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The Redoutable at Trafalgar
by Captain Jean Jacques Etienne Lucas Editor's Note: During
the great battle of Trafalgar, fought on October 21, 1805, the French 74 gun
ship of the line Redoutable engaged the British 100 gun warships Victory and
Temeraire, nearly capturing Nelson's own flagship (HMS Victory) before being
beaten by the combined firepower of the British ships. The Redoutable's stout
performance during the battle resulted in the death of Admiral Nelson himself,
and the damaging of two of the Royal Navy's three-decker ships of the line.
Redoutable's Captain Lucas was personally awarded the gold cross of the legion
of honor by Napoleon in recognition of his ship's service. The report below was
written by Captain Lucas after the battle as part of his report to the naval
ministry, and represents one of several reports written by Lucas regarding the
battle. A few points which should be clarified include the following: (1)
According to British eyewitnesses, Victory ceased firing at two points in the
engagement not because her guns had been silenced but because of a false belief
that Redoutable was surrendering (she was not). Lucas apparently mistook these
pauses in firing as silencing of his enemy's guns. (2) The involvement of the
French warship Fougueux seems to have been somewhat different than Lucas
understood at the time of his report. In reality Fougueux was attempting to
come to Redoutable's aid when it fouled Temeraire and was dismasted during that
engagement.
"REPORT"
"Made to his Excellency the
Minister of Marine and of the Colonies, by M. Lucas, naval captain, officer of
the Legion of Honour, on the sea battle of Trafalgar between the combined fleet
of France and Spain under the orders of Admirals Villeneuve and Gravina and the
English fleet commanded by Admiral Nelson ; and particularly on the combat
between the Victory of 110 guns with the flag of Admiral Nelson, the Temeraire
of the same force and another ship, a two decker, and the Redoutable, of which
His Majesty had entrusted me with the command."
Monseigneur,
"Although the loss of the Redoutable forms a part of the defeat undergone by
the Combined Fleets of France and Spain in the sanguinary battle off Cape
Trafalgar, the part taken by this particular ship, all the same, deserves a
distinguished place by itself in the annals of the French Navy. In consequence
I owe it to the memory of the brave men who fell in the terrible fight, or went
down in the remains of the Redoutable when she sank, I owe it also to the glory
of the small band of those who survived that inexpressible slaughter, to bring
under the notice of your Excellency a picture of their exploits, the efforts of
their valour, and above all the expressions of their love for, and attachment
to, His Imperial and Royal Majesty, whose name, repeated a thousand times with
the utmost enthusiasm, seemed to render them invincible. Nothing could equal
the ardour of such heroes at the moment that I announced to them that we were
going to board the English flagship; and not even the intrepid Nelson himself
could have died more nobly than in combating enemies so worthy of his courage
and of his grand reputation.
" I will not undertake here to explain the
movements of the two fleets during the whole of the action. Surrounded myself
with fire and smoke, I was only able at intervals to discern the ships in my
immediate neighbourhood. . . . But I will enter into all the details of what
took place on board the Redoutable during the contest that my ship went through
at the cannon's mouth and ,broadside to broadside with a ship of a hundred and
ten guns, the Temeraire of the same force, and a third ship, a two-decker, of
which I do not know the name."
[Captain Lucas next gives his account of
the events of the morning up to the moment of opening fire... then goes on as
follows]
" At eleven the fleet hoisted its colours. The ensign of the
Redoutable went up in a very impressive manner; the drums beat 'Aux Drapeaux' ;
the soldiers presented arms. Then the flag was saluted by officers and men with
cheers, seven times repeated, ' Vive I'Empereur!'
" The enemy's column,
which was directed against our centre, was at eleven o'clock on the port side,
and the flagship Bucentaure began firing. I ordered a number of the captains of
the guns to go up on the forecastle and observe why it was some of our ships
fired badly. They found that all their shots carried too low and fell short. I
then gave orders to aim for dismasting, and above all to aim straight. At a
quarter to twelve the Redoutable opened fire with a shot from the first gun
division. It cut through the foretopsail yard of the Victory, whereupon cheers
and shouts resounded all over the ship. Our firing was well kept up, and in
less than ten minutes the British flagship had lost her mizen-mast,
foretopsail, and main topgallant mast. Meanwhile I always kept so close to the
Bucentaure that several times they called to me from their stern gallery that I
should run them down; indeed, the bowsprit of the Redoutable touched the crown
of the flagship's taffrail; but I assured them they had nothing to be anxious
about.
" The damage done to the Victory did not affect the daring
manoeuvre of Admiral Nelson. He repeatedly persisted in trying to break the
line in front of the Redoutable, and threatening to run us down if we opposed.
But the proximity of the British flagship, though closely followed by the
Temeraire, instead of intimidating my intrepid crew, only increased their
ardour; and to show the English admiral that we did not fear his fouling us, I
had grappling irons made fast at all the yardarms.
" The Victory having
now succeeded in passing astern of the French admiral, ran foul of us, dropping
alongside and sheering off aft in such a way that our poop lay alongside her
quarter-deck. From this position the grappling irons were thrown on board her.
Those at the stem parted, but those forward held on; and at the same time our
broadside was discharged, resulting in a terrible slaughter. We continued to
fire for some time, although there was some delay at the guns. We had to use
rope rammers in several cases, and fire with the guns run in, being unable to
bowse them, as the ports were masked by the sides of the Victory. At the same
time, elsewhere, by means of muskets fired through the ports into those of the
Victory, we prevented the enemy from loading their guns, and before long they
stopped firing on us altogether. What a day of glory for the Redoutable if she
had had to fight only with the Victory ! The English batteries, not being able
to resist us longer, ceased firing (les batteries du Victoire ne pouvaient plus
nous riposter). Then I became aware that the crew of the enemy were about to
attempt to board us. At once I had the trumpets sounded, giving the divisional
call for boarding. All hastened up from below instantly, in fine style; the
officers and midshipmen sprang to the head of their men, as though at a parade.
In less than a minute our decks swarmed with armed men, who spread themselves
with rapidity on the poop and in the nettings and the shrouds.
It would
be impossible to say who was the foremost.
" Then a heavy fire of
musketry opened, in which Admiral Nelson fought at the head of his crew. Our
firing, though, became so rapid, and was so much superior to his, that in less
than a quarter of an hour we had silenced that of the Victory altogether. More
than two hundred grenades were flung on board her, with the utmost success; her
decks were strewn with the dead and wounded. Admiral Nelson was killed by the
firing of our musketry. "Immediately after this, the upper deck of the Victory
became deserted, and she again ceased firing, but it proved difficult to board
her because of the motion of the two vessels, and the height of the Victory's
upper tier and battery. On that I gave the order to cut the supports of the
main-yard so that it might serve as a bridge. At the same time Midshipman Yon
and four seamen sprang on board the Victory by means of her anchor, and we then
knew that there was nobody left in the batteries. At that moment, when my brave
fellows were hastening to follow, the three-decker Temeraire, which had seen
that the Victory fought no longer and must without fail be taken (allait
infailliblement entre pris), came down, full sail, on our starboard side. We
were immediately under the full fire of her artillery, discharged almost with
muzzles touching.
" It is impossible to describe the carnage produced
by the murderous broadside of this ship. More than two hundred of our brave men
were killed or wounded by it. I was wounded also at the same time, but not so
seriously as to make me abandon my post. Not being able to undertake anything
on the side of the Victory, I now ordered the rest of the crew to man the
batteries on the other side and fire at the Temeraire with what guns the
collision when she came alongside had not dismounted.
"The order was
carried out; but by this time we had been so weakened, and had so few guns left
available, that the Temeraire replied to us with great advantage. A short time
afterwards another ship, a two-decker, whose name I cannot recall, placed
herself across the stern of the Redoutable and fired on us within pistol-shot.
In less than half an hour our ship had been so fearfully mauled that she looked
like little more than a heap of debris. Judging by appearances, no doubt, the
Temeraire now hailed us to surrender and not prolong a useless resistance. My
reply was instantly to order some soldiers who were near me to fire back; which
they did with great alacrity. At the same moment almost, the mainmast of the
Redoutable fell on board the English ship. The two topmasts of the Temeraire
then came down, falling on board of us. Our whole poop was stove in, helm,
rudder, and stem post all shattered to splinters, all the stern frame, and the
decks shot through. All our own guns were either smashed or dismounted by the
broadsides of the Victory and Temeraire. In addition, an 18-pounder gun on the
lower deck, and a 32-pounder carronade on the forecastle had burst, killing and
wounding a great many men. The hull itself was riddled, shot through from side
to side; deck beams were shattered; port-lids torn away or knocked to pieces.
Four of our six pumps were so damaged as to be useless. The quarter-deck
ladders were broken, which rendered communication with the rest of the ship
very difficult. Everywhere the decks were strewn with dead men, lying beneath
the debris. Out of a crew of 634 men we had 522 hors de combat; of whom 300
were killed and 222 wounded - nearly all the officers among them. A number of
the wounded were killed on the orlop deck below the water-line. Of the
remaining 121, a large number were employed in the storerooms and magazines.
The batteries and upper decks were practically abandoned-bare of men, and we
were unable longer to offer any resistance. No one who had not seen the state
of the Redoutable could ever form an idea of her awful condition. Really I know
of nothing on board that had not been hit by shot. In the midst of this
horrible carnage and devastation my splendid fellows who had not been killed,
and even, too, the wounded below on the orlop, kept cheering I Long live the
Emperor I We are not taken yet I Is the Captain still alive?' ('Vive l'Empereur
! Nous ne sommes pas encore pris! Le Commandant, vit il encore?') Some tarred
canvas at the stern took fire about this time, but happily the flames were held
in check, and we succeeded before long in extinguishing them.'
" The
Victory by this time fought no longer. She busied herself only with getting
clear of the Redoutable. We, however, meanwhile, were being cut to pieces by
the cross fire from the Temeraire, with whom we still fought, and from the
other ship, which was still firing into us at the stern. Unable to meet that
fire, and not seeing any chance of rescue, the rest of our ships being all too
far to leeward to be able to come to our assistance, I hesitated no longer
about surrendering. The leaks were sufficiently serious to ensure the ship
going to the bottom, so that the enemy would not keep her. When I satisfied
myself finally about this, I gave orders to lower the colours. The flag,
however, came down by itself with the fall of the mizen-mast.' We were then
left by the ship which had been firing into us astern, but the Temeraire
continued to fire on us. She did not give over until her men were obliged to do
so by having to work at extinguishing a fire which had broken out on board
their own ship. It was then half-past two in the afternoon.
" The
Victory, the Redoutable, with the Temeraire and the Mercure [sic],' were all
the time joined together, owing to their masts having fallen across from one
ship to the other. Unable to use their helms, they formed one mass, which
drifted at the mercy of the wind. In that way they came foul of the Fougueux,
which, having fought against several of the enemy's ships, had been left by
them without having lowered her flag. She was dismasted and unrigged, and
floating an unmanageable hulk. On fouling the group of ships she was boarded by
the Temeraire. The Fougueux was, however, beyond making serious resistance. Her
brave captain, Baudouin, though, even then made an effort, but in vain. He was
killed at the outset, and his second in command was wounded at the same moment;
whereupon some men of the Temeraire sprang on board and took
possession."
" The enemy took no steps to take possession of the
Redoutable, in which the leaks were so considerable that I feared the ship
would sink before they would be able to get the wounded out. I represented the
state of things to the Temeraire, and warned them that unless they took steps
at once to send men on board with gear for the pumps and give us immediate
succour, I would have to set fire to the ship, which would involve the
Temeraire and the Victory. Immediately after that two officers and some seamen
and marines came on board and took possession of the ship. One of the English
marines, who entered on the lower deck through a port, was attacked by one of
our wounded sailors armed with a musket and bayonet. He fell on the Englishman
with fury, shouting, , I must kill one more of them!' He bayoneted the marine
through the thigh, and the man fell between the two vessels. In spite of this
incident, however, I was able to induce the English party to remain on board.
They wanted to return to their own ship and leave us.
" Towards three
o'clock some of the ships of our van squadron which were to windward on the
starboard tack and apparently about to draw off from the battle, without having
been perceptibly damaged, fired several shots at our group, but from a long
range. Several of their cannon balls fell on board the Redoutable, and one of
the English officers had his thigh shattered and died in a few moments.
"At half-past three, the Victory separated herself from the Redoutable, but she
was in so dismantled a state as to be hors de combat.' It was not until seven
in the evening that they were able to get the Redoutable clear of the
Temeraire, which still, however, remained foul of the Fougueux. We had not yet
been formally taken possession of, but the English Swiftsure now arrived and
took us in tow.
" We spent the whole of that night at the two pumps
which were all that remained workable, without, however, being able to keep the
water under. The few Frenchmen who were able to do duty joined with the English
party on board in pumping, stopped several leaks, blocked up the port holes and
boarded in the poop of the ship, which was ready to cave in. Indeed, no toil
was too hard for them. In the middle of all the turmoil and horrible disorder
on board, just keeping the ship above water, with the 'tween-decks and
batteries encumbered with dead, I noticed some of my brave fellows,
particularly the young midshipmen, of whom several were wounded, picking up
arms which they hid on the lower deck, with the intention, as they said, of
retaking the ship. Never were so many traits of intrepidity, of valour and
daring, displayed on board a single ship ; the whole history of our navy can
show nothing like them.
" Next morning the captain of the Swiftsure
sent a boat to take me on board, together with Lieutenant Dupotet and
Midshipman Ducrest, and we were duly conducted there. At noon the Redoutable
lost her foremast, the only mast she had left. At five in the evening the water
continued so to gain on the pumps that the prizemaster made signals of
distress, and all the boats of the Swiftsure were lowered to rescue the crew.
It was blowing very hard at the time, and the sea ran very high, which made the
getting out of the wounded very difficult. These poor fellows, on its being
seen that the ship was going down, were nearly all brought up and laid on the
quarter-deck. They were able to save several of them. At seven in the evening
the poop was entirely submerged. The Redoutable sank with a large number of the
wounded still on board. They met their death with courage worthy of a better
fate. A hundred and sixty-nine men, forming the remainder of the brave crew of
the Redoutable, found themselves together on board the English ship. Seventy of
the number were badly wounded and sixty-four of the rest had less serious
wounds. All the wounded were sent into Cadiz under a flag of truce, and in the
end only thirty-five men from the Redoutable were taken to England as prisoners
of war.
"The results of the battle as regarded the Redoutable were
these: the loss of the ship and destruction of threequarters of her crew. On
the other hand, single-handed, she had throughout the battle engaged the
attention of two three-deckers, the Victory and Temeraire; and in this way had
fully occupied Admiral Nelson himself, who, taken up with this one encounter,
could only free himself by excessive daring. England has lost the hero of her
navy, who fell before the brave men of the Redoutable. More than three hundred
men, several of them superior officers, were put hors de combat on board the
enemy's ships. The Victory lost her mizen topmast in the action and main
topgallant mast; and in general all her yards were badly damaged and also the
wheel. The Temeraire lost two of her topmasts; two lower yards, and her helm
and rudder were destroyed by the guns of our upper deck. Both ships had to
return to England to undergo large repairs.
" I add to this report a
return of the ship's company of the Redoutable, both before and after the
battle. It will show you the loss of men of each class. I also add a list of
the officers by name, both of the etat Major and the midshipmen. The praise and
commendation due from me to one and all are beyond expression. No one who did
not see the valour of the officers and young midshipmen told off to lead our
boarding parties can form an idea of their ebullient ardour, their splendid
audacity-especially when, at the head of the brave men that each commanded,
they stood in front of the boarding-nettings, armed some with pistols and
cutlasses, others with carbines, all directing the fire of the musketry and the
flinging of the grenades. In this, the officers of infantry and those of the
ship, the sailors and soldiers alike, all displayed unsurpassable courage, and
in presenting my list of them it is impossible to name which were the most
meritorious.
" Monseigneur, I have the honour to be your Excellency's
most humble and obedient servant.
Captain Commandant of the
Redoutable." |
