Action of 6 May 1801

Action of 6 May 1801
Part of the War of the Second Coalition
Capture of the El Gamo (Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, 1845)
Date 6 May 1801 Location Off Barcelona, Mediterranean Sea Result British victory
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[1]	14 killed 305 captured 1 xebec-frigate captured[1]

The action of 6 May 1801 was a single-ship action fought between the Spanish Navy xebec-frigate El Gamo and the Royal Navy sloop-of-war 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 319 personnel onboard. The Spanish commander, Don 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.