“QUEEN,”

    2nd November, 1805.

MY DEAR SIR,—­I wrote to my dear Sarah a few lines when I sent my first dispatches to the Admiralty, which account I hope will satisfy the good people of England, for there never was, since England had a fleet, such a combat.  In three hours the combined fleet were annihilated, upon their own shores, at the entrance of their port, amongst their own rocks.  It has been a very difficult thing to collect an account of our success, but by the best I have twenty-three sail of the line surrendered to us, out of which three, in the furious gale we had afterward, being driven to the entrance of the harbour of Cadiz, received assistance and got in; these were the Santa Anna, the Algeziras, and Neptune (the last since sunk and lost); the Santa Anna’s side was battered in.  The three we have sent to Gibraltar are the San Ildefonso, San Juan Nepomuceno, and Swiftsure; seventeen others we have burnt, sunk, and run on shore, but the Bahama I have yet hope of saving; she is gone to Gibraltar.  Those ships which effected their escape into Cadiz are quite wrecks; some have lost their masts since they got in, and they have not a spar or a store to refit them.  We took four admirals—­Villeneuve the commander-in-chief, Vice-Admiral D’Alava, Rear-Admiral Cisneros, Spanish, and Magon, the French admiral, who was killed—­besides a great number of brigadiers (commanders).  D’Alava, wounded, was driven into Cadiz in the Santa Anna; Gravina, who was not taken, has lost his arm (amputated I have heard, but not from him); of men, their loss is many thousands, for I reckon in the captured ships we took twenty thousand prisoners (including the troops).  This was a victory to be proud of; but in the loss of my excellent friend, Lord Nelson, and a number of brave men, we paid dear for it; when my dear friend received his wound, he immediately sent an officer to me to tell me of it, and give his love to me.  Though the officer was directed to say the wound was not dangerous, I read in his countenance what I had to fear; and before the action was over Captain Hardy came to inform me of his death.  I cannot tell you how deeply I was affected, for my friendship for him was unlike anything that I have left in the Navy, a brotherhood of more than thirty years; in this affair he did nothing without my counsel; we made our line of battle together, and concerted the mode of attack, which was put into execution in the most admirable style.  I shall grow very tired of the sea soon; my health has suffered so much from the anxious state I have been in, and the fatigue I have undergone, that I shall be unfit for service.  The severe gales which immediately followed the day of victory ruined our prospect of prizes; our own infirm ships could scarce keep off the shore; the prizes were left to their fate, and as they were driven very near the port, I ordered