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Admiral John Jervis and a young Horatio Nelson shattered a larger Spanish fleet
1797 Event

February 14

Battle of Cape St Vincent: British Navy Smashes the Spanish Fleet

Admiral John Jervis and a young Horatio Nelson shattered a larger Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent near Gibraltar, with Nelson personally boarding and capturing two enemy ships in succession. The audacious victory prevented Spain from linking its fleet with the French, preserving British control of the Atlantic at a desperate moment in the Radical Wars. Nelson's reckless bravery vaulted him from relative obscurity to national fame.

February 14, 1797

229 years ago

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