| Ships names. | Guns. | Captains. | |
| Cæsar. | 84 | Captain | Jahleel Brenton. |
| Spencer | 74 | " | Henry D'Esterre Darby. |
| Venerable | 74 | " | Samuel Hood. |
| Superb | 74 | " | Rich. Goodwin Keats. |
| Audacious | 74 | " | Shuldham Peard. |
| Thames | 36 | " | A.P. Holles. |
| Total | 416 | ||
| In favour of the} | —— | ||
| enemy.} | 546 |
The Rear-admiral had his flag on board the Cæsar, 84.
The guns of the enemy's ships being much heavier, increased their weight of metal to triple that of the squadron.
The Superb had Lieutenant Waller, and fourteen seamen and marines, wounded. The Venerable had Mr. J. Williams (her master), fifteen seamen, and two marines, killed; Lieutenant Thomas Church, Mr. Snell (boatswain), Messrs. Massey and Pardoe (midshipmen), seventy-three seamen, and ten marines, wounded.
In the French and Spanish accounts of this action, which will be given hereafter, it will be seen that the loss of the enemy has not been accurately enumerated; but, out of two thousand men that were in the Real Carlos and Hermenegildo, only three hundred were saved. Commodore Le Ray, of the San Antonio, was wounded; but his loss in men, which must have been severe, has not been ascertained.
We shall here give some interesting extracts from private letters from Sir James, written at the close of the battle:
Cæsar, 13th July 1801, 8 A.M.
I shall leave you to judge of the difference of my feelings to those when I sat down to write the letter of this day week.[39] To an all-merciful Providence is to be ascribed the wonderful and most awful event of last night, which will ever be remembered with terror by the nations it concerned, and by me with infinite gratitude for so peculiar a token of Divine mercy vouchsafed towards me.
Two days after the action of last Monday, a strong squadron was sent to Algeziras from Cadiz, to protect the disabled French ships, and to convoy them to the latter port, with the Hannibal, which ship they had succeeded in getting off the shoal whereon she had unfortunately grounded. It may be supposed that no exertion was wanting on my part to get the squadron in a state for service; and, beyond all expectation, owing to the great activity and zeal of every officer and man in the squadron, we were in a state to put to sea yesterday, on the enemy's getting under sail from the Bay of Algeziras; the Pompée excepted, which had not sufficient time to get in new masts.
Late in the evening I observed that the enemy's ships, consisting of ten sail of the line and four frigates, had succeeded in clearing the bay; and at eight o'clock I made sail after them. Captain Keats, who, in the Superb, had been much mortified at not having shared in the former affair, being near the Cæsar, I directed him to endeavour to bring the rear ships of the enemy to action; myself following with the Venerable, and the other two ships, some distance astern.