Nelson & His World

The Battle of the Nile, 1st/2nd August 1798.. Nelson's greatest moment?

Thanks for the reminder of today's anniversary, Stephen. It is also the anniversary of another great 18th century victory, the Battle of Minden, a military rather than a naval one (which I know about as it is one of the battle honours of my father's regiment, the 20th of Foot, the Lancashire Fusiliers.)

Naval tactics are not my strong point, but I think it is true to say that the Nile victory was phenomenal, both for its achievement not only in naval terms (the use of new tactics, and innovative consensual leadership,) but also in psychological terms. It was the first time that the 'absolutely irresistible' Napoleon had suffered such an overwhelming defeat. The joy, not only in England, but all over Europe, was unconfined at the realisation that he was not totally invincible.

Nelson's greatest moment? One of them, certainly. But his death at Trafalgar was a transformative moment when the great hero fell in the hour of triumph. It was the end he would have chosen, and elevated him from hero to martyr in the eyes of his countrymen.

Dying at the height of his glory, he never experienced the ridicule and hostility that befell the Duke of Wellington. Trafalgar freed Nelson from 'the long littleness of life.'