Horatio Nelson

1758-1805. British admiral and one of the British heroes in the Wars against Napoleon.

Life

Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson was born on 29 September 1758 in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, and died on 21 October 1805 in Kap Trafalgar in Spain during the famous Battle of Trafalgar. His father was Reverend Edmund Nelson, an Anglican priest and his mother, Catherine Suckling was grand-niece to Robert Walpole, the First Earl of Orford. When he was 9 years old, his mother died, leaving her husband and Horatio’s 7 siblings behind. He began his naval career when Horatio was 12. Although he was often seasick, his uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, offered him a position on his ship Raissonable. He quickly became successful and entered the records as the youngest captain in Great Britain at the age of 20 when he obtained his first command in June 1779 on the frigate Hitchenbroke. In the end, he was promoted Vice Admiral of the Blue on 1 January 1801, the fourth highest rank of the Navy.

He married Fanny Nisbet in the Caribbean on 11 March 1787 after one of his missions against American provinces that were not allowed to trade with the British colonies.

Nelson was also famous for his affair with the British ambassador’s wife Emma Hamilton in Naples. Nelson did not mind the gossip when the two moved to a country estate together with Emma Hamilton’s husband Sir William Hamilton. Nelson and Hamilton even had a child together, Horatia. However, for the public’s sake, the two marriages remained in existence side by side.

Nelson is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Today, he is still remembered through the statue on Trafalgar Square in London. His monument in Dublin (Nelson’s Pillar) was destroyed by a terrorist attack in 1966.

His military achievements

In 1781, Nelson bombarded the Spanish fleet in Nicaragua, won the battle but had to return to English shortly afterwards due to continuous illness.

However, one year later, he obtained the command of the Albermarle where he fought American rebels until the American Revolutionary War was over in 1783.

Nelson is most famous for his achievements in the Napoleonic Wars, i.e. the wars against Napoleon Bonaparte and his French fleet intending to attack Britain.

During the French revolution after several years of rest, he returned to work and became commander of the Agamemnon with which he went to Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. He was shot in the eye which resulted in insidious blindness as both eyes were severely affected by this.

In 1796 he was promoted Commodore and only one year later, he won the famous Battle of Cape St. Vincent after which he was knighted. In April 1797, he became Rear Admiral of the Blue, the sixth highest rank in military of the Royal Navy.

Unfortunately, he lost his arm the same year, when he was shot in his elbow; he lost half of his arm in Tennerife.

When in 1793, the French waged war against the British, he went on fighting. He defeated the Napoleonic fleet near Alexandria which brought him to additional fame. Although the French were outnumbering the British fleet, by Nelson’s tactic, 13 French warships were destroyed when Nelson went directly in the midst of the French fleet.

The war against the French continued when on 1 August 1798, he defeated them in a glorious battle – the Battle of the Nile, also referred to as The Battle of Abukir. Due to Nelson’s tactics, the French troops were finally trapped in Egypt and had to be brought back to France. For this achievement, Nelson received the honour of obtaining the title baron.

The Battle of Trafalgar

His last battle, during which he also died, took place on 21 October 1805 when Nelson had to face Spanish and French troops near Cadiz in Spain with 33 warships on Napoleon’s side and only 27 British warships against them. Nelson commanded the flagship Victory which first destroyed the French flagship Beaucentaure but was finally defeated shortly afterwards. Nelson was shot by a sniper in his shoulder and through his lungs after which he died. Shortly before his death, Nelson received the good news about the British defeat of the French and Spanish troops and thus the victory of the British against Napoleon.

Sources

Adkin, Mark. Trafalgar Companion: The Complete Guide to History’s Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Nelson. London: Aurum Press, 2005.

Knight, Roger. The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson. London: Penguin Books, 2006.

Lavery, Brian. Horatio Lord Nelson. London: The British Library, 2003.

Sontag, Susan. The Volcano Lover: A Romance. London: Penguin Books, 2009.

White, Colin. The Nelson Encyclopedia: People, Places, Battles, Ships, Myths, Mistresses, Memorials and Memorabilia. Newbury: Chatham Publishing, 2005.