Murray's next assignment was to take command of the 74-gun HMS Colossus in 1796.
He sailed to join Sir John Jervis's fleet and took up station commanding the inshore squadron blockading Cadiz.
While there the Spanish admiral of the port invited Murray to attend a bullfight, offering his nephew as a temporary guarantee of Murray's safety.
Murray saw action at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, where he and Colossus formed up near the centre of the British line.
As the British ships broke through the Spanish line and tacked around to engage their van, Spanish Vice-Admiral Joaquin Moreno in the rear saw an opportunity to exploit a weakness in the British formation.
Pulling forward in his flagship Principe de Asturias he came across the bows of the British line, cutting between HMS Orion, which had already tacked, and HMS Colossus, which was just preparing to.
He then fired a broadside at the vulnerable bows of Colossus, damaging her main foreyard and causing her to miss stays.
She began to drift out of the line while Murray and his crew struggled to regain manoeuvrability.
Seeing her predicament, Orion dropped back to cover Colossus with a broadside.
Despite this setback Colossus only sustained five wounded during the course of the battle, which ended in a British victory.
Murray's next assignment was to take command of the 74-gun HMS Colossus in 1796. He sailed to join Sir John Jervis's fleet and took up station commanding the inshore squadron blockading Cadiz. While there the Spanish admiral of the port invited Murray to attend a bullfight, offering his nephew as a temporary guarantee of Murray's safety. Murray saw action at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, where he and Colossus formed up near the centre of the British line. As the British ships broke through the Spanish line and tacked around to engage their van, Spanish Vice-Admiral Joaquin Moreno in the rear saw an opportunity to exploit a weakness in the British formation. Pulling forward in his flagship Principe de Asturias he came across the bows of the British line, cutting between HMS Orion, which had already tacked, and HMS Colossus, which was just preparing to. He then fired a broadside at the vulnerable bows of Colossus, damaging her main foreyard and causing her to miss stays. She began to drift out of the line while Murray and his crew struggled to regain manoeuvrability. Seeing her predicament, Orion dropped back to cover Colossus with a broadside. Despite this setback Colossus only sustained five wounded during the course of the battle, which ended in a British victory.
George Murray (Royal Navy officer, born 1759)