Trafalgar Campaign (Long Patrol) p3: Royal Navy Fleet Commanders

The Royal Navy's blue, white and red squadrons created several grades of rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral rather than one rank at each level.

The growth in flag officers reflected a worldwide navy whose admirals commanded fleets, dockyards, stations and other administrative responsibilities.

Nelson was a Vice Admiral of the White rather than the senior-most admiral, but his Mediterranean experience made him the right commander to shadow the Toulon fleet.

Nelson's Toulon assignment explains a Royal Navy blockade system designed to track an enemy fleet after it escaped rather than keep a harbour closed.

Cuthbert Collingwood's long blockade service made him a dependable second-in-command when his force joined Nelson's more mobile fleet.

Promotion between blue, white and red let the Navy reward and rank officers without waiting to create a new full admiral.

Robert Calder returned home to defend his conduct after the Battle of Cape Finisterre, depriving Nelson of an experienced vice admiral and the 98-gun HMS Prince of Wales.

Comparing Calder's progress through the colours with Nelson and Collingwood shows how the Navy adjusted seniority to reward trusted performance while retaining officers for later employment.

Mapping the colour system onto modern NATO grades shows how a very large navy could create fine distinctions of authority without inventing wholly new ranks.

Captain Richard Strachan commanded as a commodore in HMS Caesar, showing how a senior captain could lead a small force before becoming an admiral.

Strachan's later difficulty cooperating with a favoured Army general illustrates how weak inter-service communication could damage an otherwise successful naval career.

HMS Caesar belonged to the relatively unusual 80-gun third rates that supplemented the Royal Navy's mass production of 74-gun ships for particular roles and stations.

A fresh British squadron near Martinique might have intercepted a French Atlantic breakout, provided intelligence reached Alexander Cochrane's West Indies command in time.

William Cornwallis commanded the Channel Fleet from the 110-gun HMS Ville de Paris, the force Napoleon's plan had to evade or deceive.

Cornwallis's household with Captain John Whitby, Mary Anna Theresa Whitby and their daughter grew from naval friendship into a family arrangement ashore.

Long absences and the risk of death, disability or poverty made marriage difficult for officers and help explain the unusual households created around naval service.

Wives and children aboard peacetime or distant-station ships could give young officers experience of civilian society that helped with diplomacy and politics ashore.