HMS Captain — 74-gun Third Rate
Generated illustration. Not a historical photograph. A British 74-gun two-decker of the Cape St Vincent generation. Not a named portrait of the ship.
Overview
Captain was the British 74-gun two-decker Nelson Horatio — Biography Overview sailed at the Battle of Cape St Vincent 1797 — Overview on 14 February 1797. Knight’s Cape St Vincent chapter (pp. 211–230) is the vault’s scholarly spine for that day. The battle overview already places Nelson second from the rear in Captain.1
Specifications
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Guns | 74 |
| Type | British two-decker ship of the line |
| Fleet | Jervis’s 15, 14 February 1797 |
A 74 is not a First Rate Ship of the Line — Class Overview. It is the British workhorse two-decker — the same rate-family as the French Redoutable — French 74-gun Ship, not the 100-gun three-decker HMS Victory — Overview that flew Jervis John Earl St Vincent — Biography’s flag that day.
Service
This note covers 14 February 1797 only. Launch yard, earlier commissions, and later fate are not on a licensed named-ship page — they stay on RESEARCH_QUEUE.
About 1:30 pm Nelson wore Captain out of the Line of Battle — Naval Tactic without waiting for the ships ahead to tack, and threw her across the Spanish van — including Santísima Trinidad — Spanish First Rate. Captain was heavily mauled. Collingwood Cuthbert — Biography in Excellent came up in support. When San Nicolás and San José fouled, Nelson ran Captain alongside San Nicolás; the boarding that followed is the manoeuvre later called the Patent Bridge. Four Spanish ships of the line were taken that day.2
Sources
- @knight2005pursuit — pp. 211–230 (card: Cape St Vincent; signal, wear, Patent Bridge)
- @white2005nelson
- @adkin2005trafalgar
- Battle of Cape St Vincent 1797 — Overview — already cites those four cards
Related
Navigation
Same Battle
- Battle of Cape St Vincent 1797 — Overview
- Jervis John Earl St Vincent — Biography — accepted the unauthorised wear
- Collingwood Cuthbert — Biography — Excellent in support
Ships
- HMS Victory — Overview — Jervis’s flag
- Santísima Trinidad — Spanish First Rate — in the Spanish van
- First Rate Ship of the Line — Class Overview — the class Captain is not
- Redoutable — French 74-gun Ship — later French 74, same rate-family
Cross-Domain
- Line of Battle — Naval Tactic — the formation Nelson left
- Cadiz — Spanish Naval Port
- Age of Sail — Era Overview
- HMS Excellent — 74-gun Third Rate — came up in support
- Four Spanish Prizes of Cape St Vincent 1797 — the four ships taken that day
- Captain Broad Pendant — 13 February 1797 — 13 February shift only
Footnotes
-
@knight2005pursuit Key Claims: pp. 211–230. Force, flagship, and Nelson in Captain are already on Battle of Cape St Vincent 1797 — Overview and Jervis John Earl St Vincent — Biography. ↩
-
Wear at about 1:30 pm, Excellent’s relief, the fouled San Nicolás / San José, four prizes: sourced battle overview, not a new page. ↩