Qualla: Battle of La Guaira (1812)

Battle of La Guaira (1812): Introduction

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863, Public domain. The War of 1812 is usually remembered as a conflict fought along the Canadian border and in the Chesapeake Bay. But on December 11, 1812, the war reached the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, where an American privateer named Saratoga tangled with a British brig off the port of La Guaira - a fight complicated by the fact that Spain, which controlled the port, wanted both of them gone.

Image: Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863 | Public domain

Battle of La Guaira (1812): An Unwelcome Guest

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863, Public domain. Captain Charles Whiting Wooster brought his schooner Saratoga into La Guaira on December 10, 1812, during a commerce-raiding cruise through the Caribbean. The Saratoga carried 16 guns and a crew of 140 men, making her a serious threat to merchant shipping. But La Guaira was a Spa...

Image: Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863 | Public domain

Battle of La Guaira (1812): A Dead Captain's Ship

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863, Public domain. The next morning, December 11, a heavy fog blanketed the coast. When it began to lift, Wooster's lookouts spotted an incoming brig - a vessel that turned out to be a British letter of marque originally commanded by Captain N. Dalmahoy. She displaced 237 tons, mounted fourteen lon...

Image: Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863 | Public domain

Battle of La Guaira (1812): Two Hours to Close

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863, Public domain. Immediately after spotting the British brig, Wooster set sail to intercept. But the wind and sea conditions that morning were uncooperative, and it took the Saratoga two full hours to close to firing range. The engagement that followed was decided by weight of numbers: the Sarato...

Image: Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863 | Public domain

Battle of La Guaira (1812): Prizes Lost and Won

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863, Public domain. The aftermath was messy, as War of 1812 naval engagements in distant waters often were. A 12-man American prize crew was placed aboard one of the captured vessels, but the British managed to retake the Americans and bring them aboard the Fawn. The British put their own six-man pr...

Image: Adam Weingartner, New York - working in 1849-1863 | Public domain