Episode 2 of 2
Action Off Cape Santa Maria
- When
- 5 October 1804
- Where
- Off Cabo de Santa Maria
The British squadron engaged the Spanish frigates, sinking La Mercedes and capturing the remaining three ships.
At dawn on 5 October, the Spanish frigates sighted the coast of Portugal. Moore sent Lieutenant Ascott to the Spanish flagship Medea to explain his orders. The action resulted in the destruction of one Spanish frigate and the capture of the other three, preventing the gold from reaching Spain.
Sources
- Action of 5 October 1804 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-21
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.