Nelson & His World

The Balance, and Columbian Repository. Hudson, NY. September 24, 1805.

GREAT NEWS!

The following article appears in a paper printed at Saco, (Maine) and although later intelligence has placed Lord Nelson and the Combined Fleets in a very different situation, yet as our democrats may want something to raise their drooping spirits, since they have heard of Admiral Calder's late game of rubbers with the Dons and Monsieurs, we give them the news gratis :

"LORD NELSON — TAKEN !!!

"From GRENADA, via SCARBOROUGH.
"On Monday, the 9th inst. the schr. Farmer, Capt. Abraham Millikin, arrived at Scarborough, in 26 days from Grenada. When Capt. Millikin, left Grenada, there was a report there, that LORD NELSON HAD BEEN TAKEN BY THE COMBINED FRENCH AND SPANISH FLEET, after having three ships sunk in the action. The above report was received from Barbadoes - and the colours of the shipping at Grenada were displayed half mast when Capt. M. left there."

... I don't get the joke about the democrats' drooping spirits.
?

On the face of it this would seem perhaps, at least to many of us on this side of the Atlantic, rather bizarre.

The reference to Admiral Sir Robert Calder most likely refers to his indecisive action off Finisterre on July 22nd 1805, just two months before this report. He was later recalled home to England in disgrace to face a court martial, prior to Trafalgar. (You may remember Nelson's action in allowing Calder the priviledge of returning to England in his flagship the 98 gun 'Prince of Wales'.)

Not knowing that much about US politics I did, however, find this which may have something to do with the attitudes then prevailing in the country:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Treaty

Margarette Lincoln also mentions the problem of uncertain intelligence in her book, quoted on other threads, about the letters of naval wives and mistresses:

'When the mail arrived in Newcastle bringing news of Trafalgar, the coachman, who was wearing a black hatband, announced that Nelson and all the admirals had been killed. Admiral Collingwood's wife, Sarah, out shopping in the town, promptly fainted. The news that her husband was alive after all was only confirmed later in official reports'.

Tycho,

Read another way, one could actually think this is the republicans having a joke at the fledgling democrat party's expense - judging by the way it is written.

If it is to be taken seriously, obviously not much credence was accorded to Nelson's superiority and common sense. To sink one ship would be difficult, but three and by a demonstrably inferior fleet? Wooden warships by their nature were also notoriously difficult to sink, unless they exploded or caught fire, so that would have been some feat indeed!

It would also very often seems to be the case that these wild claims were often made, and exaggerated, by civilians or civilian authorities at the drop of a hat, and without any knowledge of what they were reporting. In that sense, Captain Millikin, very likely master of a merchant schooner, could be classed as such and seems not to have questioned the report, but merely passed it on. With regard to the coachman, again an uninformed civilian, he might have shown a little more tact and common sense, instead of blirting out something which was not true and which caused unwarranted harm.

There was also the famous case of General Brereton, not a civilian but in the army, who gave Nelson false information about the combined fleet, and but for which might have meant that the opposing fleets met off the West Indies instead of Trafalgar. This rankled with Nelson for some time after!

However, as to false information, rumour etc., sometimes we are not so different today!

Kester