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hms victory Archive

Dr. Beatty’s Account of the Death of Nelson

It was one of the greatest sea battles in British history and gave birth to a legend. Off the coast of Spain’s Cape Trafalgar Peninsula, the British Fleet, led by Lord Horatio Nelson, took on a combined French and Spanish force to determine who would be the master of the waves. England’s very existence was [...]
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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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Nelson’s Trafalgar Memorandum

In this memorandum, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson explains to his captains his plans for engaging the allied French and Spanish fleet. The memorandum contains Nelson’s fullest exposition of his conception of naval tactics and formed the basis of his tactics for the Battle of Trafalgar. (Secret.) Victory, off Cadiz, 9th October, 1805. Memorandum. Thinking it almost [...]
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Hearts of Oak: Portsmouth and the Royal Navy in the 18th Century

Portsmouth is a place that forms a major setting throughout our beloved series. As a major base of naval operations, it is a town Jack and Stephen know intimately and return to again and again. The history of this city is inextricably linked to the Royal Navy; it may even be said that Portsmouth wouldn’t [...]
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The Spoils of Victory

Nelson’s Victory was not the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear that name, and her immediate predecessor has an interesting history all her own…
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French Perspective on the Battle of Trafalgar

During the great battle of Trafalgar, fought on October 21, 1805, the French 74 gun ship of the line Redoutable engaged the British 100 gun warships Victory and Temeraire, nearly capturing Nelson’s own flagship (HMS Victory) before being beaten by the combined firepower of the British ships. The Redoutable’s stout performance during the battle resulted [...]
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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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(Delusional) Spanish Report of Victory at Trafalgar

From the Gazeta de Madrid. London, November 26th (1805) In society, at the theatre and places of entertainment, at balls, all the ladies in evening dress wear cypress in their head-dress in memory of Lord Nelson. The loss of Lord Nelson, however, is not the only loss that we have to deplore in the terrible [...]
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Sir John Jervis’ Report of Cape St. Vincent

Captain Robert Calder of HMS Victory arrived at the Admiralty on March 8th 1797 with dispatches from Admiral Sir John Jervis: Victory, in Lagos Bay, February 16th, 1797. Sir, The hopes of falling in with the Spanish fleet, expressed in my letter to you of the 13th instant, were confirmed that night by my distinctly [...]
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02.14.1797 The Battle of Cape St. Vincent

The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was one of the most important naval battles of the early Napoleonic War, one which led to Admiral Sir John Jervis being created Earl St. Vincent (the very same Lord St. Vincent who figures in some aspects of the Aubrey/Maturin series). The battle certainly had a great effect on [...]
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All To Seek: Cross-Reference

Subjects Commonly Addressed