In 1799, having helped with the re-conquest of Naples, Nelson had received his second title, that of Duke of Bronte, which was bestowed upon him by the King of Naples in Sicily and had been promoted to Vice-Admiral of the Blue, the sixth highest rank in the Royal Navy in January 1801, even before the Battle of Copenhagen.

Now the British government, regardless of his birth and despite any embarrassment it might have felt through his shenanigans with Emma - in any case, the Prince of Wales was busily having an affair with Mrs Fitzherbert and begatting children by the cradle full - could do nothing more than elevate his peerage and he was created a Viscount - Viscount Nelson of the Nile.

For a while, though, Nelson was to be deprived of further chances to demonstrate his skill, courage and daring, for, following an abortive attack on Boulogne, Britain and France signed an armistice in 1 October 1801, hostilities ceased and nelson had to be content with finally taking his seat in the House of Lords.

The following year, in March, the Treaty of Amiens formally ended the war between Britain and France and the majority of people settled back to what they thought would be an extended period of peace.

That peace was not to last much more than two years, though, as Napoleon was never going to be content to share any sort of mastery with Britain and the British, in their turn, did not trust the little corporal.

On 16 May 1803, Britain declared war on France, just ten weeks after Sir William Hamilton finally died and Nelson was immediately recalled to active service, appointed C-in-C of the Mediterranean Fleet and given HMS Victory as his new flagship, upon which he hoisted his flag on 18 May.

By August, the French were once again building up an invasion force with which to cross the Channel, but unless they could find a way to destroy, or at least seriously damage the Royal Navy, no invasion was ever likely to prove successful in the longer term.

Around the coastline of Britain, the Home Fleet patrolled, night and day, month after month, with the ever-present threat of Nelson’s Mediterranean Fleet only a week or two away. It began to look like a stalemate.

In 1804, Nelson was ordered to blockade the French ports on the Mediterranean coast, a task which he considered had little strategic value, other than to remind the French that he was still on the scene.

Then, in December 1804, Spain declared war on Britain and the stalemate was about to be broken.
The French Admiral Villeneuve had remained bottled up in Toulon for months, not wanting to face Nelson head-on, whilst the fortifications of the port precluded Nelson from trying to attack himself.

Now, with the Spanish in the equation, Nelson realised he had to provoke some sort of action and, with Spanish ports now to be watched, he withdrew a little and waited for Villeneuve to make a move.

Click image for our Nelson Gallery

Click image for our Nelson Gallery

This the French admiral did in January 1805 and a delighted Nelson set off in pursuit of the French fleet, determined to engage it in a full-scale battle. Unfortunately for Nelson, he never quite managed to catch up with the French and Villeneuve made it back into Toulon a few weeks later.

It was a strange game of cat-and-mouse, but Nelson - and his superiors in back London - knew that it could not be allowed to continue indefinitely.

With every passing month, both the French and the Spanish were building new ships and recruiting more sailors and their combined resources were far larger than Britain’s - the longer this went on, the greater the likelihood that Britain would come off worse.

Again, Nelson withdrew and allowed Villeneuve the chance to come out of Toulon, but this time the intelligence was a little slow and, by the time news reached Nelson, the French fleet had broken out into the Atlantic.

Nelson was furious, but at the same time quite pleased that the enemy were now on the high seas, for he knew they would probably head towards the British territories in the West Indies and try to sink as much merchant shipping as possible.

Suddenly, the British Mediterranean Fleet was the British Atlantic Fleet, as Nelson’s ships flooded past Gibraltar in hot pursuit.

Sadly, they were too far behind and unfavourable winds and seas prevented Nelson from getting close enough to engage Villeneuve, who, having reached the Caribbean, turned around and began sailing back across the Atlantic.

Quite what Villeneuve’s overall strategy was has been the subject of debate by historians ever since, but it was well known that Villeneuve had not wanted his command and that he recognised his own failings as a naval tactician, especially when confronted with a genius like Horatio Nelson in a battle situation.

Perhaps Villeneuve intended to run Nelson ragged and keep just out of range, hoping to lose him and gain a few weeks, during which the French invasion fleet could set sail for England - certainly he did not try to return immediately through the Straits of Gibraltar, instead heading further north.

Aboard his fleet were more troops and part of the plan was, supposedly, to land these men in Ireland, to help support a rebellion that would deflect troops from Southern England and keep a threatening knife in Britain’s back, whilst the main invasion took place across the Channel.

However, if that was indeed the plan, Villeneuve executed it poorly, for elements of the British Home Fleet, under Vice Admiral Calder, intercepted him off Cape Finisterre - if his target was Ireland, he was sailing on a course that was far too easterly.

The Battle of Cape Finisterre was inconclusive and Villeneuve, having lost two Spanish ships, disengaged and, ignoring orders from Napoleon to return to Brest or Bolougne, possibly believing false reports of a superior British force waiting in the Bay of Biscay, he headed towards and finally entered, the harbour at Cadiz ...

Click image for our Nelson Gallery

Click image for our Nelson Gallery

It looked like another stalemate and meanwhile, in August, Nelson returned to Portsmouth and travelled to Merton, where he and Emma had earlier bought a house.

Less than four weeks later, he was on the move again; the Admiralty had received word that Villeneuve would be trying to break out of Cadiz soon - Napoleon was eager for him to play an active part in the European theatre, even though part of his intended invasion army had now been diverted in readiness to deal with a perceived growing threat from Austria and Russia.

Poor Robert Calder, meantime, received no acclaim for his efforts at Finisterre - instead, because he had failed to close with Villeneuve again (unfavourable winds had made that a risky option) he was court-martialled, reprimanded and never served at sea again.

Whatever Nelson thought of this we shall never know, because he rejoined Victory at Portsmouth on 14 September, set sail immediately and rejoined the British Fleet off Cadiz two weeks later.

The clock was ticking and Villeneuve knew his time was running out. He had to make a move soon and Nelson knew that only too well.

The stage was set for the most famous naval battle of all time ...