Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and the Battle of Trafalgar

385 Pages·2005·3.85 MB·English

by  Adam Nicolson

L IL GI  
s e i z e
the
(cid:1)
f i r e
Heroism, Duty, and the
Battle of Trafalgar
a d a m n i c o l s o n
L IL GI  
CONTENTS
illustrations iii
acknowledgements vii
preface ix
Part One: MORNING
1. Zeal 3
2. Order and Anxiety 49
3. Honour 93
4. Love 130
5. Boldness 157
Part Two: BATTLE
6. Violence 209
7. Humanity 239
8. Nobility 275
bibliography 319
index 327
PHOTOGRAPHS
about the author
also by adam nicolson
credits
cover
copyright
about the publisher
L IL GI  
ILLUSTRATIONS
A First Rate Taking in Stores, 1818 by Joseph Mallord
William Turner, R.A. Trustees, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery,
Bedford, England.
Nelson’s Undress coat, National Maritime Museum, London,
Greenwich Hospital Collection.
Admiral Sir Cloudisley Shovell (1650–1707) by Michael Dahl,
1702. National Maritime Museum, London.
Admiral John Byng (1704–57) by Thomas Hudson, 1749.
National Maritime Museum, London.
Rear-Admiral Sir John Jervis, Lord St Vincent (1735–1823)
by Sir William Beechey, 1787–90. National Maritime
Museum, London.
Admiral Charles Middleton, Lord Barham (1726–1813)
British School 19th Century. National Maritime Museum,
London.
Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Calder (1745–1815) by Lemuel
Francis Abbott, 1797. National Maritime Museum,
London, Greenwich Hospital Collection.
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Fremantle. National Maritime
Museum, London.
Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander John Ball (1757–1809) by Henry
William Pickersgill, 1805–9. National Maritime Museum,
London, Greenwich Hospital Collection.
Sir William Beatty (c1770–1842) by Arthur William Devis,
c1806. National Maritime Museum, London.
Captain Henry Blackwood (1770–1832) by John Hoppner,
1806. National Maritime Museum, London, Greenwich
Hospital Collection.
iii
L IL GI  
Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769–1839) by Domenico
Pellegrini, 1809. National Maritime Museum, London.
Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge (c1758–1807) by Sir
William Beechey, 1804–5. National Maritime Museum,
London.
Portrait of Captain Henry W. Bayntun by Sir William
Beechey, 1805. Louisiana State University Museum of Art,
Anonymous Donor’s Purchase Fund, 59.8.
The Battle of Trafalgar 21st October 1805 by Joseph Mallord
William Turner, 1824. National Maritime Museum,
London, Greenwich Hospital Collection.
Portrait of Pierre Charles de Villeneuve (1763–1806)
engraved by Gilles Louis Chrétien. Bibliotheque Nationale,
Paris, France. www.bridgeman.co.uk.
Commander-in-Chief of the Real Navy, Federico Gravina
(1756–1806). Anonymous 19th Century. Museo Naval,
Madrid.
Commodore Cosme de Churruca. Museo Naval, Madrid.
French naval officer Jean-Jacques Etienne Lucas (1764–1819)
c1800. Getty Images.
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) by Lemuel
Francis Abbott, 1800. National Maritime Museum,
London, Greenwich Hospital Collection.
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) by John
Hoppner, c1800. National Maritime Museum, London.
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) by Sir William
Beechey, 1801. National Maritime Museum, London,
Greenwich Hospital Collection.
Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson by Guy Head, 1798–1799.
National Portrait Gallery, London.
Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson by Sir William Beechey,
1800. National Portrait Gallery, London.
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) 1st Viscount
Nelson by Matthew H Keymer, 1801. National Maritime
Museum, London.
iv
L IL GI  
Nelson in conflict with a Spanish Launch, July 1797 by
Richard Westall. National Maritime Museum, London,
Greenwich Hospital Collection.
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805: End of the Action
by Nicholas Pocock, 1808. National Maritime Museum,
London.
The Death of Nelson 1806 by Benjamin West. © National
Museums Liverpool, The Walker Museum.
The Death of Nelson, 21 October 1805 by Arthur William
Devis, 1807. National Maritime Museum, London,
Greenwich Hospital Collection.
H.M.S Victory towed into Gibraltar by Clarkson Stanfield,
c1850s. National Maritime Museum, London.
Lord Nelson’s funeral, 1806. Courtesy The National
Archives.
v
L IL GI  
L IL GI  
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Any book of this kind relies entirely on the work of
scholars over many decades and I happily acknow-
ledge my debt to all those who have written about
the 1805 Royal Navy in the past. In particular, the
outstanding volumes of naval records produced annu-
ally since 1893 by the Navy Records Society make
any exploration of this extraordinary and fascinating
world the greatest of pleasures. I have quoted exten-
sively from those records and I gratefully acknowledge
the permission to do so. Anyone wishing to become a
member of the Society, and receive the annual volumes
as part of their subscription, should apply to the Hon.
Secretary, Department of War Studies, King’s College
London, Strand, London wc2r 2ls.
I would also very much like to thank my editors, Susan
Watt and Hugh Van Dusen, as well as Katie Espiner,
Marie Estrada, Vera Brice, Amanda Russell and Helen
Ellis, all of whom have, with practised skill, guided this
book through its various paths. Caroline Dawnay and
Zoe Pagnamenta remain sources of great encourage-
ment, for which I am immensely grateful.
vii
L IL GI  
L IL GI