NELSON, HORATIO. 



NELSON, HORATIO. 



with those i*laed, Nelson determined to put stop to them pro- 

 ceeding*; and induced Sir R. Hughe* to issue order* to enforce the 

 navigation act, whi<-h onlen however were subsequently recalled. 

 NeUon then found be must ritber disobey bi> orilen or the acts of 

 prhniti t : be determined on the former, and s-iz- A four American 

 TM*e with frivht at Nevis, carrying inland colour*. The whole 

 colouy row against bim, but the ships were ultimately condemned in 

 tbe Admiralty (oart. He married at Nevis, 4th of March 17S7, the 

 widow of Dr. Nistxt, a physician, and daughter of Mr. Herbert, 

 president of that iland, who had one son, named Josiah. He returned 

 to England lu June 1787, and lived in retirement till the eve of the 

 French revolutionary war, when he applied for employment. 



On the iOth of January 1793, he wu appointed to the Agamemnon, 

 of 44 guns, and took with him his step-son Jos ah Nisbet as midship- 

 man. The fleet, under Lord Hood's orders, reached the south of 

 France at a time when it would willingly have become a separate 

 republic under the protection of England. Nehon was tent with 

 d> crotches to the court of Naples, where he became acquainted with 

 Sir William and Lady Hamilton. He afterwards joined Commodore 

 Linsee at Tunis, to expostulate with the dey on the impolicy of 

 supporting France. On the passage, he fell in with three French 

 frigntes, a corvette, and brig ; a running fight of three hoars ensued, 

 when a change of wind enabled the enemy to get out of reach of the 

 Agamemnon's guns, which ship had received so much damage in her 

 sails and rigging, that she was unable to renew the action, and tlio 

 em my left her unmolested. Subsequently Nelson was detached with 

 a small squadron to co-operate with Paoli in Corsica. The French 

 having withdrawn from St Fiorenzo to Bastia, Lord Hood, with Nelson 

 as hia senior captain, determined to reduce that place with a naval 

 force, General Dundas having refused to co-operate. The garrison 

 capitulated to Lord Hood, May ID, 1794. At the siege of Calvi, 

 whither the Agamemnon was sent to co-operate with Sir Charles 

 Stuart, Ntl-on lost an eye, from a shot striking the ground near him 

 and d riling tbe sand into it. Here the dog-days and nu epidemic 

 thinned bis crew, whose health was previously impaired with hard 

 sorfice. Admiral Hotbam bad now succeeded Lord Hood in the 

 Mediterranean command, and in the partial action with the French 

 fleet which took place soon nfter, the Agameim on engaged the Ca 

 Ira ; the action was renewed on the following day, when the Agamem- 

 non again engaged tbe same ship, which was taken, together with the 

 Censeur. Nelson was desirous of continuing the action with the rest 

 of tbe fleet, but the admiral was satisfied with this flight eucce.-s. 

 Tbe nut service on which ho was employed was the blockade of 

 Genoa, in co-operation with the Austrian army, in order to drive the 

 French out of that state. He had a squadron of frigates under hia 

 orders, and narrowly escape'! capture by the French fleet within 

 sight of the l-.ngli-h fleet, which was becalmed in St. Fiorenzo Bay. 

 Another partial action succeeded, in which the French ship I.'Alci <, 

 74, was taken, but burnt by tbe explosion of pome combustibles then 

 in use among the French. Only 200 of her crew were raved. Tbe 

 Au-trtins, bring beaten, gave the French possession of the Genoese 

 coast, and Nelson sailed for Leghorn to refit. Sir John Jervis took 

 command of the Mediterranean fleet in 1795, and Nelson resumed 

 his station in the Uulf of Genoa. He next superintended the evacua- 

 tion of ISastia, and having rflectr'l this, proceeded in the Minerva, 

 Captain (Jeorge Cockburn, to perform the same service at Porto 

 Ferrajo. On tbe passage they fell in with two Spanish frigates, took 

 one, and compelled tbe other to haul off, when a squadron, of which 

 these frigates formed a part, hove in sight, and the prize was retaken. 

 From Porto Femjo Nelson took convoy to Gibraltar, fell in with the 

 Spanu-h fl< et at the mouth of tbe Straits, and joined Sir J. Jervia with 

 the intelligence. He hoisted his broad pendant as commodore on 

 board the Captain, 74 guns, Captain II. W. Millar, and was eminently 

 distinguished in tbe general action of February 14, 1797, with the 

 Spanish fleet, in which the CapUin, after engaging, with the Culloden, 

 three fint rates and three others, being at length crippled, fell along- 

 M'lc the San Nicolas, of 80 guns, and carried her by boarding. 

 XrUoo himself on this occasion boarded through the cabin windows. 

 The San Jo*ef, of 112 guns, was lying on the other side, and he Isd 

 the boarder* from the San Nicolas to her, with the cry of ' 

 minster Abbey or victory ! " Their efforts were crowned with success, 

 and on the quarter-deck of this Spanish first-rate Nelson received the 

 sworda of the rear admiral nod his officer". 



Before the news of the action reached England, Nelson had been 

 promoted to the rank of rear admiral ; the order of tbe Bath was DOW 

 bestowed on him, and the freedom, of Norwich wu voted to him, to 

 which eity be give the sword of the Spanish rear-admiral. He now 

 hoisted hia flag in the Theseus, and commanded the in-shoro squadron 

 employed in the blockade of Cadi*. On tbe 3rd of July 1797 Lord 

 lorat bombarded lht town. In withdrawing tho bomlcve .ol 

 out of gun-shot, the Spanish gun boat* and launches endeavour <1 t<> 

 capture nor, but were successfully met by a similar force under Nelson, 

 in which the Spanish commander attempt- d to carry hi* boat, and 

 both distinguished themselves personally in a band to bind fight. 

 11 11 i ext service was an unsuccessful attack on the town and fort of 

 Baota Crux, TeuerifTe, with three sail of tbe line, one fifty-gun ship, 

 and three frigates : the I'.riltah gained a footing on th mole, but w. ru 

 repulsed. In the act of stepping out of hi boot, Nelton received a 



shot through his right elbow. He was with difficulty carried on board 

 bis ship, where the arm was immediately sinput.it' d. Notwithstanding 

 the failure of this enterprise, fresh honoura awaited him. He was 

 rewarded with a pension of 100"/.. on which occasion he was obliged 

 to present a memorial, which exhibited a singular catalogue of service*. 

 He stated that he had been in four actions with hostile fleets, in three 

 with boats employed in cnttine out, and at the taking of three towns ; 

 employed st Uastia and Calvi ; had assisted in capturing i-evi-n sail of 

 the lino, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateern, taken fifty 

 merchant vessel*, and been in action 120 times ; lost his right eye and 

 arm, and received other severe wounds. He also received the freedom 

 of the cities of London and Bristol. Early in 1793, Sir Horatio hoisted 

 hie flag in the Vanguard, 74, and joined Lord St Vincent at Gibraltar, 

 by whom be was det iched on the 9th of May, to watch th port of 

 Toulon, where the expedition for Egypt was then fitting. The Van- 

 ciiard was dismasted in a heavy gale of wind off Toulon, on the 20th, 

 and, during the thick weather that followed, the French fleet escaped. 

 Having refitted bis ship, and being reinforced by eleven sail of the 

 line, he went in pursuit of the French fleet, with the following ships : 

 Cullodi'D, Goliath, Minotaur, Defence, Bellerophon, Majestic, Zealous, 

 Swiftsure, Alexander, Orion, Theseus, Audacious, and Leander, all of 

 74 guns. 



Nelton beard of the enemy's armament at Malta, and shaped his 

 course to Candia, but getting no tidings there, he returned to Sicily. 

 Having obtained supplies at Syracuse, he sailed for the Morea on the 

 25th of July, obtained intelligence at Coron which caused him to 

 shape hia course for Alexandria, where he arrived August 1, 1798, and 

 found the French fleet lying in the bay of Aboukir. The haziness had 

 prevented the two fleets from perceiving each other, although they 

 actually crossed in tbe night of the 22nd of June. The French had 

 reached Alexandria on tho 1st of July, and lirueys, umible to enter 

 the long-neglected port, moored his ficct, consisting of one first-rate, 

 three second-rates, nine seventy- fours, and four frigates, in Aboukir 

 Bay. On perceiving the enemy's position, Nelson adopted the plan 

 projected by Lord Hood in Gourjean Itoud, but which be had there 

 found impracticable, of stationing his ships one on the outer bow, and 

 another on the outer quarter of each of theirs. The action coinn 

 iit I'll. 20m. P.M., August 12th, and at noon of the 13th, of the I 

 fleet one ship had blown up, eight had surrendered, two escaped, and 

 two were aground, of which one yielded, and the other was burnt by 

 her crew. The loss sustained by the English was '213 killed, and 678 

 wounded ; that of the French is variously stated, but it probably 

 amount- d to 2000 killed, wounded, and missing. Brueys, after being 

 thrice wounded, was blown up in his ship L'Orient, part of whoso 

 tnainma-t was made into u coffin by order of Captain Hallowell, and 

 by him presented to Nelson. Nelson received a severe wound in his 

 forehead from a piece of Inns; ridge-shot. The Culloden grounded at 

 the commencement of the action, and was unable to take part in it. 

 On this occasion NeUon was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, and 

 pensions of 3000/. per annum were settled on him nud his two next 

 heirs male. The thanks of the parliament and gold medals were voted 

 to him and all the captains engaged. 



From this time Nelson remained chiefly employed on the Neapolitan 

 coasts, during which period he permitted that which must ever remain 

 a blot on his character, and wbich tarnished the honour of the 1'ritMi 

 flag the judicial murder of Prince Carraccioli. Capua and Gaeta 

 now surrendered to the naval force under Nelson's orders. In February 

 1800 NeUon soiled for Malta, and captured the French i-hip of tho line 

 GiSiicreux, which escaped from Aboukir, and also a frigate. On Lord 

 Keith's rrtiirn from England, Nelson came home, leaving Captain 

 Trowbridge in command of tbe squadron blockading Malta, which 

 island capitulated in September 1800. AVithin three months after Ms 

 return, he separated from Lady Nelson, in consequence of his infatuated 

 attachment to Lady Hamilton. He sailed, March 12, 1801, as second 

 in command to Sir Hyde Parker, to the Baltic, with a fleet of eighteen 

 sail of the line, frigates, bombs, fire-ships, Ac., amounting in all to 

 fifty-three sail, having on board the 49th regiment, two companies of 

 rifles, and a detachment of artillery. The fleet arrived in the Sound, 

 and after some time lost in negociation by Mr. Vansittart, anchored 

 between tho inland of linen and Copenhagen. Lord Nelson having 

 offend his service! in tho attack on the l)mi-h hV< t, ho was d' ' 

 with twelve ships of tbe line and smaller craft, making thirty-six sail, 

 1st of April 1801, and anchored at dark off Draco Point, two miles 

 from the Danish line. The formidable force opposed to tho British 

 consisted of eighteen vessels, mounting 623 guns, chiefly 36 and 34 

 jioundere, manned by 4849 men, moored in a line a uiilu in length, 

 flanked by two batteries, called Trekroner, of thirty 24-pounders and 

 thirty-eight 36 pounders, with furnaces, oommamied by block-ships. 

 The action commenced at nine A.M., and lasted five hours, when a 

 truce was agreed upon by the crown-prince sending the Danish adjutant- 

 general to the commander-in chief to nettle tho terms, in reply to Lord 

 Nelson's celebrated note : " Vice-Admiral Lord Nelton has been com- 

 manded to spare Denmark when she no longer resists. Tbe line of 

 def>-iice which covered her shores has struck to the British flag ; but 

 if the firing is continued on th- part of Denmark, he must set on fire 

 all the prizes he has taken, without having the power of saving the 

 men who have so nobly defended them. The brave Danes are the 

 brothers, and should nerer be the enemies of the English." The 



