Editing Battle of Trafalgar (section)

====The British cast off the prizes====
Soon after leaving port, the wind shifted to west-southwest, raising a heavy sea with the result that most of the British prizes broke their tow ropes, and drifting far to [[leeward]], were only partially resecured. The combined squadron came in sight at noon, causing Collingwood to summon his most battle-ready ships to meet the threat. In doing so, he ordered them to cast off towing their prizes. He had formed a defensive line of ten ships by three o'clock in the afternoon and approached the Franco-Spanish squadron, covering the remainder of their prizes which stood out to sea.<ref name=Fremont-Barnes-p81>{{harvp|Fremont-Barnes|2005|p=81}}</ref><ref name=Fremont-Barnes-p82>{{harvp|Fremont-Barnes|2005|p=82}}</ref> The Franco-Spanish squadron, numerically inferior, chose not to approach within gunshot and then declined to attack.<ref>{{harvp|Pocock|2005|p=175}}.</ref> Collingwood also chose not to seek action, and in the confusion of the powerful storm, the French frigates managed to retake two Spanish ships of the line which had been cast off by their British captors, the 112-gun ''Santa Ana'' and 80-gun {{ship|Spanish ship|Neptuno|1795|2}}, taking them in tow and making for Cádiz.<ref name=Yonge-p336>{{harvp|Yonge|1863|p=336}}.</ref> On being taken in tow, the Spanish crews rose up against their British prize crews, putting them to work as prisoners.{{sfnp|Thiers|1850|p=45}}<ref>{{harvp|TB staff|2004}}</ref>

[[File:Retour a Rota Mayer.jpg|thumb|left|Painting depicting the French [[frigate]] {{ship|French frigate|Thémis|1799|2}} towing the re-taken Spanish [[first-rate]] [[ship of the line]] ''Santa Ana'' into [[Cádiz]]. [[Auguste Mayer]], 19th&nbsp;century.]]

Despite this initial success the Franco-Spanish force, hampered by battle damage, struggled in the heavy seas. ''Neptuno'' was eventually wrecked off [[Rota, Andalusia|Rota]] in the gale, while ''Santa Ana'' reached port.{{sfn|Adkin|2005|pp=524–529}} The French 80-gun ship ''Indomptable'' was wrecked on the 24th or 25th off the town of Rota on the northwest point of the bay of Cádiz.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} At the time ''Indomptable'' had 1,200 men on board, but no more than 100 were saved. ''San Francisco de Asís'' was driven ashore in [[Cádiz Bay]], near Fort Santa Catalina, although her crew was saved. ''Rayo'', an old three-deck vessel with more than 50 years of service, anchored off [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda|Sanlúcar]], a few [[league (unit)|leagues]] to the northwest of Rota. There, she lost her masts, already damaged in the battle.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Heartened by the approach of the squadron, the French crew of the former flagship ''Bucentaure'' also rose up and retook the ship from the British prize crew but she was wrecked later on 23&nbsp;October. {{ship|French ship|Aigle|1800|2}} escaped from the British ship {{HMS|Defiance|1783|6}}, but was wrecked off the [[El Puerto de Santa María|Port of Santa María]] on 23&nbsp;October; while the French prisoners on ''Berwick'' cut the tow cables, but caused her to founder off Sanlúcar on 22&nbsp;October. The crew of {{ship|French ship|Algésiras|1804|2}} rose up and managed to sail into Cádiz.{{sfnp|Thiers|1850|p=45}}

Observing that some of the leewardmost of the prizes were escaping towards the Spanish coast, ''Leviathan'' asked for and was granted permission by Collingwood to try to retrieve the prizes and bring them to anchor. ''Leviathan'' chased {{ship|Spanish ship|Monarca|1794|2}}, but on 24&nbsp;October she came across ''Rayo'', dismasted but still flying Spanish colours, at anchor off the shoals of Sanlúcar.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} At this point the 74-gun {{HMS|Donegal|1798|6}}, en route from Gibraltar under Captain [[Pulteney Malcolm]], was seen approaching from the south on the [[larboard]] tack with a moderate breeze from northwest-by-north and steered directly for the Spanish three-decker.<ref>James (Vol. IV) pp. 89–90.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=April 2021}} At about ten o'clock, just as ''Monarca'' had got within little more than a mile of ''Rayo'', ''Leviathan'' fired a warning shot wide of ''Monarca'', to oblige her to drop anchor. The shot fell between ''Monarca'' and ''Rayo''. The latter, conceiving that it was probably intended for her, hauled down her colours, and was taken by HMS ''Donegal'', who anchored alongside and took off the prisoners.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} ''Leviathan'' resumed her pursuit of ''Monarca'', eventually catching up and forcing her to surrender. On boarding her, her British captors found that she was in a sinking state, and so removed the British prize crew, and nearly all of her original Spanish crew members. The nearly empty ''Monarca'' parted her cable and was wrecked during the night. Despite the efforts of her British prize crew, ''Rayo'' was driven onshore on 26&nbsp;October and wrecked, with the loss of 25&nbsp;men. The remainder of the prize crew were made prisoners by the Spanish.<ref>James (Vol. IV) p. 91.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=April 2021}}