Flores, Battle of, Azores, 1591

The Battle of Flores was a naval engagement during the Brittany Campaign of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585 fought off the Island of Flores between an English fleet of 22 ships under Lord Thomas Howard and a Spanish fleet of 55 ships under Alonso de Bazán. Sent to the Azores to capture the annual Spanish treasure convoy, when a stronger Spanish fleet appeared off Flores, Howard ordered his ships to flee to the north, saving all of them except the galleon Revenge commanded by Admiral Sir Richard Grenville. After transferring his ill crewmen onshore back to his ship, he led the Revenge in a rearguard action against 55 Spanish ships, allowing the English fleet to retire to safety. The crew of the Revenge sank and damaged several Spanish ships during a day-and-night running battle. The Revenge was boarded many times by different Spanish ships, and repelled each attack successfully. When Admiral Sir Richard Grenville was badly wounded, his surviving crew surrendered. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote a poem about the battle, entitled The Revenge: a Ballad of the Fleet.