Action of 23 August 1806
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| Action of 23 August 1806 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Caribbean campaign of 1803–1810 | |||||||
.jpg) Capture of the Pomona by Anson & Arethusa off Havannah, 23 Aug 1806 Thomas Whitcombe | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United Kingdom | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Charles Lydiard Charles Brisbane | Pedro Pablo de Sanguineto y Basso † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2 frigates |
1 frigate 12 gunboats 1 shore battery | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2 killed 32 wounded[1] |
317 captured 1 frigate captured 6 gunboats captured 3 gunboats destroyed[2] | ||||||
The action of 23 August 1806 was a minor naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars fought between the British and Spanish off Havana, Cuba. In the engagement, the Spanish frigate Pomona was captured by the British frigates HMS Anson and HMS Arethusa under the commands of Captain Charles Lydiard and Charles Brisbane respectively. As well as the frigate being captured, a shore battery was silenced and a fleet of gunboats was defeated.
The Royal Navy dominated the West Indies region after the French defeat at San Domingo. The Spanish had been on the defensive due to the diminished French naval power and the subsequent blockade of Cádiz, which had been made possible by the battle of Trafalgar. Lydiard was appointed to command the 38-gun HMS Anson[3] in 1805. Anson had originally been a 64-gun third rate, but had been razeed in 1794.[4] He sailed Anson to the West Indies in early 1806 and in August was sailing in company with Captain Charles Brisbane's HMS Arethusa when on 23 August they came across the 38-gun Spanish frigate Pomona off Havana, guarded by a shore battery and twelve gunboats.