Champions of the fleet

by Edward Fraser

“A return of men killed and wounded on board his Majesty’s ship Victory, bearing the flag of the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B., Duke of Bronté, Vice-Admiral of the White and Commander-in-Chief, on the 21st day of October, 1805, in an engagement with the combined fleets of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar. Thomas Masterman Hardy, Esq., Captain.

KILLED
Names	Quality
The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B., Duke of Bronté	Commander-in-Chief
John Scott, Esq.	Secretary
C. W. Adair	Captain, Royal Marines
William Ram	9th lieutenant, R.N.
Robert Smith	Midshipman
Thomas Whipple	Captain’s clerk.
James Mansel	Ab.[15]
Thomas Daniels	L.M.
Thomas Thomas (1st)	Ab.
James North	Ordinary
Alfred Taylor	Do.
James Parke	Do.
William Shaw	L.M.
Richard Jewell	Ordinary
Charles Davis (1st)	Do.
John Bowlin	L.M.
William Brown (1st)	Ab.
William Mark	Do.
George Smith (1st)	L.M.
John Wharton	Ordinary
John King	Quarter-gunner
Robert Davison	Ab.
Edward Waters	Do.
John Cowarden	Ordinary
William Thompson (3rd)	Ab.
Thomas Johnson	Quartermaster
Andrew Sack	Yeoman of signals
Alexander Walker	Ab.
Arthur Hervin	Ordinary
John Welch (2nd)	Ab.
William Skinner	Ordinary
Joseph Ward	Do.
James Skinner	Do.
Stephen Sabine	3rd class (boy)
George Welch	2nd class (boy)
Collin Turner	3rd class (boy)
Royal Marines
George Cochran	Corporal
James Berry	Drummer
James Green	Private
John Brown (1st)	Do.
Lambert Myers	Do.
Samuel Wilks	Do.
George Kennedy	Do.
Daniel Hillier	Do.
John Brannon	Do.
James Norgrove	Do.
Jeremiah G. Lewis	Private
George Wilmott	Do.
Bernard McNamara	Do.
John Ebbsworth	Do.
William Coburne	Do.
William Jones	Do.
William Perry	Do.
John Palmer	Do.
WOUNDED DANGEROUSLY
John Pasco	Signal-lieutenant, R.N.
William Rivers (2nd)	Midshipman
Alexander Palmer[16]	Do.
John Bush	Ordinary
Daniel McPherson	L.M.
John Bergen	Ordinary
Henry Cramwell[16]	L.M.
William Jones (3rd)	Do.
Hans Andersen	Ab.
David Buchan	Do.
Joseph Gordon[16]	Ordinary
William Smith (2nd)[16]	Do.
John Smith (2nd)	Do.
John Saunders	3rd class (boy)
Marines
William Taft	Corporal
Thomas Raynor	Private
John Gregory	Do.
William Knight	Do.
James Bengass	Do.
William Wells	Do.
Benjamin Cook	Do.
James Hines	Do.
Benjamin Matthews	Private
Thomas Wilson	Do.
Nicholas Dear	Do.
BADLY WOUNDED
George M. Bligh	6th lieutenant, R.N.
Lewis B. Reeves	2nd lieutenant, R.M.
William Honnor	Quarter-gunner
Jeremiah Sullivan	Ab.
Peter Hale	L.M.
Thomas Green (1st)	Ab.
John Francois	Ordinary
William Castle	Ab.
George Burton	Ordinary
James Parker	Do.
Edward Dunn	Do.
Edward Padden	Private, R.M.
SLIGHTLY WOUNDED
J. G. Peake	1st lieutenant, R.M.
George A. Westphal	Midshipman
Richard Bulkeley	Do.
John Geoghegan	Clerk to agent victualler
Josiah McPherson	L.M.
Thomas Graham	Ordinary
Thomas Collard	Ab.
Robert Phillips	L.M.
John Kinsale	Ordinary
Charles Legge	L.M.
David Conn	Do.
Daniel Leary	Ab.
William Taylor	Ordinary
John Simm	Ab.
Samuel Cooper	Do.
William Gillett	Ordinary
John Bornkworth	Do.
Robert Gibson	Ab.
Angus McDonald	Do.
George Quinton	Quarter-gunner
Edward Grey	Ordinary
Samuel Brown	Yeoman of powder-room
William Butler	Ab.
Samuel Lovett	Do.
Daniel Munro	Do.
James Curry	Do.
Michael McDonald	Ordinary
William Fall	Ab.
Michael Pennill	Do.
Thomas Pain	Do.
John Knight	Boatswain’s mate
Marines
Giovanni Giunti	Private
Charles Chappele	Do.
Samuel Green	Do.
James Fagen	Do.
Isaac Harris	Do.
John Dutton	Do.
George Graves	Do.
James Rogers	Do.
George Coulston	Do.
Nicholas le Contre	Do.
Thomas Crofton	Do.

Killed	54
Dangerously wounded	25
Badly wounded	12
Slightly wounded	42”

One or two eye-witnesses’ accounts from on board the Victory, at and immediately after Trafalgar, give interesting glimpses of what went on in the ship during the fight. First of all, there is the formal, matter-of-fact tale as set out in the log:—

“At 11.30 the enemy opened upon the Royal Sovereign. At 11.40 the Royal Sovereign commenced firing on the enemy. At 11.50, the enemy began firing on us and the Téméraire.

“At noon, standing for the enemy’s tenth ship, with all possible (sail) set. Light airs and cloudy. Standing towards the enemy’s van with all sail set. At 4 minutes past 12, opened our fire on the enemy’s van in keeping down their line. At 20 minutes past 12, in attempting to pass through the enemy’s line, we fell on board of the 10th and 11th ships, when the action became general. About 1.15, the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B., and Commander-in-Chief was wounded in the shoulder.

“At 1.30 the Redoutable having struck her colours we ceased firing our starboard guns, but continued engaging the Santisima Trinidad and some of the enemy’s ships on the larboard side. Observed the Téméraire between the Redoutable and another French ship of the Line, both of which had struck. Observed the Royal Sovereign with the loss of her main and mizen-masts, and some of the enemy’s ships around her dismasted. At 3.10 observed four sail of the enemy’s van tack and stand along our line to windward. Fired our larboard guns at those which could reach them. At 3.40 made the signal for our ships to keep their wind and engage the enemy’s van coming along our weather line. At 4.15 the Spanish Rear-Admiral to windward struck to some of our ships which had tacked after them. Observed one of the enemy’s ships blow up, and 14 sail of the enemy standing towards Cadiz, and 3 sail of the enemy standing to the southward. Partial firing continued until 4.30, when a victory having been reported to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B., and Commander-in-Chief, he then died of his wound.”

Then we have this personal narrative from one of the men on deck, as told in a quaint letter which James Bagley, a marine of the Victory, wrote home to his sister, while the ship was lying at Spithead with Nelson’s body on board, awaiting orders to proceed round to the Nore:—

“Victory, Spithead, Dec. 5, 1805.

“Dear Sister,