First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)

First Battle of Cape Finisterre
	Part of the War of the Austrian Succession
	; Lord Anson's victory off Cape Finisterre, Samuel Scott
Date	14 May 1747
Location	Off Cape Finisterre, Atlantic Ocean
Result	British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France[1]
Commanders and leaders
George Anson	Pierre Jonquière
Strength
14 ships of the line ; 1 frigate ; 1 sloop ; 1 fireship	4 ships of the line ; 8 frigates ; 4 corvettes ; 30 merchant ships
Casualties and losses
520 killed and wounded[2]	800 killed and wounded ; 3,000 captured ; 4 ships of the line captured ; 4 frigates captured ; 4 corvettes captured ; 6 merchantmen captured[2]

The First Battle of Cape Finisterre (14 May 1747[3]) was waged during the War of the Austrian Succession. It refers to the attack by 14 British ships of the line under Admiral George Anson against a French 30-ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière. The French were attempting to protect their merchant ships by using warships with them. The British captured 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates, and 7 merchantmen, in a five-hour battle in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. One French frigate, one French East India Company warship, and the other merchantmen escaped.

Events

Prelude

France needed to keep shipping lanes open in order to maintain her overseas empire. To this end she assembled merchantmen into convoys protected by warships. Anson on Prince George and Rear-Admiral Sir Peter Warren on Devonshire had sailed from Plymouth on 9 April to intercept French shipping. When a large convoy was sighted, Anson made the signal to form line of battle. Rear-Admiral Warren, suspecting the enemy to be manoeuvring to promote the escape of the convoy, bore down and communicated his opinion to the admiral; the latter threw out a signal for a general chase.

Battle

Centurion under a press of sail, was the first to come up to the rearmost French ship, which she attacked severely, and two other ships dropped astern to her support. The action became general when three more British ships, including Devonshire, came up. The French, though much inferior in numbers, fought till seven in the evening, when all but two of their ships were taken, as well as nine East India merchantmen. The French lost 700 men killed and wounded, and the British 520. Over £300,000 was found on board the ships of war, which were turned into British ships.

François de Grasse, later the famous Comte, was wounded in this first battle. He was taken prisoner among the crew and officers on La Gloire, which was captured.

Panoramic sketch of the battle

Aftermath

Following his victory, Anson was raised to the peerage. The French assembled another, much bigger, convoy which set sail in October. After Edward Hawke's defeat of this fleet in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre, the French naval operations were ended for the rest of the war.

According to American historian William Williamson's 1832 account, the battle was a

"most severe blow to the French interests in America. Besides immense property taken, there were found on board … numerous articles designed for the Acadians and Indians".[4]

Chevalier de Saint-George of Invincible surrenders his sword to Admiral Anson after the battle
Print of Invincible captured after the battle

Order of battle

Britain

Vice-Admiral Anson's fleet[5]
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Prince George	90	Vice-Admiral George Anson Captain John Bentley	Not engaged
Devonshire	66	Rear-Admiral Peter Warren Captain Temple West
Namur	74	Captain Hon. Edward Boscawen
Monmouth	64	Captain Henry Harrison	Not engaged
Prince Frederick	64	Captain Harry Norris	Not engaged
Yarmouth	64	Captain Piercy Brett
Princess Louisa	60	Captain Charles Watson	Not engaged
Nottingham	60	Captain Philip de Saumarez	Not engaged
Defiance	60	Captain Thomas Grenville †
Pembroke	60	Captain Thomas Fincher
Windsor	60	Captain Thomas Hanway
Centurion	50	Captain Peter Denis
Falkland	50	Captain Blumfield Barradall	Not engaged
Bristol	50	Captain Hon. William Montagu
Ambuscade	40	Captain John Montagu	Not engaged
Falcon	10	Commander Richard Gwynn	Not engaged
Vulcan	8	Commander William Pettigrew	Fireship, not engaged

France

Chef d'escadre de la Jonquière's fleet[5]
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Diamant	30	Captain Toussaint Hocquart	Captured
Philibert	30	Captain Jacques Lars de Lescouet	French East India Company ship, captured
Vigilant	20	Captain Pierre Bourau de Vauneulon	FEIC ship, captured
Chiméne	36	Unknown captain	FEIC ship
Rubis	52	Captain Macarty	En flute, captured
Jason	50	Captain Beccart	Captured
Sérieux	64	Chef d'escadre the Marquis de la Jonquière Captain Charles-Alexandre Morell d'Aubigny	Captured
Invincible	74	Captain Jacques-François Grout de Saint-Georges	Captured
Apollon	30	Captain Noël	FEIC ship, captured
Thétis	22	Captain Masson	FEIC ship, captured
Modeste	18	Captain Thiercelin	FEIC ship, captured
Gloire	40	Captain de Saliez †	Captured
Emeraude	40	Captain Clément de Taffanel de La Jonquière	Not in line of battle
Dartmouth	18	Unknown captain	Not in line of battle, captured

Notes

- "...the standard of France was white, sprinkled with golden fleur de lis..." (Ripley & Dana 1879, p. 250).
- On the reverse of this plate it says: "Le pavillon royal était véritablement le drapeau national au dix-huitième siecle...Vue du chateau d'arrière d'un vaisseau de guerre de haut rang portant le pavillon royal (blanc, avec les armes de France)" (Vinkhuijzen collection 2011).
- "The oriflamme and the Chape de St Martin were succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III., the last of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous tricolour"(Chisholm 1911, p. 460).
Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British navy, Volume 1. London: Henry G. Bohn. p. 160.
in the Julian calendar then in use in Britain this was 3 May 1747
Williamson, W.D. (1832). The History of the State of Maine: From Its First Discovery, 1602, to the Separation, A. D. 1820, Inclusive. Vol. 2. Glazier, Masters & Company. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
Clowes, William Laird (1898). The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. 3. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company. p. 125.

References

Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Flag" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 454–463.
Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Flag". The American Cyclopædia. Vol. 8. p. 250.
"The Vinkhuijzen collection of military uniforms: France, 1750-1757". New York Public Library. 25 March 2011 [2004]. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015.

External links

Media related to First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747) at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] "...the standard of France was white, sprinkled with golden fleur de lis..." (Ripley & Dana 1879, p. 250).

On the reverse of this plate it says: "Le pavillon royal était véritablement le drapeau national au dix-huitième siecle...Vue du chateau d'arrière d'un vaisseau de guerre de haut rang portant le pavillon royal (blanc, avec les armes de France)" (Vinkhuijzen collection 2011).

"The oriflamme and the Chape de St Martin were succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III., the last of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous tricolour"(Chisholm 1911, p. 460).

[2] "...the standard of France was white, sprinkled with golden fleur de lis..." (Ripley & Dana 1879, p. 250).

[3] On the reverse of this plate it says: "Le pavillon royal était véritablement le drapeau national au dix-huitième siecle...Vue du chateau d'arrière d'un vaisseau de guerre de haut rang portant le pavillon royal (blanc, avec les armes de France)" (Vinkhuijzen collection 2011).

[4] "The oriflamme and the Chape de St Martin were succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III., the last of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous tricolour"(Chisholm 1911, p. 460).

[google160-2] Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British navy, Volume 1. London: Henry G. Bohn. p. 160.

[3] the Julian calendar then in use in Britain this was 3 May 1747

[google-4] Williamson, W.D. (1832). The History of the State of Maine: From Its First Discovery, 1602, to the Separation, A. D. 1820, Inclusive. Vol. 2. Glazier, Masters & Company. Retrieved 10 August 2019.

[Clowes1-5] Clowes, William Laird (1898). The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. 3. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company. p. 125.