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Why Nelson?
In the 202 years since his death, every action of the legendary
British sailor, Horatio Nelson has been the subject of intense
scrutiny by scores of historians, biographers and maritime tacticians,
who generally ascribe heroic proportions to his virtues, while
occasionally demonizing him for his failings. Nelson remains, not just
a Royal Navy icon, but a British national hero, and his name has
entered the lexicon of the English language as an adjective: “Nelsonian”.
Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805 is celebrated as Trafalgar Night
annually on 21st October with solemnity, pomp and circumstance, in
every Royal Navy wardroom afloat and ashore. Officers, in full mess
kit, having dined off the ship’s best silver and crystal, rise to
drink a toast to “The Immortal Memory” of Horatio Nelson, and speeches
are made in his honour.
A dispassionate study of Nelson’s life would reveal that as a man he
was ambitious, vain, arrogant and often insubordinate; many failings
which would not be tolerated in the armed forces milieu today. It
would also show that he was a naval officer who possessed strategic
vision, tactical brilliance, patriotic fervour, physical courage,
dogged perseverance and a warm human touch; a rare combination that
made him a great military leader, and won for his country, a century
of maritime supremacy.
The question may well be asked: why do we need to study the life of a
British naval hero? Do we not have enough of our own? The answer lies
partly, in the failure of Indian historians to document and analyse
the life and times of our own military leaders in adequate detail.
Moreover, the scope of Royal Navy’s operations in that era was huge,
and a bold and enterprising naval officer could achieve much for his
country. Nelson had acquired a deep understanding of the use of sea
power as an instrument of state policy; and no matter how Anglophobic
one may be, his exploits are still worthy of study.
This article is an attempt to acquaint the reader briefly with
Nelson’s early rise in the Royal Navy (RN) and provide glimpses of his
important sea battles, which have become naval folklore. He set
exceptional standards of courage, initiative and professionalism which
are still the touchstone against which the British measure their naval
officers. Even in the current Indian environment, which is far removed
from 18th Century England, Nelson’s actions lend themselves to
examination, analysis and perhaps even emulation, because I believe
that (with all his shortcomings), he demonstrates many qualities which
are the quintessence of military leadership.
Early Days
Born in September 1758 into the relatively modest family of a country
rector in the village of Burnham Thorpe in south-east England, Horatio
was the third of the Reverend Edmund Nelson’s eight children. His
mother having passed away when he was nine, young Horatio’s upbringing
was left to his father; who did his best to give the frail lad a
decent grammar school education.
In 18th century England (much as in 21st century India) influence in
high places was essential for a young man, not only to enter a
profession, but also to make reasonable progress in life. The Nelsons
did not boast of many high connections, but necessary influence was
found in the shape of Horatio’s maternal uncle Captain Maurice
Suckling, who was commanding a Royal Navy ship, HMS Raisonnable.
Uncle Maurice graciously responded to the Nelson family’s appeal for
help and found young Horatio a berth in the RN. The 12 year old boy
was signed on in the books of the Raisonnable as “Midshipman” on 1st
January 1771, rather than “Captain’s servant’ or “able seaman” which
was the more common method of entry. A royal commission could follow
the passing of an examination for Lieutenant, to be taken after six
years sea service and not before the age of twenty.
Life on board the Raisonnable gave Nelson his first taste of the harsh
living and working conditions in the sailing navy of that day. Having
slung his hammock in the crowded mess-deck, he helped load the stores
with salt beef, biscuits, butter and casks of beer. Within a few days,
the butter would turn rancid; the beef would be infested by maggots
and the biscuits with an insect called weevil. But this was the crew’s
diet for months at sea in that era, and disease was rampant due to
lack of fresh vegetables.
Then the guns, powder and shot brought out by small boats had to be
swung on board by tackles. Regular sail drill required the full ship’s
company to scamper up the masts in all sorts of weather. This would be
followed by fire drill, gun drill, boat drill and weighing of anchor
manually by capstan bars. Any slackness or inefficiency was a serious
offence and could invite terrible retribution through lashings by a
whip called “cat o’ nine tails”, after which salt water would be
thrown on the victim’s lacerated back.
At the age of 18 (two years less than stipulated) Nelson was examined
by an Admiralty Board for promotion to Lieutenant, and passed with
credit. Lieutenant Nelson was appointed to the frigate Lowestoffe and
sailed for Jamaica. In 1778, France joined the American rebels in
their war against Britain, and there was no dearth of action at sea in
the Atlantic or West Indies.
Nelson’s first chance to show his mettle came, when Lowestoffe chased
and overhauled an American merchantman in heavy seas. It was the First
Lieutenant’s (second in command of a ship) duty to board the prize and
a boat was brought alongside to convey him. The officer appeared to
flinch at this hazardous undertaking, and seeing his Captain’s
exasperation, Nelson quickly jumped in the boat and successfully
boarded the captured ship. He was soon promoted First Lieutenant and
then given command of a small warship in the rank of Commander.
It was in June 1779, while still in the Caribbean, that Nelson was
promoted to the post of Captain at the age of twenty-one. In the RN,
this meant that future promotions would be automatic and by seniority
in the Navy List. Then (as perhaps now) the perennial topic of
conversation in ships’ wardrooms was the prospect of promotion and
command. There was no fixed age of retirement and vacancies were
created only by death of senior officers from disease, ship-wreck or
war. In fact, a common after dinner toast used to be: “to war and a
sickly season”. Therefore, becoming a Captain at the age of
twenty-one, in a Navy where Midshipmen sometimes reached forty, marked
Nelson out for higher things. While his uncle’s influence had helped
to an extent, it was Nelson’s zeal, devotion, initiative and
competence which had seen him rise so rapidly up the naval ladder.
Spells of peace, though infrequent, were dreaded by RN officers,
because they were sent ashore, and put on half pay. Fortunately for
Nelson, there was no dearth of action at sea during this period due
mainly to the instability generated in Europe by a revolutionary
France and the military triumphs of the brilliant young General
Bonaparte soon to be crowned Emperor Napoleon.
I will now attempt to illustrate the Nelsonian legend through his
exploits in battle, leaving the reader to decide whether some of the
attributes displayed by him in action can be counted as “military
virtues” or not.
Initiative at the Battle of Cape St Vincent
With General Bonaparte’s string of victories in the Italian Peninsula,
Britain’s situation in the Mediterranean became untenable, and towards
the end of 1796, the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir John Jervis was
ordered to evacuate his forces. Nelson (now a Commodore in command of
a squadron) on detached service in his flagship, the 74 gun HMS
Captain chanced upon a strong Spanish fleet bound for the West Indies.
An opportune fog bank allowed Nelson to make a getaway, and he sped to
rendezvous with his C-in-C off Cape St Vincent to warn him of the
Spanish force in the vicinity.
At dawn on 14th February 1797, the two adversaries, confronted each
other; thirty Spanish men of war in two loose formations, and fifteen
British ships in a single column steering for the gap between the two
masses of Spanish ships. Once through, the British fleet planned to
turn around, and with the wind behind them, split into two divisions
to engage the Spanish van and rear.
Nelson’s ship the Captain was second from the rear, and had Jervis
ordered the column to turn together simultaneously, he would have been
near the head of the reversed British column, able to engage the enemy
immediately. When the signal flags went up on the mast, it was seen
that Jervis had ordered ships to turn in succession (or follow in the
wake of ship ahead). This would be a much lengthier process, and
Nelson saw that it would allow time for the Spanish divisions to join
up. Without hesitation, he ordered his ship to haul out of line, and
steer direct for the head of the leading Spanish formation in order to
engage them and allow the British time to complete their manoeuvre.
The RN Fighting Instructions of the day were quite clear about not
leaving the line of battle without orders, and Nelson knew that his
initiative could cost him dearly (Flag Officers had been sentenced by
Courts Martial, to death by firing squad for breach of Fighting
Instructions). But he pressed on to engage seven of the Spanish ships
including the world’s biggest warship, the 140 gun Santissima
Trinidad. Part of Nelson’s confidence grew from the knowledge that his
gunners could fire three accurate broadsides every two minutes against
the wild and sporadic fire of the Spaniards.
Nevertheless, the Captain took heavy punishment, and being rendered
incapable of manoeuvre, Nelson ordered her to ram the 80-gun San
Nicolas which had herself become entangled with the 112-gun San Josef.
Calling for boarders; Nelson, sword in hand, led the assault which
resulted in capture of both the Spanish men of war.
This gallant action resulted in Nelson being knighted and promoted to
Rear Admiral.
Boldness Brings Victory at Aboukir
In July 1797, Nelson received a serious injury on his right elbow from
a musket ball while participating in an unsuccessful landing in the
Spanish island of Tenerife, which led to the amputation of his arm.
Earlier, a splinter injury had caused considerable loss of vision in
his right eye. Somewhat depressed, he spent a few months at home,
before sailing out with his fleet once again in March 1798 flying his
flag on the Vanguard of 74 guns.
Since the withdrawal of the British from the Mediterranean the
littoral had become a hostile area and the French were taking
advantage of their dominance. Reports had been coming in, of a major
expeditionary force of troop transports and escorting warships being
readied in French ports. It was known that General Bonaparte was in
command, but his ultimate destination remained a mystery. It would be
Nelson’s task to lead a dangerous reconnaissance mission into the
Mediterranean. The danger proved to be not just from the French Navy,
but also, the elements, when the British force was hit by a hurricane
causing severe damage and loss of life in the fleet.
In the next ten weeks or so, Nelson’s reconnaissance force, now
heavily reinforced by ships of the line, scoured the seas and criss-crossed
the Mediterranean many times in search of Bonaparte’s expeditionary
force. Whenever the sea state permitted, Nelson would call his
captains over to the Vanguard for tactical conferences in which the
various combinations of possible circumstances during an encounter
with the French were discussed threadbare. Thus an enduring bond was
created between Nelson and his Captains which ensured that the mental
thought processes of the Admiral were understood by his Captains, and
vice-versa. Nelson was to famously declare later in this context, “I
had the happiness to command a Band of Brothers”.
The prolonged and agonising search for the elusive French was not just
a pedantic chore for Nelson, but also an intellectual challenge. For
his lucid understanding of the contemporary geo-strategic scenario
enabled him to probe the enemy’s mind and try to guess the French
grand design. Intelligence was to confirm Nelson’s own hunch that
Bonaparte’s ultimate destination was India, via Egypt.
On 1st August 1798, the lookouts on Nelson’s scouts sighted the masts
of the French Fleet in Aboukir Bay east of Alexandria. Thirteen ships
of the line including the huge 120-gun ship L’Orient flying the flag
of Admiral Brueys were at anchor close to the shore.
Nelson took stock of the situation, and with three brief signals, made
his intentions known to the fleet. Brueys had little choice; he
thought of putting out to sea, but then realised that his fleet had
many working parties ashore, and would be short handed. He felt that
the massed fire of his ships could handle the British attack, which
would come from seawards. With two rows of anchored ships, there was
neither enough water, nor room for manoeuvre in Aboukir Bay, and
Brueys did not, therefore, order the landward side guns of his ships
manned; a fatal oversight.
Close to sunset, Nelson ordered his ships to attack the van and centre
of the enemy line before tackling the rear. The British ships swept up
the starboard side of the anchored French line, raking them with fire,
and then split into two groups; the leading five ships, on their own,
rounding the head of the line and then turning in shallow, uncharted
waters to engage the enemy from the landward side and the rest,
engaging from the seaward. Thus sandwiched between two sets of
attackers, the French came under devastating fire. Admiral Brueys and
his celebrated Captain Casabianca were both killed.
At 10 o’clock that night, L’Orient blew up in a tremendous explosion,
and with it went French hopes of an empire in the east. The British
were in command of the Mediterranean and Bonaparte’s army lay marooned
on a hostile shore. Nelson had been instrumental in changing the
course of history.
Turning a Nelson’s Eye at the Battle of Copenhagen
In early 1801 Nelson was promoted Vice Admiral and after a few months
ashore, joined the Channel Fleet as second in command to Admiral Sir
Hyde Parker. Parker had received orders to proceed to Copenhagen and
to try and persuade the Danes, either amicably or by force, to
withdraw, from a French inspired alliance that they had joined along
with Russia, Sweden and Prussia with the intention of breaking the
British naval blockade of France. A powerful fleet of fifteen ships
was placed at his disposal in order that he could take on any
combination of force that the Northern Alliance might field, at sea.
Negotiations with the Danes having failed, it was decided to mount a
direct attack on Copenhagen. The city had formidable defences, natural
and man-made; a long line of moored ships and floating batteries lay
beneath a series of shore batteries and heavy guns of Trekroner fort.
The approach channel was narrow and full of shoals, and although the
fleet had some merchant navy pilots to navigate the shallows, Nelson
decided to conduct his own boat survey, before formulating the battle
plan, which his C-in-C was happy to leave to him.
While the situation was somewhat similar to Aboukir Bay, the same
tactics could not be repeated because of the powerful shore batteries.
Nelson, in consultation with his captains, evolved a plan, relying on
superior British gunnery, to concentrate overwhelming fire on the
moored Danish ships in turn; destroying the enemy piecemeal. Nelson
was to lead the assault, while Parker guarded the approaches.
On the morning of 2nd April 1801, the British Fleet sailed into
action, but within a short while, four of the ships had run aground.
The rest of the attackers anchored by the stern, opposite their Danish
adversaries and commenced bombardment. The Danish response was however
devastating, and a number of British ships were soon set on fire. To
the C-in-C watching from a distance, disaster appeared imminent.
Believing that Nelson was in deep trouble, but unwilling to withdraw
without orders, Parker told his Flag Captain, “I will make the recall
signal for Nelson’s sake. If he is in a condition to continue action,
he will disregard it, and if he is not, it will be an excuse for
retreat.”
Nelson’s signal Lieutenant saw signal No. 39 flying from Parker’s
flagship signifying, “Discontinue Action”, and reported it to his
Admiral. Since Nelson took no notice, the Lieutenant shouted again and
was told to watch the Danish ships. The signal Lieutenant’s dilemma
now was whether to pass the signal to the other ships in company or
not. He was told to merely acknowledge it and keep Nelson’s signal for
“Close Action” flying.
Nelson then said to his Flag Captain, “You know Foley, I have only one
eye - I have a right to be blind sometimes” and putting his telescope
to his blind eye, exclaimed, “I really do not see any signal!” After a
furious exchange of fire lasting many hours, when the British and
Danish guns fell silent, it was obvious that the Danes had suffered
very serious losses in the Battle of Copenhagen and had to ask for a
cease fire. The subsequent negotiations conducted by Nelson resulted
in a situation totally favourable to the British in the Baltic and
North Atlantic.
Victory and Final Reckoning at Trafalgar
Nelson took over as C-in-C Mediterranean in 1803 just a few weeks
before Britain once again declared war on France; putting an end to
the year long peace wrought by the Treaty of Amiens. The following
year, Spain made common cause with France, and at the behest of
Emperor Napoleon declared war on Britain.
The French plans for an invasion of Britain had to be postponed many
times, first on account of the close blockade of Channel ports
maintained by the RN, and then due to Russia having aligned herself
with Britain. A combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 33 ships under
Admiral Villeneuve had been lying at anchor in the Port of Cadiz
awaiting the invasion, but due to the altered situation had been
ordered to the Mediterranean in October 1805. Embarked on board HMS
Victory, Nelson had for some time, been awaiting a break-out by
Villeneuve, and had accordingly positioned his scouts off Cadiz to
provide early warning, while keeping his main force some distance
away, off Cape Trafalgar.
On the morning of 20 October 1805, Nelson’s frigates saw Villeneuve
leading all 33 of his ships out of Cadiz. His destination was not
known, and to avoid frightening him back into port, Nelson ordered his
fleet to steer a parallel course, keeping well out of sight. At four
on the morning of 21st October Nelson turned his fleet towards the
enemy, so that by dawn they would be a few miles to windward and in a
good attacking position.
Nelson paced his quarterdeck in full uniform with four stars of
different Orders pinned on his breast. A suggestion that he should
remove them because they could mark him out for enemy marksmen was
rebuffed by Nelson. He asked two of his Captains, whom he had called
on board, to accompany him to his cabin, where they witnessed his
will, which he had just drawn up. Nelson walked around the lower decks
of his flagship, chatting with the sailors, and then went down to his
cabin, where he knelt on the deck and wrote out a prayer, in which he
asked that his country be granted “a great and glorious victory.”
When he came up on deck, Nelson asked his signal Lieutenant to make
the famous signal to the fleet: “England expects that every man will
do his duty”. In tactical discussions with his Captains before the
battle, Nelson had emphasised the importance of concentrating force on
the centre or rear of the enemy’s line, so that it broke up his
formation, and produced a confused situation. Thereafter, when the
smoke of the guns obscured all signals, he advocated that “No captain
could go wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy.”
This, in a nutshell, was the “Nelson touch”.
As the Battle commenced, the Victory was one of the first ships to
come under heavy fire. Nelson’s secretary and his clerk were killed in
quick succession, and then the Victory’s wheel was smashed by a shot.
While cutting across the enemy line, Victory collided and became
entangled with the French Redoubtable and fierce hand to hand fighting
commenced. Soon after one o’clock, a French marksman’s bullet found
Nelson, and mortally injured, he was carried down to the sick bay. He
had been shot in the spine and paralysed below the waist, and was in
great pain.
At four in the afternoon, Captain Hardy of the Victory came down to
congratulate the wounded Admiral on “a brilliant victory”. Nelson, who
had been anticipating a gale, gave his last order to Hardy to anchor
the fleet. Shortly thereafter, having suffered for three hours, Lord
Nelson died.
It was indeed a brilliant victory. Eighteen ships of the enemy had
been destroyed, with 6000 casualties and 20,000 men taken prisoner,
including Admiral Villeneuve. The British did not lose a single ship
and had just 1700 casualties. The Royal navy reigned supreme on the
seas.
Epilogue
Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson’s body was placed in a cask of
brandy mixed with camphor, for a week till the Victory reached
Gibraltar under tow. There, the corpse was transferred to a lead-lined
coffin filled with spirits of wine, (after sailors had sampled the
brandy which had preserved it) and despatched by a fast schooner to
England.
On 9th January 1806, Lord Nelson was accorded a state funeral, and
buried in St Paul’s Cathedral with every honour that a grateful and
sorrowing nation could accord.
While history has, on the whole been kind to Nelson, many biographers
have not glossed over his frailties. Pages have been written about his
ambitious nature, his thirst for public acclaim, his greed for prize
money and his vanity about his own accomplishments. Much scorn has
also been poured over his head for his prolonged adulterous affair
with Lady Emma Hamilton and neglect of his own wife. Notwithstanding
all this, Nelson’s legacy lives on, not just in the RN, but in the
hearts and minds of his countrymen.
The string of successes that he gained in battle, by his unique
combination of leadership, tactical genius, intelligence and
aggression gave the nation in general and the RN in particular that
unshakable self confidence, and the will to win. This, they
demonstrated 177 years after Trafalgar, by sailing a Task Force 8000
miles from home to wrest the Falkland Islands back from Argentina, in
1982.
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