George Augustus Westphal Sir George Augustus Alexander Westphal , Kt . ( 26 July 1785 – 12 January 1875 ) was a Nova Scotian and an admiral in the Royal Navy who served in more than 100 actions . He was midshipman on HMS " Victory " during the Battle of Trafalgar . Early life . George was born on 26 July 1785 in Nova Scotia , British North America , the son of George Westphal and older brother of Admiral Philip Westphal . British Naval Biographical Dictionary , 1849 provides a date of birth of 27 March 1785 . He joined the Royal Navy aged 13 as a first class volunteer on board the Royal navy frigate stationed in North America . Later he moved to serve on the home station and in the West Indies as a Masters mate and midshipman on and . In March 1803 George joined the 32 gun fifth rate frigate HMS " Amphion " as a midshipman whilst transported Horatio Nelson to the Mediterranean to take command . Westphal was transferred to HMS Victory . Battle of Trafalgar . On 21 October 1805 Westphal now a 20 year old midshipman was at the centre of the historic Battle of Trafalgar fighting on Nelson ' s flagship " Victory " . Westphal was wounded in the head by shot during the fighting and taken to the sick bay , where he was laid near to the injured Horatio Nelson . During his treatment in the cockpit , somebody made a pillow for Westphal to lay on , using Nelson ' s rolled up coat . The dried blood from Westphal ' s wounds bonded some of his hair to part of the coat forcing the surgeon to cut away the coat before he could treat Westphal . Westphal kept these fragments of Nelson ' s coat as a memento by for the rest of his life . Westphal explained in an 1842 article in the " United Service magazine " : Many years after the battle the Admiralty asked Westphal to identify Nelson ' s coat after Prince Albert had bought it for the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich . Westphal was able to authenticate it with his treasured fragments . It is said that he had assured the Admiralty of the authenticity of the coat if part of the epaulette was missing . After Trafalgar . Westphal served as a midshipman on HMS " Ocean " the flagship of Lord Collingwood . " Ocean " was a 98 - gun second - rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Frances Pender . Westphal went on to serve as a midshipman on HMS " Caledonia " , a 120 - gun first - rate ship of the line and flagship of John Jervis , 1st Earl of St Vincent . On 15 August 1806 Westphal was promoted to lieutenant on the Demerara sloop in the West Indies . He was captured when a French privateer took the merchant ship he was returning to England on , during which he was again severely wounded . However he escaped from prison in Guadaloupe and was picked up by an American ship . He returned to the West Indies as a lieutenant aboard HMS " Neptune " , and later HMS " Belleisle " , ships under the command of Commodore Sir George Cockburn . He fought on land during the 1809 invasion of Martinique . After another period in home waters , he returned to West Indies where he served aboard HMS " Chesapeake " . On 11 ( or 12 ) July 1813 , Westphal , by then first lieutenant of , led a group of boats into Ocracoke Inlet during Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn ' s campaign against Portsmouth and Ocracoke Island in North Carolina . Their targets were two privateer schooners , " Anaconda " and " Atlas " , as well as a revenue cutter . As the British boats approached , the Americans opened fire . Westphal ' s division , attacked and captured both privateers . However , the revenue cutter escaped up the Neuse River to New Bern , where she gave warning of the British forces , permitting the preparation of defences that forestalled the Royal Navy from any further advance . Both privateers were condemned at Halifax and the British took them into service , under her name , and " Atlas " as HMS " St Lawrence " . Westphal , newly promoted to commander with backdate to 8 July , commissioned " Anaconda " . " Anaconda " refitted at Halifax and Westphal received a crew of 60 men , most of whom were the dregs of the fleet , offered by their captains when Admiral John Borlase Warren asked for drafts . Her first task was to escort a convoy of twelve merchant vessels from there to the West Indies . While doing so she fought off an attack by two large American privateers . One of the privateers surrendered after losing her jib - boom and fore - top - mast but then escaped when " Anaconda " lost her own fore - top - mast chasing after the second privateer . Warren then transferred " Anaconda " to the Jamaica station . In March 1814 , " Anaconda " was stationed off the Mississippi delta under the orders of Capt . Clement Milward of . After their defeat at Fort Bowyer , the British to turned their attention to an attack on New Orleans . In the run - up to battle , Captain Nicholas Lockyer captured an American flotilla , consisting primarily of five gunboats , in the Battle of Lake Borgne . " Anaconda " did not contribute her boats and crew to the battle , but evacuated the 77 men who had been wounded there . During Sir Alexander Cochrane ' s expedition against New Orleans in December , Cochrane ordered Westphal to lighten " Anaconda " and to get her into Lake Borgne . Westphal took " Anaconda " with great difficulty over shoals . " Anaconda " , gun - vessels and hired craft then moved the advance guard up the bayou in preparation for the New Orleans . By forcing " Anaconda " over a bank five miles wide that was only eight feet under water , Westphal was able to get her into position 20 miles ahead of the other British warships where she could protect the boats bringing up supplies and troops . Captain Thomas Hardy of wrote in a letter that " Anaconda " s protection surely saved many of the boats from capture by the Americans . Westphal later landed with the greater part of " Anaconda " s crew , who then fought in the naval brigade under Captain Edward Troubridge . At the battle they helped man the batteries . In February 1815 , " Anaconda " and the schooner " Shelburne " under Westphal ' s orders , cruised off the Florida coast north of Havana . " Anaconda " was paid off in April 1815 . She underwent a survey at Jamaica that found that she had sustained too much damage in the New Orleans campaign to merit retention in service . " Anaconda " was condemned and then sold on 5 May 1815 . Westphal returned to Britain in July as a passenger aboard . Post - war . Westphal married Alicia Chambers in 1817 . He was promoted to post - captain on 12 August 1819 . In 1822 Westphal took command of HMS " Jupiter " , and in her took Lord Amherst to India to serve as governor general . Westphal was knighted on his return to England and served as flag captain to Sir George Cockburn in 1832 but was invalided out of active service in 1834 . Retirement . Westphal retired to Hove in Sussex , where he lived at 2 Brunswick Square ( 1836 – 1875 ) until his death . On the retired list , he was promoted to rear admiral ( 17 August 1851 ) , vice admiral ( 10 September 1857 ) and finally admiral ( 23 March 1863 ) . When Westphal died on 12 January 1875 , he was the last surviving Royal Navy officer to have fought at Trafalgar on board HMS " Victory " . He had lived until the age of 90 , some 70 years after seeing Nelson die . He was buried in the family vault at the St Andrew ' s Church , Church Road , Hove .