page_title: Voyage of the Glorioso
section_title: Third and fourth
hierarchical_section_title: Voyage of the Glorioso / The battles / Third and fourth
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Tableau de la fin du XVIIIème siècle représentant le combat soutenu par le navire espagnol Glorioso contre plusieurs bâtiment britannique en septembre 1747.
context_page_description: The voyage of the Glorioso involved four naval engagements fought in 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession between the Spanish 70-gun ship of the line Glorioso and several British squadrons of ships of the line and frigates which tried to capture it. The Glorioso, carrying four million silver dollars from the Americas, was able to repel two British attacks off the Azores and Cape Finisterre, successfully landing her cargo at the port of Corcubión, Spain.
  Several days after unloading the cargo, while sailing to Cadiz for repairs, Glorioso was attacked successively near Cape St Vincent by four British privateer frigates and the ships of the line HMS Dartmouth and HMS Russell from Admiral John Byng's fleet. The Dartmouth blew up killing most of her crew, but the 92-gun Russell eventually forced the Glorioso to strike the colours. The British took her to Lisbon, where she had to be broken up because of the extensive damage suffered during the last battle. The commander of the ship, Pedro Messia de la Cerda, and his men, were taken to Great Britain as prisoners, but were considered heroes in Spain and gained the admiration of their enemies.
context_section_description: In Corcubión, Glorioso’s crew could make the necessary repairs to make the ship seaworthy. After that, Captain de la Cerda decided to head to Ferrol, but contrary winds damaged Glorioso's rigging and the ship was forced instead to make for Cadiz. She initially sailed away from the Portuguese coast to avoid further clashes with British ships. However, on 17 October, she encountered a squadron of four British privateers under Commodore George Walker near Cape Saint Vincent. This squadron, called the 'Royal Family'  because of the names of the ships, was composed of the frigates King George, Prince Frederick, Princess Amelia and Duke, altogether carrying 960 men and 120 guns.
  At 8 a.m. the King George, flagship of the division, managed to approach the Glorioso and the two ships exchanged fire, with the British frigate losing her mainmast and two guns as a result of Glorioso's first salvo. The Spanish and British ships duelled for three hours, taking heavy damage that forced her to break off contact. The Glorioso continued sailing to the south, being pursued by the three frigates, which were later reinforced by two ships of the line, the 50-gun HMS Dartmouth and the 92-gun HMS Russell.
  The captain of the Dartmouth, John Hamilton, managed to place his ship next to the Glorioso; nevertheless after a fierce exchange of fire the British ship caught fire on her powder magazine and blew up at 3:30 PM of 8 October. Captain Hamilton and most of the crew perished in the flames. Only a lieutenant, Christopher O’Brien, and 11 seamen survived the explosion. Some sources mention 14 survivors from a crew of 300. According to one survivor, HMS Dartmouth was already dismasted and heavily damaged by the Spanish gunfire when a round from Glorioso hit the light-room of the magazine, starting a fire that ignited the powder and blew the ship up. He recalled 15 seamen rescued out of a crew of 325. These men were saved by life boats from the Prince Frederick. The three frigates joined the Russell the following evening and together riddled the Glorioso with all their guns. The Spanish ship resisted from midnight to 9 AM, when about to sink, almost completely dismasted, without ammunition, and with 33 men killed and 130 wounded on board, Captain don Pedro Messia de la Cerda, seeing that the defence was impossible, surrendered her. HMS Russell had 12 seamen killed and several wounded. Another eight men died aboard King George.
caption: The Glorioso engaged by the Russell in her last battle. The wreck of the sinking Dartmouth is seen on the background.
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