THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR – LORD NELSON AND THE HMS VICTORY

ON October 21, 1805, there was a great battle in the ocean just off the coast of Spain, at a place called the Cape of Trafalgar.  This battle was the moment where Napoleon Bonaparte tried to destroy the British Royal fleet by using both French and Spanish ships in a large combined fleet.

The boats that were used were great big sailing ships.  They had more than a dozen large sails, and big cannons in rows along their sides.  Some ships, like the flagship HMS Victory, had 104 big cannons!  The HMS Victory also had these really large weapons called ‘carronades’, which fired about 500 musket rounds at once, tearing into enemy ships and mowing down enemy sailors as they tried to fire their cannons.

Lord Nelson, the Admiral of a group of ships called the Weather Column, had a plan – get in close and fire at the enemy!  The other Admiral, of the Lee Column, Admiral Collingwood, followed Admiral Nelson’s lead.  Together these Admirals had about 27 large battleships, ready for action.  There were also 7 smaller ships in Admiral Nelson’s fleet for observation and to watch what the enemy was doing.

The enemy fleet was made up of French and Spanish battleships, which also had a lot of cannons.  The combined fleet had 33 battleships – more than the British Royal Fleet!  The fleet was commanded by a Frenchman named Admiral Villeneuve, (pronounced Vil – Noov), who was being directed by Napoleon Bonaparte himself.  Napoleon was trying to invade all of Europe, including Great Britain, so if he could destroy the Royal British fleet, he could easily get into the English Channel and invade England.

The French and Spanish ships were close to the coast of Spain, some trying to hide in a cove.  This is where the battle begins.  Admiral Lord Nelson positioned his battleships in an arrow shape.  He had smaller frigates and schooners, other types of sailing ships, standing by to observe the enemy.  Then the enemy positioned their fleet so they could fire at the British fleet head-on.  It didn’t work as well as they thought.  Lord Nelson’s direction was to get in there and do some damage!  So, the giant British ships got real close to the enemy, and let them have it with all their cannons! 

The HMS Victory was rammed by the Redoubtable, an enemy ship.  They became locked together, and soon were alongside of each other.  The enemy marines started shooting and throwing grenades at Victory’s crew.  Suddenly, a sharpshooter saw Lord Nelson and shot him in the shoulder!  Some sailors took him below the deck to see how bad it was.  The HMS Victory started firing her great cannons into the Redoubtable until it was a wreck.  The Victory had beaten the Redoubtable.  Lord Nelson lay below, and was bleeding badly.  When a Captain Hardy went down to tell Lord Nelson they have won, Admiral Nelson said, for the last time, “Thank God I have done my duty!”

This was probably the greatest sea battle ever won. Admiral Lord Nelson was up against incredible odds.  His country, Great Britain, recognizes Admiral Horatio Nelson as a great hero.  They even have a square named after the battle in London, England – Trafalgar Square.

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

Visit the Children's Web Magazine or Woodlands Junior School sites for further reading for children and teachers. 

One in a series of articles about History written for children.
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