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82-676: Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy , notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars , and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne . His early education was at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle . At

164-533: A Naval Gold Medal , his third, after those for the Glorious First of June and Cape St Vincent. Only Nelson and Sir Edward Berry share the distinction of three gold medals for service during the wars against France. When not at sea he resided at Collingwood House in the town of Morpeth which lies some 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and Chirton Hall in Chirton, now a western suburb of North Shields . He

246-399: A staff car ; the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two. A vice-admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff , which is held by a full admiral or general . Appointments held by vice-admirals may include: Charles III holds the honorary rank of vice admiral in

328-523: A NATO OF-8 rank. In the ancien régime Navy, between 1669 and 1791. The office of "Vice-Admiral of France" ( Vice-amiral de France ) was the highest rank, the supreme office of "Admiral of France" being purely ceremonial. Distinct offices were : In the Philippines , the rank vice admiral is the highest-ranking official of the Philippine Navy . He is recognized as the flag officer in-command of

410-558: A broadside. Saumarez in Orion saw the danger to Colossus and backed his sails to give covering fire. As Victory came to the tacking point, another attempt was made to break the British line, but Victory was too fast and Principe de Asturias received two raking broadsides as she tacked close to her. "We gave them their Valentine in style," later wrote a gunner in Goliath . As the last ship in

492-474: A cry of "Westminster Abbey or Glorious Victory!", Nelson ordered his boarders to cross the first Spanish ship onto the second. He later wrote, The soldiers of the 69th, with an alacrity which will ever do them credit, and Lieutenant Pearson of the same regiment, were almost the foremost on this service – the first man who jumped into the enemy's mizen chains was Commander Berry, late my First Lieutenant (Captain Miller

574-509: A few more minutes, Blenheim and Prince George came up behind and the group of British ships prevented the Spanish from grouping together. The Captain was now under fire from as many as six Spanish ships, of which three were 112-gun three-deckers and a fourth Córdoba's 130-gun flagship Santísima Trinidad . At about 2:00 p.m., Culloden had stretched so far ahead as to cover the Captain from

656-651: A fog." On the quarterdeck of Victory , Jervis, Captain Robert Calder and Captain Benjamin Hallowell counted the enemy ships: the British were outnumbered nearly two-to-one. It would be difficult to disengage, and the situation would only get worse were the Spanish fleet to join up with the French: Jervis decided to continue. Hearing this, the Canadian Captain Hallowell became so excited he thumped

738-464: A further 227, and lightly wounded 100. Spanish casualties were far higher, about 1,000 men killed or wounded; aboard San Nicolás alone 144 were killed. It was a great and welcome victory for the Royal Navy – 15 British ships had defeated a Spanish fleet of 27 with far more guns and men. Admiral Jervis' highly disciplined force had been pitted against an inexperienced Spanish Navy under Don José Córdoba,

820-774: A good reputation in the fleet for his conduct during the battle. After blockading Cadiz , he returned for a few weeks to Portsmouth to repair. At the beginning of 1799 Collingwood was raised to the rank of rear-admiral (of the White 14 February 1799; of the Red 1 January 1801) and, hoisting his flag in HMS ; Triumph , joined the Channel Fleet and sailed to the Mediterranean where the principal naval forces of France and Spain were assembled. Collingwood continued to be actively employed in blockading

902-641: A life pension of £3,000 per year. Nelson was knighted as a member of the Order of the Bath. Nelson's promotion to Rear-Admiral was not a reward for his services, but simply a happy coincidence: promotion to flag rank in the Navy of the time was based on seniority on the Captain's list and not on achievement. The City of London presented Jervis, now Earl St. Vincent, with the Freedom of

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984-443: A line and pass along the weather column of the British fleet, exposing the smaller British column to the fire of the larger Spanish division. At 11:00 a.m., Jervis ordered: "Form in a line of battle ahead and astern of Victory as most convenient." When this was completed the British fleet had formed a single line of battle, sailing south to pass between the two Spanish columns. At 11:12 a.m., Jervis made his next signal: "Engage

1066-667: A naval officer were in many respects of the first order. His political judgement was remarkable and he was consulted on questions of general policy, of regulation, and even of trade. He was opposed to impressment and to flogging and was considered so kind and generous that he was called "father" by the common sailors. Nelson and Collingwood enjoyed a close friendship, from their first acquaintance in early life until Nelson's death at Trafalgar; and they are both entombed in St Paul's Cathedral. As Collingwood died without male issue, his barony became extinct at his death. Thackeray held that there

1148-574: A small frigate. Nelson had been the leader of a failed expedition to cross Central America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by navigating boats along the San Juan River , Lake Nicaragua and Lake Leon . Nelson was debilitated by disease and had to recover before being promoted to a larger vessel, and Collingwood succeeded him in command of Hinchinbrook and brought the remainder of

1230-463: Is equivalent to lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force . A vice-admiral is a flag officer , the naval equivalent of a general officer . A vice-admiral is senior to a rear-admiral and major general , and junior to an admiral and general . The rank insignia of a Canadian vice-admiral is as follows: Two rows of gold oak leaves are located on the black visor of

1312-453: Is known to have remarked, "whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth." From Trafalgar until his death, no great naval action was fought. Although several small French fleets would attempt to run the blockade and one successfully landed troops in the Caribbean two months after Trafalgar, the majority were hunted down and overwhelmed in battle. Collingwood

1394-655: Is named after him, as is one of the eleven houses at The Royal Hospital School . One of the three secondary Schools within Excelsior Academy in Newcastle was named after Collingwood in 2013. March 2010 saw the 200th anniversary of Collingwood's death and a number of major events were organised by 'Collingwood 2010' on Tyneside , in Morpeth and the island of Menorca . Collingwood's residence in Es Castell close to Mahon, Menorca

1476-519: Is now a hotel and home to a collection of heirlooms relating to his time on the island. From 1978 until 1992, British Rail locomotive 50005 was named Collingwood . In November 2005, English, Welsh & Scottish named locomotive 90020 Collingwood at Newcastle station . Vice Admiral In the Royal Australian Navy , the rank of vice admiral is held by the Chief of Navy and, when

1558-568: Is very essential at this moment." Jervis put Captain Thomas Troubridge in Culloden in the lead. At 6:30 a.m., Culloden signalled that she could see five enemy sail to the south east, and along with Blenheim and Prince George turned toward the Spanish ships. As they loomed up out of the fog, a signal lieutenant in Barfleur described them as "thumpers, looming like Beachy Head in

1640-660: The French Revolutionary Wars , where a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a greatly superior Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent , Portugal. After the signing of the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796 allying Spanish and French forces against Great Britain , the Royal Navy blockaded Spain in 1797, impairing communications with its empire . The Spanish declaration of war on Britain and Portugal in October 1796 made

1722-638: The Royal Naval Division (1914 to 1919) was named after Collingwood. It took part in the Antwerp Campaign (October 1914) and at Gallipoli. The Collingwood Battalion received so many casualties at the 3rd battle of Krithia, Gallipoli, on 4 June 1915 that it never reformed. One of the four houses at Collingwood's old school the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, is named after him. One of the five houses of British public school Churcher's College

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1804-568: The flagship of Rear Admiral George Bowyer in the Channel Fleet . On 16 June 1791, Collingwood married Sarah Blackett, daughter of the Newcastle merchant and politician John Erasmus Blackett . As captain of HMS  Barfleur , Collingwood was present at the Glorious First of June . On board HMS Excellent he participated in the victory of the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797, establishing

1886-673: The Admiral in her poetical illustration Admiral Lord Collingwood in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. This is to an engraving of a variation on the painting by Henry Howard , apparently by his son Frank Howard . Collingwood is fictionalized as "Admiral Sir John Thornton" in Patrick O'Brian's " The Ionian Mission ." He appears under his own name in Hornblower and the Atropos , when Hornblower's ship joins

1968-404: The Admiral on the back, "That's right Sir John, and, by God, we'll give them a damn good licking!" The Spanish were formed in two loose columns, one of about 18 ships to windward and the other, of about nine ships, somewhat closer to the British. At about 10:30 a.m., the Spanish ships in the weather column were seen to wear ship and turn to port. This gave the impression that they might form

2050-501: The British naval brigade at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, and was afterwards commissioned as a lieutenant on 17 June. In 1777, Collingwood met Horatio Nelson when both served on the frigate HMS  Lowestoffe . Two years later, Collingwood succeeded Nelson as commander of the brig HMS  Badger on 20 June 1779, and on 22 March 1780 he again succeeded Nelson, this time as post-captain of HMS  Hinchinbrook ,

2132-409: The British line passed the Spanish, the British line had formed a U shape with Culloden in the lead and on the reverse course but chasing the rear of the Spanish. At this point the Spanish lee division bore up to make an effort to join their compatriots to windward. Had they managed this, the battle would have ended indecisively with the Spanish running for Cádiz and the British harrying their sterns in

2214-597: The British position in the Mediterranean untenable. The combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 38 ships of the line heavily outnumbered the British Mediterranean Fleet of fifteen ships of the line, forcing the British to evacuate their positions in first Corsica and then Elba . Early in 1797, the Spanish fleet of 27 ships of the line lay at Cartagena on the Mediterranean Sea . The Spanish planned to join

2296-514: The City in a gold box valued at 100 guineas , and awarded both him and Nelson a ceremonial sword. The presentation box and sword are both currently held at the National Maritime Museum , Greenwich . The swords awarded Jervis and Nelson were the first of their kind to be issued by the City of London. St. Vincent was awarded the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and given a gold medal by

2378-510: The Coast ", a now obsolete office dealing with naval administration in each of the maritime counties. While the rank of vice admiral is used in most of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country. Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent (14 February 1797) was one of the opening battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808) , as part of

2460-585: The Collingwood Channel (an entrance of Howe Sound near Vancouver , British Columbia ), are named in his honour. A large monument, The Collingwood Monument , stands in his honour and overlooks the River Tyne at Tynemouth . His Grade II listed statue was sculpted by John Graham Lough and stands atop a pedestal designed by John Dobson . The four cannon on the walls flanking the steps at its base came from his flagship, Royal Sovereign . A battalion of

2542-458: The French fleet at Brest and escort a large merchant convoy, carrying mainly mercury for gold and silver production , from Cádiz . The convoy entered Cádiz harbour along with warships Neptuno , Terrible and Bahama , prior to running into the British force. Don José de Córdoba and the Spanish fleet left Cartagena on 1 February and might have reached Cádiz safely but for a fierce Levanter ,

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2624-671: The King. The London Gazette published an advertisement in 1798 regarding the prize money due to the commander, officers, and men in the battle, a sum of £140,000. Though the Spanish Navy was defeated, it was not a decisive defeat, such as the British Navy would inflict on the French in the Battle of the Nile two years later. Looking to reform for future engagements against the British, Admiral de Cordóba

2706-504: The Mediterranean fleet a few months after Trafalgar. The Maritime Warfare School of the Royal Navy is commissioned as HMS  Collingwood , home to training for warfare, weapon engineering and communications disciplines. The town of Collingwood, Ontario , on Georgian Bay in Canada, the suburb of Collingwood in the Australian city of Melbourne, the town of Collingwood, New Zealand and

2788-676: The Royal Canadian Navy. In France , vice-amiral is the most senior of the ranks in the French Navy ; higher ranks, vice-amiral d'escadre and amiral , are permanent functions, styles and positions (in French rangs et appellations ) given to a vice-amiral -ranking officer. The vice-amiral rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, but nowadays, it is more an OF-7 rank. The rank of vice-amiral d'escadre (literally, " squadron vice-admiral ", with more precision, "fleet vice-admiral") equals

2870-478: The Spanish admiral's ship and fired her broadsides with such rapidity and precision at Santa Ana that the Spanish ship was on the verge of sinking almost before another British ship had fired a gun. Several other vessels came to Santa Ana ' s assistance and hemmed in Royal Sovereign on all sides; the latter, after being severely damaged, was relieved by the arrival of the rest of the British squadron, but

2952-434: The Spanish column, followed by Blenheim , then Prince George . The Spanish lee division now put about to the port tack to break the British line at the point where the ships were tacking in succession. Orion came round untouched, but Colossus was going about when her foreyard and foretop yard were shot away. She was forced to wear ship instead of tack and the leading Spanish vessel came close enough to threaten her with

3034-416: The Spanish fleet to Jervis , commanding the fleet from his flagship Victory . In the fog, Nelson had not been able to count the Spanish ships, but Jervis's squadron immediately sailed to intercept them as they continued toward Cádiz. Early on the 14th, Jervis learnt that the Spanish fleet was 35 miles to windward . Though Admiral Jervis still had no idea of the size of the fleet he was up against, during

3116-473: The Spanish men fighting fiercely but without direction. After the San José was captured it was found that some of her guns still had tampions plugging their muzzles. The confusion amongst the Spanish was so great that they were unable to use their guns without causing more damage to their own ships than to the British. Jervis had given orders to destroy the four prizes had the action restarted. Several days later,

3198-424: The Spanish threat and the further reinforcement of his fleet enabled Jervis to send a squadron under Nelson back into the Mediterranean the following year. That squadron, including Saumarez's Orion , Troubridge's Culloden , and Goliath , now under Foley, re-established British command of the Mediterranean at the Battle of the Nile . Jervis was made Baron Jervis of Meaford and Earl St. Vincent, and granted

3280-537: The United Kingdom . When the French fleet sailed from Toulon , Admiral Collingwood was appointed to command a squadron, with orders to pursue them. The combined fleets of France and Spain , after sailing to the West Indies, returned to Cadiz. On their way they encountered Collingwood's small squadron off Cadiz. He had only three ships with him; but he succeeded in avoiding their pursuit, although chased by 16 ships of

3362-621: The age of 12, he went to sea as a volunteer on board the sixth-rate HMS  Shannon under the command of his cousin Captain Richard Brathwaite (or Braithwaite), who took charge of his nautical education. After several years of service under Brathwaite and a short period attached to HMS  Lenox , a guardship at Portsmouth commanded by Captain Robert Roddam , Collingwood sailed to Boston in 1774 with Admiral Samuel Graves on board HMS  Preston , where he fought in

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3444-523: The battle into his own hands, Nelson ordered Captain Ralph Willett Miller to wear ship and take Captain out of line to engage the smaller group. As soon as the seventy-four was around, Nelson directed her to pass between Diadem and Excellent and ran across the bows of the Spanish ships forming the central group of the weather division . This group included the Santísima Trinidad ,

3526-466: The departing Spanish covering Santísima Trinidad (which was to later be captured at the Battle of Trafalgar ). Nelson remained on board the captured Spanish ships while they were secured – and was cheered by the British ships as they passed. He returned to the Captain to thank Captain Miller and presented him with the sword of the captain of the San Nicolás . At 5:00, Nelson shifted his pennant from

3608-431: The disabled Captain to Irresistible . Still black with smoke and with his uniform in shreds, Nelson went on board Victory where he was received on the quarter-deck by Admiral Jervis – "the Admiral embraced me, said he could not sufficiently thank me, and used every kind expression which could not fail to make me happy." The Battle of Cape St. Vincent had cost the lives of 73 men of the Royal Navy and seriously wounded

3690-552: The disabled Spanish three-decker Salvator del Mundo , engaged the latter on her weather bow for a few minutes; then passing on to the next Spanish ship, San Ysidro , whose three topmasts had already been shot away. This ship Captain Collingwood engaged closely until 2:50 when, after a gallant defence in her crippled state, San Ysidro hauled down the Spanish flag. Moments later, Excellent and Diadem commenced an attack on Salvator del Mundo , with Excellent stationing herself on

3772-570: The easterly wind, blowing between Gibraltar and Cádiz, which pushed the Spanish fleet further out into the Atlantic than intended. As the winds died down, the fleet began working its way back to Cádiz. In the meantime, the British Mediterranean Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jervis , had sailed from the Tagus with ten ships of the line to try to intercept the Spanish fleet. On 6 February, Jervis

3854-505: The enemy until the Peace of Amiens allowed him to return to England. With the resumption of hostilities with France in the spring of 1803 he left home, never to return. First he blockaded the French fleet off Brest . In 1804 he was promoted to vice-admiral (of the Blue 23 April 1804; of the Red 9 November 1805). Nearly two years were spent off Brest in anticipation for Napoleon's planned invasion of

3936-465: The enemy" and then at 11:30 a.m.: "Admiral intends to pass through enemy lines". The Battle of Cape St. Vincent had begun. To the British advantage, the Spanish fleet was formed into two groups and was unprepared for battle, while the British were already in line. Jervis passed between the two Spanish groups, minimising the fire they could put into him, while letting him fire in both directions. Culloden tacked to reverse her course and take after

4018-521: The ensuing gale, many of the prizes were wrecked on the rocky shore and others were destroyed to prevent their recapture, though no British ship was lost. On 9 November 1805, Collingwood was raised to the peerage as Baron Collingwood, of Caldburne and Hethpool in the County of Northumberland . He also received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and was awarded a pension of £2,000 per annum. Together with all Trafalgar captains and admirals, he also received

4100-592: The expedition back to Jamaica . After commanding another small frigate , HMS  Pelican , in which he was shipwrecked by a hurricane in 1781, Collingwood was transferred to the 64-gun ship of the line HMS  Sampson , and in 1783 he was appointed to HMS  Mediator and posted to the West Indies . In 1784 he and Nelson were in Antigua where they both fell for the unobtainable American-born Mary Moutray . He and Nelson sketched each other and Collingwood kept

4182-413: The face of the enemy, with subsequent demotion and disgrace. At about 1:30 p.m., Culloden was gradually overhauling the Spanish rear and began a renewed but not very close engagement of the same group of ships. Jervis signalled his rearmost ship, Excellent to come to the wind on the larboard tack and following this order, Collingwood brought his ship round to a position ahead of Culloden . After

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4264-415: The fleet, she was the first engaged. "See", said Nelson, pointing to Royal Sovereign as she penetrated the centre of the enemy's line, "see how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!" Probably it was at the same moment that Collingwood, as if in response to the observation of his great commander, remarked to his captain, "What would Nelson give to be here?" Royal Sovereign closed with

4346-458: The form of a crescent. The British fleet bore down in two separate lines, the one led by Nelson in HMS Victory , and the other by Collingwood in HMS  Royal Sovereign . Royal Sovereign was the swifter sailer, mainly because its hull had been given a new layer of copper which lacked the friction of old, well used copper and thus was much faster. Having drawn considerably ahead of the rest of

4428-607: The frigate HMS  Terpsichore (32) spotted the damaged Santísima Trinidad making her way back to Spain. The captain, Orozco, now commissioned by de Cordoba, had flown his flag in frigate Diana . Terpsichore engaged but kept dodging out of range from the Santísima Trinidad 's stern guns. Terpsichore nonetheless was hit twice in a sudden move, resulting in damage in her rigging, masts and sails as well as some impacts on her hull. Captain Richard Bowen then ordered to keep

4510-410: The heavy fire poured into her by the Spanish four-decker and her companions, as they hauled up and brought their broadsides to bear. Of the respite thus afforded to her, the Captain took immediate advantage, replenishing her lockers with shot and splicing and repairing her running rigging. At about 2:30, Excellent , having been directed by signal to bear up, edged away and at 2:35, arriving abreast of

4592-426: The hills with his dog Bounce. He always started off with a handful of acorns in his pockets, and as he walked he would press an acorn into the soil whenever he saw a good place for an oak tree to grow. Some of the oaks he planted are probably still growing more than a century and a half later ready to be cut to build ships of the line at a time when nuclear submarines are patrolling the seas, because Collingwood's purpose

4674-474: The largest ship afloat at the time and mounting 130 guns; the San José , 112; Salvador del Mundo , 112; San Nicolás , 84; San Ysidro, 74; and Mexicano, 112. As a junior commander, Nelson was acting against Admiral Jervis' order to "form line ahead and astern of Victory ", and using his own wide interpretation of "take suitable stations" in the later signal. Had his action failed, Nelson would have been subject to court-martial for disobeying orders in

4756-405: The line. Before half of the enemy's force had entered the harbour he resumed the blockade, using false signals to disguise the small size of his squadron. He was soon joined by Nelson who hoped to lure the combined fleet into a major engagement. The combined fleet sailed from Cadiz in October 1805. The Battle of Trafalgar immediately followed. Villeneuve , the French admiral, drew up his fleet in

4838-414: The loss of mizzen mast and other damage. Captain was by now almost uncontrollable with her wheel shot away. At this point, her foretop mast fell over the side leaving her unmanageable, with little option but to board the Spanish vessels. Captain opened fire with her larboard broadside, and then put the helm over and hooked her larboard cat-head with the starboard quarter of San Nicolás . At 3:20, with

4920-430: The manner of the Armada in 1588 . At 1:05 p.m., Jervis hoisted a signal: Take suitable stations for mutual support and engage the enemy as coming up in succession Nelson had returned to his ship Captain (a seventy-four ) and was now towards the rear of the British line, much closer to the larger group. He saw that Jervis' manoeuvre could not be completed before the Spanish escaped, relatively unharmed. Taking

5002-401: The navy, an equivalent post to the Chief of Naval Operations in the U.S. Navy. Before World War II, the vice admiral was the highest rank in the Polish Navy. Józef Unrug was one of the only two officers to achieve the rank. The other was Jerzy Świrski . Poland had only one sovereign sea port, Port of Gdynia , and was slowly building a small modern navy that was to be ready by 1950. The navy

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5084-420: The night came the sounds for which he had been waiting: Spanish signal guns in the fog. At 2:50 a.m. came the report that the Spanish fleet was some fifteen miles distant. By 5:30 a.m., Niger reported them closer still, as a cold and foggy February dawn rose on the British fleet, formed in two lines of battle. Jervis turned to his officers on the quarterdeck of Victory and said, "A victory to England

5166-401: The north, now sailed in and bore down on Diadem and Excellent . By this time Santísima Trinidad had struck her colours to surrender, but Infante Don Pelayo' s captain Cayetano Valdés warned Santísima Trinidad to fly her flag again under threat she would be deemed an enemy ship and raked. The Spanish four-decker raised her flag and was saved from capture. By 4:00 p.m., Santísima Trinidad

5248-407: The positions are held by navy officers, by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force , the Chief of Joint Operations , and/or the Chief of Capability Development Group . Vice admiral is the equivalent of air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force and lieutenant general in the Australian Army . In the Royal Canadian Navy , the rank of vice-admiral (VAdm) ( vice-amiral or Vam in French )

5330-413: The pursuit from a longer distance, but the frigate vanished away. While the British fleet lay at Lagos Bay in Portugal, about 3000 Spanish prisoners from the four prizes were landed. Jervis resumed his blockade of the Spanish fleet in Cadiz. The continuation of the blockade for most of the following three years largely curtailed the Spanish fleet until the Peace of Amiens in 1802. The containment of

5412-413: The sketch. Collingwood remained in the West Indies until the end of 1786, again, together with Nelson and this time his brother, Commander Wilfred Collingwood, preventing American ships from trading with the West Indies. In 1786, Collingwood returned to England, where, with the exception of a voyage to the West Indies, he remained until 1793. In that year, he was appointed captain of HMS  Prince ,

5494-467: The soldiers fired, and the Spanish Brigadier fell, as retreating to the quarter-deck. I pushed immediately onwards for the quarter-deck, where I found Commander Berry in possession of the poop, and the Spanish ensign hauling down. I passed with my people, and Lieutenant Pearson, on the larboard gangway, to the forecastle, where I met two or three Spanish officers, prisoners to my seamen: they delivered me their swords. A fire of pistols, or muskets, opening from

5576-431: The stern gallery of the San Josef , I directed the soldiers to fire into her stern; and calling to Captain Miller, ordered him to send more men into the San Nicolas; and directed my people to board the first-rate, which was done in an instant, Commander Berry assisting me into the main chains. At this moment a Spanish officer looked over the quarter deck rail, and said they surrendered. From this most welcome intelligence, it

5658-456: The still potent threat that the French and their allies could pose. His health began to decline alarmingly in 1809 and he was forced to again request the Admiralty to allow him to return home, which was finally granted. Collingwood died as a result of cancer on board HMS  Ville de Paris , off Port Mahon as he sailed for England, on 7 March 1810. He was laid to rest beside Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral . Collingwood's merits as

5740-581: The story may seem, did I receive the swords of vanquished Spaniards: which as I received, I gave to William Fearney, one of my bargemen, who put them, with the greatest sang-froid, under his arm. Both Spanish vessels were successfully captured. This manoeuvre was so unusual and so widely admired in the Royal Navy that using one enemy ship to cross to another became known facetiously as "Nelson's patent bridge for boarding enemy vessels." Infante Don Pelayo and San Pablo , which had been dispatched from de Córdoba's group at 8.00 a.m. to investigate guns heard to

5822-539: The weather bow and Diadem on the lee quarter of the Spanish three-decker. Salvator del Mundo , more or less disabled, saw Victory was about to pass close astern firing her bow guns and judiciously hauled down her flag. By about 3:00, Excellent was already in close action with San Nicolás which, with foretop mast shot away, had encountered Captain . Excellent fired broadsides into San Nicolás and then made sail to clear ahead. To avoid Excellent , San Nicolás luffed up and ran foul of San José , which had suffered

5904-401: The white service cap. From 1968 to June 2010, the navy blue service dress tunic featured only a wide gold braid around the cuff with three gold maple leaves, beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown located on cloth shoulder straps. Vice-admirals are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". Vice-admirals are normally entitled to

5986-403: Was in the very act of going also, but I directed him to remain); he was supported from our sprit sail yard, which hooked in the mizen rigging. A soldier of the 69th Regiment having broken the upper quarter-gallery window, I jumped in myself, and was followed by others as fast as possible. I found the cabin doors fastened, and some Spanish officers fired their pistols: but having broke open the doors

6068-402: Was joined off Cape St. Vincent by a reinforcement of five ships of the line from the Channel Fleet under Rear-Admiral William Parker . On 11 February, the British frigate HMS Minerve , under the command of Commodore Horatio Nelson , passed through the Spanish fleet unseen thanks to heavy fog. Nelson reached the British fleet of fifteen ships off Spain on 13 February, and told the location of

6150-545: Was left unable to manoeuvre. Not long afterwards Santa Ana struck her colours. On the death of Nelson, Collingwood assumed his position as commander-in-chief , transferring his flag to the frigate HMS Euryalus . Knowing that a severe storm was in the offing, Nelson had intended that the fleet should anchor after the battle, but Collingwood chose not to issue such an order: many of the British ships and prizes were so damaged that they were unable to anchor, and Collingwood concentrated efforts on taking damaged vessels in tow. In

6232-568: Was no better example of a virtuous Christian Knight than Collingwood. Dudley Pope relates an aspect of Collingwood at the beginning of chapter three of his Life in Nelson's Navy : Captain Cuthbert Collingwood, later to become an admiral and Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, had his home at Morpeth, in Northumberland, and when he was there on half pay or on leave he loved to walk over

6314-442: Was not a priority for obvious reasons. At present, it is a "two-star" rank. The stars are not used; however, the stars were used in between 1952 and 1956 and are still used in the vice admiral's pennant. In the Royal Navy the rank of vice-admiral should be distinguished from the office of " Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom ", which is an Admiralty position usually held by a retired "full" admiral , and that of " Vice-Admiral of

6396-411: Was not long before I was on the quarter deck, where the captain, with a bow, presented me his sword, and said the admiral was dying of his wounds. I asked him on his honour if the ship was surrendered. He declared she was: on which I gave him my hand, and desired him to call on his officers and ship's company and tell them of it: which he did – and on the quarter deck of a Spanish first-rate, extravagant as

6478-405: Was occupied in important political and diplomatic transactions in the Mediterranean, in which he displayed tact and judgement. He requested to be relieved of his command of the fleet so that he might return home, however the government urgently required an admiral with the experience and skill of Collingwood to remain, on the grounds that his country could not dispense with his services in the face of

6560-483: Was relieved by two of her escorts and made away. Admiral Moreno's squad put together the survivors of de Córdoba's group and turned to assist the harassed Spanish sails. Jervis signalled his fleet to cover the prizes and disabled vessels and at 4:15 the frigates were directed to take the prizes in tow. At 4:39 the fleet was ordered to take station in line astern of Victory . The battle was by now almost over with only some remaining skirmishing between Britannia , Orion and

6642-415: Was to make sure that the Navy would never want for oaks to build the fighting ships upon which the country's safety depended. Collingwood once wrote to his wife that he'd rather his body be added to Britain's sea defences rather than given the pomp of a ceremonial burial. Sailor Robert Hay who served with Collingwood wrote that: "He and his dog Bounce were known to every member of the crew. How attentive he

6724-400: Was to the health and comfort and happiness of his crew! A man who could not be happy under him, could have been happy nowhere; a look of displeasure from him was as bad as a dozen at the gangway from another man". and that: "a better seaman, a better friend to seamen - a more zealous defender of the country's rights and honour, never trod the quarterdeck." Letitia Elizabeth Landon celebrates

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