First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)

First Battle of Cape Finisterre
Part of the War of the Austrian Succession

Lord Anson's victory off Cape Finisterre, Samuel Scott
Date14 May 1747
Location
Off Cape Finisterre, Atlantic Ocean
Result British victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain  France[1]
Commanders and leaders
George Anson Pierre Jonquière  Surrendered
Strength
14 ships of the line
1 frigate
1 sloop
1 fireship		 4 ships of the line
8 frigates
4 corvettes
30 merchant ships
Casualties and losses
520 killed and wounded[2] 800 killed and wounded
3,000 captured
4 ships of the line captured
4 frigates captured
4 corvettes captured
6 merchantmen captured[2]

The First Battle of Cape Finisterre (14 May 1747[3]) was waged during the War of the Austrian Succession. It refers to the attack by 14 British ships of the line under Admiral George Anson against a French 30-ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière. The French were attempting to protect their merchant ships by using warships with them. The British captured 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates, and 7 merchantmen, in a five-hour battle in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. One French frigate, one French East India Company warship, and the other merchantmen escaped.

  1. ^
    • "...the standard of France was white, sprinkled with golden fleur de lis..." (Ripley & Dana 1879, p. 250).
    • On the reverse of this plate it says: "Le pavillon royal était véritablement le drapeau national au dix-huitième siecle...Vue du chateau d'arrière d'un vaisseau de guerre de haut rang portant le pavillon royal (blanc, avec les armes de France)" (Vinkhuijzen collection 2011).
    • "The oriflamme and the Chape de St Martin were succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III., the last of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous tricolour"(Chisholm 1911, p. 460).
  2. ^ a b Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British navy, Volume 1. London: Henry G. Bohn. p. 160.
  3. ^ in the Julian calendar then in use in Britain this was 3 May 1747