Who was Horatio Nelson?
Naval Commander and national hero.
Date and Place of Birth:
29th September 1758. Burnham-Thorpe, Norfolk,
England.
Family Background:
Sixth of eleven children of the Village Rector,
Edmund and his Wife Catherine. She was descended from Sir Robert
Walpole who had been Prime Minister earlier in the century. When
she died her brother Captain Maurice Suckling agreed to take him
to sea. Suckling later rose to Comptroller of the Royal Navy.
Nelson's Birthplace in Burnham Thorpe was demolished in
1803 before the Battle of Trafalgar but the village still proudly
records the birth of its most famous son
(© A Blagg)
Education:
The Paston School, North Walsham, Norfolk. The
Royal Navy. (Passed the examination to become Lieutenant in 1777).
Chronology/Biography of Lord Nelson:
1773: Joined a scientific
expedition to the Arctic Ocean. Also sailed on active service to
the West Indies and became involved in the American Wars of Independence.
1779: Promoted to
Captain aged 20. Given the command of a Frigate and took part in
the struggle against Spanish settlements in Nicaragua. The British
force at this time was almost wiped out by Yellow Fever.
1783: Returned to
England at the end of the American Revolution.
1784: Commanded
a frigate to the West Indies to help enforce the Navigation Act
against American Ships who were still trading using British privileges.
In so doing he made enemies with local merchants and the British
authorities.
1785: (March) Visited
the Island of Nevis in the West Indies and met Frances Nisbet.
1787: Returned with
his new bride to Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk. As he was not in command
of a ship he was reduced to half pay.
1793: (January)
Within a few days of the execution of King Louis 16th
of France he was given command of the 64 Gun ship Agamemnon. Set
sail for the Mediterranean. Assigned to the defence of the port
of Toulon against the revolutionaries including Napoleon Bonaparte.
Early efforts failed and he was dispatched to Naples to collect
re-enforcements. Owed much success in this to Sir William Hamilton
and his wife Emma who was in the Queen of Naples’s confidence. After
the fall of Toulon the British commander Lord Hood moved his base
to Corsica. Nelson was sent ashore to assist in the capture of Bastia
and Calvi and was blinded in the right eye from splinters from some
French shot.
1794: Hood was replaced
as commander by Admiral William Hotham and then Sir John Jervis
who was an attacking commander more to Nelson’s liking. Quickly
gained the confidence of Jervis. The British were forced to retreat
to Gibraltar and the Tagus. At the Battle of Cape St. Vincent Nelson
held the two Spanish squadrons apart and boarded two Men O’ War.
This action earned him a Knighthood. He was promoted to Rear Admiral
by seniority. His first action in command of a major independent
force was disastrous During his assault on Tenerife a grape shot
shattered his right elbow and his arm had to be amputated back on
board his flagship.
1798: In the Spring
he was fit enough again to rejoin Jervis (who had now become the
earl of St. Vincent) sailing in HMS Vanguard. He pursued the French
fleet towards Egypt. He caught up with it in the harbour at Alexandria
near the mouth of the river Nile. The battle raged all night and
he all but annihilated the French squadron. He was awarded a Baronetcy
for this action. He then made his way back to Naples for repairs
where he was given a heroes welcome. Emma Hamilton stage-managed
a huge 40th Birthday party for him with 1,800 guests He encouraged
King Ferdinand of Naples to ally with Great Britain, Austria and
Russia against the French and to try and recapture Rome. After early
successes the French counter-attack drove him back to Naples, which
then fell. Nelson helped evacuate the royal family to Sicily and
at Palermo it became obvious that his infatuation with Emma Hamilton
was undeniable.
1799: He supported
King Ferdinand’s successful re-capture of Naples. Lord Keith who
had replaced St. Vincent as commander of the British ordered him
to Minorca but he refused arguing that the threat from the French
was towards Naples. The Admiralty ordered him back to Britain annoyed
both with his disobedience and his acceptance of the Dukedom of
Bronte (In Sicily) from the King of Naples.
Dry Dock at Chatham Historic Docks where H.M.S Victory was
built
in the middle of the 18th Century.
Now home to H.M.S Cavalier, a World War Two Frigate
(© A Blagg)
1800: Returned slowly
overland to London with the Hamiltons where he received a hero’s
welcome. He had a bleak reunion with his wife for one month until
he went back to the Hamiltons. Because of his affair he had became
a figure of fun in society and was snubbed by the King of England.
He was appointed second in command to the elderly Admiral Sir Hyde
Parker who was to command an expedition to the Baltic. Shortly before
sailing Emma gave birth to a girl (Horatia) and he made arrangements
for concealing its parentage.
1801: Parker’s fleet
sailed for Copenhagen. Nelson bypassed the shore batteries by taking
low draught ships along a shallow channel. He ignored Parker’s signal
to disengage after heavy loses and finally went on to be victorious.
Parker was succeeded by Nelson himself who had now become a Commander-in-Chief
and given a Home Command. He planned a failed attack on Boulogne
and his second attempt was cancelled due to the signing of the Treaty
of Amiens in March 1802.
1802: Nelson returned
to Merton Place near London, which Emma had bought, on his instructions
for them both to live in. Hamilton was not happy but was powerless
to do anything about it.
1803: Hamilton dies
with his wife and her lover at his side. In May Nelson was given
a command in the Mediterranean Sea with HMS Victory as his flagship.
Although technically at peace it was known that Napoleon was threatening
further war. Nelson blockaded Toulon to prevent the French ships
at Brest and in the Atlantic joining forces. Spain declared war
and Nelson kept an eye on the Spanish ships based at Cadiz and Cartagena.
The first statue in Great Britain commemorating Nelson after
the Battle of Trafalgar was erected in Birmingham. This was paid
for by public subscription to a design by the sculptor Sir Richard
Westmacott
(© A Blagg)
1805: In March the
French commander Villeneuve’s ships broke out of Toulon under cover
of bad weather. The British gave chase and inflicted some damage
on the fleet, however failing to win control of the English Channel
and fearing an invasion of Britain by Napoleon Nelson headed south
to Cadiz where Villeneuve’s fleet had taken sanctuary. He then went
to Gibraltar to make dispositions for the blockade of Cadiz and
then returned to England to plan his campaign. On October 20th
Villeneuve sailed out of Cadiz harbour at dawn. On the next day
Nelson formed two divisions, one led by himself and one led by Admiral
Collingwood. The British sailed straight at the combined French
and Spanish fleets effectively cutting them in two. Victory was
thus assured at the Battle of Trafalgar, however at the height of
battle Nelson was shot by a French sniper from the rigging of the
Redoubtable and hit in the shoulder and chest. Taken below decks
he later died of his wounds. Rather than be buried at sea his body
was put into a barrel of spirits to preserve it and taken back to
England for a hero’s welcome and triumphal burial at St. Paul’s
Cathedral, London.
Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London
(© A Blagg)
Marriage:
March 1787 to Frances Nisbet a widow with a five
year old son Josiah on the Isle of Nevis.
Places of Interest:
AVON:
Lodged for a year at No 2 Pierrepont Street,
Bath.
LONDON:
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. (Uniform
worn at Trafalgar complete with bullet hole and blood on display).
HAMPSHIRE:
H.M.S. Victory, Royal Naval Dockyard, Portsmouth.
(Nelson's Flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar).
Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth Dockyards.
KENT:
Historic Dockyards, Chatham where H.M.S Victory
was built.
NORFOLK:
Burnham Thorpe, the place of Nelson's birth,
is still an isolated village. The actual building was demolished
in 1803 before his victory at Trafalgar.
SCOTLAND:
Royal Yacht Britannia has a button off Nelson's
coat in the Wardroom and a portrait of him outside the Queen's bedroom.
There is also a bust in the Chief Petty Officer's Mess.
TEESSIDE:
Hartlepool Historic Dock, part of Hartlepool's
Maritime Experience has the preserved ship H.M.S Trincomalee floating
in it's Harbour. Although built after Trafalgar it was constructed
to the same design as all of Nelson's Frigates and visitors can
experience the cramped conditions below decks.
H.M.S Trincomalee at Hartlepool Historic Dock.
A restored example of a Nelsonic type Frigate.
(© A Blagg)
Date and Place of Death:
21st October 1805. At sea off Cape Trafalgar,
Spain.
Age at Death:
47.
Site of Grave:
St. Paul’s Cathedral crypt beneath the
Dome, London, England.
Nelson's Grave Monument,
St Paul's Cathedral, London
(© A Blagg)
