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Federico Gravina

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Spanish Navy officer (1756–1806)

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In thisSpanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gravina and the second or maternal family name is Cruyllas.

Federico Gravina
Portrait of Gravina wearing the sash of theOrder of Charles III
Birth name	Federico Carlo Gravina Cruyllas
Born	(1756-08-12)12 August 1756 Palermo,Kingdom of Sicily
Died	9 May 1806(1806-05-09) (aged 49) Cádiz, Spain
Allegiance	Spain
Branch	Spanish Navy
Service years	1768–1806
Rank	Captain general of the Navy
Conflicts	American Revolutionary War Great Siege of Gibraltar Capture of HMS St. Fermin Invasion of Minorca (1781) French Revolutionary Wars Siege of Toulon (1793) Napoleonic Wars Battle of Trafalgar (DOW)

Captain general of the NavyFederico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli (bornFederico Carlo Gravina y de Cruyllas; 12 August 1756 – 9 May 1806) was aSpanish Navy officer who served in theAmerican Revolutionary War and theFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] He died of wounds sustained during theBattle of Trafalgar. ExplorerJacinto Caamaño named theGravina Island inAlaska in his honor.

Origins and military career

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Gravina was born inPalermo,capital city of theKingdom of Sicily.^[5] His father was Don Giovanni Gravina Cruyllas Moncada, Prince ofMontevago,Duke of San Miguel andGrandee of Spain, and his mother was Donna Eleonora Napoli Montaperto, daughter of the Prince ofResuttano, also a Grandee of Spain.^[6] He was the third of five brothers: the eldest son, Girolamo, inherited the titles; two others became prelates,Pietro,cardinal archbishop of Palermo, and Gabriele (born Berengario),bishop of Catania. TheGravina Cruyllas were a prominent Sicilian aristocratic family ofCatalan origins^[7] settled inCatania andPalermo.

At that time theSalic law was in force, so the ultrogenous sons opted for either the ecclesiastical career, as in the case of the two brothers, or a military career, as was the case with Federico Carlo. With the help of his uncle, theNeapolitan andSicilian Ambassador toSpain, he entered theSpanish Navy, as a naval cadet aged 12. He then served as midshipman on board the frigateSanta Clara in Brazil. In the course of this voyage, he carried out his first command when obtaining the surrender of the castle of the Ascensión, located in a small barren island near Santa Catalina. In 1777 he survived a boat accident in theRiver Plate in which most of the crew drowned. In 1778, on returning to Spain, he served as a lieutenant aboard a ship suppressingAlgerian pirates. He then obtained his first command – the polacre-riggedxebecSan Luis – in which he participated in theSiege of Gibraltar between 1779 and 1782,capturing the British sloop-of-warHMS St Fermin.

After promotion to commander he participated in the expedition againstMenorca (then under British control), distinguishing himself in the attack on thefortress of San Felipe. After this, and for other actions, he was promoted to captain. In 1785 he commanded a squadron operating against Algerian corsairs, wiping them out and being awarded for his success. In 1788 he travelled toConstantinople returning the Ambassador Jussuf Efendi. While there he made and published various astronomical observations. After the death ofKing Charles III, Gravina took the news to the colonies, where his frigatePaz recorded one of the fastest-ever times for passages from Cadiz to the Spanish possessions inCentral America.

In 1790 he was given command of a ship-of-the line, thePaula, in which he took part in the evacuation ofOran. The same year saw him demonstrate his administrative talents for the first time. During theNootka Crisis, Gravina organised the formation of a Spanish fleet, the largest in 200 years. However, the crisis was eventually solved by diplomatic means.

In 1793 Gravina, now second-in-command of the Spanish fleet, served alongsideSamuel Hood in thesiege of Toulon. During this period he also visited Portsmouth to study British naval technology and tactics. On his return to Spain he was appointed to command a squadron of four ships, with which he served in the Mediterranean taking an active part in the war against Revolutionary France. His flagship was theHermenegildo (112).

In 1796 Spain signed thetreaty of San Ildefonso with France, making peace and later entering the war against Britain. Gravina served in a squadron underJose de Mazarredo. In 1801 he was sent toSan Domingo in the West Indies in command of the Spanish fleet during theHaiti expedition under the French GeneralCharles Leclerc.

In 1804 he was appointed Ambassador to France inParis. He accepted this position on one condition: if war should break out he would immediately return to the military.

While in Paris he attendedNapoleon's coronation as Emperor, and established good relations withDenis Decres, the French naval minister. Gravina played a major part in the negotiations of the Franco-Spanish pact which put the Spanish Navy at Napoleon's disposal. For his servicesKing Charles IV appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Navy, and Gravina returned to Cadiz to hoist his flag on the shipArgonauta (80) in February 1805.

Trafalgar

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Gravina (left) andHoratio Nelson (right) in an illustration byBenito Pérez Galdós, 1882

When Napoleon proposed to invade Great Britain, following the orders of the government ofGodoy, Gravina was placed under the command of French AdmiralPierre-Charles Villeneuve, who took the Franco-Spanish fleet into Caribbean waters to mislead the British navy. The objective was to allow the crossing of the English Channel by 180,000 men that Napoleon had waiting aroundBoulogne. The deception did not have desired effect. On its return the Franco-Spanish fleet was intercepted by a fleet under SirRobert Calder at theBattle of Cape Finisterre, losing the Spanish shipsFirme andSan Rafael. After this they took refuge inCádiz by order of Villeneuve, contradicting the original plan of Napoleon. The French soldiers never embarked, and were moved to the interior of Europe, freeing many of them to take part in theBattle of Austerlitz. He later moved his flag toPríncipe de Asturias.

In Cadiz relations between the supposed allies were poor. Gravina and other Spanish commanders argued strongly with the French, who wanted to sail immediately, whereas the Spaniards recommended waiting for more favourable conditions. Gravina was also concerned about the yellow fever epidemic that had left his ships short of men, as well as the lingering resentment against the French, for their perceived lack of support at the Battle of Cape Finisterre. The fleet finally left Cadiz on 20 October 1805, leading to theBattle of Trafalgar the next day.

During the battle Gravina, on his flagshipPríncipe de Asturias, found himself attacked by three British ships at once. The main mast and mizzen were shot through, rigging and sails shot to pieces. At about half past three in the afternoon Gravina's left arm was shattered by grapeshot, and seeing a looming defeat, he managed to gather ten ships around his flagship and fell back to Cadiz under tow. Despite this Gravina was promoted to the highest military rank ofcaptain general of the Navy, but he never fully recovered from his wounds and finally succumbed to them on 9 May 1806, aged 49. On his deathbed he said, "I am a dying man, but I die happy; I am going, I hope and trust, to joinNelson, the greatest hero that the world perhaps has produced."

Memorial service in remembrance of Gravina at theBasilica of San Francisco el Grande, 1870

In turn theGibraltar Chronicle paid the following tribute, "Spain loses in Gravina the most distinguished officer in her navy; one under whose command her fleets, though sometimes beaten, always fought in such a manner as to merit the encomiums of their conquerors." As Napoleon wrote in a letter of 11 August 1805: "Gravina is all genius and decision in combat. If Villeneuve had had those qualities, the battle of Finisterre would have been a complete victory". Gravina is buried at thePanteón de Marinos Ilustres inSan Fernando, Cadiz.