HISTORY OF EUROPE* 



235 



Ibelief that the English licet consisted 

 only of twenty-one sail of the line, 

 to have attacked them in the usual 

 line of battle, with an equal number 

 of vessels, whilst twelve of his select 

 ships, forming a body x)f reserve to 

 windward, were to bear doMn and 

 double on the British line after the 

 action had commenced, and thus 

 place a great portion of it between 

 two fires : — every other precaution 

 had been taken by him to ensure 

 Buccess : nearh' five thousand land 

 troops were distributed throughout 

 his tlcet ; and his ships were furnish- 

 ed with ev^ry species of combustibles 

 and fire-balls, in order to set the ad- 

 Tcrsary on fire, or facilitate their 

 boarding when opportunity should 

 oifer. On perceiving, however, the 

 Teal strength of the English, the 

 French admiral abandoned his first 

 plan, and formed his ships into one 

 lino, with great closeness and cor- 

 rectness : — but as the mode of at- 

 tack was unusual, so the structure 

 of his line was new, forming a 

 crescent, conTexing to leeward. — 

 Admiral Villeneuve was in the Bu- 

 ccntaure, of eighty guns, in the cen- 

 tre ; and the Prince of Austurias, of 

 112 guns, bore the flag of the Spa- 

 nish admiral Graviiia, in the rear ; 

 but the French and Spanish ships 

 were intermingled without any re- 

 gard to order of national squadron. 

 The combined fleet, thus situateil, 

 waited the attack with equal firm- 

 ness and intrepidity. 



About noon the dreadful contest 

 began, by the leading ships of the 

 columns breaking through the ene- 

 my's line : which was first effected 

 by admiral Collingwood, in the Roy- 

 al Sovereign, in so gallant a manner, 

 as to excite the admiration of both 

 fleets), about the twelfth ship from 

 the rear of the enemy, leaving his 

 ran unoccupied ; the succeeding 

 ti^a breaking through in all parts 



a-stern of their leaders, and cngag. 

 ing the enemy at the muzzles of their 

 guns. At twenty minutes past 

 twelve the action became general. — 

 It had been the intention of lord 

 Nelson to have penetrated the ad- 

 versary's line, between the tenth and 

 eleventh of his ships in the van: but 

 finding it so crose, that there was not 

 room to pass, he ordered the Victo- 

 ry, which bore his flag, to be run 

 on board the ship opposed to him, 

 and the Temcraire, his second, 

 also ran on board of the next ship 

 in (he enen.y's line, so that theso 

 four ships tormed one mass, and 

 were so close, that every gun fired 

 fro;u the Victory set the Redoubt- 

 able, to which she was opposed, oa 

 tire; whilst the British sailors wero 

 employed, at intervals, in the midst 

 of the hottest action, in pouring 

 buckets of water on the flames in the 

 enemy's vessels, lest their spreatling 

 should involve both ships in destruc- 

 tion 1 An instance of cool and de- 

 liberate bravery not to be paralleled 

 in ancient or modern history. 



The action was equally sever* 

 around the Royal Sovereign, and in 

 several other quarters ; the enemy's 

 ships being fought with the greatest 

 gallantry ; but the attack upon 

 them was irresistible, and a great and 

 glorious victory was its reward. 

 About three in the afternoon ad- 

 miral Cravina, with ten sail of the 

 line, joining the enemy's frigates t9 

 leeward, bore away to Cadiz j five 

 n.ore of their headmost ships in the 

 van, under admiral Dumanoir, about 

 ten minutes after, tacked and stood 

 to the southward, to windward of the 

 British line ; they were engaged, and 

 the sternmost taken ; the four others 

 got olf, leaving a noble prey to the 

 British fleet of nineteen' ships or 

 Tin: LINE, of which two were first- 

 rates, and none under 74 guns, with 

 three flag officers, namely admiral 



Villeneuve, 



