The Battle of Cape Esperance took place on the night of October 11-12, 1942, during World War II. It was a naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, part of the larger Guadalcanal Campaign. The battle aimed to intercept a Japanese force attempting to reinforce their troops on Guadalcanal. In this encounter, American ships, including the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, engaged a Japanese fleet led by the heavy cruiser Furutaka. The battle resulted in a tactical victory for the United States, sinking one Japanese cruiser and damaging others, while suffering minimal losses themselves.