Action of 16 March 1782 1782
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 16 March 1782 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1782 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Nearest landmass | At sea (nearest continent: Africa) | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain, Kingdom of Spain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 35.8667, -5.9667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The action of 16 March 1782 was a naval engagement between a British Royal Naval frigate HMS Success and a Spanish frigate Santa Catalina in the Strait of Gibraltar during the American War of Independence.
On 16 March 1782 the 32-gun frigate Success under the command of Captain Charles Pole, and the Hired armed store-ship Vernon (mounting 22 long six-pounders) commanded by John Falconer were off Cape Spartel, Morocco, on their voyage to Gibraltar. They sighted the Spanish 12-pounder 34-gun frigate Santa Catalina commanded by Don Miguel Tacón. This ship was part of a squadron keeping lookout for any relief convoys heading into Gibraltar, which was then under siege.
When the Spanish frigate approached within random shot, the Success suddenly hauled up and poured a destructive broadside. The Success then wore round and took up her position, which was also mimicked by the Vernon. The Santa Catalina, having lost her mizzenmast at around 8:00 pm, hauled down her colours, and then was taken possession of by the Success.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Action of 16 March 1782 (revision 1370425998), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Cape Spartel 1782 · 8 km
- Battle of Wad Ras 1860 · 26 km
- Battle of Gibraltar (1618) 1618 · 33 km
- Siege of Tarifa (1812) 1811 · 36 km
- Battle of Río Salado 1340 · 37 km
- Second Battle of Algeciras 1801 · 45 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Siege of Fort Motte 1781
- Siege of Fort Watson 1781
- Siege of Ninety Six 1781
- Siege of Pensacola 1781
- Siege of Yorktown 1781
- Action of 12 December 1782 1782
- Action of 6 December 1782 1782
- Battle of Cape Spartel 1782
- Battle of Delaware Bay 1782
- Battle of Negapatam (1782) 1782
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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