h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Battle of Trafalgar - A20737848
Author: Bob Stafford (Keeper of The Treacle Shadow) - U3151547

Please comment on this joint work of
Whisky
Alex 'Tufty' Ashman and myself

Bob,

This is an epic work, and I guess it will need to be split into parts.

I'll read the detail over the next week or so, but I did skip to the end, expecting to see "Thank God I have done my duty" and "Kiss me, Hardy". Why didn't you mention them?

By coincidence, I was looking at the Victory Trafalgar log on Friday - it's on permanent exhibition in the British Library.

Icy

Whisky has to just pop the end on that bit his fine contribution to this entry.

Whisky has to just _write_ the end on that bit

I'll have a go at lunchtime

According to QI, Nelson's last words were rather different: F7180006?thread=4107971.

Hows it going chaps

Nelson, the cad, also willed everything to his in his last moments, totally abandoning his wife. Or so I've heard. You might want to double check it, though.

Right - got some time tonight,

"Nelson had written a detailed explanation his plan on 9 October" => word 'of' missing.

"and to the south the lee line under the command of Admiral Lord Collingwood 2 under the command of Collingwood to attack the enemy fleet." We've gained an Admiral Collingwood here.

"The fire buckets were filled, wet sand was spread on the upper decks to provide grip (blood is slippery) and retard the spread of fire from sparks. sprinkled wet sand over the decks." => Some wet sand has survived the edit.

"Nelson sent the following signal. to Britannia. " change the following to 'this' and remove extra period.

"0720 Nelson to Prince and Dreadnought - Take station as convenient without regard to the order of sailing. Prince and Dreadnought these two 98 gun first rate ships in Collingwoods line were also delayed and the were to eventually take station as the last two ships the in line. Nelson sent the following signal. to their captains, Richard Grindall and John Conn." apostophie in Collingwood's change to 'and they were' Nelson sent the preceding signal.

"0850 Collingwood to Lee Column - Make more sail, leading ship first. Make more sail simply increase the are or number of sail " +> area or number of sail.

"1140 Nelson to Defence - Make all sail possible with safety to the masts (Africa was out of the main line of battle and sailing down from the NW). HMS Defence was ordered to close up so she was signalled to make more sail without damaging her masts and rigging, and join he line as soon as possible. " ==> This is surviving from an edit - remove.

"Who it was who actually suggested he should remove his coat" - Who it was THAT

I also think you should mention the French report on Trafalger - it includes such gems as - "The English fleet is annihilated! Nelson is no more! " and "In vain did the English Admiral try to evade an action: the Spanish Admiral Oliva prevented his escape, and lashed his Vessel to the British Admiral. The English Ship was one of 136 guns; the Santissima Trinidada was but a 74." (136 guns would have been larger than any ship in England at the time)

Hi McKay

Thank you very much for that all done except.

I also think you should mention the French report on Trafalger - it includes such gems as - "The English fleet is annihilated! Nelson is no more! " and "In vain did the English Admiral try to evade an action: the Spanish Admiral Oliva prevented his escape, and lashed his Vessel to the British Admiral. The English Ship was one of 136 guns; the Santissima Trinidada was but a 74." (136 guns would have been larger than any ship in England at the time)

I agree and the section this belongs in ts being writen by Whisky and I hope that he will include this. I await his last contribution it will be included.

Bob...

Alex
Any more from Whiskey (hope he is all right) so we can finish or do you want to polish it off.


Bob...

*prods Whisky*

Runs away...











I'm working on the last paragraph as we speak...

Possibly include his body was shipped back to England in a barrell of brandy for burial ?

And possibly the legend that the body was badly preserved when it got back to England because so much of the contents had been siphoned off by the sailors ? Though the fact he wasn't buried for nearly 3 months may have had some bearing..... His lying in state and burial was over 3 day 5th - 9th of January 1806.

Also if you're going to link this to the article on Nelson's Navy then perhaps worth mentioning that much of the prize money lost because the captured ships were destroyed in a storm.

You can see the actual frock coat Nelson was wearing - complete with bullet hole in the shoulder at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

I hope Whisky reads this as he is doing this bit...

Any more to add Whisky

can the footnote about ratings be moved to the French ships?

It seems odd that you have these bold numbers for the French / Spanish, then only explain them when you get to the brits

Also, you don't mention there about the ratings, ie what is a first rate / second rate. It may not be important, but by mentioning ratings, I get the feeling that you wanted to explain them but didn't

Hi nice to hear from you, Lord The_Jon_m


Valid point, all done and additions made, please comment.

Is this ready yet?

Hi Galaxy Babe

Yes apart from a paragraph or 2 from Whiskey at the very end.

Unless you think its ok as is

Here you go, Bob

Fifty minutes later, Hardy returned to see Nelson a second time with news that the battle was over. Giving his final order, Nelson insisted that Hardy ordered the signal to the fleet to anchor, but then added that he didn't want to be buried at sea. Next came the famous words 'Take care of poor Lady Hamilton. Kiss me, Hardy', to which Hardy responded by kissing Nelson's forehead, evoking the words 'Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty.' It was those last seven words that Nelson is said to have uttered repeatedly while in his death throes, albeit intermixed with the words 'Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub.'

In order to transport it back to England, Nelson's body was placed in a large cask that was then filled with brandy to preserve the remains. The cask had to be topped up with 'spirit of wine', a type of practically pure ethanol, at Gibraltar on 28 October, the reason for this supposedly being that the body had absorbed a large quantity of the brandy that it had been placed in. Finally, the Victory arrived at Portsmouth on 4 December, with Nelson's body sailed up to Greenwich Hospital before being taken up the Thames to Whitehall to be conferred upon the Admiralty. Nelson was given a state funeral, a rare honour only ever given to four other non-royals, and then buried at St Paul's Cathedral on the 9 January.

Unfortunately, Nelson's fame and fortune went to his brother William, who was made Earl Nelson, leaving Nelson's mistress Lady Hamilton and their illegitimate daughter Horatia in poverty despite accounts of Nelson asking that their safety be ensured before his death. However, his legacy of 'The Nelson Touch' - his ability to both forge inspirational strategies and to bring out the best in all of his men - and of course his famous message of 'England Expects' continue to endure. Several statues and monuments exist to him, notably Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, and in 2005 the Battle of Trafalgar's 200 year anniversary was remembered with extensive celebrations and a battle between the 'Red Team' and the 'Blue Team' in the Solent near Portsmouth. It wasn't until Winston Churchill came along over a hundred years later that another man made such a name for himself protecting the United Kingdom from harm, and so Admiral Horatio Nelson would seem to remain a national hero even today.


Alex