Part 1

AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE OF THE DEATH OF LORD NELSON:

WITH

THE CIRCUMSTANCES PRECEDING, ATTENDING, AND SUBSEQUENT TO, THAT EVENT;

THE PROFESSIONAL REPORT

ON HIS LORDSHIP'S WOUND,

AND

SEVERAL INTERESTING ANECDOTES.

BY WILLIAM BEATTY, M.D.

Surgeon to the Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar, and now Physician to the Fleet under the Command of the Earl of St. Vincent, K.B. &c. &c. &c.

London: Printed By T. Davison, White-Friars; For T. Cadell and W. Davies, in the Strand.

1807.

TO THE PUBLIC.

The Surgeon of the late illustrious Lord NELSON feels himself called upon, from the responsible situation which he held on the eventful day of the 21st of October 1805, to lay before the British Nation the following Narrative. It contains an account of the most interesting incidents which occurred on board the Victory. (Lord NELSON's flag-ship) from the time of her sailing from England, in the month of September, till the day of battle inclusively; with a detail of the particulars of HIS LORDSHIP'S Death, the mode adopted for preserving his revered Remains during the subsequent long passage of the Victory to England, and the condition of the Body when it was deposited in Greenwich Hospital. This short statement of facts is deemed a small but necessary tribute of respect to the memory of the departed Hero, as well as a professional document which the Public had a right to expect from the man who had the melancholy honour of being his principal medical attendant on that occasion: and is presumed to be not unappropriately concluded by observations on the state of HIS LORDSHIP'S health for some time previous to his fall; with his habits of life, and other circumstances, strongly proving that few men had a greater prospect of attaining longevity, on which account his premature death is the more to be deplored by his Country.

It was originally intended that this Narrative should be published in the LIFE OF LORD NELSON, undertaken by the Rev. J.S. CLARKE and J. M'ARTHUR, Esq. and it will still form a part of that Work; but from the length of time which must necessarily elapse before so extensive and magnificent a Publication can be completed, the Author has been induced to print it in a separate form.

Narrative

Lord NELSON sailed from St. Helen's in the Victory, with the Euryalus frigate, on the morning of the 15th of September 1805, to take the command of the British Fleet cruizing before Cadiz. On the 18th he appeared off Plymouth; where he was joined by his Majesty's ships Thunderer and Ajax, with which he proceeded for his destined station. On the 20th he communicated by private signal with the squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral STIRLING, which passed within a few miles of the Victory; and the same day at noon, spoke his Majesty's ship Le Decade, having on board Rear-Admiral Sir RICHARD BICKERTON, who, was on his return to England for the recovery of his health.

Some bad weather and adverse winds were experienced by the Victory in crossing the Bay of Biscay, and on the 27th Cape St. Vincent was seen. Lord NELSON had dispatched the Euryalus ahead on the preceding day, to acquaint Admiral COLLINGWOOD with his approach; and to direct that no salute should take place, nor any public compliments be paid to his flag, on his assuming the command, as he wished the Enemy to be kept ignorant of a reinforcement being received by the British Fleet. In the evening of the 28th, the Victory joined the Fleet; now consisting of twenty-seven ships of the line, including the Victory, Ajax, and Thunderer: the city of Cadiz was seen distant about fifteen miles, with the Combined Fleets at anchor; and Admiral LOUIS, with five or six ships under his command, close in shore, watching the motions of the Enemy.

On the 29th, prompt and decisive measures were adopted to prevent the Enemy from receiving any supplies of provisions by sea, which His LORDSHIP was informed they were very much distressed for: cruizers were stationed off the Capes St. Vincent, St. Mary's, and Trafalgar; and the frigates Euryalus and Hydra were ordered to keep off the entrance of Cadiz. His LORDSHIP now retired with the Fleet to the vicinity of Cape St. Mary's, about fifty or sixty miles westward of Cadiz; keeping up a constant communication with the frigates in shore, by means of three or four ships of the line placed at convenient intervals for distinguishing the signals of each other. This distance from, the Enemy's port was preserved by His LORDSHIP, to prevent them from being speedily acquainted with the force of the Fleet under his command; and that he might avoid the necessity of bearing up in bad weather, and running with the Fleet through the Straits of Gibraltar when the westerly gales prevailed: as the inconvenience of being forced into the Mediterranean, had been felt by former Commanders in Chief; and would now have afforded a favourable opportunity to the Enemy of effecting their escape from Cadiz, or at all events have rendered their obtaining supplies less difficult.

On the 1st of October Admiral LOUIS joined the Fleet, with a part of his squadron (the Canopus, Spencer, and Tigre), from before Cadiz; and departed the next day with those ships, the Queen, and the Zealous, for Gibraltar, to procure a supply of provisions, stores, and water, which they were much in want of. On the 4th he rejoined with his squadron; having received intelligence from the Euryalus by telegraph, that the French ships in Cadiz were embarking their troops, and preparing to sail. Lord NELSON however conceived this to be merely intended as a stratagem, to draw him nearer to Cadiz, for the purpose of obtaining a knowledge of his force; and therefore directed Admiral LOUIS to proceed in the execution of the orders before delivered to him.

Between the 7th and the 13th, His LORDSHIP was reinforced by the Royal Sovereign, Belleisle, Defiance, Agamemnon, and Africa, from England, and the Leviathan from Gibraltar. The Agamemnon, Sir EDWARD BERRY, joined on the 13th; with intelligence that she had been chased on the coast of Portugal a few days before by an Enemy's squadron, consisting of six sail of the line.

On the 13th in the evening, Sir ROBERT CALDER, in his Majesty's ship the Prince of Wales, parted company with the Fleet, on his return to England. His departure Lord NELSON had some days before evinced an anxious wish to procrastinate, and was heard that very day to declare his firm belief that the Combined Fleets would be at sea in the course of ten days or a fortnight.

On the 18th the Donegal, Captain MALCOLM, left the Fleet for Gibraltar. On the 19th his Majesty's ships the Colossus, Mars, Defence, and Agamemnon, formed the cordon of communication with the frigates in shore: the Fleet was lying to. About half past nine in the morning, the Mars, being one of the ships nearest to the Fleet, repeated the signal from the ships further in shore, that "the Enemy were coming out of port." Lord NELSON immediately ordered the general signal to be made, with two guns, for a chace in the south-east quarter. The wind was now very light; and the breezes partial, mostly from the south-south-west. The Fleet made all possible sail; and about two o'clock the Colossus and Mars repeated signals from the ships in shore, communicating the welcome intelligence of "the Enemy being at sea." This cheered the minds of all on board, with the prospect of realizing those hopes of meeting the Enemy which had been so long and so sanguinely entertained. It was well known to His LORDSHIP, that all the Enemy's ships had the iron hoops on their masts painted black; whereas the British ships, with the exception of the Belleisle and Polyphemus, had theirs painted yellow: and as he considered that this would serve for a very good mark of distinction in the heat of battle, he made known this circumstance to the Fleet, and ordered the Belleisle and Polyphemus to paint their hoops yellow; but the evening being far advanced when the signal was made to them for this purpose, His LORDSHIP, fearing that it might not be distinctly understood, sent the Entreprenante cutter to them to communicate the order.

During the night the Fleet continued steering to the south-east under all sail, in expectation of seeing the Enemy; and at day-break on the 20th found itself in the entrance of the Straits of Gibraltar, but nothing of the Enemy to be discovered. The Fleet now wore, and made sail to the north-west; and at seven in the morning the Phoebe was seen making signals for "the Enemy bearing north." At eight o'clock the Victory hove to; and Admiral COLLINGWOOD, with the Captains of the Mars, Colossus, and Defence, came on board, to receive instructions from His LORDSHIP; at eleven minutes past nine they returned to their respective ships, and the Fleet made sail again to the northward.

In the afternoon the wind increased, and blew fresh from the south-west; which excited much apprehension on board the Victory, lest the Enemy might be forced to return to port. The look-out ships, however, made several signals for seeing them, and to report their force and bearings. His LORDSHIP was at this time on the poop; and turning round, and observing a group of Midshipmen assembled together, he said to them with a smile, "This day or to-morrow will be a fortunate one for you, young men," alluding to their being promoted in the event of a victory.

A little before sunset the Euryalus communicated intelligence by telegraph, that "the Enemy appeared determined to go to the westward." His LORDSHIP upon this ordered it to be signified to Captain BLACKWOOD (of that ship) by signal, that "he depended on the Euryalus for keeping sight of the Enemy during the night." The night signals were so clearly and distinctly arranged by His LORDSHIP, and so well understood by the respective Captains, that the Enemy's motions continued to be made known to him with the greatest facility throughout the night: a certain number of guns, with false fires and blue lights announced their altering their course, wearing, and making or shortening sail; and signals communicating such changes were repeated by the look-out ships, from the Euryalus to the Victory.

The Enemy wore twice during the night: which evolution was considered by His LORDSHIP as shewing an intention, on their part, of keeping the port of Cadiz open; and made him apprehend that on seeing the British Fleet, they would effect their retreat thither before he could bring them to a general action. He was therefore very careful not to approach their Fleet near enough to be seen by them before morning.

The British Fleet wore about two o'clock in the morning; and stood on the larboard tack with their heads to the northward, carrying their topsails and foresails, and anxiously expecting the dawn of day. When that period arrived, the Combined Fleets were distinctly seen from the Victory's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead on the starboard tack, standing to the south, and about twelve miles to leeward. They consisted of thirty-three ships of the line; four of which were three-deckers, and one of seventy guns: the strength of the British Fleet was twenty-seven ships of the line; seven of which were three-deckers, and three of sixty-four guns. Lord NELSON had, on the 10th, issued written Instructions to the Admirals and Captains of the Fleet individually, pointing out his intended mode of attack in the event of meeting the Enemy; and now, previously to appearing himself on deck, he directed Captain HARDY to make the necessary signals for the order and disposition of the Fleet accordingly.

HIS LORDSHIP came upon deck soon after day-light: he was dressed as usual in his Admiral's frock-coat, bearing on the left breast four stars of different orders which he always wore with his common apparel. He displayed excellent spirits, and expressed his pleasure at the prospect of giving a fatal blow to the naval power of France and Spain; and spoke with confidence of obtaining a signal victory notwithstanding the inferiority of the British Fleet, declaring to Captain HARDY that "he would not be contented with capturing less than twenty sail of the line." He afterwards pleasantly observed that "the 21st of October was the happiest day in the year among his family," but did not assign the reason of this. His LORDSHIP had previously entertained a strong presentiment that this would prove the auspicious day; and had several times said to Captain HARDY and Doctor SCOTT (Chaplain of the ship, and Foreign Secretary to the Commander in Chief, whose intimate friendship he enjoyed), "The 21st of October will be our day."