Two hundred and seventeen years ago today, in 1805, the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets in the Atlantic off Cape Trafalgar.  The decisive victory ended French plans to use the combined fleet to take control of the English Channel and enable Napoleon’s Grande Armée to invade England. Tragically, Nelson was shot by a French sniper and died shortly before the battle ended. Today is celebrated as Trafalgar Day to commemorate Nelson and his greatest victory.

Today also happens to be the 228th anniversary of the launching of the USS Constitution, launched on October 21, 1797. Nicknamed “Old Ironsides,”  after round shot from HMS Guerriere bounced off her sides in a battle during the War 1812, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy and the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat.

HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar, launched in 1765, is the oldest commissioned warship in the world, being 20 years older than the Constitution. The Victory, however, on permanent exhibit in drydock in Portsmouth, is no longer afloat, allowing the Constitution to claim the bragging rights as the oldest floating commissioned naval vessel.