A Christmas naval action shifts the subject from festive food jokes back to operational history. Commodore Horatio Nelson's force fought Spanish frigates while other Spanish ships, including a first-rate, complicated the action. Sabina was first captured and then recaptured, leaving the result tactically inconclusive despite hard fighting.
Notable Point · 52:17-54:01
Nelson's inconclusive Christmas frigate action
A seasonal aside recalls the December 1796 frigate action in which Nelson's Minerve captured Sabina before the prize was retaken.