Second Battle of Algeciras 1801
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 12 July 1801 – 13 July 1801 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1801 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Spain | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Algeciras Campaign | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | French First Republic, Kingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 36.0000, -5.5000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was fought on 12 July 1801 between a Royal Navy squadron and a larger Spanish and French squadron in the Gut of Gibraltar during the Algeciras campaign of the war of the Second Coalition. The battle followed the First Battle of Algeciras on 6 July, in which a French squadron anchored at the Spanish port of Algeciras was attacked by a larger British squadron based at nearby Gibraltar. In a heavy engagement fought in calm weather in the close confines of Algeciras Bay, the British force had been becalmed and battered, suffering heavy casualties and losing the 74-gun ship HMS Hannibal. Retiring for repairs, both sides called up reinforcements, the French receiving support first, from the Spanish fleet based at Cádiz, which sent six ships of the line to escort the French squadron to safety.
Arriving at Algeciras on 9 July, the combined squadron was ready to sail again on 12 July, departing Algeciras to the westwards during the evening. The British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, having effected its own hasty repairs, set off in pursuit. Finding that his ships were falling behind, Saumarez instructed his captains to separate and attack the combined squadron as best they were able to.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Second Battle of Algeciras (revision 1372665145), 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
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- Battle of Río Salado 1340 · 11 km
- Convoy de la Victoria 1936 · 13 km
- Battle of Gibraltar (1618) 1618 · 13 km
- Siege of Algeciras (1309–1310) 1309 · 15 km
- Siege of Algeciras (1369) 1369 · 15 km
Other battles of the Algeciras Campaign
Browse more: battles in Spain · Europe · 19th century battles