1805. the Defiance ran alongside of the Aigle, lashed the Oct. latter to herself, boarded her with little resistance,

of

Aigle.

got possession of the poop and quarterdeck, hauled down the french colours, and hoisted the english in their stead; when, suddenly, so destructive a fire of musketry was opened upon the boarders from the forecastle, waist, and tops of the Aigle, that the British, before they had been well five minutes in possession of their prize, were glad to quit her and escape back to their ship.

As soon as the lashings were cut loose, the Defiance sheered off to a half-pistol-shot distance, and Surren- there kept up so well-directed a cannonade that, in dere less than 25 minutes, the Aigle, the fire from whose great guns had also been nobly maintained, called for quarter, and was presently taken quiet possession of. The Defiance afterwards took possession of the San-Juan Nepomuceno; which ship, besides her crippled state from the previous attacks she had sustained, had already surrendered to the Dreadnought. On the coming up, therefore, of the latter ship, captain Durham sent the San-Juan's captain and officers to her.

Da

&c. to

ance

and

The Defiance had her bowsprit and fore and main mag masts shot through in the centre of each, also her Defi- mizenmast, three topmasts, jib and driver booms, and gaff wounded: her rigging and sails were Aigle. likewise much cut, and her hull struck with shot in several places. She had one lieutenant, (Thomas Simens,) her boatswain, (William Forster,) one midshipman, (James Williamson,) eight seamen, and six marines killed, and her captain, (slightly,) two master's mates, (James Spratt and Robert Browne,) two midshipmen, (John Hodge and Edmund Andrew Chapman,) 39 seamen, and nine marines wounded. The Aigle, although her principal masts do not appear to have been shot away, had received several shot through them, and was otherwise much disabled. Her hull was pierced in every direction,

and her starboard quarter nearly beaten in. The 1805. Aigle had been successively engaged by six or Oct. seven british ships, and had conducted herself in the most gallant manner. Her loss amounted to about 270 in killed and wounded, including several of her officers.

Achille

Of the 19 ships composing the combined rear, 11 have been captured, and seven have quitted the line and run to-leeward; thus leaving one ship only, the French french Achille, whose fate remains to be shown. This ship, in her successive encounters with the english Achille, Belleisle, Swiftsure, and Polyphemus, had lost her mizenmast, main topmast, and fore yard, and having since, owing, in all probability, to her swivels or musketry there, caught fire in her fore top, was without the means of extinguishing the flames on account of the destruction of her engine by the enemy's shot. The only alternative left was to cut away the mast. At 4 h. 30 m. P. M., while the crew were preparing to do this, so that it might fall clear of the ship, a broadside from the Prince cut Prince the mast in two at about its centre; and the wreck, with its flaming top, fell directly upon the boats in the waist. These soon caught fire, and so in succession did the decks below.

After the discharge of one or two broadsides, the Achille Prince discovered the accident that had befallen her on fire. antagonist, and, wearing, hove to, and, in company with the Swiftsure, sent her boats to save as many as possible of the french Achille's crew: in which laudable attempt, soon afterwards, the Pickle schooner and Entreprenante cutter zealously employed themselves. This was a dangerous service, on account of the french ship's guns, when heated, discharging their contents. The Swiftsure's boats had two or three men killed and wounded in consequence. The Achille had already suffered a heavy Loss on loss in killed and wounded, including among the board. latter her captain and the principal part of her officers; leaving not a doubt, that the ship had most

1805. gallantly conducted herself throughout the engage

Oct. ment.

Achille

up.

It was at about 5 h. 45 m. P. M. that the Achille exblows ploded, and with her perished her then commandingofficer, enseigne de vaisseau Charles-Alexandre Cauchard, and a great portion of her crew. It may be, as the French say, that the Achille at this time had her colours flying; but the ship certainly had, two hours before, made signs of submission, and was, in consequence, spared by the british ship (PolypheDa- mus) then in action with her. The damages of the mage, Prince consisted of a shot in her bowsprit, three Prince. shots in her foremast, and the same in her mizenmast; but she experienced the singular good fortune, as a ship of this fleet, not to have a man of her crew injured.

&c. to

Diffi

culty of

correct

ac

We have now, according to the best information getting in our power, gone through the details of each british ship's proceedings in the battle of Trafalgar. Should counts. justice not have been done to the exertions of any particular ship on this glorious occasion, we hope it will be attributed, rather to the confused manner in which the attack, the latter part of it especially, was carried on, than to any deficiency of research in us. How far the published accounts on either side are calculated to guide the historian, has already in part appeared, and will be more fully shown when some of those accounts pass under review. As to the accounts furnished exclusively for this work by individuals present in the battle, much as we, and through us the public, owe to them, they are, in many instances, imperfect, obscure, and even contradictory. Nor can it be wondered at, considering how each officer's attention must have been absorbed in the immediate duties of his station; and how few yards, beyond the side of his own ship, the smoke of so many combatants would permit him to

gate

see.

Aggre- According to the official returns, the aggregate loss in killed and wounded on the part of the British

loss.

amounted to 1690;* of which amount about six 1805. sevenths, or 1452, fell to the share of 14 out of the 27 Oct. ships in the fleet. With a few exceptions, the ships so suffering were in the van of their respective columns. This was a consequence of the peculiar mode of attack adopted by lord Nelson, coupled

* The following is a recapitulation of the loss of men and masts sustained by the british fleet, the ships of each column being ranged in the order in which they appear to have bore down to the attack. The masts "left tottering," actually fell, or were taken down a day or two after the action. Besides these, many bowsprits, masts, yards, and topmasts, were badly wounded, and subsequently replaced by new ones. A column has been added, with the names, as accurately as we have been able to get them, of the officers acting as first, second, third, and fourth lieutenants of the Victory, first and second of the Royal-Sovereign, and first of the ships remaining, at the close of the battle.

Oct.

1805. with the fall of the breeze after the firing had begun. For instance, the leading ships of each column, as they approached within gun-shot of the combined Reason fleet, were exposed to the deliberate and unintertial loss rupted fire of seven or eight ships drawn up in line on bri- ahead, without being able, until nearly on board of

of par

tish

side.

Inabi

lity to

enume

rate

loss on

spa

them, to bring a gun to bear in return. The moment the former did begin to engage, the french and nish ships closed for mutual support; whereby the latter not only prevented each other from firing at such of the british ships as were still bearing down, but became too seriously occupied with close antagonists, to bestow much attention upon distant ones. We regret our inability to particularize as usual, the loss sustained by the ships of the franco-spanish fleet. Of the many that were captured, not one has part of her loss stated in the british official account; and neither the French nor the Spaniards, except in the case of the Redoutable and of one or two spanish ships, have published any returns. It is therefore impossible for us to do more than point to the effects of the british shot upon the majority of the french and spanish ships, deducible from the state of their masts and rigging already so fully described; leaving it to be inferred, that the antagonist of a british ship seldom has her masts shot away, until her hull has been greatly shattered, and a large proportion of her crew killed or disabled.

com

bined fleet.

While the british ships are securing their prizes, and getting the latter and themselves into a state to keep the sea; and while the more fortunate of the french and spanish ships are profiting by the occasion to effect their escape from the scene of so much disaster, we will conduct the reader to the cockpit of the Victory; where lay the chief hero of this triLord umphant day eking out the last remnant of that life's Nelson blood, which he had so often before lavishly shed in in the the cause of his country. The manner in which lord tory's Nelson received his wound has already been decock- scribed. "The ball," emphatically adds doctor

Vic

pit.