Battle of Havana (1762) - Spanish Preparations

Spanish Preparations

Before involving his country in the conflict raging in Europe and across the world, King Carlos III of Spain made provisions to defend the Spanish colonies against the British navy. For the defence of Cuba, he appointed Juan de Prado as commander-in-chief. De Prado arrived at Havana in February 1761 and began work to improve the fortifications of the city.

In June 1761, a flotilla of seven ships of the line under the command of Admiral Gutierre de Hevia arrived at Havana, transporting two regular infantry regiments (España and Aragón) totalling some 1,000 men. However, yellow fever quick reduced the defending forces, and by the time of the siege, they had been reduced to 3,850 soldiers, 5,000 sailors and marines and 2,800 militia. The main garrison consisted of:

• España Infantry Regiment (481)
• Aragón Infantry Regiment (265)
• Havana Infantry Regiment (856)
• Edinburgh's Dragoons (150)
• Army's gunners (104)
• Marines and navy's gunners (750)

Havana had one of the finest harbours in the West Indies. It could easily accommodate up to 100 ships of the line. A 180m wide and 800m long entrance channel gave access to the harbour, and Havana housed important shipyards capable of building first-rate men of war.

Two strong fortresses defended the entrance channel; on the north side of the channel stood the very strong Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro (known in English as Morro Castle on the rocky Cavannos Ridge. It had 64 heavy guns and was garrisoned by 700 men. The south side was defended by the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta. The channel could also be blocked by a boom chain extending from El Morro to La Punta. Havana itself lay on the south side along the channel and was surrounded by a wall 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long.