50 Fun Facts About Battle of Trafalgar

On what date was the Battle of Trafalgar fought?

It came the day after Napoleon's land victory at Ulm, and he hid the news for over a month.

Which two navies made up the combined fleet facing the Royal Navy?

Spain contributed 15 ships of the line and France 18.

Which war was Trafalgar part of?

The coalition collapsed a few months later anyway after Austerlitz.

Who commanded the combined Franco-Spanish fleet?

He was captured with his flagship and later attended Nelson's funeral while on parole.

From which Spanish port did the combined fleet sail three days before the battle?

Only eleven allied ships made it back there, and just five were seaworthy.

How many ships of the line did Nelson have at Trafalgar?

The allies fielded 33, including the largest warship afloat.

Which Spanish ship was the largest warship in either fleet?

The 130-gun giant surrendered after three hours and was later scuttled by the British.

How many guns did the largest ship in either fleet carry?

Nelson's biggest ships were 100-gun first-rates.

In how many columns did Nelson attack the allied line?

The aim was to cut the enemy line into three and force a close-quarters melee.

How many allied ships were captured or destroyed, per the article's summary?

The British lost none, though a storm afterwards wrecked many of the prizes.

What was Nelson's flagship?

She was one of three 100-gun first-rates in his fleet and led the windward column.

Who killed Nelson?

The ball entered his left shoulder, passed through his spine and lodged below his right scapula.

What was the French flagship at Trafalgar?

A treble-shotted raking broadside from Victory knocked her out of action almost at once.

Which Spanish admiral led the survivors away and died of his wounds six months later?

He handed command to Commodore Cosmao two days after the battle.

Nelson's famous signal read "England expects that every man will" what?

He had wanted "confides", but "expects" was in the signal book and saved spelling it out.

Which word did Nelson originally want in the signal instead of "expects"?

Signal officer Pasco pointed out that "expects" was in the vocabulary and "confides" would have to be spelt.

Which Royal Navy officer suggested the word swap in the famous signal?

The signal was shown on the mizzen mast only and needed 12 lifts.

Where were the main French fleets based in 1805?

Napoleon wanted them to join forces in the Caribbean and return to clear the Channel.

Villeneuve had been reluctant to face the Royal Navy since which 1798 defeat?

Nelson had won that one too, destroying the French fleet at Aboukir Bay.

Where did Napoleon want his allied fleets to rendezvous before returning to Europe?

Nelson chased them across the Atlantic and missed them in the West Indies by days.

Which inconclusive July 1805 battle saw Calder capture two Spanish ships?

Calder was later recalled to face a court-martial for his lack of aggression there.

Who captained Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar?

Keats had been meant to be Nelson's second but his ship was stuck in the dockyard.

Roughly how many crewmen and marines did Nelson command at Trafalgar?

The combined fleet had nearly 30,000 men and 2,568 guns.

Who led the second, leeward British column?

His ship broke the line first and fired a devastating double-shotted broadside into Santa Ana.

What was Collingwood's flagship?

Freshly cleaned below the waterline, she outran the rest of the fleet into action.

What distinctive paint scheme did Nelson order for his ships?

The pattern became known as the Nelson Chequer.

Nelson told his captains no one could do very wrong if he did what?

He wanted circumstances to dictate execution, with the enemy rear cut off and overwhelmed.

Which news prompted Villeneuve to sail on 18 October despite light winds?

François Rosily was coming to take command, and Villeneuve wanted to sail before he arrived.

Which British frigate kept watch on the allied fleet overnight before the battle?

Captain Blackwood's squadron of frigates had been shadowing the harbour for weeks.

At what time did Nelson send the "England expects" signal?

He followed it with one more signal, for close action.

What did Collingwood say to his officers just before engaging?

Nelson, watching from Victory, exclaimed at how nobly Collingwood carried his ship into action.

Which French ship fired the first shot of the battle, at Collingwood's flagship?

Villeneuve signalled "engage the enemy" at noon.

From which French ship was the musket ball that hit Nelson fired?

Her captain Lucas surrendered at 13:55 with just 99 fit men out of 643.

Which British ship raked the French boarders massing to storm Nelson's flagship?

Her carronade fire cut down the exposed French crew on the deck.

At what time did Nelson die?

It was about three hours after he was hit.

What did Nelson's chaplain Alexander Scott record as his last words?

Surgeon William Beatty had earlier heard him murmur "Thank God I have done my duty".

What last order did the dying Nelson give the fleet?

A storm was predicted, and when it struck many damaged ships sank or ran aground anyway.

Where were the four ships that escaped with Dumanoir finally captured on 4 November 1805?

Sir Richard Strachan's squadron took all four after they chased a British frigate too far.

How many of the British prizes survived to be taken to Britain?

The French Swiftsure and the Spanish Bahama, San Ildefonso and San Juan Nepomuceno made it home.

How was Nelson's body preserved for the voyage home?

He was given a grand state funeral and entombed at St Paul's Cathedral.

How was Villeneuve found dead in 1806 after his parole?

The death in an inn room en route to Paris was officially recorded as suicide.

Which Napoleonic triumph less than two months later knocked Austria out of the war?

It forced the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and made Trafalgar strategically moot on land.

Royal Navy dominance was not meaningfully tested again until which battle?

That came more than a century later, in the First World War.

Where may the first monument to Nelson in Britain have been raised, in 1806?

The 144-foot column, designed by David Hamilton, lists Aboukir, Copenhagen and Trafalgar on its base.

In which city was Nelson's Pillar blown up in 1966?

Between 10% and 20% of the sailors at Trafalgar had been Irish.

Nelson's Monument in which city is shaped like an upturned telescope?

A time ball added in 1853 still drops at noon GMT for ships in Leith and the Firth of Forth.

How tall is Nelson's Column in London?

The 5.5-metre statue on top was completed in 1843.

Why did no royals attend the 1905 centenary events?

Britain had just signed the Entente Cordiale, and the gala ended with both anthems.

Which small vessel carried news of the outcome and Nelson's death to Falmouth?

Lieutenant Lapenotière then raced by post chaise to the Admiralty along what is now the Trafalgar Way.

How many ships took part in the 2005 bicentenary Fleet Review in the Solent?

Ships from 35 nations attended, including six aircraft carriers.