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.