HMS Santa Monica
About this property
HMS Santa Monica was a Spanish frigate which battled the British HMS Pearl in 1778, off the Azores. It was built in 1777 in Cartagena, Spain and launched as Santa Ammonica. It was taken as a prize in the 1778 battle, commissioned into the Royal Navy and renamed in 1779, but a few years later was grounded off Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, and was broken up. Its wreck was later found in what is now the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. On 14 September 1779, HMS Pearl engaged the 28-gun Santa Monica off the Azores. At 6:00 that morning, the Spanish frigate was spotted to the north-west and was brought to action after a 3+1⁄2-hour chase. The Santa Monica surrendered after a two-hour engagement, having 38 men killed and 45 wounded. Pearl had 12 killed and 19 wounded. The Santa Monica was a larger frigate than Pearl, at 956 long tons (971 t) burden, but not as well armed; she was rerated as a 36-gun when taken into British service. There was a mutiny aboard the ship on 16 July 1781. It was grounded off Tortola on 1 April 1782. The shipwreck was found in the general area of Coral Bay, off Saint John in what is now the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Its specific location is not disclosed. Clowes, William Laird (1997) . The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume IV. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-013-2. Winfield, Rif (2008) . British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (2nd, revised ed.). Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4. Winfield, Rif; Tredrea, John M; García-Torralba Pérez, Enrique & Blasco Felip, Manuel (2023). Spanish Warships in the Age of Sail 1700—1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9078-1. Photos from the NRHP listing document, showing artifacts from the shipwreck, and paintings
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was HMS Santa Monica listed on the National Register?
HMS Santa Monica was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 1978.
What type of historic resource is HMS Santa Monica?
HMS Santa Monica is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for HMS Santa Monica?
The period of significance for HMS Santa Monica is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near HMS Santa Monica?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near HMS Santa Monica will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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