The proportionate loss at Trafalgar was the least in all the four battles.[84] The allegation that, had Nelson followed a different method at Trafalgar, the ’brunt of the action would have been more equally felt’ can be disposed of easily.  In nearly all sea-fights, whether Nelsonic in character or not, half of the loss of the victors has fallen on considerably less than half the fleet.  That this has been the rule, whatever tactical method may have been adopted, will appear from the following statement.  In Rodney’s victory (12th April 1782) half the loss fell upon nine ships out of thirty-six, or one-fourth; at ’The First of June’ it fell upon five ships out of twenty-five, or one-fifth; at St. Vincent it fell upon three ships out of fifteen, also one-fifth; at Trafalgar half the loss fell on five ships out of twenty-seven, or very little less than an exact fifth.  It has, therefore, been conclusively shown that, faulty or not faulty, long-announced or hastily adopted, the plan on which the battle of Trafalgar was fought did not occasion excessive loss to the victors or confine the loss, such as it was, to an unduly small portion of their fleet.  As bearing on this question of the relative severity of the British loss at Trafalgar, it may be remarked that in that battle there were several British ships which had been in other great sea-fights.  Their losses in these latter were in nearly every case heavier than their Trafalgar losses.[85] Authoritative and undisputed figures show how baseless are the suggestions that Nelson’s tactical procedure at Trafalgar caused his fleet to suffer needlessly heavy loss.

[Footnote 84: 
  Camperdown 825 loss out of 8,221:  10 per cent. 
  The Nile 896 " " 7,401:  12.1 "
  Copenhagen 941 " " 6,892:  13.75 "
  Trafalgar 1,690 " " 17,256:  9.73 " ]

[Footnote 85: 
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|             |              |      |       |     |      Trafalgar     |
|    Ship     |   Action     |Killed|Wounded|Total|--------------------|
|             |              |      |       |     |Killed|Wounded|Total|
|-----------------------------------------------------------

-----------|
|_Ajax_       |  Rodney’s    |   9  |   10  |  19 |   2  |    9  |  11 |
|             |(Ap. 12, 1782)|      |       |     |      |       |     |
|_Agamemnon_  |     "        |  15  |   22  |  37 |   2  |    8  |  10 |
|_Conqueror_  |     "        |   7  |   22  |  29 |   3  |    9  |  12 |
|_Defence_    | 1st June     |  17  |   36  |  53 |   7  |   29  |  36 |
|_Bellerophon_| The Nile     |  49  |  148  | 197 |  27  |  123  | 150 |
|_Swiftsure_  |     "        |   7  |   22  |  29 |   9  |    8  |  17 |
|_Defiance_   | Copenhagen   |  24  |   21  |  45 |  17  |   53  |  70 |
|_Polyphemus_ |     "        |   6  |   25  |  31 |   2  |    4  |   6 |
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[In only one case was the Trafalgar total loss greater than the total loss of the same ship in an earlier fight; and in this case (the Defiance) the number of killed at Trafalgar was only about two-thirds of the number killed in the other action.]