Horatio Nelson (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a Vice Admiral of the White of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Well-known for his inspiring leadership, unconventional tactics, and brilliant strategies (as well as for losing an eye and an arm in battle), Nelson is considered to be one of, if not the, greatest admirals of all time, and his heroic death at the Battle of Trafalgar cemented his reputation as a British hero. Politically, Nelson was a Whig, although he backed William Pitt the Younger during the 1780s, supported the Tory leader Henry Addington's brief premiership, and was a staunch advocate of the Atlantic slave trade and opponent of abolitionism.
Biography[]
Horatio Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, England on 29 September 1758, the son of a clergyman. Nelson joined the Royal Navy as a boy and sailed to the Caribbean, the Americas, India, and the Arctic before he had turned eighteen. When his uncle Maurice Suckling was appointed Controller of the Navy in 1776, Nelson was able to progress rapidly to the rank of Post-Captain, and he saw some action in the American Revolutionary War. However, the French Revolutionary Wars would give him a chance to advance his career and his glory, and he served in the Mediterranean fleet. His commanders Samuel Hood and John Jervis gave him favorable notice, and he became a celebrity after defeating a Spanish Navy fleet at Cape St. Vincent in February 1797. His heroism as commander of the 74-gun HMS Captain as well as his loss of an eye during an assault on Corsica and an arm at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, made him a hero. His self-advertisement did not endear him to others, although he managed to seduce the wife of the British ambassador to Naples, Emma Hamilton.
Nelson's death at Trafalgar
In 1798, Nelson became the most celebrated man in Britain after defeating the French Navy at the decisive Battle of the Nile, foiling Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt. Nelson created a "band of brothers" among his captains, and he created a "pell-mell" scrimmage with the enemy with his brave attacks. His love affair scandal with Emma Hamilton harmed his reputation, as he had become an ally of the repressive government of the Kingdom of Naples during its massacres of political opponents, and he had decided to ignore orders to rejoin the Mediterranean fleet so that he could return to England with Hamilton. In 1801, he returned to command, bombarding the Danish capital at Copenhagen on 2 April after ignoring orders from Hyde Parker to withdraw. In 1805, he led 27 ships of the line into battle with the 33-ship French and Spanish fleet at Trafalgar as it left Cadiz in southern Spain, and he led his HMS Victory into battle while hoisting the famous signal "England expects that every man will do his duty." He exposed himself so blatantly to fire that it would appear as if he had entered the fray with a death wish, and he was shot by a sniper in the rigging of the French ship Redoubtable. Nelson died on the deck of the Victory, with his last words reportedly being "Kiss me, Hardy" or "Kismet, Hardy", uttered to his aide Thomas Masterman Hardy.