John Wilson Carmichael 1800-1868

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought in Cape Trafalgar off the coast of Cadiz on 21st October 1805.  The British victory over the allied fleet ensured British dominance of the sea for the next century.  As the battle commenced a storm was brewing, and even in his dying moments Nelson had given command that, after victory was ensured, the fleet should anchor.  Admiral Collingwood did not heed this command, and took the fleet out to sea.  Many of the allied ships taken as prizes were lost in this ensuing storm, and Carmichael chose to depict a scene of devastation three days after the victory.  H.M.S. Conqueror, commanded by Captain Israel Pellew, tows a dismasted H.M.S. Africa, commanded by Captain Digby.  Both vessels had been part of the 'Weather' Column led by Admiral Nelson.  This work was only Carmichael's second exhibit at the Royal Academy.  It is a strangely unheroic subject, a fact which perhaps accounts for the fact that later in the 1840s he produced a canvas depicting Lord Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar - Close of Battle.