's eventual defeat and overthrow in 1834.