Nelson boarding the 'San Nicolas' in the victory off Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797,...

Creator: W.R. Thomas; A. W. Reeve Once alongside the enemy ship the crew boarded her decks, expecting surrender after close-quarters fighting. Here Nelson is boarding the Spanish 'San Nicolas' at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797. From her he also captured the 120-gun 'San Josef', which had become entangled alongside - an event that caught the naval and public imagination as 'Nelson's patent bridge for boarding first-rates'. Although many paintings commemorated the feat, aquatints and etchings like this brought the action to a wider audience. Both ships were taken into the Royal Navy. The 'San Nicolas' became a prison ship in 1800 and the 'San Josef' lasted until 1849.