The history of Armada at the end of the 18th century is full of different bright personalities. Here is a sailor with organizational and diplomatic skills, about whom someone started a story that he was the bastard of Carlos III himself. Here is a man who has devoted his whole life to serving others, including ordinary people, who does not care about his noble origins. And how many scientists there were in Armada! Here and Gastagneta, and Jorge Juan, and Antonio de Ulloa…. But the most revered and famous scientist of the Armada of the late 18th century is Cosme Damian de Churruca and Elorsa.
Childhood and adolescence
In the Basque Country, in the city of Motrico, on the same estate that José Antonio de Gastagneta built, in 1761 a boy named Cosme Damian de Churruca y Elorsa was born. His father was the mayor of the city, Francisco de Churruca and Iriondo, and his mother was Dona Maria Teresa de Elorsa and Iturris. He was not the first child in the family - the boy had an older brother, Juan Baldomero (1758-1838), who achieved great success in linguistics and jurisprudence, and also became one of the heroes of the Spanish War of Independence (as in Spain they call the war with France 1808- 1815). Since childhood, Cosme Damian was a modest, restrained, kind and sympathetic person, and he managed to maintain these traits throughout his life, which is why, if not all, then the vast majority of people who met him during his lifetime, later spoke about him with great sympathy and respect. In addition, the boy was smart, very smart, which opened up great opportunities for him in the future. He received his first education at the cathedral gymnasium in Burgos, and then he almost took the path of church life, intending to become ordained a priest, but the sea did not let go of the descendant of the great admiral Gastaneta. Since childhood, he lived on stories about the admiral, sea battles and travels, and therefore was not indifferent to the fleet. But this was not the decisive factor - in the same place, in Burgos, Cosme met with the archbishop's nephew, a young Marine officer, and a conversation with him finally convinced the young Basque that his future was connected exclusively with the Armada.
After the cathedral gymnasium, he entered school in Vergara, at the same time becoming a member of the Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country, which he did not leave until his death. This was followed by a special military education - in 1776 he entered the Academy of Cadiz, and finished his studies already in Ferrol, in 1778. At the same time, he achieves such success in the study of naval sciences that the leadership decides to single him out from his classmates, promoting a 16-year-old youth to the rank of midshipman of a frigate (alferez de fragata). At the end of the year, Churruca entered the command of Francisco Gil de Taboada, one of the most prominent sailors in Spain at the time, and embarked on his maiden voyage aboard the ship San Vicente. He soon took part in a major war against Great Britain, which was fought alongside American separatists and French allies. Here Churruka showed himself as a courageous and skillful sailor, easily plotting difficult courses, boldly behaved under enemy fire. In 1781, he was already on board the frigate "Santa Barbara", under the command of another famous Spanish sailor, Ignacio Maria de Alava, and took part in the general assault on the fortress of Gibraltar. And again he proved himself to be a competent, skillful and courageous officer, initiating a risky maneuver, as a result of which his frigate tried to help the flaming floating batteries under fire from the British fortress artillery. After the failure of the assault, "Santa Barbara" went to Montevideo, and again fate allowed Churruca to prove himself - the young officer discovered an error in the navigator's calculations, as a result of which at the very last moment he managed to save the ship from landing on the rocks. They begin to talk about a young but very talented officer not only on board the Santa Barbara, but throughout the Armada. However, this was only the beginning.
Scientist, cartographer and combat officer
In 1783 the war ended and Churruka returned to Spain to continue his education. He again entered the Academy of Ferrol, and he was accepted despite the lack of free places in it - no one wanted to lose such promising personnel because of such trifles. Churruka would not have been himself if he had not again established himself in the best possible way - since 1784 he begins not only to study himself, but also to teach, replacing absent professors, and so successfully that he repeatedly breaks the applause of the audience, including in 1787, when he exemplarily organizes exams in mechanics, mathematics and astronomy. Many had already prophesied for him the fate of an outstanding teacher, specialist and theorist, when he received an order - he was preparing to sail on a long voyage. In 1788, an expedition was being prepared in Cadiz to explore the Strait of Magellan, as well as to conduct other scientific research and experiments in South America. Two ships were supposed to set sail - "Santa Casilda" and "Santa Eulalia", under the command of Don Antonio de Cordoba. And Don Antonio de Cordoba, an experienced captain and sailor, asked his superiors to send him the 26-year-old Churruca, who by that time had received the rank of lieutenant of the ship (teniente de navio), so that he headed the astronomical and geographical part. The authorities gave the green light, and Churruka set off on a difficult voyage to the Strait of Magellan, where he made an accurate map of the region, and also became the proud owner of a bay of his name on one of the islands. However, this voyage turned out to be not easy - due to the poor organization of the transitions and the purchase of food, the crews of the two ships suffered greatly from scurvy, and among those who almost went to another world was Cosme Damian Churruka himself. In 1789 he returned home and was assigned to convalesce in a relatively calm environment in San Fernando, as a worker at the local observatory. But the ebullient nature of the Basque nobleman did not allow him to just sit still, and he again and again participated in various local projects that did not allow him to finally recover. Finally, in 1791, under pressure from friends, he went on vacation to the province of Guipuzcoa, where his health was finally in order, and he returned to duty, full of enthusiasm.
Just at this time, a new large-scale expedition to North America was being prepared, the task of which was, among other things, to draw up clear maps of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean islands and the coast of California. Churruka, of course, was included in this expedition, at the same time being promoted to the rank of captain of a frigate (capitano de fragata). The whole enterprise was organized on a grand scale, Cosme Damian received command of two ships at once - the brigantines "Descubridor" and "Vihilante", and a personal task - to map the Antilles. The voyage lasted 28 months and ended only in 1795. Churruka managed to prove himself in it again - this time not only as a researcher, but also as a military officer, since soon after sailing a war broke out with the Revolutionary France, and more than once "Descubridor" and "Vihilanta" had to shoot cannons at hostile ships and fortresses. He had to deal with the delivery of important letters in the West Indies, participate in the invasion of Martinique, protect the merchant ships of the company from Gipuzcoa, in which he was a member, and which provided him with constant income. All these actions again undermined Churruka's health, and he was forced to stay in Havana, where he began to gradually recover, and bring together all the results of his labors. He returned home only in 1798, and after that time there was less and less left for science - there were continuous wars with the traditional enemy, Great Britain, and Spain had no time for research. However, Churruka still continued to work on the results of his voyage to the West Indies, and began to gradually publish the results. At the same time, a short truce was established between Spain and Great Britain, and the Spanish researcher was sent to Paris on a scientific mission, where he happened to meet with the First Consul Napoleon. He was delighted with Churruka, surrounded him with honor, helped to publish his works, in particular, very accurate maps of the Antilles, and presented a special gift - the so-called "Saber of Honor", which actually marked the high recognition of the works of the Spanish officer not only for his Fatherland, but and for France. Alas, this was the end of Churruka's peaceful activities, and there was only one war ahead.
Cosme Damian returned home from Havana in 1798 on board the battleship "Conquistador". Immediately upon his return, he was promoted to the rank of captain of the ship (capitan de navio), and was appointed to command the same "Conquistador". The ship and the crew were in a deplorable state, as the newly-baked captain witnessed on the way from America, and it was necessary to do serious work in order to bring him into a more or less intelligent form. But since his commander was named Cosme Damian de Churruca and Elorsa, he simply could not help but be put in exemplary order. Here the famous Basque showed himself both as a talented organizer, and as a diplomat, and a politician - despite the fact that the team was a real rabble, he did not treat it like a rabble, and was able to instill a single corporate spirit among the sailors and officers. The matter also touched upon the modernization of the ship itself - a number of improvements were made to increase the strength of the hull and maneuverability. The team acquired an iron discipline, and moreover, a fanatical loyalty to its commander. The ship's combat capability also increased, for which Churruka used every opportunity to drive his sailors along the shrouds or engage in artillery exercises. As part of the squadron, which arrived in Brest in 1799 to act together with the French, his "Conquistador" was the best. Here he took up a little more familiar business, writing a number of works concerning the maintenance of order and discipline in the fleet, after which this text was reproduced in the local printing house and distributed to all Spanish ships. The methods developed by Churruka turned out to be very effective - on all ships that suffered from poor order among the crew, the situation soon began to improve. The squadron commander, Federico Gravina, was delighted with the activities of his subordinate and friend. This was followed in 1802 by a trip to Paris, honor and respect, and, like a cold shower upon returning to Brest, the news that, according to the agreements between Spain and France, Armada undertook to transfer 6 of its ships of the line to the French, and among them was his "Conquistador". The usually calm Churruka was furious, but he could not help it. Returning home, he did not return to the fleet until the end of 1803, doing business in his native Motriko, including taking the place of mayor, vacated after the death of his father.
But Armada could not scatter such personnel, and Cosme Damian was returned to the fleet, putting in charge of putting in order the battleship Principe de Asturias. And again followed by worries about organizing a lax crew into an exemplary one, and again Churruka began to actively engage in scientific work in parallel, albeit in the field of the navy. Together with Antonio Escagno, he wrote at the end of 1803 the "Naval Dictionary", which will then be published in many European languages and will be used even at the beginning of the 20th century, and at the beginning of 1804 he sharply criticized the artillery of the Armada. Criticism ranged from the relatively small caliber of guns (most of the battleships in Spain were armed with a maximum of 24-pound cannons, while the British on the gondeck had 32-pound guns), to the frankly disgusting preparation of artillery crews. The situation in which the Armada's artillery was at this point was awful - due to the war with Great Britain, unequal and predatory treaties with France and an openly ineffective government, the financing of the fleet was minimized, and there was not enough money even for exercises according to the old methods, which did not give the desired effect. In fact, the Armada fired worse in 1804 than in 1740! Of course, a person like Churruka could not help but follow the principle of "criticize - suggest", and published a work entitled "Instrucciones sobre puntería para uso de los bajeles de SM" exercises, standards for rate of fire and accuracy of fire were established, and a clear system was created, if followed, it would be possible to reduce the lag behind England in terms of artillery in a fairly short time. The work was replicated and distributed to the ships of the Armada, but alas - only after Trafalgar. And Churruca himself, putting in order the Principe de Asturias as much as he could, but realizing that he would not be appointed to command the future flagship of the fleet, filed a rather unusual petition - to withdraw from the reserve and transfer him under the command of the battleship San Juan Nepomuseno”, With a special privilege to change the ship the way he wants to. Thanks to his authority, he achieved this privilege, and the former 74-gun ship of the line was re-equipped and somewhat modernized, becoming an 82-gun ship. The crew was recruited and trained to the high standards of their Basque Captain, and by 1805 it was undoubtedly one of the most efficient ships in the entire Armada.
Trafalgar
With "San Juan", however, not without a fly in the ointment. Not the entire scope of modernization of San Juan Nepomuseno was completed on time, since La Carraca's arsenal did not have all the necessary resources, and in some cases the work was simply sabotaged by the land masters of the arsenal, who had not been paid by the government for many months. The team, recruited from just about anywhere, quickly learned the discipline, especially after Churruka ordered to convey to each individual the contents of his disciplinary code, which indicated specific offenses and specific punishments for them. But alas, there were several people who very freely interpreted the information received, and in 1805 a riot followed, which, however, did not turn into a "hot phase", and after the elimination of the root cause (sailors who left their posts during a booze, and when, in response, the entire crew lost their portion of wine, which began to provoke a mutiny) order on the ship was restored. "San Juan Nepomuseno" did not participate in the Battle of Cape Finisterre, as her squadron was in Ferrol, and did not appear in any major events at the beginning of the year. Only in September, he rejoined the main forces of Villeneuve and Gravina, and went to Cadiz, where the ships stood for several months. All this time he spent on combat training of the ship entrusted to him, restoring the discipline of the crew after the riot, and…. Wedding. At the age of 44, he did not marry for a long time, although he was considered an enviable groom, until he met his chosen one - Maria de los Dolores Ruiz de Apodaca, daughter of the Count de Venadito and sister of one of the junior officers of San Juan. This event was celebrated by all the officers of the Armada in Cadiz - Churruka was everyone's favorite, they were sincerely happy for him and empathized with him. It seemed that he still had so much to do, to enjoy family life, to reform the Armada, to put its artillery in order …. But then the fatal exit to sea, contrary to the opinion of the Spanish officers, and the Battle of Trafalgar followed. Shortly before him, on October 11, Churruka sent his brother the last letter, which describes the bitter situation in which the fleet found itself - 8 months of non-payment of salaries, a drop in morale, an apology and gratitude for the fact that he took over the maintenance of the wife of Cosme Damian. since he himself ran out of all funds. This letter ends with gloomy words - "If you find out that my ship was captured, know that I am lost."
From this moment, the last majestic act of the life of Cosme Damian de Churruca and Elorza begins. When Villeneuve ordered the squadron to turn 180 degrees against the wind at the start of the battle, the captain of the San Juan said: “The fleet is doomed. The French admiral doesn't know what he's doing. He destroyed us all. " The line of the Franco-Spanish fleet mixed, a gap formed in the center - where two columns of Admirals Nelson and Collingwood rushed, crushing the ships of the allies. But Churruka did not give up: skillfully maneuvering and snapping at well-aimed fire (practically the only ship of the Armada that day, which fired a little worse than the British), he clashed with six English ships of the line at once: the 98-gun Dreadnought, 74-gun Defense, " Achilles "," Tanderer "and" Bellerophon ", and 80-gun" Tonnant ". The captain of the Bellerophon was killed; the rest of the ships suffered some kind of loss, sometimes very heavy. But the "San Juan" was not invulnerable: out of 530 crew members during the battle, 100 were killed and 150 were injured, ie. almost half of all who were on board. Churruka, standing under enemy fire on the upper deck, continued to command to the last, even when his leg was torn off by a shell, and he, not wanting to leave the post and so as not to bleed, ordered to place the bloody stump in a bucket of flour. Already losing consciousness, the captain forbade his officers to surrender after his death, and ordered to continue the battle. In the last words spoken to his brother-in-law, Jose Ruiz de Apodache, Churruca recalled his wife, whom he continued to think about every moment of his life, and thanked the sailors and officers for their excellent service. Only when the losses reached colossal proportions, and the senior officer of the ship, Francisco de Moya, was killed by a direct hit from a cannonball, Lieutenant Joaquin Nunez Falcon decided to surrender the ship. The San Juan Nepomuseno was one of the last Spanish ships to lower the flag in that battle. The British were anticipating how they would take prisoner such a famous sailor as Churruk, but they found only his cooling body and a wry smiling Nunez, who bluntly stated that if his captain was alive, the ship would never surrender.
“San Juan” barely managed to be towed to Gibraltar, as it was quickly gaining water, and conditionally anchored at the fortress already half-submerged. He was partially restored, but he never went to sea again, continuing to serve as a non-self-propelled floating battery and floating barracks. As a sign of respect to the ship, its crew and commander, San Juan Nepomuseno never changed its name, and the captain's cabin remained inaccessible for occupancy forever - there was a sign on the door, where the inscription “Cosme Damian Churruca” was written in gold letters. If someone still wanted to go into the cabin, then at the entrance he pledged to take off his hat as a sign of respect for this great sailor, scientist and military officer, who left this world at a fairly young age at 44 years old. Already posthumously he was promoted to the rank of admiral, and his nephew was given the title of Count Churruk. In addition, the state undertook financial obligations for the funeral of this outstanding person, and even appointed a pension to his widow - but, apparently, it was paid irregularly, since there is information that Dolores had difficulties with money throughout her modest life, and relied more on the help of relatives. Cosme's eldest marriage, Juan Baldomero, remembered the deceased all his life, and in his courage he always took him as a model. Monuments to Churruka now stand in Motrico, his hometown, as well as Ferrol and San Fernando, where he studied and worked; streets in El Astillero and Barcelona are named after him, as well as the lead ship of a series of destroyers of the mid-20th century. In the Pantheon of Glorious Marines in San Fernando, there is now a tombstone, under which Churruca himself is buried. José Ruiz de Apodache, brother-in-law of Cosme Damian, has the words to end the story of this glorious husband:
"Famous people like him should not be exposed to the dangers of battle, but must be guarded for the development of science and the fleet."
