Wager's Action
| Wagers Action | |||||||
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| Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||
 Action off Cartagena, 28 May 1708. Oil by Samuel Scott. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain
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 Pro-Bourbon Spain Kingdom of France
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Charles Wager
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José Fernández de Santillán Jean du Casse
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| Strength | |||||||
| 5 ships of the line 1 fireship |
3 galleons 14 merchants |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | 2 galleons lost 1 galleon scuttled |
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Wager's Action was a naval confrontation on 8 June 1708, between a British squadron under Charles Wager and the Spanish treasure fleet, as part of the War of Spanish Succession.
In the spring of 1708 Charles Wager was on an expedition in the Caribbean with a squadron of four ships :
In April the squadron took in supplies on the small island of Pequeña Barú, part of the Rosario Islands, just 30 miles away from Cartagena. Hereby the Spanish were aware of their presence, and the governor of Cartagena sent warnings to the Spanish fleet, which was anchored in Portobelo.
Nevertheless, the commander of the treasure fleet, José Fernández de Santillán, decided to sail from Portobelo to Cartagena on 28 May. He could not wait much longer as the hurricane season was approaching and the rest of the fleet, plus their escort under Jean Du Casse were waiting in Havana and threatened to leave without him.
The Spanish fleet was composed of fourteen merchant ships, a hulk lightly armed and three escorting warships:
The gold and silver was concentrated on the 3 largest vessels. The San José had 7 to 11 million pesos on board, and the San Joaquín 5 million. The Santa Cruz had the rest, only a fraction of the other two ships.
The Spanish fleet reached Isla de Barú on the evening of 7 June and anchored there. The next day there was very little wind, and around 3 p.m. they noticed Wager's squadron approaching. The Spanish took up defensive positions, but the English knew they had to attack the largest ships, because they had the most money on board.
The Kingston attacked the San Joaquín around 5 p.m. which, after two hours of battle, escaped into the night with the help of the Concepción.
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Wikipedia