Action of 6 May 1801
| Action of 6 May 1801 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War of the Second Coalition | |||||||
The Capture of the El Gamo Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, 1845 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United Kingdom | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lord Cochrane | Francisco de Torres † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 brig | 1 xebec-frigate | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
3 killed 9 wounded |
14 killed 305 captured 1 xebec-frigate captured | ||||||
The action of 6 May 1801 was a single-ship action fought between the Spanish xebec-frigate El Gamo and the British brig-sloop HMS Speedy during the War of the Second Coalition. Under the command of Commander Lord Cochrane, Speedy, with a crew of 54 men and mounting 14 guns, captured El Gamo, which mounted 32 guns and had a 319-strong crew onboard. The Spanish ship's captain, Francisco de Torres, was one of 14 Spaniards killed during the engagement, with the British capturing the rest of El Gamo's crew and eventually selling the ship to the Regency of Algiers.