Horatio Nelson: The Darling Hero of England
The Admiralty was shrouded in fog. The messenger arrived at one a.m. He had ridden 31 horses and post-carriages over 271 miles since landing in Falmouth two days earlier. Lieutenant Lapenotière saw the First Secretary of the Admiralty just a few minutes after his arrival. He was carrying the dispatch of Admiral Collingwood, which contained the news from the Battle of Trafalgar. It was 6th November, 1805, sixteen days after the battle.
Now lamps were lit, and the news was hurried around London. The Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger, was woken, as was George III. They sat in silence for several minutes, shocked. In 1803/4 there had been an invasion scare and the country mobilised to defend itself against the coming of Napoleon; earlier in 1805 Admiral Nelson had chased the French fleet to the Caribbean and back as they manoeuvred in preparation to take the Channel, an attempt only let down by Napoleon’s ineffective Admiral Villeneuve.
The great naval battle of her history had been anticipated. Victory meant the defeat of tyranny and the defence of freedom; failure meant, quite literally, the breaking of British naval power. All hope held its breath, waiting on the daring genius of Admiral Horatio Nelson, celebrity hero of the fleet, who had, in his great courage, already lost an eye and an arm in the service of his country. News of his victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 had set off celebrations. Now Nelson must outdo himself, or Napoleon’s navy will do for him.
