 On 17 September 1805 , after completing a small refit of his ship in Portsmouth , Captain Harvey was superseded in command of Agamemnon by Captain Sir Edward Berry , who had previously commanded Nelson 's flagship , HMS Vanguard , at the Battle of the Nile . On 3 October she departed Spithead to join Vice @-@ Admiral Nelson 's fleet blockading Villeneuve 's combined fleet in Cádiz . En route , Agamemnon fell in with a French squadron , consisting of six ships of the line and several smaller vessels , which gave chase . Succeeding in evading the French , Agamemnon joined the blockading squadron on 13 October , and when Nelson laid eyes on the approaching ship he reportedly exclaimed : " Here comes that damned fool Berry ! Now we shall have a battle ! " In misty conditions on 20 October , Agamemnon captured a large American merchant brig , which she then took in tow . Not long after , HMS Euryalus signalled to Agamemnon that she was sailing straight towards an enemy fleet of 30 ships — Villeneuve 's fleet had left port . 
