Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780) Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a naval battle took place off the southern coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the Anglo-Spanish War. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle because it was unusual for naval battles in the Age of Sail to take place at night. It was also the first major naval victory for the British over their European enemies in the war and proved the value of copper-sheathing
Earl St Vincent (1799 EIC ship) Goa on 2 December, and Bombay again on 15 December. Homeward bound, she was at Tellicherry 7 February and Anjengo on 28 February, before deviating to Point de Galle on 7 March. On 29 May 1807 was off the Cape of Good Hope when she sprang a leak. She sank at , almost due south of Cape Agulhas. Fortunately there was no loss of life. "Earl St Vincent", which was in company, managed to get all 203 or 209 persons on board "Ganges" off, including a number of soldiers from the 77th regiment of Foot. When Captain Harrington finally left