Lord Byron in his celebrated apostrophe to the ocean could hardly omit
a reference to the most destructive conflict of naval warfare within
the present century. In one of his supreme stanzas he reserves
Trafalgar for the climax:
"The armaments which thunderstrike the walls
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake
And monarchs tremble in their capitals,
The oak leviathans, whose huge ribs make
Their clay creator the vain title take
Of lord of thee and arbiter of war,--
These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake,
They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar
Alike the Armada's pride or spoils of Trafalgar."
The battle of Trafalgar, preceding by forty-two days the battle of
Austerlitz, holds the same relation to British ascendancy on the ocean
that Napoleon's victory over the Emperors Alexander and Francis held
to the French ascendancy on Continental Europe. Henceforth Great
Britain, according to her national hymn, "ruled the wave;" henceforth,
until after Waterloo, France ruled the land. Up to this date, namely,
1805, French ambition had reached as far as the dominion of the sea.
It appears that Napoleon himself had no genius for naval warfare, but
his ambition included the ocean; coincidently with his accession to
the Imperial throne a great fleet was prepared and placed under
command of Admiral Villeneuve for the recovery of the Mediterranean.
This fleet was destined in the first place for a possible invasion of
England, but fate and Providence had reserved for the armament another
service. At the same time the British fleet, to the number of
twenty-seven ships of the line and four frigates, was brought to a
high stage of proficiency and discipline, and placed under command of
Lord Horatio Nelson. His second in command was Admiral Collingwood,
who succeeded him after his death. The French fleet was increased to
thirty-three ships of the line and five frigates, the addition being
the Spanish contingent under Admirals Gravina and Alava. The Spanish
vessels joined Villeneuve from Cadiz about the middle of May. The plan
of the French commander was to rally a great squadron, cross the
Atlantic to the West Indies, return as if bearing down on Europe, and
raise the blockades at Ferrol, Rochefort and Brest.
As soon as it was known, however, that Nelson was abroad, his
antagonist became wary and all of his movements were marked with
caution. Meanwhile Lord Nelson sought for the allied-fleet on the
Mediterranean, but found it not. He then passed through the Straits of
Gibraltar and sailed for the coast of South America; but before
reaching his destination he learned that the Spanish fleet had sailed
for Europe again. Nelson followed, but did not fall in with the enemy.
Villeneuve, gaining knowledge of the movements of the English admiral,
and disregarding the instructions of Napoleon, withdrew from Ferrol to
the south and put in at Cadiz. It was here that Nelson, so to speak,
brought the allied fleet to bay.
On the southern coast of Spain, between Cadiz and Gibraltar, the Cape
of Trafalgar projects into the Atlantic. In the autumn Nelson's fleet
beat southward into this part of the seas, and it was here that the
battle was fought. The rival commanders were eager for a meeting, and
each foresaw that the contest was likely to be decisive. Each admiral
had behind him a long list of naval achievements, and each to his own
nation was greatly endeared.
Nelson had, on the first of August, 1798, destroyed the French fleet
in the bay of Aboukir. In 1800 he had been raised to the peerage. In
1801 he had bombarded Copenhagen; and for that doubtful achievement
had been made a viscount. One of his arms was gone, and he was
covered with the scars of battle. Villeneuve had also a well-earned
reputation. Could he but add to his previous services the defeat of
Nelson, his fame would be established for all time.
It was on the twenty-first of October, 1805, that the combined
squadrons of France and Spain on the one side, and the fleet of Great
Britain on the other, came face to face off the Cape of Trafalgar. The
rocks of Gibraltar might be seen in the distance. The sea was calm and
the sky clear. The combatants discerned in advance the greatness of
the event that was at hand.
The conflict that ensued ranks among the great naval battles of the
world. Lord Nelson, with all his heroism, was a vain man, capable of
spectacular display. He clad himself in the insignia of the many
orders to which he belonged, and might be conspicuously seen from the
decks of the French ships. In fact, he seemed to court death almost as
much as he strove for victory. In the beginning of the engagement he
displayed from his pennon, where it might be read by the whole fleet,
this signal: "England expects every man to do his duty."
On the display of this signal the British fleet rang with cheers. The
shouting was heard as far as the opposing Armada. The tradition goes
that Villeneuve said on hearing the shouts of the British marines:
"The battle it lost already." The admirals of the allied fleet
arranged their vessels in parallel lines, so that each ship of the
rear line should break the space between two of the advanced line.
This arrangement enabled all the ships to fire at once, and it was the
purpose of Villeneuve to hold his vessels in this form so that the
British squadron might gain no advantage from manoeuvring.
Nelson's arrangement, however, was quite different. His plan was to
attack at two points and break through the Armada, throwing the ships
into confusion right and left. This brought his own vessels into the
arrangement of two harrows, each pointing the apex against the
designated vessels of the opposing squadron. One of the harrows was to
be led by Collingwood in his ship called the "Royal Sovereign." Nelson
led his column in his flagship the "Victory." The preliminaries of the
battle extended to noon, and then the British attack was begun by
Collingwood, who bore down on the two opposing vessels, the "Santa
Anna" and the "Fougeux." Nelson also sailed to the attack in the
"Victory" and broke through the enemy's line between the "Redoubtable"
and the "Santissima Trinidad." The "Victory" in passing poured
terrible broad-sides into both vessels.
It seems that both the British admirals in going into battle outsailed
somewhat their supporting ships; but these soon came into action and
the battle line of the allied fleet was fatally broken at both points.
All the vessels were soon engaged, and the rear line of Villeneuve
gave way as well as the first. Nevertheless, the battle continued
furiously for about two hours. The "Santissima Trinidad" was at that
time the largest warship and the most formidable that had ever been
built. The "Redoubtable" was only second in strength and equipment.
Five or six others were men-of-war of the heaviest draught and metal.
The French and Spanish soldiers fought bravely, going into the battle
with flying streamers and answering shouts.
Nelson, utterly fearless, seems to have had a premonition of his fate.
He had made a hasty codicil to his will, and entered the struggle to
conquer or die. Both fates were reserved for him. From the beginning
of the battle the French and Spanish ships suffered terribly from the
British fire; but they also inflicted heavy losses on their
assailants. Here and there a French vessel was shattered and fell out
of the fight. Nelson was struck with a ball, but refused to go below.
Again he was hit in the shoulder by a musketeer from the masts of the
"Redoubtable" and fell to the deck. "They have done for me at last,
Hardy," said he to Sir Thomas Hardy, captain of the ship. He was
carried below by the officers, and as he lay bleeding the news was
brought to him that already _fifteen_ of the enemy's ships had
surrendered. "That is well," said the dying hero; "but I had bargained
for twenty." Then his thoughts turned to Lady Hamilton, to whom he was
devoted. "Take care of Lady Hamilton, Hardy; take care of poor Lady
Hamilton," said he, as the death dew dampened his brow. He then
embraced the captain and expired.
The victory of the British fleet was complete. The allies lost
nineteen ships. Admiral Gravina was killed, and Villeneuve was taken
prisoner. He never reacted from the mortification of his defeat, but
lingered until the following year, when he despaired of life and hope
and committed suicide. Nelson, in the midst of a pageant hitherto
unsurpassed, was buried in St. Paul's. The battle of Trafalgar passed
into history as the first and greatest naval conflict of the century.