Battle of Santa Cruz
- When
- 1797
- Where
- Canary Islands; Spanish port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Episodes
- 3
During the failed Royal Navy amphibious assault on Santa Cruz de Tenerife in July 1797, Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson was wounded in the arm, which was subsequently partially amputated—a lasting reminder of the defeat.
Episodes
- Nelson wounded in the arm
Nelson was wounded in the arm during the assault; the arm was subsequently partially amputated, a stigma he carried to his grave.
- Nelson's squadron sails for the Canaries
Nelson departed for the Canary Islands on 14 July 1797 with a mixed squadron of ships of the line, frigates, a cutter, and a mortar boat.
- Amphibious assault on Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Nelson launched the amphibious assault on 22 July 1797; it was defeated, and the landing party withdrew under truce on 25 July after losing several hundred men.
Background and detail
Background. Encouraged by an earlier success, Admiral Jervis dispatched a small squadron under the recently promoted Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson with the aim of seizing Santa Cruz by means of an amphibious attack on the Spanish port city in the Canary Islands.
The Squadron Sails. On 14 July 1797 Nelson sailed for the Canaries aboard his flagship HMS Theseus, leading a squadron of 74-gun ships including HMS Culloden and HMS Zealous, frigates HMS Seahorse, HMS Emerald, and HMS Terpsichore, the hired armed cutter Fox, and the mortar boat Ray.
Aftermath and Memory. The assault was defeated, and the landing party withdrew under a truce on 25 July, having lost several hundred men. Nelson's wound became a stigma he carried to his grave. Today a cannon reputed to have injured him, El Tigre, is displayed in Santa Cruz, and the battle is reenacted each July.
People involved
- Horatio Nelson · Rear-Admiral commanding the assault; wounded in the arm
- Jervis · Admiral who dispatched Nelson's squadron
- Captain Miller · Captain of HMS Theseus, Nelson's flagship
- Captain Troubridge · Captain of HMS Culloden
- Captain Hood · Captain of HMS Zealous
- Captain Fremantle · Captain of HMS Seahorse
- Captain Waller · Captain of HMS Emerald
- Captain Bowen · Captain of HMS Terpsichore
- Lieutenant John Gibson · Commander of the hired armed cutter Fox
- Lieutenant Crompton · Commander of the mortar boat Ray
Sources
- Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-23
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.