NELSON Horatio

NELSON (Nelson), Horatio (1758-1805), Viscount (1801), English naval commander, Vice Admiral. (1801). Won several victories over the French and Spanish fleets in t. h. the Nile and Trafalgar (in this battle, was mortally wounded). Supporter of maneuver tactics and decisive action.

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NELSON, Horatio (Nelson Horatio) (September 29, 1758, Burnham-Thorpe, Norfolk - 21 October 1805, at Cape Trafalgar, Spain), naval commander, whose name became a symbol of naval power of England.

Early career
Born in the family parsonage. After several years in school, went as cabin boy aboard his uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, the hero of the Seven Years' War (1771), and then went to commercial and military courts in the West and the East Indies, and participated in a polar expedition (1773). Brilliant passing the exam for the rank of Lieutenant (1777) and well-behaved in a war with the North American colonists, Nelson soon became the captain of the brig (1778), and then - Frigate (1779). In 1780, participating in operations on the river. San Juan in Honduras (now on it forms the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica), he nearly died from dysentery hardest.

In 1784-1787, Nelson served in the West Indies, where he married the widow Fanny Nisbet, a niece of Antillean plantation (1787). Waging a stubborn struggle against smuggling, he frequently clashed with his superiors, asking them to strict compliance with the laws. Gain itself so many enemies among the officials of the Admiralty, he returned to England, was actually banned from the Navy and living in the village for five years waiting for a new appointment.

Only with the beginning of the war against France (1793), Nelson was promoted to captain of the battleship in the Mediterranean squadron. In 1793 he took an active part in hostilities at Toulon, . in 1794 commanded a landing in Corsica, . lost in the siege of Calvi's right eye, . 13 July 1795 and distinguished himself in the sea battle, . forcing the surrender of French ship, . far superior to the power of his own,
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Nelson - a national hero
Glory to the national hero has come to Nelson after the battle 14 February 1797 at Cape St. Vincent (extreme southwestern tip of Portugal). On his own initiative he brought his ship from the linear order of the squadron and carried out the maneuver, which had a decisive importance for the defeat of the Spanish Navy. Two of the four captured by the British of Spanish ships were boarded under the personal command of Nelson, has received during this battle the Knight's Cross Order of the Bath and the rank of Rear Admiral.

In July 1797 during an unsuccessful attempt to seize the port of Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Nelson lost his right hand.

In May 1798 storm, which swept away his squadron, not allowed to prevent the sail from Toulon Egyptian expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte. Set off in pursuit, Nelson discovered the enemy's fleet in Aboukir Bay (mouth of the Nile). Here he has successfully applied advanced for its time tactics naval warfare, is to try to attack superior forces of the enemy ships, and then came down on the others and destroy them. August 1 at sunset, he threw 10 battleships 13 against the French at anchor under cover of coastal artillery, and continued all night battle captured and destroyed 11 of them without losing any of its. Locked in Egypt, Bonaparte's army was doomed. In reward George III made a peer, Baron Nelson of the Nile and Burnham-Thorpe

. In Naples, where Nelson has led after the Aboukir ships for repair, began his famous affair with the wife of the British Ambassador Lady Emma Hamilton, which lasted until his death, Admiral, and later repeatedly described in literature
. In 1799, Nelson helped the King of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand IV in the suppression of the Neapolitan revolution, received the title of Duke in gratitude Bronte.

Upon his return to England, Nelson was promoted to vice-admiral (1801) and appointed as the 2 nd flagship of the Baltic squadron, directed against states 'armed neutrality'. April 2, 1801 he burned the Danish fleet in the harbor of Copenhagen, for this victory given the title of Viscount Nelson.

In 1803, after the resumption of war with France, Nelson led the British Mediterranean squadron. Two years he was chasing the enemy, who avoided a general engagement. Only 21 October 1805 off Cape Trafalgar (north of Gibraltar), he met with the united forces of the Spanish-French fleet, and, once again abandoning the outdated linear tactics, utterly defeated them. In this battle, Nelson was mortally wounded. His body was taken to London January 9, 1806 solemnly buried in St. Peter's. Paul. Forty years later, first appeared in print the reports and letters to Nelson ( 'Dispatches and Letters of Vice-Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson', 1845), and relatively recently - his latest blog ( 'Nelson `s Last Diary', 1971).