This programme tracks the exploration of one of the most exciting naval archaeological discoveries - Admiral Horatio Nelson’s first ship.

The Agamemnon find had great sentimental value because of its association with Britain’s revered Horatio Nelson, the victorious commander of the fleet at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar against the French and Spanish.

The Agamemnon was the favourite ship of Horatio Nelson, history's greatest naval commander. When it was wrecked in 1809, its hardened crew wept openly. The ship's great battles and the story of its downfall are detailed in this fascinating film.

The Agamemnon

Nelson always referred to the Agamemnon as his favourite ship. The 64-gun was commanded by Nelson between 1793 and 1796. For three of the most crucial decades of British naval history, the Agamemnon was at the centre of events, fighting at the Battle of the Saintes, the Battle of Copenhagen and, of course, Trafalgar, the summit of her career.

HMS Agamemnon first saw action in the West Indies with Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt's squadron when it captured 15 ships from a French convoy under Admiral Count Luc Urbain de Guichen, who was bound for the Caribbean.

When the revolutionary French government declared war on Great Britain in 1793, the Agamemnon came under command of Captain Horatio Nelson. Nelson sailed with Lord Howe's Mediterranean Fleet in the blockade of Toulon and in the capture of the Corsican ports of Bastia and Calvi, where Nelson lost his right eye.

The Agamemnon remained in the Mediterranean until 1796, a period during which Nelson moulded his "band of brothers" and began to establish himself as an innovative and daring commander. Nelson described the Agamemnon as "without exception the finest 64 in the service."

Present at Nelson's great victory in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, her next significant assignment was in 1805 when she sailed with Vice Admiral Sir John Orde's fleet off Cadiz. In July she took part in Admiral Sir Robert Calder's action with the Combined Fleet off El Ferrol. Her squadron later came under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson.

During the Battle of Trafalgar against the Franco-Spanish fleet, the Agamemnon sailed in Nelson's weather column but escaped with few casualties. After further service off Cadiz, she sailed for the West Indies where she took part in several engagements against French naval units and privateers.

Over the next few years she sailed in the West Indies, the Baltic, off Portugal, and South America. On June 20, 1809, while putting into the River Plate in a storm, she grounded on an unmarked reef and was lost, although without loss of life.

The wreck was discovered in March 2004 and a few artefacts were recovered, including some copper sheathing. These can be seen at Buckler’s Hard Village in the New Forest, together with a model of the ship.