HMS Calpe was the former 14-gun polacca San José of the Spanish Navy, originally built in 1796 in Greece.

On 25 October 1800, the frigate Phaeton chased a Spanish polacca to an anchorage under a battery of five heavy guns at Fuengirola, where she joined a French privateer brig.

Unfortunately the launch, with a carronade, was unable to keep up and was still out of range when a French privateer schooner, which had come into the anchorage unseen, fired on the other boats.

[10] On 6 July Saumarez sailed from Gibraltar with Caesar, Pompee, Spencer, Venerable, Hannibal and Audacious with the intention of attacking Admiral Linois's squadron of three French line-of-battle ships and a frigate, which were lying a considerable distance from the batteries at Algeciras.

Hard work repaired all the British ships at Gibraltar, except Pompee in time for them to follow the Franco-Spanish fleet when it sailed on 12 July.

The British captured the third rate St Antoine, with Superb and Calpe assisting afterwards in securing the prize and removing the prisoners.

(Dumaresque had been a lieutenant aboard Caesar and received his promotion in July when he arrived in London with Saumarez's dispatches.

[16]) In subsequent months Calpe assisted the 38-gun frigate Thames, under Captain Aiskew Paffard Hollis, which had also participated in the battle, in destroying a number of the enemy's coasters in the bay of Estepona.

[17] In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Gut of Gibraltar 12 July 1801" to all surviving claimants from the battle.

[2] On 2 August 1803 Lloyd's List reported that Calpee and Sir Andrew Mitchell had arrived at Portsmouth from Lisbon with 380 men of the crew of HMS Victorious.

[3] On 7 May 1805, Lloyd's List reported that Calpe, Jellard, master, was on shore at the Dardanelles and was feared to be lost.