One of the greatest sea battles ever to occur took place off the Spanish coast of Trafalgar. On October 21,1805 Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson of the English Royal Navy, with twenty-seven ships of the line crushed the combined forces of the French and Spanish fleets. Had the outcome of this great battle been different, Napoleon may have realized his dream of ruling an empire that never saw the setting sun. The purpose of this paper is to explain the events that led to this great battle, to discuss the ships of the line, and the men who worked them. It will also expose the lack of commitment the French had in regards to naval