Happy 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar

[Chicago Democrat]

France, Spain and Britain celebrate bicentennial of Trafalgar battle

18:23 2005-10-21
Descendants of sailors who fought in the battle of Trafalgar joined military leaders from France, Spain and Britain on Friday to mark the 200th anniversary of the last great naval confrontation of the age of sail. A solitary bell tolled as representatives of the three navies involved in the battle read out the names of the 60 ships that blasted one another with cannon and musket fire not far from this port city in southwestern Spain. Sailors, soldiers and clergy paid homage in the seaside park to the more than 7,000 dead.

The battle on Oct. 21, 1805, in which Britain's Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's combined French and Spanish fleets, was one of the defining naval confrontations in history.

Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono led a religious service at a naval base, and descendants of the fleet commanders laid wreaths as choral music was played. Commemorations were also being held in Portsmouth, England.

"It was very moving," said Count Andre de Villeneuve, a fifth generation descendant of the French admiral who commanded the Franco-Spanish fleet that sailed from Cadiz into Cape Trafalgar on that fateful day.

http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/10/21/65851.html

[gulfcoastliberal]

1. To Lord Nelson!

He showed up Napoleon, but only because many of the Spaniards were landlubbers dragged onto the ships. "I am Lord Nelson and this is my fin!"

[Hubris Heaver]

2. If I recall correctly

He called for a red jacket, so then men would not be alarmed if he were wounded. Then, when saw the number of French ships, he called for his brown pants.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

6. Here's a bit of history as well

Nelson died at Trafalgar and his body was preserved in a cask of rum until it could be brought back to England. Then his loyal sailors drank the rum. Since then, until it was abolished, the Royal Navy daily rum ration was known as "Nelson's Blood."

Pusser's Rum -- if you've never tried it, you don't know what you're missing.

[Gruenemann]

7. Actually, a bit of urban legend

Sorry, it was brandy and nobody drank it. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/cannibal/tapping.htm

[Geoff R. Casavant]

9. Well, to be fair . . .

The Snopes article only says it wasn't drunk before he arrived in England. What happened after is anybody's guess. My notion is no sailor would refuse a swig of rum which the hero of Trafalgar had baptized.

And although Snopes says brandy, no cite is given, and it stands to reason that there would be more rum than brandy aboard a ship, since rum was for enlisted folks and they were authorized a lot of it (one pint per person per day). I'll check and see if there is a cite in my references, and if I'm wrong I'll let you know.

What I can't figure is why, per Snopes, they swapped brandy for wine, which would in my opinion be a worse preservative.

[Bob3]

3. Because Drake was too clever for the german fleet

sorry - obscure Monty Python reference.

[Hubris Heaver]

4. I thought that was the "Crimson Mutual Assurance"

-"you-put the kettle on"!

[Bob3]

5. No it was an odd little sketch about Mr. D.P. Gumbys

assertion that the battle of Trafalgar was fought on dry land near cuttlesworth. My quote was his answer to the question why he thought that.

[Ignacio Upton]

8. Why would France and Spain celebrate

Napoleon ultimately lost in his bid to takeover Britian.