Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, by Lemuel Francis Abbott – courtesy of Wikipedia.com
Boldness, bravery, and a flair for the unconventional had served Admiral Horatio Nelson well throughout his naval career. He was never a man to shy from danger nor to fail to follow his instincts although not every instance had been successful. Born of what would now be thought of as an upper middle class family, Nelson entered his majesty’s navy due largely to the influence of his uncle, Maurice Suckling. Suckling’s patronage was not misplaced for young Nelson proved himself to be an energetic young man possessed of a a quick and inquisitive mind. He also had the benefit of serving under the tutelage of several of the premiere British naval leaders of his time.
This combination of dashing bravado, incisive intellect and a penchant for calculated risk taking had served Nelson well. These traits came out early in his career. Once, on an expedition to find the legendary Northwest Passage his ship was in danger of becoming icebound. While the crew was working to turn the ship back, his commander noticed that Nelson, having seen a polar bear on the ice, took off in pursuit of it. When confronted with the question of why he would engage in such a rash act Nelson replied, “I wished, Sir, to get the skin for my father.” Rather than being punished for what might be interpreted as dereliction of duty, his commander appears to have good naturedly circulated this possibly apocryphal story as an example of the young man’s “spirit.”
Whether as the result of patronage, luck, or indulgence, Nelson had survived two potentially career destroying incidents. The first occurred in 1783 when he, with a force of 167 naval and marine personnel grossly underestimated the strength of the French forces garrisoning the Turks Islands. Nelson landed his small force but found that the defenders of the island were well entrenched. Despite a spirited bombardment, Nelson was ultimately forced to withdraw. Several of his fellow officers complained about his conduct of the operation. Despite this significant criticism from his fellows, Nelson got off without so much as a reprimand from Admiral Samuel Hood.
The second incident occurred some fourteen years later when, in 1797, at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, Nelson disobeyed the orders of Admiral Sir John Jervis. Being to the rear of the British line, Nelson, impatient for action, broke position and engaged the van of the Spanish fleet. His third rate 74 gun ship took on three Spanish warships mounting 130 guns, 112 guns, and 80 guns. Nelson’s ship, HMS Captain essentially had to be rescued by the timely intervention of HMS Culloden. Given some relief from his predicament and needing to recover from his impulsive actions, Nelson himself led a boarding party across to the 80 gun San Nicolas, forcing her surrender to him.
As luck would have it, the 112 gun San Josef, coming to San Nicolas’ aid, became entangled with her and Nelson seized the opportunity to board and force her surrender as well.
Nothing sells like success and Nelson, despite having imperiled the fleet, managed to capture two of the four Spanish first raters that day. His victory, and Jervis’ personal like for the rash young captain saved him an official reprimand. It also denied him mention in the official battle report. Nelson mounted a letter writing campaign that reflected well on his performance in the battle. However, several other officers, Rear-Admiral William Parker among them, contested the veracity of the events as Nelson reported them and questioned if he would have succeeded without the support and assistance of far more ships than Nelson himself reported.
Cuthbert Collingwood Baron Collingwood by Henry Howard – courtesy of Wikipedia.com
Nelson’s frequent collaborator and ling time acquaintance was Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood. Like Nelson, Collingwood was present at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent although he exercised a greater degree of restraint than his eventual superior. The two collaborated and served together with the British West Indies and Mediterranean squadrons. Collingwood was the more steadfast of the two but he could also be seduced into going along with some of Nelson’s riskier plans. He also bowed to Nelson’s cliquishness which was to sow the seeds of disaster for the British Fleet, and alter the course of history.
On the eve of Trafalgar, Nelson and Collingwood were joined by Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl Northesk. Unlike Nelson with his upper middle class origins or Collingwood with his even humbler antecedents, Northesk was the son of a peer and admiral. Northesk was a steady officer schooled in the traditions and methods of the Royal Navy. He was advanced to the rank of Post Captain by Admiral Rodney himself in 1782.
However, Northesk found himself in a difficult position in 1796. He was embroiled in the Nore mutiny. Northesk, having some sympathy with the mutineers’ grievances and imbued with a strong sense of noblesse oblige, was released by the striking sailors and charged with taking their demands to London. Unlike Admiral Lord Howe who later succeeded, Northesk failed to win any concessions for the aggrieved sailors and, in light of this and his failure to even restore order on his ship, chose to resign his commission.
Northesk remained out of the navy for the next eleven years until he was reinstated by the Admiralty in 1803. He received his full seniority as a rear admiral and was given command of a first rater, HMS Britannia, in which he joined Nelson’s fleet.
William Carnegie 7th Earl Northesk 1758-1831 by Thomas Phillips – courtesy of Wikipedia.com
Northesk, unlike Collingwood, was neither an intimate of nor collaborator with Nelson. In fact, he had never even served with Nelson before and as such was not a member of the so called Band of Brothers.
He joined Nelson’s fleet shortly before the battle was to take place. Despite being the third in command of the fleet, he was largely excluded from the pre-engagement planning.
Thus, when disaster struck Britain on that fateful October day in 1805, Northesk, deprived of Nelson’s orders, lacking familiarity with the flamboyant man’s methods, and strongly motivated to not be the cause of needless British deaths, reverted to his traditions and earlier training. Thus it was that one empire was sorely wounded, another rose to parity and the World took its first step to a cataclysm that would profoundly alter history.
Trafalgar – courtesy of wikidiscoverypedia.com
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