Deaths at sea leave the expedition under command by committee

Lord Charles Cathcart and former Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood, the intended senior American commander, both died en route, destroying the expedition's planned hierarchy. Lieutenant General Thomas Wentworth was susceptible to pressure, Colonel William Gooch lacked the rank to balance Vernon, and war councils substituted persuasion and voting for accountable command. Consultation still requires someone with a casting decision and responsibility for stopping a bad plan. Vernon then used his seniority and Caribbean experience to redirect the expedition from Havana to Cartagena. The force later proceeded toward Havana but was too depleted by Cartagena to succeed there, making the target switch more consequential than a simple change in itinerary.