Admiral Horatio Nelson

Admiral Horatio Nelson, England's greatest Captain. This design shows the message he broadcast to the fleet prior to the Battle of Trafalgar. It reads: "England expects that every man will do his duty. The Battle of Trafalgar occurred on Monday, 21st October 1805. It was a decisive sea battle between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of France & Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. Admiral Nelson on board HMS Victory, led 27 British ships-of-the-line against 33 French & Spanish ships. The Franco-Spanish fleet, led by Pierre de Villeneuve lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost. Nelson divided his smaller force into two columns directed perpendicularly against the larger enemy fleet, with decisive results. Although Nelson was killed during the battle (He had been hit by a marksman from the Redoutable , firing at a range of 50 feet. The bullet had entered his left shoulder, pierced his lung, and come to rest at the base of his spine), the victory confirmed Britain's naval supremacy and created a legendary hero of Admiral Nelson.