1st Viscount Nelson, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was an English admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, where he lost his life.
It was as a result of these wars that he became one of the greatest naval heroes in the history of the United Kingdom, eclipsing Admiral Robert Blake in fame. His biography by the poet Robert Southey appeared in 1813, while the wars were still being fought. His love affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British Ambassador to Naples, is also well-known, and he is honoured by the London landmark, Nelson's Column, which stands in the centre of Trafalgar Square.
Early Life Nelson
Horatio Nelson was born on 29 September 1758 in a rectory in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, the sixth of eleven children of The Reverend Edmund Nelson and Catherine Nelson. His mother, who died when he was nine, was a grandniece of Sir Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, the de facto first prime minister of the British Parliament.
Nelson was briefly educated at Paston Grammar School, North Walsham, and Norwich School, and by the time he was twelve he had enrolled in the Royal Navy.His naval career began on 1 January 1771 when he reported to the third-rate Raisonnable as an Ordinary Seaman and coxswain. Nelson’s maternal uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, commanded the vessel. Shortly after reporting aboard, Nelson was appointed a midshipman and began officer training. Ironically, Nelson found that he suffered from seasickness, a chronic complaint that dogged him for the rest of his life.
Admiralty
1797 was a full year for Nelson. On 14 February he was largely responsible for the British victory at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Here he showed his flair for dramatic and bold action. Under the command of Sir John Jervis, the British fleet was ordered to "tack in line," but Nelson disobeyed these orders and wore ship to alter course and prevent the Spanish fleet from escaping. He then boarded two enemy ships in succession, an unusual and bold move which was cheered by the whole fleet. Nelson himself led the boarding parties, which was not usually done by high ranking officers.
In the aftermath of this victory, Nelson was knighted as a member of the Order of the Bath (hence the post nominal initials "KB"). In April of the same year he was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue, the ninth highest rank in the Royal Navy. Promotion to admiral at this time was not based on merit but solely on seniority and the availability of positions to fill. Able captains such as Nelson were appointed commodore temporarily, a position which had the same pay and responsibilities as an admiral. Later in the year, while commanding Theseus during an unsuccessful expedition to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Nelson was shot in the right arm with a musket ball, fracturing his humerus bone in multiple places. Since medical science of the day counselled amputation for almost all serious limb wounds (to prevent death by gangrene), Nelson lost almost his entire right arm and was unfit for duty until mid-December. He referred to the stub as "my fin."
This was not his only reverse. In December 1796, on leaving Elba for Gibraltar, Nelson transferred his flag to the frigate Minerve (of French construction, commanded by Captain Cockburn). A Spanish frigate, Santa Sabina, was captured during the passage and Lieutenant Hardy was put in charge of the captured vessel. The following morning, two Spanish ships of the line and one frigate appeared. Nelson decided to flee, leaving Santa Sabina to be recovered by the Spanish and Hardy was captured. The Spanish captain who was on board Minerve was later exchanged for Hardy in Gibraltar.
In 1798 Nelson was once again responsible for a great victory over the French. The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay) took place on 1 August 1798. The battle effectively ended Napoleon's ambition to take the war to the British in India. The forces Napoleon had brought to Egypt were stranded. Napoleon attempted to march north along the Mediterranean coast but his army was defeated at the Siege of Acre by Captain Sir Sidney Smith. Napoleon then left his army and sailed back to France, evading detection by British ships. Given its huge strategic importance, some historians (see Vincent 2003) regard Nelson's achievement at the Nile as the most significant of his career, Trafalgar notwithstanding.
For the spectacular victory of the Nile, Nelson was granted the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile. (Nelson felt cheated that he was not awarded a more prestigious title; Sir John Jervis had been made Earl of St. Vincent for his part in the battle of St. Vincent, but the British Government insisted that an officer who was not the commander-in-chief could not be raised to any peerage higher than a barony). Nelson felt throughout his life that his accomplishments were not fully rewarded by the British government, a fact he ascribed to his humble birth and lack of political connections as compared during his lifetime to Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent or after his death to the Duke of Wellington.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Nelson then rescued the Neapolitan royal family from a French invasion in December. During this time he fell in love with Emma Hamilton - the young wife of the elderly British ambassador to Naples. Emma became Nelson's mistress, returning to England to live openly with him, and eventually they had a daughter, Horatia.
In 1799 Nelson was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Red, the seventh highest rank in the Royal Navy. He was then assigned to the new second-rate Foudroyant. In July he aided Admiral Ushakov with the reconquest of Naples after the Parthenopaean Republic, and was made Duke of Bronte by the Neapolitan king. Personal problems and some upper-level disappointment at his professional conduct caused him to be recalled to England, but public knowledge of his affair with Lady Hamilton eventually induced the Admiralty to send him back to sea, if only to get him away from her.
Some have suggested that a head wound Nelson received at Aboukir Bay was partially responsible for his personal conduct and for the way he managed the Neapolitan campaign. He was accused of allowing the monarchists to kill prisoners contrary to the laws of war. Perhaps Nelson's zeal was due simultaneously to his English hatred of Jacobins and his status as a Neapolitan royalist (as the Duke of Bronte). The Neapolitan campaign is now considered something of a disgrace to his name.
On 1 January 1801 Nelson was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Blue (the sixth highest rank). Within a few months he took part in the Battle of Copenhagen (2 April 1801) which was fought in order to break up the armed neutrality of Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. During the action, his commander, Sir Hyde Parker, who believed that the Danish fire was too strong, signalled to Nelson to break off the action. Nelson ordered that the signal be acknowledged, but not repeated. Legend has it that Nelson turned to his flag Captain, Sir Thomas Foley, and said "You know, Foley, I only have one eye — I have the right to be blind sometimes," and then holding his telescope to his blind eye, said "I really do not see the signal!" In reality, however, Nelson merely ignored the signal. His action was approved in retrospect and in May he became commander-in-chief in the Baltic Sea. As a reward, he was created Viscount Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, on 22 May 1801. In addition, on 18 August 1801, he was created Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Hilborough in the County of Norfolk, this time with a special remainder to his father and sisters.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was massing forces to invade England. Nelson was placed in charge of defending the English Channel in order to thwart any such invasion. However, on 22 October 1801 an armistice was signed between the British and the French, and Nelson - in poor health again - retired to England where he stayed with his friends, Sir William and Lady Hamilton. The three embarked on a tour of England and Wales, culminating in a stay in Birmingham. They visited Matthew Boulton on his sick bed at Soho House and toured his Soho Manufactory.
The Battle of Trafalgar
The Peace of Amiens was not to last long and Nelson soon returned to duty. He was appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. Assigned to HMS Victory in May 1803, Nelson joined the blockade of Toulon, France. He would not set foot on dry land again for more than two years.
Nelson was promoted to Vice Admiral of the White (the fifth highest rank) while still at sea, on 23 April 1804. The French fleet slipped out of Toulon in early 1805 and headed for the West Indies. (See battle of Cape Finisterre (1805) for a summary of this campaign.) A fierce chase failed to turn them up and Nelson's health forced him to retire to Merton in England.
Within two months Nelson returned to sea. On 13 September 1805 he was called upon to oppose the French and Spanish fleets which had managed to join up and take refuge in the harbour of Cádiz, Spain.
On 21 October 1805 Nelson engaged in his final battle, the Battle of Trafalgar. Napoleon Bonaparte had been massing forces once again for an invasion of the British Isles, but he decided that his navy was not adequate to secure the Channel for the invasion barges. Thus, Napoleon had started moving his troops for a campaign elsewhere in Europe. On 19 October the French and Spanish fleet set sail from Cádiz, probably because Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, the French commander, had learned that he was to be replaced. Nelson, with twenty-seven ships, engaged the thirty-three opposing ships.
Nelson's last dispatch, written on the 21 October, read:
"At daylight saw the Enemy's Combined Fleet from East to E.S.E.; bore away; made the signal for Order of Sailing, and to Prepare for Battle; the Enemy with their heads to the Southward: at seven the Enemy wearing in succession. May the Great God, whom I worship, grant to my Country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious Victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after Victory be the predominant feature in the British Fleet. For myself, individually, I commit my life to Him who made me, and may his blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my Country faithfully. To Him I resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen. Amen. Amen."
As the two fleets moved towards engagement, Nelson ran up a thirty-one flag signal to the rest of the fleet, spelling out the famous phrase "England expects that every man will do his duty". The original signal that Nelson wished to make to the fleet was Nelson confides that every man will do his duty (meaning 'is confident that he will'). The signal officer asked Nelson if he could substitute the word 'expects' for 'confides' as 'expects' was included in the code devised by Sir Home Popham, whereas 'confides' would have to be spelled out letter by letter. Another officer suggested that "England" would be more powerful than "Nelson." Nelson agreed, and the signal was run up Victory's mizzenmast.
After crippling the French flagship Bucentaure, Victory moved on to the Redoutable. The two ships became entangled, at which point snipers in the fighting tops of Redoutable were able to pour fire down onto the deck of Victory. Nelson was one of those hit: a bullet entered his left shoulder, pierced his lung, and came to rest at the base of his spine. Nelson retained consciousness for four hours, but died soon after the battle ended with a British victory.(See #Last words.) The bullet that killed Nelson was removed from his body and is now on public display in Windsor Castle.
Victory was towed after the battle to Gibraltar, with Nelson's body preserved in a barrel of brandy. Legend has it that, ironically, it was French brandy that had been captured during the battle. (This was the origin of the phrase "Tapping the Admiral" for having a small hard drink.) Upon the arrival of his body in London, Nelson was given a state funeral (one of only five non-royal Britons to receive the honour - others include the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill) and entombment in St. Paul's Cathedral. He was laid to rest in a wooden coffin made from the mast of L'Orient which had been salvaged after the Battle of the Nile, within a sarcophagus originally carved for Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (when Wolsey fell from favour, it was confiscated by Henry VIII and was still in the royal
Legacy of Lord Nelson
Nelson was noted for his considerable ability to inspire and bring out the best in his men, to the point that it gained a name: "The Nelson Touch". Famous even while alive, after his death he was lionised like almost no other military figure in British history (his only peers are the Duke of Marlborough and Nelson's contemporary, the Duke of Wellington). Most military historians believe Nelson's ability to inspire officers of the highest rank and seamen of the lowest was central to his many victories, as was his unequalled ability to both strategically plan his campaigns and tactically shift his forces in the midst of battle. Certainly, he ranks as one of the greatest field commanders in military history. Many consider him to have been the greatest warrior of the seas.
It must also be said that his "Nelson touch" also worked with non-seamen; he was beloved in England by virtually everyone. (The only people not affected by him were those offended by his affair with Lady Hamilton.) Now as then, he is a popular hero, included in the top 10 of the 100 Greatest Britons poll sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public, and commemorated in the extensive Trafalgar 200 celebrations in 2005, including the International Fleet Review.
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