Nelson: Britannia's God of War by Andrew Lambert Page B

reading.
    32 Herbert Butterfield’s short book of this title, published in 1931, examines the mindset of this school with elegance and insight.
    33 Southey, Callender edn., pp. 165–6

About  the Author
     
     
    Andrew Lambert is Professor of Naval History at King’s College, London. His books include Nelson: Britannia’s God of War , Admirals: The Naval Commanders Who Made Britain Great and Franklin: Tragic Hero of Polar Exploration . His highly successful history of the British Navy, War at Sea , was broadcast on Channel 5.

Copyright
     
     
    This ebook edition published in 2010
by Faber and Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
     
    All rights reserved
© Andrew Lambert, 2004
     
    The right of Andrew Lambert to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
     
    This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
     
    ISBN 978–0–571–26570–1
     
     

1 The first portrait of Nelson, by John Francis Rigaud, begun in 1777 when he was  appointed a Lieutenant, but heavily modified after his return to England as a heroic  Captain in 1780. The sword was a gift from his mentor, Maurice Suckling – patronage  enabled Nelson to reach a high rank early in his career, and this was a talisman he would  take with him in every battle, bar Trafalgar.
     

    2 In 1785 Nelson’s lifelong friend  Cuthbert Collingwood painted him  more as a boy than a man. Collingwood  was a decade older than his friend, but  as his junior on the Navy List he was  condemned forever to follow in his  footsteps from their first ship to their  final command.
     
    3 Nelson Boarding the San Josef at Cape St Vincent : George Jones added a touch of  romance to the drama of the double boarding that made Nelson (with Suckling’s sword in  his hand) a household name. No one else had ever taken two enemy ships in such dramatic  style, or taken such care to ensure the world heard of his achievement.
     

    4 As his boat approached the beach at Tenerife, Nelson was hit in the right arm, which had  to be amputated. Richard Westall’s image of the wounded hero celebrated the quick thinking of Josiah Nisbet, whose tourniquet saved the Admiral’s life. Despite his wound Nelson  was careful to keep hold of his uncle’s sword.
     

    5 The Battle of the Nile : Thomas Whitcombe shows the moment the French ships opened  fire, as Goliath and Zealous shaped to round the head of their line. The French have been  caught at anchor, with the wind blowing down their line: they will be annihilated by the  skilful application of overwhelming force. 
     
    6 George Arnaud’s The Destruction of L’Orient at the Battle of the Nile : HMS Alexander   remains close to the exploding French flagship, as debris is hurled into the night sky. Among the burning wreckage to land on her deck was one of Admiral Bruey’s silver forks.
     

    7 Nelson recreating with his brave tars after the glorious battle of the Nile : Rowlandson  exaggerates Nelson’s common touch, and misses the powerful religious element in his  response to the triumph. However, such images helped to cement his popular appeal, and  establish his central role in the national identity.
     
    8 Nicolas Pocock’s The Battle of Copenhagen , along with the other canvases commissioned  for the official life, has become a standard way of viewing Nelson. After twenty years as a  merchant ship captain, Pocock was a painstaking