The World Turned Upside Down - His Majesty's 15th Foot.

 

Clifton's Regiment was raised in June 1685 in Nottingham by Sir William Clifton, one of several units formed to bolster King James II against the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion. Colonel Clifton did not remain long in command as he died the following year aged 23, and was succeeded by Colonel Arthur Herbert, afterwards Earl Torrington, by commission dated 12th of May, 1686.

Following the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, the regiment, now commanded by Colonel Sir James Lesley went over to James’s successor, William III and he sent it to Scotland for the Jacobite rising of 1689 to 1692. 

They were based at Inverness when the Battle of Killiecrankie was fought in July 1689 and in April 1690 fought at the Battle of Cromdale.

Illustrative of the look of English infantry at the time Clifton's Regiment was raised, 
the Musketeer of Hasting's Regiment displays the infamous plug bayonet that was to have
disastrous consequences at the Battle of Killiecrankie where inexperience in their use and the speed of the Highland charge left the government troops defenceless and causing many to flee.

The regiment embarked for Flanders in spring 1694 for service in the Nine Years' War and took part in the capture of Huy in autumn 1694, the attack of Fort Knokke in June 1695 and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695 before returning home in 1697.

The regiment was next sent to Holland in 1701 for service in the War of the Spanish Succession and fought at the siege of Kaiserswerth in 1702, the siege of Venlo later that year and the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704.

It went on to fight at the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 and the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709, returning to England in 1714. It was sent back to Scotland and took part in the Battle of Glen Shiel in June 1719 during the third Jacobite rising.

The regiment was deployed to South America, where it took part in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741 during the War of Jenkins' Ear, returning to England in 1742, and during the years 1743 and 1744, the regiment was stationed in Great Britain.

Soldier of the 15th regiment (1742).

In the summer of 1745 the British army was supporting Austrian troops against the French and the regiment was deployed to Ostend to join a garrison of British and Austrian troops under Austrian Lieut.-General Count Chanclos. It endured a thirteen day siege by the French until Chanclos capitulated, the garrison being permitted to march out with the honours of war, and proceed to Austrian territories.

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At this period, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, had raised the Highland clans to arms, and asserted his father's pretensions to the British throne, with the subsequent rebellion causing the regiment to be recalled from Flanders and on the 25th of October it landed at Gravesend, but it was not ordered to march against the insurgent clans, destined to remain in the south of England to oppose the threatened invasion of the French and raiding the French coast in 1746.

In 1751, it was given the number 15 in the infantry order of precedence.

The Death of General Wolfe, 1759.

In 1757, the 15th Foot was used in the Rochefort Expedition during the Seven Years War (1756-63). It then fought under General James Wolfe at Louisburg (1758) and Quebec (1759), later adopting a black line in its lace in mourning for Wolfe’s death in battle. It remained in Canada until 1768, except for two years in the West Indies, and then in Great Britain from 1768 to 1776.

John Theophilus Rawdon-Hastings, son of the 1st Earl of Moira,
and a young officer in the 15th Foot in 1776 - John Trotter.

The 15th Foot in America and the Caribbean, 1776-1783.

In September 1775 Major-General Sir Charles Thompson was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment, by Major-General Richard Earl of Cavan, from the 55th regiment of foot, and the 15th regiment was one of the corps selected to proceed across the Atlantic, as reinforcements for the troops in North America facing colonists in open revolt.

The regiment embarked from Ireland early in 1776, and proceeded to Cape Fear, in North Carolina, with four other corps, under Major-General the Earl Cornwallis, arriving on the coast of North Carolina early in April, when Lieut.-General Clinton assumed the command. 

The Charleston Expedition 1776.
Map by Roger Smith.
The Southern Expedition of 1776: The Best Kept Secret of the American Revolution - Journal of the American Revolution

The men landed at Cape Fear to refresh themselves after the voyage, and returning on board the transports, sailed, on the 1st of June, with the expedition against Charleston. After passing Charleston bar, the troops landed on one of the islands, but the armament proved of insufficient strength for the capture of the capital of South Carolina, and the five regiments re-embarked and proceeded to Staten Island, where the main body of the British forces was assembled under General Sir William Howe. The 15th, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, were formed in brigade with the 4th, 27th and 45th regiments, under Major-General Pigot.

The 15th Regiment was brigaded alongside the 4th, 27th and 45th foot under Major General Robinson, and formed part of the force under Lieut.-General Clinton

A landing was effected on Long Island on the 22nd of August, and the 15th Regiment, brigaded alongside the 4th, 27th and 45th foot under Major General Robinson, formed part of the force under Lieut.-General Clinton, which advanced after dusk on the evening of the 26th to seize Jamaica Pass on the Gowanus Heights, and turn the enemy's left flank above Flat-bush. This pass was taken possession of on the following morning; the army advanced, and the Americans were driven from their position with considerable loss and forced to retreat to their fortified lines at Brooklyn. The loss of the regiment on this occasion was limited to a few men wounded.

The Americans quit their fortified lines during the night of the 28th of August, and retired across the East River, in boats, to New York; and the reduction of Long Island was thus accomplished in a few days, with little loss.

HMS Phoenix, Roebuck and Tartar, accompanied by three smaller vessels, forcing their way through a cheval-de-frise on the Hudson River with the Forts Washington and Lee and several batteries on both sides, 9th October 1776 - Thomas Mitchell after Dominic Serres the Elder.

From Long Island the regiment proceeded with the army across the East River, when General Washington was forced to abandon New York, which city was taken possession of by the British; and proceeding up the river, the regiment took part in the operations that forced the Americans to evacuate their lines on White Plains; this time without loss.

Troops movement during Battle of Fort Washington, Nov 16th, 1776.
File:Battle of Fort Washington, 1776.svg - Wikimedia Commons

The regiment took part in the attack and capture of the enemy's lines and redoubts near Fort Washington, on the 16th of November, when it had a few private soldiers killed and wounded, and then proceeded into winter quarters at the city of New York.

The Battle of Fort Washington - Don Troiani.
Hessians storm Colonel Rawling’s Redoubt of Pennsylvania Riflemen and three cannon. Margaret Corbin, who manned a cannon after her husband was killed, is featured.

In the winter of 1776-1777, General Howe commanding British forces in New York became aware of the important riverside depot of Peekskill for American forces in the Hudson Highlands and ordered an expedition about fifty miles upriver on the 22nd March to disrupt the fortification efforts there and the assembly of newly raised Continental regiments.

Lieutenant Colonel John Bird of the Fifteenth, with five hundred men and four light guns, of which a division of the regiment formed part, provided the land contingent; the frigate Brune, three galleys, four transports, and eight flatboats made up the naval component. After feinting to draw the American defenders off, Bird's men landed at Lunt's Cove about 1 p.m. on the 23rd; Brigadier General Alexander McDougall's small garrison burned some of the stores and withdrew. One American was killed; Bird had no casualties. Having completed the destruction of the magazines, barracks, and stores, the troops returned to New York.

This action encouraged the British to undertake the Danbury raid on 23rd-28th April following the discovery that the Americans had established extensive depots at Danbury, and other places on the borders of Connecticut, and the 15th regiment formed part of a body of troops, consisting of 1,500 regulars drawn from the 4th, 15th, 23rd, 27th, 44th, and 64th regiments, 300 Loyalists from the Prince of Wales American Regiment and a small contingent of the 17th Light Dragoons, which embarked from New York, under Major-General Tyron, for the destruction of these magazines.

This 1780 map shows the movements of the various forces prior to the Battle of Ridgefield:
A: British movements to Danbury, B: American movements toward Danbury,
C: British movements toward Ridgefield, and D: American movements toward Ridgefield
(upper arrow: Wooster, lower arrow: Arnold)

The British boarded twelve transports and landed without opposition at Compo, Connecticut between Fairfield and Norwalk, on the evening of the 25th of April, and marched from there to Danbury.

There, they destroyed Continental Army supplies after chasing off a small garrison of troops. In response, Connecticut militia leaders Major General David Wooster, Brigadier General Gold S. Silliman, and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold raised a combined force of roughly 700 Continental Army regular and irregular local militia forces to oppose the British force, but could not reach Danbury in time to prevent the destruction of the supplies, so instead, set out to harass the British on their return to the coast.

On April 27th, the company led by Wooster twice attacked Tryon's rear guard during their march south, and in the second encounter, Wooster was mortally wounded and died five days later.

Farmers Against the Crown - Dale Gallon
https://www.gallon.com/shop/other-wars/revolutionary-war/farmers-against-the-crown/
Local Ridgefield farmers under General Arnold resist the British forces as they advance to their ships on the coast.

The main encounter then took place at Ridgefield, where several hundred militia under Arnold's command confronted the British and were driven away in a running battle down the town's main street, but not before inflicting casualties on the British.

The 15th regiment had eight rank and file killed on this expedition; Captain Harry Ditmas, one serjeant, and fifteen rank and file wounded; two men missing. Lieutenant Charles Hastings, of the twelfth foot, serving as a volunteer with the regiment, was also wounded.

The expedition was a tactical success for the British forces, but their actions in pursuing the raid galvanized Patriot support in Connecticut.

In August 1777 the Regiment would be part of General Howe's expedition against Philadelphia and the Fifteenth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, was brigaded with the 17th, 42nd and 44th regiments, under Major-General Charles Grey's 3rd Brigade.

Embarking from Sandy Hook, the army sailed to the Chesapeake, and proceeding up Elk River, landed on the northern shore on the 25th of August, that would see the American army taking up a position at Brandywine to oppose the advance, and on the 11th of September the King's forces moved forward to engage their opponents.

Battle of Brandywine, with the 15th Foot forming part of General Grey's third brigade.

The 15th Foot formed part of the column under Major-General the Earl Cornwallis, which made a flank march to turn the right and gain the rear of the American army., an action that proved decisive; in driving the Americans from their position, and forced to making a precipitate retreat. 

During the battle the 15th are reported to have run low on musket rounds, leading to the remaining supply of ball being distributed to the 'picked men' whilst the remaining men were reduced to 'snapping' away with powder giving rise to the regimental nickname 'The Snappers'.

The battalion companies of the regiment did not sustain any loss on this occasion; but the flank companies, being formed in the grenadier and light infantry battalions, had Lieutenant Faulkener killed; Captain Cathcart, Captain Douglas, and Lieutenant Leigh wounded; also several men killed and wounded.

After Brandywine, the army continued its advance, with Philadelphia occupied and the British troops taking up a position at Germantown, the 15th Foot being posted on the left of the village.

Making a forced march during the night of the 3rd of October, the American army appeared suddenly in front of Germantown before daylight on the following morning, and attacked the British outposts, attempting to surprise the troops in an unprepared state. The first assault was opposed by the second battalion of light infantry, and the 40th regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel Musgrave, posted at the head of the village; these corps were forced to fall back, and Lieut.-Colonel Musgrave threw himself, with six companies of the 40th, into (Cliveden) Chew House, where he was attacked by an American brigade, aided by four pieces of cannon. 

The Battle of Germantown, illustrating the position of the 15th Foot on the right of the
brigade line formed by General Grey, it being the senior regiment and having the place of honour.

In the British counterattack, that would cause the Americans to retreat, Major-General Grey brought forward the 15th, 17th and 44th regiments which would see the 15th suffer the loss of Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, Ensign Anthony Frederick, and five rank and file of the regiment killed; Captains George Goldfrap and Harry Ditmas, Lieutenant George Thomas, Ensign Henry Ball, two serjeants, and forty-two rank and file wounded. 

In referring to the death of Lieut.-Colonel Bird, General Sir William Howe spoke of it as an event 'much to be lamented, he being an officer of experience and approved merit.' 

After passing the winter in Pennsylvania, and involvement in the skirmishes in the spring of 1778, to open communications for bringing in supplies, the regiment participated in the march of the army from Philadelphia to New York, where they arrived in July 1778 under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, following Sir William Howe's resignation and return home.

The routes taken by the Continental Army from Valley Forge (dark blue) and the British Army from Philadelphia (red) to the Battle of Monmouth, June 1778. Where the roads allowed, the British first division took the western route while the second division followed a parallel route farther east. The dashed blue line shows Lafayette's attempt to catch the British when he was commander of the vanguard.
File:Monmouth1 plainsvg.svg - Wikimedia Commons

The grenadier company of the Fifteenth distinguished itself at the Battle of Monmouth and Captain Cathcart, of the regiment, was wounded; and also Captain Ditmas, who was attached to the second grenadier battalion.

An image of a British officer of the light company, thought to be the 15th Foot, wearing the 
round hat characteristic of British infantry during much of the war in North America and likely
continued in the West Indies Campaign.

With a growing threat of French involvement in the war menacing the British possessions in the West Indies, the 15th, and several other corps, sailed from North America, early in November, for Barbados, under Major-General Grant.

The 15th Foot in the Caribbean 1778-1783, showing the islands of St Lucia, St Kitts (St Christopher), and the former Dutch island of St. Eustatius that featured principally in its activities during this period.

The regiment was involved in the attack on the French island of St. Lucia, brigaded with the 28th, 46th, and 55th, under Major-General Robert Prescott, the expedition sailing from Carlisle-bay on the 12th of December.

On the evening of 13th December and morning of 14th December, Major General James Grant, supported by additional troops under Brigadier Generals William Medows and Prescott, landed at Grand Cul de Sac, St. Lucia. Grant and Prescott took control of the high ground around the bay, while Medows continued on and took Vigie the following morning (14th December). On 14th December the French fleet under d’Estaing arrived, forced Admiral Barrington to move his ships into line of battle and forgo his plan of moving the transports into Carénage Bay

Barrington's Action at St Lucia, 15th December 1778 - Dominic Serres.
The naval battle between the 12 French ships of d'Estaing (left) and seven English ships of Admiral Barrington (right).

After a "warm conflict" raged between the two fleets from 11.00, with the British supported by two shore batteries, and with the troop transports safely tucked behind Barrington's line of warships, d’Estaing  broke off but then renewed his assault at 1600 by attacking Barrington's centre with twelve ships of the line. Again, heavy fire was exchanged, and the French were eventually repulsed for a second time.

Plan of St. Lucia, in the West Indies: Showing the positions of the English and French forces with the attacks made at its reduction in December 1778.

On the 16th December Admiral d’Estaing appeared to be preparing for a third assault against Admiral Barrington's line, but then sailed away towards the windward, and on the evening of 16th December anchored in Gros Islet Bay, where he landed 7,000 troops for an assault on the British lines at La Vigie. Three assaults were made but British control of the high ground enabled them to repulse the French who were re-embarked, and when d'Estaing's fleet left on 29th December, the island surrendered to the British.

The 15th Foot remained at St. Lucia for several months, during which, the French amassed a great superiority of numbers in both of naval and land forces in the West Indies; and in June, 1779, they attacked the island of St. Vincent, and in July Grenada; the regiment embarked from St. Lucia, for the relief of these islands; but the French captured them before any force could arrive to their assistance, and the regiment was afterwards landed at the island of St. Christopher's, where it was stationed during the year 1780.

With the entry of the Dutch into the war, the Dutch island of St. Eustatius was captured in February, 1781, and the 15th regiment was afterwards removed from St. Christopher's to St. Eustatius, leaving the flank companies as garrison.

The British commandant at St. Eustatius neglected to adopt the necessary precautions for the security of St. Eustatius, and during the night of the 26th of November, a French force, under the Marquis of Bouillé, effected a landing, captured the commandant as he was taking a morning ride, overpowered the posts, and forced the garrison, consisting of the battalion companies of the 13th and 15th regiments, to surrender prisoners of war. The commandant, Lieut.-Colonel Cockburn, was afterwards tried by a general court-martial, and cashiered.

In the meantime the flank companies of the regiment were stationed at Brimstone Hill, St Kitts, (St. Christopher's), a heavily fortified garrison, with the first battalion of the royals and a detachment of artillery, which constituted the military force of the island, under Brigadier-General Fraser.

On the 11th January 1782, the French under Admiral Comte François Joseph Paul de Grasse and François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé, laid siege to the fort, during which the adjacent island of Nevis surrendered, and guns from Fort Charles and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use against Brimstone Hill. British Admiral Hood could not dislodge de Grasse, and after a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered, and was permitted to march through the breach with the honours of war, to return to England, on condition of being considered as prisoners of war until exchanged.

After the surrender at St Kitts, the regiment eventually returned to Britain, however many of the officers and men, who had been made prisoners, were lost on the voyage home in the Ville de Paris, the French flagship, which had been captured by Admiral Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782.

Later it received its county designation as the 15th (the Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot in 1782 where it was stationed whilst being rebuilt.

My 15th Foot are modelled using the Perrys Miniatures plastic range of British infantry and carrying Colours from GMB, finished off with a set of low profile sabot bases from Supreme Littleness Designs. I have built them as a 20 figure unit to better represent them as at the Battle of Brandywine with a strength of around 367 men all ranks and with their flank companies detached, able to reduce them to a 16 figure unit to suit later actions such as Germantown and Monmouth.

In the next TWTUD showcase I will present the 15th Virginia Continental Regiment, this once I get my new computer up and running following its predecessor dying on me a few weeks ago. 

In addition I also have another Anglo-Dutch Wars battle AAR from Captain Steve, so lots to come here on JJ's and as always, more anon

JJ

JJ's on Tour - Tenerife and the Battles of Santa Cruz (Part Two)

 

Just recently Carolyn and I spent just over a week catching some winter sun in Tenerife which is a marvellous place to just kick-back and relax, as well as enjoying plenty of walking and exploring along with a bit of fine dining to keep our strength up, and for me in particular another opportunity to explore some military history specifically around the three battles against the English/British that took place in the waters just of Santa Cruz the capital of the island of Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas.

JJ's Wargames: JJ's on Tour - Tenerife and the Battles of Santa Cruz (Part One).

In the first part of this post I looked at the history of the three battles, some of the controversy about the first and specifically looking at items held in the Military Museum that are linked to the most famous of the three, Nelson's attack in 1797 during which the famous British admiral would lose his arm, see the link above. 

Some very nice looking models of the three ships that Columbus made his first journey to America, La Pinta, La Niña and La Santa Maria. I am hesitant to mention his 'discovery' of America as I have been to Iceland where they celebrate Leif (the Lucky) Erikson who is recorded in the Icelandic Sagas to have discovered Vinland, modern day Newfoundland, and Norse settlements dating back to c1021 have been discovered there indicating the first European presence in North America some 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

In this post I thought I would conclude by looking at some of the other items held in the Military Museum that grabbed my attention, together with a look around the town at what remains of the history today and a brief look at some of the other attractions that Tenerife entertained us with during our short break.

The first galleries in the old fortress house some interesting models and maps and guns covering Spain's early involvement in the age of discovery during the 15th century, bringing back memories of my visit to the Lisbon Maritime Museum last year, covering the similar history in Portugal.

JJ's Wargames: JJ's on Tour - Portugal 2025, Lisbon, Part 2, The Lisbon Navy Museum.

These fine models are illustrative of the first Spanish ships that established the Spanish empire in the Americas and with the conquest and occupation of Tenerife between 1494-96 and the establishment of the island as an important base between the new colonies and mainland Spain.

Juan Sebastián Elcano, the intrepid captain of the carrack Victoria
and the first man to circumnavigate the Earth 1519 to 1522.

The Victoria or Nao Victoria was a carrack famed as the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world, and was part of the Spanish expedition to the Moluccas (now Indonesia's Maluku Islands) commanded by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

The Victoria was part of an expedition to the Moluccas that began from Seville on 10th August 1519 with five ships, however, only two of the ships reached their goal , and thereafter, Victoria was the only ship to complete the return voyage, crossing uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean under Juan Sebastián de Elcano's command to sail around the world.

Along with the four other ships, the expedition's flagship and Magellan's own command, the carrack, Trinidad, the carracks San Antonio, and Concepción, and the caravel Santiago, she was given to Magellan by King Charles I of Spain (later Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) and was an 85-ton ship with an initial crew of about 42.

Given my current focus on my AWI project 'The World Turned Upside Down' it was interesting to see the small gallery recording Spanish involvement and here displaying the regimental coat of arms of the eight Spanish infantry regiments that participated in the war, and the military contribution of Bernado de Galvez

Gálvez carried out a masterful military campaign and defeated the British colonial forces at Fort Bute, Baton Rouge, and Natchez in 1779, with the Battle of Baton Rouge, fought on 21st September 1779, freeing the lower Mississippi Valley of British forces and relieving the threat to the capital of Louisiana, New Orleans. 

In March 1780, Gálvez recaptured Mobile from the British at the Battle of Fort Charlotte, but perhaps Gálvez's most important military victory over the British forces occurred on 8th May 1781, when he attacked and took by land and by sea Pensacola, the British (and formerly, Spanish) capital of West Florida from General John Campbell of Strachur, the loss of both Mobile and Pensacola leving the British with no bases along the Gulf coast.

The siege of Pensacola, fought from March 9 to May 10, 1781, was the culmination of Spain's conquest of West Florida during the Gulf Coast Campaign of the American War of Independence. The siege was commanded by Bernardo de Gálvez, whose nearly 8,000 troops ultimately overran the British forces in the region, and the success of the siege resulted in Gálvez' promotion to governor of West Florida and Louisiana.

In 1782, forces under Gálvez's overall command captured the British naval base at Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas without a shot being fired, however, Gálvez's was angry that the operation had proceeded against his orders and ordered the arrest and imprisonment of Francisco de Miranda, aide-de-camp of Juan Manuel Cajigal, the commander of the expedition, with Miranda later explaining Gálvez's actions as stemming from jealousy of Cajigal's success.

Gálvez at the siege of Pensacola
"Por España y por el Rey, Gálvez en América" (2015), by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.

The King of Spain in recognition of Gálvez's exploits, granted him the title of Count and his coat of arms bears the motto 'Yo Solo' (I Alone), whist George Washington acknowledged in various writings the importance of the second battle front against the British created by Gálvez.

This map dating from 1779 captured my interest, showing the territory between 19 and 45 degrees north and latitudes 251 and 290 degrees east, containing the Provinces of old and new California, Sonora, Nueva Vizcaya, New Mexico, Coahuila and Texas and prepared for the Governor of New Mexico in that year for an expedition against the Comanche Nation.

The mighty Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad, nicknamed La Real, was the largest warship in the world when launched on the 20th March 1769, originally mounting 112 guns, which was increased between 1795 and 1796 to 130 guns by closing in the spar deck between the quarterdeck and forecastle.

Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad

She was the most heavily armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in the Age of Sail, however she was not a popular command among senior Spanish flag officers as due to her great bulk, her helm was unresponsive in light winds.

My own interpretation of the Santísima Trinidad which I built in 2020 for my Trafalgar collection
JJ's Wargames - Santisima Trinidad

Santísima Trinidad was captured by the Royal Navy on 21st October 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar but was scuttled the next day.

There was no reference to it, but I can only assume the block pictured next to the model is from the great ship.

Another famous Spanish participant in the Battle of Trafalgar was the 74-gun third-rate ship San Juan Nepomuceno launched in 1765 from the royal shipyard in Guarnizo (Cantabria), and named after a saint (John of Nepomuk). 

She was a solidly built ship of proven seaworthy qualities, and like the Santísima Trinidad captured by the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Trafalgar, being renamed first HMS Berwick, then HMS San Juan, before being paid off and sold in Gibraltar in 1816.

At Trafalgar San Juan Nepomuceno was one of the last ships still fighting after most of the French ships had surrendered and most of the Spanish ships had either been captured or had yielded.

Her commander, Don Cosme Churruca, had previously ordered the flag to be nailed to the highest mast, and as the hours passed Churruca, whose leg had been torn off by a cannonball, the deck of his ship covered by the blood of his wounded and dead seamen, continued to stubbornly order his ship's batteries to fire.

The death of the Spanish brigadier Cosme Damián Churruca (1761-1805), who died during the Battle of Trafalgar while commanding the 74-gun ship San Juan Nepomuceno - Eugenio Álvarez Dumont.

Mortally wounded, the Basque-born Churruca prohibited his officers from surrendering and ordered them to continue returning fire whilst he remained breathing, and his officers kept their word, even after Churruca died and command of the ship had been passed to the second-in-command, Francisco de Moyna, who continued the fight until he himself was killed. 

He was replaced by the next officer in command who also refused to surrender, however, unable to break the circle of fire formed by the six enemy ships, including Defiance, Tonnant and Dreadnought, and in order to prevent the ship from sinking with all the wounded trapped below, the last officer left alive in San Juan Nepomuceno yielded with over 400 dead and injured on board.

Again in 2020, I was very busy constructing my Spanish fleet that included my interpretation of this famous ship and you can see more about her and my final build in the link below.

JJ's Wargames - San Juan Nepomuceno

The keyboard in a wooden box with its series of cogs and plug points, seen below, should be very familiar to anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the breaking of the German WWII codes by the hard work of British code breakers and cypher clerks at Bletchley Park and most famously the involvement of the Cambridge mathematician Alan Turing.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Third Reich secretly gave several 'Enigma' machines to the army of General Franco, and A-1232 was one on them, and with likely just 300 similar machines left today from the 200,000 units of all models produced during WWII this is quite a rare item to see; and I myself have only seen one other which accompanied a visit by GCHQ staff members to my son's school on a recruitment visit to the A-Stream class of pupils taking maths.

The map illustrating Nelson's assault plans over the 21st to the 25th of July and outlining the extent of the old town is here showing the four points of interest I opted to go and look at that featured in Nelson's battle to capture the town.

Having seen what I wanted in the Military Museum, I was keen to explore Santa Cruz and find the buildings that were contemporary to the battles fought off and on its waterfront, and so we went back to the car and headed off to the underground carpark by the cruise ship terminal.

This more detailed map of the British landing on 25th July 1797 illustrates the locations of the sites visited and there relation to one another.
Map - 1797 Nelson's Year of Destiny, Colin White.

San Cristobal Castle and Alameda Gardens

San Cristobal Castle and Alameda Gardens - Nicolás Alfaro
In this view of the gardens the mole is obscured by the back wall of San Cristobal Castle and Nelson's party would have landed on the small beach to the right of the gardens.

A similar view of the Alameda Gardens in this photograph from 1876, with a clearer view of the small beach at the base of the mole to right of picture.

The carpark is very handily right next to and under the old Alameda Gardens built just ten years before Nelson's attack, and being right next to the remains of San Cristobal Castle serves as a very useful point to workout where the old mole and waterfront used to be to orientate oneself to the action that occurred in the vicinity.

A perfect spot for any visitor to Santa Cruz looking to orientate themselves with the 1797 British attack led by Nelson is the Alameda Gardens ornate gate, which provides a perfect link to the events of over 200 years ago and with the changes wrought to the waterfront allows one to estimate where Nelson was wounded in the early hours of the 25th July.

It was at this point at 1.00 a.m. on the morning of the 25th July that Nelson's division of boats closed to within a few hundred yards of the mole, seemingly unspotted, the bomb-ship Terror having been lobbing shells at Paso Alto for over two hours previous, hoping to draw Spanish troops away from Santa Cruz, until at that moment cries of alarm were heard from Spanish sentries on the mole and some ships moored nearby.

The view from the Alameda Gardens gate across the ornate water feature built over the old water front area on land reclaimed in the early 20th century, the outline of the bastion of the Castillo de San Cristóbal, demolished in the work, can be seen outlined in the concrete, easily seen during our visit without the normal water covering it.

Alarm bells rang and within minutes a hail of gunfire swept the water from the shore defences and a veritable whirlwind of cannister and musket balls engulfed the British boats as they approached the landing.

Captain William Henry Webley circa 1809 - Artist Unknown

Lieutenant Henry Webley, First Lieutenant aboard HMS Zealous described the scene in a letter home to his mother:

' …we proceeded in four lines, Captains Troubridge, Hood and Captains Miller and Waller leading the Boats; Captains Bowen, Thompson and Fremantle attendant on the Admiral in their Boats. We proceeded on until 1 o’clock, the Bomb Vessel keeping up a constant fire upon the Fort and Heights, when we were ordered by Captain Bowen to lay on our oars as we had just passed the mole, the intended place of landing and, at this instant or a few minutes after, the Cutter was discovered and fired upon – and before the Boats could pull round in Order, the Admiral pulled in for the Mole with orders to follow.'

The Mole at Santa Cruz - On the right is the main citadel, Castillo de San Cristóbal, while flanking fire came from two gun batteries just out of picture and on the left, in addition Spanish guns had been dragged and emplaced to fire straight down the mole, turning the area into a killing ground. The beach on which Nelson's party landed is in the foreground.

As Nelson clambered forward from his barge, and in the act of drawing his sword, his right arm was struck a hammer blow, as a grape shot hit him just above the right elbow, smashing the bone and severing the main artery.

Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson wounded at Tenerife - Richard Westall 

Nelson collapsed into the bottom of the boat crying 'I am a dead man', blood pumping from his wound, and if the bleeding had continued at that rate he would have been right; however the prompt action of his stepson, 17-year old Josiah Nesbit, gripped Nelson's arm above the wound, and with two necker-chiefs, bound the wound tightly.

Affair of Tenerife. Nelson’s life was probably saved by his step-son, 17-year old Josiah Nisbet, who had the forethought to place a tourniquet on Nelson’s shattered arm before he was taken back to HMS Theseus. This image is clearly romanticized when compared to accounts, however Nelson astonished witnesses with his resilience  to the shock of his wounding with not only climbing the side of the ship under his own power, but insisting upon picking up survivors of Fox as his boat rowed for Theseus.

Later Nelson readily acknowledged that he owed his life to this action.

By taking a line of bearing from the point of the castle bastion it was a simple matter of guessing where the old beach on which Nelsons barge landed was located and the lamppost provides a marker for a likely spot where he was hit.

The outline of the bastion of the Castillo de San Cristóbal was set up during the remodelling of the water feature on the Plaza de Espana, in 2006, that the remains of the old fortress were rediscovered in its construction, and on the opposite side is the entrance to the small museum set up underground allowing visitors to see the formidable strength of its walls from what remains together with models of the castle and other forts, and an important relic from the battle.

The El Tigre Cannon forms the centre piece display to the museum and is the gun claimed to have wounded Nelson as he attempted to clamber from his barge, sword in hand, and hit by a cannister round fired from this cannon.

El Tigre Cannon - the gun claimed to have wounded Nelson.

It makes for a great story and I cannot blame Santa Cruz for claiming a part of the Nelson mythology, but with all the musket and cannon rounds likely flying about in the darkness as Nelson's party closed with the beach area close to the mole, it seems unlikely that the specific round fired can be definitely attributed to this weapon, but hey, as I say, it makes for a great story. 

Nelson's attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife on July 25th, 1797. The 'Tigre' Cannon emplacement - Jordi Bru.

Whether or not El Tigre fired the shot that wounded Nelson it is still another important relic from the battle.

Just as interesting as El Tigre is the remains of Castillo de San Cristóbal and precisely the lower stonework of its formidable walls that resisted the attacks of Blake, Jennings and Nelson.

  

The Church of our Lady of the Conception 

Returning to ground level we headed off on foot through the narrow streets of modern day Santa Cruz to follow the progress of the left flank British attacks as Nelson and Troubridge failed to press their attack against Castillo de San Cristóbal with the one building standing that serves as an excellent landmark to the fighting, namely the Church of our Lady of the Conception where Captain's Hood and Miller landed and managed to fight their way ashore despite their disorder.

With the darkness and their unfamiliarity with the maze of streets and the enemy harassing them at every corner, they were soon hopelessly lost, and still taking casualties they blundered into the square in front of the church.

Lieutenant Henry Webley described the nature of the fighting as the British landing parties struggled to fight their way into the town;

'. . . notwithstanding [the heavy fire of cannon and musketry] we landed 500 men in a very bad surf, which were with difficulty collected by light, having landed in different places, so that nothing material took place during the Night but continual skirmishing in the streets and the satisfaction of the inhabitants firing at us from holes and corners'.

A Spanish officer of Irish descent Bernado Cólogan recorded his impression of the fighting;

'Our people threw themselves into all the alley-mouths leading to these streets, in bands of from forty to sixty soldiers, some of them having a field gun discharging grape. As soon as the enemy showed his face, these were fired and felled a number of them'.

The Church of our Lady of the Conception seen across the bridge over the Barranco (River) de Santos.

From the church about 400 men combined from the survivors of the the landing and fought their way into town where they took up a defensive position in the Convento (Convent) de Santo Domingo which without windows on the ground floor made for an excellent fortification.

Sadly the convent was demolished, and the site is now occupied by a theatre. The church, now a cathedral, however survives and as well as providing a reference building to the 1797 battle also houses the tomb of General Gutiérrez, who died on the island just two years after his victory.

There is also another building that is contemporary to the 1797 battle that is close by, namely the Palacio de Carta in Plaza de la Candelaria, where Hood & Troubridge signed the truce and then paraded through the plaza.

The Palacio de Carta and Plaza de la Candelaria

The British return to their ships, 25th July 1797 - Nicolás Alfaro y Brieva
The Palacio de Carta is on the left of the picture.

The Palacio de Carta was built in 1752 by Matías Rodríguez Carta as a family home and then became the residence for military commanders on the island.

The same view as above of the Palacio de Carta in Plaza de la Candelaria in 2026.

Since 1947 it has been a protected historic building owned by the Canary Islands Government, and now houses the Tourist Information Office on the first floor which means there is public access to this historic building.

If you look closely you can see the roofed tower structure peeking above the front of the building and illustrated in Nicolás Alfaro y Brieva's picture.

The Tourist Information Office area is well worth a visit just to see the glories of this building with its intricately carved wooden facias and balustrades, a feature of the old architecture on the island, together with this Romanesque open air central garden feature, and there are information panels explaining the history of the building.

The Paso Alto Fort

The Paso Alto Fort and its heavy gun battery played a key role in both British attempts to secure a landing at Santa Cruz, and although the battery position and fort still exist unlike the San Cristobal Castle, the land reclamation along the Santa Cruz waterfront and commercial harbour development has somewhat altered the look of its original position and sighting to allow its guns to compliment the fire from San Cristobal against enemy shipping attempting to close with the shore; hence my inclusion of the Military Museum's model to better illustrate how it might have looked in 1797 compared to today.

The fort today is situated in a run down commercial area of the town, looking somewhat unloved and uncared for with litter lying around and a dosser's old sleeping bag left under a public bench, but given the historical relevance of the place it's well worth a visit.

 

A quick look over the wall and around its lower rampart, now with a seemingly disused play park on part of the reclaimed land that has altered the waterfront positioning since 1797 gives a hint at the sturdiness of this position and explains the effort Nelson's crews went to constructing scaling ladders in the first attempt to take this place on the night of the 21st July.

The fort's close proximity to the old town outskirts makes it obvious why Nelson and his captains considered this a good place to capture as the centre of their planned beachhead, and later construction of a heavy gun battery to bombard the town into submission, rather than the frontal assault on San Cristobal that they initially discounted but rather foolishly attempted on the 24th July, against an enemy defence well aware of their presence and on its guard.

View of Santa Cruz Town and Bay. This watercolour, painted on the spot by Lieutenant Henry Webly shows the British frigates and small landing boats on the morning of July 22, 1797, prior to the second landing attempt. In the centre can be seen the distinctive conical shape of La Altura, with the Castillo de Paso Alto at its foot.

The first attack on Paso Alto was in fact the only real chance of a British victory with a total landing force of about 900 men (200 from the Theseus, 270 from the Zealous and 150 from the Culloden with a further 100 men each from the three frigates).

With the row ashore under the cover of darkness thwarted by the offshore winds and choppy seas, Nelson observed three shots fired from the town that revealed the element of surprise had been lost and that the British had been spotted.

However the fact that Troubridge ordered his boats back to the frigates while he headed back to the Theseus to consult with Nelson, thus losing the whole momentum of the attack is surprising considering the way he steadfastly led the British fleet at the head of the van into action at the Battle of Cape St Vincent only five months previously.

Captain Thomas Troubridge of the Culloden

There is the famous account of his first lieutenant, Anselm Griffiths, advising his captain that they were likely to collide with one of the enemy ships as they closed on the gap between the two Spanish divisions. ‘Can’t help it Griffiths’, replied the indomitable Troubridge, ‘let the weakest fend off’, this before the Culloden 74-guns opened fire at the Spanish Admiral Moreno’s flagship the Principe de Asturias 112-guns, with a perfectly disciplined broadside at point blank range.

Of course hindsight is one-hundred percent correct and Troubridge could not have known how weak the Spanish garrison was that faced him, and apparently he was likely below par having, according to Captain Miller of the Theseus, 'lately been very ill' and so it would be very harsh to second guess his decision making that day.

On the afternoon of the 27th July 1797, the British squadron finally left the bay of Santa Cruz and headed north for Cadiz, the frigate Emerald having already sailed carrying Nelson's official report and with it his first full-length hand written letter striking a rather despondent note to Admiral Jervis now that the exhilaration of combat was over and the scale of defeat had begun to sink in;

'You will excuse my scrawl, considering it is my first attempt . . .  I am become a burthen to my friends and useless to my Country.'

After a tedious voyage, he finally rejoined the fleet off Cadiz on the 16th August, and still in the grips of his black mood, he wrote to his commander;

'A left-handed admiral will never again be considered as useful, therefore the sooner I get to a very humble cottage the better, and make room for a better man to serve the state'.

Admiral Sir John Jervis,
Earl of St Vincent (1735-1823) - Lemuel Francis Abbott.

However the new Lord St Vincent, having just received official notification of his new title was having none of Nelson's melancholy, writing in response;

'Mortals cannot command success; you and your Companions have certainly deserved it, by the greatest degree of heroism and perseverance that ever was exhibited'.

Nelson returned home to recover, reaching Spithead on September 1st 1797 welcomed by cheering crowds and then onto Bath on the 3rd September with the Bath Journal reporting;

'The Rear Admiral, who was received at Portsmouth with universal greeting, reached Bath on Sunday evening in good health and spirits, to the great joy of his Lady and venerable father, and the gratification of every admirer of British Valour'.

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In conclusion Carolyn and I had a fantastic winter break in Tenerife, managing to dodge the stormy weather that engulfed the island following our departure, and along with some great dining we managed to include plenty of walking that included a trip to the mighty volcano Mount Teide mentioned in part one of the post.

The volcanic cone of Mount Teide, the third highest volcano in the world, and still very active, but thankfully during our visit, sleeping.

The massive volcanic crater dominates the centre of the island of Tenerife and the lower collapsed crater has been the backdrop for many Western and Sci-Fi films over the years, including one I remember seeing back in the day, as a very impressionable young lad, 'One Million Years BC ' starring Raquel Welch.

Raquel Welch in her prime on Tenerife circa 1966.

The lower crater where a lot of the film was shot with Miss Welch providing a happy distraction from the incredible creatures that stalked the barren landscape of Mount Teide was immediately recognisable as the backdrop - sadly they don't make films like this anymore!

From the lower crater we took the short cable-car ride to the viewing platform just below the top cone where in warmer times of the year you can walk to the very top but during our visit was closed due to the hazards of strong winds and ice.

That said the view from the top was marvellous and worth the short bout of altitude sickness we experienced as we noticed the laboured breathing and effort to move one foot in front of the other as ones walking boots were suddenly lined with lead.

 

On our return to our beachside apartment in San Miguel de Tajao I happened to notice a local tug battling against the sea to get into our local fishing harbour with the usual offshore wind funnelled down the valleys from Mount Teide, and was immediately reminded of the experiences of Nelson's boat crews leaning into their sweeps in no doubt similar seas in an age when outboard motors could only be dreamed of and the certainty of when you would actually be able to beach the boat was very much in the lap of the gods.

These pictures illustrate why attacking Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a real challenge in the age of sail and makes you appreciate the difficulties those men faced.

I hope you enjoyed this little adventure in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the exploration of its history.

The blog will be back to wargaming in the next post with more AWI showcasing to present, plus another battle from the Anglo-Dutch War by Captain Steve, so as always more anon.

JJ

References sourced for this post:

The Trafalgar Companion - Mark Adkins

1797 Nelson's Year of Destiny - Colin White

https://www.marinersmuseum.org/2024/07/mortals-cannot-command-success-nelsons-disastrous-attack-on-santa-cruz-de-tenerife/

https://mechtraveller.com/2022/05/where-nelson-lost-his-arm-at-the-battle-of-santa-cruz-de-tenerife/