Vicki,
I found this Wikipedia article on Berry. I don't know if the the picture here is the one you had in mind, but I have not seen it before:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_BerryBerry was in Nelson's good books, at least on paper, but reading between the lines it would seem as though the admiral later counted Hardy's seamanship skills as being superior. It is perhaps worthwhile mentioning that Brian Lavery, in his book 'Nelson and the Nile', counted Berry's abilities as no more than adequate, and Ludovic Kennedy in 'Nelson and his Captains', writes of Berry's foolhardiness and impulsiveness. Kennedy also maintained that this impulsiveness severely limited his judgement, and furthermore, goes on to say that Berry 'was of no great intellect.'
Harsh words perhaps but one has to wonder, if true, whether these characteristics were behind what was probably his most embarrassing, and potentially dangerous episode, the dismasting of the Vanguard prior to the Nile. It would seem when reading the account, that Berry was caught off guard when the squall struck the squadron in the Gulf of Lyon, and that the flagship was carrying too much sail. Captain Ball's Alexander, which subsequently took the Vanguard in tow, and Saumarez' Orion were both in close proximity yet, apart from losing sails which could reasonably easily be replaced, neither lost yards or masts.
Both these officers were far more experienced than Berry, but they must all have been aware of this dangerous coast and its squalls, generated by the Mistral blowing down the Rhone valley and out to sea. Lavery notes from the Vanguard's log, that Nelson took more of a direct command of the ship following the incident. Was he perhaps even then having second thoughts, as to Berry's suitability as his flag captain? There is a view that he was at that time really too inexperienced for the position, so did Nelson's characteristic attitude toward those under him overide more practical considerations? One wonders too, whether any reconsideration on Nelson's part influenced his decision to send Berry home with the dispatches after the Nile and replace him with Hardy. The latter was then a mere commander, but with undoubted seamanship skills and one, furthermore, who also suited Nelson on other levels. Nelson's later comment, as Berry joined the fleet just before Trafalgar, 'Here comes that fool Berry, now we'll have a battle', might also perhaps be commented upon. Were his words meant as a joke, or was there some deeper meaning?
I agree that Berry on many counts is an attractive figure and that he had his good points like anyone else, but his later employment seems to have been patchy, so it would seem that he did not fill his superiors with wholehearted confidence.