change of wind and
weather in order to refit with greater expedition and save the prizes,
but certainly not in the month of October in that locality, where the
changes are sudden and severe. Collingwood acted like a sound
hardheaded man of affairs in salving all he could and destroying those
he could not without risk of greater disaster.

Collingwood's account of his difficulties after the battle was won is
contained in the following letter to his father-in-law:--

"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 rece