Nelson, Horatio (1758-1805), was the United Kingdom’s greatest admiral and naval hero. In 1805, he defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar in the greatest naval victory in British history. His victory broke France’s naval power and established the United Kingdom’s rule of the seas for the rest of the 1800’s.
Early life.
Nelson was born at Burnham-Thorpe in the English county of Norfolk, on Sept. 29, 1758. His father was rector of the local church, and his mother was a member of the famous Walpole family. Nelson was a small, frail child. But he fell in love with the sea early in life and made up his mind to be a sailor. He spent much time piloting small boats on the river near his home. When he was 12 years old, his uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, planned a voyage to the Falkland Islands. Nelson begged his family for permission to go along, and he was finally allowed to do so. He owed much of his early training to Captain Suckling, who had him transferred from time to time to ships engaged in different types of service. Suckling also encouraged him to study navigation and to practice boat sailing.
Joins the navy.
At the age of 15, Nelson went aboard the Carcass as a coxswain (steerer). He served on that vessel in an expedition to the Arctic seas. On his return, he was sent to the East Indies on the Seahorse. On the East Indies voyage, he caught a fever that seriously damaged his health. But he became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy at 18.
In 1779, when not yet 21, he was given command of the frigate Hinchinbrook. He was known as a capable officer. His professional ability and his talent for getting along with his men helped him to rise rapidly in the service. A cruise to Central America brought on a second tropical illness and Nelson was sent home in feeble health.
Nelson was given duty on the North Sea as soon as he recovered from the fever. He was then assigned to service in Canadian waters and developed a great fondness for Canada, where the climate strengthened his health. Nelson was given command of the frigate Boreas, stationed in the West Indies in 1784. He spent three years there.
Nelson married the widow of Josiah Nisbet, an English doctor, in the West Indies in 1787. Prince William, who later became King William IV of England, gave the bride away at the wedding. Nelson was recalled from active service soon afterward. He remained on the retired list until soon after the outbreak of war with France in 1793.
Wounded at Calvi.
In 1793, Nelson was placed in command of the Agamemnon and sailed to join the British fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. This voyage began seven years of almost continual warfare at sea. Nelson was one of the British commanders who blockaded Toulon, France, and captured Corsica. He was wounded at Calvi, on the Corsican coast, and lost the sight of his right eye.
Nelson next distinguished himself at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797. He served under Admiral Sir John Jervis, who defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets. Nelson was made a Knight of the Bath for his part in this victory. He had become a rear admiral a week before the battle. A few months later, Nelson led a small landing party in an attack on the strongly fortified port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The attack was a bold gamble, but unlike others, it failed. The British were driven off with heavy losses and Nelson’s right arm was badly mangled up to the elbow. The arm had to be cut off in a crude amputation in a pitching boat, and Nelson was invalided home to England in great pain. But he soon returned to duty.
Battle of the Nile.
Napoleon, victorious in Europe, began to gather a French fleet for an expedition to conquer Egypt. Nelson was sent to watch the French ships at Toulon. A storm came up, and under its cover the French fleet escaped. Nelson followed it in a long and tiresome pursuit. He finally cornered the French ships in Abu Qir Bay. There, he attacked and almost destroyed the fleet on Aug. 1, 1798. This engagement is known to history as the Battle of the Nile. It cut off Napoleon’s army in Egypt and ruined his Egyptian campaign. A year later, Napoleon deserted his army in Egypt and sneaked across the Mediterranean in a tiny ship. The victory over Napoleon in the Battle of the Nile made Nelson famous. He was made Baron of the Nile and given a large sum of money.
Nelson was wounded again in this battle, and he went to Naples to recover. Emma Lady Hamilton, wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British ambassador to Naples, fell in love with the battered, one-eyed, one-armed naval hero and became his mistress. Her influence over Nelson became so great that he disobeyed his orders to leave Naples and join a squadron in the Mediterranean. It was Nelson’s good fortune that no British defeat resulted from his refusal to leave Naples. Nelson was condemned for his conduct, however, when he returned to England.
Battle of Copenhagen.
Nelson became a vice admiral in 1801, and sailed for Copenhagen, Denmark, in the squadron of Admiral Hyde Parker. The United Kingdom had claimed the right to search neutral ships for contraband of war. But Denmark refused to allow its ships to be searched. A council of war chose Nelson to make the attack on the Danish fleet. Admiral Parker later became doubtful of the attack’s outcome. He signaled Nelson to retire. But Nelson clapped his telescope to his blind eye and studied the signal. “I really do not see the signal,” he said to an aide. He ignored Parker’s order and turned what might have been a defeat into a great victory. After the Battle of Copenhagen, he was given the title of viscount.
Victory at Trafalgar.
Nelson was made commander in chief of the fleet in May 1803. Sailing on the flagship Victory, he once more went in search of the French. He found the French fleet at Toulon, but it slipped away from him. Nelson chased the French to the West Indies and back. It was more than two years before Nelson was able to bring the French fleet to battle off Cape Trafalgar on the coast of Spain, on Oct. 21, 1805 (see Trafalgar, Battle of ). Nelson hoisted his famous signal, “England expects that every man will do his duty.” With only 27 vessels, Nelson attacked the combined French and Spanish fleets. One of the great naval battles of all time followed. Napoleon’s fleet, which had 33 warships, was destroyed.
Nelson was wounded at the height of the battle. He was carried below with a sharpshooter’s bullet in his spine. Nelson died during the battle, but he lived long enough to know that the British fleet had defeated the French and Spanish fleets. Nelson’s last words were, “Thank God I have done my duty.”
One of Nelson’s great characteristics as a commander was his willingness to give full credit to his officers and men. After the Battle of Copenhagen, he refused an honor given him by the City of London because he alone was to be honored. Nelson replied, “Never till the City of London thinks justly of the merits of my brave companions of the second of April can I, their commander, receive any attention from the City of London.” The poet Robert Southey wrote of Nelson, “England has had many heroes. But never one who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow countrymen. All men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless … that with perfect and entire devotion he served his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength. And therefore they loved him as truly and fervently as he loved England.”
Nelson monument.
After Nelson’s death, he became such a hero in the United Kingdom that the government erected a large column topped with a statue of him in Trafalgar Square, which was named for Nelson’s last battle. The monument, called Nelson’s Column, is one of the most famous landmarks in London.
See also Trafalgar, Battle of ; Victory .
