The Fall of Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Denis Dighton (1792 –  1827)
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Nelson died during the battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. He was walking along the quarterdeck when he was shot by a French sniper from the mizzen mast of the Redoutable. He was taken below deck with the other wounded men where he later died from his injuries.
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After the battle, his body was encased in a large casket called a leaguer. It was then filled with brandy as this has preservative qualities. At Gibraltar, where HMS Victory put in, the brandy that had not been absorbed by the corpse was replaced by spirits of wine for the journey home to Britain, which took four and half weeks due to bad weather. An autopsy was performed when the ship reached Chatham.

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Nelson was given a state funeral. His body was first laid in state at the Painted Hall at Greenwich Hospital on 5-7 January 1806. On the 8th January, his coffin was taken up river on Charles II state barge to Whitehall where it lay in the Admiralty buildings overnight. On 9th January 1806 the funeral procession went through the streets of London to St Paul's Cathedral drawn by six horses. The ceremony ended at 5.30pm when the coffin was lowered into the crypt. The funeral was attended by many naval colleagues and his estranged wife, Fanny. His captured opponent at Trafalgar, Admiral Villeneuve, was granted leave to also attend.