The Dangerous Book of Heroes (33 page)

Copyright © 2009 by Graeme Neil Reid

The
Theseus
was under-provisioned, lacked most of her military stores, had never seen action, and her seamen were still mutinous. It's indicative of Nelson's leadership and care for his men that within one month a note was left on the quarterdeck. It read: “Success attend Admiral Nelson, God bless Captain Miller, we thank them for the officers they have placed over us. We are happy and comfortable and will shed every drop of blood in our veins to support them, and the name of
Theseus
shall be immortalised as high as Captain's. Ship's Company.” It was all part of what came to be called the “Nelson touch.”

A month later Nelson experienced his greatest defeat. He devised and led an attempt to capture the port of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and a Spanish treasure galleon lying there. He was soundly beaten. He lost a quarter of the landing force—250 men killed or wounded—as well as his right arm. It was shattered by grapeshot and amputated below the shoulder. There was no anesthetic in those days, only the surgeon's saw, a leather pad to bite upon, and rum or opium afterward. The next day, using his left hand, he wrote a request for sick leave. Nelson was sent home to convalesce, the first time he'd been in England for more than four years.

At that stage of his life Horatio Nelson had seen action against the French and Spanish more than 120 times. He'd become the man we recognize from the portraits: slightly built, five feet six inches tall, white-haired, sightless in his right eye, impaired in his left, one-armed,
with his decorations worn proudly upon his blue uniform coat. Behind this public image, he sometimes wore, for fun, a diamond wind-up clock in his cocked hat. He famously suffered from seasickness as well as the continuing effects of malaria and yellow fever, and the splinter wound to his stomach caused him great distress. He was in almost constant pain. Yet the three greatest achievements of his career, three of the most important naval battles of all time, were yet to come.

On March 29, 1798, Nelson hoisted his flag as rear admiral of the Blue—the Blue Ensign—on the
Vanguard
at Portsmouth. Through the Royal Navy, Britain was taking the offensive. Under overall command of Earl Saint Vincent, a fleet was sent back to the Mediterranean to wrest control from the French. Intelligence reports had indicated that Bonaparte was about to make a major attack there—perhaps Greece, perhaps Constantinople, perhaps Egypt—then move on India. It was a pivotal moment in world history.

Admiral of the French fleet transporting Bonaparte and his thirty-thousand-strong Army of the East was François Brueys, a very capable tactician. Skillfully, he avoided the hunting British squadrons and landed Bonaparte in Egypt. Alexandria fell by July 2, and leaving his fleet in Aboukir Bay by the estuary of the Nile River, Bonaparte marched on Cairo. That city fell on July 24, and Bonaparte declared himself a Muslim. In France he had declared himself an atheist revolutionary; during his invasion of the Italian principalities and Rome he'd become a devout Catholic.

Although the fall of Egypt was not known to Nelson, he was certain that Bonaparte was somewhere in the east and continued searching. On August 1, 1798, the lookout of HMS
Zealous
reported the topmasts of the French fleet in Aboukir Bay. Brueys had anchored hard up against sandbanks along the western side of the bay to force any attacking ships to approach from the east. He'd also landed guns on Aboukir Island at the head of the bay. Accordingly, Brueys had the majority of his men manning all the guns on the eastern, starboard, side of his ships. It was a tactical position of great strength. Nelson summoned his captains to the
Vanguard.

In the anchorage were more than twenty-two French warships;
thirteen ships of the line comprising the 120-gun flagship
L'Orient,
three 80s, and nine 74s, as well as four large frigates, two brigs, three bomb ketches, and several gunboats. Approaching from the sea, the sun about to set, were fifteen British warships, comprising thirteen 74s, one 50, and a brig.

Brueys did not expect Nelson to attack that evening—in the dark, in an uncharted bay, in shallow water, outnumbered and outgunned. However, at 5:30
P.M
. Nelson signaled his fleet: “Form line of battle as most convenient.” The 74s swept past Aboukir Island into the darkening bay.

Almost immediately, the
Culloden
went aground to become a helpless spectator of the battle. Brueys now had 250 more guns than Nelson. As the remaining twelve British 74s reached the head of the French line, they split into two divisions; six and the 50 taking positions along the eastern side of the French fleet as expected, while the other six proceeded along the western side—between the French and the sandbanks. Nelson had told his captains: “Where there is room for a French 74 at single anchor to swing, there is room for a British 74 to attack.” There was. The first shot was fired at 6:28
P.M
.

Despite his careful preparations, Brueys's ships were attacked on both sides. Nelson leapfrogged his ships along the enemy line, sweeping the ships from port and starboard with broadside after terrible broadside, destroying or capturing one ship after another. The
Conquérant
surrendered after twelve minutes. By 8
P.M
., four more had surrendered. Nelson was once again wounded, cut to the bone above his left, good eye. Bleeding heavily and severely concussed, he was carried below to the surgeon and the horrors of the cockpit.

In
L'Orient,
Brueys was also injured, both his legs cut off below the knee by shot. The French ships surrendered or fought on until they were incapable, mastless hulks. After intense gunnery from HMS
Bellerophon, Swiftsure,
and
Alexander, L'Orient
caught fire. Brueys was dead. In the
Vanguard,
Nelson insisted on being helped back to the quarterdeck.

The fire spread in the enormous French flagship until the flames illuminated the battle like a giant candle. It was soon evident that
there could be only one outcome. Nelson and the captains of nearby British ships lowered their boats to rescue the French seamen leaping into the dark waters. Shortly after 10
P.M
. the fierce blaze reached the magazine.

The mighty
L'Orient
disintegrated in a shattering explosion that was heard thirteen miles away in Alexandria. Flying debris set the
Swiftsure
and the
Alexander
briefly alight. All ships stopped firing for about twelve minutes, in awe at the destruction. With
L'Orient
went gold plate and bullion looted by Bonaparte from Malta. Only seventy of her crew were found by the British boats.

The great battle resumed, continuing through the warm night. The perspiring crews, stripped to the waist with handkerchiefs bound over their ears, worked their guns continuously. The tongues of flame illuminated the darkness like a series of paintings. By midmorning, eleven French ships of the line had been captured or destroyed, the two that escaped being captured shortly afterward. Two frigates were also destroyed. It's estimated that 1,700 French seamen lost their lives, 1,500 were wounded, and 3,000 taken prisoner. Not one British ship was lost, although 218 men were killed and 678 wounded.

The battle of the Nile is the most comprehensive naval victory ever achieved, and its effects were immense and far-reaching. The Royal Navy had taken control of the Mediterranean. Bonaparte and his Army of the East were isolated, and the Egyptians and Arabs willingly turned against him. Eventually, Bonaparte abandoned his army and fled back to France in a fast frigate, a Muslim no longer. A force from India under General Abercrombie later disposed of this army. In thanks to Nelson and Abercrombie for their liberation from the French, Mohammad Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, presented to Britain Cleopatra's Needle, from 1500
B.C
. It stands today on the Victoria Embankment in London.

Other countries saw that the French could be defeated, inspiring Austria and the Italian states to resume the struggle. Although there would be a further seventeen years of warfare, Nelson and the navy had shown that victory was possible.

Overnight, Nelson became a hero to Britain and Europe. He was
created Baron of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe, a wonderfully unlikely combination of place-names.

Nelson's private life also changed. In Naples, he began the affair that lasted the rest of his life—with Emma Hamilton, wife of British ambassador William Hamilton, Nelson's friend. The affair caused society outrage, yet the three lived much of their lives together and remained steadfast friends until their deaths. With Emma, Nelson had his only child, Horatia.

In 1801, a “treaty of armed neutrality” among several Baltic Sea nations led by Russia had closed the Baltic trade to Britain. The trade in timber, flax, tar, and other supplies was vital for the navy to continue the fight against Bonaparte. Russia seized three hundred British merchant ships, while Denmark closed all her ports. The treaty was effectively an alliance with France. Britain sent a fleet to the Baltic under Admiral Hyde Parker with Nelson, now vice admiral, second in command.

Negotiations between Parker and the Danish court failed in March, and an attack on Copenhagen began. The Danes had protected their port capital by anchoring their ships in an unbroken line of floating batteries and gunboats between the city and the Oresund Strait, which led out to sea. There would be no British attack to both sides of their fleet here. The channel markers had also been removed, yet Nelson had a plan.

The Danes expected the British to attack from the north, the main channel into Copenhagen, whereas Nelson planned to sail a division of ships through a narrow channel outside and attack from the south. Admiral Parker's division would still attack through the main channel from the north to engage the formidable guns of Fort Trekroner.

Nelson shifted his flag to the 74-gun
Elephant
for the battle. In all, the Danish had 380 guns, the British 400, but the Danish had immense superiority in the caliber—the size—of their guns. In addition, Fort Trekroner, the ships, floating batteries, and gunboats were continually replenished with fresh men and ammunition from Copenhagen. Nelson relied upon the superior rate of fire of his seamen to counter these disadvantages.

On the morning of April 2, Nelson sailed ten 74s, one 54, and one 50 to the southern and central Danish defenses. Positioned behind the
Elephant
in the 54-gun
Glatton
was Captain Bligh of the
Bounty
mutiny. Seven bomb ketches firing mortars were anchored beyond the
Elephant.

Battle commenced at 10:05
A.M
. but Nelson's plan had to be changed immediately. Parker could not bring his ships down from the north because of a dead foul wind, while three of Nelson's 74s went aground in the unmarked channel and were out of the battle. Nelson now had only seven 74s and fewer guns to attack the Danes. He sent five frigates to the north to prevent any Danish ships from coming south against him.

In the chill Baltic spring, the great guns thundered outside Copenhagen, the Danish putting up a strong resistance. Firing continued uninterrupted until 1
P.M
., when Admiral Parker sent his famous signal of recall.

In fact Parker was not retreating; he was shouldering the blame for what he thought might become a defeat. Both Danes and Britons were suffering heavy losses in what was simply a slugging match, for no further maneuvering was possible in the confined waters. By his signal, Parker gave Nelson the opportunity to withdraw under his commander's orders if he wished.

Nelson said to the captain of the
Elephant
: “You know, Foley, I have only one eye—I have a right to be blind sometimes.” Then he put his telescope to his blind right eye and exclaimed: “I really do not see the signal!” The expression “turning a blind eye” entered the language.

Gradually the fire from the Danish ships and batteries slackened. The flagship
Dannebrog
caught fire, struck her colors, and drifted out of control. Like
L'Orient,
she blew up, but British boats were prevented from rescuing her crew because of fire from the Danish shore batteries. By 2:30
P.M
. the Danish firing had almost stopped. Nelson offered a truce, which at just after 4
P.M
. was accepted, and an armistice was later negotiated. Seventeen Danish ships were captured, burned, or destroyed, with a loss of almost 1,700 men killed
or wounded and 3,500 taken prisoner. Yet again Nelson lost not one vessel, although 941 British were killed or wounded.

It was a brutal battle and one that both nations—usually friends and allies—regretted having to fight. It's indicative that only two honors were awarded for the battle of Copenhagen. Nelson was made viscount and his second in command, Rear Admiral Graves, invested with the Order of the Bath. Yet the victory was vital to the progress of the war against France. It kept the Scandinavian countries and Russia neutral, it maintained Britain's Baltic trade, and it affirmed that, although Bonaparte's armies ruled the continent, the Royal Navy controlled the seas. French military dictatorship ended where the sea was deep enough for Britain to float a boat.

The 1802 Peace of Amiens lasted barely a year before Bonaparte broke it. He had used the peace to rebuild his navy, invade Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Elba, and assemble some 7,000 barges to carry the 200,000-strong Grand Army across the English Channel to invade Britain. In May 1803 war resumed.

Nelson hoisted his flag in the refitted
Victory
as Vice Admiral of the Red—the famous red ensign now used by the merchant navy. Saint Vincent was at the Admiralty, Admiral Cornwallis was in charge of the English Channel and Western Approaches, and Nelson was given charge of the Mediterranean.