Stand to your Guns:
HMS SWIFTSURE Comes to the Rescue of HMS BELLEISLE, Battle of Trafalgar October 21, 1805

acrylic, 30" x 40"

$22,000

The Battle of Trafalgar is perhaps the most important, and certainly the most studied battle of the Age of Sail. It was a complex engagement involving sixty-five ships between the British, French and Spanish fleets. Nearly 5,000 men lost their lives in the battle, 2,700 were wounded and another 7,000 to 8,000 were captured by the victorious Royal Navy. Amazingly the HMS Belleisle was the only British ship to be de-masted and rendered unable to maneuver. Many ships came to her aid, including the Swiftsure, a British Ship of the Line - which was launched in 1787, then captured by the French in 1807 and recaptured by the British during the battle. Seen here she comes to the aid of the wounded Belleisle.