Don Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli, (Palermo, Sicily, 1756 - Cadiz, 1806), was a Spanish Admiral during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 and Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, who died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

.

He was the son of Don Juan Gravina y Moncada and Doña Leonor Napoli y Monteaporto. His family originated in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, then part of the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

, and ruled by a Spanish Bourbon dynasty. With the help of his uncle, the Neapolitan Ambassador to Spain, he entered the Spanish Navy, as a naval cadet aged 12. He then served as Midshipman on board the frigate Santa 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 the River Plate

Río de la Plata

The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...

 in which most of the crew drowned. In 1778, on returning to Spain, he served as a lieutenant aboard a ship suppressing Algerian pirates. He then obtained his first command - the xebec

Xebec

A xebec , also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzen mast...

 San Luis - in which he participated in the Siege of Gibraltar

Great Siege of Gibraltar

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...

 between 1779 and 1782.

After promotion to Commander he participated in the expedition against Minorca

Minorca

Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....

 (then under British control), distinguishing himself in the attack on the fortress of San Felipe. After this, and for other actions, he was promoted to Captain. In 1785 he commanded a squadron operating against Algerian corsairs. In 1788 he travelled to Constantinople

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 returning the Ambassador Jussuf Efendi. While there he made and published various astronomical observations. After the death of King Charles III

Charles III of Spain

Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...

, Gravina took the news to the colonies, where his frigate Paz recorded one of the fastest-ever times for passages from Cadiz to the Spanish possessions in Central America.

In 1790 he was given command of a ship-of-the line, the Paula, in which he took part in the evacuation of Oran. The same year saw him demonstrate his administrative talents for the first time. During the Nootka Sound Crisis

Nootka Convention

The Nootka Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s which averted a war between the two empires over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.The claims of Spain dated back...

, 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 alongside Admiral Hood

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...

 in the Toulon

Siege of Toulon

The Siege of Toulon was an early Republican victory over a Royalist rebellion in the Southern French city of Toulon. It is also often known as the Fall of Toulon.-Context:...

. During this period of the alliance with England he also visited Portsmouth to study British methods 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 the Hermenegildo (112).

In 1796 Spain signed the treaty of San Ildefonso with France, making peace and later entering the war against Britain. Gravina fought in a squadron under Don Jose de Mazarredo. In 1801 he was sent to San Domingo

Saint-Domingue

The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...

 in the West Indies in command of the Spanish fleet during the Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

 expedition under the French General Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc

Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc was a French Army general and husband to Pauline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon Bonaparte.-To 1801:...

.

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

While in Paris he attended Napoleon

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

's coronation as Emperor, and established good relations with Denis Decres

Denis Decrès

Denis Decrès, , was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire.-Early career:...

, 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 services King Charles IV

Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...

 appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Navy, and Gravina returned to Cadiz to hoist his flag in the ship Argonauta (80) in February 1805.

Trafalgar

When Napoleon proposed to invade Great Britain, following the orders of the government of Godoy

Manuel de Godoy

Don Manuel Francisco Domingo de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, de los Ríos y Sánchez-Zarzosa, also Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria de los Ríos Sánchez Zarzosa , was Prime Minister of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808...

, Gravina was placed under the command of French Admiral Villeneuve

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....

, who took the Franco-Spanish fleet into Caribbean waters to confuse the English fleet. The objective was to allow the crossing of the English Channel by 180,000 men that Napoleon had waiting around Boulogne

Boulogne-sur-Mer

-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

. The deception did not have desired effect. On its return the Franco-Spanish fleet was intercepted by a fleet under Sir Robert Calder

Robert Calder

Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...

 at the Battle of Cape Finisterre

Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)

In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...

, losing the Spanish ships Firme and San Rafael. After this they took refuge in Cadiz 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 the Battle of Austerlitz

Battle of Austerlitz

The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...

.

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 a 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 the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

 the next day.

During the battle Gravina, in his flagship Principe 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 of Capitán-General de la Armada (Admiral of the Fleet), but he never fully recovered from his wounds and finally succumbed on 9 March 1806, aged 49.

On his death-bed he said, "I am a dying man, but I die happy; I am going, I hope and trust, to join Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...

, the greatest hero that the world perhaps has produced."

In turn the Gibraltar Chronicle

Gibraltar Chronicle

The Gibraltar Chronicle is a national newspaper published in Gibraltar since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language newspaper to have been in print continuously...

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 the Panteon de Marinos Ilustres, San Fernando, Cadiz.

See also

Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....