Politics in Late Georgian Art

by Caroline Miley

There was no political art in England in the 1790s and 1800s – no art ‘of or relating to the government or public affairs of a country’¹. It is a surprising assertion, given that the era was one of upheaval, change and scandal, and that the arts in general proliferated. It was a period in which exhibiting societies began to proliferate and mushrooming journals offered art criticism to a growing middle class. The annual exhibitions of the Royal Academy, the British Institution, the Society of Painters in Water-colours and their fellows were well attended. And these institutions were supported and patronised by the aristocracy, even royalty. The Prince Regent was noted for his support of the arts.

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Among the contemporary and controversial topics which did not appear in the painting of the period were: The French Revolution; the Napoleonic wars; slavery (neither the ownership of slaves nor the Abolitionist movement), food riots, the Luddites, Irish home rule, the American war and the loss of the colonies, prison reform, the Highland Clearances, enclosures, Catholic emancipation, the Mary Ann Clark scandal (in which it was revealed that the Duke of York’s mistress was selling commissions in the army to officers who met with her approval); Peterloo – the list is endless. It was a period of wars, political, industrial and technological change, turbulence, and social scandals.

But look up the words ‘art’ ‘Georgian’ and ‘political’, and you will be pitched instantly into the world of the golden age of British satirical prints. The works of Cruikshank, Rowlandson and Gillray almost exemplify the era. Print shops such as that of the famous Hannah Humphrey abounded, their windows papered with the latest lampoons, with no holds barred as their creators excoriated or ridiculed everyone from the King down, through generals and members of Parliament, the aristocracy, leaders of the ton, famous actresses, and anyone who happened to be in the public eye. England, in fact, was notable for the lack of censorship of such productions.

There was plenty of overt politics, then, and plenty of satire – but it was confined exclusively to the medium of the print and the popular broadsheet. The sphere of the fine arts – painting, and especially painting in oils, the professional’s medium – was a completely different matter. There was a knife-sharp divide between the fine and graphic arts.

Nowhere was this more obvious than the way His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, was portrayed in each medium. In official portrait after portrait, painted carefully by the great and the good of the art establishment from Cosway to Lawrence, he appears as debonair, regal, handsome, a pillar of the monarchy and society (1). But he was also the favourite butt of satirists (2).

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The nature of official portraits is, of course, to be official: to convey an image sanctioned by the establishment of the day. As such, paintings of men and incidents in public life can never altogether escape the taint of propaganda, and the agenda of the day was to celebrate the stability and growth of Empire. The death of Tipu Sultan, a Indian ruler who strongly resisted the encroachment of the East India Company into his territory, and was killed by the British at Seringapatam in 1799, might be thought today to have its controversial elements. John Singleton Copley’s painting of the event (3), an unabashed depiction of British expansionism at the point of the sword, is characteristic of the way such events were portrayed, and received by the public.

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There were plenty of paintings which celebrated those in public life, such as Benjamin West’s ‘Death of Nelson’ (4), and they concurrently celebrated State patriotism, offering no challenge to or critique of the existing order. And leading artists were themselves part of the establishment: The Royal Academy was under Royal patronage, prominent artists were knighted, and Sir Thomas Lawrence, for instance, had a place in the procession for the coronation of George IV. The idea of artists as critics of society was not to come until after the Romantic era. In the Georgian period, they were solidly enrolled among its members.

There were strict limits, however, to what even a successful member of the Royal Academy could expect to get away with, and political subjects, even when cast in the past, were unlikely to meet with approval. Copley, for instance, trod too close to the edge in 1795 when he exhibited ‘Charles I Demanding the Five Impeached Members of the House of Commons’², an event which had happened in the 1640s. At a private viewing, Queen Charlotte, after a long and ominous silence, said to the artist, “You have chosen, Mr. Copley, a most unfortunate subject for the exercise of your pencil.”³ It didn’t sell.⁴ The canon of acceptability had been set out by Royalty.

Was this discrepancy a problem? Probably not. The fine and graphic arts existed side by side, and for a broad audience. The upper class saw both Academy paintings and the wares of the print shops. The middle classes bought at the print shops and saw the paintings at occasional exhibitions – those which were not in private hands, and even they were sometimes exhibited publicly. Among their purchases, though, would be engravings of the most popular of the fine art productions. The print dealers were selling reproductions of West’s ‘Death of Nelson’, for example, for a decade after Trafalgar. This multiple audience had ample opportunity to compare the two approaches. The disjunction between the two distinct art forms was not the result of the views of an elite being forced on the mass of the people; the people themselves shared these views.

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A concept prominent at the time although not much in use today is that of decorum. There was appropriate conduct, appropriate dress, and appropriate relationships. One did not wear diamonds in the morning nor a cotton dress to a grand ball. Beau Nash, when Master of Ceremonies at the Bath Assembly Rooms, castigated a gentleman who turned up in boots rather than shoes with the immortal phrase: ‘Pardon me, sir, but you have forgot your horse’⁵. So, too, appropriate art.

Unlike popular art forms, the fine arts were the subject of canons of taste, which were no mere arbitrary principles laid down by a coterie of snobs. At this period, and for a very long time indeed, art was seen as the expression of a society and its natures and functions were debated and theorised, then as now. Art had its own rules of decorum. In the era in question, the greatest theorist was Johann Winckelmann, whose ground-breaking The History of Ancient Art (1764) swayed several generations. His ideas were absorbed and transmitted by, among others, Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Founder of the Royal Academy. They were the single greatest influence on the art of the Georgian era throughout Europe.

Winckelmann idealized Greek art for its ‘noble simplicity and quiet grandeur’. His central doctrine was that the point of art is beauty, which he elevated to the status of a general good. Beauty, in his view, could only be achieved by subordinating particular characteristics, for example of a nude, so as to depict an ideal type rather than a flawed individual (5). Total, overall harmony was the desired end. Or, as Reynolds put it, “the whole beauty and grandeur of the art consists, in my opinion, in being able to get above all singular forms, local customs, particularities, and details of every kind.”⁶

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Art which adhered to this concept of grandeur was considered appropriate – appropriate to a civilised society, a cultured drawing-room. Controversy, scandal, impropriety, vulgarity, riot, revolution, and all such topics did not aspire to beauty, to ‘quiet grandeur’, to ‘noble simplicity’. They were deformities which must be brushed away, lest they injure overall harmony.

In some countries, political subjects were not uncommon. In a stark contrast, the era in France saw fine art come to the fore as a propaganda medium. A large number of artists – not only David, but Boilly and others painted overtly political subjects. Many were simply state propaganda, but others offered a distinct perspective or critique. The death of Marat (6), or the execution of the King, are subjects that could not have appeared in England. ‘French Revolutionary Art’, in fact, is a whole category, almost a genre.

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In a characteristically pragmatic English manner, the proprieties were maintained. Fine Art continued – for a while – to exemplify all that was most uplifting, in the rooms of the Royal Academy and the British Institution, while around the corner at the print shops, the citizenry forked out their penny plain and twopence coloured for scandalous broadsheets that exposed every carbuncle on the behinds of the dignified gentry whose porcelain features graced the salons.

If the Georgian era was anything, it was a time of rapid transformation. So, too, in art. The taste for the Grand Manner was ebbing. In 1812 Benjamin West exhibited ‘Christ Healing the Sick’ to enormous acclaim. In the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of the same year, JMW Turner exhibited ‘Snowstorm – Hannibal Crossing the Alps’ (7) and Constable ‘A Water Mill’. Change was on its way, but it was necessary to wait until the Victorian era for Turner’s Slave Ship (1840) although the scandalous event it refers to took place in 1781⁷  and it was in the Victorian era that work, controversially, with its potential for critique of ruling-class politics, for the first time became a subject for art.

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Notes

1. Oxford English Dictionary

2. Exhibited at Wigley’s Rooms at Spring Gardens in 1795. “King Charles I accused five members of the House of Commons of treason and demanded their surrender. The House refused, considering this a breach of their rights, and the event proved to be the foundation for the civil war that led to the king's execution.” “Process and Paradox: The Historical Pictures of John Singleton Copley” http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/4aa/4aa382.htm

3. Brushes were called pencils at this period.

4. “No customer made his appearance for Charles and the impeached members.” Allan Cunningham The Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Volume 5, John Murray, London 1832, p. 181.

5.http://www.exclassics.com/nash/nashpdf.pdf

6. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Discourse III.

7. The infamous Zong matter, in which over a hundred living slaves were thrown overboard to avoid financial loss to the owners. The subsequent court cases caused a scandal in England and contributed to the anti-slavery movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_massacre.


Illustrations

(1) ‘The Prince Regent in Garter Robes’, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1816

(2) ‘The Prince Regent’ by George Cruikshank, 1816

(3) ‘The Last Effort and Death of Tipu Sultan’ by John Singleton Copley, 1800

(4) ‘The Death of Nelson’, from the painting by Benjamin West, engraved by James Heath.  Published 1 May 1811.

(5) ‘Cimon and Iphigenia’ by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1780

(6) ‘Death of Marat’ by Jacques-Louis David. Marat was one of the leaders of the Montagnards, the radical faction ascendant in French politics during the Reign of Terror until the Thermidorian Reaction. Charlotte Corday was a Girondin from a minor aristocratic family and a political enemy of Marat who blamed him for the September Massacre. She gained entrance to Marat's rooms with a note promising details of a counter-revolutionary ring in Caen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Marat

(7) ‘Snowstorm: Hannibal Crossing the Alps’ by J M W Turner, 1812

[All illustrations are in the public domain]
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Caroline Miley is an art historian and writer with a long-time passion for literature, art, the English landscape and history, especially the late Georgian era. She has published several non-fiction books on art, craft and social comment. The Competition, in which she brought together her enthusiasms for the Regency art world and the Industrial Revolution, is her debut novel.

Website and contact
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Boy Sailors During the Age of Nelson and Napoleon

by M.M. Bennetts

Anyone who has thrilled to the dramas of naval derring-do such as Horatio Hornblower or Master and Commander will have observed that on the British ships of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were a great many boys--often as young as 12--serving aboard His Majesty's Ships.  

Indeed, it had been a 12 year old boy who had saved the day and the general (in this case, Sir Francis Drake) back in 1578 after a fracas with natives near the Island of Mocha.  So boys, working their way up the ladder, as it were, proved a common feature of the English navy from its beginnings.  And they were called 'Younkers'.

The eighteenth century saw a great rise in charitable institutions which were often founded to enable the poorest of London poor to climb out of the gutter and provide for themselves in a legitimate trade.  In 1756, The Marine Society was just one of these ventures--others included the Foundling Hospital and the Royal Hospital School.  At the first meeting of the founders, held at the King's Arms Tavern in Cornhill, they met to approve "A Plan of the Society for contributing towards a supply of Two or Three thousand Mariners for the Navy."

They began an Entry Book for Boys on 5 August 1756.  In this document, they recorded all the pertinent information they received about the boys, their age (if known), whether they had parents or were fatherless, their place of abode.  They also used the term 'friendless' which was in their eyes a worse condition than being an orphan.

The next meeting of this Society stated their aims:  "John Fielding having procured 24 boys for sea service, they were all clothed by the Society...Order'd that 10 of said boys be sent to Admiral Broderick and 14 to Capt. Barber of the Princess Royal at the Nore and that each boy shall have a Testament, Common Prayer Book, Clasp Knife and a printed list of their Cloths."

In 1756, of course, Britain was on the brink of entering the Seven Years' War.  During that period of time, the Royal Navy's manpower requirements rose swiftly--from 10,000 men to 80,000.  Moreover, there was an endless need for servants aboard ship, for cabin boys, loblolly boys, carpenters' mates...

Indeed, the Society launched a massive newspaper campaign to recruit:  "All stout Lads and Boys who incline to go on board His Majesty's Ships, as servants, with a view to learn the duty of a seaman, and are upon examination, approved by the Marine Society, shall be handsomely clothed and provided with bedding and their charges borne down to the ports where His Majesty's Ships lye, with all proper encouragement."

By 1772, the Regulations of the Marine Society were including a great deal more information about the boys they received.  There were columns in which to note if a boy was 'good' or not so good; some are recorded as having 'little or no guard against temptation', while others are said to be 'abominably corrupted [by the] most wicked company, in the most wicked parts of these kingdoms' or 'hardened in iniquity'.

Still, the Marine Society was offering these boys, described by the magistrate John Fielding as "numberless miserable, deserted, ragged, and iniquitous pilfering Boys that at this Time shamefully infested the Streets of London" a new life, one which included an education of sorts leading to a lifelong trade, steady rations, safe housing and a kitbag which included a felt hat, a kersey pea jacket, two worsted caps, waistcoat, shirts, trousers, three pairs of drawers, and a pair of shoes.  It seemed a good deal for many.

And over time, as the Society grew along with the need for more boys to feed the ever-expanding British naval workforce, magistrates, beadles, parish officers, aldermen and bishops all came to use the Society's provision as one option for criminal youth--a positive choice as opposed to the Gallows--which boys were then referred to, unsurprisingly, as Scape Gallowses.

But what of young teenage officers?  The midshipmen?  For the call of the sea wasn't just heard by those on the streets, but also by the middle-class sons of merchants, doctors, lawyers, yeoman farmers, all up and down the land for whom the navy promised adventure, dashing careers, promotion, and enrichment through limitless prize money.

Many, such as the small 12 year old boy, a son of a Norfolk clergyman, who would become Admiral Lord Nelson in time, would go to sea courtesy of a relation or patron, a serving captain perhaps--someone who had position and influence in the navy and who would take them under their wing, providing them with a classroom at sea where they would learn all the necessary skills and tools to--one hoped--eventually pass their examinations and rise above the post of Mid-Shipman.

For others of the gentry classes, there was the necessity of a good naval education at one of many institutions such as the Portsmouth Naval Academy, founded in 1729, which was open to "the Sons of Noblemen and Gentlemen, who shall not be under thirteen years of age nor above sixteen at the time of their admission."

And it was here, at these Naval Academies, that one can see the breadth of the education required for a young man who hoped to succeed in the navy of Nelson's time.  It was an immensely broad plan of education, requiring no less than two years' study:  "It being intended that the Master of the Academy shall instruct Scholars in writing, arithmetic, drawing, Navigation, Gunnery, Fortification and other noteful parts of Mathematics, and also in the French Language, Dancing, Fencing and the exercise of the Firelock."  

But that wasn't all, for the Academy also required that boys engage in a whole range of technical training which they would need as potential naval officers, including, "The Description and Use of the Terrestrial Globe, Geography, Chronology, Spherics, Astronomy, Latitude, Longitude, Day's Work, and Marine Surveying."

Two of Jane Austen's brothers attended the Portsmouth Academy.  Francis Austen enrolled there in 1786 at the age of eleven, and he was a model student, going to sea two years later.  His brother, Charles, who was sent to the Academy in 1791 was not so assiduous in his studies, and he did not leave the Academy until he had served the full term of his work there, in 1794 when he was sent aboard HMS Daedelus.  Both of Austen's brothers would in due time become admirals.

Interestingly, however, the Portsmouth Academy also had its detractors, many of whom considered it, "a sink of vice and abomination, [which] should be abolished..."  And it finally closed its doors in 1806, although many other such institutions--such as the Naval Academy at Chelsea--carried on, providing unequalled training for a future within the wooden walls.

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M.M. Bennetts is a specialist in early 19th century European history and the Napoleonic wars, and is the author of two novels, May 1812 and Of Honest Fame set during the period.  A third novel, Or Fear of Peace, is due out in 2014.

For further information, please visit the website and historical blog at www.mmbennetts.com 

Horatio Nelson, Not That Hamilton Man, But Emma Hamilton's Man

Previously I have written about Emma Hamilton, that Hamilton Woman, and her husband Sir William Hamilton, that Hamilton Man. Emma was regarded as the most beautiful British woman of the time, so she had some notoriety, but her affair with Horatio Nelson, the greatest Naval hero of the Napoleonic Wars, gave her even greater notoriety.


Horatio Nelson
September 29 1758-October 21 1805

He was born the sixth of eleven children to Edmund and Catherine Nelson. He was the Great-Grandnephew of the the Robert Walpole, the 1st Earl of Orford and who was the de facto first Prime Minister of Great Britain. At the age of twelve he went to sea under his uncle, Sir Maurice Suckling, Captain of the HMS Raisonnable. At first an Ordinary Seaman and coxswain, he was quickly appointed midshipman. He found that he suffered from seasickness.

Suckling found himself transferred and no longer in need of Nelson’s services, so Horatio went to serve on a West Indiaman. He crossed the Atlantic twice and then returned to Suckling’s service in command of the longboat. Learning of a survey of the Arctic under Constantine Phipps, Nelson joined the expedition as coxswain aboard the Carcass under Lutwidge. Lutwidge later touted a story that Nelson had pursued a polar bear saying “I wished, Sir, to get the skin for my father.”

Suckling arranged for Nelson to transfer to the HMS Seahorse in 1773 that was to sail to the East Indies. In February of 1775 Hyder Ali’s ketches attacked the Seahorse during the first Anglo-Maratha war. Nelson’s first combat. In 1776 he contracted malaria and returned to England aboard the Dolphin. By the end of the six month voyage to England he had recovered. Suckling was now Comptroller of the Navy and used his influence to see Nelson promoted to Lieutenant aboard HMS Worcester under Captain Mark Robinson. Nelson later passed his exam for lieutenant, his uncle serving as one of the three examining officers. The day after he was appointed into HMS Lowestoffe under William Locker.

The ship took several prizes for the American War of Independence was on. One prize was the tender Little Lucy which Nelson was given command of for 2 cruises. Locker recommended Nelson to the commander-in-chief in Jamaica, Sir Peter Parker who placed Nelson in his flagship, HMS Bristol. By the end of 1778 Nelson had earned about £400 in prize money. Nelson was appointed Master and Commander of the brig HMS Badger. Nelson cruised the Central American coast during early 1779 but did not succeed in capturing prizes. He did find that he was promoted to Post-Captain in June of 1779.

Now Nelson was given command of the 28 gun frigate HMS Hinchinbrook. He took command on September 1 of 1779 (DWW-I’ll have to remember that date. September 1 is my BD.) In the Hinchinbrook Nelson was successful at acquiring prizes, but his malaria began to flare up again. He stayed with his command to take part in John Dalling’s attempts to capture Spanish colonies, including the attack on San Juan in Nicaragua. After this Sir Peter Parker gave Nelson the command of the larger 44-gun frigate HMS Janus. But Nelson was too sick to take command. The mistress of William Cornwallis nursed him back to health. He was sent back to England to further recuperate. In August of 1781 he was able to return to duty and given command of the Albermarle.

At this time, he was ordered to escort a convoy back to England and two other Naval ships were placed under his command to protect the convoy. Nelson had to sail through a storm after the convoy was delivered safe. He was now ordered to join a convoy from England to Canada. After which he was sent to hunt American privateers. He retook captured british merchant ships and small craft. He sailed with a convoy from Canada to New York, where Nelson asked to be attached to Admiral Hood’s fleet. Nelson now executed his plan in 1783 to take Turks Islands. It was not successful. He spent the rest of the war capturing prizes in the West Indies.

In 1784 he was back in England and received command of HMS Boreas. He was enforcing the Navigation Acts and this caused him to come in conflict with the American legal system which sued him. He was confined to the Boreas for eight months and could have faced imprisonment but things came out in his favor. During this time he met Frances Nisbet, a widow. They were married in 1787 on Nevis.

Nelson and his wife spent time between Bath and London, then in 1788 settled in his home at Burnham Thorpe. He was in reserve on half pay doing his best to try and get a sea command. He also tried to get his former crew members employment as well. He was called back to service after the French Revolution began, in 1793. He was given command of the HMS Agamemnon on January 1st 1783.

In May of 1794, Nelson sailed under William Hotham and Lord Hood. First to Gibraltar then into the Mediterranean to establish superiority, and support Toulon. Nelson was sent to carry despatches to Sardina and Naples. At Naples he met Sir William Hamilton and his wife Emma.

Nelson was to get reinforcements for Toulon. He returned to Toulon and found it besieged by the revolutionaries. Hood sent Nelson to join a squadron near Cagliari. Here on October 22 he saw five ships, which proved to be a French Squadron. He attacked the Melpomene and did considerable damage but the other ships attacked and he was outnumbered. 

Nelson made repairs and joined Commodore Robert Linzee who gave Nelson command of his own squadron. The Agamemnon, three frigates and a sloop, ordered to blockade Corsica. Hood meanwhile failed at Toulon and 18 French Ships-of-the-line dell into republican hands. Nelson now needed to succeed at Corsica and Hood sent additional ships to Nelson.

On February 7, 1794 an assault force was landed on the Island. It captured all but Bastia fearing that the city was too well defended. Nelson argued otherwise and Hood finally agreed that Nelson should try and take the town. After a 45 day siege, Nelson was victorious. Then they were onto Calvi. Here, while at one of the forward batteries, a shot sprayed stones and sand into Nelson’s eye. The British took Calvi, but Nelson eventually lost sight in the eye.

Hood sent Nelson to Genoa to open diplomatic relations. Hood then returned to England and William Hotham succeeded him. Nelson then went to Leghorn for repairs to his ship and had an affair with Adelaide Correglia. (DWW-Emma Hamilton then was not the first to tempt him from his marriage.)

The fleet arrived and from late 94 to early 95 the fleet cruised the Mediterranean. Then on March 8 news came that the enemy fleet was loose and headed for Corsica. The english set out to meet them. The French did not want to fight and the two fleets shadowed each other. On march 13th, Nelson engaged the 84-gun Ça Ira, much larger than the Agamemnon, but two additional french ships came and Nelson had to retreat. The 14th saw the battle of Genoa, and here, the Ça Ira badly damaged from the day before, was being towed by the Censeur which Nelson captured.

The French retreated and gave up plans to recapture Corsica. Nelson was given a small command bound for Genoa in July but they ran into the much larger French fleet and had to retreat to St Fiorenzo alerting the entire British Fleet. This caused the French to veer off. The British came out to pursue the French but could not bring their enemy to an engagement.

Nelson now operated out of Genoa and formulated plans to thwart the French, but Hotham did not want to do so. In November Sir Hyde Parker replaced Hotham, the Italy was being lost. The French succeeded and the allies retreated towards Genoa, Nelson able to cover the withdrawing army and prevented them from being surrounded. But not more than that.

In January 1796 Sir John Jervis took command of the Mediterranean and allowed Nelson and independent command as a commodore. He was now successful at frustrating French advances and bolstering the Italian allies. But Nelson felt that despite small successes, the British were becoming useless in saving the Italian peninsula.  Agamemnon needed to return to England for repairs and Nelson was given the 74-gun Captain. The Allies lost Leghorn and Nelson transported British nationals to Corsica. He was then ordered to blockade Leghorn, now an enemy port. 

In July of 96 he oversaw the occupation of Elba, but in September the Genoese broke their neutrality and allied with the French. The British fleet was now returned to Gibraltar. 

During the retreat from Corsica, he captured the Spanish frigate Santa Sabina.  He placed Thomas Hardy and Jonathan Culverhouse in charge of the prize. The next day, 2 Spanish Ships-of-the-line which now outnumbered Nelson came into view. He thought to fight as he could not outrun them. Hardy and Culverhouse though raised their colours and drew off the 2 Spanish ships allowing Nelson to escape even as his prize was recaptured. Later, after Christmas, he learned the Spanish had sailed from Cartagena and so he stopped to collect his captured prize crew, then sailed to join Sir John Jervis off Cadiz. 

Nelson joined Sir John Jervis’ fleet and was present when they met the Spanish on February 14th. Nelson and Captain were towards the rear of the line and it would be a long time before they could engage. Nelson disobeyed orders and wore his ship, heading to engage the Spanish van, which consisted of the 112-gun San Josef, 80-gun San Nicolas and 130-gun Santisima Trinidad. Captain engaged all three assisted by Culloden. The two british ships were heavily damaged. Nelson led a boarding action against San Nicolas crying “Westminster Abbey! or glorious victory!” and captured her. San Josef  tried to come to aid the other Spanish ship and became entangled, and Nelson continued on to the San Josef and captured her as well. As night dell the Spanish fled, leaving 4 ships in british hands, two captured by Nelson.

Jervis liked Nelson and so did not reprimand him for disobeying orders. As punishment Nelson was nor mentioned in the official report of the battle. Jervis did write a private letter to George Spencer of how Nelson contributed to the victory. Nelson wrote many letters about his own actions and clapped himself on the back saying the fleet referred to his way of capturing ships involved Nelsons Patent Bridge for boarding first rates. (DWW-Ships were rated six degrees, first rates had the most guns) Nelson’s account was challenged by William Parker. But Nelson’s account prevailed. Jervis was made an Earl, and Nelson was made a Knight of the Bath. Then on February 20th, due to seniority (He had now served longer as a Captain then any other Captain in the service) he was promoted to Admiral of the Blue.

Nelson received the surrender of the San Nicholas

Nelson was not given Theseus and ordered to lie off Cdiz, watching the Spanish fleet and waiting for treasure ships. He carried out a bombardment and let an assault on July 3rd. His barge collided with that of the Spanish commander and they engaged in hand to hand fighting. Nelson was almost killed twice, a seaman named John Sykes took the blows and was badly wounded. Now Nelson developed a plan to capture Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the treasure ship Principe de Asturias.

Nelson wounded during the battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Nelson’s plan called for a bombardment and a landing. The first attempt was stopped because of the currents, and the element of surprise was lost. Nelson ordered another assault but it was beaten back. He prepared a 3rd attempt, to take place at night. He led one of the battalions and the operation failed. The Spanish were ready for it. He was wounded in the right arm and rowed back to the Theseus to be attended to by the surgeon. He declared “Let me alone! I have got my legs left and one arm.” Most of his right arm was amputated, and then within half an hour Nelson was back to issuing orders. He would later apologize about his letters saying he was not naturally left-handed. Nelson also had the sensation of Phantom Limb for his missing right arm.

A force under Sir Thomas Troubridge fought their way to the main square at Santa Cruz de Tenerife but could go no further. They also could not return to the fleet as their boats had been sunk. He had to enter into negotiations with the Spanish commander and the British were allowed to withdraw. The expedition had failed. Eventually they rejoined Jervis off Cadiz.  Nelson wrote, that as he had lost his arm, he had best retire and make way for men with two arms. He transferred to Seahorse and made his way back to England. He was greeted as a hero. He was not tarnished with failure at Santa Cruz de Tenerife. That was laid against Jervis, the Secretary of War and even William Pitt.

Nelson and Fanny went to Bath and then moved to London in October to get better medical advice about his arm. News came that Adam Duncan had defeated the Dutch at Camperdown. Nelson said he would have given his other arm to have been present. He spent the end of 1797 in London and was awarded the Freedom of the City of London and an annual pension of one thousand pounds. (DWW-A very nice sum allowing him to live as a very rich man) Nelson bought Round Wood Farm with the money though he never lived there.

The surgeons tried to remove a ligature, but failed yet it came out of its own accord. Nelson now began to recover. He was promised the 80-gun Foudroyant but she was not ready for sea. Instead he was given the 74-gun Vanguard and appointed Edward Berry as his flag captain. On March 28th, 1798 Nelson sailed to join Earl St. Vincent (John Jervis) in the Mediterranean.

Nelson took position off Toulon by mid May, but a strong gale blew his squadron off the blockade. Napoleon was able to sail with his invasion fleet, and now Nelson went in pursuit. While Nelson looked for the French, they had arrived at Malta and took it. When Nelson reached Malta, Napoleon had already sailed. Nelson was able to determine that Egypt was the destination of the French and headed to Alexandria. There was no sign of the French when Nelson arrived. Nelson left looking for the French and that was when the French did arrive.

The French anchored in Aboukir bay, and Nelson having missed the French went to Naples to resupply. Returning to the Eastern Med, he thought to go to Cyprus but one last look at Alexandria led him to capture a French merchant ship and get news of the French fleet. He now hurried to Alexandria and found the enemy.

As an Admiral, Nelson had several great victories, Trafalgar being the victory that saved England, but the first was the Battle of the Nile. Playing on his statement when taking ships at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, he said, “Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey”  The French were in a better position and had more firepower than the English. The French were lined up close to the shoals, securing their port side from the English. 

Captain Thomas Foley, in Goliath found a gap and took his ship into the channel. Now the French found themselves attacked from both sides. Nelson engaged and he in Vanguard took on the Spartiate and came under fire from Aquilon About 8 o’clock he was with Berry on deck when a piece of French shot struck him in the forehead. A flap of skin now covered his good eye. He cried out “I am killed. Remember me to my wife.” The surgeon applied a temporary bandage and said the wound was not threatening.

The French van, pounded by the British from both sides, now began to surrender. The French flagship Orient took heavy fire. It caught fire and later exploded. Nelson came back on deck to see this and then returned to the surgeon. The French obviously lost and this was a major setback to Napoleon. He had lost his fleet. Two ships and two frigates destroyed, seven 74-gun ships and two 80-gun ships captured. Four ships escaped. The French army was stranded in Egypt.  The Turks and Captain Sir Sidney Smith defeated the French at the Siege of Acre. Napoleon abandoned his army and sailed back to France, evading British ships.

Some actually think the Battle of the Nile is Nelson’s greatest achievement. (DWW-Trafalgar kept the French from England, that has to be a greater achievement. Should an invasion reached England, the British citizen would have learned the horrors of this war. Killed, displaced, starved, it would have changed the fate of the world.)

Nelson sent to England the results of the battle and then sailed to Naples where he was met with celebrations. The King of Naples and the Hamiltons greeted him and he lodged at the Hamiltons house. Officers also began to notice the attention Emma Hamilton gave him. Even as suspicions grew about the attachment, word reached London of his victory. Earl Spencer, the First Lord of the Admiralty feinted. In England there was great celebrations.  The City of London awarded the captains of the fleet swords, while the King ordered special medals. The Tsar of Russian sent a gift, and Selim III, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire made him a member of the Order of the Turkish Crescent. Some thought Nelson should be made a Viscount, but he was only made Baron Nelson of the Nile, since he commanded only a Squadron and not a full fleet.

Nelson was not happy that he had been just given a barony by political manipulation. He was however cheered by the treatment that the citizens of Naples gave him. And his reception at the Hamilton’s home. He having fallen in love with Emma Hamilton at this time as well.

Orders that came from the Admiralty, he delegated to his captains Sir Samuel Hood and Alexander Ball. He began to think of returning to England, but the King of Naples declared war on France. Supporting the Austrian General Mack who commanded the armies of Naples, Nelson and his fleet helped retake Rome, but they in turn were routed in disarray. The French now came after the Neapolitans and Nelson evacuated the Royal Family and the Hamiltons. They reached Palermo on December 26th, 1798. By January of 1799 Naples had fallen to the French and the Parthenopaean Republic was proclaimed.

In February Nelson was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Red, and now blockaded Naples. A force under Cardinal Ruffo marched to retake the city, forcing the French out. There was so much bloodshed that Cardinal Ruffo allowed the French safe conduct back to France. Now a stain comes upon Nelson. Those Neapolitans who had switched sides and served the French had been granted amnesty by Ruffo, but Nelson had them arrested and several of them tried. Tried by vindictive Neapolitan Royalists who sentenced many to death. Here Nelson would not intervene but seems to have supported such actions. Many were executed at this time. Nelson was now made Duke of Bronte by the King of Naples, Ferdinand, which is a title that his brother took after his death, and the brother’s descendants still hold. (DWW-Though there is no Kingdom of Naples any longer.)

Ferdinand I, Portrait by Angelica Kauffmann

Lord Keith was now in charge in the Mediterranean but he chased French and Spanish fleets into the Atlantic which left Nelson in charge in the Sea. He stayed at Palermo at the Neapolitan court until February of 1800 when Keith returned. In February, Nelson caught sight of the French ship Genereux and captured her. Keith and Nelson did not get along. Nelson was spending most of this time at Palermo in the company of Emma Hamilton.

Earl Spencer now wrote to Nelson that he return to England. Yet it was the recall of Sir William Hamilton that gave Nelson a reason to return home. By way of Malta in April of 1800 (where Nelson’s only child-Horatia was conceived) they started their cruise home. First in Foudroyant and then in HMS Alexander, Nelson refused Keith’s orders to join the fleet. There was such a todo, that Nelson struck his flag. Now they travelled overland, though Florence, Vienna, Prague, Dresden, Dessau and Hamburg, finally catching a ship for England.

Nelson once again was given a hero’s welcome. He was feted everywhere and now Emma and Fanny met. His attention to his mistress being given a great deal of gossip. At Christmas in 1800 things came to ahead and Nelson and his wife never lived together again.

Now Nelson was made second in command of the Channel Fleet under St Vincent, and also made Vice Admiral of the Blue on January 1st, 1801. Horatia was born on January 29th and then he was commanded to move his flag from the HMS San Josef to the HMS St. George. The Baltic nations were tired of their ships being searched and so had formed an alliance. Now Nelson was to join Sir Hyde Parker’s fleet who just wanted to blockade the opening of the Baltic, while Nelson urged to attack the Danish fleet in Copenhagen.

On April 2nd, 1801 they attacked, the british seeing three ships running aground at the start, Agamemnon, Bellona and Russell. The Danish also sent very heavy fire against the rest. Parker ordered a withdrawal. Nelson was aboard HMS Elephant ignored the signal saying to Thomas Foley ‘You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes.’ The battle lasted three hours and both sides were heavily damaged. Nelson called for a truce, which led to a 14 week armistice. Parker was recalled in May and Nelson became commander in the Baltic. Nelson was rewarded for this victory by being made a Viscount.

Nelson sailed onto Russia and found that the alliance against the English searching of their ships was being disbanded. He returned to England on the 1st of July, 1801.

Napoleon was now massing his own forces to invade England. Nelson was placed in command of the English Channel to prevent such an invasion. In October the Peace of Amiens was signed and Nelson who was in poor health retired to Britain to stay with the Hamiltons. He began to attend the House of Lords. He and the Hamiltons toured about the country where they were greeted warmly. In 1802 he brought Merton Place where he lived with the Hamiltons until war broke out again.

And once the war had started again in May of 1803, it would be inevitable that the French would seek an engagement for control of the sea with the British. Nelson was now made commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean and placed in command of the 104-gun HMS Victory. He sailed from Portsmouth to Malta and blockaded Toulon again. He was promoted to Vice Admiral of the White in April 1804 which was about half way up the ranks of Admirals. In January of 1805 the French escaped Toulon and Nelson set off in pursuit. The French though were blown back into Toulon. But they got out again in April and made their way though the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic.

Nelson gave chase to the Caribbean but could not find them. The French in the meantime were headed back to Europe but met another fleet under Sir Robert Calder and they engaged in the Battle of Cape Finisterre in July of 1805. The French suffered minor losses. Nelson returned to Gibraltar and then went to England. He thought he had failed, not having engaged the enemy, but he was greeted with a rapturous reception and congratulated by senior officials believing he had saved the West Indies from invasion. He went to Merton to see Emma and entertained friends and relations. He also thought how to engage the enemy fleet and force them to battle.

Admiral Sir Robert Calder’s action off Cape Finisterre, 23 July 1805

In September, Henry Blackwood arrived at Merton informing Nelson that the combined French and Spanish fleets were at anchor at Cadiz. Nelson left to London and was given command of the fleet blockading Cadiz. In London on September 12th, Nelson, Viscount Castlereagh and Arthur Wellesley met. Wellington said of the meeting, ‘He (Nelson) entered at once into conversation with me, if I can call it conversation, for it was almost all on his side and all about himself and, in reality, a style so vain and so silly as to surprise and almost disgust me.’ But then Nelson was informed who he had been speaking to and returned to discuss for a quarter hour, in earnest, the state of the war, the colonies, and the geopolitical situation which impressed Wellesley.

Nelson returned to Merton and took his farewells of Emma and then made his way to Portsmouth. He was breakfasting with George Rose and George Canning when word spread he was at the George Inn. Crowds gathered outside and cheered him. He said ‘I had their huzzas before: I have their hearts now.’ Robert Southey said of this, ‘Many men were in tears and many knelt down before him and blessed him as he passed.’

Victory joined the fleet on September 27th. He refined his plan of attack, believing the enemy would maneuver into line of battle, the traditional way to conduct a fight. Nelson instead planned to split his command into squadrons that would cut the enemy line to allow a pell-mell battle and the British to overwhelm and destroy the enemy formation.

The Battle of Trafalgar

There were 33 ships of the line in the enemy fleet. It was to sail to the English Channel and cover the invasion of Britain. Austria and Germany’s entry into the war called off plans for invasion, though. The invaders were to be sent against Naples now instead.

The enemy left Cadiz and the british went to intercept on the 21st of October. Nelson had 27 ships against the more numerous enemy force. Nelson turned to his signal lieutenant to send the famous ‘England confides that every man will do his duty’ message. Pasco changed this to England expects since that was in the signal book and confides would have to spelt out each letter. Nelson though agreed.

‘England expects that every man will do his duty’

Thomas Hardy, the captain of the Victory said that Nelson should remove his coat as it identified him as the admiral, and sharpshooters could more easily tell him apart from the others. Nelson said it was too late for that. Captain Blackwood of the Euryalus suggested that Nelson go aboard his frigate to better see the battle. He also refused to board Eliab Harvey’s Temeraire.

Victory did come under fire, one cannon killing John Scott, Nelson’s secretary. Nelson’s clerk took over the position but he was cut down, as were eight marines. Captain Hardy had his shoe buckle dented by a splinter. Nelson said of the fighting, ‘this is too warm work to last long.’ Reaching the enemy line, Nelson asked Harvey to engage first and they attacked the stern of the Bucentaure. The Redoutable  then fired at the Victory, an the snipers began to shoot at them.

The Death of Nelson

Shortly after one Hardy noticed that Nelson was not at his side and he turned to see that Nelson had been shot. ‘Hadry, I do believe they have done it at last… my backbone is shot through.’

This was indeed the case. A sniper from the Redoutable from 50 feet away had hit the Admiral. The bullet had hit the left shoulder, passed through the spine at the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae and was lodged two inches below the right shoulder blade. He was carried below by a sergeant-major of marines and two seamen. Nelson had them pause though so he could give advice to a midshipman handling the tiller. He also had a handkerchief cover his face so the crew would not take alarm. 

When he reached the surgeon, William Beatty he said, ‘You can do nothing for me. I have but a short time to live. My back is shot through.’ Nelson was then made comfortable. Fanned and brought lemonade and watered wine to drink, for he had complained of being hot and thirsty. He asked to see Captain Hardy, and to be remembered to Emma, Horatia and his friends.

Just after half past two, Hardy came below and told Nelson that they had captured a number of the enemy ships. Nelson told Hardy to pass his possessions to Emma as he knew he was to die. He also felt that a gale was coming and told Hardy to anchor. Again he reminded Hardy to ‘take care of poor Lady Hamilton. Nelson died at half past four. His last recorded words were, “God and my country.’

The great victory at the loss of Nelson caused many to mourn. 

The Prince of Wales had wished to attend the funeral as chief mourner, but royals did not do such and so attended privately. His funeral procession consisted of 32 admirals, more than 100 captains, an escort of 10,000 soldiers. A four hour service, and the sailors who were supposed to fold the flag that draped over the coffin instead tore it to pieces that they could have a memento of the great hero.

* * *

And Two Peas in a Pod, a madcap tale of identical twin brothers in Regency London who find they must impersonate each other to pursue their loves.He is published by Regency Assembly Press

Mr. Wilkin writes Regency Historicals and Romances, Ruritanian (A great sub-genre that is fun to explore) and Edwardian Romances, Science Fiction and Fantasy works. He is the author of the very successful Pride & Prejudice continuation; Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Correspondence. He has several other novels set in Regency England including The End of the World and The Shattered Mirror. His most recent work is the humorous spoof; Jane Austen and Ghosts, a story of what would happen were we to make any of these Monsters and Austen stories into a movie.

The links for all locations selling Mr. Wilkin's work can be found at the webpage and will point you to your favorite internet bookstore: David’s Books, and at various Internet and realworld bookstores including the iBookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords.

And he maintains his own blog called The Things That Catch My Eye where the entire Regency Lexicon has been hosted these last months as well as the current work in progress of the full Regency Timeline is being presented.

You also may follow Mr. Wilkin on Twitter at @DWWilkin

Mr. Wilkin maintains a Pinterest page with pictures and links to all the Regency Research he uncovers at Pinterest Regency-Era

Sir William Hamilton (That Hamilton Man!)

My last post for the EHFA was on Emma Hamilton, so it seems apropos that we discuss one of her other two halves, the man who is not often discussed, Sir William Hamilton.

Sir William Hamilton

January 12 1731-April 6 1803


Now, 200 years after he has died, he is more famous for whom he was married to, than his achievements in life.

For 36 years he was the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples. From 1764 to 1800. Turbulent times that saw the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.

Hamilton was also an antiquarian, an archaeologist and vulcanologist. (DWW-being Ambassador in Naples provided was access to Vesuvius and Etna.) He was a noted collector and became a member of the Royal Society. Born the fourth son of Lord Archibald Hamilton, who was Governor of Jamica, his mother was the daughter of the sixth Earl of Aberdeen. She was a mistress of the son of George II, George the Prince of Wales, who was the father of George III. George III called Sir William his foster brother.

Sir William attended the Westminster School and then was commissioned into the 3rd Foot Guards in 1747. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1753. He married Catherine Barlow, daughter of a politician and left the army. She died in 1782, they had no children. In 1786, when he was 55 his nephew sent him a stunning young lady who had become the muse for George Romney. Sir William cancelled his nephew, Charles Greville’s debts for the introduction. Emma Lyon (Hart) captivated Sir William. They were married in 1791. He was 60 then and she was 26.

When Horatio Nelson crossed their path, a man he admired, he encouraged the notorious affair to develop. Eventually when they abandoned Naples, the three took up living all in the same houses in both Merton Place and London. Nelson refused to seek his own divorce and marry Emma until Sir William died, for they were such good friends.

William served as an MP for Midhurst in 1761 but then left to become the Ambassador to Naples. He began his collection of Greek Vases and other antiquities selling a part of his collection to the British Museum. A second collection was lost at sea when the HMS Colossus went down. What survived was purchased by Thomas Hope.

Sir William became an author Antiquités étrusques, grecques et romaines (1766–67) and Observations on Mount Vesuvius (1772). And he was a member of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a member of the Society of Dilettanti. He made more than 65 ascents to Mount Vesuvius and made a number of drawings before it’s eruption in 1765. He met Mozart during his tour of Italy in 1770. Goethe visited Hamilton in 1787. Goethe thought two chandeliers were most likely smuggled from Pompei, and a friend agreed telling the famed poet, that he should not pursue his investigations any further. Hamilton died in 1803 and is buried next to his first wife.

* * *

Mr. Wilkin writes Regency Historicals and Romances, Ruritanian (A great sub-genre that is fun to explore) and Edwardian Romances, Science Fiction and Fantasy works. He is the author of the very successful Pride & Prejudice continuation; Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Correspondence. He has several other novels set in Regency England including The End of the World and The Shattered Mirror. His most recent work is the humorous spoof; Jane Austen and Ghosts, a story of what would happen were we to make any of these Monsters and Austen stories into a movie.

And Two Peas in a Pod, a madcap tale of identical twin brothers in Regency London who find they must impersonate each other to pursue their loves.

The links for all locations selling Mr. Wilkin's work can be found at the webpage and will point you to your favorite internet bookstore: David’s Books, and at various Internet and realworld bookstores including the iBookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords.

He is published by Regency Assembly Press

And he maintains his own blog called The Things That Catch My Eye where the entire Regency Lexicon has been hosted these last months as well as the current work in progress of the full Regency Timeline is being presented.

You also may follow Mr. Wilkin on Twitter at @DWWilkin

Mr. Wilkin maintains a Pinterest page with pictures and links to all the Regency Research he uncovers at Pinterest Regency-Era