Battle of Cape Spartel

Battle of Cape Spartel
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Relief of Gibraltar by Earl Howe, 11 October 1782, by Richard Paton
Date 20 October 1782 Location Off Cape Spartel, present-day Morocco Result Indecisive; Retreat of the British fleet; Supply route to Gibraltar remains open
Belligerents
Kingdom of Great Britain	Kingdom of Spain  Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
Richard Howe	Luis de Córdova
Strength
35 ships of the line 2,612 guns	38 ships of the line 2,604 guns
Casualties and losses
68 killed 208 wounded	59 killed 301 wounded

Indecisive;

35 ships of the line

38 ships of the line

The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully resupplied Gibraltar, then under siege by Bourbon forces during the American Revolutionary War.

When Spain entered the American War of Independence in 1779, one of its principal objectives was the capture of Gibraltar from Great Britain. Shortly after war was declared, forces of Spain and France began the Great Siege of Gibraltar, blockading land access to the peninsula and enacting a somewhat porous naval blockade. Britain successfully resupplied Gibraltar in both 1780 and 1781, and recognized the need to do so again in 1782. The matter was seen as a critical by British political and military leaders, because Spain was seeking cession of the territory in peace talks.

The British Channel Fleet, which was under the command of Admiral Richard Howe, had a number of conflicting objectives to manage in the summer 1782. In addition to protecting the English Channel from Franco-Spanish incursions, the fleet also had to deal with the possibility of Dutch action on the North Sea against the transport of critical naval supplies from the Baltic, and it was expected to protect the convoy that would resupply Gibraltar. Even though intelligence received on 25 August indicated the Dutch fleet was in port at Texel, ten ships of the line were despatched to the North Sea while the convoy for Gibraltar took shape at Spithead. These ships returned to port on 4 September.

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