Sometime in 1960-62 I took an English History course in college. We were assigned reading for extra credit. I read a book about the Battle of Trafalgar, which I remember as riveting. I specifically remember a fulsome description of life aboard the battleship, including descriptions of how food was prepared, how surgery was performed during the battle, and other daily concerns of the sailors. I do not think this was a biography of Lord Nelson, rather a blow by blow of the lead-up to the Battle and the Battle itself. Clearly it had to have been written prior to 1960. I would really like to find this book.
There’s a possibility it might be Geoffrey Callender’s “The Story of HMS Victory”
The book can be freely read online at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051424334&view=1up&seq=29&skin=2021
It follows the history of the ship, campaigns, Trafalgar, life on board, and includes details on food and the horrors of the loblollys.
Date wise, there were publications in the early part of the 20th Century. The link goes to a 1929 edition.