Nelson & His World

Hilary,

Firstly, welcome to the forum. I think we would all like to know your sources for saying that Nelson didn't wear uniform at St Vincent, the Nile and Copenhagen and for the references that Allen saved his life on 'several occasions.'

As to the wearing of uniform, I would have thought it highly unlikely that Nelson, or any other officer, didn't wear uniform during battle. I would think it was probably in the regulations that officers were to do so: a) in order that that they would have been more easily recognisable by their men in the smoke of battle, and so that they could the more readily give orders; b) that they were a source of inspiration, which was part of a naval officer's job in battle; c) I'm not sure Nelson would have paid much attention to what his coxswain said regarding dress, especially as he usually wanted to be noticed; d) At St Vincent Nelson, although a commodore, was under the command of Admiral John Jervis, later St Vincent after the battle, and something of a stickler for the rules. Under his rigid style, Nelson who had already taken a gamble by wearing his ship out of the line of battle, would certainly have added to it by being incorrectly dressed on going to the Victory (St Vincent's flagship) afterwards!

I have never read or heard that not wearing uniform was the normal practice, except perhaps on some special service. (Incidentally, officers did not normally wear their 'full dress' uniform, with all the gold lace. etc., in battle but habitually wore the 'undress' equivalent for their rank and which was really quite drab. Full dress was usually reserved for visite ashore, reviews, divisions, etc. It is true that Nelson was shot wearing his admirals 'undress' uniform, but modern research suggests that there are other circumstances here which may have a bearing on the traditional view of the famous scene. Forgive me for saying so, but I would also suggest that Allen's being absent from Trafalgar – and thus, as you say, not in a position to advise on Nelson's dress – was not the reason for his being shot!

A slight digression here: commentators often remark that Nelson’s vanity impelled him to wear all his glittering decorations at Trafalgar and that these presented a target for French marksmen. Terry Coleman even suggests that Nelson had a death wish. Nelson’s chaplain, Rev Alexander Scott, affirmed after Nelson’s death that he had begged him to change his coat but Nelson had declined to do so.

I have often wondered about this. Nelson was wearing his undress coat, so what could he have changed into to make him less of a target? All his undress coats had these decorations embroidered in gold thread, which has a dull glow. He wore the original sparkling ones on his dress coat, which he was not wearing when he was killed. In the smoke and flames of battle, these dull replicas would have been barely noticeable so I cannot believe that a crack French marksman picked him out. Wasn’t Nelson, in any case, killed by a ricochet bullet – the result of pure chance and bad luck rather than skill?

Hilary,

I am wondering if the articles you have are those Mira referred to on page one of this thread and contained in a Thomas Allen website?

The majority of them appear to have been published at the time of, or in the years soon after, Allen's death and again I can't help wondering if there isn't a little of the 'gilding of the lily' in their publication, especially as a number of them are attributed to magazines and periodicals, rather than more formal publications. It is understandable perhaps, and only too human, to add to a man's seeming attributes on his death, especially in the case of Allen and his closeness to a famous man. However, I'm not sure that they stand up to close scrutiny.

For example, regarding his nursing Nelson back to health after the loss of his arm, I am not at all sure this is all down to Tom Allen, helpful though he might have been. What about the nursing he received from Fanny, who had to learn to change the dressings, and the directions of at least two surgeons, in Bath and London?

Again, on Nelson's dress it doesn't actually say that Allen insisted his master wear seaman's garb, it says 'modest uniform', which I take to mean his 'undress' uniform. However, wouldn't he have worn this in any case?

I believe it has also been established, both on this site and elsewhere, that Allen was not Nelson's coxswain. He was usually referred to as his 'manservant', which was something completely different. I believe he was rated as an AB on the ship's books, but I would imagine this was for convenience rather than anything else in accounting for everyone aboard, and the NMM describe him as not being a seaman. Even though he may have been quartered at a gun during battle and have, of necessessity, acquired some nautical knowledge, this would not have been enough to enable him to be put in charge of a boat, for which a certain level of seamanship would have been required and where he would also have commanded the boat's crew. I also cite that his irrascible character, for which Nelson pulled him up more than once and which later was the cause of a heated argument between them, would not have been a quality which would have been looked for in any boat's coxswain, let alone that of Nelson.