The Moonlight Battle off Cape St Vincent

Rodney first seized a Caracas Company convoy carrying warships and valuable merchant cargo, then encountered Admiral Juan de Langara's covering fleet on 16 January 1780. His eighteen ships of the line and six frigates faced nine Spanish ships of the line and two frigates. Although ill enough to command largely from bed, Rodney recognized that the Spanish force was not the van of a larger fleet and ordered a general chase. The British advantage in copper-sheathed speed enabled pursuit, while the lee-side position prevented Spanish ships from safely opening their lower gunports in the prevailing conditions. Fighting continued after dark, giving the action its Moonlight Battle name. One Spanish ship exploded and four were captured. A further Spanish ship was driven ashore, while another was retaken by its crew and reached Cadiz, though the account describes these outcomes as slightly disputed. Captain John MacBride avoided sending men from a smallpox-stricken British ship aboard a Spanish prize and instead paroled the Spanish crew. The victors then carried the Gibraltar supply convoy safely into port.