Trafalgar was a devastating defeat for the combined French and Spanish fleet.
The British did not lose a single ship although most were damaged, some severely.
Losses amounted to 449 killed and 1214 wounded out of 18000, allowing Britain
to keep its experienced and battle hardened human capital intact. Allied losses,
on the other hand, amounted to 4408 killed and 2545 wounded. Eighteen ships
were captured and one, the Achille, was blown up.
Of the 10 ships that regained Cadiz, the French ships Pluton, Heros, Neptune,
Argonaute and Indomptable and the Spanish ships San Francisco
de Asis, Montanes, Rayo, San Leandro and the San Justo, all were
damaged and only five were seaworthy. When Admiral Rosily arrived to assume
his command on the 25th October, instead of finding 18 French ships, there were
only five battle-scarred survivors.
The danger was not over for the British as a strong gale was approaching. The
storm raged from the 21st October through to the 27th during which the British
lost many of their prizes. Only the San Juan Nepomuceno, Swift-Sure, San
Ildefonso and Bahama made it back to Gibraltar. The crews of Bucentaure
and Algisiris managed to regain control of their ships from the British
but only Algisiris managed to regain port, Bucentaure running
aground. The rest were lost, either sunk or abandoned.
A few days after the battle, on the 23rd, the French ship Pluton spied
Neptuno and the Santa Ana being towed to Gibraltar. Setting sail
with Heros, Neptune, San Francisco de Asis and Rayo, they attacked,
forcing the British ships to drop their tows. On returning to port, however,
Rayo became stranded on the coast to be set on fire by the British while
San Francisco de Asis and Neptuno both ran aground.
More was to come. The 2nd of November saw Dumanoir's four ships meet Commodore
Strachan's squadron of four line ships and four frigates. Engaging on the 4th,
Dumanoir dithered in his command while Strachan attacked with vigor, capturing
all four French ships.
The combined fleet was, therefore, reduced by a total of 23 ships by the Trafalgar
campaign. While not defeating Napoleon; the Victory was towed into Portsmouth
on the same day Napoleon crushed the Third Alliance at Austerlitz, his hopes
of invading England were crushed beyond repair. In addition to these material
losses, the French were crushed psychologically, destroying naval moral for
decades. Of the ships that regained Cadiz, none were to see action against the
British again. In 1808, when Napoleon invaded Spain, the Spanish seized the
five French ships.
Corbett J.S. The Campaign
of Trafalgar, Longman, Green & co., London, 1910
Desbriere E. The Naval Campaign of 1805: Trafalgar, Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1933
Keegan I. Battle at Sea: From Man of War to Submarine, Pilmico,
London, 1988
Lavery B. Nelson's Navy: The Ships, men and Organization 1793-1815,
Conway Maratime Press, London, 1989
Maine R. Trafalgar: Napoleon's Naval Waterloo, Thames & Hudson,
London, 1957
Schom A. Trafalgar: Countdown to Battle 1803-1805, Michael Joseph
Ltd., London, 1990
