Nelson’s Eye
12 JULY 1794
NELSON’S EYE
The French Revolution in 1789 shocked the rest of Europe as existing monarchies feared the spread of republicanism. Dread intensified as the “Reign of Terror” unfolded, and French King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, prisoners in the Bastille for years, were beheaded on 21 January 1793. England formed a coalition of nations against France, blockading the Mediterranean port of Toulon, home of the French fleet. Among the blockading warships was HMS AGAMEMNON, 64, skippered by CAPT Horatio Nelson. Toulon fell to the British on 27 August, but French Republicans retook the city in December–led by a then unknown artillery lieutenant, Napoleon Bonaparte.
On nearby Corsica, claimed by France since 1756, their overlord nation’s turmoil encouraged Corsicans. They struck to throw off their French yoke, a movement supported by Britain. CAPT Nelson was sent with a small squadron and 2500 soldiers to aid the Corsican revolt. In May of 1794 Nelson’s force landed at Bastia on the northeastern coast, one of two French strongholds. Here they manhandled guns into the mountains above the fortifications and forced a French surrender by 23 May. Nelson then sailed for the stronger French garrison at Calvi, on the northwestern coast. Again, his men muscled guns into the hills while British troops besieged the bastion. The French returned an accurate fire for more than a month.
At 0700 this morning, while Nelson stood at the front of his artillery line, a screaming French shot shattered a large rock in front of the Captain. A shower of stone chips knocked Nelson to the ground, deeply lacerating his face and penetrating his right eye. With sand and grit also lodged in his cornea, Nelson could distinguish nothing except light and dark. He belittled his injury, not wishing to alarm his men, but the surgeon later confirmed that Nelson would never again see from his right eye. Despite his injury, the siege of Calvi was successful, and Nelson gained stature within the British Mediterranean Fleet.
Years later, at the battle of Copenhagen in April of 1801, the Royal Navy attempted to remove the threat of the Danish Navy, newly allied with France. (Now) ADM Nelson engaged the Danes in a violent battle that was obscured from the distant view of overall British commander, ADM Sir Hyde Parker, who feared a British defeat. When Nelson’s flag captain aboard HMS ELEPHANT, 74, pointed out that Parker was signaling a British withdrawal, Nelson, supremely confident of victory, turned in Parker’s direction. “I see no signal,” Nelson replied, at which the junior officer noted that Nelson held the spyglass to his blind eye!
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 18 JUL 22
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Bennett, Geoffrey. Nelson the Commander. New York, NY: Charles Schribner’s Sons, 1972, pp. 37-38.
Hibbert, Christopher. Nelson: A Personal History. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1994, pp. 93-104.
Warner, Oliver. Victory: The Life of Lord Nelson. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co., 1958, pp. 83-85.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Nelson’s right eye later scarred over, creating a ghastly clouded appearance. Artists were kind in painting-out this facial defect in Nelson’s subsequent portrait sittings.
Nelson’s unabashed boldness in battle earned him victory at the battle of Copehagen above, but it would also contribute to his death. In 1805, standing fearlessly, in plain view, in full uniform (with medals) on the quarterdeck of HMS VICTORY, 104, at the battle of Trafalgar, Nelson became a target for a sharpshooter who took his life.
ADM Lord Nelson came to the Navy at a young age and had completed only a couple years of grammar school. His grasp of English and French was wanting, leading him to refer to Napoleon as, “Buona Parte.”
