Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1800 © National Maritime Museum, London, Greenwich Hospital collection. BHC2889 Nelson rose quickly through the ranks, becoming a captain by the age of 21. In March 1784, aged 25, he was appointed captain of the Boreas, stationed in the West Indies.

This was a rare peacetime command amid important British island colonies. But his attempts to suppress illegal trade made him unpopular with the islanders. It was during this period, however, that he met and married Frances Nisbet on Nevis.

Nelson hat worn at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801
D7649-1After his marriage, Nelson returned to Norfolk and spent five years on half-pay until the outbreak of war in the wake of the French Revolution changed his fortunes.

In 1793, he was appointed to command the Agamemnon, his first ship of the line. Service in the Mediterranean led to further promotion, particularly after his important role at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797. George III made him a Knight of the Bath. But the personal cost had been high: Nelson lost the sight of his right eye in 1794 and his right arm in summer 1797.

Napoleon's early life >>