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Yesterday was Valentine’s Day! On 14 February 217 years ago Horatio Nelson was present at the action which became the watershed of his career: the Battle of Cape St Vincent. A victory a gunner aboard Goliath remarked, “We gave them their Valentine’s in style”.
When Spain entered the French Revolutionary War Britain was forced to abandon the Mediterranean. Nelson masterminded the evacuation from Elba and sailed to join Admiral Sir John Jervis’s fleet at Lisbon. Britain was in need of a victory and the actions of Jervis and Nelson brought it about. The climactic story is well-known: With 15 ships Jervis formed a single line of battle and sailed for a gap between the ill-formed Spanish formations of 27 ships. He split the enemy into two unequal groups and attacked the main formation from the rear. However, the smaller Spanish formation disrupted the manoeuvre allowing the larger formation to attack the British rear.
