Suckling took in young Horatio and schooled him in
the ways of the sea.
Starting in 1771, Nelson went to sea on board the
Raisonnable, and he soon became an experienced sea-
man. In 1772, at the age of 14, he served as a mem-
ber of the crew on a scientific expedition to the Arctic.
Later, struck by malaria in the Indian Ocean, he was
sent back to England, where he resolved to become a
naval leader. In 1777, he passed the examination for
lieutenant and was sent to the West Indies. In 1779,
at age 20, he was promoted to the rank of post captain
and given command of his own frigate, then was sent
to Nicaragua, where he attacked Spanish settlements (a
consequence of Spain and France having sided with the
American colonists in the American Revolution). Al-
though his attacks on San Juan (now in Puerto Rico)
were militarily successful, his force caught yellow fever,
and Nelson barely escaped with his life. Sent back to En-
gland a second time, he recovered and again was given
command of a frigate, which sailed to Quebec and then
in the West Indies. While in the West Indies, Nelson
met Prince William Henry, who was later to become
King William IV of England. William wrote that al-
though he was somewhat shocked at Nelson’s youth,
he nonetheless “found something irresistibly pleasing in
his address and conversation; and an enthusiasm, when
speaking on professional subjects, that showed he was
no common being.”
With the victory of the American colonists and the
end of the war, Nelson went back to England. The fol-
lowing year, 1784, he was again named to command a
frigate and was sent to the West Indies, where he met
Mrs. Frances Nisbet, a widow whom he married in 1787.
He subsequently returned to England and settled in his
home village, staying there, unemployed, for nearly four
years. This state of affairs vexed Nelson, who was so used
to a sea career, and at one point he believed that the
powers in control of the navy were purposely holding
him back from advancement. In a letter, he wrote of “a
prejudice of the Admiralty evidently against me, which I
can neither guess at, nor in the least account for,” and it
was perhaps this that prompted his superiors to give him
command of the warship Agamemnon in 1793.
By this time, France was again Britain’s enemy, and
Nelson was placed in charge of reinforcing the fort of
Toulon against French revolutionary soldiers, includ-
ing a young officer named naPoleon bonaParte.
While escorting troops sent by King Ferdinand IV of
Sicily and Naples to reinforce Toulon, Nelson met Sir
William Hamilton, the English minister to Naples and
Hamilton’s wife Emma, with whom he soon became
close friends.
Following the loss of Toulon, Lord Samuel hood,
first viscount Hood, moved his main base to the island
of Corsica. In July 1794, while laying siege to the town
of Calvi, on Corsica, a small French attack led to inju-
ries—among them, Nelson, who was hit in the face with
fragments from a gunshot, leaving his right eye sightless.
Nelson wrote simply to Lord Hood, “I got a little hurt
this morning.” Hood was replaced in command by Ad-
miral William Hotham, whose lackluster control led to
the British abandoning their bases on Corsica. During
the attempt to retake the island, Nelson and his men
captured the French ship Ça Ira. He later wrote, “I wishPainting of Lord Nelson in the cabin of Victory
nelSon, hoRAtio, viScount nelSon