French Ship Neptune (1803) - Trafalgar

Trafalgar

Neptune entered the battle about 25 minutes after the start of the action, having by then drifted to leeward and fallen astern of Redoutable. Neptune should have had the position immediately astern of Bucentaure, but the Spanish 74-gun San Justo, which should have been four places astern of Neptune had drifted up to leeward. Maistral hailed San Justo

The San Justo not being in her station and edging down to place herself on my windward beam hampered me; I at once hailed her to enquire if she knew her station; I told her that mine was to be next astern to the Bucentaure; she replied that she was about to place herself astern of me, which she did not do, and continued to to the wind and to fore-reach on me, which made me fall off a little to leeward and to draw away from the flag-ship, of whom I had been within hail in the first place.

San Justo's captain, Francisco Javier Garstón, blamed the crew's inexperience for failing to keep her station. This would be significant in the coming battle as the position astern of the flagship would be the focus of British attention, and should have been occupied by a powerful ship like the Neptune. Meanwhile the ship that should have been astern of Neptune, the Spanish 64-gun San Leandro, was following San Justo to leeward, leaving a considerable gap behind the flagship that the British could exploit. Redoutable's captain, Jean Jacques Étienne Lucas, saw the threat, and brought his ship forward in an attempt to close the gap. Despite his efforts, the British were able to break the line between Bucentaure and Redoubtable.

As the battle started Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory broke the line ahead of Neptune, passing by and raking Bucentaure. As Victory passed by Neptune fired into her with a broadside from her larboard battery, damaging Victory's foremast, bowsprit, spritsail yards, her forward hull and her anchors. Maistral then ordered Neptune's jib run up, to move her out of Victory's range. She briefly engaged HMS Royal Sovereign at long range, and then wore back to support Villeneuve. Standing someway off to leeward Neptune's gunners reloaded, and then opened fire with a broadside into HMS Temeraire as the British ship came up through the gap created by Victory's passage. The broadsides cut Temeraire's rigging, brought down her foreyard and main topmast, and damaged her fore mast and bowsprit. By now unmanageable, Temeraire came under fire from the San Justo, lying just astern of Neptune.

Leaving Temeraire, and declining combat with the newly arrived HMS Leviathan, Maistral turned eastward, and at 2.30 pm came alongside the starboard bow of the 74-gun HMS Belleisle. Belleisle had become isolated and took the fire of several French ships until British ships were able to come to her rescue. Neptune battled briefly with the 64-gun HMS Polyphemus, and as the British began to overwhelm the Franco-Spanish fleet, she prepared to run for Cadiz, giving supporting fire for the Principe de Asturias as the Spanish ship withdrew, before joining the retreat to Cadiz. During the fighting Neptune had sustained a relatively minor amount of damage, and had just 15 killed and 39 wounded.