Nelson: Britannia's God of War

by Andrew Lambert

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  – 1797: Nelson’s Year of Destiny. Gloucester, 1998

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  – King William IV. 1971

  ARTICLES

  Baker, M. ‘Lord Nelson and John Bowsher’, Mariner’s Mirror 86 (2000), pp. 310–12

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  Lambert, A. ‘Maintaining the Image’, in Gardiner, R. ed. Warship 1991. 1991

  – ‘Sir William Cornwallis’, in LeFevre, P. and Harding, R. eds. Precursors of Nelson: British Admirals of the Eighteenth Century. London, 2000, pp. 353–75

  – ‘HMS Foudroyant and Trincomalee’, Maritime Life and Traditions 17 (2002), pp. 46–59

  Monaque, R. ‘Latouche Tréville: the Admiral who defied Nelson’, Mariner’s Mirror 86 (2000), pp. 272–84

  Noszlopy, G. T. ‘A Note on West’s ‘Apotheosis of Nelson’, Burlington Magazine 112(1970), pp. 813–17

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  Rodger, N. A. M. ‘Image and Reality in Eighteenth Century Naval Tactics’, Mariner’s Mirror 83 (2003), pp. 280–96

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  Tour and Beyond. 2000, pp. 219–44

  Southey, R. ‘Lives of Nelson’, Quarterly Review (1810), pp. 218–62

  Tomlinson, B. ‘The Battle Sanctified’, in Duffy, M. and Morriss, R. The Glorious First of June. Exeter, 2001

  White, C. ‘Nelson’s 1805 Battle Plan’, Journal of Maritime Research (2002)

  – ‘The Wife’s Tale: Frances, Lady Nelson and the Break-up of her Marriage’, Journal of Maritime Research (2003)

  – ed. ‘The Public Order Book of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson July-October 1801’ in Duffy, M. ed. Naval Miscellany VI pp. 221_55

  Exhibition: Mad, Bad and Dangerous: The Cult of Lord Byron. Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Jan-Feb 2003

  Unpublished Ph.D. thesis: Colville, Q. ‘An analysis of the significance of material culture in constructing notions of class among male Royal Naval personnel, 1930–1960,’ University of London, 2004

  Notes

  INTRODUCTION

  1 The Articles of War, 1749, second article

  2 Lukacs, The Hitler of History: Hitler’s Biographers on Trial, p. 73. Genius is, of course, a value-free concept. Hitler was undoubtedly one, as was Napoleon.

  3 Howard, M., The Causes of Wars, 1983, p. 215–16.

  4 Clausewitz, C. von, On War, ed. P. Paret and M. Howard, Princeton, 1976, p. 87.

  5 Cookson, The British Armed Nation, 1793–1815, pp. 38–95

  6 de la Gravière, J, Sketches of the Late Naval War, 2 vols., trans. Captain Plunkett, 1848, provides a clear-eyed assessment of the issues.

  7 Rodger, ‘Image and Reality in Eighteenth Century Naval Tactics’

  8 Thi
s system opened a Pandora’s box of problems for admirals who wanted to micromanage their fleets. See Gordon, The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command for a powerful study of the problems this would cause between Trafalgar and Jutland in 1916.

  9 Collingwood to Alexander Carlyle 24.8.1801; Hughes, ed. The Private Correspondence of Admiral Lord Collingwood, p. 130

  10 Collingwood to Admiral Pasley 16.12.1805; Nicolas VII p. 241

  11 Heuser, Reading Clausewitz, pp. 72–3

  CHAPTER I

  1 For details of this, and every other ship on which Nelson served, with a wealth of period detail and operational history, see Goodwin, Nelson’s Ships: A History of the Vessels in which he Served, 1771–1805

  2 Goodwin, p. 3 5

  3 Nelson to Cornwallis 1790; Manuscripts of Cornwallis Wykeham Martin, pp. 341–2

  4 Clarke and McArthur (1840) [hereafter C&M] I p. 24

  5 C&M I p. 14.

  6 Nicolas I pp. 21–2

  7 Vincent, Nelson, Love and Fame, p. 3 3

  8 McNairn, A., Behold the Hero: General Wolfe and the Arts in the 18th Century. Liverpool, 1997

  9 Pocock, Young Nelson in the Americas, offers a comprehensive and rewarding study of this episode.

  10 Lambert, ‘Sir William Cornwallis’, in LeFevre and Harding, Precursors of Nelson

  11 Mahan p. 27, Oman, p. 40 and Warner p. 38, attribute it to his merit. Southey, Laughton and Vincent pp. 42–3 simply accept the appointment.

  12 Nelson to Suckling 14.1.1784; Nicolas II p. 479

  13 Jenkinson to Sandwich 12.2.1781; Add. MS 38,308 f. 81

  14 Rodger, The Insatiable Earl: A life of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, pp. 176–9. See also Sandwich to Jenkinson 19.1.1781; BL Add. MS 38,217 f. 253

  15 Nelson to William Nelson 7.5.1781; Nicolas I pp. 42–3

  16 Jenkinson to Sandwich 10.4.1781; Add. MS 38,308 f. 113

  17 Walker, The Nelson Portraits, pp. 13–18

  18 Hood to Pigot 22.11.1782; Hannay ed. Letters of Lord Hood; 1781–83, p. 15

  19 C&M; 1. p. 52. The anecdote was supplied by the Duke after 1805 and is therefore suspect.

  20 Nelson to Locker 25.2.1782; Nicolas I p. 723

  CHAPTER II

  1 Goodwin, pp. 106–13

  2 Goodwin, pp. 113–17 lists the offences, and the number of lashes awarded.

  3 According to his first lieutenant James Wallis, who retailed the story to C&M [1840] p. 143. There is a complete transcript of this memo taken from Add. 34,990 in Rawson ed. Nelson’s Letters from the Leeward Islands, pp. 47–54. Pocock, Young Nelson, p. 194

  4 Ritcheson, Aftermath of Revolution: British Policy Towards the United States, 1783–1795, PP. 3–17, 218–21

  5 His letters to William frequently refer to this fraud. See 29.12.1786; Nicolas I p. 204

  6 Nelson to William Nelson 29.3. and 2.4.1784: Nicolas I p. 101–2

  7 Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War, Money and the English State 1688–1783, pp. 101–5

  8 Ehrman, The Younger Pitt: The Years of Acclaim. Nelson to Suckling 14.1.1784: Nicolas II, pp. 479–80

  9 Nelson to Hughes January 1785, and copied to the Secretary to the Admiralty 18.1.1785: Nicolas I pp. 114–18

  10 Rawson ed. Nelson’s Letters from the Leeward Islands, pp. 23–40

  11 Nelson to Suckling 25.9. and 14.11.1785; Nicolas I pp. 140–6

  12 Nelson to Locker 5.3.1786; Nicolas I pp. 156–60

  13 Nelson to Moutray 6.2.1785 and Nelson to Admiralty 17.2.1785; Nicolas I pp. 118–19, 121–3

  14 Fanny’s letters to him were burnt on the eve of the attack on Tenerife.

  15 Nelson to Fanny 4.5.1786; Nicolas I p. 167. Vincent notes at p. 71 that this was still being used as a homily for young naval officers in 1954.

  16 Nelson to Fanny 6.3.1787; Naish ed. Nelson’s Letters to His Wife and Other Documents, 1785–1831, p. 50

  17 William to Hood 9.2.1787: Ranft, ed. ‘Prince William and Lieutenant Schomberg’, in Lloyd, ed. The Naval Miscellany: Vol. IV. London, 1952 pp. 270–2

  18 William to Nelson 3.12.1787 and William to Hood 26.12.1787 and 5.1.1788; Ranft pp. 286–95

  19 Howe to Hood 2.7.1787; Ranft p. 287

  20 Rose recalled this meeting in conversation with Clarke or McArthur. See C&M (1840) I p. 150

  21 Nelson to Clarence 10.12.1792; Nicolas I pp. 294–7

  22 Ziegler, King William IV, pp. 37–95, for Prince William’s relationship with Nelson and the Navy.

  23 Clarence to Nelson 3.10.1796; Add. 34,904 f. 400

  24 Nelson to William 2.6.1788; Nicolas I pp. 275–6

  25 Nicolas I p. 288

  CHAPTER III

  1 Goodwin, pp. 118–31; Deane, Nelson’s Favourite: HMS Agamemnon at War. 1781–1809, pp. 75–130

  2 Sherwig, Guineas and Gunpowder, p. 11

  3 Sherwig, p. 25. Ehrman II p. 278

  4 Ehrman II pp. 278–80

  5 Nelson to Wife 15.3.1793; Naish pp. 74–5

  6 Nelson to William Nelson 18.4.1793; Nicolas I p. 304.

  7 Letters of 18, 20 and 25 May 1793; Nicolas I pp. 306–7. Naish pp. 80–1.

  8 The Sea Journal, reproduced in Naish pp. 128–150, can be compared with the contemporary letters.

  9 Nelson to Clarence 14.7.1793; Nicolas I pp. 311–15. Nelson still believed Clarence would be employed.

  10 Nelson to Wife 15.7.1793; Naish pp. 84–5

  11 Nelson to Wife 4.8.1793; Naish pp. 87–8

  12 Nelson to Father 20.8.1793; Nicolas I pp. 319–20

  13 Ehrman II p. 303

  14 Nelson to Wife 7–10.9.1793,14.10.1793 and Nelson to Suckling 14.9.1793; Naish pp. 92–4, Nicolas I p. 327

  15 Nelson to Suckling 11.10.1793: Nicolas I pp. 331–2

  16 Nelson to Wife 12.10.1793; Naish pp. 93–4

  17 Sea Journal 22.10.1793; Naish pp. 138–9

  18 Sea Journal 6 and 10.11.1793; Naish pp. 139–40

  19 Elliot to Wife 16 and 17.12.1793 Minto, Countess ed. The Life and Letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot, First Earl of Minto, 1751–1806, II p. 199

  CHAPTER IV

  1 Rose, J. H. ‘British Rule in Corsica’ in Rose ed. Pitt and Napoleon: Essays and Letters. London, 1912. pp. 60–2.

  2 Hood to Nelson 15 and 28.12.1793; Godfrey, J. H, ed. ‘Corsica 1794’ in Lloyd, C. ed. The Naval Miscellany Volume IV. Navy Records Society (henceforth NRS) London. 1952, pp. 364–5.

  3 Nelson to Wife 16.1.1794; Naish pp. 99–100

  4 Nelson to Locker 17.1.1794; Nicolas pp. 347–8. It is significant that letters to naval correspondents are altogether more analytical, reflecting the cerebral aspect of his work, while those to his family are narratives interspersed with reflections on thwarted ambition.

  5 Nelson to Wife 30.1.1794; Naish pp. 101–2

  6 Journal 6.2.1794; Naish pp. 144–5

  7 Fortescue, J. W. A History of the British Army. Vol. IV, 1906 pp. 182–5. A severe critic of Hood, Fortescue provides a useful counter to the naval accounts. However, his bias is excessive, and largely self-defeating. His other target, Henry Dundas, is also now seen in a more favourable light.

  8 Nelson to Wife 13.2. 1794; Naish pp. 102–3

  9 Nelson to Wife 28.2.1794; Naish pp. 103–4

  10 Hood, Nelson, Dundas and Elliot correspondence of 8–9.3.1794; see NRS, 371–3, Minto and Nicolas.

  11 Minto II p. 247

  12 D’Aubant to Henry Dundas 2.4.1794; NRS pp. 382–3

  13 Moore Diary 21.3.1794. NRS; pp. 378–9. Nelson to Wife 22.3.1794; Naish pp. 106–7

  14 Nelson to Hamilton 27.3.1794; Nicolas pp. 377–9

  15 Hood to Nelson 20 and 21.4.1794; NRS pp. 387–8

  16 Hood to Nelson 24–31.4.1794; NRS pp. 389–91

  17 Nelson to Wife 1–4.5.1794; Naish pp. 109–111

  18 Moore Diary 3.5.1794; NRS pp. 392–3

  19 Hood to Nelson 5, 8,9, 11,13 and 15.5.1794; NRS pp. 393–7

  20 Moore Diary 15.5.1794; NRS pp. 397–8

  21 Hood to Nelson 22.5.1794;
NRS p. 399

  22 Nelson to Locker, William Nelson and Wife 30.5.1794; Naish, pp. 112–13, Nicolas pp. 402–4

  23 Nelson to Hood 23.6.1794; Nicolas I p. 413

  24 Hood to Elliot 15.7.1794; Naish p. 172

  25 Hood to Elliot 3.7.1794; Moore Diary 19.6.1794; NRS pp. 403–4

  26 Nelson to Hood 3, 4, 6 and 7.7.1794; Nicolas pp. 417–24 Stuart to Nelson 4.7.1794; NRS p. 405

  27 Nelson to Pollard 14.7.1794; Nicolas p. 436

  28 Moore Diary 13.7.1794; NRS pp. 405–6

  29 Nelson to Hood and Hood to Nelson 12.7.1794; Nicolas pp. 432–3

  30 The precise nature of the injury was never determined. Pugh, Nelson and his Surgeons, p. 8

  31 Stuart to H. Dundas 13.7.1794; NRS p. 406

  32 Nelson to Hood 18 and 19.7.1794; NRS pp. 407–9. Fortescue p. 193

  33 Hood to Nelson 19.7.1794; NRS p. 408. Nelson to Hood 20.7.1794; NRS p. 409

  34 Hood to Nelson 20, 21 and 22.7.1794; NRS pp. 410–12

  35 Elliot to Duke of Portland (Secretary of State for Home Affairs, now responsible for the island). 28.8.1794; NRS pp. 417–18

  36 Nelson to Wife. 25.8.1794. Naish p. 121.

  37 Nelson to Elliot 4.8.1794. Nelson to Hood 5, 8, 9 and 10.8.1794. Nelson to Agent of Transports at San Fiorenzo 6.8.1794; Nicolas I pp. 464–73

  38 Nelson to Clarence 6–10.8.1794; Nicolas I pp. 474–6

  39 Nelson to Wife 18 and 25.8.1794; Naish pp. 119–21

  40 Rose, pp. 73–4

  CHAPTER V

  1 Nelson to Wife 1.9.1794; Naish pp. 121–2

  2 Nelson to Wife 12.9.1794; Naish pp. 122–3

  3 Nelson to Suckling 20.9.1794; Nicolas I p. 485

  4 Nelson to Hood 23.9.1794; Nicolas I p. 486. Nelson to Wife 27.9.1794; Naish pp. 124–5. See Nelson to Suckling 20.9.1794; Nicolas I p. 486 for a more favourable view. A week was all it took to disabuse him of his optimism.

  5 Nelson to Hood 2.10.1794 and Hood to Nelson 1.12.1794; Nicolas I pp. 487–8