515. Nelson: Attack the French! (Part 2)

Summary

The Rest Is History: Episode 515 - Nelson: Attack the French! (Part 2) Summary

Release Date: November 21, 2024

In the latest installment of The Rest Is History, hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook delve deeper into the tumultuous naval career of Horatio Nelson during the French Revolutionary Wars. This episode, titled "Nelson: Attack the French! (Part 2)," explores Nelson's strategic maneuvers, leadership qualities, and his ongoing rivalry with Napoleon Bonaparte. Through engaging storytelling and insightful analysis, Holland and Sandbrook illuminate the complexities of naval warfare and the personal battles that shaped one of Britain's most celebrated heroes.

---

Nelson’s Command and Leadership

The episode opens with a vivid portrayal of Nelson's meticulous preparation for naval engagements. As Captain of the HMS Agamemnon, Nelson exemplifies exceptional foresight and care for his crew's well-being. Sandbrook highlights:

“Nelson makes sure that the Agamemnon is exceptionally well-supplied with biscuits, flour, water, beer, wine, and even limes to prevent scurvy” (06:37).

This attention to detail not only ensures the health of his men but also fosters a strong sense of community aboard his ship. Nelson’s commitment to regular services and the provision of prayer and hymn books further underscores his dedication to maintaining morale and discipline.

Recruitment and Crew Composition

Nelson's recruitment strategy reflects his strategic mind and personal connections. By enlisting officers from Norfolk and friends from his Caribbean experiences, he builds a loyal and competent team. A notable addition is his stepson, Josiah, though initially perceived as ineffective, Josiah’s role becomes pivotal later in the episode:

“The bad news is that by common consent, Josiah's absolutely useless and a complete and utter waste of space... although he will feature heroically at the end of this episode” (08:00).

Strategic Operations in Toulon and Corsica

The narrative progresses to the capture and subsequent loss of Toulon, France's major Mediterranean naval base. Nelson’s strategic acumen is evident as he swiftly moves to secure Corsica, recognizing its strategic importance between France and Italy. However, the loss of Toulon and the harsh reprisals by the French highlight the volatile nature of revolutionary warfare.

“Nelson is devastated by this. He writes to Fanny and he says, 'the tragedy of all this is we've actually never been fitter. We've never been better disciplined. We have a really good commander in Jervis, but we are scuttling out of the Mediterranean with our tails between our legs.'” (34:09).

Rivalry with Napoleon Bonaparte

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the unfolding rivalry between Nelson and Napoleon Bonaparte. Both men are depicted as colossal egotists with relentless ambitions, yet their motivations diverge: Napoleon seeks political power, while Nelson is driven by a duty to uphold British naval supremacy.

“Napoleon... genuinely had a little bust of Nelson. Yes, his great rival.” (17:57).

This rivalry is not just personal but emblematic of the broader conflict between revolutionary France and imperial Britain.

Key Naval Engagements and Tactical Brilliance

One of the episode’s highlights is the detailed account of the engagement with the French ships Sa'ira and Sans Culotte. Despite being outgunned, Nelson's tactical brilliance and the superior training of his crew lead to a decisive victory:

“Nelson thinks he will hold his fire until the last moment... pouring these broadsides into the sides of the Sa'ira. And because the Sa'ira is so large, the Agamemnon is much faster, it is deadlier. It's like a kind of cobra striking at an elephant.” (28:40).

The minimal casualties on Nelson's side versus the heavy losses inflicted on the French illustrate the effectiveness of his aggressive tactics.

Admiral John Jervis and Fleet Reorganization

The introduction of Admiral John Jervis marks a turning point in British naval operations. Known as "Old Oak" for his sturdy physique, Jervis brings a strict regimen to the fleet, improving discipline and readiness. His leadership style complements Nelson’s boldness, creating a formidable command structure.

“Nelson and the other younger captains love Jervis. They're like, brilliant. This is a guy who will take the war to the French.” (32:26).

Nelson’s Injury and Resilience

A dramatic moment occurs when Nelson sustains a severe injury to his right eye during the siege of Calvi. Despite the agony and the lasting impairment, Nelson's resilience shines through as he downplays the severity of his injury to avoid demoralizing his crew:

“He writes to Fanny, literally just a little scratch. But he's not telling her the truth. He's deliberately hiding the fact that he will never be able to see out of that eye again.” (24:48).

This injury does not deter him; instead, it fuels his determination to continue his mission against the French.

The Prelude to the Battle of Cape St. Vincent

As the episode approaches its conclusion, the stage is set for the climactic Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Nelson's dynamic leadership and Jervis's strategic oversight position the British fleet for what promises to be a historic confrontation with the Spanish fleet:

“The fleets are lining up off the Cape of St. Vincent, and what will ensue the following day is one of the most extraordinary and heroic battles in the entire history of the Royal Navy.” (37:29).

---

Conclusion

Episode 515 of The Rest Is History offers a compelling exploration of Horatio Nelson's naval campaigns, his leadership style, and his interactions with contemporaries like Admiral John Jervis and Napoleon Bonaparte. Through meticulous research and engaging dialogue, Holland and Sandbrook bring to life the maritime strategies and personal dramas that defined Nelson's quest for naval dominance. This episode not only underscores Nelson's tactical genius but also sets the stage for the forthcoming intense naval battles that would cement his legacy.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Dominic Sandbrook at 06:37:

  “Nelson makes sure that the Agamemnon is exceptionally well-supplied with biscuits, flour, water, beer, wine, and even limes to prevent scurvy.”

• Tom Holland at 28:40:

  “Nelson thinks he will hold his fire until the last moment... it's like a kind of cobra striking at an elephant.”

• Dominic Sandbrook at 24:48:

  “He's not telling her the truth. He's deliberately hiding the fact that he will never be able to see out of that eye again.”

---

For those eager to delve deeper into Horatio Nelson's illustrious career, joining The Rest Is History Club offers access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and an exclusive community of history enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Thank you for listening to the Rest Is History. For weekly bonus episodes, ad free listening, early access to series and membership of our much loved chat community, go to therestishistory.com and join the club that is the rest is history.com.

[Tom Holland]

This episode is brought to you by Zip Recruiter. Now Dominic, if you look at most successful businesses, you will notice one thing they all have in common. They all took a lot of hard work. Would you say that's true of us? Would you say that's true of the Rest is History?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I think that is true actually, Tom. I think we both do work quite hard on it, don't we? We spend a lot of time preparing the episodes. It's not quite the effortless superiority that everybody imagines, but I have to say it does help to have a good team.

[Tom Holland]

It's a challenge, isn't it, that all companies face hiring. So this can be a daunting task, especially when you need to find someone right away and you have too many or too little options to choose from.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

That's right. But Tom, there is a place where people can go to for help and that is ZipRecruiter. Now ZipRecruiter does the work for you to make hiring fast and easy. And one reason it works so quickly is because of ZipRecruiter's invite to apply feature. So that lets you personally connect with your top choices to encourage them to apply for the role sooner, experience faster.

[Tom Holland]

Easier hiring with ZipRecruiter. Try it free at ZipRecruiter.com history that's ZipRecruiter.com h I s t o r.

[Wendy Zukerman]

Y history this is Wendy from Science Versus. This month, our friends at Ford are the presenting sponsor of Science Versus. If you're curious to learn more about things like electric vehicles, Science Verses is a great lesson. We dive into topics like how beavers are helping the fight against climate change, what the greenest way to die is, and what a 100% renewable future looks like. And more. Listen to Science Versus on Spotify brought to you by Ford.

[Unknown Sponsor]

This episode is brought to you by United Airlines. When you want to make the most of your vacation, book with United. They're an airline that cares about your travels as much as you do. United is transforming the flying experience with Bluetooth, connectivity screens, power at every seat, and bigger overhead bins to help fit everyone's bag. And with their app, you can skip the bag check line, get live updates and more. Change the way you fly. Book your next trip [e-mail].

[Tom Holland]

For the first time Nelson realized what he was up against. This was nothing like the American war, for the French Revolution had unleashed something much darker and more terrifying. The unbridled fury of a fanatical mob. The savage passion of a people bent on slaughter. Suddenly he thought of home, of his father and Fanny, and the little church at Burnham Thorpe, and the gentle fields and sleepy villages of England. And at that moment he knew he could not rest until these monsters were beaten. But high above Toulon's smoking ruins, a man in a bloodstained uniform gazed coldly across the harbour and on the face of Napoleon Bonaparte was a thin, cruel smile of satisfaction. So that was a wholly unbiased perspective on the siege of Toulon in 1793, written by a top historian of the French Revolution, Dominic, namely yourself. And this is from your new book for children, instilling in them a due sense of patriotism and suspicion of French revolutionary fervor. And what's he called? Nelson, God of the Seas.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Nelson Hero of the Seas.

[Tom Holland]

Nelson, Hero of the Seas.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

The latest volume, Tom, in the best selling Adventures in Time series and I think people will say a scrupulously fair and forensically researched.

[Tom Holland]

So what I will say is that we've done. How many episodes have we done now of the French Revolution? Thirteen, I think. And it's good that you're absolutely letting everyone know what your perspective on the French Revolution is, in case anyone had been in any doubt.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It's not necessarily my perspective, Tom, it's Horatio Nelson's perspective.

[Tom Holland]

That's what it is, that's what it is.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

You see, this is what a great literary artist does. He takes you into the minds of his characters.

[Tom Holland]

So today Nelson is going to war and we left him. At the end of our first episode, France has declared war on Britain. This means that the Royal Navy must be summoned to serve both as sword and shield. And Nelson has been given a ship, hasn't he? Yes, the Agamemnon.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes. So let's remind ourselves, Tom, where we got to. The French have declared war on Britain. We're at the beginning of 1793 and Captain Nelson, who is 34 years old, this slender, sickly man, but a man who is fired by a really extraordinary sense of self belief, kind of Churchillian actually, the kind of self belief that in a lesser person would be the act of a lunatic. But Nelson can talk the talk, he can walk the walk, as people say.

[Tom Holland]

A God given mission.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Exactly. So in February 1793 we find him at Chatham dockyard, probably your favorite dockyard.

[Tom Holland]

It is my favorite dockyard, yes.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Preparing his new Ship for sea. And this is the Agamemnon. We talked in the last episode that Nelson is the embodiment of something bigger and so is the agamemnon. It was 12 years old. It was built of English oak, 200ft long, 50ft wide. I mean, this is a very, very expensive and high class piece of kit, isn't it? Exactly. Hardware and his job. I know you love victuals and supplies.

[Tom Holland]

I do. Because it's so important. We touched on this in the previous episode. But just to reiterate, a ship cannot spend long times at sea unless it is very well supplied. So Nelson makes sure that the Agamemnon, you know, there's biscuit and there's flour and water and beer and wine and I mean, they actually bring on bullocks, live bullocks at times, but also you have to keep people supplied with fruit. So this is where the American term for the English limes comes from. Because Royal Navy vessels are loaded down with limes and oranges and lemons and all kinds of things to keep scurvy at bay. And Nelson understands this as well as anybody in the Navy. And his men are always incredibly healthy.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

And this is something that, you know, you have a lot of initiative as a captain, so it's not just that you take what is given to you. You have to order a lot of this stuff yourself. So he has ordered the wine, the port, the sherry, he's ordered the tea and Turkish coffee. A keg of tongues, which sounds a little bit intimidating, but also this would appeal to you, Tom, since you're always interested in the religious dimension to history. Nelson goes out of his way to order hundreds of prayer books and hymn books for his crew from the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, because he is, of course, a vicar's son. And he believes that, you know, regular services, which some captains are not brilliant at keeping up, Nelson is very keen to keep them up because he thinks it's really important.

[Tom Holland]

Well, I suppose it builds a sense of community, doesn't it?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Absolutely it does.

[Tom Holland]

And it reassures everybody on board that God is an Englishman, which is very important when fighting the French.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah. Which is, as we will see from the story, it certainly appears to be. So to get his crew again for an officer, for a captain, the onus is really on you to find a lot of your crew. So he puts up posters and hands out pamphlets in Norfolk. He gets a lot of people from Norfolk for his lieutenants. He gets old friends from his days in the Caribbean as his midshipmen, as the Kind of apprentice officers. He gets the sons of well to do Norfolk families. So people they that he might owe a favor to or people that are friends of his father or something like that.

[Tom Holland]

And one of these is his stepson Josiah, who is 13.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes. Good and bad news for Josiah. The good news is he's big, he's strong, he's manly, he's very enthusiastic. The bad news is that by common consent, Josiah's absolutely useless and a complete and utter waste of space.

[Tom Holland]

Well, although he will feature heroically at the end of this episode, so he will do so.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

That's why it's important to bring him in now.

[Tom Holland]

So bear that in mind. Of course, there are press gangs that.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Go out, there are presses, but by.

[Tom Holland]

And large, Nelson has a good reputation and so people want to serve with him because they know that he will do right by them, that there's a good chance of winning prize money. So this is crucial part of what you want. Anyone who's read Patrick O'Brien's novels will be familiar with the fact that Royal Navy captains are always looking for the chance to make a bit of extra money by capturing enemy ships. And generally there's a feeling that Nelson is someone you want to serve with. He will look out for you, he will do right by you. And that's incredibly important.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It is very important. And the thing about doing right, we don't know many details of a lot of the crew. We just know the names and the muster rolls. But we do know, I think this is a lovely detail, that he took 20 ships, boys from London's Marine Society, which was a charity that basically gave poor and destitute boys a second chance at sea. So they're all from broken homes or they're from troubled backgrounds. Of these 20 boys, we know that only six of them could read and write. They are undoubtedly malnourished, small for their age, and they are given by the charity a little sea outfit with a comb and a needle and thread and some clothes. And all the rest of the details of their lives are kind of lost to us. So we have to imagine these 20 boys on the ship with the prayer books, with the keg of tongues and all the limes and whatnot. And they're probably better fed, healthier and better looked after than thousands of boys would have been back home in Britain.

[Tom Holland]

Yeah, well, so, quote, just on the topic of health, again, because it is so important. Nam Rogers, a great historian of the Navy, he said that sailors in the Royal Navy must have been the healthiest body of British subjects in the world. And since Nelson is particularly attentive to this, probably, you know, the sailors on the Agamemnon are even healthier than the vast mass of sailors. And you were talking about boys. We don't know much about them, but they're, of course, the midshipmen, these little boys, you know, 13 years old when they first sign up. We have a record from one of them when he set sail with the Agamemnon. And he wrote to his father and said, nelson is acknowledged to be one of the first captains in the service and is universally beloved by his men and officers.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Oh, that's nice.

[Tom Holland]

So that's good to know, isn't it?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes, that's very good to know. So they set off. They join Admiral Hood's squadron off the coast of Cornwall. That's about 50 ships of them. And of those 50 ships, 18 of them are what are called ships of the line. That means they are fighting ships. The rest of them are frigates and kind of support ships and things. And this is a taste of Britain's naval might, because at that point in 1793, there are more than 600 ships of various kinds in the Royal Navy. There are 14,000 guns, there are 100,000 men. So this is a mighty, mighty enterprise. Britain does not like fighting wars on land. Britain's strategy is always, we will basically give subsidies to whoever it might be, the Austrians, the Prussians, to do the fighting for us, which is what they'd.

[Tom Holland]

Done in the Seven Years War, hadn't they? To great effect.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

To great effect in the Seven Years War. And this is what we are hoping to do again. And I think the strategy at this point, so for William Pitt, for the other British politicians, they are thinking, you know, maybe this will be another three, four, five year war. We'll get the Austrians and the Prussians to take care of the French on land, we'll do the business by sea, and then hopefully it'll be done and dusted and this revolutionary nonsense will be put to bay.

[Tom Holland]

Because unlike Goethe, they haven't been at the Battle of Valmy and seen a new age of humanity beginning. So they don't fully appreciate what they're up against.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I think that's absolutely right. If you'd said to them, you're going to be at this for what, the next best part of 20 years, 22 years? I mean, they would not have believed you anyway. Admiral Hood has been given the Mediterranean squadron, and the task of this squadron is to go down into the Med to aid the Austrians in Italy. And to strengthen the bonds with other smaller European powers who might be useful allies. So a good example is the Kingdom of Naples, which of course, will play a very prominent role in Nelson's life. So off they go, and by the summer of 1793, they have reached Toulon, which is the major French naval base on the south coast of France.

[Tom Holland]

I mean, basically, just to emphasize, I mean, essentially, Toulon is France's Mediterranean Sea power.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes.

[Tom Holland]

Without Toulon, France cannot operate in the Mediterranean.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Absolutely right. So Toulon, as people may remember who listened to our series about young Napoleon, Toulon, is a city in turmoil. There has been a royalist uprising in Toulon. And when Hood arrives, he sends a message to the royalists and he says, listen, if you hand over your dockyards, your ships and your forts to the Royal Navy, I will protect you and I will guarantee you against the revolutionary, the Jacobin armies. And amazingly, they say, okay, that sounds like a good deal.

[Tom Holland]

Let's do it.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

And at a stroke, Hood has won control, or so it seems, of France's preeminent southern naval base. However, getting Toulon is one thing, but keeping it is a bit more tricky. Toulon is kind of stuck between the mountains and the sea. It can't really supply itself, so they need supplies. And as you were saying before, nobody is better at kind of getting limes, rustling up a few lemons, a few bullocks than Nelson. And so Admiral Hood says to Nelson, look, can you go over, please, to Naples? King Ferdinand there is pretty sympathetic to us.

[Tom Holland]

Well, I mean, very sympathetic.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah.

[Tom Holland]

Firstly, because he's a king.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes.

[Tom Holland]

And you know, he, as a king, he knows what happens to kings with French revolutionaries in particular. His wife, his queen, Maria Carolina, is the sister of Marie Antoinette, so she really knows what she wants.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

She hates the revolution with an absolute burning, white hot passion.

[Tom Holland]

Well, understandably. I mean, Ferdinand's a terrible man. There's nothing he enjoys more. I mean, he'd be up there with Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser. I mean, he loves shooting animals of every description.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I think that's a very harsh comparison.

[Tom Holland]

No, no, no. Well, okay. He's worse, isn't he? Really?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

He's far worse.

[Tom Holland]

He'll piss in a chamber pot and then throw it at his servants.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

He will.

[Tom Holland]

There's a notorious occasion where he made his coachman swallow a live frog. He's a terrible man.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Franz Ferdinand never did that. I want to go on the record.

[Tom Holland]

We'll put that on the record.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I couldn't believe it when you brought Franz Ferdinand into this, because Ferdinand IV is a shocking man. Anyway, Nelson arrives outside Naples now, of course, to somebody like Nelson, even though he's well traveled, Naples must have been an extraordinary sight. So beneath Vesuvius, smouldering over the bay. And Naples is one of the biggest cities in Europe at this point, third after London, Paris. It isn't. It is a confusing, chaotic jumble of palaces and churches.

[Tom Holland]

It's a city of contrasts, I think.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

A city of. Yeah, where's the Neapolitan tourist board? It's a place seething with excitement and tension and drama. A very melodramatic kind of place. When he gets there, he meets. Well, he meets one person who's not very melodramatic and another person who is. The person who isn't is the British envoy to Naples, Sir William Hamilton, who.

[Tom Holland]

Featured in the second season of Love Island.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes.

[Tom Holland]

Of historical Love Island's most famous cuckold. But that's preempting the story.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I'm not a massive fan of Sir William Hamilton. I think he's a bit of a drip, actually. He's not a drip. I think he's a drip.

[Tom Holland]

Tremendous contribution to classical scholarship. So that's one thing exactly.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

You arrive and he's just going to talk to you about the Etruscans.

[Tom Holland]

Well, unless you're Mozart, in which case he would host you.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, he would, but I'm not. I'm not interested in volcanoes. And he's passionately interested in volcanoes.

[Tom Holland]

But also, you love a monkey, don't you? He kept a pet monkey.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, but I mean, I expect that from everybody in Naples. I think that's.

[Tom Holland]

And he has tremendous tastes in women.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Well, Emma Hamilton is his much younger wife. I'm not a massive fan of Emma Hamilton. As you will know, Tom there we disagree. She is a lady with a colorful.

[Tom Holland]

Past you've put down here. Strumpet.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Well, okay.

[Tom Holland]

I mean, she was.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, yeah. Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong.

[Tom Holland]

No, but you know, a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. And again, we've mentioned Gerta. Gerta's a big fan of her. She does these kind of classical poses. She's very brave, she's very loyal, she's very warm hearted and I think above all, she is fun.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

She's also narcissistic, cruel, attention seeking and incredibly annoying.

[Tom Holland]

Well, you can't be everything.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

We're going to do a future episode on this. Let's now get bogged down. This is clearly going to be the point at which the rest of his history falls apart. They really take to Nelson. They think Nelson is Brilliant. And they promote his interests with the King and Queen. They say, come on, make sure you give him everything he needs. So off he goes back to Toulon. When he gets back to Toulon, he discovers. Oh, no, terrible scenes. A fellow called Bonaparte, Corsican artillery officer, has got all these guns, like, up to the heights. He's bombarding the forts. The defenses of Toulon are cracking. Nelson's not there to see the fall of the city. Hood sends him off to patrol the coast of Italy. But he's in Livorno.

[Tom Holland]

Leghorn.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Leghorn, as the British call it, where the first boatloads of refugees arrive. And he is shocked by their condition. He writes to Fanny, he says, fathers are here without families, families without fathers. Terrible scenes. They've had to evacuate Toulon. The French have seized it. And of course, the French, they sack the city.

[Tom Holland]

Well, because it's full of counter revolutionaries and this is the kind of the peak of the terror.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

So actually, I thought this might be a chance to think about those two characters, because Nelson and Napoleon are often thought of in opposition to each other, aren't they?

[Tom Holland]

Well, you know, the Abel Gantz film, the famous black and white film. And there's a sequence where Napoleon is fleeing Corsica with his family and a Royal Navy ship. An officer sees it through his telescope and says, should we fire? And his captain says, no, let's not let them be, you know, they won't do any harm.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It's Nelson.

[Tom Holland]

Nelson.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It's Nelson.

[Tom Holland]

And Nelson had wanted to finish off Napoleon. So even in France, I guess there's a kind of recognition that Nelson is perhaps Napoleon's only worthy adversary.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Well, Napoleon, later on, when he moved into the Tuileries palace, he genuinely had a little bust of Nelson.

[Tom Holland]

Yeah, his great rival.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

And I think one of the interesting things about them, they are both enormous egotists. So we were talking about Nelson's great sense of his own star quality. I mean, the only person who really rivals that in the politics of the late 18th century is Napoleon, who also believes himself to be a star and is driven by this gigantic overweening ambition. And actually, I think one of the big differences between them is that Nelson is constrained by his institutional fealty. So he's within an institution that channels it.

[Tom Holland]

But I think also by. By temperament, I mean, he's not interested in political power.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

No, you're right.

[Tom Holland]

He's a conservative, small C conservative. He wants to maintain and uphold the frameworks. I mean, he's a Burkean, really.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, he is.

[Tom Holland]

And also, I think he's not a warmonger he enjoys the excitement of command. He recognizes that he will profit personally from war. But throughout this period, he does think that Britain should be making peace, you know, on fair terms. Of course, he's not committed to war, I think, in the way that Napoleon does. But having said that, there is a parallel, because what Nelson wants to do at sea, in other words, win a complete victory, annihilate the enemy. That is what Napoleon is aiming to do on land. And just as that is what is going to enable Napoleon to establish French rule over Europe, So also, Nelson understands that the kind of victories that he's after are essential if Britain is to survive and maintain its command of the seas.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Agreed. But in the short term, they actually need a new base in the Mediterranean now that Toulon has gone. And as it happens, the ideal place is Napoleon's homeland. It's Napoleon's birthplace of Corsica. So Admiral Hood says, right, we'll go for Corsica because that's the perfect base. It's between France and Italy. Let's go for that. So in the spring of 1794, they target Bastia, first of all, on the eastern coast. They're bombarding the city walls. Nelson's in the thick of the action. There is a moment when he is almost killed. So an enemy musket ball smashes into a boulder right next to him. Huge splinters fly everywhere and they fly right past him, almost hit him. And had they hit him, there is a good chance that could have been that.

[Tom Holland]

Well, I mean, he will, of course, be hit in due course.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah. And it's a reminder, actually, of how, for all the sort of swashbuckling side of it, this is a really serious business. You know, one missed chance, one misstep, just like putting your head above the parapet in the trenches in the First World War or something, and that can be it. Over. I mean, that's the nature of naval warfare.

[Tom Holland]

And also, just to point out that Nelson is always in his full uniform.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes.

[Tom Holland]

Because he feels it's the responsibility of an officer to essentially attract attention so that his men know where he is.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes. He leads from the front. He is not an officer. In fact, when he is given opportunities to, oh, why don't you stay at the back and direct us from there? He always says, no, I have to be at the front.

[Tom Holland]

Well, in a sea battle, it is expected that British officers will stand up. Everyone else can kind of, you know, crouch down as the bullets whistle. An officer has to stand up. I mean, it requires insane levels of bravery. And, of course, in the long Run. It will. Will be fatal for Nelson, but in the very long run.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

So then the Bastia falls. They move on to Calvi on the western coast of Corsica. This is the last French fortress on the island and it's going to be a really tough nut to crack. It's backed by mountains, they have 100 guns at Calvi, and Nelson knows it will be difficult. He actually writes at this point to Fanny, a brave man dies but once, a coward all his life long. We cannot escape death. And should it happen, recollect that it is the will of him in whose hands are the issues of life and death. That's very Nelson. He's kind of not exactly fatalistic, but he's realistic about the dangers.

[Tom Holland]

Or you could say he has a feeling that God has.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

God is with him, that his life is in God's hands. So it's slow work. Nelson again leading from the front and bombardment. And it's early on the morning of the 12th of July when the enemy batteries open up and Nelson is talking to his officers and a French shot slam into the sandbags they've got heaped around them. And actually what happens is it sends up a huge spray of stones and shrapnel right into Nelson's face.

[Tom Holland]

Do you know, Dominic, I've seen the very spot.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Have you?

[Tom Holland]

I've been to the very spot and there is a marble plaque written in French.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah.

[Tom Holland]

And it's absolutely peppered with bullet holes.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Really?

[Tom Holland]

And I thought that's the Corsicans showing their contempt for Nelson. But then, of course, I realized that every sign of Corsica is peppered with bullet holes. It's nothing personal.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

The lovely thing about that is it completely contradicts what Theo has written in the chat, because Theo, who's been chafing and fuming during the whole of this recording, has written no one in France knows who Nelson is. Genuinely, nobody has even heard of him.

[Tom Holland]

Well, I suppose the Corsicans would say that Corsica isn't really France.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I suppose they would. Maybe they haven't heard of him because the signs are all peppered with bullet holes. Who knows?

[Tom Holland]

Maybe.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Anyway, he collapses. He is in agony. His hands go to his eyes. He's immediately taken, you know, to the doctors, to the surgeons. From this point onwards, he can never again see out of his right eye. His right eye has been hit with sand and all this rubbish. And it's. That's it, it's gone.

[Tom Holland]

So, Dominic, to be honest, I think we've had quite enough drama as it is for this half, so let's take a break at this thrilling point. And when we come back, we'll see whether Nelson recovers from his eye injury or whether he retires and no one ever hears of him again.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Want to shop Walmart Black Friday deals first Walmart plus members get early access to our hottest deals. Join now and get 50% off a one year annual membership. Shop Black Friday deals first with Walmart plus see [e-mail].

[Ryan Reynolds]

This episode is brought to you by Atlassian. Atlassian makes the team collaboration software that powers enterprise businesses around the world, including over 80% of the Fortune 500. With Atlassian's AI powered software like Jira, Confluence and Loom, you'll have more time to do the work that matters. In fact, Atlassian customers experience a 25% reduction in project duration per year. Unleash the potential of your [e-mail] Atlassian.

[Tom Holland]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

How many get 30? 30 bid to get 30 bid to get 20. 20, 20. Better get 20. 20 get 15. 15, 15, 15. Just 15 bucks a month.

[Tom Holland]

So give it a try@mint mobile.com Switch.

[Unknown Sponsor]

$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

New customers on first three month plan only taxes and fees, extra Speed slower above 40 gigabytes.

[Wendy Zukerman]

E Detail.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Hello.

[Tom Holland]

Welcome back to the Rest Is History. We left you on absolute tenterhooks wondering whether the injury to his eye that Nelson sustained at the siege of Calvi will finish off his career, whether he will never be heard of again. Dominic does it finish off his career or will we be hearing more of this promising young captain Horatio Nelson?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Farid is keen to get stuck into Nelson hero the seas. I'm very happy to say that this is not the end of his career.

[Tom Holland]

What's amazing is that he doesn't even enter the injury in the ship's logs or even put himself on the official list of the wounded. And he essentially tells him, oh, it's just a scratch.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, I mean, that's what he writes to Fanny, literally just a little scratch. But he's not telling her the truth. He's deliberately hiding the fact that he will never be able to see out of that eye again. And actually he never wears an eye patch or anything like that. And it's not that he'd lost his eye, his eye is there, but it looks Just a little cloudy, doesn't he? Yeah, yeah. And he can only see out of his left eye. Calvi falls. So Corsica is now in Britain's hands. And then there is a sort of a lull as is so often the case for naval wars. They're basically sent off to blockade and to faff around on the coast of Italy, blockading when the French, when they appear, stopping the French interfering.

[Tom Holland]

Endless kind of blockades of Leghorn out there. I mean that's what it's all about.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

A lot of stuff in Leghorn, in Livorno. At this point it seems pretty likely that Nelson, a lot of the sailors, of course, when they go on land, you know, in every port. Exactly. They carouse in various ways, shall we say. And it seems very likely. I think there's an opera singer called Adelaide Correglia that Nelson had either a flirtation or a full blown relationship with.

[Tom Holland]

I think pretty clearly he did because.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

He'S jealous of another officer, isn't he? When this other officer sits next to a dinner or something like this, there are trace elements in the sources of a relationship. So he's then just faffing around for a long time. Nothing happening. There's been a change at the top. So Admiral Hood, one of his patrons is gone and a guy called Admiral William Hotham comes in and he's just a bit old and a bit sickly.

[Tom Holland]

And he's nice, isn't he? He's a decent man for charging at enemy lines.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

No, he's a kind of what we have, we hold. Let's be careful. Let's not, you know, make any silly mistakes. And that's not Nelson at all.

[Tom Holland]

He's very much the kind of admiral I would have been. Oh, you know, let's just take it.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

You know, let's take it easy.

[Tom Holland]

Yeah. No, not take it easy, but I just don't, you know, I don't want to be a bit worried.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

What do you think I'd have been, Tom?

[Tom Holland]

Well, I'll tell you who I think you would be. But we'll come to him in the second half.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Oh, I can't wait. Very imminently exciting. So there is an exciting moment because they hear reports of French sails off the coast of Genoa. They all shoot out and they track them down and they catch up with them and Nelson then shows tremendous courage.

[Tom Holland]

So just two things to say about this. The first is that the French sails, I mean they have a tremendous array of revolutionary names. So one of them is called the Sa Ira.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, the revolutionary song. It will be fine.

[Tom Holland]

Yeah, the revolutionary song. And that's the kind of absolute monster, isn't it? It's the largest two decker ship in the world, so absolutely enormous ship. But another ship is called the Sans Culotte. So Nelson can have no doubt that he is facing a revolutionary fleet. But also the other thing to say, Nelson has been in the navy by this point for 24 years and he's never seen a fleet in action. This is his first engagement in a battle.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I hadn't thought about that, but it's true.

[Tom Holland]

Yeah. So you can imagine he is so excited.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

He can't wait, can he? He gets stuck in. He says, right, we'll go straight for. What do you think? He goes for the Sara, the largest two decker ship in the world. 84 guns, completely outgunning his own ship, Agamemnon.

[Tom Holland]

And do you know who this is? Very bad news for the French. It's bad news for the French, but it's also very bad news for the seven bullocks that he has on.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Oh no. Do they have to throw them overboard? Throw them overboard because when they beat to quarters and when they clear the decks for action that often means that the livestock are just jettisoned, piled overboard. Yeah, yeah. So he sails right up to the Sa'ira. Nelson thinks is he will hold his fire until the last moment, you know, get in position so that every shot will count. And then he turns his ship and lets fly, firing again and again, pouring these broadsides into the sides of the Sara. And because the Sarah is so large, the Agamemnon is much faster, it is deadlier. It's like a kind of cobra striking at an elephant.

[Tom Holland]

Well, one of the sailors says that the Saira could have swallowed up the Agamemnon, but it doesn't matter. I'll tell you what, John Sugden wrote about this, about the broadside, that it was no amateur broadside but a performance no other ship in the Mediterranean could have surpassed. I mean that's the pinnacle of training that Nelson has brought his crew to. And it's lethal, isn't it?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It's incredibly effective. The fighting goes on all day. The SA is effectively crippled. They then have a kind of break to have a sleep and then they continue the next morning.

[Tom Holland]

And it's like a test match.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, it is. I mean a lot of battles are like this though, aren't they? They take days. The Saura has got away and it's being towed or escorted by a smaller ship called the Saunceur. And Nelson catches up with them again. He blasts them again and the noise so deafening that in Genoa people think that they can hear a storm coming from across the sea. And at about 11 o'clock on the morning of the second day of the test, the two French ships strike their colors. That means they haul down their colors, they surrender. And this to have captured two ships.

[Tom Holland]

Yeah, amazing. And especially one that this is the largest.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes.

[Tom Holland]

Of its kind in the world.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Exactly.

[Tom Holland]

So the measure of Nelson's success is that he has lost three men. Four of his men are wounded, but the French have lost over 100. And I think that it confirms Nelson's sense that attack is always the best policy because he now tested his assumption that British gunnery is better than French. And specifically I think he feels that the Republican Navy, it's lost lots of its officers, it's lost lots of its self confidence, is pretty deficient in fighting spirit relative to his own men.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah, I think that's true.

[Tom Holland]

And so that kind of absolutely confirms for him that faced with an enemy fleet, go for it.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

That's exactly what he thinks. And he then says to Admiral Hotham, right, we've got these, let's go for the rest of the French fleet. And Hotham says no, I don't think we will. He says so, and I quote, we must be contented, we have done very well. And Nelson is gutted by this because he felt this was an opportunity to go after the French fleet and to knock them out of this part of the Mediterranean. And Hotham, as far as he sees it, has been neglectful. He has not taken the chance. But Nelson is the kind of commander who thinks that whenever you get the slightest glimmer of a chance you must always, always go for it.

[Tom Holland]

So the Nelson touch. And that's what Hotham lacks. But fortunately Hotham gets replaced Christmas 1795 by a new commander. And this is the man who featured in the opening passage that I read at the head of this episode. And this is John Jervis. Yeah, and John Sugden, great biographer of Nelson, has a tremendous description of Jervis. His toad like figure consisted of a stocky body and expanding paunch propped up on thick tree trunk legs. But I mean in case you think that this is a man who's not qualified to command a fleet, I mean he really is. He's called Old Oak. He's a great name because basically he seems hewn out of English oak. And I think that if I'm a Hotham.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Oh, you don't know, that's kind. I love John Jervits. I wouldn't say I was toad like, but, I mean, I suppose I'll just have to suck it up.

[Tom Holland]

I think if you want to be compared to oak, you also have to suck that up.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

I mean, what I wrote about him myself was he had no patience for slackness and openly berated weaker men till they burst into tears.

[Tom Holland]

Yes.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Is that how I behave?

[Tom Holland]

Yes.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Oh, that's.

[Tom Holland]

Well, can I do Chatham High Street? No.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

On the other hand, he could be kind to his men and love playing practical jokes on his junior officers.

[Tom Holland]

Well, Theo will vouch for that.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Well, anyway, Jervis, I think he's a terrific commander. He's a bit of a martinet, maybe.

[Tom Holland]

He is, but he's brilliant at spotting talent lower down. So recognizing captains who have it and saying, yeah, I'm backing you. And obviously this is brilliant for Nelson, isn't it?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

So he comes in, he says, look, this is a shambles. The ships are all dirty. He orders soap. He says, wash the ships. There's too much drinking. There's girls on board. You've let the standard slip. Nelson and the other younger captains love Jervis. They're like, brilliant. This is a guy who will take the war to the French. However, at this point, the French also have a new commander. And this is the man who we last encountered looking at over with his thin, cruel smile. Yes. That is Napoleon Bonaparte. So Bonaparte has taken the war in Italy by storm. He has smashed the Austrians west of Genoa. He's got into Milan. He's crushed the army of the Pope. This is all in the spring of 1796. And he is rolling up the allied forces on land.

[Tom Holland]

And by doing that, he's rolling up the ports that the Royal Navy can visit.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

So Genoa closes its harbor to the Royal Navy, the Royal Navy are forced out of Genoa. Then the Spanish, who had previously been on the other side, change sides and say, actually, we're going to back the French after all.

[Tom Holland]

Behavior from Spain, isn't it?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Very bad behavior.

[Tom Holland]

So Nelson has this. Nelson comments on the. On what's going on. We English have to regret that we cannot always decide the fate of empires on the sea.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yes, well, I mean, I suppose that.

[Tom Holland]

Is the lesson, isn't it?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It is the lesson, absolutely.

[Tom Holland]

Command of the sea can keep you safe, but it can't win you the war, necessarily.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Exactly. And then in the autumn of 1796, Jervis gets orders from London. And these orders, he can't have been completely surprised, but he's clearly very disappointed. The orders are, withdraw from Corsica. Shut down your operations. In the Mediterranean. Pull back to Gibraltar. The Mediterranean is lost. You know, we have lost. The Mediterranean campaign has all been defeat.

[Tom Holland]

I mean, it's a palpable defeat.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

And Nelson is devastated by this. He writes to Fanny and he says, the tragedy of all this is we've actually never been fitter. We've never been better disciplined. We have a really good commander in Jervis, but we are scuttling out of the Mediterranean with our tails between our legs. And it's a real. It's dishonorable, he says, to the dignity of England. And he's not wrong. It is dishonorable to the dignity of England. Jervis gives him one last job, says there's a British garrison on the island of Elba. Of course, an island that we'll feature later in the story. He says, go off to Elba and get this garrison, which he does. On the way back, there's a skirmish with a couple of Spanish frigates. And it's during this skirmish that he first is really acquainted with a young lieutenant because he's on a ship now called the Minerve, because the Agamemnon's being repaired. There's a lieutenant on the Minerve called Thomas Masterman Hardy. And Hardy is a slightly sort of wooden figure himself, isn't he? Yeah, Huge man. Huge, slow, stooping like a kind of ox. Ox, exactly. It's. But Hardy works incredibly hard. He's incredibly brave and he's very loyal to Nelson.

[Tom Holland]

Well, and also, Hardy basically sacrifices himself. He gets captured by the Spanish and to ensure that Nelson can get away with all his prizes and things like that. So Nelson owes him one.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah.

[Tom Holland]

Then Hardy goes overboard and they go back and have a look for him. So Nelson has saved Hardy's life, so they are kind of bonded by that. Yes, in a way that will keep them together right the way up to the very last minutes of Nelson's life.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

The mix of those two men, they become the huge man and the much smaller man. They become a sort of bit of mice and menos. I think they become quite a good kind of double act, don't they?

[Tom Holland]

Well, it's Asterix and Obelix.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Exactly. Yes. Asterisks and Obelix is a good comparison. In the meantime, Nelson is now heading back towards Gibraltar and there, he has been told, rendezvous with Jervis's fleet off the southwestern coast of Portugal. But they've had news. The Spanish fleet has set sail. They think it is going to head west through the straits. It's going to head somewhere into the Atlantic and there it may well link up with the French fleet off the coast of Brittany and form this great armada. And basically the British desperately want to intercept the Spanish fleet before this can happen. So as they're going through the Straits of Gibraltar, you know, it's very dark and foggy, incredibly thick fog. Nelson and his lookouts are kind of scouring the horizon for the Spanish. And overnight, on the 11th of February, the lookouts on the Minerve say we can hear voices in the fog. We can hear. We can see lights.

[Tom Holland]

And it sounds a bit Spanish and it sounds.

[Dominic Sandbrook]

Yeah. And they realize they are literally sailing through the Spanish fleet, but in the fog with their own lights dimmed and making no noise. They have not yet been detected. So on they go through the fog. Eventually the fog clears, dawn comes, the lookout spot the masts of Jervis's fleet, which is waiting off Cape St. Vincent. And Nelson races to get to Jervis's fleet to tell him the news. And Jervis is waiting impatiently aboard his flagship for news of the Spanish so that he can begin the attack.

[Tom Holland]

And Dominic, what is the name of Jervis's flagship?

[Dominic Sandbrook]

It's named Tom is Victory.

[Tom Holland]

Well, absolute scenes. So the fleets are lining up off the Cape of St. Vincent, and what will ensue the following day is one of the most extraordinary and heroic battles in the entire history of the Royal Navy. And we will be coming to that in our next episode. And if you simply can't wait, and honestly, I wouldn't be able to wait for it, you can of course hear it straight away if you're a member of the Rest is History club. And if you're not, you can go to the restishistory.com and sign up there. If not, it will be out very soon, in due course. So we will see you very soon on the high seas to meet with the Spanish fleet. Bye.