About Admiral Lord Nelson

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About Admiral Lord Nelson

Admiral Lord NelsonEvery year on October 21, England commemorates

Trafalgar Day. One cannot use the term "celebrates," for although this

holiday does commemorate one of the greatest victories at sea, it also

memorializes the death of England's most beloved admiral. In the years

that have passed since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 his reputation

has not been surpassed, but rather has grown as the admirals of other

navies have looked to his life for inspiration and tactical

instruction. Although many admirals have been compared to him, none

has ever been set above him. Even Raymond Ames Spruance, who won an

overwhelming victory over a superior Japanese force at Midway and went

on to win many other great battles of World War II in the Pacific, can

never take better than second place to this extraordinary man.

Horatio Nelson was born on September 29, 1758, to Catherine (Suckling)

Nelson, the wife of Edmund Nelson, rector of Burnham Thorpe, in the

county of Norfolk. He was a sickly child from the start and grew up

small and slender. His mother died on Boxing Day in 1767, when young

Horatio was only nine years old.When the Falklands Crisis of 1770

arose, young Horatio saw this as an opportunity to contribute his

effort to the problem and asked his older brother William to write a

letter to their father asking him to have their uncle Maurice Suckling

take him to sea.

Captain Suckling was dubious about this idea, but he agreed and

Horatio entered the Navy on January 1, 1771. At the time he was only

twelve years old, but this was common. Horatio's introduction to the

Navy was singularly unpromising, for...

... middle of paper ...

...d going

to sea so quickly, duty was too much a part of his personality for him

to refuse.

There is something of the cosmic in the unfolding of that last month

as he proceeded toward the final battle. Even almost two hundred years

after the fact, a well-written account of how Lord Nelson went into

the Battle of Trafalgar can bring tears to a reader's eyes. Even as he

was winning his greatest victory ever, he was struck down by a

sniper's bullet. He lingered on in great agony for several hours, long

enough to know that he had won a victory grander than he'd ever won

before. However he would not live to reap its glory, which would go to

his unworthy brother William. The true line, represented by his

daughter Horatia, would be tormented by privation and obscurity while

others would bask in the radiance of his legacy.

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