TRAFALGAR // THE VICTORY
THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
"Lamented Hero
O price, his conquering Country grieves of pay !
O dear brought Glories of Trafalgar's Day."
Nelson's quarters on the Victory. This is where he would meet with his officers on the ship.
"The business of the English commander-in-chief being first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided."
Admiral Nelson
"Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in port; but know he finds, I fancy, if Emperors hear the truth, that his fleet suffers more in a night than ours in one year."
Admiral Nelson.
HMS
Victory had a crew of 820 men commanded by Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy.
There were 9 Commissioned Officers, 21 Mishipmen and 77 Non-commissioned Warrant
and Petty Officers, the rest of the crew comprised of Able and Ordinary Seaman,
Landsmen, supernumeries and 31 boys.
Also within this complement was a detachment of 146 Royal Marines from the
Chatham Division, commanded by Captain Charles Adair.
Apart from the 700 English, Irish, Scots and Welsh, 18different nationalities
were represented on the Victory, at the Battle of Trafalgar.
She suffered some of the worst casualties of the Allied Fleet at the battle with
57 of her crew killed or dying of their wounds a few days later, and a further
102 wounded.
| Name | Rank | Ship | Other Clasps |
| UNDERHILL Goe | Dmr RM | Tonnant | Gut of Gibraltar |
| UPCOTT Wm | Dmr RM | Naiad | |
| VAUGHAM Peter | Ord | Dreadnought | |
| VEASEY Geo | LM | Tonnant | |
| VEITCH James | Ord | Swiftsure | |
| VERNON Thos | Sgt RM | Dreadnought | |
| VESCONTE N. | LM | Neptune | |
| VICARY Wm | Mid | Achilles | |
| VICE Wm | Pte RM | Neptune | |
| WAKEHAM John | Pte RM | Belleisle | |
| WALFORD Wm | Mid | Bellerophon | Skylark 11Nov1811 |
| WALKER Henry | Vol 1st | Temeriare | Boat Service Apl May 1813 |
| WALKER Henry | Mid | Bellerophon | Martinique. Algiers |
| WALKER Jas Robertson Mid | Victory | Martinique. | Guadalope |
| WALKER John | AB | Tonnant | |
| WALL E | Dmr RM | Minotaur | |
| WALL James | LM | Naiad | |
| WALLACE Patrick | AB | Bellisle | |
| WALLER R. | AB | Swiftsure | |
| WALLIN Jas | AB | Colossus | |
| WALPOLE Wm | Mid | Colossus | |
| WARD Edwd | Pte RM | Victory | |
| WARD Geo | Supernmy | Victory | |
| WARD Henry | Pte RM | Orian | Anholt 27Mar1811 |
| WATTS Richd | Ord | Agamemnon | St Domingo Hebrus with Etoile |
"May the Great God, whom I worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British Fleet. For myself, individually, I commit my life to Him who made me, and may His blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To Him I resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen. Amen. Amen."
Horatio Nelson, Vice Admiral of the White, H.M.S. VICTORY, 21st October 1805.
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A Poem by Gunner Joe in Nelson's Fleet:
I'll
tell you a seafaring story,
And then, taking flags out o'locker, |
Lord Nelson explaining to the officers of the fleet the plan of attack previous to the Battle of Trafalgar.
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They got the guns ready for action, And that gave 'em trouble enough, They 'adn't been fired all the summer And touch-holes were bunged up wi' fluff Joe's cannon it weren't 'alf a corker, The cannon balls went three foot round, They wasn't no toy balloons neither, They weigh'd close on sixty-five pound. Joe, selecting two of the largest, Was going to load double for luck, When a hot shot came in thro' the porthole, And a gunpowder barrel got struck. By gum! there weren't 'alf an explosion, The gun crew was filled wi' alarm, As out of the port-hole went Joseph, Wi' a cannon ball under each arm. At that moment up came the 'Boat-swine', He says 'where's Joe?' Gunner replied "E's taken two cannon balls with 'im, And gone for a breather outside. ' 'Do y'think he'll be long?' says the 'Boat-swine', The gunner replied 'If as 'ow, 'E cornes back as quick as 'e left us, 'E should be 'ere any time now.' And all this time Joe, treading water, Was trying 'is 'ardest to float, 'E shouted thro' turmoil of battle, 'Tell someone to lower a boat.' 'E'd come to the top for assistance, Then down to the bottom 'e'd go; This up and down kind of existence, Made ev'ryone laugh except Joe. At last 'e could stand it no longer, And next time 'e came to the top, 'E said 'If you don't come and save me, I'll let these 'ere cannon balls drop.' 'T were Nelson at finish who saved him And 'e said Joe deserved the V.C., But finding 'e 'adn't one 'andy, 'E gave Joe an egg for 'is tea. And after the battle was over, And vessel was safely in dock, The sailors all saved up their coupons, And bought Joe a nice marble clock |
Lord Nelson and
Marine Officer on the Victory
Below decks on the Victory.
It was the year of 1805, the year when it seemed that at long last Napoleon would invade England, which, for twelve years, had stood in the path of the Grand Armée´s complete domination of Europe. It was the year when, in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, Napoleon had suddenly convinced himself that his united fleet could annihilate any squadron which the English could put to sea to meet it.
In
August of 1805, he wrote to his admirals: „Come into the Channel. Bring
our united fleet and England is ours. If you are only here for 24 hours,
all will be over, and six centuries of shame and insult will be
avenged."
It was an order, however, which his captains found impossible to obey.
Although Napoleon had 2,000 ships and 90,000 men assembled along the
coast of France, the British blockade of the French and Spanish harbours
had virtually ammobilised this gigantic force.
In desperation, Napoleon ordered his fleet at Cadiz to sail out and meet
the enemy ships which sat quietly waiting on the green Atlantic swells
at Cape Trafalgar, some 80 kilometres east of Cadiz.
„His Majesty counts for nothing the loss of his ships," Napoleon´s
message ended, „provided they are lost with glory."
In response to this order, a Franco-Spanish fleet of 33, with 2,640
guns, commanded by Admiral Villeneuve, set out from Cadiz to engage the
enemy. Massive though this force was compared to the force that awaited
them, its destruction was an almost foregone conclusion from the very
beginning.
There were several reasons for the inevitable destruction of the
Franco-Spanish fleet, not the least being that it was commanded by a man
who was haunted by the memory of his humiliating defeat at the hands of
a much smaller English force only three months earlier. A man, moreover,
that even Napoleon had decided at the last moment was ill-fitted for the
task that had been entrusted to him.
As Villeneuve was sailing out of Cadiz, a horseman was hastening down
the Spanish Peninsula, carrying a message, informing Villeneuve that he
was to hand over his command to Admiral Rosily.
It would be wrong to assume that if the messenger had arrived in time to
stop Villeneuve sailing, and the highly capable Admiral Rosily had been
in command, the outcome of the Battle of Trafalgar might have been a
different one. There were too many other factors weighed in the balance
against the Franco-Spanish fleet for this to have happened.
Like Villeneuve, the captains of the Freench and Spanish fleets were
imbued with a sense of impending defeat before they had even encoutered
the enemy. And with good cause!
Demoralised by a long period of inactivity, and with 1,700 sick men
aboard their ships, the French sailed out of Cadiz knowing that only a
miracle could give them a victory.
Press-ganged crews:
The Spanish ships, manned mostly by
soldiers or by beggars press-ganged from the slums of Cadiz, with
gunners who had never fired a gun from a rolling ship, and commanded by
Spanish captains who resented being placed under a French admiral, were
in an even worse plight.
Most unnerving of all for the captains of the fleet was the knowledge
that they were about to pit themselves against the most skilful sea
captain of all time - Horatio Viscount Nelson.
Only slightly less awe-inspiring was the British Jack Tar himself, that
clay-piped, pig-tailed sailor, who, more often than not, had been
recruited by the press gangs from the scourings of the English sea
towns. Already an aggressive fighting man by instinct, he had literally
been whipped into becoming a magnificent sailor by the iron discipline
of autocratic captains for whom the lash was the answer to almost every
infringement of the ship´s rules.
A seasoned French sailor would have had difficulty in holding his own
against such a formidable foe, let alone those pathetic crews sailing
out to meet the English fleet.
On the 20th of October, 1805, the Franco-Spanish fleet was sighted, and
soon afterwards the area where the British ships waited became bright
with patches of gaudy bunting as each ship broke out strings of flags
which assed on the message: „The French and Spanish are out at last,
they outnumber us in ships and guns and men: we are on the eve of the
greatest sea fight in history."
On board the flagship, HMS Victory, the message had been delivered to
the English commander, a slight, one-armed man, blind in one eye and
shabbily dressed in a threadbare frock coat stained with sea salt, its
gold lace tarnished to black flattened rags.
Battle plans:
This slatternly-looking admiral was,
of course, Lord Nelson, who received the news with the utmost calmness.
And why not? His battle plans had already been made and communicated to
all his captains. Those plans, he was convinced would give him a swift
victory.
Until the Battle of Trafalgar, the problem of how a fleet could gain an
annihilating victory over the enemy was one that had never really been
solved, and for want of a better tactic, it had been the custom for the
fleets to sail into action in two parallel lines, with each ship taking
on a single opponent, firing its guns broadside as it passed.
Inevitably, the enemy would také an opposite tack, and the battle would
then become a vastly prolonged affair, with the ships continually
sailing on opposite tacks, or engaging on the same tack, until one of
the fleets eventually retired.
Nelson had decided to break completely with this tradition. His plan was
to divide his fleet into two groups. One group would attack sections of
the enemy line and destroy them before other ships could come to their
aid. The other group would attack the enemy at right angles, break
through their lines and then cut off the retreat of the enemy fleet.
This aggressive piece of strategy, which was later referred to as the
„Nelson Touch", was to change the whole course of naval warfare.
The battle did not begin until the following day, by which time the
enemy fleet was well in sight, off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson was on deck,
now in a freshly laundered uniform and with new ribbons for all the
medals on his breast.
Battle signal
Shortly after, Nelson called for the signal officer. "Make the signal to bear down on the enemy in two lines," he ordered. He then went down to make his will, which was witnesssed by Captain Hardy and Captain Blackwood who had come aboard from the Euryalus. Afterwards, Nelson went up to the poop and ordered that signal officer to hoist his celebrated signal: ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY.
It has been said that this famous signal was to have been worded: „Nelson confides that every man will do his duty," and that his name was replaced by that of England at the suggestion of the signal officer, who pointed out that if the words „confides that" were used, they would have to be spelt out with a long string of flags. The word „expects" was substituted.
First blood
The first shot was fired at the
English ship Royal Sovereign at noon. This salute of iron was received
in silence by the Royal Sovereign, who waited until she had drawn astern
of the Spanish three-decket, Santa Anna, then raked her decks with a
murderous fire that killed or wounded 400 of her crew.
In the meantime, Nelson´s ship was moving on, silent and intent,
searching for the French admiral's ship. Eventually, right in front of
her, lay the huge Spanish four-decker, Santissima Trinidad. Guessing
correctly that the French admiral's ship must be nearby, Nelson bore
down on her. As he did so, the Bucentaure, Villeneuve´s ship, and seven
or eight other enemy ships, opened fire on the Victory. Still she
advanced without firing. By the time she had come close enough to rake
the Santissima Trinidad with her larboard guns, 50 of her men were dead
and 30 wounded.
It was at this point that the Victory came into collision with the
French Redoubtable. Locked together, and wrapped in sheets of flame, the
two ships drifted slowly through the smoke of battle. Gradually,
although the fighting had continued unabated, the smoke cleared a little
from the decks of the Victory, enough for the marksmen to see the
epaulets of the English officers. A marksman kneeling in the mizzen-top
aimed his musket at Nelson.
On the quarterdeck of the Victory, Captain Hardy had turned to leave
Nelson´s side to give an order when Nelson fell, mortally wounded.
Immediately, Hardy, a sergeant of the marines and two privates, rushed
forward to lift him up. Nelson was then carried down to the cockpit,
where he ordered that his face should be covered with a handkerchief so
that he might not be recognized.
In the meantime, the Redoubtable´s top marksmen had shot down 40
officers and men, destroying so many that the French, seeing the upper
deck clear of all but dead or wounded, tried to board her. It was an
enterprise which was to cost them dear. A botswain´s whistle piped,
„Boarders; repel Boarders", and the order immediately summoned swarms of
smoke-begrimed blue-jackets to the deck, where they killed every man who
had managed to board the Victory.
Below decks, Nelson´s life was now ebbing away fast. But he was still
alive when Hardy returned from the fighting above to inform him that
fourteen enemy vessels had given in. „ That´s well," Nelson said, „but I
had bargained for twenty." He lingered on for a little while longer.
After murmuring some inarticulate words, he said distinctly, „I have
done my duty. I thank God for it!"
The Victory at sea with Nelson on board. The Victory was a 100-gun First Rate ship designed by Sir Thomas Slade, the Surveyor of the Navy (1755-1771), according to the Establishment of 1745 as the only ship of its class and built in 1759-1765 at the Chatham Dockyard for the Royal Navy.
October 21st -- THE BATTLE BEGINS.
The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory 1806-1808.
The last stage of the battle, with the French and English ships engaged in a general melée. By then 25 French ships were already out of action and trying to make for Cadiz.
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The raking manoeuvre employed with great success by the British ships. When attacking the enemy line, a British vessel would steer for a gap between enemy vessels. After brilliant seamanship had gained the British ship an advantageous position, a broadside was fired at one enemy vessel before sailing in front of it to unleash yet another broadside into the stern of the next ship in the line. Yet another broadside was then delivered to that crippled vessel from the other side. |
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The first stage of the battle, with the Victory leading a frontal attack, while the rest of Nelson´s fleet attacks at right angles to break through the lines of the enemy ships, and thus cut off their retreat. This tactic was in complete variance with all the accepted rules of naval warfare. |
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Ruined dream:
Above,beneath the setting sun, his
fleet was lying in two groups with the shattered hulks of the enemy
ships all around them. The British losses had been heavy; 449 killed and
1,241 wounded. But of the 27 ships of the British fleet, not one had
been sunk or captured. Trafalgar was the decisive battle of the
Napoleonic Wars.
It had always been essential to Napoleon´s master plan to control the
world that he should have command of the seas. With his Allied fleet now
ruined as a fighting force thet dream had been destroyed forever.
Trafalgar, moreover, established England´s supremacy at sea for nearly a
century and a half, during which time her navy remained the bedrock on
which her control of the far-flung British Empire rested through the age
of steam and into the 20th century.
It was not until several days after the battle that The Times newspaper was able to inform its readers of the outcome of the battle. Their joy that England had won a great sea battle was tempered by the knowledge that the country had lost its most beloved naval commander.
The flagship HMS Victory finally disengages from the wrecked Redoubtable, while the Temeraire, having broken from La Fougueux, remains locked with the French ship. At one point, all four ships had been on board of each other in line abreast, each firing broadside after broadside into each other. To the right of the painting, the French Bucentaure lies helpless, her vulnerable stern having been smashed by Victory's relentless gunfire.
"REPORT"
"Made to his Excellency the Minister of Marine and of the Colonies, by M.
Lucas, naval captain, officer of the Legion of Honour, on the sea battle of
Trafalgar between the combined fleet of France and Spain under the orders of
Admirals Villeneuve and Gravina and the English fleet commanded by Admiral
Nelson ; and particularly on the combat between the Victory of 110 guns with
the flag of Admiral Nelson, the Temeraire of the same force and another
ship, a two decker, and the Redoutable, of which His Majesty had entrusted
me with the command."
Monseigneur,
"Although the loss of the Redoutable forms a part of the defeat undergone by
the Combined Fleets of France and Spain in the sanguinary battle off Cape
Trafalgar, the part taken by this particular ship, all the same, deserves a
distinguished place by itself in the annals of the French Navy. In
consequence I owe it to the memory of the brave men who fell in the terrible
fight, or went down in the remains of the Redoutable when she sank, I owe it
also to the glory of the small band of those who survived that inexpressible
slaughter, to bring under the notice of your Excellency a picture of their
exploits, the efforts of their valour, and above all the expressions of
their love for, and attachment to, His Imperial and Royal Majesty, whose
name, repeated a thousand times with the utmost enthusiasm, seemed to render
them invincible. Nothing could equal the ardour of such heroes at the moment
that I announced to them that we were going to board the English flagship;
and not even the intrepid Nelson himself could have died more nobly than in
combating enemies so worthy of his courage and of his grand reputation.
" I will not undertake here to explain the movements of the two fleets
during the whole of the action. Surrounded myself with fire and smoke, I was
only able at intervals to discern the ships in my immediate neighbourhood. .
. . But I will enter into all the details of what took place on board the
Redoutable during the contest that my ship went through at the cannon's
mouth and ,broadside to broadside with a ship of a hundred and ten guns, the
Temeraire of the same force, and a third ship, a two-decker, of which I do
not know the name."
[Captain Lucas next gives his account of the events of the morning up to the
moment of opening fire... then goes on as follows]
" At eleven the fleet hoisted its colours. The ensign of the Redoutable went
up in a very impressive manner; the drums beat 'Aux Drapeaux' ; the soldiers
presented arms. Then the flag was saluted by officers and men with cheers,
seven times repeated, ' Vive I'Empereur!'
" The enemy's column, which was directed against our centre, was at eleven
o'clock on the port side, and the flagship Bucentaure began firing. I
ordered a number of the captains of the guns to go up on the forecastle and
observe why it was some of our ships fired badly. They found that all their
shots carried too low and fell short. I then gave orders to aim for
dismasting, and above all to aim straight. At a quarter to twelve the
Redoutable opened fire with a shot from the first gun division. It cut
through the foretopsail yard of the Victory, whereupon cheers and shouts
resounded all over the ship. Our firing was well kept up, and in less than
ten minutes the British flagship had lost her mizen-mast, foretopsail, and
main topgallant mast. Meanwhile I always kept so close to the Bucentaure
that several times they called to me from their stern gallery that I should
run them down; indeed, the bowsprit of the Redoutable touched the crown of
the flagship's taffrail; but I assured them they had nothing to be anxious
about.
" The damage done to the Victory did not affect the daring manoeuvre of
Admiral Nelson. He repeatedly persisted in trying to break the line in front
of the Redoutable, and threatening to run us down if we opposed. But the
proximity of the British flagship, though closely followed by the Temeraire,
instead of intimidating my intrepid crew, only increased their ardour; and
to show the English admiral that we did not fear his fouling us, I had
grappling irons made fast at all the yardarms.
" The Victory having now succeeded in passing astern of the French admiral,
ran foul of us, dropping alongside and sheering off aft in such a way that
our poop lay alongside her quarter-deck. From this position the grappling
irons were thrown on board her. Those at the stem parted, but those forward
held on; and at the same time our broadside was discharged, resulting in a
terrible slaughter. We continued to fire for some time, although there was
some delay at the guns. We had to use rope rammers in several cases, and
fire with the guns run in, being unable to bowse them, as the ports were
masked by the sides of the Victory. At the same time, elsewhere, by means of
muskets fired through the ports into those of the Victory, we prevented the
enemy from loading their guns, and before long they stopped firing on us
altogether. What a day of glory for the Redoutable if she had had to fight
only with the Victory ! The English batteries, not being able to resist us
longer, ceased firing (les batteries du Victoire ne pouvaient plus nous
riposter). Then I became aware that the crew of the enemy were about to
attempt to board us. At once I had the trumpets sounded, giving the
divisional call for boarding. All hastened up from below instantly, in fine
style; the officers and midshipmen sprang to the head of their men, as
though at a parade. In less than a minute our decks swarmed with armed men,
who spread themselves with rapidity on the poop and in the nettings and the
shrouds.
It would be impossible to say who was the foremost.
" Then a heavy fire of musketry opened, in which Admiral Nelson fought at
the head of his crew. Our firing, though, became so rapid, and was so much
superior to his, that in less than a quarter of an hour we had silenced that
of the Victory altogether. More than two hundred grenades were flung on
board her, with the utmost success; her decks were strewn with the dead and
wounded. Admiral Nelson was killed by the firing of our musketry.
"Immediately after this, the upper deck of the Victory became deserted, and
she again ceased firing, but it proved difficult to board her because of the
motion of the two vessels, and the height of the Victory's upper tier and
battery. On that I gave the order to cut the supports of the main-yard so
that it might serve as a bridge. At the same time Midshipman Yon and four
seamen sprang on board the Victory by means of her anchor, and we then knew
that there was nobody left in the batteries. At that moment, when my brave
fellows were hastening to follow, the three-decker Temeraire, which had seen
that the Victory fought no longer and must without fail be taken (allait
infailliblement entre pris), came down, full sail, on our starboard side. We
were immediately under the full fire of her artillery, discharged almost
with muzzles touching.
" It is impossible to describe the carnage produced by the murderous
broadside of this ship. More than two hundred of our brave men were killed
or wounded by it. I was wounded also at the same time, but not so seriously
as to make me abandon my post. Not being able to undertake anything on the
side of the Victory, I now ordered the rest of the crew to man the batteries
on the other side and fire at the Temeraire with what guns the collision
when she came alongside had not dismounted.
"The order was carried out; but by this time we had been so weakened, and
had so few guns left available, that the Temeraire replied to us with great
advantage. A short time afterwards another ship, a two-decker, whose name I
cannot recall, placed herself across the stern of the Redoutable and fired
on us within pistol-shot. In less than half an hour our ship had been so
fearfully mauled that she looked like little more than a heap of debris.
Judging by appearances, no doubt, the Temeraire now hailed us to surrender
and not prolong a useless resistance. My reply was instantly to order some
soldiers who were near me to fire back; which they did with great alacrity.
At the same moment almost, the mainmast of the Redoutable fell on board the
English ship. The two topmasts of the Temeraire then came down, falling on
board of us. Our whole poop was stove in, helm, rudder, and stem post all
shattered to splinters, all the stern frame, and the decks shot through. All
our own guns were either smashed or dismounted by the broadsides of the
Victory and Temeraire. In addition, an 18-pounder gun on the lower deck, and
a 32-pounder carronade on the forecastle had burst, killing and wounding a
great many men. The hull itself was riddled, shot through from side to side;
deck beams were shattered; port-lids torn away or knocked to pieces. Four of
our six pumps were so damaged as to be useless. The quarter-deck ladders
were broken, which rendered communication with the rest of the ship very
difficult. Everywhere the decks were strewn with dead men, lying beneath the
debris. Out of a crew of 634 men we had 522 hors de combat; of whom 300 were
killed and 222 wounded - nearly all the officers among them. A number of the
wounded were killed on the orlop deck below the water-line. Of the remaining
121, a large number were employed in the storerooms and magazines. The
batteries and upper decks were practically abandoned-bare of men, and we
were unable longer to offer any resistance. No one who had not seen the
state of the Redoutable could ever form an idea of her awful condition.
Really I know of nothing on board that had not been hit by shot. In the
midst of this horrible carnage and devastation my splendid fellows who had
not been killed, and even, too, the wounded below on the orlop, kept
cheering I Long live the Emperor I We are not taken yet I Is the Captain
still alive?' ('Vive l'Empereur ! Nous ne sommes pas encore pris! Le
Commandant, vit il encore?') Some tarred canvas at the stern took fire about
this time, but happily the flames were held in check, and we succeeded
before long in extinguishing them.'
" The Victory by this time fought no longer. She busied herself only with
getting clear of the Redoutable. We, however, meanwhile, were being cut to
pieces by the cross fire from the Temeraire, with whom we still fought, and
from the other ship, which was still firing into us at the stern. Unable to
meet that fire, and not seeing any chance of rescue, the rest of our ships
being all too far to leeward to be able to come to our assistance, I
hesitated no longer about surrendering. The leaks were sufficiently serious
to ensure the ship going to the bottom, so that the enemy would not keep
her. When I satisfied myself finally about this, I gave orders to lower the
colours. The flag, however, came down by itself with the fall of the mizen-mast.'
We were then left by the ship which had been firing into us astern, but the
Temeraire continued to fire on us. She did not give over until her men were
obliged to do so by having to work at extinguishing a fire which had broken
out on board their own ship. It was then half-past two in the afternoon.
" The Victory, the Redoutable, with the Temeraire and the Mercure [sic],'
were all the time joined together, owing to their masts having fallen across
from one ship to the other. Unable to use their helms, they formed one mass,
which drifted at the mercy of the wind. In that way they came foul of the
Fougueux, which, having fought against several of the enemy's ships, had
been left by them without having lowered her flag. She was dismasted and
unrigged, and floating an unmanageable hulk. On fouling the group of ships
she was boarded by the Temeraire. The Fougueux was, however, beyond making
serious resistance. Her brave captain, Baudouin, though, even then made an
effort, but in vain. He was killed at the outset, and his second in command
was wounded at the same moment; whereupon some men of the Temeraire sprang
on board and took possession."
" The enemy took no steps to take possession of the Redoutable, in which the
leaks were so considerable that I feared the ship would sink before they
would be able to get the wounded out. I represented the state of things to
the Temeraire, and warned them that unless they took steps at once to send
men on board with gear for the pumps and give us immediate succour, I would
have to set fire to the ship, which would involve the Temeraire and the
Victory. Immediately after that two officers and some seamen and marines
came on board and took possession of the ship. One of the English marines,
who entered on the lower deck through a port, was attacked by one of our
wounded sailors armed with a musket and bayonet. He fell on the Englishman
with fury, shouting, , I must kill one more of them!' He bayoneted the
marine through the thigh, and the man fell between the two vessels. In spite
of this incident, however, I was able to induce the English party to remain
on board. They wanted to return to their own ship and leave us.
" Towards three o'clock some of the ships of our van squadron which were to
windward on the starboard tack and apparently about to draw off from the
battle, without having been perceptibly damaged, fired several shots at our
group, but from a long range. Several of their cannon balls fell on board
the Redoutable, and one of the English officers had his thigh shattered and
died in a few moments.
"At half-past three, the Victory separated herself from the Redoutable, but
she was in so dismantled a state as to be hors de combat.' It was not until
seven in the evening that they were able to get the Redoutable clear of the
Temeraire, which still, however, remained foul of the Fougueux. We had not
yet been formally taken possession of, but the English Swiftsure now arrived
and took us in tow.
" We spent the whole of that night at the two pumps which were all that
remained workable, without, however, being able to keep the water under. The
few Frenchmen who were able to do duty joined with the English party on
board in pumping, stopped several leaks, blocked up the port holes and
boarded in the poop of the ship, which was ready to cave in. Indeed, no toil
was too hard for them. In the middle of all the turmoil and horrible
disorder on board, just keeping the ship above water, with the 'tween-decks
and batteries encumbered with dead, I noticed some of my brave fellows,
particularly the young midshipmen, of whom several were wounded, picking up
arms which they hid on the lower deck, with the intention, as they said, of
retaking the ship. Never were so many traits of intrepidity, of valour and
daring, displayed on board a single ship ; the whole history of our navy can
show nothing like them.
" Next morning the captain of the Swiftsure sent a boat to take me on board,
together with Lieutenant Dupotet and Midshipman Ducrest, and we were duly
conducted there. At noon the Redoutable lost her foremast, the only mast she
had left. At five in the evening the water continued so to gain on the pumps
that the prizemaster made signals of distress, and all the boats of the
Swiftsure were lowered to rescue the crew. It was blowing very hard at the
time, and the sea ran very high, which made the getting out of the wounded
very difficult. These poor fellows, on its being seen that the ship was
going down, were nearly all brought up and laid on the quarter-deck. They
were able to save several of them. At seven in the evening the poop was
entirely submerged. The Redoutable sank with a large number of the wounded
still on board. They met their death with courage worthy of a better fate. A
hundred and sixty-nine men, forming the remainder of the brave crew of the
Redoutable, found themselves together on board the English ship. Seventy of
the number were badly wounded and sixty-four of the rest had less serious
wounds. All the wounded were sent into Cadiz under a flag of truce, and in
the end only thirty-five men from the Redoutable were taken to England as
prisoners of war.
"The results of the battle as regarded the Redoutable were these: the loss
of the ship and destruction of threequarters of her crew. On the other hand,
single-handed, she had throughout the battle engaged the attention of two
three-deckers, the Victory and Temeraire; and in this way had fully occupied
Admiral Nelson himself, who, taken up with this one encounter, could only
free himself by excessive daring. England has lost the hero of her navy, who
fell before the brave men of the Redoutable. More than three hundred men,
several of them superior officers, were put hors de combat on board the
enemy's ships. The Victory lost her mizen topmast in the action and main
topgallant mast; and in general all her yards were badly damaged and also
the wheel. The Temeraire lost two of her topmasts; two lower yards, and her
helm and rudder were destroyed by the guns of our upper deck. Both ships had
to return to England to undergo large repairs.
" I add to this report a return of the ship's company of the Redoutable,
both before and after the battle. It will show you the loss of men of each
class. I also add a list of the officers by name, both of the etat Major and
the midshipmen. The praise and commendation due from me to one and all are
beyond expression. No one who did not see the valour of the officers and
young midshipmen told off to lead our boarding parties can form an idea of
their ebullient ardour, their splendid audacity-especially when, at the head
of the brave men that each commanded, they stood in front of the
boarding-nettings, armed some with pistols and cutlasses, others with
carbines, all directing the fire of the musketry and the flinging of the
grenades. In this, the officers of infantry and those of the ship, the
sailors and soldiers alike, all displayed unsurpassable courage, and in
presenting my list of them it is impossible to name which were the most
meritorious.
" Monseigneur, I have the honour to be your Excellency's most humble and
obedient servant.
Captain Commandant of the Redoutable."
A personal account of the Battle of Trafalgar //The Battle of Trafalgar
Lieutenant Paul Harris Nicholas, Royal Marines, HMS Belleisle
21 October 1805
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Officer Royal Marines |
I was scarcely sixteen when I embarked for the first time, in the Belleisle of eighty guns, and joined the fleet off Cadiz, under the command of Lord Nelson, in the early part of October, 1805. On the 19th of that month the appearance of a ship under a press of sail steering for the fleet and firing guns, excited our attention, and every glass was pointed towards the stranger in anticipation of the intelligence which the repeating ships soon announced "That the enemy was getting under way." The signal was instantly made for a general chase, and in a few minutes all sail was set by the delighted crew. Our advanced ships got sight of the combined fleet the next morning, and in the afternoon of the 20th they were visible from the deck. Every preparation was made for battle; and as our look-out squadron remained close to them during the night, the mind was kept in continual agitation by the firing of guns and rockets.
As the day dawned the horizon appeared covered with ships. The whole force of the enemy was discovered standing to the southward, distant about nine miles, between us and the coast near Trafalgar. I was awakened by the cheers of the crew and by their rushing up the hatchways to get a glimpse of the hostile fleet. The delight manifested exceeded anything I ever witnessed, surpassing even those gratulations when our native cliffs are descried after a long period of distant service. There was a light air from the north-west with a heavy swell. The signal to bear up and make all sail and to form the order of sailing in two divisions was thrown out. The Victory, Lord Nelson's ship, leading the weather line, and the Royal Sovereign, bearing the flag of Admiral Collingwood, the second in command, the lee line. At eight the enemy wore to the northward, and owing to the light wind, which prevailed during the day, they were prevented from forming with any precision, and presented the appearance of a double line convexing to leeward. At nine we were about six miles from them, with studdingsails set on both sides; and as our progress never exceeded a mile and a half an hour, we continued all the canvas we could spread until we gained our position alongside our opponent.
The officers now met at breakfast; and though each seemed to exult in the hope of a glorious termination to the contest so near at hand, a fearful presage was experienced that all would not again unite at that festive board. One was particularly impressed with a persuasion that he should not survive the day, nor could he divest himself of this presentiment, but made the necessary disposal of his property in the event of his death. The sound of the drum, however, soon put an end to our meditations, and after a hasty and, alas, a final farewell to some, we repaired to our respective posts. Our ship's station was far astern of our leader, but her superior sailing caused an interchange of places with the Tonnant. On our passing that ship the captains greeted each other on the honourable prospect in view. Captain Tyler exclaimed: "A glorious day for old England! We shall have one apiece before night!"
At half-past ten the Victory telegraphed "England expects every man will do his duty." As this emphatic injunction was communicated through the decks, it was received with enthusiastic cheers, and each bosom glowed with ardour at this appeal to individual valour. About half-past eleven the Royal Sovereign fired three guns, which had the intended effect of inducing the enemy to hoist their colours, and showed us the tricoloured flag intermixed with that of Spain.
The drum now repeated the summons, and the Captain sent for the officers commanding at their several quarters. "Gentlemen," said he, "I have only to say that I shall pass close under the stern of that ship; put in two round shot and then a grape, and give her that. Now go to your quarters, and mind not to fire until each gun will bear with effect." With this laconic instruction the gallant little man posted himself on the slide of the foremost carronade on the starboard side of the quarterdeck....
The determined and resolute countenance of the weather-beaten sailor, here and there brightened by a smile of exultation, was well suited to the terrific appearance which they exhibited. Some were stripped to the waist; some had bared their necks and arms; others had tied a handkerchief round their heads; and all seemed eagerly to await the order to engage. My two brother officers and myself were stationed, with about thirty men at small arms, on the poop, on the front of which I was now standing. The shot began to pass over us and gave us an intimation of what we should in a few minutes undergo. An awful silence prevailed in the ship, only interrupted by the commanding voice of Captain Hargood, "Steady! starboard a little! steady so!" echoed by the Master directing the quartermasters at the wheel. A shriek soon followed - a cry of agony was produced by the next shot - and the loss of the head of a poor recruit was the effect of the succeeding, and as we advanced, destruction rapidly increased. A severe contusion on the breast now prostrated our Captain, but he soon resumed his station. Those only who have been in a similar situation to the one I am attempting to describe can have a correct idea of such a scene. My eyes were horrorstruck at the bloody corpses around me, and my ears rang with the shrieks of the wounded and the moans of the dying.
At this moment, seeing that almost every one was lying down, I was half disposed to follow the example and several times stooped for the purpose, but - and I remember the impression well - a certain monitor seemed to whisper, "Stand up and do not shrink from your duty." Turning round, my much esteemed and gallant senior fixed my attention; the serenity of his countenance and the composure with which he paced the deck, drove more than half my terrors away; and joining him I became somewhat infused with his spirit, which cheered me on to act the part it became me. My experience is an instance of how much depends on the example of those in command when exposed to the fire of the enemy, more particularly in the trying situation in which we were placed for nearly thirty minutes from not having the power to retaliate.
It was just twelve o'clock when we reached their line. Our energies became roused, and the mind diverted from its appalling condition, by the order of "Stand to your guns!" which, as they successively came to bear were discharged into our opponents on either side; but as we passed close under the stern of Santa Ana, of 112 guns, our attention was more strictly called to that ship. Although until that moment we had not fired a shot, our sails and rigging bore evident proofs of the manner in which we had been treated; our mizzentopmast was shot away and the ensign had been thrice rehoisted; numbers lay dead upon the decks, and eleven wounded were already in the surgeon's care. The firing was now tremendous, and at intervals the dispersion of the smoke gave us a sight of the colours of our adversaries.
At this critical period, while steering for the stern of L'Indomptable (our masts and yards and sails hanging in the utmost confusion over our heads), which continued a most galling raking fire upon us, the Fougeux being on our starboard quarter, and the Spanish San Juste on our larboard bow, the Master earnestly addressed the Captain.
"Shall we go through, sir?" "Go through by _____" was his energetic reply. "There's your ship, sir, place me close alongside of her." Our opponent defeated this manoeuvre by bearing away in a parallel course with us within pistol shot.
About one o'clock the Fougeux ran us on board the starboard side; and we continued thus engaging until the latter dropped astern. Our mizzenmast soon went, and soon afterwards the maintopmast. A two decked ship, the Neptune, 80, then took a position on our bow, and a 74, the Achille, on our quarter. At two o'clock the mainmast fell over the larboard side. I was at the time under the break of the poop aiding in running a carronade, when a cry of "Stand clear there! here it comes!" made me look up, and at that instant the mainmast fell over the bulwarks just above me. This ponderous mass made the ship's whole frame shake, and had it taken a central direction it would have gone through the poop and added many to our list of sufferers. At half-past two our foremast was shot away close to the deck. In this unmanageable state we were but seldom capable of annoying our antagonists, while they had the power of choosing their distance, and every shot from them did considerable execution. We had suffered severely as must be supposed; and those on the poop were now ordered to assist at the quarter deck guns, where we continued till the action ceased. Until half-past three we remained in this harassing situation. The only means at all in our power of bringing our battery towards the enemy, was to use the sweeps out of the gunroom ports; to these we had recourse, but without effect, for even in ships under perfect command they prove almost useless, and we lay a mere hulk covered in wreck and rolling in the swell.
At this hour a three-decked ship was seen apparently steering towards us; it can easily be imagined with what anxiety every eye turned towards this formidable object, which would either relieve us from our unwelcome neighbours or render our situation desperate. We had scarcely seen the British colours since one o'clock, and it is impossible to express our emotion as the alteration of the stranger's course displayed the white ensign to our sight. We did not, however, continue much longer in this dilemma, for soon the Swiftsure came nobly to our relief. Everyone eagerly looked towards our approaching friend, who came speedily on, and when within hail manned the rigging, cheered, and then boldly steered for the ship which had so long annoyed us. Shortly after the Polyphemus took off the fire from the Neptune on our bow. It was near four o'clock when we ceased firing, but the action continued in the body of the fleet about two miles to windward....
About five o'clock the officers assembled in the captain's cabin to take some refreshment. The parching effects of the smoke made this a welcome summons, although some of us had been fortunate in relieving our thirst by plundering the captain's grapes which hung round his cabin; still four hours' exertion of body with the energies incessantly employed, occasioned a lassitude, both corporeally and mentally, from which the victorious termination now so near at hand, could not arouse us; moreover there sat a melancholy on the brows of some who mourned the messmates who had shared their perils and their vicissitudes for many years. Then the merits of the departed heroes were repeated with a sigh, but their errors sunk with them into the deep.
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Artist Denis Dighton Circa 1825 |
The Death of Nelson, 21 October 1805 // Artist Arthur William Devis 1807 |
An account of Admiral Nelson's Death:
An hour after the first shots, Nelson and Hardy still stood on the quarterdeck, pacing to and fro, stopping to give orders; mostly hidden by swirling smoke but sometimes revealed as it blew away. At about a quarter past one, Hardy turned to see Nelson on his knees. He was supporting himself with the fingers of his left hand on the bloodstained deck. Then he fell on to his left side. A sergeant-major of marines and two seamen lifted his shoulders and Hardy knelt beside him; he had been hit in the shoulder by a sniper's bullet from the Redoubtable. "They have done for me at last, Hardy," Nelson told him. "My backbone is shot through." The three men lifted him, on Hardy's orders, to carry him down the ladders to the surgeon on the orlop deck below the waterline. On reaching the middle deck, Nelson ordered them to stop and he gave orders to a midshipman for the adjustment of the tiller-ropes. Then he took a handkerchief from his pocket and spread it across his face in the hope that he would not be recognized by his men as he was carried below.
Down in the gloom of the lowest deck, lit by the faint glimmer of horn lanterns, Beatty, the surgeon, was busy with more than forty wounded and dying men until called: "Mr. Beatty, Lord Nelson is here. Mr. Beatty, the admiral is wounded." As he was lowered to the deck and the handkerchief fell from his face, he looked up at the surgeon and said, "Ah, Mr. Beatty! You can do nothing for me. I have but a short time to live; my back is shot through." While the doctor examined his wound and removed his blood-stained clothes, Nelson looked at his surroundings. Sailors carrying more wounded men down the ladder, stooped to clear the low beams, painted blood-red, to lay their loads in rows on the deck. In the gloom the figures of the surgeons and the surgeons' mates moved along the bodies, examining them or lifting them to a table covered with sailcloth to probe a wound, or conduct an amputation with knife and saw and with rum to deaden the pain. The scene was lit by the lanterns which dimmed or brightened as the concussion of broadsides from the decks above sucked the air from the orlop deck. The noise and vibration of the battle was thunderous, muffling the screams and moans of the injured men below.
Amongst those brought down was young midshipman Rivers, his leg shot away. As he saw Captain Hardy he muttered something about now being of no further use to him; Nelson heard and ordered, "Mind, Hardy, that youngster is not forgot." Dr. Scott, the chaplain, picked his way across the bodies to the admiral's side and his presence seemed to make Nelson aware of death. "Doctor, I told you," he said quickly, "Doctor, I am gone." Then, agitated and breathless, he added, "Remember me to Lady Hamilton. Remember me to Horatia. Remember me to all my friends. Doctor, remember me to Mr. Rose; tell him I have left a will and left Lady Hamilton and Horatia to my country."
The surgeon had completed his investigation of the wound. A musket ball, fired from above, had struck his left shoulder, penetrated deep into his chest and probably lodged in the spine but, he told Nelson, he would not put him to the pain of trying to probe the wound. He then asked him what sensations he felt and was told that his breathing was difficult, he had no feeling in the lower part of his body; he felt "a gush of blood every minute" within his chest. "I felt it break my back," he said. He was hot and thirsty and lemonade and watered wine was brought to him. "Fan, fan ... drink, drink," he kept whispering.
Among the explosions above, he heard a hoarse cheer and asked the reason. Lieutenant Pasco, also wounded, was lying nearby and raised himself on an elbow to explain that the gun-crews must have seen through their gun-port an enemy ship strike her colours. The admiral wanted news of the battle and called for Hardy: "Will no one bring Hardy to me? He must be killed." Then a midshipman came below to tell him that his flag-captain was engaged on deck but would come down as soon as possible. He asked the name of the midshipman and the purser, Mr. Burke, kneeling at his side, answered, "It is Mr. Bulkeley, my Lord." Turning his head towards the boy he said. "It is his voice. Remember me to your father." For a moment the memory returned of a brisk and friendly Army officer he had met in the jungle of Nicaragua. Then to the purser he said, "It is nonsense, Mr. Burke, to suppose I can live. My sufferings are great but they will soon be over."
During the hour since Nelson had been hit, the "pell-mell battle" that he had planned was fought. One after the other, the stately ships of the two British columns swung into action: Nelson's attacking the enemy's centre; Collingwood's, the rear. As Villeneuve's flagship had joined battle with the Victory, he had signaled to Rear-Admiral Dumanoir, who commanded the van, to turn back and support him. But the wind was so light that of the ten ships which managed to turn, only five joined the fighting. Meanwhile, the Bucentaure had been battered into a wreck by the Victory, and then by the Conqueror, until only one of her three masts still stood. At half-past one, Villeneuve, realizing that Dumanoir could not lead his ships into action, himself had signal flags run up the halyards of his one remaining mast ordering the individual captains of the van to join him as best they could. Then that mast, too, crashed over the side and, at a quarter past two, Villeneuve surrendered his flagship to Captain Israel Pellew of the Conqueror. The action was now a succession of duels between ships, loosing broadsides into each other at point-blank range, half-hidden from each other by smoke. Only spasmodically did news reach the Victory of one French or Spanish ship after another striking their colours in surrender.
At about half-past two, Hardy came stooping beneath the beams to kneel by Nelson, shake his hand and report. "We have got twelve or fourteen of the enemy's ships in our possession," he said, "but five of their van have tacked and show an intention of bearing down on the Victory. I have therefore called two or three of our fresh ships around us and have no doubt of giving them a drubbing." "I hope none of our ships have struck?" asked Nelson. "No, my Lord," answered Hardy, "there is no fear of that." There was a pause; then Nelson said, "I am a dead man, Hardy. I am going fast. It will all be over with me soon. Come nearer to me. Pray let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair and all the other things belonging to me." "Is your pain great?" he was asked. "Yes, but I shall live half an hour longer yet."
Hardy returned to the deck and Dr. Beatty came back to his side. "Ah, Mr. Beatty," he said, "all power and motion and feeling below my breast are gone. You very well know I can live but a short time. Ah, Beatty, I am too certain of it. You know I am gone." "My Lord," replied the surgeon, "unhappily for our country, nothing can be done for you" and he turned to stifle his sobs. "God be praised," whispered the dying man, "I have done my duty." Beatty asked about the pain and was told that it was so severe he wished he was dead, "yet one would like to live a little longer, too ... What would become of poor Lady Hamilton if she knew my situation?" His thoughts were interrupted by the jar and thunder of a broadside, the huge cannon bounding back in recoil on the deck above. "Oh, Victory! Victory! how you distract my poor brain!" His thoughts concentrated again. "How dear is life to all men."
Hardy returned fifty minutes after his first visit, and took his cold hand, congratulating him on "a brilliant victory". It was complete, he said, although he did not know how many enemy ships had surrendered, but he was certain of having taken fourteen or fifteen. "That is well," replied Nelson, "but I had bargained for twenty." Then with emphasis he gasped, "Anchor, Hardy, anchor!" He had felt the heave and lurch of the ship increase and knew that the gale he had forecast must be imminent. "I suppose, my Lord, Admiral Collingwood will now take upon himself the direction of affairs?" "Not while I live, I hope, Hardy. No, do you anchor, Hardy." "Shall we make the signal, sir?" "Yes, for if I live, I'll anchor."
There was another pause, then Nelson said, "Don't throw me overboard, Hardy." "Oh, no, certainly not." "Then you know what to do?" Nelson went on. "Take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy, take care of poor Lady Hamilton." Then he said faintly, "Kiss me, Hardy."' Hardy knelt and kissed his cheek. "Now I am satisfied," said Nelson. "Thank God I have done my duty." Captain Hardy stood, stooped and silent, for a moment, then knelt again and kissed Nelson's forehead. "Who is that?" he asked. "It is Hardy." "God bless you, Hardy."
Nelson now asked his steward, Chevalier, to turn him on to his right side. This may have eased the pain but it hastened the onset of death for the blood that had flooded the left lung, now began to drain into the right. "I wish I had not left the deck," he said, "for I shall soon be gone." His breathing became slow and shallow, his voice weaker and he whispered to his chaplain, "Doctor, I have not been a great sinner". Then, "Remember that I leave Lady Hamilton and my daughter Horatia as a legacy to my country... never forget Horatia." His distress increased with heat, thirst and pain which could be eased by Scott rubbing his chest. "Thank God I have done my duty," he was heard to mutter: "Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub ... " Then he became speechless. The chaplain and the purser were supporting his shoulders and his steward knelt at his side, none speaking. Then Chevalier called Dr. Beatty and the surgeon took Nelson's wrist: it was cold and he could feel no pulse. At this, Nelson opened his eyes, looked up and closed them again. The chaplain continued to rub his chest, while the purser held his shoulders until, at half-past four, the steward called the surgeon again. He confirmed what they already knew: Nelson was dead.
"Partial firing continued until 4.30 p.m.," Hardy entered in the Victory's log, "when, a victory having been reported to the Right Hon. Lord Nelson, K.B., and Commander-in-Chief, he died of his wounds."
The musket ball that killed Lord Nelson rests in Windsor Castle.
Nelson's Funeral Procession on the Thames, 9 January 1806 // Artist Daniel Turner 1807
Ships
Below is a list of all the Royal Navy ships that Nelson served in.
| Midshipman/Lieutenant: | Captain: | Commodore/Admiral: |
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 The Uniform of Admiral Nelson on display for the general public to see in Britain 19th Century. |
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| The Last Voyage of HMS Victory. | H.M.S. VICTORY (Nelson's Flag Ship) TODAY. |
Music
English 18th Century. "Toll for the Brave"
This tune is a march written by George Frederick Handel for Scipio (1725). The words were written by William Cowper in 1782 to commemorate the tragic loss of the ship the Royal George.