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.