Action of 17 February 1783
Part ofAmerican Revolutionary War
Date 17 February 1783 Location Caribbean Sea in betweenJamaica &Cuba Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	Spain
Commanders and leaders
George Stoney	Unknown
Strength
1Fifth-rateFrigate(HMS Fox)	1 frigate(Santa Catalina)
Casualties and losses
4 killed 1 wounded[1]	1 frigate captured 35 killed and wounded 128 captured

Theaction of 17 February 1783 was a minor naval engagement fought in betweenJamaica andCuba in theCaribbean Sea between aRoyal Navyfrigate HMSFox and aSpanish Navy frigateSanta Catalina.^[2]

Background

By the end of 1782 the Spanish and French had been on the defensive since theBattle of the Saintes, which signaled British domination of the seas in the Caribbean.^[3] Soon after the Royal Navy were conducting ablockade offCap-François andFort-Royal as well as keeping a watch offHavana.^[4] At the same time British frigates were intercepting both Spanish and Frenchprivateers.^[5]

CaptainGeorge Stoney inHMS Fox, a thirty-gun frigate was sent to Jamaica in charge of a captured Spanish privateer, one of two simultaneously taken nearSanto Domingo.^[1]

Action

On 17 February whilst sailing off the coast of Jamaica, a sail was spotted andFox sailed to investigate. As she approached, the vessel hauled up Spanish colours and thus cleared for action.^[1]Fox went in for the attack and soon realized she was fighting a frigate of nearly equal match in terms of size, guns and men. In the subsequent action which lasted for nearly four hours, the Spanish frigate was eventually dismasted byFox's devastatingcarronades. The Spanish captain realized he could not put up ajury rig to escape and soon afterstruck.^[1]

Aftermath

Santa Catalina, a Spanish frigate of 22 guns and 163 men, was sent fromHavana for the express purpose of making a prize of the British ship.^[6]

Fox had four men killed and one wounded in the action, whilstSanta Catalina was totally dismasted and sustaining nearly 35 casualties, with the rest of her crew of sailors and marines taken prisoner.Santa Catalina was broken up inPort Royal, as it was too damaged and had been advised against any repair.^[7]

• Allen, Joseph (1852).Battles of the British Navy, Volume 1. Bohn's illustrated library.ASIN B009ZMMQ56.
• Clowes, William Laird (2003).The Royal Navy: v. 4: A History – From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing.ISBN 978-1861760128.
• Lavery, Brian (2009).Empire of the seas: how the navy forged the modern world. Conway.ISBN 9781844861095.
• Marley, David (2005).Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO.ISBN 9781576070277.

• 1783 in the Caribbean
• Conflicts in 1783
• Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain
• Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Spain
• Naval battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–1783)

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2024