was issued, Nelson had already taken steps to organise it, and that on
the evening of the 19th, the first moment he had active contact with
the enemy, it was detached from the fleet as a separate unit. Up to
this moment it would look as though he had intended to use it as his
memorandum directed. Since with the exception of the Agamemnon and
the Leviathan, which had only temporarily replaced the Defence while
she watered, the whole of the ships named belonged to Collingwood's
division, the resulting organisation would have been, lee-line nine
ships, weather-line eight ships, and eight for the advanced
squadron--an organisation which in relative proportion was almost
exactly that which he had explained to Keats. It would therefore still
have rendered Nelson's original plan of attack possible, although it
did not preserve the balance of the divisions prescribed in the
memorandum.

There can be little doubt, however, that Nelson on the morning of the
battle did abandon the idea of the advanced squadron altogether. Early
on the 20th it was broken up again. At 8 o'clock in the morning of
that day the captains of the Mars, Colossus and Defence (which
apparently was by this time ready again for service) were called on
board the Victory and ordered out to form a chain as before between
the admiral and his frigates.[29] The rest presumably resumed their
stations in the fleet. Even if he had not actually abandoned this part
of his plan, it is clear that in his hurry to attack Nelson would not
spend time in reforming the squadron as a separate unit, but chose
rather to carry out his design, so far as was possible, with two
divisions only. So soon as he sighted the enemy's fleet at daylight on
the 21st, he made the signal to form the line of battle in two
columns, and with one exception the whole of the advanced ships took
station in their respective divisions according to the original order
of battle and sailing.'[30] The exception was Codrington's ship, the
Orion. No importance however need be attached to this, for although he
was originally in Collingwood's division he may well have been
transferred to Nelson's some time before. It is only worthy of remark
because Codrington, of all the advanced squadron captains, was the
only one, so far as we know, who still considered the squadron a
potential factor in the fleet and acted accordingly. While Belleisle,
Mars, Bellerophon and Colossus rushed into the fight in the van of
Colli