on the one side, and the fleet of Great
Britain on the other, came face to face off the Cape of Trafalgar. The
rocks of Gibraltar might be seen in the distance. The sea was calm and
the sky clear. The combatants discerned in advance the greatness of
the event that was at hand.

The conflict that ensued ranks among the great naval battles of the
world. Lord Nelson, with all his heroism, was a vain man, capable of
spectacular display. He clad himself in the insignia of the many
orders to which he belonged, and might be conspicuously seen from the
decks of the French ships. In fact, he seemed to court death almost as
much as he strove for victory. In the beginning of the engagement he
displayed from his pennon, where it might be read by the whole fleet,
this signal: "England expects every man to do his duty."

On the display of this signal the British fleet rang with cheers. The
shouting was heard as far as the opposing Armada. The tradition goes
that Villeneuve said on hearing the shouts of the British marines:
"The battle it lost already." The admirals of the allied fleet
arranged their vessels in parallel lines, so that each ship of the
rear line should break the space between two of the advanced line.
This arrangement enabled all the ships to fire at once, and it was the
purpose of Villeneuve to hold his vessels in this form so that the
British squadron might gain no advantage from manoeuvring.

Nelson's arrangement, however, was quite different. His plan was to
attack at two points and break through the Armada, throwing the ships
into confusion right and left. This brought his own vessels into the
arrangement of two harrows, each pointing the apex against the
designated vessels of the opposing squadron. One of the harrows was to
be led by Collingwood in his ship called the "Royal Sovereign." Nelson
led his column in his flagship the "Victory." The preliminaries of the
battle extended to noon, and then the British attack was begun by
Collingwood, who bore down on the two opposing vessels, the "Santa
Anna" and the "Fougeux." Nelson also sailed to the attack in the
"Victory" and broke through the enemy's line between the "Redoubtable"
and the "Santissima Trinidad." The "Victory" in passing poured
terrible broad-sides into both vessels.

It seems that both the British admirals in going into battle outsailed
somewhat their supporting ships; but these soon came into action and
the battle line of the allied fleet was fa