Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 40.djvu/210

 it the whole naval strength of France and Spain. To accomplish this he proposed to form a junction between the fleets of Toulon, Cadiz, Rochefort, and Brest at Martinique. Each, escaping from the blockading force, was to make its way to the West Indies, whence the united fleet was to return in overwhelming force. The fleet from Rochefort got out, arrived at Martinique, and having waited the prescribed forty-five days, returned without mishap. Villeneuve also succeeded in getting out of Toulon while Nelson was at Maddalena, but a violent gale shattered his unpractised ships, and they were glad to return to the shelter of Toulon. It was not till 30 March that he was again able to put to sea, this time with better success, and to pass the Straits of Gibraltar. At Cadiz he was joined by a Spanish squadron, raising his numbers to eighteen sail of the line, with which he crossed the Atlantic, and arrived at Martinique on 14 May. When Villeneuve left Toulon, Nelson was at Maddalena, and, though he had early news of the sailing of the French, he was left without intelligence of the direction in which they had gone. He took up a position west of Sicily, refusing to go either east or west till he had some certain intelligence. It was not till 16 April that he learnt that they had been seen off Cape Gata; but a spell of contrary winds then delayed him, and he did not reach Gibraltar till 6 May, three weeks after the French had passed. More time was lost in ascertaining that they had gone to the West Indies, and though by extraordinary care and seamanship the English fleet gained eight days, it did not reach Barbados till 4 June. Villeneuve, who had orders to wait forty days on the chance of being joined by the Brest or Rochefort fleet, was off Antigua; but, on hearing of Nelson's arrival and a very exaggerated account of his force, he did not consider it prudent to remain, and sailed for Europe on the 9th. There is a common idea that Villeneuve's voyage to the West Indies was made in the hope of ‘decoying’ Nelson thither, and so removing him from the scene of operations in Europe. Nothing can well be more erroneous. Napoleon indeed thought it possible that Nelson might go off to the East Indies [cf. , ii. 155]; but Nelson's correct information and judgment completely disconcerted Napoleon's plan, which directed Villeneuve to wait, and while waiting to ravage the English settlements.

From Barbados Nelson would have gone straight to Martinique, and would probably have fallen in with Villeneuve on almost the very spot where Rodney had defeated the Count de Grasse twenty-three years before; but false intelligence drew him, very much against his judgment and instinct, south to Trinidad, and before he could recover the lost ground Villeneuve was well on the way to Europe. Nelson could now scarcely hope to overtake the combined fleet; but he despatched the Curieux brig to sight it if possible, and to join him, while he with the fleet made the straightest course for Gibraltar, where he might intercept the enemy should they seek to re-enter the Mediterranean. The Curieux meantime sighted the allied fleet, but, seeing it following a more northerly course than that for Gibraltar, turned away for England, where her news came in time for orders to be sent out for Sir Robert Calder [q. v.] to meet it off Cape Finisterre [see ; ]. Calder's action was fought on 22 July, four days after Nelson had joined Collingwood off Cadiz, and had learnt that as yet there was no news of Villeneuve in that direction. On the 19th he anchored at Gibraltar, and on the 20th noted in his diary that he went on shore for the first time since 16 June 1803; he had not had his foot out of the Victory for two years, wanting ten days. On 25 July he learnt that on 19 June the Curieux had seen the enemy's fleet on a northerly course, and on the 27th he sailed to support Cornwallis off Brest. He joined him on 15 Aug., and, leaving with him the greater part of his squadron, proceeded himself in the Victory to Spithead. On the 19th he struck his flag, and went to Merton, where he resided during the next few weeks.

On 1 Sept. the Euryalus brought the intelligence that the combined French-Spanish fleet had gone to Cadiz. On the morning of the 2nd Captain Blackwood called with the news at Merton, on his way to London. Nelson promptly followed him to the admiralty, and it was arranged that he should go out at once and resume the command off Cadiz. On the 14th he hoisted his flag on board the Victory at Portsmouth, sailed the next morning, and joined the fleet on the 29th. ‘The force,’ he wrote to Sir A. J. Ball, ‘is not so large as might be wished, but I will do my best with it; they will give me more when they can, and I am not come forth to find difficulties, but to remove them.’ On the other hand, the satisfaction among the senior officers in the fleet was very great. Good and worthy man as Collingwood was, he had not the art of winning the affection and love of his subordinates. Under his command the duty was carried on in gloom; whether from parsimony or as marking his sense of the serious nature of the service, the admiral saw