to be an Admiral and in command of the English Fleet;
I should very soon either do much, or be ruined. My
disposition cannot bear tame and slow measures. Sure I
am, had I commanded our Fleet on the 14th, that either
the whole French Fleet would have graced my triumph,
or I should have been in a confounded scrape.... Now,
had we taken ten sail and allowed the eleventh to escape,
when it had been possible to have got at her, I could
never have called it well done.”
Admiral Hotham was replaced by Sir John Jervis,
who sailed with Nelson in the Atlantic off Cape St.
Vincent. Accosted by Spanish ships, the British fought
the battle of Cape St. Vincent on 14 February 1797,
in which Nelson’s single ship took on several Spanish
ships and eventually captured two of them—the San
Nicolas and the San Josef. Following this battle, Nelson
was made a Knight of the Bath (KB) and promoted to
rear admiral. On 21 July 1797, an attempt to capture a
number of Spanish ships filled with treasure at Tenerife
led to disaster, and Nelson lost his right arm. After his
recovery, he rejoined the fleet in 1798 aboard his flag-
ship, the Vanguard.
On 1 August 1798, Nelson attacked the French
at Aboukir Bay in Egypt, also known as the Battle of
the Nile, one of the most important sea engagements
in the wars between En gland and France. Nelson’s fleet
destroyed the French ships, leaving Napoleon’s army in
Egypt isolated and earning Nelson a peerage as Baron
Nelson of the Nile.
It was during this period that Nelson, still married,
began a love affair with Emma Hamilton, the wife of his
friend Sir William Hamilton. Although the two never di-
vorced their respective mates, they eventually had a child
together, scandalizing English society. Nelson remained
in love with his “darling Emma” until his death.
In the last years of his life, Nelson was one of the
commanders who made the British navy the most effec-
tive fleet in the world. He aided King Ferdinand’s effort
to retake control of Naples in 1799 and was given the
dukedom of Brontë for his service. Because of disagree-
ment with his superior, Lord Keith, he was recalled to
London. Once he returned, he was forgiven for his of-
fense and named as second in command to Admiral Sir
Hyde Parker. The threat of a Russian invasion of Den-
mark led Parker, an aged seaman, to allow Nelson to at-
tack and defeat the Danish fleet at Copenhagen on 2
April 1801. Nelson succeeded Parker as commander in
chief and was made a viscount.
On March 1802, the Peace of Amiens brought
peace between Britain and France, but on 16 May
1803, Napoleon reopened the war against En gland.
Nelson was given command of the Mediterranean fleet
in May 1803, and he launched a blockade of Toulon
to prevent the French and Spanish from joining forces.
In March 1804, French admiral Pierre Villeneuve broke
the blockade and sailed to the West Indies. Nelson set
off in pursuit, but Villeneuve managed to return across
the Atlantic to safety in Cádiz, Spain. The British block-
aded them, waiting for any move, which came on 20
October, when Villeneuve’s fleet sailed out to Trafalgar.
There, Nelson and his fleet met them, leading to one
of the most famous battles in world military history. As
the fleets closed, Nelson signaled his ships from his flag-
ship, the Victory: “En gland expects that every man will
do his duty.” During the fight, when Admiral Cuthbert
Collingwood’s ship Royal Sovereign broke the enemy’s
lines, Nelson cried out, “See how that noble fellow
Collingwood carries his ship into action.” Sometime
during the engagement, a sniper from the French ship
Redoutable fired at Nelson, striking him in his chest. He
was carried below by his men and examined by the ship’s
surgeon, who diagnosed the wound as mortal. As Nelson
lay dying, reports on the battle were given to him. When
news was heard that 15 French ships had been seized,
he said, “That is well, but I had bargained for 20.” Mo-
ments before his death, his flag captain, Thomas Hardy,
kissed his forehead, to which Nelson replied, “Now I am
satisfied. Thank God, I have done my duty.” He died
never knowing the full extent of the English victory at
Trafalgar, with the combined Franco-Spanish fleet de-
feated and those ships not destroyed being captured and
taken as war booty.
Nelson’s body was taken back to En gland, and his
grateful nation mourned him with a full state funeral
and burial in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. His ship
Victory was sent to Portsmouth, where it is still pre-
served. In 2004, archaeologists found the remains of his
ship Agamemnon, which had been sunk off the coast of
Uruguay in 1809.248 NELSON, HORATIO, VISCOUNT NELSON