Image: Naval Chart of the Battle of Havana

Description: The chart shows the movements and deployments of British and Spanish ships during the Battle of Havana. The chart is a work of military apologism, the likes of which were often issued in 18th-century Britain in the wake of major actions that were less than completely successful. For while the Battle of Havana was a nominal victory for the British Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Henry Knowles, he fell short of completely capturing or destroying the Spanish squadron; only one ship (Conquistador) was captured, while four managed to retreat to the safety of Havana. The recriminations that followed were incredibly severe; Sir Charles publicly criticized most of his subordinates for their conduct, while they in turn petitioned the Admiralty to have him court-martialed, a rather exceptional course of action for the time. Two duels followed: one between Sir Charles and Holmes, and another between two of his captains, Innes and Clarke, in which Innes was killed. King George II himself intervened to forbid any more dueling over the Battle.
Title: Naval Chart of the Battle of Havana
Credit: Paul Fourdrinier, Seperately Published
Author: Barry Lawrence Ruderman Rare Maps
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes