Captain’s List — Horatio Nelson #1

Corsair’s Profiles in Leadership Series

The captains of fiction and history have much to teach us. They are leaders who often serve in times of great challenge and turmoil. Articles in this series focus on an individual captain and utilizes their quotes, their writings, and their actions to inspire core leadership elements in all of us.

Commodore Horatio Nelson

Arguably, no other figure in history deserves the honor of being featured on a Captain’s List than Horatio Nelson. Only his legendary adventures began at the rank of Commodore and this series features Captains. Fortunately and conveniently, Commodore Nelson found himself in command of the HMS Captain off of Cape St. Vincent in 1797. Europe was engaged in the wars of French Revolution (soon to become the Napoleonic Wars).

The Battle of Cape St Vincent

Nelson was not the commander of the fleet at St. Vincent. The honor fell to Admiral Jervis. Only the British was in full retreat from the Mediterranean at this time. Napoleon’s Army (he was not in-charge of France either) had recently conquered much of Italy and Britain found it positions in the southern sea untenable.

This exodus would bring the British Fleet within reach of a superior French/Spanish fleet one foggy February evening. Although out numbered, Jervis opted to attack. He felt the British were in dire need of a victory and this was his opportunity. The Spanish, potentially caught off guard, attempted to flee for the local port of Cadiz. By all appearances, their escape was likely and English victory would be lost.

Taking The Initiative

Nelson and the Captain had been ordered to support the line. In those days, much as on land, naval vessels arrayed themselves in lines for battle. These lines would sail along the enemy lines exchanging a series of broadsides with their opponents. At St Vincent, the intelligence of this standard tactic by Jervis can clearly be second guessed. His fleet was both out-numbered and severely out gunned. It may have been very fortunate that the Spanish fleet’s first instinct was to escape.

By most accounts, Commodore Nelson should have maintained his place in line and the Spanish Fleet would have likely reached the safety of Cadiz. Instead, he opted to interpret his orders quite liberally and instead charged his ship head long into the Spanish lines. This brought The Captain into direct exchange with six Spanish Ships of The Line!

Nelson was fortunate. His initiative sparked with a few of the other captains in the fleet. Several joined his run, diverting just enough attention from The Captain to allow her engage one of the enemy ships. When he arrived at the San Nicolas, his own ship was out of control and mostly without sail. For her part, the San Nicolas was having issues of her own, but a second Spanish ship had arrived in support.

“Westminster Abbey or Glorious Victory!”

Boarding two ships, clearly out-manned, and calling to his men for victory or death may seem pretty courageous. It was. But it is important to recall what Nelson had just completed. In the British Navy at the turn of the century, canon balls were in a sort-of murderous renaissance. They exploded. They had shrapnel. They had chains for slicing sails and limbs. They made plenty of splinters of the decking of wooden ships. In short, they were part of daily innovation of death and dismemberment.

Wisely, in the British Navy, sailors learn to duck. But officers did not! Much like their infantry brethren, Naval officers stood gallantly in order to inspire confidence in their men. Worse still, while infantry had a convention of not shooting the officers, enemy sailors saw Naval Officers as brightly colored, stationary targets. The French regularly engaged snipers on their vessels for the sole purpose of removing the command of opposing ships.

The intrepid Nelson had just sailed The Captain through the cannonade of six opposing enemy ships. It was a veritable shooting gallery and Nelson was the proverbial fish in the barrel. As he boarded the San Nicolas, he was likely amazed he was not already dead.

Determination

While it is certainly possible that Nelson had a death wish, there is no question that he displayed superhuman determination. He was determined to stop the Spanish escape and he was determined to lead his crew through incredible hardship to do it. And again, in combat, Naval commanders were at greater risk than their crews and endured at least equivalent hardship.

Nelson stood. He stood as an example of determination, of duty, and of honor. And when the time came, he led the boarding party. In the end, his efforts would win the day. His initiative gamble prevented much of the Spanish Fleet from escaping and made him a hero back home.

Nelson’s initiative and determination would propel him to some of the greatest naval victories of history and the highest ranks of the British Navy. While his battle aboard The Captain launched his heroic legend, Nelson was only warming up. He would become the bain of Napoleon’s France and his battles at the Nile and Trafalgar would be far more memorable.

For more on the Battle of Cape St Vincent: