CASUALTY RECORD // June 17, 1815
Battle off Cape Gata
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
1 sides catalogued · combined 406 estimated
Régence d'Alger
406
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle off Cape Gata opened the Second Barbary War and immediately set its tone. Decatur's squadron intercepted and captured the Meshuda, flagship of the Algerine Navy under Admiral Hamidou, off the south-east coast of Spain on June 17, 1815. The swift capture of the enemy's principal warship in the war's first engagement handed the United States a commanding early position in the conflict, removing Algiers's most prominent naval asset at the outset of the campaign. Algerian casualties numbered 406, underscoring the completeness of the defeat. The outcome demonstrated that American naval force could operate decisively in Mediterranean waters against the Barbary states, establishing the terms on which the rest of the war would proceed.
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