An admiral returned home after an earlier action and took a valuable second-rate ship with him after being superseded by Nelson. The officer had formal grounds to leave, but the ship would have added firepower to the fleet. Trafalgar's victory and Nelson's death transformed the decision into a lasting story of abandoning the fleet before its defining battle. Later events recast a defensible contemporary choice as historical disgrace.
Notable Point · 3:36:27-3:37:33
How leaving Nelson before Trafalgar reshaped an admiral's reputation
An aside shows how taking a second rate home before Trafalgar became reputationally disastrous once Nelson won and died.