Lecture 25: 1805 Trafalgar—Nelson Thwarts Napoleon

1805 Trafalgar—Nelson Thwarts Napoleon ...................................

Lecture 25

O

n January 8, 1806, an unprecedented funeral was held in England.

The casket was conveyed down the Thames in a royal funeral

barge; the next day, it was transferred to a hearse shaped like a

warship that sailed through the streets to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Tens of

WKRXVDQGVRIZHHSLQJRQORRNHUV¿OOHGWKHFDWKHGUDODQGOLQHGWKHURDGV

The man who had been granted these honors was a warrior who had won

a spectacular and crushing victory over a superior force and delivered

his nation from years of desperate fear of invasion by an implacable

and terrifying foe. At the very moment of his triumph, this hero, Horatio

Nelson, had been struck down in battle.

Naval War in the Age of Sail

x Since the galleys had clashed at Lepanto, naval warfare had

undergone rapid change.

o Deep-hulled ships propelled by square-rigged sails that could

tack against the direction of the wind were capable of carrying

enough supplies to cross the oceans.

o When heavy cannons were mounted on these ships, the new

technology marked a new era of naval warfare.

o But only one or two cannons could be mounted at the front or

stern of a ship; thus, guns were positioned mainly along the

sides. Ships could not shoot in the same direction that they

ZHUHPRYLQJDQGFRXOGQRW¿UHPRUHWKDQKDOIWKHLUJXQVDWDQ\

one enemy ship.

x ,QWKHOLQHRIEDWWOHIRUPDWLRQWKHÀHHWRIRQHDGYHUVDU\ZRXOG

line up in a long column, all sailing in the same direction. The

WZRRSSRVLQJOLQHVRIZDUVKLSVVDLOHGLQRSSRVLWHGLUHFWLRQV¿ULQJ

broadsides at one another. The two sides simply pounded one