Fires were difficult to control in battle and several ships were destroyed in this way, notably the French ship Achille. Apr 27, 2014 - The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement fought by the Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).The battle was the most decisive naval victory of the war. Trafalgar also marked the completion of the shift from the formalist school of fleet tactics to the … George Perceval’s Naval General Service Medal 1847 with clasp for the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. HMS Victory in action at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars: picture by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Goodwin is Keeper & Curator of HMS Victory and the author of "The Construction and Fitting of the English Man-of-War, 1650-1850" and "Nelson's Ships: A History of the Vessels in Which He Served, 1771-1805". It was the last great sea action of the period and its significance to the outcome of the war in Europe is still debated by historians. At the time she was laid down, the subsequently named Seven Years War (1756–63) was creating a considerable demand for such vessels and her construction was regarded as urgent. Nelson’s brother was ennobled and Nelson’s wife awarded a pension. List of Vessels at the Battle of Trafalgar. The consequences of the battle were far reaching. The first messenger in November 1805 was Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotière, of HMS Pickle, who reached Falmouth on 4 November after a hard voyage in bad weather. He told his Flag Captain, Hardy, he expected to take twenty of the enemy’s ships. ( Log Out / Many of these ships fought hard. During the fight with Redoutable, the soldiers and sailors in the French rigging fired at men exposed on the Victory’s decks. Trafalgar also had a broader significance in world history. At Chatham things were very different. Fougueux, coming up on Temeraire‘s starboard side, has just received a broadside. In July 1805, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte secretly left Milan and hurried to Boulogne in France, where his Grande Armée waited in camp to cross the English Channel and invade England. However, the inadequacies of Chatham were clearly demonstrated at this time. Heavy losses were caused when a ship finally succumbed. Pinterest. Nelson’s tactic at Trafalgar was simple but devastatingly effective. Of the 33 ships of Villeneuve's fleet that had departed Cadiz, only 11 returned. Napoleon, who had just won a great victory over a Habsburg army at Ulm, dismissed the Battle of Trafalgar in one sentence: “Some ships have been lost in a gale following an unwisely undertaken engagement.” Napoleon only needed Admiral Villeneuve to bring the joint French and Spanish Fleet from South Western Spain into the Channel, for the invasion of England to take place. HMS Trafalgar was a 120-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 June 1841 at Woolwich Dockyard. Undocked on 11 April 1803, she was immediately ordered to Spithead where she was to wear the flag of Admiral Nelson. The book divides the fleets into relevant classes by their rankings. Winner of the Battle of Trafalgar: Resoundingly, the Royal Navy. Ships manoeuvred up to the enemy and delivered broadsides at a range of a few yards. The result was that during the final three decades of the eighteenth century, Chatham launched a total of thirty-five vessels; this far exceeded that of all other naval building yards in the country, in both number and total tonnage. Bateau Pirate Old Sailing Ships Hms Victory Ship Of The Line Ship Paintings Man Of War Wooden Ship Navy Ships Ship Art. Many of their names, including Victory, Temeraire and Bellerophon, have firmly entered into the annals of history and been accounted as among the most famous ships to sail the oceans of the world. The battle reached its climax in the hour after Nelson’s injury. Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars: picture by Montague Dawson. Instead, work undertaken was directed to that of supporting the fleet in operation. Follow-up to the Battle of Trafalgar: Following the battle, a storm blew up, wrecking many of the ships damaged in the action. Ships of the Line is a naval combat system that simulates battles between 1740 and 1815 at the tactical level. The gun crews took their positions. Leviathan engaged the San Augustino, bringing down her masts and boarding her. In total, the Royal Navy at Trafalgar assembled a winning fleet of twenty-seven ships of the line. The Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar, oil on canvas by John Christian Schetky, c. 1841; in the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut. Thirteen, the biggest contingent, came from the squadron that had been blockaded in Ferrol, relieved by Villeneuve in August. The medal was only issued to those entitled to one of the 231 clasps. Drinking water was in constant short supply and usually brackish. A musket shot hit Nelson, knocking him to the deck and breaking his back. In the Leeward Squadron, Belleisle was stricken into a wreck by Achille and the French Neptune, until relieved by the British Swiftsure. 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