Action of 26 April 1797

Action of 26 April 1797
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Cadiz (in red), with the site of the battle marked.
Date 26 April 1797 Location Conil Bay, Spain Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	Spain
Commanders and leaders
George Martin
Strength
ship of the line HMS Irresistible and frigate HMS Emerald	frigates Santa Elena and Ninfa
Casualties and losses
1 killed, 1 wounded	18 killed, 30 wounded. Santa Elena destroyed and Ninfa captured

The action of 26 April 1797 was a minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars in which a Spanish convoy of two frigates was trapped and defeated off the Spanish town of Conil de la Frontera by British ships of the Cadiz blockade. The British vessels, the ship of the line HMS Irresistible and the Fifth-rate frigate HMS Emerald, were significantly more powerful than the Spanish frigates, which were on the last stage of a voyage carrying treasure from Havana, Cuba, to the Spanish fleet base of Cadiz.

The British commander, Captain George Martin, succeeded in chasing the Spanish vessels into the rocky Conil Bay, where they surrendered after a brief engagement in which the Spanish suffered significantly higher casualties than the British. One of the Spanish ships, the Santa Elena, was subsequently wrecked on the shore, while the other, the Ninfa, was captured and later recommissioned into the Royal Navy. The treasure carried on board the frigates, however, had been removed by a Spanish fishing boat before the battle and so did not fall into British hands.