The British warships Favourite and Active capturing Hermione by Richard Wright | |
History | |
---|---|
Spain | |
Name | Hermione |
Homeport | Cadiz |
Captured | 31 May 1762 |
General characteristics | |
Type | 26-gun frigate |
Armament | 26 × 9-pounder guns |
The Spanish ship Hermione was a 26-gun frigate of the Spanish Navy, draughted by a British designer at Cadiz. [1] Opinions differ on the age and provenance of this ship. Some claim it to have been the Hermione bought in 1730. [2] Others believe it to have been the Hermione constructed in the Arsenal de la Carraca, Cadiz in 1752. [3]
The ship fired several broadsides into the privateer Antigallican when held at Cadiz in 1756 at the beginning of the Seven Years' War, at that time armed with 32 nine-pounders. [4] [5]
Hermione engaged Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate, the 28-gun HMS Active, and the 18-gun sloop-of-war Favourite under Captain Philemon Pownoll, off the coast of Spain near the port of Cadiz in the action of 31 May 1762. [6] [7] The British captured Hermione, with the capture being notable for the size and value of the bounty seized and the subsequent prize money awarded, possibly the largest ever in a single haul.
William Cole, on a visit to his friend Horace Walpole, noted the suicide of Walpole's neighbour, Isaac Fernandez Nunez, in the summerhouse of Cross Deep House, following Nunez's ruin as insurer of Hermione. [8] [9]
Hermione features in a picture by Richard Wright, dated November 1762, depicting the capture and dedicated to the victorious captains by the artist. [1]
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