Post by Administrator on Oct 21, 2021 23:40:08 GMT
Trafalgar Day.
The Battle of Trafalgar, perhaps the most famous of British naval battles, took place: On This Day in 1805.
A decisive if bittersweet victory, as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, already a national hero, was killed.
At this moment almost precisely 212 years ago, Nelson was hit by a musket ball fired from the rigging of the French ship Redoubtable. The ball entered just above his left shoulder and passed down to bury itself at the base of his spine.
Little over an hour earlier, Nelson's force had entered battle with the larger combined Franco-Spanish fleet. He had divided his fleet into two lines that sliced into the side of the enemy, dividing them and causing utter chaos. It was during this confusion that Nelson's flagship, the Victory, had become entangled with the Redoubtable and he had been spotted by the French sharpshooter.
Nelson was carried below to the orlop deck and endured an unimaginable three hours of agony while the battle raged above. He finally succumbed at 4:30pm, not long after he learned from Captain Hardy that he and the British had been victorious.
“England expects that every man will do his duty”.
The Battle of Trafalgar, perhaps the most famous of British naval battles, took place: On This Day in 1805.
A decisive if bittersweet victory, as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, already a national hero, was killed.
At this moment almost precisely 212 years ago, Nelson was hit by a musket ball fired from the rigging of the French ship Redoubtable. The ball entered just above his left shoulder and passed down to bury itself at the base of his spine.
Little over an hour earlier, Nelson's force had entered battle with the larger combined Franco-Spanish fleet. He had divided his fleet into two lines that sliced into the side of the enemy, dividing them and causing utter chaos. It was during this confusion that Nelson's flagship, the Victory, had become entangled with the Redoubtable and he had been spotted by the French sharpshooter.
Nelson was carried below to the orlop deck and endured an unimaginable three hours of agony while the battle raged above. He finally succumbed at 4:30pm, not long after he learned from Captain Hardy that he and the British had been victorious.
“England expects that every man will do his duty”.