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Overview of the Battle of Trafalgar

Entire books have been written about the Battle of Trafalgar, and many encyclopedia entries and articles as well. Even people without a strong interest in the Age of Sail or the Napoleonic Era (or, you know, both) probably know a bit about the battle. This article by the brilliant Andrew Lambert explains the battle in [...]
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History of the HMS Belleisle (1795 – 1814)

The Belleisle was originally the French Formidable which was captured in 1795, and renamed, since there was already a Formidable in the British Navy. In 1803 HMS Belleisle joined Nelson’s fleet in the Mediterranean where she served for the next two years in the blockade of Toulon, and took part in the chase of Villeneuve’s [...]
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Lieutenant Paul Harris Nicholas’ Account of the Battle of Trafalgar

This first-person account of the Battle of Trafalgar comes to us from Lieutenant Paul Harris Nicholas, Royal Marines, who was serving aboard the HMS Belleisle at the time. It was given aboard the HMS Bijou in 1829. I was scarcely sixteen when I embarked for the first time, in the Belleisle of eighty guns, and [...]
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Passing For Lieutenant

“You refer to the swearing-in. No. That applies only to lieutenants – you go to the Admiralty and they read you a piece about allegiance and supremacy and utterly renouncing the Pope; you feel very solemn and say ‘to this I swear’ and the chap at the high desk says ‘and that will be half [...]
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A Foremast Jack’s Account of Life on Blockade Duty

This letter is written by a William Nelson, who appears to be an ordinary seaman. The letter written phonetically and without punctuations gives a rare glimpse of conditions aboard ship. It would appear William Nelson’s ship was on station outside Toulon, the French Mediterranean naval port, and experiencing at least one action to relieve the [...]
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Racing From Victory: Delivering the News of Trafalgar

By Captain Peter Hore The race to bring home news of the outcome of the Battle of Trafalgar was an unusual contest between a little-known West Country man in the small schooner Pickle, and a well connected, ambitious captain of a smart and fast ship, the 20-gun brig Nautilus. It was customary to choose a [...]
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The Adventures of Thomas, Lord Cochrane

The swashbuckling novels of Patrick O’Brian and C.S. Forester owe much of their inspiration to one man: Lord Cochrane, a seafaring scot whose life was marked by adventure, adulation and scandal. David Cordingly reports. The Real Master and Commander The night was as dark as any invading force could have wished. In April 1809, with [...]
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Nelson’s Letters Leading up to Trafalgar

The following dispatches and diary entries are taken from a book of Nelson’s letters. They give us deep insight into the working of that great man’s mind as well as all the preparations and maneuvering in the days leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar. The very last diary entry, especially, shows us precisely why [...]
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Nelson’s Report of the Battle of the Nile

Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile, 3 August 1798 My Lord, Almighty God has blessed his Majesty’s Arms in the late Battle, by a great Victory over the Fleet of the Enemy, who I attacked at sunset on the 1st of August, off the Mouth of the Nile. The Enemy were moored in a [...]
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Letter to Admiral Collingwood Immediately After Trafalgar

From an officer on the Euralyus 26 October, 1805 Sir – I scarcely know whether, after so great a loss as the nation has sustained in Lord Nelson, and every one of us a friend, added to the inevitable destruction of nineteen fine prizes, I ought to congratulate you, but since the enemy, minus so [...]
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All To Seek: Cross-Reference

Subjects Commonly Addressed