Action of 11 November 1779

Action of 11 November 1779
Part of the American Revolutionary War

Painting of Santa Margarita in British service
Date11 November 1779
Location38°41′56″N 9°06′50″W / 38.699°N 9.114°W / 38.699; -9.114
Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain Spain
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Graeme Andrés de Viana 
Strength
1 frigate 1 frigate
Casualties and losses
None 1 killed
3 wounded
1 frigate captured

The action of 11 November 1779 was fought between the Royal Navy frigate HMS Tartar and the Spanish Navy frigate Santa Margarita off Lisbon during the American Revolutionary War.[1][2]

On 11 November, Captain Alexander Graeme in Tartar, which was part of a squadron under Commodore George Johnstone, was off Lisbon when he sighted the 38-gun Spanish frigate Santa Margarita. Tartar, with the wind behind her, caught up and engaged the Spanish vessel. After around two hours of fighting Santa Margarita was almost dismasted when her captain Andrés de Viana decided to strike the colours.[3]

Santa Margarita was subsequently commissioned into the British navy under her existing name as a 36-gun frigate. She had a very long career, serving until 1836.[1]

Notes

  • Allen, Joseph (1853). Battles of the British Navy. Vol. 1. H.G. Bohn.
  • Beatson, Robert (1804). Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, From 1727 to 1783. Vol. 6. Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme.
  • Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5.

References

  1. ^ a b Winfield. British Warships. p. 213.
  2. ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 306.
  3. ^ Allen 255