Horatio Nelson (September 29, 1758 – October 21, 1805) was a British naval commander and military strategist during the sailing battleship era.
Horatio Nelson led the Royal Navy to victory in major battles such as the Battle of the Nile Estuary in 1798 and the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. In the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, he defeated the combined fleet of France and Spain, forcing Napoleon to completely abandon his plan to attack British territory at sea. However, he was shot and killed in action during the war.
In 2002, the BBC conducted a survey called "The 100 Greatest Britons", and Nelson ranked 9th.

Early career
On September 29, 1758, Horatio Nelson was born in the parish pastor's residence in Burnham Sopu, Norfolk, England. Nelson lost his mother at the age of 9, so his father had to bear all the responsibilities of the family. Nelson attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Norwich when he was young, and later transferred to Sir John Paston School in North Wolsham to continue his studies. However, he dropped out midway at the age of 12 and joined the Royal Navy as a naval academy student, interning on a ship where his uncle Shacklein was the captain. He sailed with the ship and gained a lot of experience in ship navigation and sea life.

Joining the Navy
Shaklin was promoted to the position of Royal Navy Auditor, and his influence further accelerated Nelson's promotion in the Navy. Nelson was diligent and eager to learn, and he quickly mastered many maritime skills, becoming an experienced and capable young officer.
In the autumn of 1770, the Falkland Crisis broke out, and the Royal Navy was tasked with mobilizing to prevent a possible naval battle with Spain. Nelson's uncle in the navy, Navy Colonel Maurice Sockeling (1726-1778), was then ordered to command the HMS HMS, a third class battleship with 64 guns, to anchor at Chatham Harbor, ready to be called upon to battle at any time. Nelson, who had hoped to go to sea since he was young, took this opportunity to join the Royal Navy. On January 1, 1771, at the age of only 12, he officially served as an ordinary sailor and captain under his uncle's command on the reasonable ship. Shortly after boarding the ship, he was appointed as a naval reserve lieutenant and received formal training. But soon after, the Falkland crisis was resolved without a fight, and Sok ordered him to be transferred back to the Thames to command HMS Joy. Seeing helplessness in training sailors working in the inland river, Sok ordered Nelson to work on a merchant ship with his former captain, and set sail for the West Indies. Nelson returned to England 14 months after going out to sea, but this trip did not bring any particularly pleasant experience. On the contrary, he had some reservations about continuing to join the navy. In 1773, Nelson successfully secured the position of HMS Kalkas commanded by Navy Colonel Stephenson Luther and participated in Arctic exploration in an attempt to find an unfrozen route to India. Although Nelson's fleet managed to avoid the ice and snow around Spitsbergen Island, they never succeeded, and Nelson almost got injured by a polar bear during an unauthorized expedition.

After returning to England in October 1773, Nelson was transferred to HMS Haima, a patrol ship, for service under the guidance of his uncle and accompanied the ship to India. During his two-year service on the ship, he visited Madras, Kolkata, Ceylon, Mumbai, and Basra in Iraq. However, in the autumn of 1775, he returned home due to malaria and arrived in England on the HMS Dolphin patrol ship in September 1776. At this time, although Nelson appeared haggard and lonely for a while, when he learned that his uncle had been promoted to naval controller, his condition greatly improved and he was appointed as the acting naval captain of the HMS Worcester.
Nelson participated in the Navy Lieutenant Test at the Naval Office in April 1777. With his uncle, who was serving as the Chief Examiner, he successfully passed the test and was appointed as a Navy Lieutenant the day after the test. He was sent to the HMS Lostoff cruiser under Navy Colonel William Lockell for Jamaica. In his early years, Rocker studied under Sir Edward Hawke and admired Hawke's naval tactics for being bold and enterprising. Nelson himself also greatly admired Locke's military talent. In addition to becoming friends in the future, Nelson praised Locke as his mentor in later memories.

The American Revolutionary War
Nelson initially set sail with the USS Lostoff to Jamaica in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War, so the ship's main task was to intercept revolutionaries by sea. However, after France declared war on Britain in February 1778, the new Jamaican Commander in Chief, Sir Peter Parker, took him under his command. As for his original position on the USS Lostoff, it was taken over by Navy Lieutenant Casbert Collingwood. In October 1778, Nelson learned of his uncle's death. In December of the same year, he was sent to serve as a lieutenant colonel on the two masted schooner HMS Badger, patrolling the Mosquito Coast. In June 1779, he was promoted to Navy Colonel and appointed as the captain of the HMS Hinchenbrook, a patrol ship at the age of only 21.
While waiting for the arrival of the Hinchenbrook in Jamaica, Nelson was involved in the defense construction of the local Royal Port to prevent attacks from the French Navy. On September 1st, he officially took over the Hinchenbrook and set off again for the Mosquito Coast. Due to Spain's declaration of war against Britain at that time, Major General John Darling, then Governor General of Jamaica, planned to use force against Central America, attempting to take the San Juan River via the Mosquito Coast and then reach Lake Nicaragua. Nelson, who was familiar with the local area, was assigned to participate in this operation and assist the army in exploring the way to land. On March 24, 1780, the army landed on a beach near the mouth of the San Juan River, but most of the soldiers were not familiar with river navigation. Therefore, Nelson, along with 50 sailors and sailors, volunteered to go up the river together. At that time, it was the dry season and the riverbed was low and shallow, making navigation very difficult. However, the army successfully arrived at the only defensive castle in San Juan on April 10th. Nelson initially suggested an immediate siege, but was opposed by the soldiers. As a result, the army besieged the castle for 18 days before capturing it, and the Spanish inside the castle surrendered. However, shortly after the fall of the city, rainstorm began in the local area, and a large number of soldiers in the army suffered from tropical diseases, including Nelson. After being sent back to the shore in a canoe, he returned to Jamaica by boat for treatment, but his condition worsened. In September of the same year, he took HMS Lion, commanded by his friend Colonel William Cornwallis, and set out to return home. After returning to his home country, Nelson rested in Bath for a period of time. After recovering from illness, he returned to his hometown of Burnham Village to stay and visit his family.
In the autumn of 1781, he was appointed as the captain of the HMS Albertmar patrol ship and participated in escorting fleets in the North Sea.

In April 1782, he was tasked with setting out to escort a fleet across the Atlantic, heading to St. Lawrence in Newfoundland, and then to Boston, where he narrowly encountered a detachment fleet consisting of four French battleships. Nelson arrived in Quebec in September and transferred to New York in November, where he met Prince William Henry (later William IV), son of Emperor George III, and Lord Samuel Hood. The two later became lifelong friends. Subsequently, Nelson took the Albert Mare and turned to the West Indies region, along with three other small warships, in an attempt to attack the French garrison on Tex Island, but was unsuccessful. Shortly after the failure of the operation, news of a peace treaty between Britain, France, and the United States spread, and Nelson only returned to his country in June 1783. After returning to his home country, he was temporarily unemployed and decided to study French.
In October 1783, he went to Saint Omer, France with a military friend, but did not study seriously there. He returned to England shortly after in January 1784. Nelson once intended to run for the House of Commons and expressed his support for William Pitt Jr., but was unable to find a suitable constituency to run. Two months later, he was appointed by the military to command the HMS Beifengshen and head to the Leeward Islands. Although Britain had already recognized the independence of the United States at that time, due to the lack of corresponding amendments to the Navigation Act by Congress, theoretically it was illegal for British colonial subjects in this area to engage in trade with foreign countries (including the United States). Due to the fact that the Leeward Islands mainly produce economic crops and heavily rely on food and raw material imports from the United States, strict implementation of this law will force them to bear high shipping costs. Importing food and raw materials to the UK mainland can lead to a threefold increase in daily living expenses. If there is a famine, the situation will be even more severe. In view of this, the local colonial government did not seriously implement the Navigation Act and did not hold residents accountable for trading with American merchant ships. However, upon arriving at the Leeward Islands, Nelson acted swiftly and strictly enforced the Navigation Act, and together with Navy Colonel Kursbert Collingwood and others, seized multiple American ships attempting to trade with the colonies. Nelson's sweeping operation caused displeasure from his superiors, Sir Richard Hughes, the Commander in Chief of the British Army in the West Indies, and Sir Thomas Shelley, the Governor of Antigua, and the local residents also expressed strong aversion to his actions. Shortly thereafter, more detained American businessmen filed a lawsuit against Nelson for illegally seizing a ship and demanded that he be sentenced to imprisonment. During this period, only Colinwood supported him, and during the lawsuit, Nelson was also prohibited from going ashore, so he had to stay on board the North Wind Goddess waiting for judgment.

Nevertheless, Nelson still visited Nevis Island during the litigation period and met widowed young woman Frances Herbert Woodward on the island in the spring of 1785. After meeting for a while, the two decided to get engaged.
In November 1786, Prince William Henry, Nelson's friend, visited the Leeward Islands. At this time, William Henry, who had become a naval colonel on a patrol ship, insisted on Nelson taking him on a tour of the islands. At the same time, the court ruled that he was not guilty, which broke his isolation in the islands.
On March 11, 1787, Nelson and Frances got married on Nevis Island in the presence of Prince William. Shortly after, Nelson left the West Indies after serving his term and returned to his home country in June of the same year on the North Wind God. Frances later followed on a merchant ship. For about five years thereafter, Nelson and his wife mainly settled in England, earning half a salary and spending most of their time in Norfolk County with their father. Due to his litigation costs being borne by the government, the Navy had reservations about him, and with fewer ships serving during peacetime, he never found the opportunity to serve.

Mediterranean career
After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, the situation in Europe became increasingly unstable, which led to Nelson's revival. In January 1793, the Navy Department dispatched Nelson to command the HMS Agamemnon, which was anchored in Chatham Harbor and had 64 guns. On February 1st, France officially declared war on Britain and Britain joined the first anti French alliance. In May, his Agamemnon joined the Mediterranean fleet led by Sir Samuel Hood (later Lord Hood) and sailed to Toulon to intercept the French navy. In August, the people of Toulon opened their city to welcome the British army and demanded that they defend the city against the terror rule of the Jacobins. Due to the limited number of Hood soldiers, Nelson was appointed to Naples to seek assistance from King Ferdinand IV. After returning to Toulon in October, Nelson was transferred to a detachment fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Robert Linz. On October 22, when sailing across the sea from Sardinia, he encountered a detachment fleet composed of French patrol ships. Nelson's Agamemnon and the French ship Melbourne, which had 40 guns, fired at each other at one point, but Nelson's side was outnumbered and eventually escaped with the assistance of other British ships. Afterwards, Nelson and Linz moved to Tunisia in an attempt to win the support of local rulers, but found that France was already one step ahead and returned in vain. In December, British general Hood decided to withdraw from Toulon due to his defeat to the French army, marking the British's defeat in the Battle of Toulon. Nelson, who was in Laiheng (now Liverno) on Christmas Day, was responsible for accommodating a large number of refugees who had fled from Toulon.
In January 1794, Hood commissioned Nelson to send troops to blockade the French governed island of Corsica, in cooperation with Corsica's anti French leader Basque Paoulli and his supporters. However, this operation did not receive the cooperation of the army, and Army General David Dundas refused to provide support. Nevertheless, Hood still planned to send troops to besiege Bastia on Corsica Island, and only dispatched the Marine Corps under the command of the detachment fleet without the assistance of the army. On April 4th, Nelson led this army to land in Corsica, and on May 23rd, they successfully surrendered the defenders of Bastia. In June, Nelson transferred to Calvin for another siege, which was assisted by the army. On July 12th, Nelson was hit in the face by a flying boulder during the war, causing permanent blindness in his right eye. However, the French army in Calvin held on until August 10th before surrendering. Afterwards, Nelson's Agamemnon mainly traveled in winter to places such as Laiheng, Genoa, and Corsica, during which it participated in operations to blockade the coast of Provence and repair ships in Laiheng.

In March 1795, a fleet of 17 French battleships stationed in Toulon attempted to break through the British defenses and retake Corsica. Upon hearing the news, Rear Admiral William Hotham, who was acting as the Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, immediately dispatched 15 battleships under his command to intercept, one of which was captured from the French army. In the battles on March 13th and March 14th, the British side seized two more warships from the fleeing French army. In a series of battles, the Agamemnon commanded by Nelson repeatedly pursued and directly attacked the French army, becoming one of the reasons for the British victory. However, Nelson was quite dissatisfied with Hotham, criticizing him for being too conservative and recalling him too early, resulting in missing out on the next chance to completely annihilate enemy ships. Subsequently, on July 14th, the war broke out and the British captured an additional warship from the French. However, when Nelson led the pursuit of the enemy ship to the enemy coast, he was once again called back by Hotham, which made him increasingly disgusted with Hotham. After the failure of the French plan to recapture Corsica, Nelson was reassigned to command a small detachment fleet responsible for supporting the Austrian army. In the summer of 1795, Nelson's fleet mainly supported the Austrian army in the coastal area of Laiheng and engaged in sporadic battles with French ships. However, Nelson was disappointed by the negative performance of the Austrian army. At the end of November of the same year, the Austrian army was defeated by the French army and retreated inland, leaving Nelson with no choice but to retreat in vain.
In January 1796, Sir John Jervis took over as the Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, and Nelson immediately gained the trust and importance of Chavez. In April of the same year, Jervis promoted Nelson to Rear Admiral, and in June he was appointed to command the HMS Colonel with 74 guns, while the previously commanded Agamemnon returned to England for repairs. In August, Jervis made an exception by appointing Nelson as Acting Rear Admiral. At the same time, the situation in the Mediterranean continued to deteriorate. On the one hand, the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, advanced towards Central Europe. On the other hand, Spain was forced to join the French side in combat due to the current situation, putting the Mediterranean fleet in a difficult situation. In the autumn of the same year, the British government decided internally to abandon Corsica and ordered the fleet to withdraw from the Mediterranean. However, due to outdated communication, the government was unable to immediately transmit the news to the Mediterranean, resulting in many major decisions to be made by Jervis and Sir Gilbert Elliott, Vice Prince of Corsica. At Nelson's insistence, Elliott withdrew all British troops from Corsica in October and transported Bastia's supplies to Elba, the last British stronghold in the Mediterranean; As for the Mediterranean fleet, they retreated to Gibraltar. It was precisely because Nelson and others promptly withdrew their military supplies from Corsica that they avoided the French Navy's attack.

To rescue Elliot and others who were alone on the island of Elba, Nelson led two patrol ships to set out on December 15th. Along the way, he encountered two Spanish patrol ships. After a fierce battle, the HMS Minerva commanded by Nelson captured the enemy's Saint Sabina and its captain Don Jacob Stewart. On the day after the war, Nelson encountered a Spanish fleet again, so he had to abandon all his captives and flee. On Christmas Day, December 25th, Nelson finally arrived at the port of Ferrayo on the island of Elba, picking up Elliot and other naval supplies, but the army commander insisted on staying behind due to lack of orders. Nelson sailed back to the waters around Gibraltar on January 29, 1797, and decided to accelerate his pursuit after receiving reports that the British and Spanish fleets had sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar. However, he did not notice it. Finally, on February 13, he returned to Gibraltar to meet with Jervis and returned to the command of the Colonel.
Jervis had been keeping an eye on the movements of the Spanish navy, and on the morning of February 14, 1797, the day Nelson met with him, the British detected the Spanish fleet appearing in the sea about 25 miles west of Cape Saint Vincent in heavy fog. The waiting British fleet immediately launched an attack, known as the Battle of Cape Saint Vincent. On that day, Chavez was not sure about the exact lineup of the Spanish Navy. He saw that the opposing fleet had a total of about 27 battleships, divided into two teams. The smaller team belonged to the escort fleet, and the enemy also had 22 smaller battleships, of which 17 were the main force. Chavez initially estimated that Spain would send 29 battleships to deal with his 15 battleships, but seeing that the number of enemy ships was smaller than expected and the equipment of the enemy ships was outdated, he immediately ordered his ships to cut into two Spanish fleets and then attack the rear of the enemy main fleet by taking advantage of the wind. Initially, Jervis's plan went smoothly, but at this time, Rear Admiral Don Juan Zuyakun Moreno, who was in charge of commanding the Spanish escort fleet, risked his life to counterattack and attempted to keep Chavez and his nearby British ships at bay. As for the main fleet of Spanish Commander in Chief Don Jose de Cordoba, although temporarily losing support, took the opportunity to counterattack the rear of the British fleet and try to turn the tide.Upon seeing a reversal of the situation, Jervis immediately ordered Rear Admiral Charles Thompson and his followers to seize the wind and turn in response to the enemy's changes. However, Thompson did not obey his orders for a long time. Only Nelson's Colonel made a decisive decision and turned away from the fleet, then joined forces with the British front and sailed towards the leeward side of the Spanish main fleet, in order to restrain the enemy's activities. After Nelson and some British ships sailed towards the leeward side of the enemy's main fleet, the remaining British ships sailed towards the windward side of the enemy's main force, forming a pincer attack, and the two sides immediately fell into fierce combat. The Colonel under Nelson engaged in a close range battle with the enemy's Saint Nicholas and Saint Joseph, while the HMS Excellence commanded by Colonel Kasburt Colinwood sailed to the other side and fired at the enemy, causing widespread artillery fire and even enemy warships to collide. Seeing his colonel's ship destroyed, Nelson took the opportunity to lead a team of people to jump onto the enemy's Saint Nicholas ship and engage in a bloody duel with the enemy; The Saint Joseph, which was adjacent and had a larger volume, saw the Saint Nicholas being boarded by Nelson and others, and disregarded the British ship's artillery fire, firing all the shots at the Colonel and Saint Nicholas in an attempt to disperse the British army. However, not long after, Nelson led his men to successfully board the deck of the Saint Joseph and engage in a new round of bloody combat. In the end, Nelson dealt a heavy blow to the Saint Joseph, and the two ships had to surrender. The Battle of Saint Vincent lasted until sunset, and ultimately ended in a complete defeat for Spain. Britain also captured four ships from Spain. However, Spain's main force, the Saint Trinity, which had four layers of armor, managed to escape during the battle.

Although the victory of the British army in the Battle of Cape Saint Vincent was attributed to the seamless teamwork of the entire team, Nelson made a decisive decision in the battle, cooperated with the strategy of the commander-in-chief, left the team to charge directly towards the enemy, and led the way by boarding two enemy ships that had not surrendered for hand to hand combat, which was unprecedented in British history. Nelson's contributions in the war had a certain impact on the victory of the British army, and his performance left a deep impression on everyone. Among them, Sir Elliott witnessed Nelson's entire battle process on another patrol ship, and his subordinate Colonel John Delinwort was sent to visit Nelson after the incident to make detailed records of the war process; On the other hand, Nelson himself recorded the combat process of the Battle of Cape Saint Vincent and sent it to his old friend Colonel Rockle in England. These works were quickly published in the UK and, after being extensively reported by the media, caused a great response in society. For a while, Nelson became a highly sought after hero throughout the UK, deeply loved by the people. After their triumphant return to their country, Jervis and his team were immediately rewarded by the British court. Among them, Commander in Chief Chavez was granted a hereditary Count, becoming the Count of Saint Vincent. Many generals were also granted hereditary Barons for their military achievements. Nelson had previously publicly expressed his desire to be honored as a Baron, but due to his weakness and the fact that the title of Baron does not come with stars or ribbons, he was awarded the KB Order.