The Battle of St. Vincent. The Spanish Fleet.

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Fleet Commander - Lieutenant-General José de Córdoba y Ramos.
2nd Squadron / Vanguard - Lieutenant-General Francisco Javier Morales de los Ríos
1st Division.
Ship	Rate	Guns	Commander	Casualties				Notes
Killed	Seriously Wounded	Slightly Wounded	Total
Infante Don Pelayo	Third rate	74	Captain Cayetano Valdés	4	4	0	8
San Pablo	Third rate	74	Captain Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros	-	-	-	-
2nd Division
Purísima Concepción	First rate	112	Lieutenant-General Francisco Javier Morales de los Ríos; Flag Captain & Brigadier José Escaño	8	21	0	29
Perla	Fifth rate	34	Commander Francisco Moyúa	-	-	-	-
Santo Domingo	Third rate	64	Captain Manuel María de Torres Valdivia	2	0	0	2
Conquistador	Third rate	74	Captain José Butler	6	0	0	6
San Juan Nepomuceno	Third rate	74	Captain Antonio Boneo	-	-	-	-
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes	Fifth rate	34	Commander José Varela	-	-	-	-
San Genaro	Third rate	74	Captain Agustín Villavicencio	-	-	-	-
1st Squadron / Battle Line - Lieutenant-General Don José de Córdoba y Ramos.
3rd Division.
Mejicano	First rate	112	Brigadier Francisco de Herrera (†)	25	46	42	113
Nuestra Señora de la Paz	Fifth rate	40	Commander Santiago Irizarri	-	-	-	-
Oriente	Third rate	74	Captain Juan Suárez	8	20	0	100
Soberano	Third rate	74	Flag Captain & Brigadier Juan Vicente; Captain Francisco Ley (†)	25	46	33	104
4th Division
Santísima Trinidad	First rate	130	Lieutenant-General Don José de Córdoba y Ramos; Flag Captain & Brigadier Rafael Orozco; Commander & Major-General Ciriaco Cevallos	69	141	92	302	badly damaged
Vigilante	Brig	12	Lieutenant José de Córdoba y Rojas	-	-	-	-
San Nicolás de Bari	Third rate	80	Brigadier Tomás Geraldino (†)	144	59	-	203	captured
San Isidro	Third rate	74	Captain Teodoro Argumosa	29	63	-	92	captured
Salvador del Mundo	First rate	112	Brigadier Antonio Yepes (†)	42	124	-	166	captured
San Ildefonso	Third rate	74	Captain Rafael Maestre	-	-	-	-
3rd Squadron / Rearguard - Lieutenant-General Don Juan Joaquín Moreno.
5th Division.
Conde de Regla	First rate	112	Commodore Claude Francois Renard de Fuchsemberg, Conde de Amblimont (†); Flag Captain & Brigadier Jerónimo Brav	9	17	27	53
Matilde	Fifth rate	34	Captain Manuel Vitoria	-	-	-	-
San Fermín	Third rate	74	Captain José de Torres	-	-	-	-
Firme	Third rate	74	Captain Bruno Ayala	2	1	0	3
Príncipe de Asturias	First rate	112	Lieutenant-General Juan Joaquín Moreno de Mondragón y D'Hontlier; Flag Captain & Brigadier Antonio de Escaño	10	19	0	29
Diana	Fifth rate	34	Commander Juan José Varela	-	-	-	-
6th Division.
San Antonio	Third rate	74	Captain Salvador Medina	-	-	-	-
Glorioso	Third rate	74	Captain Juan de Aguirre	-	-	-	-
Nuestra Señora de Atocha	Fifth rate	40	Commander Antonio Pareja	-	-	-	-
Atlante	Third rate	74	Captain Gonzálo Vallejo	6	4	1	11
San Francisco de Paula	Third rate	74	Captain José Ussel de Guimbarda	-	-	-	-
San José	First rate	112	Commodore Francisco Javier Winthuysen (†); Flag Captain & Brigadier Pedro Pineda	46	96	-	142	captured
Ceres	Fifth rate	40	Commander Ignacio Olaeta	-	-	-	-
Asunción	Armed Merchantman	28	Lieutenant Manuel Díaz Herrera	-	-	-	-
Santa Justa	Armed Merchantman	18	Lieutenant Florencio Scals	-	-	-	-
Santa Balbina	Armed Merchantman	18	Lieutenant Diego Ochandía	-	-	-	-
Santa Paula	Armed Merchantman	20	Lieutenant José Elexaga	-	-	-	-
Total recorded casualties: 430 killed, 661 seriously wounded and 195 slightly wounded.

Rob.

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Lieutenant-General José de Córdoba y Ramos.

(Utrera, September 26, 1732 - Cadiz, April 3, 1815), was a Spanish explorer and naval officer from the 18th century. Born to a family of sailors, Córdoba took to the seas at the age of 13. He sailed all over the world and fought in several battles against the English, Algerians and French. Later in his career he sailed several times to the Philippines, where he oversaw repairs to the Manila Galleon. He also paid great attention to the health of his sailors by preventing scurvy.


On September 21, 1789, he became Teniente general (lieutenant general).
At the outbreak of the war with Britain in 1796, he was put in command of the Spanish fleet. In this position he suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on board the Santísima Trinidad.
After St Vincent, Córdoba was dismissed from the Spanish navy and forbidden from appearing at court.

He married Julia de Rojas and was the father of José de Córdoba y Rojas, a loyalist commander in the Spanish American wars of independence.

Rob.

[Bligh]

Lieutenant-General Francisco Javier Morales de los Ríos.

He was a Spanish military, knight of Santiago, born in Cordoba, unknown date, and died in Cadiz in 1815.

Of a nautical family, he joined the guardiamarina in Cadiz, on the 18 of January 1747, promoted to ensign of a frigate, 4 of October 1752, lieutenant of a frigate, 9 of March 1758 , Of ship of the Line, 13 of July of 1760. In these years he sailed around Europe and America, and also fought the Berbers. On May 31, 1762, on board the frigate "Hermiona", from Callao, he was caught off Portugal by two English frigates, the loss of his ship led to him being deprived of his rank for two years, with the obligation in addition of serving two adventurous campaigns in the jabeques against the Moors.

He continued sailing, ascending to frigate captain on the 21st of April 1774, of ship of the Line on the 6th of July 1776, brigadier, 19 of June of 1781, and chief of squadron, 21 of December of 1782.

In 1790 with the ship "San Carlos" he undertook a campaign to Cape Finisterre, promoted to lieutenant general, 1 of March 1791, and on his return to Cadiz, was conferred the command of the station at Algeciras. On September 24th, 1792, he bombarded Tangier, receiving in November of the same year the title that he held from then on, canceling his previous title of Viscount of Rio Grande de San Pedro.

In 1796 he took command of the squadron of the Mediterranean, and at the end of it it removed to the Atlantic. He was in the battle of the cape of St. Vincent, 14th of February 1797, as second in command of the Fleet, and in consequence of the defeat, on the 10 of September 1799 was deprived of this status. He was also exiled from Madrid and in all the capitals of the Marina Departments.
He published his own defence, written by Pascual Ruiz Huidobro, Military Defense, vindication of his honor and conduct of the Lieutenant General ..., second chief of the squadron of command of the general officer of the same class Don Jose de Cordoba, on naval combat With another English commanded by the admiral Don Juan Jervis, in the waters of Cabo San Vicente ... on 14 febrer 1797 (Cádiz, circa 1799).

He regained his status in 1808, but as a retiree. He was one of the signatories of the Representation of the generals in favor of the restoration of the Inquisition.

Rob.

[Bligh]

Captain Cayetano Valdés.

He was born in Seville in 1767, and was the nephew of Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán. Cayetano Valdés joined the Naval Academy in Cadiz as a guardiamarina (midshipman) in 1781. After finishing his studies he sailed with the fleet of Luis de Córdova and in 1782 saw action in the naval battle with the English fleet under Admiral Richard Howe, during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. In 1783 Valdés took part in a Spanish operation against Algiers in an effort to crush the rampant piracy and white slavery sponsored by the Dey.

Malaspina and Galiano expeditions.

In 1789 Valdés achieved a position as a lieutenant (teniente de navío) on the scientific expedition of Alessandro Malaspina. In 1791 Malaspina gave him command of the "goleta" Mexicana and orders to explore the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia in an expedition under the command of another of Malaspina's officers, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano^. The term "goleta" is Spanish for a schooner-like ship but not necessary rigged as a schooner. The Mexicana began rigged as a topsail schooner but was changed during the voyage to a brig. During the summer of 1792 Valdés and Galiano circumnavigated Vancouver Island, meeting George Vancouver along the way. After working together for a time the two expeditions split up and arrived at Nootka Sound separately. Because Valdés and Galiano had begun their voyage around the island from Nootka Sound while Vancouver had begun at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Spaniards became the first Europeans to fully circumnavigate the island.

Napoleonic Wars.

In 1797 Valdés was in command of the ship of the line Pelayo at the Battle of Cape St Vincent when the British fleet of Sir John Jervis with Horatio Nelson defeated the Spanish. For valor during battle Valdés was promoted to Captain (capitán de navío) and gained a reputation as a strong fighter.

By the terms of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso the Pelayo was given to Napoleonic France and Valdés was given command of the Neptuno, then stationed at Brest, France. In 1801 he conveyed the commander of Spanish forces in Hispaniola on a joint Franco-Spanish operation against the rebellious slaves in Haiti during the Haitian Revolution. After stopping in Havana he returned to Cadiz in 1802, where he was appointed brigadier de la Real Armada.

In 1805, Valdés and the Neptuno were based in Cadiz as commodore of a squadron of ships, and so they were called on to fight when the French fleet attempted to make the open sea during the Trafalgar Campaign. On the 21 October the combined fleet was chased down and attacked in the Battle of Trafalgar. Valdés fought hard, his ship was leading the combined fleet and turned back into the melee behind him. Unfortunately the French ships accompanying the Neptuno under Admiral Dumanior did not turn back and so the isolated Neptuno was surrounded and suffered great damage. Valdés himself was seriously wounded and eventually lost consciousness. The disabled Neptuno was eventually forced to surrender.
Although his ship was wrecked in the storm which followed the battle, Valdés and many of his shipmates survived, and thus he was in England when the Peninsular War broke out in Spain in 1808. Immediately released and returning home, Valdés enlisted in the land army and participated in a battle at Espinosa de los Monteros on the staff of General Blake but mainly contented himself with administration and involvement in the Cadiz Cortes. For this service during the war he was appointed the Captain General in charge of Cadiz, but on the return of Ferdinand VII of Spain, he was stripped of his titles and was lucky to escape death during the repression which followed the restitution of an absolute monarchy.

Later life.

In the uprising of 1820 he was again heavily involved on the liberal side, and defended the Liberal Government although without much success, proving more adept as the short-lived government's minister for war. Under a sentence of death, he fled to Gibraltar and then to England, where he lived for ten years. In 1833 Isabella II of Spain recalled Valdés and named him Captain General of Cadiz and later of the Spanish Navy.

Vayetano Valdés died on June 6, 1835, in San Fernando, Cadiz.

Rob.

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Captain Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros.

Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros was born on January 6, 1756, which is the religious feast of Epiphany day, Hence he was named Baltasar after one of the Biblical Magi. Son of Francisco Hidalgo de Cisneros y Seijas, lieutenant of the Spanish Royal Navy, and Manuela de la Torre y Galindo de Espinosa.

He commenced his naval career in 1770 and went to the coasts of Africa and Peru and took part in the military campaign at Algiers. He was involved in the capture of an enemy ship in the English Channel, and was promoted to ship's lieutenant.

In 1795 he was promoted to commander of the San Pablo, part of the Spanish fleet under José de Córdoba y Ramos. Spain at that time was engaged in the Anglo-Spanish War. The fleet engaged a smaller British fleet, but was defeated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent.


In 1803 he was in charge of the arsenal of Cartegena, his city of birth. In 1805 he was the captain of the largest Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad during the battle of Trafalgar, a major British victory over the combined Spanish and French fleets. The ship, whilst engaged in battle, lost a mast which fell over Hidalgo de Cisneros' head. This caused concussion, which left him partially deaf for the rest of his life. After the incident, Hidalgo de Cisneros was nicknamed "El sordo" (Spanish: "The deaf").
His ship, regarded as one of the most powerful of its time, was captured by HMS Neptune but sank the following day. Cisneros was taken prisoner and received medical care. Whilst under capture he was awarded battle honours and on returning to Spain he was promoted to Lieutenant General.
<sup>Cisnerios died in 1829.

Rob.</sup>

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Lieutenant-General Francisco Javier Morales de los Ríos.

Spanish military, knight of Santiago, born in Cordoba, unknown date, and died in Cadiz in 1815.

Of a naval family, joined the guardiamarina in Cadiz, on the 18th of January 1747, promoted to ensign of frigate, 4th of October 1752, of ship, the 20th of March of 1754, lieutenant of frigate, 9 thof March 1758 , Of ship, 13 of July of 1760. In these years it sailed from Europe to America, and al;so fought the Berber powers. On May 31, 1762, on board the frigate "Hermiona", sailing from Callao, they were caught to the north of Portugal by two English frigates, the result of which was to be detained for two years, and on return with the obligation in addition To serve two adventurous campaigns in the jabeques against the Moors.

He continued sailing, ascending to frigate captain, 21st of April 1774, of ship, 6th of July 1776, brigadier, 19th of June 1781, chief of squadron, 21st of December 1782.

In 1790 with the ship "San Carlos" he took part in the campaign to Cape Finisterre, and was promoted to lieutenant general, 1st of March 1791, and on its return to Cadiz, was conferred the control of the station of Algeciras. On September 24th 1792, he bombarded Tangier, receiving in November of the same year the title that he had from then on, canceling his previous title of Viscount of Rio Grande de San Pedro.

In 1796 he had the command of the squadron of the Mediterranean, and at the end of it transferred to the Atlantic. He was at the battle of the cape of St Vincent, 14th of February 1797, as second in command of the fleet , and in consequence of the defeat, was deprived of his position, while it was also forbidden for him to appear in Madrid or in all the capitals of the Marina Departments. A Cádiz pastiche celebrated "For the relief of our evils / The head of Morales".

He published his own defence, written by Pascual Ruiz Huidobro, Military Defence, vindication of his honor and conduct of the Lieutenant General ..., second chief of the squadron of command of the general officer of the same class Don Jose de Cordoba, on naval combat With another English commanded by the admiral Don Juan Jervis, in the waters of Cabo San Vicente ... on 14th of February 1797 (Cádiz, circa 1799).

Rob.

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Brigadier Antonio de Escaño.

He became a midshipman at the age of 17 and took part in almost every major naval operation: the Expedition against Algiers in 1783, the Defense of Cadiz in 1797 against the British fleet under John Jervis, the Battle of Brest, the Battle of Finisterre and the Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797), where, thanks to his military vision, he managed to save the Spanish flagship, the Santísima Trinidad, when his commander José de Córdoba y Ramos lost control over the situation. For this, he was rewarded with the Order of Santiago .
He was wounded in the Battle of Trafalgar and became Minister for the Navy between 1808 and 1810.

Rob.

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Commander Antonio Pareja.Youth and early career.


Pareja was born in Cabra, near Córdoba, Spain and was fascinated with the Navy from childhood. He enlisted as a midshipman in 1771 and sailed in several naval task forces, attending many actions. He distinguished himself by taking the islands of St. Peter and St. Antiochus. From February 1778 to May 1782 he commanded a frigate and a private vessel as well as a brig. His wife was Josepha Septien.



In 1782 Pareja had fought with the British fleet and at Melilla, his ships on several occasions landing artillery, ammunition and food and at one point suffering a horrific fire.

As commander of the frigate Perla he found himself involved in the naval Battle of Cape St Vincent (February 14, 1797). In the Bay of Algiers a galley under his command fired for eight hours at the Moors.

Trafalgar.

In 1803 Pareja commanded the ship San Agustin and in February 1805 he acquired the ship of the Prince of Asturias and sailed to Cadiz with the combined fleets of France and Spain under the command of Admiral Villeneuve and Lieutenant General Gravina. There he was given command of the Argonauta. The following October 20 he sailed with the combined fleet of the same generals, and found himself in combat against the English Admiral Lord Nelson at Cape Trafalgar (21 October 1805). Argonauta suffered immense damage and sank the second day of the battle, which led to numerous deaths and injuries, including the injury of the Captain himself. Later that year Pareja was promoted to Brigadier.



In June 1808, Pareja witnessed the battle and surrender of the French fleet of Admiral Rosily. After a period of leave in Madrid he was sent back to the department of Cadiz in 1809. He then commanded the ships Terrible and San Justo and in early 1810 all the forces of the Isla de León.
Chile.

Pareja commanded the island until July 1810 when he was appointed Governor and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Chile, then in full insurrection. Pareja arrived in Lima in 1811 as Governor-Intendant of the Chilean province of Concepción. There was, however, a change in plan. At the directive of the José Fernando de Abascal, Viceroy of Peru, whose authority included the provinces of the Kingdom of Chile, Pareja organized an expedition against Chiloé and Valdivia which had declared their independence. In late February 1813, Pareja gathered 2,400 men and took the little port of San Vicente, adjacent to Talcahuano. He then immediately marched upon Concepción, which he took possession of with the aid of the native militia. He augmented his forces to about 4,000 soldiers and at once marched upon Chillán which surrendered without a fight and swelled his army with another 2,000 soldiers.



In the meantime, Brigadier José Miguel Carrera, head of the Independentist government, had organized the resistance in Santiago. Both armies met at the Battle of Yerbas Buenas (April 27, 1813). The Independentists, who had attempted a night surprise, were forced to retreat. Pareja, sick with pneumonia, then decided to retreat himself back to Chillán. He was already so sick that he had to be carried on a stretcher. In Chillán he had to submit to a prolonged siege. While there, the port of Talcahuano was recaptured by the Independentists, who also managed to capture the frigate Tomas which was coming from Callao with re-enforcements. Pareja, already weakened by his pneumonia and aggrieved by these reverses, died shortly afterward. His command of the Royalist army was assumed by Juan Francisco Sánchez.

Rob.

[Bligh]

The Spanish records do not seem as prolific as the French. Even after translating two of these biographies from the Spanish sources, I can find nothing on any of the other Officers at the battle, even some with high office are missing. This may also be due to many of the Spanish having many more sobriquets or cognomens than any other Officers.

Rob.