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On this Day 21st-Oct-1805: Battle of Trafalgar


Charles Caldwell

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Battle of Trafalgar

21st October 1805

 

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In one of the most decisive naval battles in history, a British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the coast of Spain.

At sea, Lord Nelson and the Royal Navy consistently thwarted Napoleon Bonaparte, who led France to preeminence on the European mainland. Nelson’s last and greatest victory against the French was the Battle of Trafalgar, which began after Nelson caught sight of a Franco-Spanish force of 33 ships. Preparing to engage the enemy force on October 21, Nelson divided his 27 ships into two divisions and signaled a famous message from the flagship Victory: “England expects that every man will do his duty.”

 

 

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In five hours of fighting, the British devastated the enemy fleet, destroying 19 enemy ships. No British ships were lost, but 1,500 British seamen were killed or wounded in the heavy fighting. The battle raged at its fiercest around the Victory,and a French sniper shot Nelson in the shoulder and chest. The admiral was taken below and died about 30 minutes before the end of the battle. Nelson’s last words, after being informed that victory was imminent, were “Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty.”

 

Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar ensured that Napoleon would never invade Britain. Nelson, hailed as the savior of his nation, was given a magnificent funeral in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. A column was erected to his memory in the newly named Trafalgar Square, and numerous streets were renamed in his honor.

 

 

British

 

33 ships

(27 ships of the line and six others)

 

French/Spanish

 

41 ships

(France: 18 ships of the line and eight others

Spain: 15 ships of the line)

 

Casualties and losses

 

British

 

458 dead
1,208 wounded


Total: 1,666

 

France:
10 ships captured,
one ship destroyed,
2,218 dead,
1,155 wounded,
4,000 captured

 

Spain:
11 ships captured,
1,025 dead,
1,383 wounded,
4,000 captured

 

Aftermath:


Apx. 3,000 prisoners drowned in a storm after the battle


Total: 13,781

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I propose a toast:

 

I raise the glass in memory of the fallen and veterans of all sides;

May the memory of their duty amidst the carnage never be forgotten;

May the names of all brave men of Trafalgar always arouse respect;

Nelson, Lucas, Collingwood, Infernet, Hardy, Cosmao

 

Semper memoriam!

 

(please feel free to add names of distinguished spanish sailors, as due to language barrier, I am sadly ignorant of the spanish account)

Edited by marecek05
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Glory and honour for all of them:

 

Some on the Spanish side:

Principe de Asturias: D, Federico Gravina, Antonio de Escaño

Santa Ana: D. Ignacio Maria de Alava

Santisima Trinidad: Francisco Javier Uriarte. D. Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros

San Juan Nepomuceno: D. Cosme Damian Churruca

Bahama: Dionisio Alcalá Galiano

Neptuno: Cayetano Valdés

Montañes: Francisco Alcedo

 

 

 

IN MEMORIAM

Edited by IonAguirre
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Happy Trafalgar's Day all !

 

In Memoriam of all sailors and french officers :

 

Capitaine de Vaisseau Magendie et Vice Amiral Villeneuve, Le Bucentaure, 80 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Letellier, Contre Amiral Dumanoir, Le Formidable, 80 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Hubert, L'Indomptable, 80 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Maistral, Le Neptune, 80 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Deniéport, L'Achilles, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Gourrège, L'Aigle, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Tourneur, Contre Amiral Magon, L'Algésiras, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Epron, L'Argonaute, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Filhol de Camas, Le Berwick, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Touffet, Le Duguay-trouin, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Baudouin, Le Fougueux, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Poulain, Le Héros, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Infernet, L'Intrépide, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Lavillesgris, Le Mont-Blanc, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Cosmao-Kerjulien, Le Pluton, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Lucas, Le Redoutable, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Berrenger, Le Scipion, 74 guns.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Lhospitalier de la Villemadrin, Le Swiftsure, 74 guns.

 

And the officers of others ships :

 

Capitaine de Vaisseau Martinenq, La Cornélie, 46 guns frigate.

Capitaine de Frégate Mahé, L'Hermione, 46 guns frigate.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Delamare de Lamellerie, L'Hortense 46 guns frigate.

Capitaine de Frégate Chesneau, Le Rhin, 46 guns frigate.

Capitaine de Vaisseau Jugan, La Thémis, 46 guns frigate.

Lieutenant de Vaisseau Taillard, l'Argus, 16 guns brig

Lieutenant de Vaisseau Demayn, Le Furet, 16 guns brig.

Edited by Lestan de Lioncourt
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A employee of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard aboard HMS Victory told that, if all captured ships would have reached a british port in a sellable condition, Britain would have gone bankrupt as of the prize money. Maybe abit overstated (?), but just think about the value a high quality SoL had in the time.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A naval diorama of Trafalgar:

 

This diorama is composed by 8 ships (Trinidad, 144c; HMS Neptune 98c; San Agustin 82c; HMS Leviathan 74c; Bucentaure 80c; HMS Africa 64c; English frigate of 40c and one Shoneer of 12c) besides a total of almost 3000 figures of lead.

 

 

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  • 5 months later...

No battle of Trafalgar being covered here???

 

ENGLAND expects that every man will do his duty !

 

 

P.S.: Sorry guys, I did not see the existing thread. This post was kindly

redirected and put here by the nice moderator.

Edited by Wilson09
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