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NEWSLETTER OF THE NELSON SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA

APRIL 2005

PROGRAM OF EVENTS AT GENERAL MEETINGS St Michael’s Church Hall, Cnr The Promenade & Gunbower Rd, Mt Pleasant 7pm for 7.30 start

Monday, 9 May — ‘Trafalgar’ - Mike Sargeant. Monday, 11 July — ‘Villeneuve’ - John Caskey

Friday 11 November — Pickle night Monday 21 November — Quiz night

NELSON BI-CENTENARY EVENTS 21 May — ‘Best of British’ Concert’

31 July — October Nelson Exhibition Maritime Museum 21 October — Trafalgar dinner, South of Perth Yacht Club

22 October — Nelson play, My Dearest Angel, Christchurch Grammar School 23 October — Trafalgar Day, Commemoration Service, St Georges Cathedral

"Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness

thrust upon them". In a sense, these words from 'Twelfth Night' can be applied in equal measure to Horatio Nelson. Although related to the great Walpole family on his mother's side, he was not in truth 'born great', yet you could argue that he was born to great-ness, because from an early age there was evidence of some of the outstanding qualities that were honed to brilliance during his comparatively short lifetime. Three anecdotes from his formative years are often cited as being indicative of greater things to come. One day when he was about six, he wandered off from his grandmother's home and a search party had to be sent to find him. When he was brought home his grandmother scolded him saying, "I wonder that fear did not drive you home". Legend has it that the young Horatio replied, "Fear Grandmother? I never saw Fear, what is it? It never came near me". On a later occasion he and his older brother William were returning to boarding school after the Christmas holidays, but deep snowdrifts blocked their way. William somewhat characteristically wanted to turn back but the younger Nelson insisted that they keep going saying, "Remember brother, it was left to our honour". Later still the famous ‘radiant orb’, that was revealed to him at the age of seventeen and which he claimed was to inspire and guide him throughout the remainder of his life, gives the impression that everything from that moment onwards was pre-ordained. He certainly achieved greatness, rising to become the greatest commander that the Royal Navy, if not the world, has ever seen. His life story would surely be the

fitting subject for a Hollywood blockbuster — provided of course that it was made with the same realism and attention to detail as Master and Commander. The script would need no exaggeration or embellishment; the story already has everything — heroism and romance, sex and in-trigue, action and suspense aplenty as well as a death scene to die for! He was Superman, Brave Heart and The Terminator all rolled into one — indeed he was the Man for all Seasons. He was also a man of great contrasts. He was extremely vain, yet he lacked arrogance and was

always quick to acknowledge and praise brilliance and success in others. He was deeply religious, yet at times, quite amoral. Although incredibly disciplined and self-confident as a leader of men, in his relationships with women he was often unsure of himself, and at other times almost childishly self-indulgent. He was a firm and sometimes harsh disciplinarian, yet his understanding and compassion towards those in genuine hardship was manifest. Who can forget his kindness and consideration before Trafalgar to

Sir John Calder, the man whose jealousy had caused him to criticize Nelson for his conduct at the battle of Cape St Vincent? Yet despite the faults and failings that reveal him as being essentially human, Nelson has achieved undying fame as a hero of almost godlike stature. Someone famously remarked that if Wellington was the man to respect, Nelson was the man to love. And he was loved. After Trafalgar a seaman in Royal Sovereign wrote home to say, "I never set eyes on him, for which I am both sorry and glad; for to be sure I should like to have seen him, but then, all the men in our ship who have seen him are such soft toads, they have done nothing but Blast their Eyes and cry ever since he was killed. God bless you! chaps that fought like the Devil, sit down and cry like a wench."

THE IMMORTAL MEMORY

The Nelson Society Newslet-

This was but one manifestation of an incredible outpouring of national grief that was to result in the longest funeral procession that London has ever seen; and if he was a legend in his own lifetime, the two hundred years since his death have produced a torrent of books, paintings, plays, films, songs and poems that have made him truly immortal. His talents were legion. He was both a master strategist and a brilliant tactician. Some commanders possess one or other of these qualities; many have neither — but Nelson had both. Similarly, he was at once a great leader and an outstanding manager and administrator. Although not physically strong, his capacity for hard work and long hours was amazing. He was able to manage the day-to-day minutiae of running a large fleet while at the same time not losing sight of the big picture, and his prodigious letter writing has given us a unique and valuable window into his thoughts and opinions. He genuinely cared for all of the men under his command, from the most senior captain down to the lowliest powder-monkey. This concern was borne not only of his deep sense of the essential dignity of man, but also from the more practical consideration that a happy and healthy ship was likely to be a more effective fighting unit. In an age when military commanders invariably demanded unquestioned obedience from their subordinates, Nelson encouraged and indeed expected initiative from his captains. He took them into his confidence, sharing his plans and seeking their opinions. He engaged in 'team building' long before it became a fashionable management concept — and what teams he built! Their names are almost as famous as that of Nelson himself. Of the many, men of the calibre of Fremantle & de Saumaurez; Ball, Berry & Foley; Miller, Hood & Hallowell stand out, as does Troubridge whom both Nelson and St Vincent considered to be the finest seaman that the Navy had ever produced.

He became firm friends with many of them. He developed particularly close friendships with Blackwood and Hardy towards the end of his life, both men of outstanding ability. After Blackwood distinguished himself as captain of the frigate Penelope in a particularly gallant action, Nelson wrote in his typically generous style "Is there a sympathy which ties men together in the bonds of friendship without having a personal knowledge of each other? If so, I was your friend and acquaintance before I saw you. Your conduct and character in the late glorious occasion stamps your fame beyond the reach of envy...". As you might have guessed, he wrote this eulogy before he actually met Blackwood for the first time. Nelson had the irritating habit, shared no doubt by many admirals, of interfering in the running of the flagship from time to time. Obviously aware of this habit he once asked Hardy, "How is it that you and I never disagree, for my other captains, Berry etc, never let me do a thing without at first resisting", to which Hardy is said to have replied, "It is sir, from my always being the first lieutenant when you like to be captain, and flag-captain when you have a fancy for being admiral". Of course his most enduring friendship was with Collingwood — 'My Dear Coll' as he invariably addressed him — a friend from their earliest days together in the West Indies. In some ways it was a curious friendship because they were of vastly different temperaments, Collingwood the dour, taciturn disciplinarian, Nelson the more emotional and outgoing adventurer. Collingwood, by far the older of the two, had joined the Navy well before Nelson although he was junior in the Navy List.

Captain T. Fremantle, Vice-Admiral of the Blue


Captain Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy Vice Admiral of the Blue

Nevertheless Nelson greatly valued Collingwood's coun-sel. I recently came across this tribute that Nelson wrote to Collingwood from Victory in December 1804, acknowledging the long-term influence of the older man, "...I feel I have imbibed from you certain sentiments that have greatly assisted me in my naval career — that we could always beat a Frenchman if we fought him long enough; that the difficulty in getting at them was often-times more peoples' own fancy than from the difficulty of the undertaking; that people did not know what they could do until they tried; that it was always to err on the right side to fight. I was then at that time of life to make the impression which has never been shaken”. It was a regard that was to endure to the last. At Trafalgar, Collingwood's flagship was the first to come under fire and as Royal Sovereign broke through the enemy line, Nelson was heard to exclaim. "See how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!" At about the same time Collingwood said to his flag-captain, "What would Nelson give to be here!" All of these comments reveal Nelson's deep understanding of how to get the best out of people. He possessed a natural warmth and friendliness that were quite rare among his professional contemporaries, and what's more, the innate ability to articulate them to best advantage. He excelled at the small personal touches.

On his arrival off Cadiz in September 1805 he made a point of personally delivering news of the birth of an-other daughter to his old friend, Thomas Fremantle. To a junior captain he gave a bundle of newspapers from home, together with the conspiratorial comment "I stole these for you!" In today's world of human resource management and networking we would probably call him a 'people' person.

But if Nelson had many friends and admirers in the service, he also had his enemies and detractors — much of it, as in Calder's case, resulting from professional jealousy.

While Nelson appears to have shrugged off such resentment he found it much harder to conceal his disdain for superiors of the likes of Hotham, Keith, and Hyde-Parker, whom he considered to be inef-fective time-servers. Conversely, he had nothing but admiration and respect for men such as Hood and St Vincent — despite his court action against the latter over prize money and there evidence to suggest that the feelings were reciprocated. Both Hood and St Vincent realised and appreciated Nelson's genius, and in giving him his head they effectively thrust greatness upon him in the form of remarkable opportunities, which he seized and used as springboards to greater things — his famous 'patent bridge for boarding first rates' at the battle of Cape St Vincent for instance, or his decision to attack the French fleet in Aboukir Bay at sunset, instead of the perhaps more prudent course of waiting until dawn the following day, are but two examples that come to mind. However, in considering his many achievements we should not forget that Nelson was also very much the man for the moment. Because of the prolonged struggle between England and France during first, the Revolutionary and later, the Napoleonic wars, Nelson had opportunities to excel that few commanders since have had. Some have come close but none have equalled his unique blend of courage, self-discipline, leadership and sheer tactical brilliance.


Baron Cuthbert Collingwood, Admiral of the Red.

Samuel, Viscount Hood, Admiral of the Red

At the beginning of the First World War, the charismatic Admiral Sir David Beatty caught the public's imagination and some thought that he might indeed be a reincarnation of Nelson. In 1915, following the battle of the Dogger Bank at which Beatty's battle cruisers inflicted a substantial defeat on a squadron of German battle cruisers, Churchill — then First Lord of the Admiralty — was hurrying aboard Beatty's flagship, HMS Lion, to congratulate him on a much-needed victory when one of Beatty's staff is supposed to have buttonholed him saying, "Nelson's back!" Alas, it was a false alarm; Beatty certainly didn't live up to the legend at Jutland in the following year when the Grand Fleet, despite achieving a strategic victory, suffered a tactical defeat at the hands of the German High Seas Fleet. If Nelson was looking down on the British fleet that day he must have had his telescope to his blind eye again — but then of course, the sites of the battles of Jutland and Copenhagen are but a few hundred miles apart! During the Second World War, Commodore Henry Harwood with three cruisers of the South Atlantic Squadron, engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee at the battle of the River Plate, an action against a technically superior and more powerful adversary who could easily have avoided the engagement; but Harwood's unorthodox strategy and daring tactics brought the enemy to battle in a manner,

and with an ultimate result, that Nelson would, I think, have approved of. Of foreign naval commanders, the Japanese Admiral Togo exhibited some Nelson-like qualities, using bold and unconventional tactics to inflict a defeat of Nelsonian proportions when he annihilated the Russian fleet at the battle of Tsushima in 1905 — and there have certainly been other leaders who have aspired to the Nelson legend but, as with the battles of the Dogger Bank, the River Plate and Tsushima, these commanders either had no fur-ther opportunity to shine or they reverted to being extremely capable, but not necessarily brilliant, leaders. And this is surely the essential point about Nelson: there was a unique consistency to his genius that makes the emulation of his achievements difficult, if not impossible. To again use the modern idiom — he was a hard act to follow! After the Second World War the Royal Navy introduced a new type of warship, the first of which was HMS Daring. At around 4,000 tons displacement these ships were too large to be classed as destroyers and yet too small to be cruisers so, for a time at least, they were known simply as 'Darings'. Incidentally, Voyager, Vampire and Vendetta were all sisterships of HMS Daring. Like the Darings, Horatio Nelson defies classification. He was unique. He was — he is, simply, NELSON. I doubt that we shall see his like again. Mike Sargeant

The beginning of the Battle of Trafalgar. The Franco-Spanish fleet is arranged in a single line in the background. The British fleet ap-proaches in two lines, with Collingwood's squadron, in the right, just about to engage the enemy. Nelson's squadron, led by the Victory, is in the centre. Frigates and the schooner Pickle can be seen left, along with the ship of the line Africa which was late in joining the fleet. Jack Aubrey Commands’ by Brian Lavery, 2003. Painting by Nicholas Pocock. (NMM PU S70B)’


The Nelson Society Newsletter

More follow up information on Bob Woollett’s talk on Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin

Nelson's Pillar was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Lord Nelson, located in the centre of O'Connell Street in Dublin. Erected three years after his death in 1808 The pillar was a Doric column that rose 121 ft (36.8 m) from the ground and was topped by a 13 ft (3.9 m) tall statue in Portland stone by Cork sculptor Thomas Kirk, RHA (1781-1845), giving it a total height of 134 ft (40.8 m) – some 20 metres shorter than the more famous Nelson's Column in London. It was designed by Francis John-son (1760-1829), the architect who built the General Post Office Johnson and later architects laid out Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) so that the buildings, the GPO and the Pillar were in scale to the size and length of the street and to each other.The foundation stone having been laid by the Duke of Richmond, Lord Lieutenant, on the 5th of February 1808. William Wilkins of Norwich designed it, but the statue of Nelson is by an Irish sculptor Thomas Kirk, R.H.A. Nelson's Pillar was erected by public subscription and cost £6,856 The original entrance to the pillar was under-ground but G. P. Baxter designed a porch in

1894 which was added to allow direct access from the street. offered the city's best public viewing platform, reached by spiral stairway inside the column. A group of dissident republicans, including Joe Christle, planted a bomb that destroyed the up-per half of the pillar at 2am on March 8, 1966, throwing the statue of Nelson into the street and causing large chunks of stone to be flung around the vicinity. Christle, dismissed ten years earlier from the IRA for unauthorised actions, was qualified as a barrister and saw himself as a socialist revolutionary. Ken Dolan and six other students from the National College of Art and Design stole the statue's head on St. Patrick's Day from a storage shed on Clanbrassil Street as a fund-raising prank to pay off a Student Union's debt. They leased the head for £200 a month to an antiques dealer in London for his shop window. The students finally gave the head to the Lady Nelson of the day about six months after taking it, and it is now in the Civic Museum in Dublin. The Nelson Pillar Act was passed in 1967, transferring responsibility for the site of the monument from the Nelson Pillar Trustees to Dublin Corporation. The site was simply paved over by the authorities until The Spire of Dublin was erected there in 2003. A time capsule containing artefacts from 1808 was discovered in the ground on October 2, 2001 when digging began to lay the foundations for the Spire.

The Dublin Spire was the winning entry in an architectural competition to provide a replacement for Nelson's Pillar which was blown up in 1966. After a planning appeal and a High Court case, the Spire finally got the go ahead. It was erected between December 2002 and January 2003 to great public excitement. The Dublin Spire is one hundred and twenty metres tall, making it by far the tallest structure in Dublin city centre. It is three metres wide at the base and tapers to a 15 centimentre wide beacon at the top.

A BUFF envelope found in a long-ignored locker during a routine clear-out at the London headquarters of the Sea Cadets could easily have been discarded. Instead the envelope, bearing the words "Nelson's flag", was opened to reveal two scraps of cloth. No one within the Sea Cadet movement could recall how the envelope came to be in the locker and whether the tea towel-sized fragments were genuine. Experts called in to examine the material 'discovered that the thread-count, weave and dye patterns matched those of a piece of the Victory's shot- torn battle ensign which is held at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. Delighted and enthused by the discovery, the Sea Cadet Corp is now trying to trace other pieces of the White Ensign that flew on the Victory during the conquest -of the French and Spanish fleets It hopes it may be able to create a part of the flag, torn up by Nelson's in time for the 200th; anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar later .this year. these will include a re-enactment in September of the funeral procession when Nelson's body was borne up the Thames from Greenwich to Whitehall. Lt Roger Busby, of the Sea Cadets, said: "It would be a fitting tribute if our cadets (could trace other surviving' pieces of the flag and present it at the ceremony." The white ensign flew from Victory's flagstaff during the battle in October 1805.

SEA CADETS ADD ANOTHER PIECE TO NELSON’S FLAG JIGSAW

After Nelson fell, arrangements were made for a state funeral. John Graves, a curator at, the National Maritime Museum, said there was a clamour in the popular press for Nelson's crew to accompany his coffin. In the cathedral the sailors were supposed reverentially to fold the flag, which measured approximately 35ft by 25ft, and lay it on a table to be placed beside his coffin. "As the coffin was being lowered into the crypt, Sir Isaac Heard, the Garter King at Arms, read out the many titles of Lord Nelson," Mr Graves said. "It seems that, quite spontaneously, the sailors grabbed the flag and ripped off a section which they quickly subdivided." Mr Graves said it was likely that the pieces were further shared and it was impossible to say how many of those shreds survive. The rest of the flag is believed to have been placed inside the coffin. Apart from the two pieces at the Lambeth head-quarters of the Sea Cadets and the remnant at the National Maritime Museum there are two more segments. one on the victory and another in the Portsmouth museum. The piece at the National museum has been temporarily removed from display in preparation for the Nelson and Napoleon Exhibition to be staged between July 7 and Nov 13. A small scrap of the flag was sold from a private collection last year It fetched 47800 pounds at auction

Stewart Payne ‘The Times?’

a CD of THE STATE FUNERAL OF

HORATIO , LORD VISCOUNT NELSON, KB By the Choir of Portsmouth Cathedral

The Reverend Gavin Kirk - presenter Colin White - reader David price - director

Including an historical account of the ceremony

Compact disk — Digital Audio Available — Central Catholic Bookshop

322 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. 3000 Vic. Australia Tel (03) 96390844 Fax (03) 0636 0879


I SHALL BE surprised if this book does not come to be hailed as the biography of the year - despite its more than 800 pages covering only the first 37 years of the Admiral’s life and omitting the glory years of the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar. Dr Sugden's wide-ranging and meticulous researches have unearthed much new information on Nelson's career, especially his conflicts with British ship owners in the West Indies being forbid-den to trade with the rebellious Americans as a conse-quence of the stringent Navigation Act. The subtitle, 'A Dream of Glory', is apt, for Sugden shows how early on Nelson was bent on making his mark and being recognised. This is all of a piece with his often vain glorious utter-ances before battle - Tomorrow my head will be crowned with either laurel or cypress and ‘Westminster Abbey or victory'. But what distinguishes Sugden from most other Nelson authors is that whereas they have sought to glo-rify him, he coolly reassesses his character, actions, relationships as he might have done for any less charis-matic subject, and sets out his findings, whether favour-able or not. Nor does he shrink from touching on Nelson's sex life. In 1794, when Nelson in the battleship Agamemnon commanding a squadron of frigates the Italian Riviera, he began his long affair in Leghorn with Adelaide Cor-reglia whom Sugden describes as a 'superior call-girl offering sexual services to officers and gentlemen'. The Navy's term for such girls was 'Dolly'. Nelson's great friend Captain Fremantle had a Dolly called Madalina: Little is known of Adelaide other than that she was either widowed or separated. In appearance she was petite and dark. With the help of the British consul, John Udny, Nelson set her up in an apartment with a sitting-room and a bedroom, and saw that the rent was paid and that she received a regular allowance. Nelson had no Italian, so they communicated in French (hers good, his awful). Nelson introduced her to many other Offi-cers in the Fleet, who in writing to him, often asked to be remembered to 'your little Adelaide', and even the com-mander-in-chief Admiral Jervis sent his compliments to 'La belle Adelaide' One day when Fremantle was unable to find Madalina he heard that Adelaide ‘was resting at the spa of Bagno di Pisa and, horny as ever, hied off there to see her, 'Although Adelaide was Nelson's lover', says Sugden, the affair would seem to have run its course when the advance of Napoleon's army into Italy necessitated Commodore Nelson and his squadron with-drawing from the Riviera to the new fleet base of Porto Ferraio in Corsica. Adelaide succeeded in hitching a lift

However John Udny, another Napoleonic refugee, was also there and sent Nelson this letter: 'Pray write me what you want me to do about your friend, who I find has been here some time in distress' Not knowing when, if ever, Nelson would receive the letter as he was about to leave for Florence, Udny instructed his son to make arrangements to send Adelaide to her mother in Genoa. And this is the last we know of what was probably Nelson's first long-term mistress and one who, unlike Emma, was quite unknown to his wife Fanny.

November 2004 -THE OLDIE 39

‘A girl in every port’ LUDOVIC KENNEDY NELSON: A DREAM OF GLORY by John Sugden

Publisher Jonathan Cape £25.00


A page about coinage in Nelson’s era. in ‘The Master’s Assistant’ 1799

Page The Nelson Society Newsletter

Introduction It is impossible in a few pages to do justice to this fine seaman and essentially modest man and hence I have attempted to concentrate on his contact with and recollections of Nelson. Many outstanding deeds were performed at Trafalgar and these have often been overshadowed by the death of Nelson and the effect that the battle was to have on maritime and ultimately world history. Hargood was magnificent at Trafalgar. He was the Captain of the BELLEISLE, 74, and a fellow officer described him as one of the "Heroes of Trafalgar". The remainder of his fascinating life I have summarised. To a large extent I have relied on his biography written in 1841 by Joseph Allen and published privately by Hargood's wife Lady Maria Hargood and I have copied direct quotations faithfully where possible DS

************************************* William Hargood was born on 6 May 1762 and was therefore junior to Nelson in age by less than four years; they were however of the same British generation that faced up to the turmoil in the Americas and Europe in the years to come. Hargood was entered onto the books of the TRIUMPH bearing the broad pennant of Nelson's uncle, Commodore Maurice Suckling, as early as 1772 and actually joined in October 1773 at the age of eleven. He missed an early meet-ing with the young Nelson who had been in the TRIUMPH, by only a matter of a few weeks Nelson was by then "..seeking glory in the Frozen seas" aboard the CARCASS. In December 1775 Hargood moved to the newly launched BRISTOL 50, (Captain John Morris) in which Sir Peter Parker hoisted his pennant on the 19th. BRISTOL sailed with a small squadron shortly after Christmas with a large body of troops under Cornwallis for an attack on Charleston. Hargood first saw action at Sullivan's Island on 28 June 1776 which was a bloody affair and resulted in the loss of Captain Morris. It is interesting to note that Morris's son, James, commanded the COLOSUSS, 74, at Trafalgar, two ships behind Hargood in the BELLEISLE. The two men were also to be related by marriage some years later as they married two sisters. Hargood's biographer writes: "It was on the Bristol that Mr Hargood first made the acquaintance of Nelson and Collingwood; by both of whom he was ever afterwards held in the highest estimation. On the 20th July, 1778 Lieutenant

Horatio Nelson joined the BRISTOL from the LOWESTOFFE, as third lieutenant and continued third until September, from which time till the 20th December, he was first Lieutenant. Lieutenant Collingwood succeeded Nelson (who had been appointed to command the Badger) as first of BRISTOL, and remained in her until June 1779, when he also succeeded Nelson

in command of the BADGER. In January 1780, Lieutenant of the PORT ROYAL sloop in which he was actively engaged in the unavailing defence of Pensacola and was captured by the Spanish in May 1781. He eventually returned to England and appointed to the MAGNIFICENT, 74, which sailed in February 1782 and joined Rodney in time to take part in the Battle of the Saintes between 9 and 12 April. Hargood was appointed to the HEBE frigate in May 1784 (Captain Edward Thornbrough) in which ship in the following year Prince William Henry (later William IV)

served as a junior lieutenant. This was to be the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two men. The Prince evidently respected Hargood, and this may have stemmed from an event in the HEBE in which he had to be ordered by Hargood to repair to the flagship in response to a signal, despite the Prince's protestations and whilst all officers senior to Hargood were ashore. Hargood left the HEBE in 1786, and, under the new pa-tronage of the Prince, he joined the PEGASUS frigate (28). On 6 January 1787 the PEGASUS sailed for the West Indies and within a few weeks fell in with the BOREAS, 28, commanded by Nelson. It was during this period that the friendship between the Prince and Nelson began. Indeed, at Nelson's wedding on the island of Nevis on 11 March 1787, it was the Prince that gave the bride away. Hargood was also present at this event as his biographer records: "Nelson's old shipmate, Lieutenant Hargood, was also a welcome guest." The next few years were far from uneventful and included steady promotion, a great deal of action, a court-martial (and honourable acquittal) and a victim of the mutiny in 1796, having been put ashore by the ship's company whilst commanding the LEOPARD, 50.

"NOBLY DONE HARGOOD!" THE MEMOIRS OF ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM HARGOOD, G.C.B., G.C.H.

By David Shannon


Admiral Sir William Hargood


It cannot be said that Hargood in his behaviour and attitude towards his men would have been the cause. The overwhelming impression that Joseph Allen gives in his book is one of a benevolent and generous man, much in the same way that Nelson was. Hargood returned to England in the spring of 1803 in the INTREPID and in the following November was appointed to command the BELLEISLE. However, the ship was in the Mediterranean and he took passage in a frigate, eventually joining his new command on 18 March 1804 off Cape Sicie under the flag of Nelson who was blockading Toulon. Hargood was to spend the next 21 months at sea, and for the most part of it in close company with Nelson in the VICTORY, 100. There then followed for Hargood months of dogged watching and cruising between Capes Sicie and Sepet, with continual reefing of the topsails and the accompanying difficulties with the masts and sailyards. Even before Hargood had joined this ship, the BELLEISLE had been the most constant of the blockaders, and so on 25 March she was ordered to Naples for provisions for the fleet, leaving there on 2 April and rejoining Nelson six days later. The BELLEISLE then cruised until 11 May when she anchored with the fleet in Agincourt Sound in Sardinia. Nelson had found this deeply indented inlet most useful and had apparently pronounced it as the finest he has ever seen. Nelson left Hargood in charge of the station when he sailed for Palma in the middle of June 1804; Har-good had the BELLEISLE, two frigates and a bomb vessel. On the night of 31 July and 1 August a violent gale blew them all out to sea. This allowed five French line-of-battle ships and six frigates, all under the flag of Rear-Admiral Le Pelley in the FORMIDABLE, 80, to escape. However, the bad weather persisted and fortunately for Hargood, the French prudently returned to harbour. Nelson returned on station on 26 August and Hargood was deployed under Cape Sebastian where the BELLEISLE's boats were in constant use in boarding duties as well as detaining a large number of vessels, both Spanish and Austrian. All this incidentally was conducted without the written authority of the Admiralty, although dispatches dated 19 September did eventually arrive in Nelson's hands on Christmas Day. Eleven days before, on 14 December 1804, Spain had declared war against England. The force at Nelson's disposal numbered only eleven sail of line including the BELLEISLE and scarcely a frigate or a sloop, and most needed refitting as a result of continual sea duties. It became evident to Nelson that a joint French and Spanish sortie would be attempted, and Carthagena, Cadiz and Ferrol were all possibilities.

The French meanwhile at Toulon took advantage of a tem-porary absence by the British and sailed on 17 January 1805. Nelson was alerted while watering in Agincourt Sound and immediately put to sea. Failing to find the enemy where he expected them to be he headed eastwards for Egypt, but this was unsuccessful and the Squadron sailed for Malta. Unbeknown to Nelson, Villeneuve had encountered a storm and his fleet had sustained considerable damage and had returned to harbour after only three days. All had not been lost, because according to Hargood's biographer, the (albeit fruitless) pursuit had thoroughly rejuvenated the British spirits worn down by months of endless manoeuvring on a lee shore. Villeneuve again put to sea on 30 March and this was swiftly reported to Nelson in Palma. Nelson with his fleet, having stopped briefly in Sicily for intelligence, departed for Gibraltar but due to foul weather did not arrive until 30 April by which time his prey had escaped into the Atlantic.

The chase across the Atlantic and return is a well documented affair and is often seen as the prelude to Trafalgar itself. Villeneuve evaded Nelson, more by luck than judgement, and returned to Spain. Nelson, beset by calm weather, reached Gibraltar on the 19 July. During one such calm spell Hargood received a letter from Nelson:

"As the day is very fine, I was in hopes that you would have come on board and dined. From winds, and expecta-tion of wind, I have been afraid to ask my friends to dinner; but I need not, I hope, assure you, how glad I am always to see you, being, my dear Hargood, Yours most faithfully, NELSON & BRONTE". Another letter from Nelson dated 5 August 1805 gives a useful insight into the humanity of both men and concerns the misdemeanour of an unnamed BELLEISLE officer. Hargood in reporting the facts to Nelson, had apparently recommended leniency. Nelson wrote: "Nothing but your desire to save the ——— of the Belleisle from the fate which would justly await him, should your charges against him be proved, could have induced me to allow of your for-giveness of such faults as his have been; and I sincerely hope that he will show his gratitude to you for this great proof of your goodness to him. I hope you will severely admonish him, and that his future conduct will show his sincere contrition." In an interesting postscript to this letter, Nelson confides in Hargood that he felt "...very unlucky" at not getting fair winds and for not encountering the enemy. By the middle of August, with the enemy back in harbour, the BELLEISLE was dispatched to Plymouth for a much


needed refit. On arrival home Hargood wrote to Prince William telling him of the chase and in reply the Prince wrote: "I am to acknowledge yours of the 27th August, from Plymouth, and applaud your zeal in remaining at the present moment with the ship. Lord Nelson I have seen, and he speaks of you in those favourable terms that I am convinced you merit, and which give me great satisfaction. I am glad to find Lieutenant Pascoe [sic) is well thought of by his Lordship." The Prince continues "However, our victory is only delayed; and I hope not many months will pass before you will receive the medal for some decisive action." The BELLEISLE was completely stripped, cleared, docked, undocked and hauled against a sheer hulk for her sprung mizzen to be replaced. She was finally ready for sea and worked out of the Hamoaze on 23 September with the wind at north to northeast. The wind direction is mentioned at this point because some years later when Hargood was Commander-in-Chief in Plymouth a young lieutenant commanding a brig requested the Admiral to have his vessel towed out by a steam vessel. Hargood (to quote his biographer) "...with much energy in his manner, told the lieutenant that when in command of the Belleisle, had he not worked out of the Hamoaze with the wind two points more against him, he should not have been at Trafalgar; and concluded by recommending the lieutenant to find his way to the sound without delay.” BELLEISLE rejoined Nelson's fleet off Cadiz on 10 October 1805. At 9.30am on the 19th the enemy were seen leaving harbour and this news was relayed to Nelson who promptly despatched MARS, ORION, LEVIATHAN, BELLEROPHON (all 74's), and POLYPHEMUS, 64, with the BELLEISLE to guard the mouth of the Straits. It was at this time that Nelson noticed that the metal hoops of the BELLEISLE's lower masts were painted black in the same manner as the enemy's. He directed Hargood to change them to yellow in conformation with the other British ships; this was no trivial request as Nelson considered that through the smoke of battle, any means of identity was important. In the event, the BELLEISLE was hidden in a pall of smoke for most of the battle but ironically she was the only British ship to be completely dismasted. The enemy was next seen on the following morning and the British fleet wore and headed northwest with a fresh breeze on their starboard quarter. The combined fleet were watched through-out the day and night until on the morning of the 21st, as a result of Nelson's night manoeuvres, the two fleets found themselves some ten miles apart at daybreak, almost within sight of Cape Trafalgar. The great battle that Nelson (and Prince William) had predicted was beginning. The BELLEISLE's log records a general signal at 5.40am to form order of sailing. In two lines, and at 6am to bear up and sail large and to prepare for battle. At this time the BELLEISLE was the third ship in Collingwood’s division but with the wind being so light and the second ship TONNANT, 80 (Captain Charles Tyler), being a heavy sailer, BELLEISLE had difficulty in keeping station. Collingwood in front in ROYAL SOVEREIGN, 100, seeing his lead increasing, ordered

BELLEISLE to overtake. A few minutes later, at 9.20am, the BELLEISLE, fully crowded with royals and studding sails shot past the labouring TONNANT whose captain shouted across to Hargood "A glorious day for old England!" and "We shall have one apiece before night". The final preparations were being made including changes in course and the hoisting of colours. The wind had dropped and the British could only manage two knots of speed; at 11am the BELLEISLE was ordered to close ROYAL SOVEREIGN which Hargood endeavoured to do in the light airs. For a time it seemed that all that was propelling the ships was the long Atlantic swell. At 11.40am the fleet was "...amused" by Nelson's famous signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty" which was, according to the BELLEISLE's second lieutenant of Marines, Paul Nicholas, greeted with cheers throughout the decks. Shortly after-wards the enemy commenced firing. The first ships to fire were FOUGEUX, French 74, and SANTA ANA, Spanish 110, the flagship of Vice-Admiral de Alava. The BELLEISLE was under severe fire at this point and was still three-quarters of a mile from the enemy and two cables astern of ROYAL SOVEREIGN. Hargood addressed his officers: "Gentlemen, I have only to say that I shall pass close under the stern of that ship [pointing presumably to the SANTA ANA]; put in two round shot and then a grape, and give her that. Now go to your quarters and mind not to fire until each gun will bear with effect." This last instruction gives a clue to Hargood's cool strategy that despite being subject to potentially devastating gunfire he was resolved to fire at the last moment for maximum ef-fect. After his address, the men on the upper decks were made to lie down, and Hargood positioned himself on the slide of the foremost carronade on the starboard side of the quarterdeck. The silence that followed was only interrupted by the enemy guns, the sound of cannonball meeting wood, the renting of sail and the crashing of spars and yards. The upright Hargood was almost willing the ship forward as he shouted his commands: "Steady! Starboard a little!" then "Steady so," followed by "Lie down there, you sir'" to an impatient seaman. Lieutenant Paul Nicholas recalls the scene as the BELLEISLE approached the enemy "...a shriek soon followed, - a cry of agony was produced by the next shot, - and the loss of the head of a poor recruit...by the next shot...My eyes were horror-struck at the bloody corpses around me, and my ears rang with the shreiks of the wounded and the moans of the dying.” The BELLEISLE was now within a few cables of the enemy as the ROYAL SOVEREIGN cut the enemy line astern of the SANTA ANA at 12.05pm. It was at this time that Hargood was knocked down by wooden debris.

Spanish officer. Hargood accepted the tow and slowly the two ships made their way towards Gibraltar, but after 48 hours a heavy squall caused the hawser to part. During this stormy night and in a supreme test of Hargood's seamanship, the BELLEISLE was prevented from foundering on a lee shore by the erection of a jib boom and a boat sail to the stump of the foremast ,thus enabling the ship to wear out of certain disaster. On the following morning (24th) the NAIAD again got the BELLEISLE under tow and later in the day both made Gibraltar. BELLEISLE was jury rigged in a most basic manner and sailed in convoy with the VICTORY- carrying the remains of Nelson -and the BELLEROPHON reaching English waters on 1 December 1805. On arrival at Plymouth Hargood received a letter from the Prince: "Everybody that had the honour and glory of sharing in the action, speak and write in the highest terms of the BELLEISLE and her gallant commander: to me it is (a) matter of great satisfaction that my old shipmate is so well thought of." The Prince then continues in sad tones relating to "poor Nelson". In the final paragraph the Prince asks him when he will be available for a reception as Hargood could surely not "...refuse the pleasure of several young ladies and gentlemen who talk of nothing else but 'the brave Captain Hargood'." Hargood recommissioned the BELLEISLE on 13 February 1806 and was ready for sea in mid April. In May he received his Trafalgar medal and accompanying letter from the Admiralty. He continued a most active seafaring life in the ser-vice of his country for several more years including another spell under Collingwood in 1808 in the Adriatic. Hargood also acted as chief mourner at the funeral of Nelson's old friend Alexander Ball in Malta in 1809. In the following year he was promoted to Rear-Admiral and was second in command at Portsmouth for seven months until taking command of the Channel Islands’ squadron. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1814 and to Admiral in 1831; from March 1833 to April 1836 Hargood was Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth after which time he retired to Bath in time to celebrate his 74th birthday. A year later he was to receive a gift that had a profoundly nostalgic effect on him. A craftsman had made eight bottle stands for the old Admiral from the timbers of the BELLEISLE which he treasured until peacefully passing away at the age of 77 on 12 December 1839. His remains are interred in Bath Abbey. The most fitting epitaph that can be penned for Hargood was written some months later by John Owen, Colonel of Ma-rines, who served at Trafalgar on the BELLEISLE as the First Lieutenant of Martnes. The letter, dated 21 October 1840 con-tains the following paragraph: "I will only add that he was so conspicuous for bravery, seamanship and presence of mind, during the whole course of these proceedings, as to justice to entitle his name to be handed down to prosperity as one the ablest and most gallant of the "Heroes of Trafalgar".


Despite being somewhat shaken and badly bruised from shoulder to waist he resumed his position on the carronade; he refused later to be listed as wounded although he was in considerable discomfort at the time. Still the BELLEISLE held All eyes in the VICTORY were on the gallant BELLEISLE as she at last cut the enemy line three minutes after ROYAL SOVEREIGN. In dramatic style she fired a simultaneous double broadside, larboard into the stern of the SANTA ANA with devastating results, and starboard into the FOUGEUX. At the sight of this, Nelson exclaimed "Nobly done Hargood'" There was no need for Hargood to shorten the BELLEISLE's sails as she entered the fray as many of her spars and sails were already in in an attempt to present her larboard broadside to the incoming BELLEISLE. As she still had forward motion she struck BELLEISLE amidships on the starboard side with her spritsail- yard falling across the BELLEISLE's gangway. Hargood had on his other side the INDOMPTABLE, French 80, which was presenting a stern view and shortly this ship prudently filled and bore up. The BELLEISLE was now surrounded by the enemy and having been mauled in the opening rounds she was unable to manoeuvre with any ease; at least fourteen enemy ships were to pass her during the battle and in all probability all fired at her. At no time were there less than three enemy ships in the vicinity engaging her. The battle was still young at 12.40pm when the main top-mast fell, followed thirty minutes later by the mizzen, reduced to head height. At 2.10pm the mainmast fell aft crashing to the poop. After a brief skirmish with the NEPTUNE, French 80. the foremast fell forward at 2.30pm carrying away the bowsprit in the process. Hargood was still fighting at 3.20pm when welcome relief arrived in the form of the British ships POLYPHEMUS. 64. DEFIANCE. 74 and SWIFTSURE, 74 to the grateful cheers of Hargood's men. The BELLEISLE now drifted out of the main arena of the fighting and Hargood set about clearing the ship and making good some of the damage. BELLEISLE was now totally dismasted, thoroughly battered and beginning to leak.Trafalgar had not yet finished for Hargood. At about 3.30pm the ARGONAUT A, Spanish 80, having previously struck to ACHILLE, 74, drifted down on the BELLEISLE and Hargood despatched his Master, the Lieutenant of Marines and a party of men to take the plight of BELLEISLE, directed Dundas in the NAIAD frigate to offer a tow. The weary and bloodied officers gathered in the Captain's cabin to take stock of the situation; Hargood's supply of grapes relieved dry throats as they compiled the list of dead and wounded. Considering the dreadful damage to the ship itself, the number killed was only 33 and wounded 94. An officer from the NAIAD boarded and broke the news of Nelson's death. The effect in the cabin was pro-found and the sorrow was even shared by the captured


Each change of atmosphere disdaining,

With scarce the wreck of health remaining, Never of toil or wound complaining, Serv'd brave, immortal, NELSON.

Trafalgar saw the warrior dight Conspicuous for the hottest fight;

Foremost to guard Britannia's right Sprang brave immortal NELSON.

With breast elate He met his fate,

And calmly mark'd life's ebbing sand; Said, with a sigh, “He wish'd to die

In dear Britannia's favour'd land !" But death's dark path with Christian faith he trod.

And bow’d submissive to the will of God.

Morn and rejoice! Horatio's spirit Well pleas'd beholds a friend inherit. The honours paid to valorous merit;

He smiles on gallant COLLINGWOOD; Mourn for your martyrs on the wave! Mourn for your NELSON in his grave!

Rejoice, and cheer the living brave With modest gallant, COLLINGWOOD.

United raise Loud hymns of praise

Year pray'rs, your thanks, are due to Heav’n;

Your loss deplore; That tribute o'er,

Be grateful for the champions giv’n: By their great Admiral's side Fame's path they trod,

True to their King. their Country, and their God.

NELSON AND COLLINGWOOD. By the Rev. Weeden Butler, A.M. Chelsea, 4th December, 1805.

Briton's you heard Trafalgar's story;

"you triumph in your country's glory;- f Mourn o'er the relics, pale and glory,

Of brave, immortal NELSON. To earth and War our Hero's dead;

To heav'n and peace his spirit sped: Twine your green laurels; round the head

Of brave, immortal NELSON. Mourn, one and all,

Great NELSON'S fall; Oh! dash not off the gushing tear:

No tears disgrace The manly face,

When freemen tend a freeman's bier. Fame's rugged steep with daring foot he trod,

True to his King, his Country, and his God. II.

When passion's slave, and fortune's minion, Panting to spread usurp'd dominion,

To Egypt flew on vulture pinion; Lo! there, immortal NELSON.

To check the conquest of the world. Old Nilus hail'd our flag unfurl'd;

Wide havoc on the Gaul was hurl'd; By brave immortal NELSON

Lord of the main He sail'd again,

Where Copenhagen's rampart's lour'd: Paul's mad intrigues

And captious leagues Sunk, in the tempest. NELSON pour'd.

A short biography of Nelson’s life found in an American encyclopaedia dated 1890 Nelson, Horatio, first Viscount Nelson. Born at Burnham-Thorpe, Norfolk, England, Sept. J 29, 1758: died on board the Victory at Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805. A celebrated English admiral. He entered the navy In 1770, and was made post- captain at the age of twenty-one, serving In the American ]war. At the declaration of war with France In 1793, he was made captain of the Agamemnon In the Mediterranean, serving first under Lord Hood and afterward under Admiral Hotham. On Feb. 14, 1797 under Admiral Jervis (later Lord St. Vincent), he fought in the battle oil Cape St. Vincent. In May, 1798, he was sent by Lord St. Vincent to Intercept Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. In this he failed, but destroyed the French fleet at anchor In the harbour of Aboukir, Aug. 1-2. This engagement Is called "the battle of the Nile." He retired to Naples, where he became Involved In political complications and in an intrigue with the wife of Sir William Hamilton, British envoy to Naples. In 1800 he returned to England and was made vice-admiral and a peer. The battle of Copenhagen was fought April 2, 1801, In order to destroy the coalition of the northern powers known as the (second) Armed Neutrality. Nelson was made a viscount after Copenhagen. The French fleet under Admiral Villeneuve left Toulon In March, 1805, and sailed to the West Indies with the Intention of drawing off the English fleet and returning to support Napoleon's projected invasion of England. Nelson followed, and. after Napoleon's plan had been thwarted by the hesitancy of Villeneuve, fought the French-Spanish fIeet of Cape Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805. He hoisted the signal "England expects that every man will do his duty" at the beginning of this fight.


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1. BOWSPRIT 2. Yard and Sail 3. Gammoning 4. Horse 5. Bobstay 6. Spritsail Sheets 7. Pendants 8. Braces and Pendants 9. Hallyards 10. Lifts 11. Clewlines 12. Spritsails 13. Buntlines 14 Standing Lists 15. Spritsail Top 16. Flying Jib Boom 17. Flying Jib, Stay, and Sails 18. Hallyards 19. Sheets 20. Horses 21. SPRIT-SAIL TOP-MAST 31. Shrouds 23. Yard and Sail 24. Sheets 25. Lifts 26. Braces and Pendants 27. Cap 28. Jack-Staff. 29. Truck 30 Jack-Flag 31. FORE-MAST 32. Runner and Tackle 33. Shrouds 34. Lanyards 35. Stay and Lanyard 36. Preventer Stay and Lanyard 37. Woolding the Mast 38. Yard and Sail 39. Horses 40. Top 41. Crowfoot 42. Jeers 43 Yard-Tackles 44. Lifts 45. Brace’s and Pendants 46. Sheets 47. Fore Tacks 48. Bowlines and Bridles 49. Fore Buntline 50. Fore Leechlines

51. Fore Top-Rope 52. Puttock Shrouds 53. FORE TOP-MAST 54. Shrouds and Lanyards 55. Yard and Sail 56. Stay and Sail 57. Runner 58. Backitays 59. Hallyard 60. Lifts 61. Braces and Pendants 62. Horse 63. Clewlines 64. Bowlines and Bridles 65. Reef, Tackles 66. Sheets 67. Buntlines 68 Crosstrees 69. Cap 70. FORETOP GALL MAST 71. Shrouds and Lanyards 72. Yard and Sail 73. Backstays 74. Stay 75. Lifts 76. Clewlines 77. Braces and Pendants 78. Bowlines and Bridles 79. Flag-Staff 80. Truck 81. Flag Staff Stay 82. Flag Lord-High Admiral 83. MAIN-MAST 84. Shrouds 85. Lanyards 86. Runner and Tackle 87. Pendant of the Gornet 88. Guy of ditto 89. Fall of Jitto 90. Stay 91. Preventer Stay 92. Stay-tackle 93. Woolding the Mast 94. Jeers 95. Yard Tacks 96. Lifts 97. Braces and Pendants 98. Horses 99. Sheets 100. Tacks

101. Bowlines and Bridles 102. Crowfoot 103. Top-Rope 104. Top 105. Buntlines 106. Lechlines 107. Yard and Sail 108. MAIN TOP SAIL 109. Shrouds and Lanyards 110. Yard and Sail 111. Puttock Shrouds 112. Backstays 113. Stay 114. Stayfail & Stay & Haliyard 115. Runners 116. Hallyards 117. Lifts 118. Clewlines 119. Braces and Pendents 120. Horses 121. Sheets 122. Bowlines and Bridles 123. Buntlines 124. Reef Tackles 125. Crosstrees 126. Cap 127. MAIN TOP GALL MAST 128. Shrouds and Lanyards 129. Yard and Sail 130. Backstays 131. Stay 132. Stayfail and Hallyard 133. Lifts 134. Braces and Pendants 135. Clewlines and Bridles 136. Clewlines 137. FIag.Staff 138. Truck 139. Flag-Staff Stay 140. Flag Standard 141. MIZZEN-MAST 142. Shrouds and Lanyard 143. Pendents and Burton 144. Yard and Sail 145. Crowfoot 146. Sheet 147. Pendant Lines 148. Peckbrails 149. Staysail 150. Stay

151. Derrick and Spar 152. Top 153. Cross-Jack 154. Cross-jack Liffts 155. Cross-Jack Braces 156. Cross-Jack Slings 157. MIZZEN-TOP MAST 158. Shrouds and lanyards 159. Yard and Sail 160. Backstays 161. Stay 162. Hallyards 163, Lifts 164. Braces and Pendants 165. Bowlines and Pendants 166. Sheets 167. Clewlines 168. Stayfails 169. Crosstrees 170. Cap 171. Flag Staff 172. Flag-Staff Stay 173. Truck , 174. Flag Union. 175. -Ensign Staff 176. Truck 177. Ensign 178. Poop Ladder 179. Bower Cable HULL A. Cat Head B. Fore channels C. Main channels D. Mizzen Channels E. Entering Port F. Hause Holes G. Poop Lanthorns H. Chesstrees I. Head K. Stern ~

EXPLANATION OF THE REFERENCES ON THE PLAN Describing the RIGGING, &c. of a First-rate SHIP

TAKEN FROM ‘The Ship’s Master’s Assistant Owners Manuel’ 1799



THE NELSON SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA

Aims and Objectives To advance public education in the appreciation of the life and character of admiral Lord

Nelson. Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st October 1805. In the greatest sea battle involving 60 ships of the line,

over 3,000 men were killed, 3,500 wounded and over 1,000

NELSON SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA Patron: Commodore DJ Orr RAN (Retd)

COMMITTEE 2005-2006

Elected officers Chairman Mike Sargeant Vice Chairman David Shannon Secretary Bob Woollett Treasurer Ann Nelson Committee Members: John Caskey, John Ashwood, Richard Savage, Robert Pipe, Betty Foster Memorial Service Committee: Richard Savage (Chair), David Shannon, Ron Ingham, John Caskey, Graham Perkins Ivan Hunter, Geoff and Elsie Paice, John Ashworth, and Mike Sergeant. Nelson Bicentennial Committee: David Shannon Catering: Bill Gildare, Elsie Paice Pickle Night: Bob Woollett Reception committee: Cynthia Lyall and Ann Penny. Newsletter: Betty Foster (editor) and Ted Collinson (photos) and Lillian Toomer (distribution) Nelson Dispatch Distribution: Gwen Phillipps The Nelson Yearbook, Archives and Publicity: David Shannon

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