Cosme Damián Churruca
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Admiral Cosme Damián de Churruca y Elorza was a Spanish Navy officer and politician. During the Battle of Trafalgar, he was the commanding officer of the ship of the line San Juan Nepomuceno, which he
1848 portrait
Churruca's ceremonial sabre, made by Nicolas-Noël Boutet
1892 painting of Churruca's death
Statue of Churruca in Mutriku.
Nailing the colours
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Nailing the colours is a practice dating back to the Age of Sail that expresses a defiant refusal to surrender, and willingness to fight to the last man.
Cosme Damián Churruca
…wages... If you come to hear that my ship has been taken, know that I am dead. 21 October dawned, and in sight of Nelsons's fleet Churruca ordered the colours to be nailed to the mast, and ordered that they should not be taken down while he still lived. Under the command of Churruca, the San Juan Nepomuceno demonstrated military…
The crew of Vengeur du Peuple nailing the colours. This is an element of the later propaganda surrounding the event, and did not happen historically.