Sample

VICE-ADMIRAL HORATIO NELSON, 1st VISCOUNT NELSON

Horatio Nelson was born on 29 September 1758 in the rectory at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, the sixth of eleven children of the Reverend Edmund Nelson and Catherine Suckling Nelson. His mother died when Nelson was nine and he learnt to sail on Barton Broad on the Norfolk Broads. He was briefly educated at Paston Grammar School, North Walsham, and Norwich School. At the age of twelve, he enrolled in the Royal Navy and his career commenced on 1 January 1771 when he reported to the third-rate RAISONNABLE as an ordinary seaman and coxswain. Nelson's uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling commanded the ship. Shortly after his arrival, Nelson was appointed midshipman and quickly discovered that he suffered from seasickness, an affliction that would dog him for the rest of his life. In 1776 he is recorded as stating: 'I will be a hero and, confiding in providence, I will brave every danger!'

In 1777 Nelson was promoted lieutenant and assigned to the West Indies, during which time, he saw action in the American War of Independence. In June 1779 he was promoted captain by Peter Parker. The frigate HITCHENBROKE (28) was his first command in that rank. In 1780 he was involved in an action against the Spanish fortress of San Juan in Nicaragua. Although the expedition was ultimately a failure, none of the blame was attributed to Nelson, who was praised for his efforts. He then fell seriously ill, probably contracting malaria, returned to England and took more than a year to recover. He eventually returned to active service and was assigned to the ALBEMARLE, in which he continued his efforts against the American rebels until the end of the war in 1783. That year, he led a 100-man force in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge a French force from the Turks Islands. In 1784 he was appointed to the frigate BOREAS and tasked with enforcement of the Navigation Act in the waters off Antigua. The Act caused great resentment amongst the commercial classes, as its purpose was to prevent American vessels trading with British colonies in the Caribbean. After seizing four American vessels, Nelson was sued by the captains of the ships concerned and was in danger of imprisonment. He had to remain sequestered aboard ship for the eight months it took the courts to deny the Americans their claims. Notwithstanding, he met Frances (Fanny) Nisbet, a Nevis widow and they were married on 11 March 1787 at the end of his tour of duty. Great Britain being then at peace, he duly took his place ‘on the beach'. 

On 1 February 1793 France's National Convention declared war on Great Britain and the United Netherlands. Nelson was recalled and appointed to command the AGAMEMNON (64). He first met Lady Emma Hamilton, who has been described as: ‘a socialite of ample charms but dubious origins' in August 1793 when his ship docked in the Bay of Naples. His arrival was intended to reinforce the Anglo-Neapolitan treaty negotiated by Sir William Hamilton (1731-1803) to maintain the Kingdom of Naples' allegiance during Britain's contest with the French. It is reputed that Emma intervened in the discussions for Neapolitan support. She was an intimate of Queen Maria Carolina, wife of Ferdinand I of Naples and may well have helped persuade him that neutrality was not in his best interests. Whether instrumental or not, both Nelson and Sir William believed her intercession to have been influential.

Whilst serving under Admiral Hood, Nelson assisted in the occupation of Toulon and then assisted in operations on Corsica. Assigned by Hood to build batteries at Basti, at Calvi, Nelson lost the sight of his right eye from a stone splinter, during a cannonade against one of his batteries. He was promoted commodore off Livorno in 1796 and sent to harass the French coastal trade. Then, as commander of the CAPTAIN (74) he joined Sir John Jervis's fleet. In December that year, on leaving Elba for Gibraltar, he transferred his flag to the frigate MINERVE commanded by Captain George Cockburn. A Spanish frigate, the SANTA SABINA was captured during the passage and Lieutenant Hardy placed in charge of her. The following morning, two Spanish ships of line and a frigate appeared on the scene. Nelson decided on flight, leaving the SABINA to be recovered by the Spaniards and a beleaguered Hardy and John Culverhouse to be taken prisoner. The Spanish captain aboard the MINERVE was later exchanged for Hardy at Gibraltar.

On 13 February 1797 off Cape St Vincent, Portugal, the British sighted the Spanish fleet in loose formation heading north. Jervis steered between the two halves of the enemy, but misjudged his course reversal. Nelson spotted the problem, broke away from the line, and headed for the Spaniards. Jervis, seeing Nelson's intention, ordered Collingwood to aid him. The result was that Nelson and Collingwood threw the Spanish fleet into confusion, enabling the rest of Jervis's ships to come up and achieve victory. Fortunately for Nelson, he was praised for his initiative, rather than court-martialled. As a result of the victory, he was knighted member of the Order of the Bath and in April, was promoted Rear-Admiral of the Blue. He suffered a setback in July that year during the operation to capture the town of Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands. During a frontal assault, he took a musket ball in his right arm, fracturing his humerus in a number of places. Since medical science of the day advocated speedy amputation for nearly all serious limb wounds, (to prevent gangrene and death) Nelson lost almost his entire right arm to surgery and did not return to duty until mid-December.

The following year, he was sent to investigate the French fleet at Toulon. His ships were scattered by a storm and the French escaped. Nelson then learned that they had sailed east carrying an army to invade Egypt. The French landed their army before Nelson caught up with them in Aboukir Bay. At the Battle of the Nile on 1-2 August 1798 in command of a fleet of 14 ships, he destroyed a French force of 17 at the mouth of the Nile. As dusk fell, his fleet approached the French line from the west, splitting as they reached the anchored vessels so that they doubled up, one on each side of the enemy. The result was the annihilation of the French ships excepting two frigates and arguably, the most overwhelming victory in the age of sail. All the key elements of the Nelson system were present - personal courage, tactical brilliance and the sharing of his innovative tactics with his captains, his gallant ‘band of brothers'. The breaking of the French line by Captain Thomas Foley in the GOLIATH (74) was a good example of the initiative Nelson expected of his subordinates. Napoleon's army was stranded and he attempted to march north along the Mediterranean coastline, but was defeated at the Siege of Acre by Captain Sir Sidney Smith, RN. Napoleon then abandoned his beleaguered army and scuttled back to France in the MUIRON, evading detection. Thus ended Napoleon's adventure in the Levant and with it, his attempt to carry the war to the British in India. For his victory, Nelson was granted the title Baron Nelson, but he felt throughout his life that his accomplishments were not fully recognised by his superiors, a situation he ascribed to his humble origins. In 1799 Nelson was promoted Rear-Admiral of the Red and assigned to the second-rate FOUDROYANT. That July, he returned to Naples, which had been overrun by French troops and fifth columnists. He co-operated reluctantly with Russian Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov (1744-1817) in restoring the civil administration, insisted on the annulment of the capitulation agreed to by the Neapolitan general Fabrizio Ruffo and demanded the surrender of the Neapolitan Jacobins. He court-martialled and hanged the Neapolitan commodore Francesco Caracciolo, who had deserted. For these acts, the King of Naples created him Duke of Bronte. Nelson was subsequently accused of allowing the monarchists to kill prisoners contrary to the laws of war and in recent years, has been labelled a ‘war criminal' for his actions by revisionist historians.

Amidst all that excitement, Nelson found the time to fall in love with and woo Emma Hamilton. She became his mistress, returning to England as his ministering angel of domestic bliss. Eventually, they had a daughter, Horatia. Nelson's adulterous affair was one of the love stories of the age and it provided the gossips with a temporary respite from the seemingly never-ending series of scandals emanating from the House of Hanover. James Gillray's cheeky ‘nod and a wink' etching A Cognocenti contemplating ye Beauties of ye Antique depicted Lady Emma with her husband Sir William in the foreground. The pictures on the wall above Sir William's head slyly cast Nelson in the role of Mark Anthony and Emma as Cleopatra. Their Lordships' disappointment at Nelson's conduct in Italy caused him to be recalled to England, but public knowledge of his affection for Lady Hamilton then induced them to send him back to sea to separate the lovers.
On 1 January 1801 Nelson was promoted Vice-Admiral of the Blue and on 2 April was second-in-command to Admiral Sir Hyde Parker at the Battle of Copenhagen which broke the Russian-inspired Armed Neutrality of Denmark, Sweden and Russia. During the battle, Nelson was ordered to break off the engagement by Parker, who believed that the Danish fire was too strong. However, Nelson took the opportunity to augment his own legend and raised his telescope to his blind eye, telling Foley that he could not see the signal conveying the order. He then continued to give it to the Danes hot and heavy. The four-hour battle was ended by an armistice called for by Nelson, in order to preserve the lives of Danish sailors, despite which, the Danes have never ceased to moan about Nelson's ‘underhand' tactics.Nelson's intransigent belligerence was approved in retrospect by Their Lordships and in May, he replaced Parker as Commander-in-Chief in the Baltic and was created Viscount Nelson.

Upon the renewal of the war in 1803, Nelson was promoted vice-admiral and dispatched to command the fleet in the Mediterranean and flying his flag in the VICTORY, he blockaded the French fleet in Toulon for 22 months. The French fleet slipped out and dashed for the West Indies chased by the British. Nelson's health forced him to retire to Surrey. On 9 October Nelson resumed command off Cádiz where the Franco-Spanish fleet had taken refuge. They sallied forth on the 19th and on 21st they were spotted off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson then issued his famous order for the fleet to attack in two columns. On October 21 he led one column to cut off and hold the Franco-Spanish van, while Collingwood annihilated the centre and rear. At the height of the battle, Nelson was mortally wounded by a musket shot from the fighting top of the French ship REDOUBTABLE and died three hours later.

Arguably Britain's greatest hero, Nelson ranks high as a leader of men, not only for the bravery and dash he displayed at Cape Saint Vincent, but also for his coolness under fire, his joy in battle, and the charity he displayed at Copenhagen. Further evidence of his humanity may be taken from the fact that after the death of his brother Maurice, Nelson at his own expense, paid the living costs of the blind lady that lived with him. Nelson knew both his officers and men. His captains knew what he wanted to do and how he thought it should be done, the whole combination being called the ‘Nelson touch'. Renowned as a firm but fair disciplinarian, the difference between his approach and that employed by Jervis may be taken from his own observation: ‘Where I would take a penknife, Lord St Vincent takes a hatchet.' Despite the adulation Nelson received after his death, Emma Hamilton was ignored and she died in abject poverty at Calais nine years later. Her daughter Horatia returned to Norfolk and married a clergyman. Nelson's biography by the poet Robert Southey appeared in 1813.

Three Royal Navy warships and one shore establishment have been named HMS NELSON in his honour. On 21 October each year, the Royal Navy holds Trafalgar Day dinners and toasts ‘The Immortal Memory' of Nelson. The bullet that killed him is on display in the Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle. The uniform that he wore during the battle, with its fatal bullet hole, may be seen on display in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. A lock of Nelson's hair was given as a gift to the Imperial Japanese Navy after the Russo-Japanese War to commemorate victory at the Battle of Tsushima. It is on display at Kyouiku Sankoukan, a public museum in Japan maintained by the Self-Defence Forces. The city of Nelson, New Zealand bears his name, as well as Nelson Island on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada. Daniel Maclise's enormous, intensively researched, water-glass painting The Death of Nelson supported by Captain Hardy on the Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar (1859-64) may be found in the Royal Gallery of the Palace of Westminster. One of the most unusual monuments to his memory was constructed on Salisbury Plain, within cannon shot of Stonehenge, on land then owned by the Marquess of Queensbury. The monument consists of a series of clumps of trees in otherwise arable farmland. Known as the ‘Nile Clumps' they were arranged to represent the positions of French and British ships at the Battle of the Nile, considered Nelson's greatest victory. Some clumps still survive, and at the time of writing in 2007 work is underway to replant some of those that have ‘sunk'. They stand on land owned by the National Trust, forming part of the Stonehenge Historic Landscape Estate.

 

View Synopsis View Reviews View Information Purchase Options