Papers of Horatio Nelson, 1758-1805, Viscount and First Admiral

Correspondence, concerning promotion of Lieutenant Scott of Monmouth 1804

Born in 1758 , Lord Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 . He entered the navy in 1770 . He served in the West Indies as a commander from 1778 , until ill health forced him back to England in 1780. From 1782, Nelson left for America and the West Indies, where he learnt French and married Mrs Nisbet in 1787, before being sent home again for irregular trading. Unemployed until 1793, Nelson was dispatched by Lord Hood in 1794 in charge of capturing Corsica. The campaign was successful but it was here that Nelson lost the sight in his right eye. He was appointed as commodore in 1796  and was responsible for harassing, stalling and preventing French coastal trade. Nelson led an English victory against combined Spanish and French fleets in 1797 , and was promoted to the position of Rear Admiral. In July 1797, Nelson failed to capture a treasure ship at Santa Cruz, and lost his right arm in the battle. Rewards were bestowed upon him from all the courts of Europe when he followed and tracked the French fleet to Alexandria and then to Aboukir Bay, where he unleashed such a force of explosions on the fleet that only two frigates survived. In 1798  he returned to Naples and was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, but Naples was taken by the French and in 1800 Nelson returned home again due to ill health. He separated from his wife and became vice-admiral in 1801 , and later in the year was created Viscount Nelson. He died in 1805  in a victorious battle with returning Spanish and French fleets from the West Indies. Nelson received a public funeral and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

Source: Dictionary of National Biography, (London, 1903).

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GB 0234 GD51 Letters to Lord Melville 1804-1805 (National Archives of Scotland). For contact details of all repositories with a GB code, see the Archon repository search page, at the Historical Manuscripts Commission.

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Fonds level description compiled by Lucy Burrows, Archive Assistant Volunteer, July 2003.