Action of 9 August 1780 1780
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 9 August 1780 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1780 | 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 France, Kingdom of Great Britain, Kingdom of Spain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 35.8336, -13.2333 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The action of 9 August 1780 was a naval engagement during the American Revolutionary War and a part of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783) in which a Spanish fleet and French fleet, led by Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova, encountered a large British convoy. The Franco-Spanish force captured almost all the merchant vessels in the convoy, which dealt a severe blow to the commerce of Great Britain.
The British convoy, escorted by HMS Ramillies (74 guns, under Captain Sir John Moutray) and two frigates - Thetis (36 guns) and Southampton (36 guns), sailed from Portsmouth on 27 July. On 9 August, they encountered the Spanish fleet.
The Franco-Spanish fleet captured 55 of the 63 merchant vessels present, making it one of the most complete naval captures ever made. The losses, were, in total 80,000 muskets, equipment for 40,000 troops, 294 cannons, and 3,144 men. The financial impact of the losses were estimated to be around £1,500,000 (£1,000,000 in gold and silver and £500,000 in equipment and ships). The action also helped to derail a secret British diplomatic effort to make peace with Spain.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Action of 9 August 1780 (revision 1374354374), 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
- Action of 18 March 1748 1748 · 398 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Capture of Fort Bute 1779
- Capture of Grenada (1779) 1779
- Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779
- Siege of Fort Vincennes 1779
- Siege of Savannah (1779) 1779
- Action of 8 January 1780 1780
- Battle of Black Mingo 1780
- Battle of Blackstock's Farm 1780
- Battle of Bull's Ferry 1780
- Battle of Camden 1780
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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