gravure exécutée en 1858

dimensions toute la feuille 19x25,5 centimètres

dimensions au coup de planche 15,5x23 centimètres

document authentique et original du XIXe siècle

La bataille d'Agosta est une bataille navale qui a lieu le 22 avril 1676, à proximité d'Agosta, au large des côtes siciliennes. Elle oppose, dans le cadre de la guerre de Hollande une flotte française commandée par Abraham Duquesne à une flotte combinée, espagnole et hollandaise, commandée par don Francisco de la Cerda et Michiel de Ruyter. Elle est connue aussi sous les noms de bataille du Mont-Gibel et bataille de Famagouste. Le port d'Agosta, connu actuellement comme Augusta, est situé à une vingtaine de kilomètres au nord de Syracuse, sur la côte est de la Sicile.

The naval Battle of Augusta, sometimes spelled Agosta and also known as the Battle of Etna, took place on 22 April 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War and was fought between a French fleet of 29 man-of-war, five frigates and eight fireships under Abraham Duquesne, and a Dutch-Spanish fleet of at least 27 warships (17 Dutch, 10 Spanish) besides several frigates and five fireships with a Spanish admiral in overall command and Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral-General Michiel de Ruyter commanding the squadron most involved in the fighting. The battle was intense although only a part of each fleet was engaged for much of its duration. It ended when de Ruyter skillfully extracted his outnumbered squadron from being attacked on both sides by superior French numbers, without the loss of any ships, however, he was mortally wounded in the process. The next morning the fleets separated without resuming fighting. Neither side lost a ship, so the result was tactically inconclusive. However, the Dutch casualties were greater than those of the French and, as Dutch-Spanish fleet had hoped to defeat the French fleet and attack Messina, it was a strategic defeat for them.