The Battle of Trafalgar: Nelson’s Final Triumph
- U I Team
- Mar 1
- 7 min read
In 1758, in the quiet Norfolk village of Burnham Thorpe, a frail and sickly baby was born to the Reverend Edmund Nelson and his wife Catherine. The child was christened Horatio, and few could have imagined that he would grow into one of Britain’s most celebrated naval heroes. From an early age, Horatio Nelson was marked by ill health, yet his resolve and courage would come to define the very spirit of the Royal Navy during its age of supremacy.
A Boy Sent to Sea
At the tender age of twelve, Nelson was sent to sea under the care of his uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling. Although he was enamoured with life aboard ships and the allure of distant shores, Nelson discovered that he would suffer from chronic seasickness—a condition that plagued him throughout his career. Nevertheless, his fascination with the sea and his aptitude for command became evident early on.
Nelson’s physical frame was hardly imposing; standing just 5 feet 4 inches tall and of slight build, he was often in poor health. The tropics brought recurring bouts of malaria and dysentery, and in 1780, during service in the West Indies, he was nearly lost to scurvy. Yet each time illness struck, Nelson’s indomitable spirit saw him through.
In 1784, he took command of HMS Boreas in the Caribbean. It was there he met and married Frances Nisbet, a young widow. Their union seemed to signal a settled domestic future, but Nelson’s destiny lay not in quiet Norfolk retirement but in the heat of battle.
The Rise of a Commander
When war erupted with Revolutionary France in 1793, Nelson, then aged 35, was appointed to command HMS Agamemnon, a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line. Though not the largest or most powerful vessel in the fleet, Agamemnon was known for her agility and fighting strength, and she would become the stage for Nelson’s rapid ascension through the naval ranks. It was aboard this ship that Nelson first began to make his mark—not only as a brave officer but as a gifted tactician.
In the Mediterranean theatre, Nelson’s Agamemnon was deployed in support of operations against French-occupied Corsica. During the Siege of Calvi in 1794, under the burning Corsican sun, Nelson’s gun batteries were engaged in a fierce bombardment. It was here that he was struck in the face by debris from an enemy cannonball, resulting in the permanent loss of vision in his right eye. He reportedly said little about the injury at the time and remained on active duty, continuing to command with his usual intensity.
His physical sacrifices, however, were far from over. In 1797, Nelson led a daring amphibious assault on the Spanish port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The attack, though meticulously planned, ended in failure. Amidst the chaos, Nelson was shot in the right arm by a musket ball. The wound was so severe that his arm had to be amputated just below the shoulder. The operation was conducted aboard HMS Theseus without the benefit of anaesthetic, common for the era. His ability to endure such agony without complaint became the stuff of legend. The ship’s surgeon recorded that Nelson “bore the pain with remarkable fortitude.” Nelson suggested that it would have hurt less if the knives had been heated first, a techique that was later adopted.
Despite his injuries, or perhaps because of them, Nelson’s legend only grew. He refused to let physical impairment slow him down and returned to duty as soon as possible, often wearing a distinctive empty sleeve pinned to his coat. These visible signs of sacrifice added to his heroic image among both sailors and the British public.
Nelson’s talents as a commander were increasingly impossible to ignore. He demonstrated a flair for independent action and frequently took calculated risks, sometimes stretching or even disobeying orders. He was not one for cautious strategy. His aggressive instincts, sharpened by deep nautical experience and quick decision-making, made him a new breed of naval leader—bold, imaginative, and fiercely loyal to king and country.
The Nile and a National Hero
By 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte had embarked on an ambitious expedition to Egypt, aiming to threaten British interests in India. Nelson, promoted to Rear-Admiral, was tasked with hunting down the French fleet. After weeks of relentless pursuit across the Mediterranean, Nelson finally located the French anchored at Aboukir Bay near the mouth of the Nile.
The Battle of the Nile, fought on the night of 1 August 1798, became a defining moment in British naval history. Observing that the French had anchored close to the shoreline in a seemingly secure position, Nelson devised an audacious plan. Rather than attack from the seaward side, as anticipated, he split his line and sent half his ships between the shore and the anchored French vessels. The French had not positioned their guns to defend against such an approach, believing the shallows impassable.
The British onslaught was devastating. The French flagship L’Orient, a colossal 120-gun vessel, caught fire and exploded in a catastrophic detonation seen and felt for miles. The shockwave silenced the battle briefly, and the sea itself seemed to stand still. In the aftermath, thirteen French ships were either destroyed or captured, and Napoleon’s ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean were effectively ended.
For this spectacular victory, Nelson was hailed as a national saviour and ennobled as Baron Nelson of the Nile. London erupted in celebration, and he was awarded a pension, gifts, and medals. His image appeared in paintings, pamphlets, and public toasts. Yet, this period also marked a turning point in Nelson’s private life.
While recuperating in Naples, Nelson resumed contact with Sir William Hamilton, the British envoy, and his wife, Lady Emma Hamilton. Their affair, flirtatious at first and then wholly consuming, would scandalise British society. Emma, already a celebrated beauty and muse to artists, became Nelson’s closest confidante. Despite her past as a courtesan, Nelson saw her as his equal, someone who shared his passion, intellect, and ambitions. By 1801, Nelson had abandoned his wife, Frances, and begun cohabiting with Emma in open defiance of social convention. That same year, Emma gave birth to their daughter, Horatia. Though her maternity was never publicly acknowledged, Nelson adored the child and carried locks of her hair with him until his death.
Copenhagen and the Blind Eye
Nelson’s next major campaign came in 1801, this time against Denmark. The Danish fleet, as part of the Northern Confederation with Russia and Sweden, posed a threat to British trade and naval dominance in the Baltic. Under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, Nelson was once again second-in-command.
On 2 April, the British fleet engaged the Danes in the harbour of Copenhagen. When part of the fleet became trapped in shallow waters and under heavy fire, Parker hoisted the signal to withdraw. Nelson, convinced that the battle could still be won, famously ignored it. He turned to his flag captain, Thomas Foley, and said, “You know, Foley, I have only one eye—I have a right to be blind sometimes. I really do not see the signal.”
Pressing the attack, Nelson opened communication with the Danish Crown Prince and offered a truce, which was accepted. The Danish fleet was neutralised with minimal British losses, and Nelson’s reputation for fearless independence was solidified. He had, once again, defied conventional wisdom and emerged victorious.
Trafalgar: The Last Battle
By 1805, Britain was once again at war with Napoleonic France. Napoleon’s strategy hinged on assembling a Franco-Spanish fleet capable of breaking Britain’s control of the seas. When Admiral Villeneuve led his combined fleet out of the port of Cádiz, Nelson, now Vice-Admiral of the White, pursued him with unwavering determination.
On 21 October, the fleets met off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson arranged his ships into two columns and advanced directly at the enemy line—an unconventional and highly risky manoeuvre. His aim was to split the enemy fleet and engage them at close quarters, where British training and firepower would prove superior. This bold tactic became known as the ‘Nelson Touch’.
Before the battle commenced, Nelson sent his immortal signal:
“England expects that every man will do his duty.”
Aboard HMS Victory, Nelson took his place on deck, conspicuously dressed in full uniform and adorned with his honours. Despite his officers’ concerns for his safety, Nelson refused to hide. At the height of the battle, a sharpshooter from the French ship Redoutable took aim and fired. The musket ball entered Nelson’s shoulder, punctured a lung, and lodged in his spine.
He was carried below decks to the surgeon’s quarters. As the battle thundered on above, Nelson’s breathing grew laboured. He asked repeatedly for updates and was reassured that victory was near. His final words, addressed to his flag captain Thomas Hardy, were reportedly:
“Thank God I have done my duty.”
Three hours after being shot, Nelson died. His last and greatest victory had been secured—22 enemy ships were destroyed or captured, and not a single British ship was lost.
The Nation Mourns
Nelson’s body was preserved in a barrel of brandy for the journey back to England, landing at Rosia Bay, Gibraltar. Upon arrival in London in December 1805, he lay in state at Greenwich’s Painted Hall for three days, with over 15,000 mourners passing by. His funeral on 9 January 1806 was the grandest state occasion Britain had yet seen. His coffin, made from the mast of the L’Orient, was borne through the capital in a procession led by Admiral Sir Peter Parker and sailors from the Victory.
Arriving at Greenwich on 23 December 1805, his body lay in state in the Painted Hall from 5 to 7 January 1806. More than 15,000 people came to pay their respects and many more were turned away. Nelson's body was then taken from Greenwich up the Thames to Whitehall on 8 January, spending the night before the funeral at the Admiralty. The next day it was placed in a funeral car modelled on the Victory and taken through the streets to St Paul's Cathedral. Sir Peter Parker, Admiral of the Fleet, led the mourners, and members of the Victory’s crew were in the procession.
The service at St Paul's was charged with emotion, marking the passing of the man who had delivered his country from a foreign threat. Thousands watched as Nelson's coffin was lowered down and finally laid to rest in an ornate tomb in the crypt of St Paul’s. The tomb is now surrounded by the graves of many other naval officers. These include the grave of his close friend and second in command at Trafalgar, Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood.
Every year St Paul’s Cathedral holds a special ‘Sea Service’ on the Sunday closest to Trafalgar Day when wreaths are laid at Nelson’s tomb.
In London’s Trafalgar Square can be seen the country’s memorial to the most inspiring leader the British Navy has ever had. Nelson’s column, erected in 1840, stands 170ft high and is crowned with a statue of Nelson on the top.
