Horatio Nelson was a British naval officer who became the greatest hero of his time. Despite serious injuries he won dramatic battles at sea in the war with France.
IN THE NAVY
Nelson was born in 1758. Following the example of his naval officer uncle, he joined the British Navy when he was just twelve years old. One of his early voyages was an expedition to the Arctic, where his ship became stuck in ice and Nelson chased a polar bear. Luckily for both bear and boy, Nelson didn’t catch up with it. By the time he was twenty he was in command of his own ship.
EYE EYE, CAPTAIN
Nelson commanded ships in different parts of the world and rose through the ranks. During the war with Revolutionary France, Nelson lost most of the sight in his right eye defending the French port of Toulon, after sand and stones were blasted into his face during battle.
A SLIGHT SCRATCH
Nelson captured two enemy ships in his first big victory at the Battle of the Cape of St Vincent. But not long afterwards, in another battle, he was hit in the right arm by a musket shot. The story goes that he refused to be helped aboard ship despite his shattered arm. He then demanded that the surgeon amputate it as soon as possible, and within half an hour he was back in command of his ship. He recovered completely in time to defeat the French at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt a year later.
THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
In 1805, the Emperor of France – Napoleon Bonaparte – raised a huge fleet of French and Spanish ships, determined to invade Britain. Nelson, by now a half-blind, one-armed Rear Admiral and tougher than ever, sailed to meet him at Cape Trafalgar with his own fleet, on his ship HMS Victory. Nelson’s brilliant battle tactics won him his most famous victory of all. Napoleon’s fleet, and his plans to invade, were left in ruins.
NELSON’S COLUMN
Nelson was shot through the spine during the battle and died of his wounds hours later aboard HMS Victory. His statue stands on top of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square in London, in memory of his greatest sea battle.
To find out more about life in the British Navy see here.
