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.