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The Life of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson
Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson (1758-1805) - hero of Trafalgar - led an extraordinary life. His death in battle at the moment of victory 200 years ago ensured his position as one of Britain's great leaders. In other parts of the world, as well as throughout the UK, there are monuments, buildings and landmarks named after him: from the towering majesty of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, to an obelisk and pub in Knotty Ash, Liverpool. Nelson's great love was Emma Hamilton, who started life as Emma Lyon, the daughter of a blacksmith in Neston, Wirral - you can learn more about Emma Hamilton and her relationships in our archived Romney exhibition pages. Everyone knows that Nelson had one eye and one arm. He lost the sight in his right eye at the siege of Calvi in Corsica in 1794, after being showered with sand struck by shot. However, his eye was not disfigured and, contrary to common belief, he did not wear and eye-patch. At the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 during the Napoleonic wars, he famously, and deliberately, put his telescope to his blind eye and declared, "I see no signal", ignoring an order to discontinue the action. Tenerife in the Canary Islands is now a popular holiday destination but it was there at the Battle of Santa Cruz in 1797 that he lost his right arm after it was shattered by a musket ball. The legendary Admiral met his end at the Battle of Trafalgar when he was killed by a sniper as he fearlessly strode the deck of his flagship Victory which is preserved to this day in Portsmouth. Nelson had refused to remove the dazzling naval decorations from his coat, and made for an easy target for enemy sharpshooters high up in the rigging. Nelson was taken below where he remained conscious for a while before dying, surrounded by his officers. His body was preserved in a cask of brandy and brought back to London for a huge state funeral. Despite his death, the British fleet flagged up a stunning victory against the French and their allies, striking a major blow against Napoleon. The British fleet did not lose a single ship while the enemy lost 18, either destroyed or captured. Now the Royal Navy had undisputed control of the seas around Britain's shores. Nelson's death is commemorated by two famous oil paintings in Walker Art Gallery; both titled The Death of Nelson. The first, by Benjamin West, was painted within months of Trafalgar while the other, by Daniel Maclise, was done between 1859 and 1864. A sugar refiner, Mr Downward, paid for the sandstone Nelson Obelisk in Knotty Ash. He offered it to Liverpool Corporation but it was declined on the grounds that it was not sufficiently grand. Mr Downward therefore erected the monument in the grounds of his now-demolished house, Springfield, which is now a park. Key dates in Nelson's life29 Sept 1758: Born at Burnham Thorpe rectory in Norfolk - third surviving son of Rev Edmund Nelson and Catherine Suckling and a relative of Britain's first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Educated at Downham Market and Norwich. 26 Dec 1767: His mother, Catherine Nelson, died. Nov 1770: Enters the Royal Navy as a midshipman, sponsored by his uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, on HMS Raisonnable. Transferred to HMS Triumph on guard duty on the Thames in May 1771. First experience serving at sea is on a West Indiaman commanded by Capt. John Rathbone in 1771. Later rejoins the Triumph. 1772: Serves as coxswain to Capt. Skeffington Lutwidge on HMS Carcass during Phipps' Arctic Expedition. 1775: American War of Independence begins. 10 April 1777: Following an examination, is appointed lieutenant to HMS Lowestoffe, and returns to the West Indies. Feb 1778: Alliance between France and the US. Captain Suckling dies. Transferred to the Bristol and promoted to first lieutenant in July. 8 Dec 1778: Serving as first lieutenant on Sir Peter Parker's flagship in the West Indies when promoted commander to sloop HMS Badger. 11 June 1779: HMS Hinchinbroke first command as a post captain. Spain declares war on Britain. 1780: Senior naval officer at attack on fort of San Juan, Nicaragua. Invalided home before fort successfully captured. 1781: Takes command of the Albemarle, on convoy duty in Baltic and North Sea. Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown. 1782: Sails to Quebec. On convoy duty off New York and West Indies. 1783: Fails to take Turks Island from the French. Treaty of Versailles ends American War of Independence. Sails to France. The crew of the Albemarle refuse to serve with him again. 1784-87: Returns to West Indies on the Boreas. Over this period he meets Mary Moutray, Mrs Frances Nisbet (a widow he marries) and Prince William Henry. On half pay after the Boreas is paid off. 1787: Returns to England 1787 with new wife, Mrs. Frances Nisbet, and her son Josiah. 1788-1793: Nelson is on half pay without a ship and lives with his wife in Norfolk. Jan 1793: Remains on half pay until 1793 when he is re-engaged. Appointment to command HMS Agamemnon in the Mediterranean, shortly after which France declares war on England. Blockades Toulon which is later captured by the British, only to fall to the French later that year. Meets Sir William and Lady Hamilton for the first time in August of that year. 10 Aug 1794: Siege of Calvi, Corsica - loses sight in right eye. Calvi surrenders. 1795: Action with the French 84-gun Ça Ira off Genoa. 1796: Promoted to commodore and transferred to Captain. Spain declares war on England. 1797: Battle of Cape St Vincent - captures the San Jose and San Nicholas. Promoted to rear admiral, and made a Knight of the Bath. 24 July 1797: Attack on Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Loses right arm at the elbow and returns to England on the Seahorse. 1 Aug 1798: Battle of Aboukir Bay/Nile. Explosion of the L'Orient. Created an English peer - Baron Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe. Also Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Ferdinand. 22 Sept 1798: Return to Naples, and begins affair with Lady Hamilton. In Dec that year he evacuates the royal family and the Hamiltons from Naples after the defeat of King Ferdinand and Marshal Mack by French. 26 June 1799: Wins back Naples from the French, created Duke of Bronte, Sicily. June 1800: Tour of Europe overland with Hamiltons whilst returning to England. Takes his seat in the House of Lords. Spends Xmas with the Hamiltons.
1801: Promoted to Vice Admiral. Parts from wife. Horatia, his daughter by Emma, is born later that month. Christened Horatia Nelson Thompson, 13 May 1803. 2 April 1801: Battle of Copenhagen. Allegedly ignores Parker's order to withdraw by putting his telescope to his blind eye. Signs armistice with Denmark. Created Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe. Later in the year appointed to command naval forces in the English Channel. Unsuccessful attack on Boulogne. Buys Merton Place. Armistice is signed (not by him) between England and France. 1802: Treaty of Amiens signed, establishing peace between Britain and France. Father dies. Tours west country. 1803: Sir William Hamilton dies. Nelson is made Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. Britain declares war on France. Hoists flag on the Victory and joins the fleet blocking Toulon. 1804: Spain declares war on Britain. 1805: Nelson follows Villeneuve from Toulon, across the Atlantic to Martinique and back again. Nelson returns to England and goes to Merton but is soon called back to the Victory and engages the enemy.
21 Oct 1805: Battle of Trafalgar. 9 Jan 1806: State funeral in London. Body lies in state in the Painted Hall, Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich, before a long procession to St Paul's Cathedral by water, where his body is interred beneath the dome in a coffin made from the wood of the L'Orient. In his will, Nelson leaves nothing to Frances, now the Dowager Viscountess Nelson and Duchess of Bronte, although she was granted £2,000 per year for life by the nation. She lived until 1831 with her son, Josiah Nisbet (Nelson's stepson), and his family, who also received nothing from Nelson's estate. Everything was being bequeathed to his brother's and sisters' families. In this section |
