Battle of Santiago de Cuba (1741)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was fought on 21 July 1741, and was one of the most decisive engagements of the War of Jenkins' Ear
. This expedition resulted in a failed British attempt to capture Santiago de Cuba and it aggravated another misfortune of Admiral Sir Edward Vernon
.
had been made on Cartagena
by Admiral Vernon, he directed the fragments of his sickly and dispirited followers against the Island of Cuba
. The south and east of Cuba
were so little populated, and so far from the capital, Havana
, that they might have made a permanent establishment there.
Sir Vernon
left Port Royal
to capture Santiago de Cuba
with the following ships:
80 (Flagship)
80
70
70
60
60
60
50
HMS Tiger
50
20
20
20
(Bomb vessel
)
(Fireship
)
(Fireship
)
(Fireship
)
(Sloop
)
(Sloop
)
(Hospital ship)
(Hospital ship
)
HMS Pompey (Tender
)
40 Transports bearing 4,000 troops under Wentworth
landed in three different beaches of the Guantanamo Bay. Without opposition, they marched against the village of Catalina
. However, the invaders, 65 miles short of their objective, slowed down three days later because of the growing concerns of their commander, Thomas Wentworth's.
Santiago's Governor Francisco Caxigal de la Vega, garrison commander Carlos Riva Agüero, and local militia Captain Pedro Guerrero
had only 350 regulars and 600 militia to hand and so retreated from the British. Nevertheless, Wentworth's army became paralyzed by fatigue and disease
, spending the next four months encamped, being sporadically raided by Spanish guerrillas. Vernon, disgusted at his colleague's inactivity, but unwilling to risk any part of the fleet against the town sent warships to cruise independently until Wentworth's sick list grew so long—2,260 soldiers being struck with fever by 5 December—that the expedition was re-embarked, setting sail at dawn on 9 December and returning to Port Royal ten days later.
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in...
. This expedition resulted in a failed British attempt to capture Santiago de Cuba and it aggravated another misfortune of Admiral Sir Edward Vernon
Edward Vernon
Edward Vernon was an English naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster, England and went to Westminster School. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years...
.
Background
In the year 1741, after an unsuccessful attemptBattle of Cartagena de Indias
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias was an amphibious military engagement between the forces of Britain under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon and those of Spain under Admiral Blas de Lezo. It took place at the city of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741, in present-day Colombia...
had been made on Cartagena
Battle of Cartagena de Indias
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias was an amphibious military engagement between the forces of Britain under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon and those of Spain under Admiral Blas de Lezo. It took place at the city of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741, in present-day Colombia...
by Admiral Vernon, he directed the fragments of his sickly and dispirited followers against the Island of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The south and east of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
were so little populated, and so far from the capital, Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, that they might have made a permanent establishment there.
Vernon's expedition
The land forces consisted of the remnants of the troops from Cartagena, some 3,000 British and North American colonial troops augmented by 1,000 Jamaican blacks.Sir Vernon
Edward Vernon
Edward Vernon was an English naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster, England and went to Westminster School. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years...
left Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
to capture Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
with the following ships:
80 (Flagship)
80
70
70
60
60
60
50
HMS Tiger
HMS Tyger (1647)
HMS Tyger, often spelled Tiger, was a 38-gun fourth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, built by Peter Pett II at Woolwich and launched in 1647. The term 'frigate' during the period of this ship referred to a method of construction, rather than a role which did not develop until the following century...
50
20
20
20
(Bomb vessel
Bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...
)
(Fireship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
)
(Fireship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
)
(Fireship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
)
(Sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
)
(Sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
)
(Hospital ship)
(Hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
)
HMS Pompey (Tender
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
)
40 Transports bearing 4,000 troops under Wentworth
The battle
On the night of 4-5 August, the British Redcoats and a thousand black troops from JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
landed in three different beaches of the Guantanamo Bay. Without opposition, they marched against the village of Catalina
Catalina
- Geography :* Catalina, Arizona* Cătălina, Romania** Catalina, Covasna, Romania* Santa Catalina, Ilocos Sur* Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental* Catalina, Newfoundland and Labrador* Santa Catalina Mountains...
. However, the invaders, 65 miles short of their objective, slowed down three days later because of the growing concerns of their commander, Thomas Wentworth's.
Santiago's Governor Francisco Caxigal de la Vega, garrison commander Carlos Riva Agüero, and local militia Captain Pedro Guerrero
Pedro Guerrero
Pedro Guerrero is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball from 1978–92 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St...
had only 350 regulars and 600 militia to hand and so retreated from the British. Nevertheless, Wentworth's army became paralyzed by fatigue and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
, spending the next four months encamped, being sporadically raided by Spanish guerrillas. Vernon, disgusted at his colleague's inactivity, but unwilling to risk any part of the fleet against the town sent warships to cruise independently until Wentworth's sick list grew so long—2,260 soldiers being struck with fever by 5 December—that the expedition was re-embarked, setting sail at dawn on 9 December and returning to Port Royal ten days later.