107 Battle Of Trafalgar Facts To Take You Back In History

The Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most important battles in the history of England.

Trafalgar Square was built in honor of the leader of the Battle of Trafalgar. His name was Nelson.

Napolean Bonaparte of France had an idea to conquer the seas of England. He gathered the troops of France and Spain and led a war against England. It was called the war of the third coalition of Napoleonic Wars. George named the war the Battle of Trafalgar. The victory at the Battle of Trafalgar ensured that Napolean would never be able to conquer Britain. The British commander, Admiral Nelson, was honored by having a grand funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

If you like our articles, be sure to check out our facts articles about the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Trenton.

Fun Facts about Battle of Trafalgar

A column was erected in Trafalgar Square. It was known as the world's largest sea battle.

Napolean wanted to invade Britain by conquering the sea channels. There were 50,000 officers engaged in the war. The battle is named after a place called Cape Trafalgarin in southwest Spain. It is found between Cadia and the Strait of Gibraltar. Vice-Admiral Nelson captured 19 of the 33 French and Spanish ships. The battle occurred in southwest Spain at the Cape of Trafalgar. Therefore it was named the Battle of Trafalgar by George III.

In the British army, 458 men were killed, and 1,208 people were wounded. In the Franco-Spanish army, 4,395 men were killed, and 2,541 were wounded. The British army defeated the enemy's fleet in five hours. Nineteen ships were destroyed in those five hours. There was no loss of any British ships. Santisima Trinidad was the largest ship at Trafalgar. It had 136 guns and four decks and was the biggest in the combined fleet. The battle of Trafalgar was fought on October 21 in 1805. It was a Monday morning, and the fight started at 6.05 a.m.

After the battle, the ships in the French fleet and Spanish fleets were captured by the British forces. They were 18 ships from the french navy and 15 ships from the Spanish navy. The British Royal Navy captured the French and Spanish fleet. When Admiral Nelson was fatally wounded in the battle, Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood took over. His dog was kept below the decks. His name was Bounce, and he waited anxiously for his master. The dog never left his master's side throughout the battle. He was a veteran of many battles. He was scared by the nature of war and the sounds of ammunition but still waited for his master at the end of the day. The dog stayed by his master five years after the battle ended on the sea.

Historical Facts about the Battle of Trafalgar

It was fought on October 21, 1805, under the command of Admiral Nelson.

British fleets experienced many losses. Around 4,400 people were dead, and 3,300 people were wounded in this battle over England. Nelson had a different strategy from regular wars. Instead of fighting head-on with the enemy with his army, Nelson divided the army fleet into two. One fleet sailed straight to the French lines, and one fleet sailed straight to the Spanish lines.

Ten years after the battle, England maintained a blockade. It did not want to repeat the history of what happened in the Battle of Trafalgar. Although no ships were lost, and there were minor casualties to the British army, Britain lost its greatest Admiral Nelson, who was the key to destroying the ships. It was under his leadership that the Britain fleets could defeat the enemies. They used the experience they had at sea for centuries to tackle an army with almost double the number of fleets and navy. The Battle of Trafalgar was the most important sea battle in the 19th century. For the next 100 years, Britain had total control of the seas. Trade, imports, and exports of the neighboring countries through the water were impossible for the French, or they had to pay a heavy tax to the British to let them do business in the sea.

Facts about Battle of Trafalgar' significance

Nelson, who led the army into victory, died after the battle.

It was said that the army was in grief when Nelson died. HMS Victory was the ship which was led by Admiral Nelson. The ship was constructed with 6,000 oaks and elms, 26 miles of rope were used, and 104 guns were there. They were said to be crewed by 821 men. The French and Spanish fleet under the Napolean headed to the British ships. The tactic used by the royal navy of Britain was to go head-on and straight to the plank of the ships. The British victory was certain after the British fleet was able to successfully divide France and Spanish ships into three groups. The battle ended as the battle plan worked, and British ships were able to find the weak point in the enemy's fleet. Despite having the largest Spanish ship in the battle, one in a series of several Napoleonic wars to conquer Britain, the British fleet gained victory at Cape Trafalgar. The British victory on the Atlantic ocean was a major event in Continental Europe. The British fleet was successful in protecting England from invasion.

Acquiring England was the aim of many nations. One such nation was France. When Napolean became the head of the French, he ordered French ships to sail and announce an attack on England. The British fleet was so tactful that, despite having less power, they were able to defeat the French. Britain had experienced Admirals. Though less in number, there were no ships that the British lost. Having lots of ammunition did not help the French ships to gain victory.

Facts about the after-effects of the Battle of Trafalgar

Admiral Collingwood's flagship, the Royal Sovereign, was the first ship to battle the enemy fleets. It went against the Spanish Santa Anna.

After Trafalgar, many men were not allowed home or to be back onshore for a long time. They returned to the sea and remained there for five years. They were to form a blockade of Cadiz and other ports. Admiral Collingwood was continuously on board for five years. His friend was a dog named Bounce. Bounce was heavily injured during the battle, like Collingwood. In 1809, Bounce died. Nelsons last words were 'Kiss me, Hardy'. He was shot by a French sniper during the battle. He died on October 21, at 4.30 p.m. He had one daughter, whose name was Horatia Nelson.

In 1805, under the rule of Napolean Bonaparte, the French were a dominant military power in Europe. They were undefeated. Meanwhile, Britain took control of the seas. Britain imposed a blockade on French ships, which was affecting trade. The French tried hard to defeat the Britain-led blockade on the seas, but it failed. Therefore after the Battle of Trafalgar, Britain once again regained control of the seas. The defeat didn't mean that the French had given up their plans of conquering Britain. Napolean began preparing troops to invade Britain again through the sea. He built 150 ships and was training his men to fight again when the opportunity struck. However, before Napolean could wage another war, he died. Until the Second World War, England continued to have control over the seas. The country was in a better economic position than its neighboring countries, and no one wanted to wage a battle unnecessarily after the loss occurred in the Frist World War and the Second World War. The 100th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar was attended by the royal family. In 2005, the bicentenary was celebrated across the United Kingdom.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our Battle of Trafalgar facts, then why not take a look at our Battle of Stirling Bridge facts or Battle of Waterloo facts?