Dorset men at the battle

One hundred and eighty six men from Dorset are known to have served at the battle of Trafalgar. There were men from Dorset on board every ship in the fleet apart from the tiny schooner HMS Pickle, which found fame when she brought the news of the victory back to Britain. No less than four of the thirty three British ships at Trafalgar had Dorset captains, all distinguished themselves. Captain Bullen pushing the slow and obsolete HMS Britannia as fast as it could go in his haste to be in action, Captain Digby of HMS Africa taking on the largest ship in the enemy fleet with the smallest ship of the line in the British fleet, Captain Grindall of HMS Prince destroying the Achille and, above all, Captain Hardy of HMS Victory.

Despite the number of men involved, only two men from Dorset were killed in the battle, Lieutenant Francis Roskruge from Lyme Regis and Robber Carter from Bothenhampton, both of whom were on board HMS Britannia. In addition ten men were wounded, of which only one Private Quiller Brown of HMS Royal Sovereign was disabled seriously enough to be discharged the service. (He lost a finger on his left hand - for which he received a lump sum payment of £20 and a pension).

Women on Board

Women were to be found on board warships in the Napoleonic navy, the wives of captains, officers and some crew members. However as they had no 'official' existence they are not usually recorded. For that reason we cannot say if any Dorset women experienced the battle of Trafalgar at first hand. However Captain Grindall of HMS Prince was involved in one of the famous incidents of the battle, which involved a woman.

The second vessel which HMS Prince engaged was the French vessel Achille. She swiftly caught fire and exploded. The attackers turned to rescuers and boats were launched to pick up survivors. One of them was a naked young woman, who became known as Jeanette, she had apparently smuggled herself on board, dressed as a man, to be with her husband, one of Achille's topmen. As the vessel burned, molten lead dropped onto her, so she removed her clothing and dived into the sea. The rescuing British supplied her with, 'needles, cotton and several shirts from the purser', so she could make a dress. She was released at Gibraltar where it is said she discovered her husband, who had been rescued by another British warship.  This is the simplest version of the story, which has been elaborated by other writers. At this distance in time it is difficult to determine exactly what happened.

• Charles Bullen

  Charles Bullen (1769 -1853) was Captain of HMS Britannia at the battle of Trafalgar.

• Henry Digby

  Henry Digby (1770-1842) was captain of the Africa at the Battle of Trafalgar. A remarkably 'lucky' Captain he made over #60,000 in prize money.

• Nelson's Hardy

  After Nelson, the name most closely associated with the Battle of Trafalgar is the Dorset Captain, Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769 - 1839).

• Richard Grindall

  Richard Grindall (1750-1820) was Captain of HMS Prince at the battle of Trafalgar. His son also took part in the battle, as a Midshipman on board HMS Victory.

• The men who served at Trafalgar

  This is a complete list of all the men from Dorset who are known to have served at Trafalgar.