HMS Victory by Iain Ballantyne & Jonathan Eastland

HMS Victory by Iain Ballantyne & Jonathan Eastland

Author:Iain Ballantyne & Jonathan Eastland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783409396
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2013-06-09T16:00:00+00:00


Nelson even yearned for peace, writing some two weeks later from Victory to Sir John Acton, the British-born Prime Minister of Naples that he hoped some conspiracy within France might overthrow Napoleon and ‘allow the World to turn their Swords into Ploughshares for a few years.’34

An oil painting of Admiral Horatio Nelson on display in HMS Victory reveals the slight-framed man worshipped by sailors under his command in the Mediterranean during the period 1803 - 1805. Jonathan Eastland/Ajax

After leaving the Leviathan off the north Spanish coast to deceive the enemy into thinking the fleet was still there Nelson took his ships to the Gulf of Palmas to re-supply. This lasted until 1 April 1805, several ships being repainted in the Nelson style of black and yellow, just like the Victory.

Meanwhile, the French fleet at Brest under Vice Admiral Honore Ganteaume, was keen to try and break out and then drive the blockading British away from Ferrol, releasing the Spanish and French ships there, so they could all sail for Martinique. In late March Ganteaume offered to fight his way out with his twenty-one ships of the line against the fifteen major warships of Cornwallis off Brest. Napoleon refused Ganteaume permission, telling him he had to slip out unseen and avoid a fight:

...a naval battle at this time would produce no results... go to sea without fighting. Villeneuve led the Toulon fleet out on 30 March, still believing the British were on station because of the presence of the Leviathan and doing his best to avoid the non-existent Royal Navy fleet. He therefore decided to go wide of Nelson’s winter cruising area but in so doing was on collision course with the very enemy ships he sought to avoid. However, a Russian ship told Villeneuve where the British were and so he altered course and headed west, hugging the Spanish coast, successfully avoiding a fight. The French fleet was trailed by the Active and Phoebe, the latter heading off to tell Nelson the enemy were out. Unfortunately, Active lost sight of the French on 31 March.

Villeneuve’s intention was to rendezvous with the Spanish warships at Cartagena and Cadiz and then take them with him to the Caribbean. The British fleet had left Palmas on 3 April and the following day Victory spotted a frigate, which turned out to be Phoebe. On hearing her news, Nelson decided to disperse his ships in the hunt for the French. At Cartagena, Villeneuve found the Spanish were not ready and he was anyway not that keen for them to join, as he feared they would be a hindrance. Meanwhile, the British fleet was having a terrible time trying to catch him because of prevailing winds, which were against them. Highly anxious, Nelson heard that the French had gone through the Straits of Gibraltar on 8 April. He suspected that the enemy’s destination might be the West Indies or even the East Indies.

At Cadiz, Villeneuve picked up another ship of the line, a 74-gunner, and half a dozen Spanish ships were preparing to sail but, again, he left without them.



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