Musical accompaniment: Gran Vals Integral de Guitarra composed by Francisco Tárrega in 1902 and performed by David Russell.

This gentleman is Emmanuel Louis Cartigny. When this photograph was taken in 1891, he was 100 years old. Monsieur Cartigny was born at Hyères in southeastern France in 1791 and died there in 1892. He was the last survivor of the Battle of Trafalgar, fought during Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign.

This photograph caught my eye because of all the contrasts: the proud soldier perched on the flowery sofa, his severe black clothing and cap combined with the warm hue of the photo and the elaborate wallpaper. Monsieur Cartigny is wearing two medals, one of which is the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest national order of merit–created by Napoleon, in fact. He is holding a cane with his right hand. The blurriness was caused by some minor movement during the long exposure time. He was able to sit still otherwise because the picture of his face is sharp and clear. What do you suppose Monsieur Cartigny was like? His hair was quite long. Sailors often did have long hair. They braided it and used tar to keep it from blowing around. A sailor’s hair was secured at the back of the neck, though.

From what I gather from Britannica and Wikipedia, the battle of Trafalgar occurred during the Napoleonic wars. Spain and France were on one side, and Britain on the other. The French army dominated the continent but the British navy controlled the seas. The English blockade crippled trade and threatened French interests so Napoleon planned an invasion of Great Britain. A fleet of 33 French and Spanish ships set off from Cádiz, commanded by Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve. Their mission was to seize control of the English Channel, giving the Grande Armée an opening to invade.

On October 21, they were intercepted by a British fleet of 27 ships, commanded by Lord Horatio Nelson. The combatants met off Cape Trafalgar, along the southwest coast of Spain. The Franco-Spanish fleet was bigger and they were in home territory. The Brits had the edge in skill and thanks to Lord Nelson’s daring leadership, they won decisively. They didn’t lose a single ship but 458 men were killed and 1,208 were wounded. Lord Nelson had ensured their victory but he didn’t live to see it. He was killed during the battle.

The Battle of Trafalgar by William Clarkson Stanfield

The defeat was catastrophic for the Franco-Spanish navy. Seventeen ships were captured and one was destroyed.  4,395 men were killed and 2,541 wounded. If we only count the casualties, that averages 210 men per ship but many men came through without injury. How packed were these ships?

Thousands of sailors were taken prisoner, including Admiral Villeneuve. The Wikipedia article mentioned that Villeneuve “attended Nelson’s funeral while a captive on parole in Britain.” Can you imagine the British paroling enemy combatants in their own country? Or a high-ranking French officer respectfully attending the funeral of the man who defeated his own navy? Maybe that was once the norm. Their mutual civility is impressive.