A minor naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars in which Spanish forces captured a French frigate and repelled a superior French squadron.
Key Facts
- Spanish flagship guns
- 112-gun Reina María Luisa
- French frigate captured
- Iphigenie
- Pursuit duration
- Over 24 hours
- Cannonballs fired by Montañés
- 1,100 cannonballs
- Spanish killed at Sant Feliu
- 3 men
- French squadron size (second action)
- 8 ships of the line and 2 frigates
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the War of the First Coalition, French and Spanish naval forces were operating in the western Mediterranean. A French squadron comprising the frigate Iphigenie and a corvette entered the Gulf of Roses, prompting the Spanish fleet under Admiral Juan de Lángara to respond. A storm had already separated the French corvette from its squadron three days prior.
On 14 February 1795, the 112-gun Spanish ship of the line Reina María Luisa pursued the French frigate Iphigenie for over 24 hours, forcing her to strike her colors. Weeks later, the 74-gun Montañés, escorting the captured Iphigenie, was attacked near Sant Feliu de Guíxols by a French squadron of eight ships of the line that initially sailed under a false Spanish flag.
The Montañés repelled the superior French force after firing 1,100 cannonballs, suffering only three killed and several wounded. The French squadron subsequently withdrew to Menorca. Spain secured the captured Iphigenie, while the French corvette was presumed lost at sea following the earlier storm.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Juan de Lángara.
Side B
1 belligerent