Viscount Horatio Nelson

As I hope we all know, last Friday was the 200th anniversary of the destruction of a large Franco/Spanish fleet at Trafalgar by a British force under the command of Admiral Nelson—thus ending the threat of an invasion of England by Napoleon. In the expected politically correct way, official British government celebrations have been muted for fear of “offending the French”. See one account of that here.

So I am going to do my little bit here to mark the event and I don’t give a damn about whom it might offend.

I want to concentrate on just one thing: Why did Nelson in effect commit suicide during that battle? He stood in full view in a prominent position on his flagship dressed in every bit of the colourful regalia he was entitled to. He made himself as prominent a target as he could, in other words. And he remained there even when his ship came to close quarters with a French ship full of musketeers. One of those musketeers eventually got him, of course.

Why would he do such a thing? He was the most popular man in England at the time and was sleeping with the most beautiful Englishwoman of the day. He can hardly have been depressed. I think the reason is is clear. He was displaying a virtue that is incomprehensible to the politically correct whiners of today: Heroism.

He knew that his fleet was heavily outnumbered and he knew that the fate of England hung on the battle. And as every military man knows, the spirit and morale of your troops is a hugely important factor in who wins a battle. So although his sailors already regarded him as someone not much less than the Messiah who would lead them to the promised land, Nelson wanted to ensure that every one of his men was a lion of courage. And he did that by setting the example personally.

Update

I am delighted to read that, despite initial British government resistance, popular enthusiasm ensured that the great victory and great heroism of Viscount Nelson was in the end properly celebrated in Britain. See here

Posted by jonjayray on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 09:30 PM in History
Comments (5) | Tell a friend

Comments:

Posted by Fred Scrooby on October 22, 2005, 10:39 PM | #

Your theory sounds right, John.

Posted by Guessedworker on October 23, 2005, 04:58 AM | #

OK, yes I think that’s clear enough. In such decisions I see an essentially stoic heart. One might contrast stoicism with mere bravery as the difference, for example, between young Winston having the time of his life fighting the Boers in South Africa and the former high government minister joining the BEF in France after the disaster of Gallipoli.

Duty in war necessarily includes self-sacrifice. But such military virtue is not the province of grimly suicidal men. As you note, John, they often have everything to live for. The prototypical example is Homer’s Trojan hero Hector who, having put on his armour in readiness to face Achilles on the plain beyond the city walls, lifts his small son above his head and dangles him there in a joyous, paternalistic affirmation of life.

To be great in life or death one must believe in something greater than either.

Posted by Desmond Jones on October 24, 2005, 02:42 AM | #

It’s something more than heroism. It’s something of a fatalism, a search for immortality that appears in the English military elite of the era. The battle of Trafalgar was unnecessary. Napoleon abandoned his plans for an invasion earlier. Yet Nelson still chose to engage a French/Spanish fleet retreating for cover.

It’s not unlike Wolfe’s sense of destiny at Quebec. It renders unto these heros an aura of deity. Lord Byron called Nelson “Britannia’s God of War.” It’s almost as if these men believe they will assume the mantle of a God; and like Achilles, an immortality through the ages.

Posted by Dasein on May 25, 2010, 09:54 AM | #

Why did Nelson in effect commit suicide during that battle?

He could see into the future?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/7749195/Fourth-Plinth-our-sculptors-are-national-treasures.html

Posted by BGD on May 25, 2010, 10:04 AM | #

Anglo-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare

Anglo-Nigerian: WTF?

He’s a British born man, a Nigerian who was brought up in Nigeria. Are we now having hyphenated ethnic minorities as standard here?

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