Francis Laforey Admiral Sir Francis Laforey , 2nd Baronet , KCB ( 31 December 1767 – 17 June 1835 ) was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , whose distinguished service record included numerous frigate commands in Home waters and in the West Indies . He is best known however for his service in command of the ship of the line at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 . During the action , Laforey was heavily engaged and his ship suffered heavy casualties . Five years after Trafalgar , Laforey was promoted to rear - admiral and commanded the Leeward Islands squadron , before retiring in 1814 . Son of the notable and highly controversial naval officer Sir John Laforey , Francis Laforey joined the Navy at a young age and enjoyed patronage throughout his career . His exploits in command of frigates during the French Revolutionary Wars and his capture of Dutch colonies in South America garnered wealth and esteem among his colleagues , and his later success as a battleship captain only continued this trend . Biography . Born in 1767 in Virginia into wealthy and respectable family , Laforey was destined to go to sea from an early age , his father being an officer himself , later to become Admiral Sir John Laforey , 1st Baronet of Whitby . Francis ' father was a senior government official in Antigua at the time , and the family moved there soon afterwards , thus avoiding the American War of Independence , although the senior Laforey was heavily involved due to his naval duties . Sent to sea in the early 1780s as a teenager , Francis ' rise was rapid due to his father ' s local influence , meaning that by 1791 Laforey was already a commander with his own sloop , . At the outbreak of war in 1793 , John Laforey realised the excellent opportunity the unprepared French possessions in the Caribbean made , and so marshalled local troops and volunteers and captured the island of Tobago within days . Sending his son to London with the dispatches and evidence of his success was also a very intelligent move , because Francis was then rewarded in the customary manner for such messengers of success , with a promotion to Post Captain . Francis made the most of this opportunity using his new command , the frigate , to recapture from her French captors at the frigate action of 29 May 1794 . He then had to pursue a lengthy but ultimately successful lawsuit against the Admiralty for the prize money from the capture , which they had denied on very questionable technical grounds . Fortunately , the Admiralty bore Laforey no ill will , and gave him the larger frigate in 1795 , which he used to take his father back to Antigua , where he was now the military governor of the Leeward Islands . Using his position to aid his son ' s career , Sir John put Francis in command of the ship of the line and made him second in command of the successful invasions of Demerara , Essequibo and Berbice . Recrossing the Atlantic the following year whilst transporting his dying father back to England , Francis inherited the baronetcy halfway across and was given the frigate soon afterwards , using her with much success for two years on the French coast , before returning to the Caribbean and having further success there . In 1800 he again travelled to England , to take command of the ship of the line , which he commanded in the Baltic , Mediterranean and again in the West Indies until the Peace of Amiens . When war was once again declared , Laforey was instructed to command , one of Nelson ' s spoils from the battle of the Nile . In 1804 he joined this admiral ' s hunt across the Atlantic for the French fleet under Admiral Villeneuve when it arrived in the West Indies , and accompanied it back to the blockade off Cadiz , where he was embroiled in the battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 . The " Spartiate " was frustratingly trapped at the rear of Nelson ' s division , and was unable to reach the battle until several hours had passed . As " Spartiate " and her companion arrived in battle they found themselves alone against the van squadron of Admiral Dumanoir le Pelley , consisting of the French ships , , and and the Spanish . Such was the rate of fire the two ships put up however , that the " Formidable " turned and fled after taking hits , and the other three French ships followed her , leaving the " Neptuno " under Commodore Cayetano Valdés y Flores to sail alone against the two 74 gun ships . She was soon captured and Laforey , whose ship had only suffered 23 casualties , was well placed to aid other captains during the ensuing storm . " Spartiate " was amongst those ships which returned to London for Nelson ' s funeral , Laforey being the flag bearer walking behind the coffin . Unlike many Trafalgar officers , Laforey remained with his ship , returning to the Mediterranean , where he participated in several blockades under Collingwood , before being made rear - admiral himself in 1810 and taking up his father ' s old post of military commander in chief of the Leeward Islands . He returned home in 1814 and the following year was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath , living in quiet retirement at Brighton until his death in 1835 as a full Admiral . He was buried in the northern extension of St Nicholas Churchyard in Brighton where his headstone ( now moved from its original location and laid flat ) remains . Francis Laforey never married or had children , and so the baronetcy became extinct upon his death . Namesakes . Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS " Laforey " , after Admiral Sir Francis Laforey :