Ferrol Expedition (1800)

Ferrol Expedition (1800)
Part of the War of the Second Coalition
Date 25 - 26th August, 1800 Location Ferrol, Spain Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	Spain
Commanders and leaders
James Pulteney Edward Pellew	Count Donadio Don Juan Moreno
Strength
15,000 men estimated 80-115 ships.	2,000 men 6 ships of the line
Casualties and losses
16 dead, 68 wounded	37 dead, 102 wounded

The Ferrol Expedition (or Battle of Brión) took place on 25 and 26 August 1800, and was an unsuccessful british attempt to capture Ferrol from Spain.

Background

The primary object of the British fleet during the year 1800 was the conquest of Belle Île but the defences appeared too strong. The expedition therefore proceeded to the coast of Spain, where it arrived on 25 August.

Battle

After a heavy cannonade against the Spanish positions by the British ships of the line HMS Impetueux, HMS London, HMS Courageux, HMS Renown and HMS Captain, under the command of under the superintendence of Sir Edward Pellew, the British effected a landing at a small opening near Cape Prior. The army commander was Lieutenant-general Sir James Pulteney.

The Spanish defenders of Ferrol were:

• Don Francisco Melgarejo, commander of the naval department;
• Juan Moreno, commander of the squadron stationed in the harbour;
• Don Francisco Xavier Negrété, captain-general of the province; and
• Field Marshal Count Donadio, who commanded the fortifications that protected the coast.

Aftermath

The embarkation of the troops and artillery was effected, and soon after this failure on the coast of Galicia, another expedition, equally unsuccessful was directed against the city of Cadiz. After the unsuccessful attempt to capture Ferrol, the British Prime Minister William Pitt said in the House of Commons that: If Great Britain had a naval station so easy to defend as Ferrol, due to its location, it would have been surrounded by a thick silver wall.

The Fort of San Felipe

The Fort of La Palma. The two forts were key to the defense of Ferrol

References

• D'Esmenard. Memoirs of Don Manuel de Godoy Vol II: Prince of the Peace, Kessinger Publishing ISBN 0548166838
• Escrigas, Guillermo. Ferrol heroico; la defensa de el Ferrol en 1800. Ferrol, 1969. (Spanish)
• Philippart, John. The Royal Military Calendar, or Army Service and Commission Book. London: A.J. Valpy, 1820. Vol II.
• Black, Jeremy. A military history of Britain: from 1775 to the present‎ Greenwood Publishing group, ISBN 0275990397
• Edward Baines, History of the Wars of the French Revolution, from the Breaking Out of the War, in 1792, to the Restoration of a General Peace in 1815: Comprehending the Civil History of Great Britain and France, During that Period, Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1818.
• The Parliamentary history of England from the earliest period to the year 1803.... London, 1806. Vol II. 1812-1820.