A posthumous memorial published in the Gloucester Journal compared Calder with the cautious Roman Fabius and argued that Finisterre prepared the way for Trafalgar. Finisterre did disrupt Villeneuve, although Calder's five-ship numerical disadvantage did not necessarily prevent a larger success. Trafalgar supplied the uncomfortable comparison because Nelson overcame a six-ship disadvantage. Ships from Calder's force, including Agamemnon, Ajax, Defiance, and Sirius, also appear in the Trafalgar order of battle, grounding the comparison in some of the same warships.
Notable Point · 59:28-1:02:08
Finisterre's legacy against the Trafalgar standard
Calder's defenders credited Finisterre with preparing Trafalgar, but the overlapping orders of battle also invited comparison with Nelson's more decisive result.