nelson.co.ukHoratio Nelson - Admiralty
1797 was a full year for Nelson. On 14 February he was largely responsible for the British victory at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Here he showed his flair for dramatic and bold action. Under the command of Sir John Jervis, the British fleet was ordered to "tack in line," but Nelson disobeyed these orders and wore ship to alter course and prevent the Spanish fleet from escaping. He then boarded two enemy ships in succession, an unusual and bold move which was cheered by the whole fleet. Nelson himself led the boarding parties, which was not usually done by high ranking officers.
In the aftermath of this victory, Nelson was knighted as a member of the Order of the Bath (hence the postnominal initials "KB"). In April of the same year he was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue, the ninth highest rank in the Royal Navy. Promotion to admiral at this time was not based on merit but solely on seniority and the availability of positions to fill. Able captains such as Nelson were appointed commodore temporarily, a position which had the same pay and responsibilities as an admiral. Later in the year, while commanding Theseus during an unsuccessful expedition to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Nelson was shot in the right arm with a musketball, fracturing his humerus bone in multiple places. Since medical science of the day counselled amputation for almost all serious limb wounds (to prevent death by gangrene), Nelson lost almost his entire right arm and was unfit for duty until mid-December. He was quoted as saying "I am Lord Nelson and this is my fin."
In 1798 Nelson was once again responsible for a great victory over the French. The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay) took place on 1 August 1798. The battle effectively ended Napoleon's ambition to take the war to the British in India. The forces Napoleon had brought to Egypt were stranded. Napoleon attempted to march north along the Mediterranean coast but his army was defeated at the Siege of Acre by Captain Sir Sidney Smith. Napoleon then left his army and sailed back to France, evading detection by British ships. Given its huge strategic importance, some historians (see Vincent 2003) regard Nelson's achievement at the Nile as the most significant of his career, Trafalgar notwithstanding.
For the spectacular victory of the Nile, Nelson was granted the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile. (Nelson felt cheated that he was not awarded a more prestigious title; Sir John Jervis had been made Earl of St. Vincent for his part in the battle of St. Vincent, but the British Government insisted that an officer who was not the commander-in-chief could not be raised to any peerage higher than a barony). Nelson felt throughout his life that his accomplishments were not fully rewarded by the British government, a fact he ascribed to his humble birth and lack of political connections as compared during his lifetime to Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent or after his death to the Duke of Wellington.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Nelson then rescued the Neapolitan royal family from a French invasion in December. During this time he fell in love with Emma Hamilton - the young wife of the elderly British ambassador to Naples. Emma became Nelson's mistress, returning to the UK to live openly with him, and eventually they had a daughter, Horatia.
In 1799 Nelson was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Red, the seventh highest rank in the Royal Navy. He was then assigned to the new second-rate Foudroyant. In July he aided Admiral Ushakov with the reconquest of Naples after the Parthenopaean Republic, and was made Duke of Bronte by the Neapolitan king. Personal problems and some upper-level disappointment at his professional conduct caused him to be recalled to the UK, but public knowledge of his affair with Lady Hamilton eventually induced the Admiralty to send him back to sea, if only to get him away from her.
Some have suggested that a head wound Nelson received at Aboukir Bay was partially responsible for his personal conduct and for the way he managed the Neapolitan campaign. He was accused of allowing the monarchists to kill prisoners contrary to the laws of war. Perhaps Nelson's zeal was due simultaneously to his English hatred of Jacobins and his status as a Neapolitan royalist (as the Duke of Bronte). The Neapolitan campaign is now considered something of a disgrace to his name.
In 1797 Lord and Lady Nelson moved to Ipswich, Suffolk and in 1800 Lord Nelson was appointed High Steward of Ipswich, however failed to become the towns MP.
On 1 January 1801 Nelson was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Blue (the sixth highest rank). Within a few months he took part in the Battle of Copenhagen (2 April 1801) which was fought in order to break up the armed neutrality of Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. During the action, his commander, Sir Hyde Parker, who believed that the Danish fire was too strong, signalled to Nelson to break off the action. Nelson ordered that the signal be acknowledged, but not repeated. Legend has it that Nelson turned to his flag Captain, Sir Thomas Foley, and said "You know, Foley, I only have one eye — I have the right to be blind sometimes," and then holding his telescope to his blind eye, said "I really do not see the signal!" In reality, however, Nelson merely ignored the signal. His action was approved in retrospect and in May he became commander-in-chief in the Baltic Sea. As a reward, he was created Viscount Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, on 22 May 1801. In addition, on 18 August 1801, he was created Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Hilborough in the County of Norfolk, this time with a special remainder to his father and sisters.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was massing forces to invade the UK. Nelson was placed in charge of defending the English Channel in order to thwart any such invasion. However, on 22 October 1801 an armistice was signed between the British and the French, and Nelson - in poor health again - retired to the UK where he stayed with his friends, Sir William and Lady Hamilton. The three embarked on a tour of England and Wales, culminating in a stay in Birmingham. They visited Matthew Boulton on his sick bed at Soho House and toured his Soho Manufactory. In 1802, Nelson bought, Merton Place, a country estate in Merton, Surrey (now south-west London) where he lived briefly with Emma Hamilton.