It was the 21st October, 1805. The English fleet had been for many
days lying off the coast of Spain, eagerly waiting for the navies of
France and Spain to leave their shelter in Cadiz harbour. At length,
to his joy, Lord Nelson received the signal that they had put out to
sea; and he now prepared to attack the combined fleet (which consisted
of forty vessels) with his thirty-one ships. Yet, though the enemy
not only had more vessels, but they were larger than his own, Nelson
confidently expected victory, and told Captain Blackwood he would
not be satisfied unless he captured twenty ships. Having made all
arrangements, Nelson went down to his cabin and wrote this prayer:--
"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 that made me, and may His blessing alight
on 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."
Before the battle began Nelson made the signal which stirred every
heart in the fleet on that day, and has since remained a watchword of
the nation:--
"England expects every man will do his duty".
It was received with an outburst of cheering.
Nelson wore, as usual, his admiral's frock-coat. On his breast
glittered four stars of the different orders which had been given him.
He was in good spirits, and eager for the fray.
His officers represented to him how desirable it was that he should
keep out of the battle as long as possible; and, knowing the truth of
this, he signalled to the other ships to go in front. Yet his desire
to be in the forefront of the attack was so great that he would not
take in any sail on The Victory, and thus rendered it impossible for
the other vessels to obey his orders.
At ten minutes to twelve the battle began; by four minutes past twelve
fifty men on board Nelson's ship _The Victory_ had been killed or
wounded, and many of her sails shot away.
The fire of the enemy was so heavy that Nelson, smiling, said, "This
is too warm work, Hardy, to last long". Up to that time not a shot had
been fired from _The Victory_; and Nelson declared that never in all
his battles had he seen anything which surpassed the cool courage of
his crew. Then, however, when they had come to close quarters with the
enemy, from both sides of _The Victory_ flashed forth the fire of the
guns, carrying swift destruction among the foe.
[Illustration: Nelson's Tomb in St. Paul's Cathedral.]
The French ship next which they were lying, _The Redoutable_, having
ceased firing her great guns, Nelson twice gave instructions to stop
firing into her, with the humane desire of avoiding unnecessary
slaughter. Strange to say, that from this ship at a quarter past one
was fired a shot which struck him in the left shoulder, and proved
fatal.
Within twenty minutes after the fatal shot had been fired from _The
Redoutable_ that ship was captured, the man who killed Nelson having
himself been shot by a midshipman on board _The Victory_.
When he had been taken down to the cockpit he insisted that the
surgeon should leave him and attend to others; "for," said he, "you
can do nothing for me".
At this time his sufferings were very great, but he was cheered by the
news which they brought him from time to time. At half-past two Hardy
could report "ten ships have struck". An hour later he came with the
news that fourteen or fifteen had struck. "That's well," cried Nelson,
"but I bargained for twenty."
A little later he said, "Kiss me, Hardy". Hardy knelt down, and Nelson
said, "Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty". After that
it became difficult for him to speak, but he several times repeated
the words, "Thank God I have done my duty". And these were the last
words he uttered before he died. At half-past four o'clock he expired.
Thus Nelson died in the hour of victory. He had won a battle which
once and for all broke the naval power of France and Spain, and
delivered Great Britain from all fear of attack by the great Napoleon.