Extraordinary!

One of my favorite historical figure is Horatio, Admiral Lord Nelson, hero of the Battle of Trafalgar, one of the greatest naval men of all time.

This coming Friday, 21 October, marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and of Nelson's death.

Now, England has acquired a series of letters written by an 11 year old midshipman, George James Perceval, who served aboard HMS Orion, and was present at Trafalgar.

How extraordinary!

According to the Times article:

In more than 40 letters, many written to Lord and Lady Arden, his parents in London, George painted a portrait of life aboard ship during the Trafalgar campaign, as well as the battle on October 21 and the death of Admiral Nelson.

In a letter dated October 13, he wrote to his mother: “I expect to come home to eat a Christmas Dinner with [you] if my head is not knocked of [sic] in any action.”

Nelson, he reported, had assured the fleet that “he will have a good bang at them”.

In his next letter, which is undated and whose scrawly handwriting suggests that it was written in a hurry, he gave an insight into the minds of the men who survived the battle that established British naval supremacy in Europe.

“I have as you wished been in one of the greatest actions that ever was fought,” he wrote, “ . . . but I am sorry to tell you that brave Admiral Nelson was killed by a musquet [sic] ball that went through his body.”

In another letter, he described his desire to “give [the enemy] a licking”, but there are also reminders that he was a young boy. On one page he drew a head for his mother to kiss “and think that it is my round face”.

Can you imagine being an 11 year old and witnessing one of the greatest naval battles ever . . . and living to tell about it?

Perceval not only lived, but went on to have a distinguished career in the English navy.

Perceval died in 1874 aged 79. His uncle was Spencer Perceval (1762-1812), the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated, and his father was a prominent politician with links to the Navy. George did not disappoint them. He rose to become an admiral in 1863. In 1840 he succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Arden and the following year became 6th Earl of Egmont on the death of a cousin. A selection of the letters will go on display from today in the museum’s Nelson and Napoleon exhibition, which will be free to Greenwich visitors over Trafalgar Weekend.

I do so wish I could visit the museum's display. I am so very jealous of anyone who is able to.

At least I can visit the museum's website: National Maritime Museum.

The Nelson and Napoleon Exhibit (To have just one hour to visit it!)

Trafalgar Weekend Celebrations (I wish I could be there!)

Previous Posts:
Nelson Remembered
A Question About Trafalgar Square
How Dare the British Have Won?