Historia Militar - History Lab

Five rifles recovered from the siege of Rosas (Catalonia, Spain)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

During the siege of the town of Rosas (Catalonia, Spain) in 1795, the Spanish naval force supported the troops ashore in an attempt to wear down the French rearguard. When the warship Triunfante was lost on 5 January, a 68-gun ship carrying a large number of rifles that failed to deliver to the troops besieged in Rosas.
Between 2008 and 2010, a major project by the CASC (Archaeology Museum of Catalonia) succeeded in excavating and investigating the ship Triumphant, which sank in the gulf that night. One of the most valuable elements were the five flintlock guns recovered by the archaeologists. The finds also indicate that the vast majority of the ammunition collected – around 80% – is 17 adarmes per pound, with the remainder being 21 adarmes per pound.
Identifying the remains of the rifles found, at the beginning of 1795, when the Triumphant was sunk, both the army and the navy used two types of 17-gauge rifles, the Model 1757 and the Model 1789. The main difference between them was the type of key used: while the Model 1757 used a “French-style” key, the Model 1789 was a “Catalan-style” key, difficult to clean, but safer and more resistant, in all other respects the two types of rifle are identical. The problem in the case of the Triumphant is the poor preservation of the iron of the keys and the barrels of the guns, but fortunately the E rifle appeared with a real spring that does not correspond to the French key, but identifies it as a Catalan key model.

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Plan of the city of Almeria in 1709

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:41 +0000

The Provincial Archive of Almería contains an excellent collection of maps and cartographic documentation. In this case, we are looking at a map of the city of Almería drawn by the Marquis of Canales (1709). In it we can perfectly appreciate elements such as the city wall, the Alcazaba, the network of narrow streets and, curiously, a fortress is drawn, with artillery, which must have disappeared at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession.

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Blas de Lezo, the hero of Cartagena

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:06 +0000

A 15-minute video about Blas de Lezo, a Spanish admiral known for the unique appearance of his numerous war wounds (one-eyed, one arm immobilised and one leg torn off), considered one of the best strategists in the history of the Spanish Navy and known for leading, together with Viceroy Sebastián de Eslava, the successful defence of Cartagena de Indias during the British siege of 1741.

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