Admiral Lord Nelson

Command

In 1783, Nelson led a 100 man force in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge a French force from the Turks Islands. In 1784 he was given command of the frigate Boreas, and assigned to enforce the Navigation Act in the vicinity of Antigua. This was during the denouement of the American Revolutionary War, and enforcement of the Act was problematic - now-foreign American vessels were no longer allowed to trade with British colonies in the Caribbean Sea, an unpopular rule with both the colonies and the Americans.

After seizing four American vessels off Nevis, Nelson was sued by the captains of the ships for illegal seizure. As the merchants of Nevis supported them, Nelson was in peril of imprisonment and had to remain sequestered on Boreas for eight months. It took that long for the courts to deny the captains their claims, but in the interim Nelson met Frances "Fanny" Nisbet, a widow native to Nevis.

Nelson and Fanny were married on 11 March 1787 at the end of his tour of duty in the Caribbean.Nelson lacked a command for a few years after 1789. He lived on half pay during this time (a reasonably common occurrence in the peacetime Royal Navy). Then, as the French Revolutionary government began aggressive moves beyond France's borders, Nelson was recalled to service.

Given command of the 64-gun Agamemnon in 1793, he soon started a long series of battles and engagements that would seal his place in history.He was first assigned to the Mediterranean, based out of the Kingdom of Naples.

In 1794 he was wounded in the face by stones and debris thrown up by a close cannon shot during a joint operation at Calvi, Corsica. As a result, Nelson lost the sight in his right eye and half of his right eyebrow. Despite popular legend, there is no evidence that Nelson ever wore an eye patch, though he was known to wear an eyeshade to protect his remaining eye.

In 1796 the position of commander-in-chief of the fleet in the Mediterranean passed to Sir John Jervis, who appointed Nelson to be commodore and to exercise independent command over the ships blockading the French coast.

Agamemnon, often described as Nelson's favourite ship, was by now worn out and was sent back to the UK for repairs.

Nelson was appointed to the 74-gun HMS Captain. 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.

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 postnominal 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 musketball, 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 was quoted as saying "I am Lord Nelson and this is my fin."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 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 the 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 Britain 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 third-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 Britain, 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.In 1797 Lord and Lady Nelson moved to Ipswich, Suffolk and in 1800 Lord Nelson was appointed High Steward of Ipswich, however he failed to become the town's MP.

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 Great Britain.

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 Britain 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.

In 1802 Nelson bought Merton Place, a country estate in Merton, Surrey (now south-west London) where he lived briefly with Emma Hamilton.

The Battle of Trafalgar - death and burial

Nelson's pre-battle prayer, inscribed on oak timber from HMS Victory.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.

A fierce chase failed to turn them up and Nelson's health forced him to retire to Merton in the UK.

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:

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 hit from a range of about fifty feet: 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.

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. There was a rumour that on the voyage home to England, sailors drank the contents of the barrel, using tubes of macaroni as straws and then topped it up with wine, as they were toasting to their Admiral. This wasn't the case. The barrel was kept under armed guard and according to eyewitnessess, when it was opened in Portsmouth it seemed well topped up. However the legend was the origin of the Navy phrase "Tapping the Admiral" for the secret consumption of rum.

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 collections in 1805).

Last words

Nelson's final words (as related by Victory's Surgeon William Beatty, based on the accounts of those who were with Nelson when he died) were "Thank God I have done my duty." According to Beatty, he repeated these words several times until he became unable to speak. It is unknown whether he was in a delirious state when repeating the sentence.

In his dying hours, Nelson was also attended by his chaplain, Alexander Scott; his steward, Chevalier; and the purser, Walter Burke. Their accounts have been available to Nelson's modern biographers. In those accounts, Nelson's last words were "Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub."

This was a request to alleviate his symptoms of thirst, heat, and the pains of his wounds.

Nelson's steward stood by to fan him and feed him lemonade and watered wine, whilst Dr Scott massaged his chest to ease the pain.

It is a common misconception that Nelson's last words were, "Kiss me, Hardy", spoken to the captain of HMS Victory, Thomas Hardy. Nelson did, in fact, say these words to Hardy a short time before his death. Eyewitnesses testified that Hardy kissed the admiral twice: once on the cheek and once on the forehead, as Nelson struggled to remain conscious.  Prior to this Nelson asked his flag-captain not to throw him overboard and to look after 'poor Lady Hamilton'. He then said "kiss me Hardy". After Hardy's first kiss Nelson said, "now I am satisfied". After the second, "who is that?". When he saw it was Hardy he said, "God bless you Hardy." However they were not his last words as Hardy was not present at his death, having been called back on deck.

Some have speculated that Nelson actually said "Kismet, Hardy", but this is unlikely, since the word kismet did not enter the English language until much later, although he may have heard the word used by a Turk. In Nelson's time, the word "kiss" also meant "touch" in the sense of any physical contact (not exclusively oral contact). Nelson may therefore simply have wanted Hardy to shake his hand or make some other physical gesture. Shortly after "God bless you Hardy", Nelson said, "Thank God I have done my duty", and then finally, "Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub." He lost consciousness, the surgeon was called, and Nelson was declared dead at 16:30.

Legacy

Detail from an 1805 poster commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar.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 Britain 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.

Even today phrases such as "England expects" and "nelson" (meaning "111") remain closely associated with English sporting teams.