Battle of Castlehaven

Battle of Castlehaven
Part of the Nine Years' War and Anglo-Spanish War

Present-day view of Castlehaven Bay
Date6 December 1601
Location51°30′45″N 9°10′35″W / 51.512375°N 9.176331°W / 51.512375; -9.176331
Result English victory[1][2][3]
Belligerents
England England  Spain
Irish Alliance
Commanders and leaders
Richard Leveson Pedro de Zubiaur
Strength
4 warships
2 merchantman[4]
6 ships
Numerous shore batteries
Casualties and losses
150 casualties[5][6] 2 ships sunk,[4]
4 driven ashore[3]
200 killed or wounded,
50 captured[5]

The Battle of Castlehaven was a naval battle that took place on 6 December 1601 in the bay off Castlehaven on the south coast of Ireland during the Nine Years' War between a Spanish naval convoy of six ships and an English fleet, commanded by Admiral Richard Leveson and consisting of four warships. The Spanish convoy was protected by fortified positions on shore, a castle, and 600 Spanish and Irish footmen. Five out of six Spanish ships, commanded by General Pedro de Zubiaur were either sunk, captured, or run aground in the battle, while the English fleet lost no ships.[5][7]

  1. ^ Silke p 135
  2. ^ López, Emilio González (1969). Los políticos gallegos en la corte de España y la convivencia europea: Galicia en los reinados de Felipe III y Felipe IV. Volume 3 of Galicia en el Imperio español de los Austrias. Editorial Galaxia. p. 42.(Spanish)
  3. ^ a b Childs p 130
  4. ^ a b Ekin p 297
  5. ^ a b c Stafford p 403
  6. ^ "around 150 casualties, 52 of whom were from Warspite" McGurk p 209
  7. ^ Graham p 243-44