D - Death of Vice-Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson
Like all great heroes Nelson attracts many myths, and none are more potent that those surrounding his death at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.
Some started at once, such as the still-common misconception that he was wearing a splendidly-decorated full-dress uniform, which made him an easy target for French marksmen. Others arose later, such as the tight-lipped Victorian dismissal of his touching request for a kiss from Hardy.
In fact, the details of Nelson's last hours are very well documented by reliable witnesses and can be reconstructed with some precision. Three men were close to him as he lay dying: Surgeon William Beatty, Chaplain Alexander Scott and the Purser, Walter Burke. All three wrote accounts and these tally remarkably well.
Nelson was shot while pacing the quarterdeck of HMS Victory with Captain Thomas Hardy, at about 13.15 hrs. As was his invariable custom when at sea he was dressed in a rather shabby, workaday 'undress' uniform coat. On the left breast were sewn sequin facsimiles of his four orders of chivalry, dulled by constant exposure to the elements. In the swirl of the gunpowder smoke covering the deck, these probably would not have presented a particularly obvious target, though debate continues.
Indeed, it is even doubtful that the fatal shot was deliberately aimed at all. It is more likely that it was a stray bullet – or even a ricochet from the Victory's rigging. But whatever its source, it had a most devastating effect. Striking Nelson on the left shoulder with a force that threw him onto his knees, it smashed two ribs and tore through his left lung, severing a major artery on the way. Then having fractured his spine, it lodged beneath his right shoulder-blade. When the horrified Hardy bent over his stricken friend, he heard the rueful words, 'Hardy, I believe they have done it at last. My backbone is shot through'.
Hardy ordered Sergeant Secker of the Royal Marines and some sailors to lift Nelson, and he was carried gently down to the orlop deck situated below the waterline, where the surgeons carried out their operations in battle. He was laid against the ship's side and Surgeon Beatty began an examination that quickly revealed that the case was hopeless.
Thinking he was going to die very soon, Nelson breathlessly gave out messages for his mistress Emma Hamilton and their daughter Horatia. In fact, he survived for almost three hours and for most of that time he was in very great pain. But he clung tenaciously to life, waiting impatiently to hear news of the battle. Finally, at about 15.30 hrs, Hardy was able to assure Nelson that the British had achieved a great victory and satisfied, Nelson composed himself for death. He gave his last directions for the fleet, another series of loving messages to Emma and Horatia, and then finally took his leave of Hardy.
In his dying moments, Nelson’s breath became oppressed and shortly afterwards he uttered his last words, 'Thank God I have done my duty'. He slipped away so quietly that no-one knew exactly when he died. His death became the central event of the Battle of Trafalgar. Even at the time it overshadowed the triumph of the great victory. Ordinary seamen broke down crying when the news spread through the fleet and when the news reached England, the customary forms of rejoicing were muted by sorrow. But it was his death at the moment of victory, that finally secured for Nelson the immortality he so craved.
Part of the Nelson A to Z, Edited extracts taken from The Nelson Encyclopædia by Dr Colin White, Chatham Publishing London, 2002.