Siege of Gibraltar flag
A British garrison captured this royal banner from the Spanish in 1782
A 200-year-old battlefield souvenir
With an area covering only 6.2 square kilometres (2.4 square miles) and dominated by the ‘Rock’, Gibraltar is a geographical choke point that controls the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a strategically vital base for the Royal Navy and has been a bitter point of contention in Anglo-spanish relations since 1704 – arguably none more so than during the ‘Great Siege’ of 1779-83.
Conducted during the American War of Independence, the siege was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British. The garrison of 7,500 fought against approximately 65,000 Spanish and French soldiers and sailors for over three years and seven months. This was the longest siege endured by the British armed forces, and it was also one of the longest sieges in history.
Although it began on 24 June 1779, the siege did not reach its climax until the ‘Grand Assault’ of September 1782. Tens of thousands of Spanish and French troops, along with 49 ships of the line and ten ‘floating batteries’, attacked the garrison from land and sea. The assault was a disaster, particularly when all the floating batteries were destroyed. This action ultimately led to the garrison’s relief by the Royal Navy on 7 February 1783.
One of the spoils captured by the British during the Grand Assault was this hand-sewn white linen Spanish flag. Painted with the royal arms of Spain, the flag is dominated by the Cross of Burgundy saltire, which was the emblem of the ruling Habsburg dynasty. It is believed to have been presented to naval Lieutenant James Robert Mosse, and the flag is now held in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.