Back to the End Of The Georgians calendar
Normally I don't tell you about wars and battles not
fought in England. However I am going to tell you a little bit here because it involved a man who became a hero. A war against France and its allies had been going on since
1793. It wasn't one long war. Sometimes both sides would stop and then start again a few months, even a year, later. The war was fought on land and on sea. Britain was the
only one of those fighting against France and its allies who had a navy and so most sea battles involved the British navy. When the war started, the British had entered
because of the French Revolution and the fact that the King of France and his Queen had been executed by the revolutionaries.
However, since 1799, France had been led by Napoleon Bonaparte who became Emperor of France in 1804. With him in charge the war escalated big time. However,
as far as sea battles went, Britain had a great leader too. His name was Horatio Nelson. He was born in 1758, the son of the rector of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk. He was
sent to sea at the age of 12 and in 1784 he was given command of his own ship and was sent out to the West Indies (map time).
Nelson was a very small guy, only 5ft 4in in height. By 1793 he was involved in battle after battle against the French or Spanish, and sometimes both. He was
a brilliant tactician and often surprised his enemy. In 1798 at the Battle of the Nile he sailed his ships between the French and the shore and the guns on the shore
couldn't fire as they weren't ready. Nobody believed Nelson could attack from there.
He suffered two serious injuries, losing the sight in his right eye at the Battle of Calvi in 1794 and his right arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
in 1797. His arm was amputated without an anaesthetic and Nelson showed great bravery. He also suggested that the surgeon should heat his knives in future as cold knives
were more painful
By 1805 he had become a hero in Britain with all his victories. He was now
sent to stop the French and Spanish fleets leaving the Mediterranean Sea. On 20th October 1805 the combined fleets put to sea. There were 32 British ships against 23 French
and 15 Spanish. The two opponents met off Cape Trafalgar (map time again). The French admiral ordered his fleet to form a single line heading north. Nelson put his fleet
into two and ordered them to attack from the west, at right angles. He also sent a very famous signal which said “England expects that every man will do his duty.” In those
days all signalling was done by flags and each flag had a meaning. Sailors had to learn how to read the flags.
The British fleet caused havoc and, eventually totally defeated the French and
Spanish. The French admiral was captured, 20 ships were lost and thousands of sailors too, some drowned, others were prisoners of war.
No British ships were lost although about 1,500 seamen were killed. Among those was Nelson himself. He had been standing on the deck of his ship, Victory, wearing
his admiral's uniform and a gunman on board a French ship, managed to hit him with a lucky shot. He was taken below deck but died soon after. His body was taken ashore in
Gibraltar and then sent back to England in a barrel full of brandy which acted as a preservative during the long journey home.
Nelson's funeral in London was a tremendous occasion, the streets lined with weeping people. The funeral procession was so long that the Scots Greys who led the
procession reached the doors of St. Paul's Cathedral before the mourners at the rear had left the Admiralty. He was buried in the crypt of St. Paul's.
Nelson had married a widow in the West Indies in 1787 but in 1793 he met Emma,
Lady Hamilton, who became the love of his life. In 1801 he left his wife, though he never divorced her, and lived with Lady Hamilton. They had a child, also in 1801, called Horatia.
One strange thing about Nelson was that, all his life, he suffered badly from seasickness. As you may know, in London's Trafalgar Square there is a memorial to the most
inspiring leader the British Navy ever had. It is called Nelson's column, was built in 1840, stands 170ft high and is crowned with a statue of Nelson on the top.
Forward to 1807AD
