Naval battles of the world

by Edward Shippen

TRAFALGAR. OCTOBER 21ST, A.D. 1805.

The year 1805 was a momentous period in the history of Europe. Napoleon had long meditated the invasion of England, saying “Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours, and we are masters of the world.” A skillfully combined plan, by which the British fleet would have been divided, while the whole French navy was concentrated in the Channel, was delayed by the death of the Admiral designated to execute it. But an alliance with Spain placed the Spanish fleet at Bonaparte’s disposal, in 1805, and he formed a fresh scheme for its union with that of France, the crushing of the fleet under Cornwallis, which blocked the Channel ports, before Admiral Nelson could come to its support, and a crossing of the vast armament so protected to the British shores. The plan was to draw Nelson away in pursuit of the French fleet, which was then suddenly to return and crush the English Channel squadron.

Nelson, now in command of the Mediterranean and Cadiz fleet, had been searching diligently for the French Toulon fleet, and was much concerned that he could not find it.

In February, 1805 he had been down as far as Egypt, but found nothing there, and, half distracted with anxiety, steered for Malta. Soon after arriving there he received from Naples intelligence of what had, in reality, become of the French fleet.

At that time he wrote to the Admiralty, to say “I have consulted no man, therefore the whole blame of ignorance in forming my judgment must rest with me. I would allow no man to take from me an atom of my glory had I fallen in with the French fleet, nor do I desire any man to partake of any of the responsibility. All is mine, right or wrong.” * * * * “I consider the character of Bonaparte, and that the orders given by him on the banks of the Seine would not take into consideration wind or weather.”

In a letter to Captain Ball, at Malta, of April 19, 1805, when the fleet, going to the westward, was buffeting with head winds, he says, “My good fortune, my dear Ball, seems flown away. I cannot get a fair wind, or even a side wind—dead foul! dead foul! but my mind is fully made up what to do when I leave the Straits, supposing there is no certain information of the enemy’s destination. I believe this ill luck will go near to kill me; but, as these are times for exertion, I must not be cast down, whatever I feel.”

At this very time Nelson had before him a letter from the Physician of the fleet, enforcing his return to England before the hot months, such was his bad state of health.

“Therefore,” he writes, in spite of this, “notwithstanding, I shall pursue the enemy to the West or East Indies, if I know that to have been their destination; yet, if the Mediterranean fleet joins the Channel, I shall request, with that order (from the Physician), permission to go on shore.”

On April 8th, 1805, the French fleet passed the Straits of Gibraltar, and the same afternoon entered Cadiz, driving off the small British squadron then there, under Sir John Orde.

Here a number of Spanish men-of-war joined the French Admiral; and on the 9th the combined fleet—five Spanish and twelve French ships-of-the-line, seven frigates, a corvette and three brigs, stood to the westward, to rendezvous in the West Indies, at Martinique, at which island they arrived on May 12th.

On the 4th of May, Nelson was watering and provisioning his fleet at Mazari Bay, on the Barbary coast, and, the wind coming east, was enabled to proceed to the westward; but he did not get through the Straits of Gibraltar till the night of the 7th, when his enemy was almost at Martinique. He had supposed that the Allied fleet was bound to the Irish coast; but received certain information, at this time, from a Scotch officer, named Campbell, in the Portuguese service, that they had gone to the West Indies. Campbell was afterwards complained against by the French Ambassador, for giving this information, and his career ruined.

Nelson determined to follow the enemy, without orders, and at the risk of professional censure, for to do so he must abandon his station without leave. He went into Lagos Bay, and having received five months’ provisions, sailed, on May 11th, and, at Cape St. Vincent, detached a line-of-battle ship to escort some transports and 5000 troops through the Straits. With ten sail-of-the-line and three frigates, Nelson then crowded sail to the westward, in pursuit of his enemy’s fleet, which he knew consisted of eighteen sail-of-the-line, at the least, besides nine frigates.

Nelson was now Vice-Admiral of the White, in the 100-gun ship Victory, Captain Hardy. He had one 80, the Canopus, Rear-Admiral Louis, and Captain Austen, and eight 74’s, with three-frigates. Lord Nelson has been accused of rashness in seeking to engage a force nearly double his own, but he expected to be joined by six sail-of-the-line at Barbadoes.

On the passage to the West Indies, Nelson prepared an elaborate plan of battle, the most striking feature in which was, “The business of an English Commander-in-chief being first to bring an enemy’s fleet to battle, on the most advantageous terms to himself (I mean, that of laying his ships close on board those of the enemy as expeditiously as possible, and, secondly, to continue them there until the business is decided),” etc., etc.

On May 15th Nelson’s fleet reached Madeira, and a frigate was sent on to Barbadoes, to have Admiral Cochrane’s vessels ready for a junction. He, himself, with the main fleet, did not arrive at Barbadoes until June 4th. All this time he had many qualms about his course in leaving his station, and, upon his arrival, was met by many conflicting reports.

But he soon learned that the French had gone north again. (At this time he was thought by Napoleon and the French authorities to be still in European waters.) Nelson’s swift movements had quite outstripped the Emperor’s calculations.

Nelson left the West Indies again, with eleven sail-of-the line, and cautiously pursued the large fleet in advance of him, in hopes that better tactics would enable him to reach the shores of Europe before them; and, at any rate, by his presence there he had stopped the career of victory of the French, in the West Indies. He said to his Captains, “My object is partly gained. * * * * We won’t part without a battle. I think they will be glad to let me alone, if I will let them alone; which I will do, either till we approach the shores of Europe, or they give me an advantage too tempting to be resisted.”

The French Admiral Villeneuve’s orders as to his proceedings in the West Indies are interesting, as well as the events which followed his arrival there, but he was ordered to return soon, and to carry out a project, as the ultimate object of the assembling of his allied fleet, which was, in the eyes of Napoleon, infinitely more important than the capture and pillage of the English West India Islands. In returning to Europe Villeneuve was only obeying the Emperor’s orders, although the latter blamed Villeneuve for not carrying out his orders in full, attributing his hasty leaving the islands, to fright.

Afterwards, at St. Helena, he acknowledged that Villeneuve was a brave man.

On the way to Europe the French fleet made one or two important captures and re-captures, and came off Cape Finisterre about the latter part of July.

And now let us follow Lord Nelson for a time.

He quitted Antigua on June 13th, having received information that the enemy’s fleet was seen steering north, but he had no very definite information, and had to rely on his own intuition. On July 17th he sighted Cape St. Vincent, having sailed about 3500 miles on this one passage.

There seems to be no doubt that Napoleon intended to attack Ireland, or at least effect a landing there, and the best military and naval minds considered that Villeneuve’s voyage to the West Indies was principally intended to draw off the British naval force from the Channel, to admit of an attack upon Ireland, a preliminary step in Napoleon’s plan.

NELSON’S VICTORY AT TRAFALGAR.

On July 19th, 1805, the English fleet anchored in Gibraltar, and on the 20th Lord Nelson says, in his diary, “I went on shore for the first time since June 16th, 1803, and, from having my foot out of the Victory, two years, wanting ten days.”

He remained only three days on shore at Gibraltar, and then received information that the allied fleet had been seen, five weeks before, steering N. N. west, in latitude 33°, longitude 58° west. This was stale news, but the earliest, of a positive nature, which he had received. He, therefore, passed the Straits of Gibraltar, and at first went to the westward, but afterwards he went off Cape St. Vincent, to be ready to steer in any direction that circumstances might direct. On the third day of August the English fleet was in 39° north, and 16° west longitude.

Here Lord Nelson got some information from an American merchant ship, which had taken the log of a vessel which had been set on fire and abandoned, but not destroyed, and, from a scrap of paper containing a reckoning, he derived the fact that the vessel had been taken by the French fleet.

Nelson then proceeded north, but finding no news, either from Admiral Cornwallis, off Ushant, or the Channel fleet, proceeded, with the Victory, and another ship, to Portsmouth, leaving the rest of his fleet as a reinforcement to the Channel fleet.

In the meantime the combined fleet had had a most important action, on July 22d, with Sir Robert Calder’s squadron, between Ferrol and Finisterre, not necessary to be here gone into. It was a sort of drawn battle, with numbers in favor of the French. Sir Robert Calder was much blamed for the result.

Napoleon was terribly vexed that Villeneuve had not rendered a better account of Sir Robert Calder’s fleet, to which he was superior.

Bonaparte said that “Villeneuve was one of those men who require more spur than bridle,” and asked if it “would not be possible to find, in the navy, an enterprising man, with cool views, as one ought to see, either in battle, or in the manœuvres of a fleet.”

Villeneuve was ordered to go to Brest; but, in spite of that, went to Cadiz, the details of the reasons and movements being too long to be recounted here. The Emperor was furious, and charged him with dereliction in duty, disobedience of orders, refusing to fight the enemy, etc.

Part of Bonaparte’s vexation with Villeneuve no doubt arose from the loud complaints of the Spaniards, at having lost two ships in Calder’s action; and this was aggravated by the apparent unwillingness of the French Admiral, even with a powerful fleet under his command, to sail out, in the face of eleven English sail-of-the-line, cruising off Cadiz; and so enable the Spanish squadron at Carthagena to form a junction with Admiral Gravina, who commanded the Spanish portion of the allied fleet.

The fact is, to quote a French authority, “Villeneuve, like others, was impressed by the inferiority of the French marine, in comparison with the English. The French seamen, brave enough, but inexperienced at sea, looked with a sort of terror upon the necessity of meeting the redoubtable victor of Aboukir, knowing well his genius and audacity, commanding, as he did, a well prepared fleet and thoroughly drilled and sea-hardened crews. Villeneuve’s personal courage is above suspicion, but he lacked energy, decision, and power of organization. Exasperated by the reply of the Emperor, who accused him of cowardice, in consequence of his perpetual hesitations, Villeneuve replied to the Minister of Marine, in these bitter words, “If all the French Navy lacks is audacity, as is pretended, the Emperor will soon be satisfied; and he may count upon brilliant successes.”

On September 17th, 1805, Napoleon directed his Minister of Marine to order Villeneuve to sea, on a new expedition. He was to proceed off Naples, and disembark, at some point on the coast, a number of troops, in order that they might join the army of General St. Cyr. He was then to proceed to Naples, and capture the English ship Excellent, and a Russian ship-of-the-line, lying there; to do all possible injury to English trade; to intercept an expedition bound to Malta; and then to come to Toulon, where everything was to be ready to re-victual and repair his ships.

Napoleon seemed to have feared the failure of Villeneuve to carry out these orders; and had actually ordered Vice-Admiral Rosily to supercede him. But the fact remains that Villeneuve’s written orders had always been to avoid an engagement, and at last to bring his fleet, fresh and entire, into the British Channel. In his movements he was, moreover, retarded by the supineness of the Spaniards, who, when their long voyage to the West Indies was over, felt inclined to remain snugly in port.

In the meantime, Vice-Admiral Collingwood, off Cadiz, was joined by four sail-of-the-line, under Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton; and soon after by seventeen more, under Sir Robert Calder, in the Prince of Wales.

Some of these ships were occasionally detached to Gibraltar, for water and provisions; and with the rest Collingwood continued to cruise before Cadiz. On the 28th of September, Lord Nelson arrived, to take command of the English fleet; having left Portsmouth in the Victory, on the fifteenth. The Ajax and Thunderer, line-of-battle ships, had come with him.

The Euryalus frigate had preceded him, to inform Collingwood that, on his assuming command again, no salute should be fired, or flags displayed, in order that the Allies should not be apprised of the arrival of a reinforcement.

The force under Lord Nelson now consisted of twenty-seven sail-of-the-line, twenty-two of which cruised about fifteen miles off Cadiz; and the remaining five, under Rear-Admiral Louis, in the Canopus, were stationed close off the harbor, watching the motions of the combined fleet. Lord Nelson considered that if he kept the main body of his fleet out of sight of land, the French Admiral, being ignorant of the exact British force, might perhaps put to sea, so that he kept the bulk of his fleet at a long distance west of Cadiz.

The force close in with the city was then relieved by two frigates, the only ships left there. Beyond these, further out, and at a convenient distance for signalling, were three or four ships-of-the-line, the westernmost of which could communicate directly with the easternmost ship of the main body.

The new station of the English fleet had a great advantage in case of westerly gales, usual at that season, as they would not be forced into the Mediterranean; in which event the combined fleet, on the first change of wind, might easily put to sea, unmolested.

On October 1st, the Euryalus frigate reconnoitred the port of Cadiz, and plainly discovered, at anchor in the outer harbor, and apparently ready for sea, eighteen French, and sixteen Spanish ships-of-the-line, frigates and two brigs.

The next day Lord Nelson sent Rear-Admiral Louis with five sail-of-the-line, to Gibraltar, for provisions and water; and on the same day, a Swedish ship, from Cadiz, bound to Alicante, informed the Euryalus that the combined fleet had reëmbarked the troops a day or two before, and intended to put to sea the first easterly wind.

Rear-Admiral Louis got this intelligence on the 3d of October, and at once returned to the main fleet with his squadron; but Lord Nelson, conceiving the news to be a stratagem to draw him nearer to Cadiz, so as to obtain a knowledge of his force, ordered Louis to proceed in the execution of his orders.

On the 4th the weather was very calm, and some Spanish gunboats pulled out from Cadiz and attacked the two English frigates which were on duty close in; but they soon retired again. By the 8th of October two more line-of-battle-ships had joined the English fleet, and the same day the Euryalus again counted thirty-four sail-of-the-line in Cadiz harbor.

The possibility that the Cadiz, Carthagena and Rochefort ships might effect a junction, and thereby present a force of forty-six sail-of-the-line, induced Lord Nelson to draw up and transmit to his second in command a plan of attack in which he supposed that, by the junction of a squadron under Sir Richard Strachan, and other ships, from Gibraltar and elsewhere, he might be able to assemble a force of forty sail-of-the-line.

His plan was regarded by naval men as a master-piece of naval strategy, and agreed in principle with that pursued in the great battle then impending. Condensed, it was as follows: Taking it for granted that it was next to impossible to form a fleet of forty sail-of-the-line in line of battle, with varying winds, thick weather, and other difficulties which might arise, without so much delay that the opportunity would probably be lost of bringing the enemy to battle in such a manner as to render it decisive, Lord Nelson resolved to keep the fleet in such a position that, with the exception of the first and second in command, the order of sailing would be the order of battle. The fleet was to be placed in two lines, of sixteen ships each, with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest sailing, two-decked ships, which latter would always make, if wanted, a line of twenty-four sail, on any line the Commander-in-chief might direct.

The second in command would, after this latter intention was made known to him, have the entire direction of his line, and was to make the attack, and to follow up the blow, until the enemy’s ships were captured or destroyed.

Should the enemy’s fleet—supposed to consist of forty-six sail-of-the-line, be seen to windward, in line of battle, and the two British lines and the advanced squadron be able to fetch it, the ships of the former would probably be so extended that their van could not succor their rear.

The English second in command would then probably be signalled to lead through, at about the twelfth ship from the enemy’s rear, or wherever he could fetch, if not able to advance so far.

The Commander-in-chief’s line would lead through at the centre, and the advanced squadron cut through at about three or four ships ahead of the centre, so as to ensure getting at the enemy’s Commander-in-chief, whom every effort should be used to capture.

The whole impression of the British fleet was to be made to overpower from two to three ships ahead of the enemy’s Commander-in-chief (supposed to be in the centre) to the rear of his fleet.

Admitting twenty sail of the enemy’s line to be untouched, it would be some time before they could perform a manœuvre, so as to bring their force compact, to attack any part of the British fleet engaged, or to succor their companions; and this they could not do without mixing with the ships engaged.

If it happened that the two fleets were of less force than here contemplated, a proportionate number only of the enemy’s fleet were to be cut off, and the British were to be one-fourth superior to the enemy so cut off.

Lord Nelson, making due allowance for what chance might effect, looked with confidence to a victory, before the van of the enemy could succor his rear; and then he expected that the British ships would most of them be ready to receive the enemy’s other twenty sail, or to pursue them, should they endeavor to make off.

If the van of the enemy tacked, the captured ships were to run to leeward of the British fleet; if the enemy wore, the British were to place themselves between the enemy and the captured, as well as their own disabled ships; and should the enemy close, his Lordship made no doubt of the result.

The second in command was to direct the movements of his line and to keep the ships as compact as circumstances permitted. Captains were to look to their own line as their rallying point; but, in case signals could neither be seen nor perfectly understood, no captain could do wrong who placed his ship close alongside that of an enemy.

So far with regard to the attack from to leeward. Next followed the plan of attack from to windward.

Supposing the enemy formed in line-of-battle to receive the British fleet, the three divisions of the latter were to be brought nearly within gun-shot of the enemy’s centre, when the signal would most likely be made for the lee line to bear up together, under all sail, in order to reach the enemy’s line as quickly as possible, and then to cut through; beginning at the twelfth ship from the enemy’s rear.

Some ships might not get through at their exact place, but they would always be at hand, to assist their friends; and if any British ships were thrown round the rear of the enemy, they would, it was considered, effectually complete the business of twelve of the enemy’s ships.

Should the enemy wear together, or bear up, and sail large, still the twelve ships of the enemy’s rear were to be the object of attack of the British lee line, unless otherwise directed by the Commander-in-chief, an interference not contemplated in the plan, as the entire management of the lee line, after the Commander-in-chief had signalized his intentions, was to be left to the judgment of the Admiral commanding that line.

The remainder of the English fleet were to be left to the management of the Commander-in-chief; who, as he rather modestly expressed himself, would endeavor to take care that the movements of the second in command were as little as possible interrupted.

This plan and instructions have been given rather at length, because they have always been looked upon as models, and have been copied into foreign historical works, and adopted upon several other occasions.

Cadiz became much straightened for provisions, in consequence of having so large a fleet to victual. To remedy this evil, especially in regard to his own fleet, Napoleon had ordered shipments to be made to Nantes, Bordeaux, and other ports in the Bay of Biscay. The carriers were vessels under the Danish flag, that landed their cargoes at small ports in the south of Spain, whence they were easily conveyed to Cadiz. As some check to this, a vigorous blockade had been adopted by Collingwood, and maintained by his successor who considered it a more likely way of driving the combined fleets to sea than a bombardment of Congreve rockets, as had at one time been contemplated. The arrival of a number of frigates enabled Nelson to prosecute this blockade of the coasting trade more successfully. On the 10th of October two line-of-battle ships, and on the 13th two more, joined Nelson; and he had now twenty-nine sail-of-the-line off Cadiz, and five at Gibraltar. This was the highest number his fleet reached.

On the 10th the allied fleet had moved out to the entrance of the harbor, and evinced a disposition to put to sea at the first opportunity.

Four days after, Lord Nelson was obliged, owing to orders from England, to send there Sir Robert Calder, in the Prince of Wales; and on the 17th was obliged to send the Donegal to Gibraltar, for water. This done, he had twenty-seven sail-of-the-line (not all in very good order, or well manned), four frigates, a schooner, and a cutter. There were in his fleet three 100-gun ships; the Victory, his own flag-ship; the Royal Sovereign, Vice-Admiral Collingwood; and the Britannia, Rear-Admiral the Earl of Northesk. Then came four 98-gun ships; one 80, sixteen 74s, and three 64s, which formed the line-of-battle.

On the very day on which Lord Nelson took command of the fleet a courier had arrived at Cadiz, with the order of the French Emperor for Villeneuve to put to sea. These orders had been issued about the middle of September, and required that the French ships should pass the Straits of Gibraltar, land the troops on the Neapolitan coast, sweep the Mediterranean of all British commerce and cruisers, and then enter Toulon, to re-fit and re-victual.

Although Villeneuve’s instructions contained no mention of the Spanish fleet, it is natural to suppose that they would be glad to avail themselves of the exit of a formidable French fleet to effect a junction with seven sail-of-the-line of theirs, which were blockaded in the port of Carthagena. Every exertion was, therefore, made to fill the complements of the fleet, which had otherwise been ready for some time. Of the vessels which had been in Sir Robert Calder’s action, one, the Argonauta, had been repaired and refitted, but the damage to the other, the Terrible, proved of so serious a nature that she was disarmed, and her crew divided among the short-manned ships.

All these details may seem tedious, but are necessary to a correct understanding of this, the most important naval battle of the century.

To return a little. On the 10th of October, the French troops having re-embarked, the combined fleet moved to the entrance of Cadiz harbor, to be ready for a start at a moment’s warning. Hard westerly gales continued until the 17th. At midnight of that date the wind shifted to the eastward, and on the 18th of October Admiral Villeneuve informed the Spanish Admiral Gravina of his intention to put to sea on the following day; and had a strong line of gunboats drawn up across the mouth of the harbor.

On October 19th the Allied fleets, by signal from the Commander-in-chief, began getting under way, at seven o’clock in the morning. There was a fair breeze, but light, and the British reconnoitring frigates at once saw and reported the movement. Owing to the light wind, only twelve ships got out, and these lay becalmed until afternoon, when a breeze sprang up from the west-north-west, and the twelve stood to the northward, accompanied closely by the two English frigates on guard. At daylight the next morning the rest of the combined fleet left Cadiz, making, with the twelve already outside, thirty-three sail-of-the-line, five frigates, and two brigs. They had a light southeast wind, while the ships in the offing, as is frequently the case on this coast, had the wind south-southwest.

The French had four 80-gun ships, and fourteen 74s, with the frigates and brigs. The Spanish had one 130-gun ship; two of 112 guns; one 100; two 80s; eight 74s, and one 64.

Villeneuve’s flag-ship was the Bucentaure, 80, and Gravina’s the Principe de Asturias, 112.

Scarcely had the fleet cleared the harbor when a southwest wind and thick weather began to delay their progress. Meantime the two English frigates carefully watched their every manœuvre.

The first effect of the thick weather was that the English ship Agamemnon, with a merchant brig in tow, was unconsciously running into the midst of the enemy’s ships, but was, after some difficulty, warned off by the frigates. Then one of the English frigates was in danger of capture by her stopping too long to examine an American ship; she was chased and fired upon.

In the afternoon the weather cleared, and the wind shifted to north-northwest; whereupon Admiral Villeneuve ordered his fleet to form in five columns, in accordance with a plan previously communicated to his Admirals and Captains.

The Allied fleet then divided itself into two parts. The first part was of twenty-one sail, and was denominated the line-of-battle, and this was again subdivided into three squadrons, of seven ships each; of which the centre was commanded by Villeneuve himself; the van by Vice-Admiral Alava; and the rear by Rear-Admiral Dumanoir.

The second part of the Allied fleet, the reserve, was divided into two squadrons, of six ships each, the first under Admiral Gravina, and the second under Rear-Admiral Magon.

Villeneuve’s instructions to these officers were as follows: in case of being to windward, the line to bear down together, and each ship to engage her opponent in the English line; to engage closely, and to board, if possible.

If, on the contrary, the English fleet was to windward, the allied fleet was to await attack in close order of battle.

The French Admiral said, “the enemy will not confine himself to forming a line-of-battle parallel to ours, and engage us with his cannon, when success often attends the most skillful, and always the most fortunate; he will endeavor to turn our rear, to pass through our line, and will endeavor to surround such of our ships as he succeeds in cutting off, and reduce them with numbers of his own.”

Villeneuve adds “there is nothing to alarm us in the sight of the English fleet; their 74-gun ships have not five hundred men on board; their seamen are harassed by a two years’ cruise; they are not more brave than we; and have infinitely less motives to fight well, and have less love of country. They are skillful at manœuvring. In a month we shall be as much so as they are. In fine, everything unites to inspire us with hopes of the most glorious success, and of a new era for the Imperial marine.”

The most remarkable feature of the French Admiral’s plan was, that it persisted in ordering the movements of his fleet to be conducted in close line-of-battle, even while he admits that his enemy will adopt a different mode of attack, that of cutting off the rear of the line, and making it an easy conquest. Such, however, was the ancient rule of sea-tactics, and France had not yet had a Rodney to break through them.

Shortly after the combined Fleet had formed in five columns, one of their advanced frigates made the signal for eighteen sail of British ships in sight. On this the fleet, still on the port tack, cleared for action, and at about five P. M. tacked, and stood for the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar. They had continued so long on the other tack that Lord Nelson thought it was Villeneuve’s intention to proceed to the westward.

About this time the four British frigates came down to reconnoitre, and were chased by some of the Allied fleet, which latter, however, rejoined the main body at nightfall.

Just before dark the French ship Aigle made signal for eighteen British ships in line-of-battle, to the southward; and shortly after the combined fleet wore and stood to the northwest.

On the 21st, a little before daylight, the French Admiral, abandoning his plan of forming line-of-battle of twenty-one ships (as the enemy were now to windward, and of nearly equal force to himself), ordered the three columns, composed of the twenty-one ships, without regard to priority of rank among them, to form in close line-of-battle, on the starboard tack, upon the leewardmost division of twelve ships, and then to steer southeast. The manœuvre executed, daylight found the two fleets fairly in sight of each other, for the first time. The centre of the Franco-Spanish fleet bearing about east by south of the centre of the British, and distant about ten miles.

The wind was then light, from west-northwest, and a heavy swell setting in from the westward.

Let us now look at the movements of the British fleet during the period just before the momentous battle now impending.

About half-past nine A. M., on the 19th, while the British fleet was lying to, fifty miles west-southwest from Cadiz, the line-of-battle ships which formed the cordon of communication between the fleet and the reconnoitring frigates, inshore, repeated the signal that the enemy was coming out of port.

Lord Nelson immediately made sail to the southeast with light breezes, mostly from south-southwest. At three P. M. the signal was repeated, that the enemy was at sea.

That afternoon Lord Nelson directed that the fleet should observe the motions of his flag-ship, the Victory, during the night, and that the best sailing ships should stand ahead, and steer for the mouth of the Straits.

On the 20th of October, at daylight, the English found themselves near the entrance of the Straits, but saw nothing of their enemy.

Thereupon the fleet wore, and made sail to the northwest, with a fresh breeze at south-southwest.

At seven A. M., one of the frigates signalled the Allied fleet, bearing north; and by noon the Victory and the English fleet were within twenty-five miles of Cadiz, standing to the west-northwest, on the port tack.

Early in the afternoon they were taken aback, by a breeze from the west-northwest, and at 4 P. M. wore, and again came to, on the port tack, steering north.

It was now telegraphed that the Allied fleet seemed determined to go to the westward, and Lord Nelson replied that he relied on the frigates keeping them in sight during the night. The frigates then signalled “thirty-one sail of the enemy, bearing north-northeast.”

When night fell the British fleet wore, and stood to the southwest, and at 4 A. M. of the 21st wore again, and steered north by east, under easy sail.

To the general reader these details of manœuvres, (which precede any great battle, whether on sea or land), may appear tedious, but it is absolutely necessary to a description of this great event, and could not be omitted by any one who tried to give an account of the battle.

At six in the morning the flag-ship Victory had a view of the combined fleet, bearing about east by south, distant, as has been said in the account of the manœuvres of the Franco-Spanish fleet, about ten or twelve miles.

At this time Nelson was about twenty miles from Cape Trafalgar, which bore east by south.

Soon after this the English fleet, by signal, formed in two columns, in the order of sailing, and bore up to the eastward, under all sail.

This was according to Nelson’s previous orders; to avoid delay and inconvenience of forming line-of-battle in the usual manner.

THE BATTLE.

The near approach of the British fleet rendering an action unavoidable, the French Admiral, at 8.30 in the morning, made signal for his ships to wear together, and form line, in close order, on the port tack.

This brought the port of Cadiz on his lee bow.

It was fully ten in the morning before this manœuvre, involving so many great ships, and such a long line, was completed; and even then, from the light and flawy wind, the line was not very regularly formed.

Accounts differ as to how the ships were disposed in the Allied line.

Lord Collingwood said that the French ships had an unusual arrangement. They formed a crescent, convexing to leeward, “so that, in leading down their centre, I had both their van and rear abaft the beam. Before the fire opened, every alternate ship was about a cable’s length to windward of her second ahead and astern, forming a kind of double line, and appeared, when on their beam, to leave very little interval between them, and this without crowding their ships.”

The French and English accounts and plans of the battle are all rather incompatible with the facts of the action, as developed; and were all, most probably, drawn from memory and influenced by impressions.

Lord Collingwood’s is, probably, the only simple and straightforward one.

Owing to the lightness of the wind, the English fleet, after bearing up, made very slow progress toward their enemy. These great two and three-deckers were ponderous affairs, and required a strong breeze to move them.

At the joint suggestion of Captains Hardy and Blackwood, Nelson reluctantly consented that the Téméraire and Leviathan should precede the Victory in going into action; and he himself gave orders to that effect to the first-named ship, which was then just abreast of the Victory, but, it was thought, at too great a distance to understand perfectly the purport of Lord Nelson’s hail.

Captain Hardy, Nelson’s flag-Captain, therefore, went, in his boat, on board the Téméraire, and gave Captain Harvey the Commander-in-chief’s orders. But then the utmost endeavor of the Téméraire to pass ahead of the Victory was frustrated by the latter’s carrying all the sail she could set.

No one ventured to suggest shortening sail to Nelson, when going into battle; and he was just then finding fault with the officer of the Victory’s forecastle, for not setting the lee studding-sail in a smarter manner.

Subsequently, when it became necessary to keep in line, for mutual support, the Victory signalled the Téméraire to resume her station astern of the flag-ship. Thus the Victory led the Téméraire into the enemy’s line, after all.

The manner in which the combined fleet now lay, with a home port only twenty-five miles off, on their lee bow, induced Nelson, about eleven in the morning, to telegraph, “I intend to pass through the end of the enemy’s line, to prevent them from getting into Cadiz.”

The reversed order of that line had, with the wind prevailing, produced an effect to be guarded against. It had brought the shoals of San Pedro and Trafalgar under the lee of both fleets. Accordingly, at half-past eleven, the Victory made signal to the British fleet to prepare to anchor at the close of the day.

At that time the cables were of hemp, and required a long time to range, and prepare for letting go. They were, in such ships, of immense size. We shall see how Nelson’s sailor instinct taught him what was to save his fleet after the battle, although he was not to see it.

This signal having been made, no other seemed necessary, and all they had to do was to wait for the battle to open.

But, a little before noon, Nelson telegraphed again. This time it was his celebrated message, “England expects that every man will do his duty.” He had dictated “confides,” but the word not being in the signal book, the signal lieutenant suggested “expects,” and Nelson adopted it.

This signal was greeted with three cheers from all the ships, as they were slowly bearing down upon their enemy, and aroused the utmost enthusiasm.

They by degrees got so close that, at noon, the French ship Fougueux opened fire upon the Royal Sovereign (Collingwood’s flag-ship), then upon her port bow and well within shot. Immediately upon the first gun-shot, the three British Admirals hoisted their respective flags, and the rest of the ships the white, or St. George’s ensign, a measure adopted to prevent any confusion, in the heat of action, from a variety of national flags.

Each British ship also carried a union-jack at her main-top-mast stay, and another at her fore-top-gallant stay. The combined fleet hoisted their ensigns then, and their Admirals their flags.

Soon after the Fougueux and the ships next ahead and astern of her had opened fire the Royal Sovereign returned it, but Nelson made signal to engage more closely, and Collingwood ceased firing.

Soon after midday Collingwood had reached a position close astern of the Santa Anna, 112, and fired into her, with double-shotted guns, and with such precision that, by the subsequent admission of Spanish officers, she killed or wounded nearly four hundred of her crew. With the starboard broadside similarly shotted, the Royal Sovereign raked the Fougueux, but, owing to distance, with less effect. In a short time the British ship Belleisle followed through the combined line, which, owing to some of the ships astern of the Fougueux pressing forward to support the centre, while others kept their sails aback, or shivering, was fast losing the tolerably regular form it had had.

It was about this time that Nelson said, “See that noble fellow, Collingwood, how he carries his ship into action!” while Collingwood was remarking to his flag-Captain, “what Nelson would give to be here!”

The British lee column approached its enemy in such a slanting direction that it enabled most of them to discharge their starboard guns at the enemy’s rear, and an interchange of animated firing took place, the smoke from which, for lack of a strong breeze to carry it off, spread over the combatants, and increased the confusion into which the rear of the combined line had already been thrown, by the crashing charge upon its centre.

Twenty minutes after the Fougueux had opened fire upon the Royal Sovereign, and shortly after the latter had passed under the stern of the Santa Anna, the Bucentaure (Villeneuve’s flag-ship) fired a shot at the Victory, which latter had studding-sails set on both sides, and was going through the water very slowly. The shot fell short. Another fell alongside, after an interval, and then a third passed through the Victory’s main-top gallant sail. Things were getting warm, but the Victory did not immediately reply; and a minute or two of awful silence followed, the ships creeping together, and then, almost as if by signal, the whole Allied van opened fire upon the Victory, conspicuous from bearing Nelson’s flag. Such a fire has seldom been directed at a single ship. Almost immediately a round shot killed Nelson’s Secretary, Mr. Scott, while he was conversing with Captain Hardy. Shortly after a double-headed shot killed eight marines on the poop of the Victory, on which the Admiral ordered Captain Adair, the Marine Officer, to disperse his men around the ship, so that they should not suffer from being drawn up together. Presently a shot came through a thickness of four hammocks, carried away a part of the launch, as she lay on the booms, struck the fore-brace bitts on the quarter-deck, and then passed between Lord Nelson and Hardy. A splinter from the bitts tore the buckle from one of Nelson’s shoes. Dr. Beatty, the Surgeon of the Victory, says “they both instantly stopped, and were observed by the officers on deck to survey each other with inquiring looks, each supposing the other to be wounded. His Lordship smiled, and said ‘This is too warm work, Hardy, to last long!’ and he soon after declared to Captain Hardy that, in all his battles, he had never seen cooler courage displayed than that by the Victory’s men, on this occasion.” To be sure, they were fighting under Nelson’s own eye, and well-drilled men can stand almost any fire when well commanded.

The Allied ships directly ahead of the British weather column, seeing, by her movements, that the Victory was about to follow the example of the Royal Sovereign, closed up around her. The Bucentaure came up near the huge Santissima Trinidada, 130, but still left a small opening between herself and the latter. In hopes of passing through this interval in the line, Lord Nelson himself ordered the man at the wheel to steer east by south.

The Victory, by the change thus made in her course, having brought her port guns to bear upon the combined van, commenced firing from that side. She had already, from the concentrated fire she had encountered, lost twenty officers and men killed, and thirty wounded. This loss would have been greater had not the enemy endeavored to disable her by aiming rather at her spars and rigging. In consequence of this every studding-sail boom, on both sides, had been shot away, and every sail riddled.

This shows that if the centre and rear of the Allies had opened fire earlier upon the Royal Sovereign, as she went in, they would, probably, have entirely disabled her.

The Victory, as she moved slowly along, in a slanting direction, kept her port broadside playing upon the Santissima Trinidada and the Bucentaure, and was ably seconded by the Téméraire, Captain Harvey, which ship still kept close astern of her. In a few minutes the Victory’s mizzen-top-mast was shot away; and soon after her wheel was destroyed, and the ship had to be steered, during the rest of the action, in the gun-room, the First-Lieutenant and Master relieving each other at that duty. All this happened in about a quarter of an hour after she had opened fire, and she now found herself close abreast of the narrow opening between the Spanish four-decker and the French Commander-in-chief, the precise spot where Nelson wished to cut the combined line. Just as the Victory was slowly passing astern of the great Spanish ship, with the intention of hauling up under her lee, the Bucentaure ranged ahead, and placed herself upon the four-decker’s starboard quarter. Captain Hardy now pointed out to Nelson the impossibility of passing through the line without running on board one of the enemy’s ships. Lord Nelson replied, “I can’t help it; it does not signify which we run on board of. Go on board which you please; take your choice.” The Victory, with helm hard a-port, steered for the Redoutable, which had gallantly come to fill a gap caused by the falling to leeward of the French Neptune. (There was a Neptune in each fleet.) Righting her helm—she had just steerage way—the Victory poured a raking fire into the Bucentaure and the Santissima Trinidada, and received a raking fire from the French Neptune, which then set her jib to keep clear.

On coming slowly to the wind the Victory drifted on board the Redoutable, but not until she had given her a broadside, and received some shot in return. The Redoutable then shut her lower deck ports, apparently to prevent the English from boarding through them, and did not again fire a gun from her port side.

The ships came together very gently, and were in the act of rebounding, when the Victory’s starboard fore-yard-arm caught the leech of the Redoutable’s fore-topsail. This kept them together for a time, and, with the muzzles of their guns almost touching, the two ships fell off before the wind.

Having accompanied Lord Nelson so far, let us now take a general view of the battle.

Soon after the first four ships of the British lee division had cut the centre and rear of the combined line, the remainder, as they came up in succession, pierced the mass of the Allied ships (for they were no longer in line), and then found opponents as they could.

Meantime the weather division had cut through a little ahead of the centre of the combined line. The action, which had begun at noon, was at its height at about half-past one. At three the fire had begun to slacken; and at five had entirely ceased.

Of the eleven van ships of the Allies, including the huge Sta. Trinidada, only one was captured in her proper place; the remaining ten were out of line. Of the latter, three were captured and seven escaped; four by hauling to windward, and then by running for Cadiz. Of their ten centre ships, five were taken in their line of battle, and five escaped into Cadiz; and of the twelve rear ships, nine, including one burnt, were taken, and three escaped into Cadiz. This made, as the result of the day’s proceedings, nine French ships of the line captured or burnt, and nine Spanish ships of the line captured; total eighteen. The French and Spanish ships which escaped were many of them much shattered.

It is impossible to give details of the separate action of so many ships, or of the losses they sustained, without being tedious. But it may be interesting to give some idea of the French view of the battle—previous to speaking of the death of Nelson.

We now quote from a French source. After enumerating the combined fleet, and its mode of formation, the account goes on to say, that “the vessels” (of the Allies) were most of them rather antiquated, especially the Spanish vessels, and unfitted for the new tactics introduced by Nelson. Soon after going out the two fleets sighted each other off Cape Trafalgar—that low point formerly called by the ancients the promontory of Juno.

“The English Admiral had but twenty-seven sail-of-the-line, but his guns were superior in calibre to those of the Allies. They had, moreover, much greater nautical experience, and a great leader, conditions of success which the Allies could not claim.” “Villeneuve formed a single line of battle. Nelson formed in two columns, to cut this line, and then expected to conquer the separate parts in detail.” * * * * * *

“October 21st, at eleven A. M., the two fleets came together, and one of the most destructive naval battles ever fought ensued. * * * The English were full of confidence and enthusiasm. * * * Nelson himself set the example. Outsailing his division, he dashed the Victory against the Allied line, in spite of the concentrated broadsides poured upon him. * * * He attempted to take the Bucentaure, the flag-ship of Villeneuve, and for that purpose tried to get in between her and another French ship, the Redoutable, commanded by the brave Captain Lucas. Lucas divined his intentions, and hastened to bar the Victory’s way. But Nelson was not the man to be deterred by odds, and immediately laid his ship alongside the Redoutable, and boarded her. Lashed alongside, the two ships fell out of line, fighting.” It is not very often that accounts from opposite sides agree so closely as the foregoing account.

“The ship’s company of the Redoutable bravely accepted the unequal combat. From the tops, as well as from the batteries, they answered the fire of the English, and, in this singular fight, one rather of musketry than of great guns, the French had rather the advantage.” “The decks of the Victory were burdened with the dead. In the midst of the noise and confusion, and smoke of combat, Nelson and Captain Hardy walked the poop. Not far from them a few men were exchanging a brisk musketry fire with those in the tops of the French ship. Suddenly the Admiral staggered and fell, with his face to the deck. A ball fired from the mizzen-top of the Redoutable had struck his left shoulder, passing through the epaulette, then through the chest, and lodging in the dorsal vertebræ.” Admiral Jurien de la Gravière says, “They picked him up at once, the decks being covered with his blood. Hardy, who had not seen him fall, turned, and, paler than Nelson himself, cried, ‘I hope, my Lord, that you are not dangerously wounded!’ ‘They have done for me,’ he answered; ‘they have succeeded at last; the spine of my back is broken.’”

Thiers, in his history, gives a rather different account, only interesting as showing the way in which this important event was reported by the French. “Nelson, dressed in a coat which he always wore on days of battle, and having at his side his flag-captain, Hardy, seemed to delight in exposing himself. His Secretary had already been killed just beside him. Captain Hardy had had one of his shoe buckles shot away, and a bar shot had killed eight men at once on the poop. The great seaman, just object of both hatred and admiration to us, impassable upon his poop, was looking calmly on at the horrible scene, when a bullet from one of the tops of the Redoutable struck him on the left shoulder, and passing on, lodged in his loins. Sinking to his knees he fell forward, endeavoring to sustain himself by his hands. In falling he said, ‘Hardy, the Frenchmen have finished me.’ ‘Not yet, I hope,’ said Hardy. ‘Yes! I am dying,’ said Nelson. They carried him to the cockpit, but he had already almost lost consciousness, and it was evident he had but a short time to live. Recovering his consciousness at intervals, he asked how the battle went; and repeated the directions which afterwards proved his foresight: ‘Anchor! anchor the fleet before evening.’” He soon died, but he had the consolation of knowing, before he did so, that his triumph was certain. To continue the French account: “This bloody episode naturally created disorder on board the Victory, and Captain Lucas, of the Redoutable, without knowing the cause, wished to profit by it to board the English ship. The boarders were already called away, when a broadside of grape from the Téméraire laid low two hundred of them, either killed or wounded. At the same time another English ship, the Neptune, fired into the Redoutable’s poop, and reduced her to a deplorable condition. Two of her masts fell upon the deck, her guns were in great part dismounted, and one of her sides almost beaten in, by which the water entered in torrents. All her staff was wounded, ten out of eleven midshipmen mortally wounded, while 522 men out of 640 were either killed or wounded, and, being unable to resist longer, they were obliged to strike.”

To continue the French account: “The other French ships, in equal straits, were menaced with the same fate, although their crews, as well as those of the Spanish fleet, showed no lack of courage. The English guns, ably and perfectly served, made havoc with their enemy, whose ships, as has been said, were deficient in condition.

“The Bucentaure, attacked by several ships at once, all of whom looked upon her as their special prize, had fouled and caught her bowsprit in the gallery of the Spanish ship Santissima Trinidada, and was incapable of getting clear. In this position she soon had her decks swept, and lay at the mercy of the enemy, with great gaps in her starboard side, her poop demolished, her masts gone by the board, her officers and crew decimated. ‘My business on board the Bucentaure is finished,’ cried the unfortunate Villeneuve; ‘I will try to bring back good fortune on board of another vessel.’ But not a boat was able to swim, and it was impossible for him to leave the Bucentaure.”

M. Thiers says that the French Admiral thus found himself upon a sinking ship, incapable of taking either the offensive or defensive, unable to transmit orders or to do anything to save the fleet which had been entrusted to him, and unable to answer even a shot to those he was still receiving. In this desperate condition, which could not be worse, he resigned himself to the sad necessity of striking his flag. This took place about four in the afternoon.

“An English boat came and took him on board the Mars, where he was received with all the distinction due to his rank and his courage.” “The seven vessels of the centre, which Villenueve commanded, were either captured or disabled. Those at the head of the Allied line had taken little part in the action, owing to light winds. Rear Admiral Dumanoir, who commanded them, feared to be compromised uselessly if he went to the assistance of either Villeneuve or of the rear division, and he decided not to allow his division to become involved in the disaster which he deemed irremediable. So he drew off, and his conduct has been made the subject of more or less hostile criticism, according as people judged his motives.”

“The vessels of the rear division” (we are still following the French account), “commanded by Admiral Gravina and Rear-Admiral Magon, carried on the battle with devoted courage. The Algésiras (flag-ship of the French Rear-Admiral) made as terribly desperate a defence (always defence) as the Redoutable. Magon had for opponent the Tonnant, a ship taken from the French, of 80 guns. He was about to board her when the same misfortune happened which occurred to the Redoutable. Another English ship raked the Algésiras, sweeping off a large number of her crew by broadsides of grape. She endeavored to reply to this new enemy, when a third came and joined them. In this Homeric struggle the Algésiras for a time fought all three. The Captain of the Tonnant tried three times to board the Algésiras. Magon himself, at the head of his crew, boarding-axe in hand, set an example to his men, and his decks were stained with blood in this hand-to-hand conflict. Conspicuous for his brilliant uniform, which he refused to lay aside, he was soon wounded by a musket ball, but remained on deck. A second ball hit him in the thigh, and feeling faint he allowed himself to be taken below to have the wound dressed, expecting to return. Unfortunately his ship’s sides were so battered that grape could readily enter below, and Magon was hardly below when he was killed by a grape-shot through the chest.

“The sailors of the Algésiras seemed rendered desperate by the news of his death, but all their courage did not avail. Out of 641 men on board of her, 150 were killed and 180 wounded. Her masts were gone, her battery dismounted, and when the English boarded they overran the ship, and her flag was struck. Admiral Gravina, on board the Principe d’Asturias, and surrounded by English vessels, fought with the fury of despair. Holding out well against odds, he gave time to the Neptune and Pluto to come down to his assistance. Unfortunately, just as this aid arrived he was mortally wounded.”

“Another episode in this battle of giants marked its termination. The Achille caught fire, and her crew, instead of attending to that, would not leave her guns, and she blew up, with tremendous violence.”

“At five in the afternoon the French fleet was either destroyed or fugitive. Seventeen French and Spanish ships had been taken, and one blew up. The combined fleet lost six or seven thousand men in killed, wounded, drowned and prisoners. A more horrible sight has seldom been seen in a naval battle.

“The English had suffered much. Many of them had lost masts; some were entirely disabled. They lost about three thousand men, a great many officers, and Nelson. And this had the effect of moderating the enthusiasm in England over this great victory. During the following night a heavy gale arose, as Nelson had foreseen. The English, having great trouble to take care of themselves, were forced to abandon the prizes they had in tow, or in company. Many of the prizes were seized by the prisoners, and, after great effort, succeeded in getting into Cadiz. The English retained but four of their prizes and Admiral Villeneuve, whose troubles were not yet ended. The French marine was almost destroyed, physically and morally; and they have hardly recovered from it at this day.

“Napoleon heard of it when in Germany, in the midst of triumphs, and ‘he never forgave Villeneuve.’ The Admiral was placed at liberty by the English, and came home in April, 1806, hoping to justify his conduct. He forwarded a letter to Paris, and soon followed it in person. But while still on the journey, he received a reply, the contents of which caused him to give himself six fatal stabs with a knife, in the region of the heart, causing almost immediate death.”

Having seen how fairly and truthfully, upon the whole, the French have described some of the incidents of this great battle, let us now return to some of the details and the result.

It will be remembered that Nelson was urging the Victory into action; and that vessel being fast-sailing for a line-of-battle ship, would probably have been, like the Royal Sovereign, far ahead of the ships in her wake, but that the Téméraire, having on board very little provisions or water, was what the sailors call “flying light.” This ship was called the “fighting Téméraire.” She had been taken from the French, and was commanded in this action by the gallant Captain Eliab Harvey, a name worthy of a down-east Yankee. She is well known from the celebrated picture, by Turner, of “The fighting Téméraire towed to her last berth.”

The great difficulty on the part of the Téméraire was to keep astern of her leader; and to do this she was obliged frequently to yaw, or to make a traverse. Hence the Téméraire shared with the Victory—although not to quite so great an extent—the damage and loss of life sustained by the head of the weather English column, from the Allies’ heavy and incessant raking fire.

Shortly after the Victory opened her port guns the Téméraire opened hers; and when the former put her helm aport, to steer towards the Redoutable, the Téméraire, to keep clear of her leader, was compelled to do the same, receiving a fire as she passed the Santissima Trinidada, that did her much damage.

At last, when the Victory passed through, the Téméraire succeeded. Meanwhile the Victory had got foul of the Redoutable, and the two ships payed off to the eastward. The Téméraire had scarcely begun to haul up, to avoid being raked by the French Neptune, which was in a position to do so with impunity, when the Téméraire discovered, through the smoke, the Redoutable driving down on board her. The wind was too light to work clear of her—and the French Neptune opened on the English ship, in a raking position, and soon shot away most of her spars. Rendered unmanageable, the Téméraire could only continue her cannonade of the Redoutable from her port battery. This she did until the French ship shut in her lower-deck ports, as we have seen she had already done on the opposite side; and then she fell on board the Téméraire—the French ship’s bowsprit passing over the British ship’s gangway, just before the mizzen-rigging, where, in order to have the benefit of a raking fire, the Téméraire’s men lashed it. Then they poured in round after round, with most destructive effect. This fire of the Téméraire is said to have cost the French ship two hundred in killed and wounded. This happened just after the Victory and the Téméraire had got clear of each other—and just after Nelson had received his death wound.

The three ships now lying nearly parallel, the two larger English ships had the French two-decker lying between them and riddled by their shot. The English had to use a diminished charge of powder to prevent their shot from passing through, to injure their friends, and their guns contained three shot each, and were much depressed. Fire was now the common enemy of the three ships, grappled together in this dogged fight. The seamen of the English ships were actually obliged to throw buckets of water into the holes made by their shot in the Redoutable’s sides. All this time the Victory’s guns, on the other side, had continued to play upon the Spanish four-decker, until the English Neptune came up and took charge of her. “The Redoutable, although she did not make use of her great guns, kept up a heavy fire of musketry, both from her decks and from her tops. In each of the latter were one or two brass cohorn mortars, which she repeatedly discharged, with great effect, upon the decks of her antagonists. From the diagonal position of the Redoutable, at the time the Téméraire lashed her to her gangway, the quarter-deck and the poop of the Victory became greatly exposed to the top fire of the French ship, whose mizzen-top was just abaft and rather below the Victory’s main-yard.” About half-past one a musket ball from this top struck Lord Nelson in the left shoulder, as, having walked along the middle of the quarter-deck, from abaft, he was in the act of turning round to the right, near the main hatchway, to walk back, on the left hand of Captain Hardy, then a step or two in advance, giving some necessary orders. Dr. Beatty says, “Lord Nelson fell upon his face, in exactly the same spot where his Secretary had been killed early in the action; and Scott’s blood not having been removed, soiled Lord Nelson’s clothes. He was raised at once by three of the crew, and Captain Hardy, on turning round, became aware of what had happened. Hardy eagerly said that he hoped he was not severely wounded, and Nelson replied, ‘They have done for me at last, Hardy!’ ‘I hope not,’ said Hardy. ‘Yes,’ replied the Admiral, ‘my backbone is shot through.’ The men, by Captain Hardy’s direction, bore the Admiral to the cockpit,” where we shall leave him for the present.

Although sure to suffer most from the effects of fire, the Redoutable continued to throw hand grenades from her tops and yard-arms, some of which, rebounding, set fire to her fore and main chains and shrouds. This fire communicated to the Téméraire, but was soon extinguished by her people.

The Victory’s crew, after putting out a fire on the booms of that vessel, actually assisted in putting out the flames on board the Redoutable, throwing buckets of water from their ship.

For a quarter of an hour after Nelson had received his wound the Victory maintained a steady cannonade at the hull of the Redoutable, receiving in return a fire of musketry which continued to kill or wound many officers and men. It was a little after two when the main and mizzen masts of the French ship fell. This stopped her formidable musketry, and the two English ships prepared to take possession of her. The Victory, however, tumbled home so much that, the Frenchman’s ports being shut, her men could not board. The Téméraire, being French built, did not tumble in much, and she had, besides, the fallen mizzen-mast as a bridge—and down the latter the crew of the Téméraire scrambled, and boarded and took possession of the most gallantly fought French ship.

Then another complication took place. The French ship Fougueux, 74, after engaging the Royal Sovereign, Belleisle, and Mars, stood slowly across for the starboard beam of the Téméraire—the latter lying with her head about east. The object of the Fougueux was probably to pass to windward of the Téméraire, and rake her; or perhaps to board her—as the Téméraire’s appearance indicated that she was much disabled—her colors being then down, from having her gaff carried away. But the English ship had her starboard broadside in perfect readiness, and delayed firing until the Fougueux got quite close. Then she fired, and there was a fearful crash on board the French ship. Crippled and confused the latter fell on board the Téméraire, and there she was immediately lashed. Boarders from the Téméraire leaped on board of her at once—finding her Captain mortally wounded, and some of the other officers endeavoring to rally the crew to repel boarders. In ten minutes she was a prize to the Téméraire. Four ships were thus locked together at once, but the Victory soon disengaged herself, and lying with her head to the northward, ceased firing, temporarily. She had been terribly cut up, and had lost fifty-seven killed, and one hundred and two wounded. The Redoutable, which had occupied the exposed position, out of a crew of six hundred and forty-three, had lost three hundred killed, and two hundred and twenty-two wounded—including nearly all her officers. The Téméraire was much damaged, and her loss was forty-seven killed and seventy-six wounded. The Fougueux had not suffered nearly so much as the others.

The Leviathan was the last English ship engaged with the French Commander-in-chief, which latter, upon hauling down her colors, was boarded by the Leviathan’s Captain of Marines and five men.

On reaching the Bucentaure’s quarter-deck, M. Villeneuve and the first and second Captains presented their swords, but the Marine Officer declined to receive them, and referred them to Captain Pellew, of the Leviathan. Securing the magazine, and putting the key in his pocket, and placing sentries at the cabin doors, the Marine Officer pulled off, with the French Admiral and his two Captains. His own ship had proceeded in chase and left him, so he took the French officers on board the Mars—and here they remained prisoners.

And now in regard to the huge four-decker, the Spanish Santissima Trinidada. At half-past two she had been so sharply handled by different English ships, that she was dismasted, and lay an unmanageable wreck. The Neptune being called off by an attack from some of the ships of the Allied van, the Africa, 64, bore down ahead of the Sta. Trinidada. Meeting no return to her fire, and seeing no colors hoisted, the Africa concluded that the four-decker had surrendered, and sent a boat to take possession.

On the Lieutenant’s reaching the quarter-deck and asking if she had surrendered, a Spanish officer answered “No,” at the same time pointing to one Spanish and four French sail-of-the-line then passing to windward. As, owing to being dismasted, the four-decker was fast drifting away from the two fleets, the English Lieutenant, who had only a boat’s crew with him, quitted the ship—being, singularly enough, permitted to do so—and returned to the Africa.

The Santissima Trinidada then remained without a prize crew until about half-past five, when the Prince, 98, took her in tow, in obedience to signal. The great ship’s loss in killed and wounded was very severe, having sustained, in succession, the raking fire of four different ships, and her hull, especially her stern and quarters, was dreadfully shattered.

It is impossible to follow the fortunes of the other ships, interesting as they are, and remarkable for gallant actions on both sides.

We must, however, mention the collision of the Allied van with some of the English ships.

At about half-past two the whole of the Allied van, except the Sta. Trinidada, began to put about, in obedience to a signal from their Commander-in-chief to come quickly into close action. They did not comply very readily with the signal; indeed, owing to the light wind, they could not do so.

When ten ships got round on the starboard tack, five of them (four French and one Spanish), under Rear Admiral Dumanoir, hauled their wind, and the other five kept away, as if to join Admiral Gravina, then to leeward of the rear, in the act of making off. In the height of this confusion in the combined van, the Britannia, Agamemnon, Orion, and Ajax got intermingled among the French and Spanish ships that had put about and were edging away. Quite a spirited fight now took place between these, and Admiral Dumanoir, with his five ships, interchanged shots with many of the English.

It was just at this moment that Captain Hardy dispatched a Lieutenant to Vice-Admiral Collingwood, to inform him that Lord Nelson was wounded.

The hauling to windward of Dumanoir gave the two rear ships of the English weather squadron, the Minotaur and Spartiate, an opportunity of exchanging broadsides with the French ships Formidable, Duguay-Trouin, Mont Blanc and Scipion, while they succeeded in cutting off the rear ship, the Spanish Neptune, 80, and she was captured, about five P. M. This was not done without a warm resistance from the Spaniard, which was the last ship which struck on that eventful day.

The British fleet, in all this five hours’ fighting, had only had 449 killed and 1241 wounded.

While this fleet was securing their disabled and battered prizes, and getting the latter, as well as themselves, in a state to keep the sea, and while the more fortunate of the French and Spanish ships were profiting by the occasion to effect their escape from the scene of disaster, let us look at the cockpit of the Victory, where lay, dying, the chief hero of the day.

The manner of receiving his wound has been already described. Dr. Beatty, who had the ball in his possession, says it was not fired from a rifled piece, although it was stated, in Southey’s life of Nelson, that Tyrolean riflemen were posted in the tops of the French ship.

Dr. Beatty says, “While the men were carrying Lord Nelson down the ladder, from the middle deck, his Lordship observed that the tiller ropes were not yet replaced, and sent a midshipman to remind Captain Hardy of the circumstance, and requested that new ones should be immediately rove. Having given this order, he took his handkerchief from his pocket and covered his face, that he might not, at this crisis, be recognized by the crew.” These are most thoughtful and touching precautions.

When he was dying Captain Hardy came down, with tidings of the victory being certain. Dr. Beatty says, “Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy shook hands, and the Captain congratulated him, even in the arms of death, upon the brilliant victory, which he said was complete, although he did not know how many ships were captured; certainly fourteen or fifteen. Nelson said, ‘That is well, but I bargained for twenty,’ and then emphatically exclaimed, ‘Anchor, Hardy, anchor!’ ‘I suppose, my Lord, Admiral Collingwood will now take upon himself the direction of affairs.’ ‘Not while I live, I hope, Hardy!’ cried Nelson; ‘No, do you anchor, Hardy.’ Captain Hardy then said, ‘Shall we make the signal, sir?’ ‘Yes,’ answered Nelson, ‘for if I live, I’ll anchor.’”

In about fifteen minutes Lord Nelson became speechless, and died at half-past four. His best and truest friends only regretted that he had not died instantly, on the quarter-deck, when he was wounded.

All nations have done justice to Nelson’s character, and a celebrated French writer says, he “ought to be held up as a model to Admirals, both for the extraordinary pains he took to know his Admirals and Captains, and by the spirit of the attacks which he resolved to undertake. He unfolded to them his general plan of operations, and the modifications with which the weather or the manœuvres of the enemy might force him to qualify his original determination.

“When once he had explained his system to the superior officers of his fleet, he confided to them the charge of acting according to circumstances, so as to lead, in the most favorable manner, to the consummation of the enterprise so planned. And Nelson, who was allowed to choose the companions of his glory, possessed the talent and the happiness to find men worthy of his instruction and confidence. They learned, in action, to supply what had escaped his forethought, and in success to surpass even his hopes.”

The immediate result of the Battle of Trafalgar was seventeen French and Spanish ships-of-the-line captured, and one French ship burnt. Four French ships effected their escape to the southward; and Admiral Gravina, with eleven French and Spanish ships-of-the-line, and the smaller vessels, anchored under Rota, in the course of the succeeding night.

At six P. M. Vice-Admiral Collingwood, now Commander-in-Chief, shifted his flag to the Euryalus frigate, and the latter, taking the Royal Sovereign in tow, stood off shore with her.

Most of the British ships were so damaged, either in spars or hull, that they were not in a condition to carry sail.

Of seventeen prizes, eight were wholly dismasted, the remainder partly so. Some were nearly in a sinking condition.

To add to their perilous condition, they were then in thirteen fathoms of water, with the shoals of Trafalgar only a few miles to leeward. Fortunately the wind, which was west-south-west, and dead on shore, was moderate; but there was a high swell, which was bad for wounded masts. At nine P. M. the Vice-Admiral made the signal to anchor, but few could do so, as many cables were cut by shot. At midnight the wind veered to south-south-west, and freshened, and signals were made to those under way to wear, with heads to the westward. Four of the dismasted prizes anchored off Cape Trafalgar, and the rest wore, and drifted seaward. Next morning Collingwood issued a general order of thanks to the fleet.

There was then a fresh southerly wind; but thirteen of the prizes, which had remained under way, were got hold of, and towed to the westward. But at five o’clock that afternoon it was found that the Redoutable was sinking, which she did, with many French prisoners and her prize crew on board. Some were saved on a raft, but many were lost. Other fearful casualties occurred during the rough weather of the succeeding night. The Fougueux was lost, with all on board but twenty-five; and the Algésiras was given up to the prisoners, who carried her into Cadiz. The Bucentaure was wrecked, but her crew was saved.

A heavy gale continued, and on the 23d the French Captain, Cosmao-Kerjulien, with five ships and five frigates, recaptured two of the prizes, which were drifting about. But in doing so one of his own ships, the Indomptable, a fine eighty-gun vessel, was wrecked, with all on board lost; and the Spanish ship St. Francis d’Assis was lost, with most of her crew. Other casualties occurred.

Altogether, of the ships captured by the British, at the end of the operations only four—one French and three Spanish 74’s—remained as trophies in the hands of the conquerors. Nor was one of them worth the pains and risk taken to preserve her. The Victory, towed by the Neptune, arrived at Gibraltar on the 28th of October, and on the 3d of November, having been partially refitted, she sailed for England—having Nelson’s body, preserved in spirits, on board. At Chatham the Admiralty yacht received the coffin, which was made of the main-mast of the French flag-ship Orient, which was burnt at the battle of the Nile—and which had been presented to Nelson by Captain Hallowell. This was placed in a leaden coffin; and his flag, which had been kept at half-mast on board the Victory, was struck for the last time.

His body, thus encoffined, lay in state at Greenwich Hospital; and on the 9th of January, 1806, was buried, with great pomp, in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Lord Nelson was engaged in action with an enemy over one hundred and twenty times, and besides being severely wounded elsewhere, lost his right eye and his right arm.

He had not long passed his forty-seventh birthday when he was killed.

His brother William was made an Earl, with £6000 per annum and £100,000 for the purchase of an estate; while £10,000 pounds were given to each of his sisters.

It was also decided that two ships should be built; one of one hundred and twenty guns, to be called the Nelson; and one of ninety-eight guns, to be called the Trafalgar. Collingwood was made a Baron, and voted £2000 per annum; and, of course, there were a very large number of minor promotions.