Lord Nelson’s Original, Famed Address to His Squadron After a Battle to Prevent the Invasion of England by Napoleon

The first address of Lord Nelson to his commanders or men we have ever seen reach the market
 

In 1801, fear grew among the English of a French invasion of their island country. Feeding this fear was the concrete fact that Napoleon was gathering a large fleet at Boulogne, across the English Channel from England, which was a logical launch point for such a French action. England's main defense was the Channel Fleet under the leadership of Earl St. Vincent. The sheer size of this fleet, 49 battleships each of 74 guns or more, reflects the seriousness with which England took Napoleon’s threat. It is unlikely that the Royal Navy had ever assembled such a powerful fleet before. It was the task of this fleet to prevent the French ships from entering the Channel.

In his official biography of Nelson, James Harrison notes "a state of continual alarm at Bonaparte's immense preparations for the threatened invasion of our country."  But was an invasion actually imminent? Determining this was a job given to Horatio Nelson, who just months earlier had won the Battle of Copenhagen and was now Vice Admiral.  On July 24, Nelson was given the role of first protector of the Channel – he was made commander-in-chief of a squadron to prevent the invasion. Lord Nelson originally hoisted his commander's flat on the HMS Leyden but switched it to the HMS Medusa. His goal was to inflict serious damage on the French flotilla if possible, and in any event to provide a warning that the French could not safely leave their harbor.

On August 1, the third anniversary of his victory at the Nile in Egypt, he sailed for the coast of France, arriving off Boulogne the next day. At dawn on August 4, Nelson ordered five bomb vessels to move forward and open fire against the French line. As Nelson himself wrote that day, "The captains placed their ships in the best possible position; and in a few hours, three of the flats, and a brig, were sunk…"  Nelson was not able to fulfill his lofty aim of destroying the French fleet, but he did enlighten the French that they could not "come out of their harbors with impunity."  This was a close combat operation, unlike many naval engagements. The next day, to rally his men and praise their gallantry, and to speak to them of their next mission, he signed this address, which was delivered to his vessels to be read to the commanders.

Address signed, on the "Medusa off Bologne," August 5, 1801, to the "Respective Captains and Commanders," signed "Nelson and Bronte", his name and title. This was his first address after being named  commander-in-chief of a squadron to prevent invasion, and was written in the third person because it was meant to be read aloud to his men as an address.

"Lord Nelson has reason to be very much satisfied with the Captains of the Bombs, for their placing of the Vessels yesterday. It was impossible that they could have been better situated; and the Artillery Officers have shown great skill in entirely disabling ten of the Armed Vessels out of twenty-four opposed to them, and many others, Lord Nelson believes are much damaged. The Commander-in-Chief cannot avoid noting the great zeal and desire to attack the Enemy in a closer and different combat, which manifested itself in all ranks of persons, and which Lord Nelson would gladly have given full scope to, had the attempt at this moment been proper; but the Officers and others may rely, that an early opportunity shall be given them for showing their judgment, zeal, and bravery. The Hired and Revenue Cutters kept under sail, and performed the duty entrusted to them with a great deal of skill."

On the verso, it is written, "This is to give particular directions to the officers entrusted with those divisions, to make use of every Exertion in their Power to Tow the Bombs out in case of necessity and strictly to obey every order they may receive from the Captains of the Bombs."  Next to each ship is the name of its captain or commander, some of whom have signed this document.  There are 13 in total, including the Snipe, Eclipser, Mallard, Mariner, Bruiser, Tigress, Jamaica, and Gannet.

In this document, Nelson portends the August 15 attack he would make on the French, which ended similarly to the first.  Nelson had by then convinced himself that a French invasion was not imminent. Indeed, perhaps in part in Nelson and his men, one never came.

We have never before seen an address of Lord Nelson to his commanders or men reach the market, nor did a search of public sale records going back 40 years disclose any. This document is widely published in contemporary and modern works, including his "official" biography and most accounts of that period of his life.