George Duff Captain George Duff RN ( c . 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805 ) was a British naval officer during the American War of Independence , the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars , who was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Trafalgar . Early life . Born at Banff , Scotland , the son of Banff Sheriff Clerk James Duff ( 1729 – 1804 ) by his marriage to Helen Skene 1734 – 1764 , he was a kinsman ( first cousin once removed ) to the second and third Earls of Fife . George Duff had a passion for the sea from early childhood , stowing away on a merchant ship for a voyage when not yet a teenager . At thirteen he joined his great uncle Captain ( later Admiral ) Robert Duff in the Mediterranean , and was commissioned lieutenant at sixteen , breaking several fleet regulations but made possible by his uncle ' s interest in his career . During these years , Duff saw action thirteen times on both sides of the Atlantic , including at the Great Siege of Gibraltar and culminating in the battle of the Saintes in 1782 when he was serving on . Naval career . With a reputation thus secured and plenty of family interest in his career , Duff had little difficulty progressing , being promoted to commander in 1790 and then Post Captain in 1793 , a meteoric rise resulting from the growth of the Navy in the build up to war during this period . It was at this time that he married his childhood sweetheart , Sophia Dirom ( sister of Alexander Dirom ) in Edinburgh , and that his son Norwich Duff ( later to become an admiral in his own right ) was born . In the next ten years , Duff commanded , and all very capably , but without winning the acclaim of some of his contemporaries , particularly those in the Mediterranean under Nelson . Duff was a proud Scotsman as well as a strict disciplinarian . He enforced cleanliness parades every week , and made every effort to make sure that as many Scots as possible served on his ships , although he never gave them preferential treatment over their English comrades . He was also a devoted husband and wrote lengthy letters to his wife during every journey . He and his wife felt that the letters were so personal that they destroyed them after reading , and so the only survivor is his final letter home , which Sophia reportedly was unable to destroy . Following the Peace of Amiens , Duff was given , something of a celebrity ship in the Royal Navy following her duel with the French " Hercule " in 1799 in which both her captain Alexander Hood and his French counterpart were killed . Rapidly moulding the ship with his own brand of Scottish discipline , Duff took her to join the fleet off Cadiz at the beginning of October and instantly became friends with Nelson , despite their vastly different characters . Such was Duff ' s reputation , that Nelson entrusted him with the command of the inshore squadron , which watched the harbour entrance for an enemy appearance . The job was dangerous due to the proximity of the shore , and unpleasant because ships stationed at this point were exposed to the enemy and the threat of failure if the enemy were able to escape . Duff handled the job excellently however , and on 21 October reported that the enemy had left Cadiz and were heading out to sea . Trafalgar . When the battle began , " Mars " was stationed directly astern of and was ordered by Nelson to attempt to overtake Collingwood ' s flagship if he was able . Collingwood however was a good enough seaman to prevent this from happening and so the " Mars " was the second ship to enter the enemy lines . During this approach , which due to poor wind had been conducted at walking speed , Duff was able to write a final note home to his wife , which he entrusted to his thirteen - year - old son Norwich , who was serving as a midshipman on " Mars " : " " Dearest Sophia , I have just time to tell you we are going into Action with the Combined Fleet . I hope and trust in God that we shall all behave as becomes us , and that I may yet have the happiness of taking my beloved wife and children in my arms . Norwich is quite well and happy . I have , however , ordered him off the quarter - deck . Yours ever , and most truly , George " " Death . Duff did not see more than the few opening shots of the battle , for as " Mars " engaged the French " Fougueux " and " Pluton " , a cannonball from " Fougueux " raked the quarter - deck and struck Captain Duff at the base of the neck , severing his head completely . The crew were undismayed however , carrying the headless corpse around the deck and giving three cheers in memory of their captain , before replacing him where he fell and covering him with a Union Flag . Command of the " Mars " devolved on the first lieutenant , William Hennah , who performed a good service and was promoted as a reward . Burial and memorial . Following the battle , Duff was buried at sea with his shipmates , 28 of whom had been killed and 69 wounded in the fight . Both Collingwood and young Norwich Duff wrote letters of consolation to Sophia Duff , and Captain Duff was mentioned with honour alongside Nelson and John Cooke in the official report of the battle . Lloyd ' s Patriotic Fund granted Sophia honours and money . Norwich remained in the Navy , retiring many years later as an admiral . A large marble monument with the inscription " Erected at the Public Expense to the memory of Captain George Duff who was killed the XXIst of Octr MDCCCV . commanding the Mars in the battle of Trafalgar in the forty - second year of his age and the twenty - ninth of his service . " was raised in St Paul ' s Cathedral on the wall on the south side of a passage , next to Nelson ' s tomb , where it can still be seen . George , his mother - in - law Anne ( née Fotheringham ) and Norwich were all painted by Sir Henry Raeburn . Namesakes . The Royal Navy has named two ships after Duff . The first , a Captain - class frigate constructed in the United States in 1942 - 1943 as HMS " Duff " ( BDE - 20 ) , was retained by the United States Navy as the destroyer escort . The second was the Captain - class frigate , which served from 1943 to 1944 .