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7 October in military history: the Battles of Lepanto, 1571, and Kings Mountain, 1780

Military history · 7 October · Early modern era and American Revolutionary War · Full calendar

By Echoes of Battle

Crowded Venetian painting of the Battle of Lepanto: galleys with long red oars and gilded stern lanterns locked together, soldiers in armor and turbans fighting hand to hand across the decks and in the water, banners and smoke against a dark blue sky.
The Battle of Lepanto by Andrea Vicentino, painted around 1603 for the Doge's Palace in Venice (central part of the canvas). Public domain. Andrea Vicentino, Doge's Palace, Venice, via Wikimedia Commons.
Quick answer

On 7 October 1571 the fleet of the Holy League under Don John of Austria destroyed the Ottoman fleet of Ali Pasha at Lepanto. On 7 October 1780 Patriot militia destroyed Major Patrick Ferguson's Loyalist force at Kings Mountain in South Carolina. On the night of 6 to 7 October 1973 Israeli missile boats sank five Syrian vessels off Latakia. Each battle has its own full story below.

Lepanto, 1571

The Holy League's fleet of over 200 galleys met Ali Pasha's Ottoman fleet at the mouth of the Gulf of Patras, and the Ottoman center gave way after Ali Pasha was killed. Britannica says the allies took 117 galleys and freed some 15,000 Christian galley slaves, though Venice still gave up Cyprus in 1573.1

Read the full story of Lepanto, 1571 ›

Kings Mountain, 1780

The Overmountain Men and other militia caught Major Patrick Ferguson's Loyalists on Kings Mountain in South Carolina, and after about an hour Ferguson was dead. Nearly all his force was killed, wounded or captured, and Cornwallis fell back from Charlotte.2

Read the full story of Kings Mountain, 1780 ›

Latakia, 1973

On the first night of the Yom Kippur War Israeli missile boats sailed to the Syrian port of Latakia and decoyed the longer-ranged Styx missiles fired at them with chaff and jamming. They sank a torpedo boat, a minesweeper and three missile boats, in the first naval battle in which both sides fired missiles.3

Read the full story of Latakia, 1973 ›

Frequently asked questions

Who fought at Lepanto?

The Holy League, an alliance of Spain, Venice, the Papal States and smaller Catholic powers under Don John of Austria, against the Ottoman fleet of Ali Pasha.

Lepanto, 1571 ›

What happened at Kings Mountain on 7 October 1780?

Patriot militia, including the Overmountain Men, destroyed Major Patrick Ferguson's Loyalist force at Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Ferguson was killed.

Kings Mountain, 1780 ›

What happened off Latakia on 7 October 1973?

Israeli missile boats sank five Syrian vessels off the port of Latakia, in the first naval battle in which both sides fired anti-ship missiles.

Latakia, 1973 ›

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Battle of Lepanto”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “The Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571”. ↩
  2. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, “Patrick Ferguson”; National Park Service, chapter on the campaign in the Carolinas. ↩
  3. Jewish Virtual Library, “Yom Kippur War”. ↩

Sources

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