The Battle of Trafalgar

Nelson's body was preserved in a cask of Brandy. In Royal Navy slang, alcohol is sometimes referred to as Nelson's blood. The news of Trafalgar produced complicated emotions among the people of Britain. There was elation at the scale of the victory, but simultaneously with the celebrations, the country entered a state of mourning. A Russian naval officer was visiting the great British naval base at Portsmouth when news of the battle arrived and recorded what he saw.