A victory made decisive by the fate of the ships

The battle's reputation rests heavily on what happened to the Allied ships during and immediately after the action. The roll call covers vessels captured on 21 October, ships taken in the following days, prizes recaptured by the Allies, and damaged hulls that burned, blew up, wrecked, or foundered. The storm made possession temporary: Santísima Trinidad and Redoutable foundered, while other prizes could not be saved. Swiftsure and Berwick had previously been British ships in French service and were captured back at Trafalgar, although Berwick foundered the next day. Victory unfolded through battle, later capture, recapture, failed salvage, and weather. This scale of destruction helps explain why Trafalgar became idealized.