94-528: Admiral Sir Israel Pellew , KCB (25 August 1758 – 19 July 1832), was an English naval officer who spent his career under the shadow of his more successful older brother Edward Pellew . Pellew first went to sea aboard the sloop Falcon in 1771, serving in the West Indies . He went to the North American station on the frigate HMS Flora in 1776. Pellew was promoted to lieutenant in
188-511: A broad band with three narrower bands. In 2001 the number of stars on the shoulder board was increased to four, reflecting the equivalence to the OF-9 four-star ranks of other countries. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path. The command flags flown by an Admiral changed a number of times during this period, there was no Admiral of
282-499: A clear run into the Channel and up to Boulogne, where he would escort the invasion fleet safely across. The plan was complicated and depended on the unlikely events of favourable weather, the avoidance of Cochrane's and Nelson's fleets and the decoying away of Cornwallis. The plan was never put into operation. Latouche Tréville remained at Toulon rather than risk an encounter with Nelson, and died suddenly on 19 August, putting an end to
376-458: A dozen ships. After 1805 the morale of the French navy was destroyed, while its continued blockade in port robbed it of efficiency and will. While Napoleon returned to the possibility of an invasion some years later, it was never with the same focus or determination. The failure of his navy to fulfil its objectives left him disillusioned, while the timidity of its commanders and the determination of
470-461: A fog came down that would help him to slip past the British. But as he made his way out the weather changed suddenly, blowing away the fog and making it difficult to return to the anchorage. Temporarily trapped outside the port Ganteaume reluctantly prepared for battle as Cotton's force approached. Cotton did not however risk an engagement with night closing, many shoals and with the enemy fleet under
564-527: A force of 33 ships of the line, six frigates and two storeships, they would sail to Martinique . Meanwhile, Villeneuve was to have embarked 3000 troops and sailed from Toulon. He would break out into the Atlantic, and having collected another seven ships of the line from Cádiz, he would sail to the rendezvous in the West Indies. The three fleets—Ganteaume's 33 ships of the line; Missiessy's five ships of
658-419: A hastily assembled blockade of British warships, initially commanded by Rear-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood , and from 27 September by Vice-Admiral Nelson, who had arrived from England to take command. He spent the following weeks preparing and refining his tactics for the anticipated battle and dining with his captains to ensure they understood his intentions. Nelson had devised a plan of attack that anticipated
752-415: A lightly defended convoy of British merchants, and captured several of them the following day. From them he discovered that Nelson had arrived at Barbados. A shocked Villeneuve decided to break off operations and head north and east again, back to Europe. The fleet got underway on 11 June, causing one of the army officers attached to the fleet, General Honoré Charles Reille to note We have been masters of
846-620: A long and painful illness. Pellew was buried near his home in Plymouth at Charles the Martyr Church , but on 21 March 1941 a massive German air raid in the Blitz demolished the church and its attendant graveyard. The ruins of the church remain standing as a memorial to that night, but there is no surviving indication of the whereabouts of Pellew's body or tomb, which is believed to have been lost. Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral
940-469: A new strategy whereby his largely idle fleet could cause trouble for Britain. Villeneuve and Missiessy were ordered to embark troops and take their fleets to sea, where they would sail to the West Indies and attack the British possessions there. This would force the British to reallocate resources to defend them. Missiessy duly sailed from Rochefort on 11 January with five ships of the line, evaded Vice-Admiral Thomas Graves's blockading force and escaped into
1034-524: A number of frigates, sloops and brigs at their disposal. Further afield, Missiessy, pursued by Cochrane, sailed around the West Indies, but without making contact with each other. Napoleon recalled Missiessy once it became clear the Villeneuve had remained trapped in Toulon, and Missiessey began to voyage back to France on 28 March. March 1805 brought a significant development for Napoleon, an assurance from
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#17327974920761128-514: A pell-mell battle to develop in which the British ships could overwhelm and destroy parts of their opponents' formation, before the unengaged enemy ships could come to their aid. Napoleon, increasingly dissatisfied with Villeneuve's performance, ordered Vice-Admiral François Rosily to go to Cádiz and take command of the fleet, sail it into the Mediterranean to land troops at Naples , before making port at Toulon. Villeneuve decided to sail
1222-402: A soldier rather than a sailor failed to consider the effects of weather, difficulties in communication, and the Royal Navy. Despite limited successes in achieving some elements of the plan the French commanders were unable to follow the main objective through to execution. The campaign, which took place over thousands of miles of ocean, was marked by several naval engagements, most significantly at
1316-508: Is a satisfaction to me that it is to so fortunate an officer as Sir Edward Pellew that I have surrendered" . The greatly embarrassed Atcherly corrected his mistake, to which Villeneuve shouted "His brother? What are there two of them? Helas! " Although the Conqueror's sails and rigging suffered considerable damage, she suffered only three dead and nine wounded despite being in the thick of battle, and returned to Gibraltar largely unharmed by
1410-517: Is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9 , outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral , vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of
1504-705: The Royal George in April 1779 and then served on the frigates Danae and Apollo . He was placed in command of the cutter Resolution in the North Sea in 1782. In 1783 he captured the Dutch privateer Flushinger in a single-ship action . Resolution transferred to the Irish station, with Pellew remaining in command until 1787. In March 1789 he joined Salisbury , and was promoted to commander in 1790, but
1598-599: The Balearic Islands , he might avoid the patrolling British. In reality Nelson was preparing a trap, and having allowed himself to be observed off the Spanish coast, had withdrawn to a position south of Sardinia, hoping that in attempting to avoid the supposed location of the British fleet, Villeneuve would sail straight into them. Villeneuve put to sea on 30 March, observed by the British frigates Active and Phoebe , and as Nelson hoped, set course to sail between
1692-474: The Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, where the combined fleet was decisively defeated, and from which the campaign takes its name. A final mopping up action at the Battle of Cape Ortegal on 4 November completed the destruction of the combined fleet, and secured the supremacy of the Royal Navy at sea. Napoleon had been planning an invasion of England for some time, with the first Army of England gathering on
1786-549: The Conqueror had sailed on to engage the Santísima Trinidad and to attempt to block the escape of Dumanoir 's squadron, the Marines could not return the sword to Pellew. During the course of these later actions, Pellew was wounded by a close miss from a cannonball, but refused to report it or have it treated until well after the battle. The French admiral's sword was eventually given to Admiral Collingwood after
1880-574: The Netherlands , covered by Admiral Lord Keith's Downs squadron of 11 ships of the line. Neither squadron took part in the campaign. The main Channel Fleet , patrolling between Ushant and the Irish coast under Admiral William Cornwallis and his deputy Vice-Admiral Charles Cotton , consisted of 15 ships of the line, with detached squadrons of five ships of the line under Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves blockading Rochefort , and eight ships of
1974-554: The Nore , and under pressure from his commander-in-chief, he resigned the command, being moved in July to Cleopatra . He commanded her first in the Channel, until November 1798, and then on the Halifax and Jamaica stations. In 1800, Pellew suffered a setback when a boat attack to seize some Spanish vessels from an anchorage off Cuba was driven off with significant casualties and only
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#17327974920762068-568: The Strait of Gibraltar , after which he would detach two ships carrying 1,800 troops. He would then head to the West Indies with the rest of his force, while the two detached ships were assigned to fulfil one of the three operations included in the plan. They would sail to Saint Helena and capture the island from the British, before returning northwards to land at Senegal and stir up trouble in West Africa. Meanwhile, Rear-Admiral Missiessy
2162-521: The Tagus . Pellew then left her and was appointed to superintend the payment of ships in the Medway . In 1810, Pellew was promoted to rear-admiral and, in 1816, his brother, on receiving the command of the Mediterranean fleet, made him captain of the fleet , effectively his chief of staff. In 1815, Pellew was knighted . He retained the position of captain of the fleet until 1816, taking a prominent part in
2256-663: The Thames to Scotland. This was part of an effort by Edward I to establish a permanent official staff, even if a permanent naval force was not yet considered necessary. Leybourne's immediate purview was subsequently divided into the roles of Admiral of the West and Admiral of the South while Botetourt's became the Admiral of the North ; the first and last merged as the Admiral of
2350-537: The full chase across the Atlantic after the French fleet and the return leg to Cadiz. During this time, Pellew became good friends with his admiral and joined the famous Band of Brothers with which Nelson surrounded himself. The Conqueror fought well at the Battle of Trafalgar , being the fourth ship in the van or weather column under Nelson's command. The Bucentaure , Villeneuve's flagship , surrendered to Conqueror's captain of Marines , who had been sent aboard by Pellew to receive Villeneuve's sword. But as
2444-505: The 18th century, the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank, although the rank of admiral of the red was always filled by only one man and was known as Admiral of the Fleet . After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the rank of admiral of the red was introduced. The number of officers holding each rank steadily increased throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1769 there were 29 admirals of various grades; by
2538-531: The 36-gun frigate HMS Phoenix , some forty miles of Cape Ortegal . They gave chase, but the Phoenix lured them towards a squadron of five ships of the line under Captain Sir Richard Strachan . Strachan led his ships in pursuit, coming in range and opening the attack on 4 November, despite one of his ships of the line not being with the squadron. Using his frigates to harass and wear down
2632-589: The Atlantic, slipping past Alexander Cochrane 's fleet off Ferrol and entering the Bay of Biscay . They would then make for Rochefort where they would be joined by another six ships of the line. While this was taking place Vice-Admiral Ganteaume would sail from Brest with 23 ships of the line and head out into the Atlantic, hopefully drawing the main British Channel Fleet under Admiral William Cornwallis after them. Latouche Tréville would then have
2726-461: The Atlantic. Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane took his forces in pursuit, and both fleets sailed to the West Indies. Villeneuve finally sailed from Toulon on 18 January, heading into the teeth of a gale. Their departure was noted by the patrolling British frigates HMS Seahorse and HMS Active , who rushed to report the news to Nelson, anchored at La Maddalena . Nelson immediately rushed his fleet to sea, determining that considering
2820-456: The Austrians that they did not plan to make war on France. Napoleon resolved to return to his scheme for the invasion of Britain, and drew up a new plan. The fleet at Brest under Ganteaume was to embark 3,000 troops and sail to Ferrol, where he would chase away Calder's blockading squadron and unite with the French and Spanish forces in the port under Gourdon and Grandallana. Having amassed
2914-596: The Balearic Islands and Sardinia. The frigates lost sight of the French fleet on 1 April, the same day that Villeneuve came across a Spanish merchant, and learnt that Nelson had been sighted off Sardinia. Realising that he was sailing into an ambush, Villeneuve turned west, passing to the west of the Balearics. With no visual contact with the French, Nelson was left in the dark as to their intentions. Villeneuve pressed on to Cartagena, but did not dare wait for
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3008-476: The British colonies in the West Indies. He was then to sail his entire force back to Europe, join Ganteaume at Brest and cover the invasion flotilla. The orders also noted that Nelson had sailed to Egypt in search of him. In fact Nelson was by now only two days away from Barbados, where he would anchor on 4 June. Villeneuve gathered his forces and pressed northwards towards Antigua, but on 7 June he came across
3102-515: The British fleet, attempted to attack the French frigate Siréne , trailing in the rear. Fearing the British were attempting to cut off his rear, Villeneuve brought his fleet about and the Spanish van opened fire on the leading British ships at about 5.30 pm. The action quickly became general, but in the failing light, mist and gunsmoke both fleets soon became scattered. By the time the action broke off at 9.30 pm, two Spanish ships had been isolated and captured. Both fleets were still scattered
3196-535: The British to resist them, both factors clearly expressed at various stages throughout the Trafalgar campaign, left the navy with a lack of purpose and direction. a. Not of all of the ships saw action at any one time, or at all, but represent the strength of the main fleets positioned in European waters. Frigates and smaller vessels are not included. b. The ships arriving with Magon were
3290-615: The Caribbean without orders, he was finally persuaded by the Governor of Martinique to attack the British-held Diamond Rock after two weeks of sitting idle at anchor. The small garrison surrendered on 2 June , by which time the frigate Didon had arrived with orders. Villeneuve was instructed to await the arrival of two extra ships under Rear-Admiral René Magon , and then spend a month attacking and capturing
3384-568: The Channel coast in 1798. Napoleon's concentration on campaigns in Egypt and Austria, and the Peace of Amiens caused these plans to be shelved in 1802. The resumption of hostilities in 1803 led to their revival, and forces were gathered outside Boulogne in large military camps in preparation for the assembling of the invasion flotilla. The Royal Navy was the main obstacle to a successful invasion, but Napoleon declared that his fleet need only be masters of
3478-577: The Channel for six hours and the crossing could be effected. Though the intended departure points were known and were being closely blockaded by the Royal Navy, First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Melville was short of ships. If a combined Franco-Spanish fleet were to force the Navy from its station for even a short while, the French invasion force might succeed in crossing unmolested. The French aimed to achieve at least temporary control of
3572-459: The Channel, while the British aimed to prevent this at all costs. Napoleon proposed a total of four different strategies between July 1804 and March 1805, each with the object of collecting a large force of ships and moving up the Channel. Common elements included the decoying of some or all of the blockading Royal Navy fleets away from the Channel, the combining of the French fleets to lift the blockade of any ships that remained trapped in port, and
3666-499: The Channel. On 10 August off Cape Finesterre HMS Phoenix under Captain Thomas Baker captured the French 40-gun frigate Didon . Didon was carrying despatches instructing Rear-Admiral Allemand's five ships of the line to unite with the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Villeneuve. While sailing to Gibraltar with his prize in tow, Baker fell in with the 74-gun HMS Dragon on 14 August. The following day
3760-705: The English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended the concept of an English navy and its supposed admirals and lord high admirals back as far as Alfred the Great , counting several kings as themselves admirals, along with various dukes and earls who commanded fleets at prominent engagements such as Hubert de Burgh off Sandwich in 1217 . Other lists begin their count at King Henry III 's appointment of Sir Richard de Lucy on 28 August 1223 or 29 August 1224. A similar commission
3854-415: The Fleet rather than Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey , who as senior active admiral nearing the age limit would customarily have received the promotion; John Baird became an Admiral; James Erskine a vice-admiral; and Harry Rawson a rear-admiral. Ironically, all these younger men would die at least a decade before de Horsey. In the time before squadron distinctions were removed or age limits instituted,
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3948-457: The French departure, but having failed to make contact with them off Sardinia, was reduced to combing the area with his frigates for any news of them. After having finally determined that the entire force must have left the Mediterranean he himself beat through the straits, where he received confirmation on 8 May from one of Orde's ships that the French had sailed through the straits a month earlier, and had not headed north. Convinced that Villeneuve
4042-451: The French he turned westward, calling at Malta on 19 February, where he received news that the French were back in Toulon. Villeneuve had in fact turned to port just two days after setting out, forced back by the weather and the inability of his ships and sailors to cope with it. The error of the frigates leaving the fleet unobserved when they had rushed to report to Nelson meant that he had spent nearly six weeks sailing back and forth across
4136-455: The Mediterranean through heavy seas while the French remained in port. A frustrated Nelson returned to resume the blockade. The French Navy was largely confined to port, blockaded by various fleets and commands of the Royal Navy, while the main invasion force of 93,000 men in four Army corps waited in Boulogne . A combined French and Dutch squadron of nine ships of the line were quartered in
4230-565: The North and West in 1364; and from 1408–1414 they were all reunited as the High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine , the forerunner to the present Lord High Admiral . (During this process, the short-lived post of Admiral of the Narrow Seas was used in 1412 and 1413. It was subsequently revived from 1523 to 1688.) The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303 to Gervase Alard . By 1344, it
4324-674: The Red rank until that post was introduced in 1805 prior to this the highest rank an admiral could attain to was Admiral of the White who then flew the Cross of St George . The next promotion step up from that was to Admiral of the Fleet. [REDACTED] Media related to Admirals of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons Trafalgar Campaign The Trafalgar campaign was a long and complicated series of fleet manoeuvres carried out by
4418-511: The Spanish ships there after they declined to join him until orders from Madrid arrived. Instead he hurried on, passing through the Strait of Gibraltar on 8 April, observed by the British squadron under Sir John Orde . From Cádiz Villeneuve collected the French 74-gun Aigle and set off across the Atlantic to the West Indies, followed by six Spanish ships of the line and a frigate under Federico Gravina . Nelson meanwhile had been alerted of
4512-599: The Straits as Nelson had predicted, but were instead likely to arrive in the Bay of Biscay. The despatches and news of the latest sighting were rushed to Lord Barham at the Admiralty, who instructed a reinforced fleet under Vice-Admiral Robert Calder to attempt to intercept the combined fleet as it arrived off Cape Finisterre. Calder duly received an extra five ships of the line under Rear-Admiral Charles Stirling and on 22 July
4606-456: The advancing of the fleet up the Channel to Boulogne, where they would escort the invasion force across. Napoleon's first plan, put forward in May 1804 for execution between July and September envisaged the break-out from Toulon of 10 ships of the line and 11 frigates under Admiral Latouche Tréville . They would evade the patrolling British fleet under Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson and sail into
4700-505: The allied fleet would form up in a traditional line of battle . Drawing on his own experience from the Nile and Copenhagen , and the examples of Duncan at Camperdown and Rodney at the Saintes , Nelson decided to split his fleet into squadrons rather than forming it into a similar line parallel to the enemy. These squadrons would then cut the enemy's line in a number of places, allowing
4794-598: The battle and he retained it much to Pellew's disgust. Pellew was also greatly irked following the battle by the shadow of his brother, which appeared when the boarding party arrived on the deck of the Bucentaure . Marine captain James Atcherly boarded the ship and encountered Admiral Villeneuve, who asked for the identity of his captor. Atcherly replied that it was Captain Pellew, whereupon Villeneuve pronounced "It
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#17327974920764888-585: The capture of a small galley. Later Cleopatra ran aground off Abaco , one of the Bahamas . She was aground for three days and only floated off after her guns and some ballast had been thrown overboard. Pellew next went to sea in April 1804 following the Peace of Amiens , commanding the ship of the line Conqueror in the Channel before going to the Mediterranean in September and participating in
4982-579: The close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816 there were 190 admirals in service. Thereafter the number of admirals was reduced and in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty . As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of
5076-471: The combined French and Spanish fleets; and the opposing moves of the Royal Navy during much of 1805. These were the culmination of French plans to force a passage through the English Channel , and so achieve a successful invasion of the United Kingdom . The plans were extremely complicated and proved to be impractical. Much of the detail was due to the personal intervention of Napoleon , who as
5170-485: The combined fleet under Villeneuve, heading for Brest and then on to Boulogne to escort the French invasion forces across the Channel, sighted the three British ships. Villeneuve mistook the British ships for scouts from the Channel Fleet and fled south to Cadiz to avoid an action. A furious Napoleon raged 'What a Navy! What an admiral! All those sacrifices for nought!' Finisterre and Villeneuve's retreat became
5264-469: The concept of yellow admirals (formally known as granting an officer the position of "Rear-Admiral without distinction of squadron"), being captains promoted to flag rank on the understanding that they would immediately retire on half-pay . This was the navy's first attempt at superannuating older officers. During the Interregnum , the rank of admiral was replaced by that of general at sea . In
5358-499: The death of James Hawkins-Whitshed resulted in ten men moving up to higher ranks. In 1996, the rank of admiral of the fleet was put in abeyance in peacetime, except for members of the Royal family but was resurrected on an honorary basis in 2014 for the appointment of Lord Boyce . Admirals of the fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life. The current ranks are rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral and admiral of
5452-810: The decisive action of the campaign as far as the invasion of England went, for abandoning all hope of fulfilling his plans to secure control of the Channel Napoleon gathered the Armée d'Angleterre, now renamed the Grande Armée , which then left its camps along the Channel coast on 27 August to march east for the Upper Danube valley (via Bavaria) to attack the Austrians in the Ulm Campaign . Villeneuve's fleet underwent repairs in Cádiz, covered by
5546-490: The deck of a sheer hulk. An inquiry blamed the explosion on the Amphion's gunner, who was suspected of stealing gunpowder which caught fire and blew up the fore magazine . However, Pellew had already complained that the magazine was poorly constructed and unsafe, and questioned the judgement on the deceased gunner. In February 1797, Pellew was appointed to Greyhound but, having been put ashore when her crew mutinied at
5640-403: The enemy fleet was sighted heading westwards towards Ferrol. Calder then moved south to intercept, while Villeneuve assembled his force into the line of battle and began moving north. The two fleets moved slowly past each other, before Calder came about by tacking in succession and began to close on the enemy's rear. The action eventually began when the frigate HMS Sirius , in the van of
5734-408: The enemy while avoiding their broadsides, Strachan used his larger ships to attack the enemy's rear and centre. He was eventually able to surround the French ships, and after four hours of close fighting all of the French ships were forced to surrender. By early November the combined fleet had been practically destroyed. Two ships of the line had been lost at Finisterre, twenty-one at Trafalgar and in
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#17327974920765828-484: The ensuing storm, and four at Cape Ortegal. No British ships had been lost in these engagements. Many of those that had survived in French or Spanish hands were badly damaged and would not be ready for service for some time. The British victory gave them unchallenged supremacy of the seas, securing British trade and sustaining the Empire . The continued failure of Napoleon to marshal his navies as he did his armies meant that
5922-627: The fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it is air chief marshal . The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested under King John ,
6016-462: The fleet his deputy, the vice admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet, called rear admiral . Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in the rank of post-captain , and rank was held for life, so the only way to be promoted was for the person above on the list to die or resign. In 1747 the Admiralty restored an element of merit selection to this process by introducing
6110-413: The fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy also maintained a positional rank known as port admiral . A port admiral was typically a veteran captain who served as
6204-478: The fleet out before his successor arrived. On 20 October the fleet was sighted making its way out of harbour by patrolling British frigates, and Nelson was informed that they appeared to be headed to the west. Nelson led his column of ships into battle aboard HMS Victory , and succeeded in cutting the line and causing the pell-mell battle he desired to break out. After several hours of fighting 17 French and Spanish ships had been captured and another destroyed, without
6298-417: The fleet, also known as flag ranks because admirals, known as flag officers , are entitled to fly a personal flag . An admiral of the fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead, while an admiral flies a St George's cross (red cross on white). Vice admirals and rear admirals fly a St George's cross with one or two red discs in the hoist, respectively. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by
6392-495: The following day. They continued to observe each other, but neither made an attempt to resume the action, and despite more favourable winds on 24 July, Calder declined to give battle. By 25 July the fleets had drifted out of sight of each other, at which point Villeneuve sailed south to Vigo , while Calder headed east. Both admirals claimed a victory, with Villeneuve assuring Napoleon that he intended to sail north to rendezvous with Allemand's force from Rochefort , before heading to
6486-486: The gale, while a fourth was captured by the British, but later wrecked. The British fleet and the surviving French prizes put into Gibraltar over the next few days. Though the combined fleet had been decisively crushed at Trafalgar, the final action of the campaign was fought nearly a fortnight later, on 4 November. Four French ships under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley had escaped Trafalgar and headed north, hoping to reach Rochefort. On 2 November they came across
6580-458: The guns of French shore batteries, and chose to merely observe and blockade Ganteaume. The following day the wind changed, allowing Ganteaume to return to port, where he spent the rest of the campaign. Villeneuve and his second in command, Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley , hurried to ready the Toulon-based fleet for departure. Nelson had been spotted near Barcelona and Villeneuve hoped that by sailing due south from Toulon and passing east of
6674-405: The invasion of England never occurred. Already postponed several times, Villeneuve's defeat at Finisterre and his final failure to link up with the Rochefort and Brest fleets caused Napoleon to abandon his plans in favour of a march eastward. Trafalgar, with its 74 ships, became the last clash of its scale of the Napoleonic Wars ; from then on the largest engagements were fought between no more than
6768-530: The large storm which followed the action, and was even able to help some more crippled ships back to port. After Trafalgar the Conqueror helped continue to blockade Cádiz and then, in 1807, was in the squadron sent to secure the Portuguese fleet and royal family. She remained off the Portuguese coast during much of 1808, eventually returning home after the surrender of Siniavin 's Russian squadron in
6862-565: The line and 5,000 men. With this force they would capture Surinam and raid other Dutch and British possessions , before sailing back across the Atlantic. While this was taking place Ganteaume and his 21 ships of the line carrying 18,000 troops were to have sailed from Brest on 23 November, passed through the English Channel and into the North Sea, and then sailed around the coast of Scotland. They would arrive at Lough Swilly on
6956-537: The line and one French one were in port at Cádiz, under the watchful eyes of Rear-Admiral John Orde and his five ships of the line, with another six Spanish ships of line located at Cartagena under Admiral Salcedo. The French naval base at Toulon was home to 11 French ships of the line under Vice-Admiral Villeneuve, who was being kept bottled up by the 12 ships of the line of the Mediterranean Fleet under Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. Each commander had
7050-482: The line under Vice-Admiral Robert Calder blockading Ferrol . They were maintaining a tight blockade over the French Atlantic forces, consisting of 21 ships of the line at Brest under Vice-Admiral Ganteaume , three or four ships of the line at Rochefort, and four French ships of the line under Rear-Admiral Gourdon and eight Spanish ships of the line under Admiral Grandallana at Ferrol. Six Spanish ships of
7144-448: The line, if they were still in the area; and Villeneuve's 11 ships of the line—would unite and sail back across the Atlantic. Sweeping away any resistance, they would then cover the invasion flotilla. Ganteaume had got his fleet ready for sea by 24 March, but Brest was being closely blockaded by Vice-Admiral Cotton's 17 ships of the line. Ganteaume had orders to avoid battle, and waited until conditions seemed favourable on 26 March, when
7238-493: The loss of a single British ship. Nelson was among the 449 British dead, having been mortally wounded by a French sharpshooter during the battle. Nine of the prizes were later scuttled or sunk in a storm that blew up the following day. A sortie led by some of the ships that managed to escape under Julien Cosmao managed to recapture the Spanish Santa Ana , but in doing so he lost three more of his ships, wrecked in
7332-622: The negotiations with the Barbary powers that year and the ensuing bombardment of Algiers . This marked the end of his active service, but Pellew advanced automatically to the rank of vice-admiral in 1819. In the same year his only son, Edward, an officer in the Life Guards , was killed in a duel with a brother officer in Paris . Pellew was appointed a full admiral in 1830. He had moved to Plymouth in retirement and died there in 1832, after
7426-486: The north coast of Ireland and land the troops. While a full-scale invasion of Ireland was under way Ganteaume would sail around the west coast of Ireland, arriving in the Western Approaches in time to meet Villeneuve and Missiessy's forces returning from the West Indies. With a combined force of nearly 40 ships of the line, the French would sweep up the Channel to Boulogne and effect the third and final part of
7520-411: The official ranks became admiral of the white and so forth, however each admiral's command flags were different and changed over time. The Royal Navy has had vice and rear admirals regularly appointed to the post since at least the 16th century. When in command of the fleet, the admiral would be in either the lead or the middle portion of the fleet. When the admiral commanded from the middle portion of
7614-459: The plan, the invasion of England. This plan, dependent on the weather, the non-interference of the British and subject to the vagaries of communication over thousands of miles of ocean verged on the impossible. The plan was never attempted, as the British intercepted the orders sent to Ganteaume, and the project was called off. The strategic situation in Europe had altered considerably by January 1805. The Spanish had allied with France, but Napoleon
7708-452: The scheme. The revised invasion plan after the death of Latouche Tréville was considerably more ambitious, and consisted of three distinct operations. Latouche Tréville's successor at Toulon, Vice-Admiral Villeneuve , would board 5,600 troops and sail his 10 ships of the line into the Mediterranean on 21 October. Having evaded Nelson he would collect the Aigle from Cádiz and pass through
7802-591: The sea for three weeks with a landing force of 7000 to 8000 men and have not been able to attack a single island. Nelson had arrived at Barbados on 4 June, where he received fragmentary reports that the French had been seen a week earlier, sailing southwards. Nelson set off in pursuit, but the information was wrong, Villeneuve and his fleet were north of Barbados and heading farther north with each day. A series of mistaken sightings, deliberate misinformation, and sheer coincidence kept Nelson heading south until 8 June, when more concrete information reached him that Villeneuve
7896-471: The shore commander of a British naval port and was in charge of supplying, refitting, and maintaining the ships docked at harbour. The problem of promoting strictly by seniority was well illustrated by the case of Provo Wallis who served (including time being carried on the books while still a child) for 96 years. When he died in 1892 four admirals under him could immediately be promoted. By request of Queen Victoria , John Edmund Commerell became Admiral of
7990-677: The south and missed them. He eventually arrived at Gibraltar on 19 July, after which he sailed his fleet to join the Channel Fleet under Cornwallis, before taking the Victory into [Portsmouth]. Nelson had sent despatches back to the Admiralty aboard the brig HMS Curieux . While sailing across the Atlantic Curieux had, on 19 June, spotted the combined Franco-Spanish fleet, sailing northwards from Antigua. Curieux shadowed them, and determined that they were not heading for
8084-509: The weather and the fact the French had embarked troops, that Villeneuve was heading east, perhaps to attack locations on the Italian coast, or the islands of Malta or Sardinia, or maybe even Greece or Egypt. He rushed south, hoping to intercept them south of Sardinia, but when they had not appeared by 25 January, he worried that he had missed them, and pressed further east, calling at Greece and then Alexandria on 7 February. Finding no news of
8178-426: Was concerned about Austria and Russia, who appeared to be in negotiations with Britain. The danger of committing most of his forces across the Channel, from where they could not easily be recalled, had become clear to him. Should a combined Russian and Austrian force open a second front to the east, Napoleon would be hard pressed to deal with it. He decided to temporarily put his plans for invasion on hold, and developed
8272-615: Was given to Sir Thomas Moulton in 1264, who held the formal title of Keeper of the Sea and the Sea Ports. On 8 March 1287, Sir William de Leybourne was specifically commissioned as the Admiral of the Seas of England ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ) and, in 1294, captain of all sailors and mariners of the king's dominions. Sir John de Botetourt served under him as warden at sea from
8366-531: Was headed for the West Indies Nelson set off in pursuit. Villeneuve arrived at Fort de France , Martinique on 14 May, and was joined over the next two days by the Spanish under Gravina. Having resupplied, he settled in to await the arrival of Ganteaume, who unbeknownst to him was still sitting blockaded in Brest. Initially reluctant to undertake any large scale assaults on the British possessions in
8460-454: Was north of his position, and heading towards Antigua. He finally reached Antigua on 12 June, and learnt that Villeneuve had passed by the day before, headed for Europe. Nelson left in pursuit on 13 June, anticipating that his quarry would make either for Cádiz, or would attempt to re-enter the Mediterranean. Villeneuve was in fact heading for Ferrol, and by hoping to catch them at sea before they could make port, Nelson set his course too far to
8554-541: Was not employed again during the peace. On the outbreak of war in 1793 Pellew was temporarily without a ship, and served as a volunteer aboard his brother's command Nymphe , being in charge of her aft guns when she captured the French frigate Cléopâtre on 18 June, the first British naval victory of the French Revolutionary Wars . For this action , his brother was knighted and Israel Pellew
8648-424: Was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of one or more fleets. In Elizabethan times the fleet grew large enough to be organised into squadrons . The squadron's admiral flew a red ensign , the vice admirals white , and the rear admirals blue on the aft mast of his ship. As the squadrons grew, each was eventually commanded by an admiral (with vice admirals and rear admirals commanding sections) and
8742-563: Was presented to King George III and made post captain of Squirrel . In April 1795, he was made captain of a larger frigate, Amphion , commanding her off Newfoundland and in the North Sea . In September 1796, sailing to join his brother's squadron in the Channel , Pellew took Amphion into Plymouth for repairs. On 22 September she suddenly exploded alongside the dock. About 300 of her crew and visitors were killed. Pellew survived, being blown through an open stern gallery window on to
8836-401: Was to sail from Rochefort on 1 November with six ships of the line and 3,500 troops. Having evaded the British blockade he would sail to the West Indies, reinforce the French garrisons at Martinique and Guadeloupe and capture the British colonies of Dominica and St Lucia . Having achieved this Villeneuve and Missiessy would unite and combine forces, giving the French a fleet of 15 ships of
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