The Battle of
Trafalgar, naval engagement
shown in naval art prints, published by Cranston Fine Arts.
At dawn on the 21st, the 33 ships of the combined
fleets of France and Spain were sighted by the British fleet along the
horizon heading in a ragged column in the general direction of Gibraltar,
having left Cadiz harbour the previous day. Having abandoned an
invasion of England that summer, Napoleon's strategy was to have his fleet
sail to Naples to land troops to guard his southern flank while he
attacked Austria. The English fleet, under the command of Admiral
Nelson, had been stalking the enemy fleet for some time and were now in
position to bring it to battle. Sailing in his flagship, HMS
Victory, Nelson's strategy was to attack the middle and rear of the enemy
fleet, piercing their line and enveloping them with superior numbers and
gunpowder - the "pell-mell battle" his revolutionary doctrine
called upon to achieve total victory. Nelson, dividing his force of
27 ships into two columns, led the attack on the enemy's center while the
other division, commanded by Admiral Collingwood, flying his flag in HMS
Royal Sovereign, concentrated their attack on the rear. The column's
approach - perpendicular to the Combined Fleet's line of battle- left them
exposed to sustained enemy fire for some time before being able to bring
their own broadsides to bear. Soon after 12 noon, ranging fire from
the combined fleet began to find its mark, and more concentrated salvos
were beginning to take their toll on the British columns, leaving the lead
ships with pockmarked sails and masts, shredded rigging, and mounting
casualties. Despite this withering fire, the British fleet pressed
on, Nelson secure in the knowledge that the superior seamanship and
gunnery of the Royal Navy would be decisive. The first of the
British columns to break the enemy line was Collingwood's - Royal
Sovereign opening fire with a devastating broadside into the Spanish Santa
Ana. She was followed by other ships in her division, most notably
the Belleisle and Mars. Shortly after 1pm, Victory broke through the
Franco-Spanish line, smashing the French flagship Bucentaure - under the
command of Admiral Pierre Villeneuve - at point blank range with her port
68 pounder carronade followed by her treble shotted broadside guns.
Victory soon collided with the French ship Redoutable, commanded by the
fiery captain Lucas, the best trained ship in the combined fleet.
The ships were soon locked together in a fight to the death. It was
at this moment of heavy fighting that Nelson was mortally wounded, shot
from a sniper high up in Redoutable's mizentop. The battle had now
developed into a general melee, white smoke obscuring the ships with
flashes of yellow flame cutting through the din of roaring cannon,
crackling musketry and shrieks of the wounded, adding to a most hellish
spectacle. As the action wore on, the superiority of the Royal Navy
in shiphandling and rate of fire were winning the day as more and more
ships of the French and Spanish fleet struck their colours. By
4:30pm the gunfire had subsided, with the British winning the most
decisive victory in the age of fighting sail with 18 of the combined
fleet's vessels in it's possession. Not a single British ship was
lost. The victory was not without its tragedies; Nelson, upon
hearing of a great victory, died of his wounds. For Britain, victory
at Trafalgar ensured her security from invasion and dominance of the seas
for the next century.