THE SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.
1802
Europe enjoyed but a short interval of tranquillity by the treaty of Amiens, which was signed on the 27th of March, 1802. In May of the following year, the war was renewed, and Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the French Republic, threatened the invasion of Great Britain. On the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon was invested with the dignity of Emperor of the French, and on the 26th of May of the succeeding year, he was crowned at Milan as King of Italy.
1804
In December, 1804, Spain issued a declaration of war against England, and agreed to furnish a powerful aid to the French Emperor.
1805
While the French pursued a victorious career in Germany, they experienced dreadful reverses from the British navy, particularly on the 21st of October, 1805, when the combined fleets of France and Spain were completely defeated off Cape Trafalgar. The victory was, however, clouded by the death of Admiral Viscount Nelson, to whose memory a grateful and admiring nation paid the highest honors.