Nelson, Horatio

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NELSON, HORATIO

NELSON, HORATIO (1758–1805), the British navy's most famous leader.

Horatio Nelson held the titles Vice Admiral of the White Squadron, Knight of the Bath, Baron and Viscount of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe, and Duke of Brontë. He was arguably the greatest naval strategist and tactician that ever paced a deck, and in significant ways a farsighted innovator, moving considerably away from eighteenth-century tradition.

Son of an impoverished clergyman, Nelson began his naval career at age twelve. By age twenty-nine he had served in a variety of positions and stations, risen to the rank of captain, commanded five ships, and was married (to Frances Nisbet). During the period from 1787 to 1793 he was relegated to inactive status in England; in 1793 he was given another command after war broke out with France. He began considerable Mediterranean service—including a 1794 land action at Calvi, Corsica, which resulted in the blinding of his right eye.

Made a commodore in 1796, he played a decisive role in Sir John Jervis's 1797 victory over the Spanish at Cape St. Vincent. Seizing the initiative, Nelson's unorthodox action—turning out of the line-of-battle and cutting off the Spanish second division—saved the day. After the battle he received a knighthood and, due to seniority, promotion to rear admiral.

Later in 1797, leading a bold attack at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, a grapeshot shattered his right arm, and the British force was defeated. By the spring of 1798 Nelson had recovered, and with a small force he entered the Mediterranean to investigate unusual French activity centered in Toulon. Reinforced by ten additional ships, he spent several stressful weeks searching the Mediterranean for an enormous enemy force that had sortied undetected. Finally catching the French near the mouth of the Nile, he aggressively attacked their squadron of warships in Aboukir Bay. Nelson sustained a severe head wound, but the night battle annihilated the French (eleven of thirteen ships), establishing British control of the Mediterranean and effectively cutting off the expeditionary army of then-general Napoleon Bonaparte.

Nelson was made a baron and returned to Naples to support Neapolitan resistance to the French. He was made a Sicilian duke in 1799, but his overinvolvement in Neapolitan politics and an affair with Emma Hamilton, the British ambassador's wife, stand as the nadir of his career.

Recalled to Britain in 1800, Nelson advanced—by seniority—to vice admiral and was appointed to the Baltic Fleet under Sir Hyde Parker (1739–1807). Early in 1801, Lady Hamilton bore him a daughter (Horatia), and he effectively broke with Lady Nelson. Soon after, the Baltic Fleet sailed to counter the Russian-instigated League of Armed Neutrality. Without declaring war, the British struck at Copenhagen with Nelson leading the attack. Although the British were hotly resisted, Nelson's planning, tactics, and determination prevailed. The Danes agreed to an armistice, and Nelson was created a viscount. He then briefly commanded in British home waters, guarding against cross-Channel invasion, before demobilizing with the Treaty of Amiens (1802).

In 1803 Nelson was appointed Mediterranean Fleet commander-in-chief as France prepared for renewed war. His task was to prevent the fleet, commanded by Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve (1763–1806), from joining French Atlantic forces for an invasion of Britain. For two years Nelson contained the enemy, continuously trying to draw them into a decisive battle. After a fruitless chase to the West Indies and back, Nelson finally brought to battle the combined French and Spanish fleets, near Cape Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805. His captains had been thoroughly indoctrinated and knew his mind; he intended to force a "pell-mell" battle by breaking the enemy line from windward—a striking abandonment of traditional line-of-battle tactics. It resulted in a spectacular victory—nearly twenty ships taken. Nelson, however, was mortally wounded by a musket shot, and died shortly after hearing of success.

Famous in his lifetime, among the public as well as the navy, Nelson remains an almost mythical hero even today. At times extraordinarily vain and egotistic, and distracted by his scandalous relationship with Lady Hamilton, Nelson was nevertheless a great innovator and strategic genius. He was both a sound and an original thinker, possessing characteristic qualities of decision, resourcefulness, unshakable perseverance, brilliant tactical insight, and swift and audacious action—all combined with an all-consuming focus on victory. Although slight of stature, frequently seasick, and often otherwise ill, he was extremely courageous and remarkably tenacious—both physically and mentally. He alternately could be quite ruthless as well as notably kind.

The foundations for Nelson's successes were his boundless imagination and limitless attention to detail. As a flag officer, he spectacularly displayed uncommon abilities for both operational readiness and logistical legerdemain. As a leader, he was particularly charismatic and consistently inspired others by example. He was unusually willing to be pleased and routinely showered compliments and praise. Unquestionably these were root causes of the popularity, cooperation, inspiration, and devotion that he always found in—and from—his subordinates.

Moreover, his habit of sharing his thoughts and intentions with his captains, and the great latitude and initiative that he allowed and encouraged among subordinates, greatly enhanced the effectiveness of his plans. He thus brought about stunning results with a minimum of direct command and control and was largely responsible for bringing about the British naval supremacy that lasted nearly a century.

See alsoCongress of Vienna; French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars; Metternich, Clemens von; Napoleonic Empire; Prussia; Restoration.