Battle of Puerto Cabello

Part of the War of Jenkins' Ear

Date	16 April 1743
Location	Puerto Cabello, Viceroyalty of New Granada present-day Venezuela
Result	Decisive Spanish victory

Belligerents

Great Britain

Spain

Commanders and leaders

Charles Knowles

Strength

Land:
4,000
infantry
sailors
Sea:
2 third-rates
2 fourth rates
1 fifth-rate
2 sixth-rates
1 sloop-of-war
1 bomb vessel
13 other vessels

Land:
2,000
infantry
militia
unknown artillery
1 castle
2 shore batteries
Sea:
1 blockship

Casualties and losses

300 killed or wounded
700 captured
2 ships sunk

Unknown human casualties
1 blockship scuttled

The Battle of Puerto Cabello was an attack on a Spanish colonial port during the War of Jenkins' Ear on 16 April 1743 and resulted in another defeat of British forces.

The British naval forces under commodore Sir Charles Knowles had failed against the Spaniards in the attack at La Guaira (2 March 1743). La Guaira was as it still is; the port of Caracas and an important shipping centre of Royal Gipuzkoan Company. It was believed by the Admiralty to be very weakly defended, an opinion possibly based on the report of the ships which attacked it in 1739.

Knowles prepared to sail toward a new Caribbean objective, Puerto Cabello. Puerto Cabello was the careening port of the Royal Gipuzkoan Company, whose ships had rendered great assistance to the Spanish navy during the war in carrying troops, arms, stores and ammunition from Spain to her colonies, and its destruction would be a severe blow both to the Company and the Spanish Crown. The Royal Navy fleet included:

HMS Suffolk 70 gun third-rate
HMS Burford 70 gun third-rate
HMS Norwich 50 gun fourth-rate
HMS Assistance 50 gun fourth-rate
HMS Eltham 40 gun fifth-rate
HMS Scarborough 24 gun sixth-rate
HMS Lively 20 gun sixth-rate
HMS Otter 14 gun sloop
HMS Comet 8 gun bomb vessel

Knowles and his fleet arrived from La Guaira four miles northeast of the Spanish port of Borburata, he first sent the bomb vessel HMS Comet to take up station inshore while he prepared the remainder of this expedition for an assault in Puerto Cabello. Around this time the Spaniards sighted HMS Otter and instantly raised the alarm. The next day the 50-gun HMS Norwich, the 40-gun HMS Eltham and the 20-gun Lively moved in to bombard two small Spanish batteries. This attack was intended to wear the batteries' defenders, after which a large force would be disembarked nearby under cover of darkness to overwhelm the isolated outposts and turn the artillery against San Felipe Castle, the harbour's main fortification.

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Wikipedia