april 2015 - iinetmembers.iinet.net.au/~agostini/newsletters/36 nelson newsletter april 2016.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
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The Nelson Society of Australia Inc.
Newsletter
April 2015
Program of Events
Wed May 13th 12pm Lunch at Rosie O’Grady’s, William St, Fremantle.
Court Martial and Execution of Admiral John Byng by Rob O’Connor
Wed July 8th 12pm Lunch and talk (venue to be announced)
Wed Sept 9th Lunch and talk (venue to be announced )
Wed Oct 18th 12pm Trafalgar Memorial Luncheon. Victoria League
276, Onslow Road, Shenton Park
Fri Nov 6th 7pm Pickle Night RAAFA, Booragoon.
Mon Nov 30th 7pm End of Year Gathering, 10 Edna Rd, Dalkeith hosted by the Fosters
who will reveal some of their Trafalgar Treasures.
Lady Emma Hamilton
No 36
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It is with pleasure that I present my report on the activities of the Society during the year since our last AGM on Monday 10th March 2014. At our May meeting, I presented at talk on Nelson’s captains – the second in what I hope will be an ongoing series. On this occasion I gave an outline of the lives and careers of Edward Berry, Alexander Ball, James Saumarez, Thomas Foley and Ralph Miller. The July meeting took the form of a visit to the State Library for a special presentation on Louis de Freycinet’s circumnavigation of 1817-1821, which included exploration of part of the coast of what is now Western Australia. We were also privileged to have a private viewing of several of his charts of the West Australian coast and the Swan River that are held in the Library of Western Australia. It was a most interesting and successful outing and we owe our thanks to Rob O’Connor who organised the event. In September we were entertained by another in the series of inter-views with significant historical characters in Nelson’s life; this time Betty Foster interviewed Emma Hamilton, convincingly portrayed by Gillian Mead who put up a spirited defence of Emma in the face of her many detractors! October is always a busy month for the Society and this year was no exception. On Friday 17th I gave a talk on “Nelson in Naples” at the Fremantle Maritime Museum, but unfortunately due to poor promotion and publicity, numbers were down with a total attendance of about 23 - including the speaker! On Saturday 18th October, I was invited to give the address at the Navy Club’s Trafalgar Dinner in Fremantle. Unfortunately we had to cancel, yet again, our Trafalgar Day Memorial Service in the Cathedral which was planned for Sunday 19th but instead we celebrated with a most enjoyable Trafalgar Lunch - on this occasion in conjunction with the Victoria League at their headquarters in Shenton Park, and we were particularly pleased to welcome our Founder and Honorary Life President, Graham Perkins, who I might add, has recently celebrated his 94th birthday. On the following day (Monday 20th) I gave a short address to a lunchtime meeting of the Highgate RSL and on Trafalgar Day itself, I was invited to attend the Retired Naval Officers’ Trafalgar Lunch at RFBYC where John Caskey gave us a short address in his own amusing and inimitable style. Well done John! Our Pickle Night Supper was held on Friday 7th November at RAAFA in Bullcreek but despite a slightly smaller gathering than we have come to expect, it was a very enjoyable evening and Gillian Mead delivered an entertaining account of Pickle’s race back to England with the news of Trafalgar. As has become our custom, we also exchanged greetings with the Pickle Night Dinner held in the New York Yacht Club. Sadly Pickle Night is the only function in our calendar that we have managed to maintain since our foundation in 2001, and we have to once again congratulate and thank Bob Woollett and his able committee for organising this event so successfully, year after year. Our final event for 2014 was a Christmas gathering at Gwen Phillip’s house in Ardross where we viewed the video of an excellent talk given by Graham Perkins at his retirement village earlier in the year entitled, “Emma Hamilton – Famous of Infamous!”, followed by a video of the 2005 Trafalgar Night celebrations in Portsmouth.
followed by our now traditional Wireless Hill picnic which was held on the lovely warm evening of Monday 9th February. In other news I’m pleased to report that in the past twelve months we’ve had some welcome developments with Navy regarding the
Sword of Excellence. The 2012 winner, Lieutenant Tony Hanneman, was presented with his award in Sydney in April (unfortunately at very short notice which meant that we were unable to have a representative present) and the winner for 2013, Lieutenant Aaron Cochrane, was presented with his award in Darwin at the end of August. On this occasion the Society was ably represented by John Caskey. Shortly afterwards, in October, Chief of Navy announced the winner for 2014 – Lieutenant Nicholas Graney RAN - with the presentation to be advised - but to date we have heard nothing further. Nev-ertheless it is pleasing that Navy has finally caught up with the backlog and we are hopeful that the awards are now
back on track. Attendances at general meetings over the past year have again been disappointing and in a bid to foster a little increased interest, we are trialling yet another format this year – this time informal lunch meetings where we can socialise and have a short talk of perhaps 20 minutes duration. For our next meeting in May we are going to try Rosie O’Grady’s in Fremantle, where a good selection of counter meals is available and drinks are reasonably priced. Rob O’Connor is going to tell us about the court martial and execution of Admiral John Byng - that ought to stimulate the appetite! Falling attendances at meetings, and particularly AGMs, have also prompted us to make some more minor adjustments to our Constitution, principally to reduce the quorum for an AGM to six, but also to tidy up the Constitution in line with some suggestions made by the Department of Commerce after our last amendments in 2013 - and I’d like to thank Rob for his help and professional guidance in getting the amendments into a suitable form and for talking us through them tonight . All members of committee have re-nominated for office with the exception of Rob O’Connor who is standing down, but I’m pleased to report that David Agostini has nominated to replace him. Rob’s time and professional expertise have been of immense value during his nine years on committee – please join me in thanking him. . Your Committee puts a great deal of time and effort into all of our activities and I can’t let the occasion pass without paying tribute to their labours on your behalf, because without their efforts there would be no programme of meetings and events, and while your support - through participation and enjoyment of the various events is their reward - they also deserve a special vote of thanks, so please join me in thanking them Finally, I have to thank the volunteers outside Committee who continue to keep the Society viable – and here I would like to give special thanks to Betty Foster who produces our newsletters and also Cynthia Lyall who, with husband John, mans the reception desk at every meeting, and not forgetting of course, the Pickle Night sub-committee. And last but not least, I have to thank our Honorary President and Founder, Graham Perkins, for his continuing support and
encouragement and also our Patron, Commodore David Orr.
NSA AGM CHAIRMAN MIKE SARGEANT’S REPORT – Monday 30th March 2015
Mike Sargeant
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The Vice Admiral Viscount Lord Nelson KB Trafalgar Bicentennial Sword of Excellence for 2014 is awarded to Lieutenant Nicholas James Patrick Graney RAN 8499122 of ATTACK SIX
I commend you for your outstanding leadership and commitment to your duty as the Executive
Officer of ATTACK SIX and all platforms in which your crew has been embarked successfully
coordinating, conducting and managing whole ship activities as the executive officer. Furthermore
you have excelled in your role as Boarding Officer of ATTACK SIX having displayed outstanding
leadership, sound judgement and skilful execution in all boarding operations leading to a safe and
effective operation RESOLUTE mission outcomes.
Your high work ethic, administrative and management skills, ensured that ATTACK SIX was
organised, trained and prepared for operation RESOLUTE where your multinational abilities were
in evidence across all workforce levels. A strong sense of teamwork and high morale existed
because of your devotion to your duties which encouraged every member of ATTACK SIX to be
the best they could be. You are an Officer with strong, personal convictions, demonstrated by
leadership based on exceptional example and a determination to make a positive difference to the people you are
responsible for. Your strong Navy ethos and commitment to mentoring your peers and subordinates alike has ensued that
your people have progressed both professionally and personally. You have consistently shown the highest standards o
professional competence, leadership excellence, dedication and devotion to ATTACK SIX and the patrol Boat community.
Your conduct has bee in accordance with the highest traditions od the Royal Australian Navy and you have proven yourself
deserving of the Admiral Nelson Sword of Excellence Award
Citation from T.W. Barrett AO. CSC. Vice Admiral RAN. Chief of Staff
THE E system engineering officer responsible for HMAS
Perth’s highly successful missile firings at RIMPAC 2012 has
earned the prestigious Admiral Nelson Sword of Excellence.
As the sword remains on display in Western Australia, LCDR
Tony Hannemann received a Gold Commendation in place of
the actual sword from CN VADM Ray Griggs at an awards
ceremony at Fleet Base East on April 30. 2014 LCDR
Hannemann’s name will be engraved on the sword
alongside the names of previous recipients. The award
recognises LCDR Hannemann’s crucial role in Perth’s
milestone firing of three Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles and
two Harpoon Block II missiles at the world’s largest
international maritime warfare exercise. LCDR Hannemann
said he was honoured to receive the Sword of Excellence and
hoped his success inspired other Navy personnel to actively
pursue more challenging leadership situations. “I believe one
purpose of leadership within the RAN is to ensure that in
confronting and difficult situations there is a clear sense of
direction and guidance to ensure the necessary objectives and
requirements can be achieved as efficiently and effectively as
possible,” he said. “Often the consequences of a lack of
leadership can be dire. I think leadership is largely a situation
not explicitly tied to rank or formal authority, hence the
importance of leadership and leadership training across all
levels of the RAN – because any officer or sailor can find
themselves thrust into a position of leadership”.
VADM Griggs said LCDR Hannemann’s professionalism,
leadership and dedication were vital to Perth becoming the
first Navy warship to win the coveted Naval Gunfire
Support Rodeo at RIMPAC “Your achievements as a
leader in a fighting ship make you a worthy winner of an
award named in honour of one of the greatest fighting
sailors,” he said. “As the senior fire control officer you
were instrumental in the successful firing of three Evolved
Sea Sparrow missiles and two Block II Harpoon missiles.”
The CN then continued “LCDR Hannemann’s exceptional
systems knowledge, faultless attention to detail and im-
pressive motivation enabled him to play a critical role in
the success of the
anti-ship missile
defence upgrade
program. your
tireless pursuit of
excellence has
resulted in your
b e i n g a n
i n d i s p e n s a b l e
member of the
Perth team and a
role model for all.”
The Citation by VADM Griggs of LCDR Tony Hannemann the 2012 Winner of the ‘Sword of Excellence’
VADM Griggs with LCDR Hannemann
4
When Admiral Lord Nelson received a teapot marking his triumph in the Napoleonic Wars he took it home as a treasured
memento. It was part of a porcelain tea set commissioned by the Lord Mayor of London to thank the naval hero for his travails
against the French Empire. It was presented at a Banquet to mark Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. But
more than 200 years later a rather awkward fact has been uncovered. Unbeknown to Nelson the teapot is French. It was made
in Paris and is likely to have been surplus stock that ended up in a London workshop The teapot was auctioned at Bonhams
London in April this year where it fetched £35,000.00 The teapot probably formed part of a further set of the Baltic porcelain
given to Nelson's brother, William, who married Hilare Barlow in
March 1829. Hilare was the daughter of Admiral Sir Robert Barlow
G.B.C. whose illustrious naval career included command of HMS
Triumph, part of Nelson's fleet in the Mediterranean in 1803.
Following William's death in February 1835, Hilare was married for
the third time - to George Knight, the nephew of Jane Austen,
although Hilare kept the name of Nelson. When Hilare died in 1857,
this teapot passed to her niece, Florence Catherine Barlow and
then to her daughter, Coleen Joyce who bequeathed it to her cousin,
Hilare Margaret Barlow, mother of the present owner, featured in the
photo below right with her other Nelson memorabilia at the BBC
Antiques Road Show.
Porcelain from both the 'Nelson' and the 'Baltic' Services
was inherited by Nelson's niece, Charlotte who was William
Nelson's daughter from his first marriage. Charlotte Nelson,
Duchess of Bronte, had received many of Nelson's
possessions after his death. Charlotte may even have had
a Baltic tea set of her own as she had accompanied her
uncle to the Lord's Mayor's inauguration.
Charlotte married Samuel Hood, Baron Bridport. And
Nelson's porcelain and many other relics were inherited by
his son Alexander Nelson, Viscount Bridport a Lord
Bridport's sale at Christie's in July 1895 featured many pieces of the Baltic service. Other pieces are in the Nelson-Ward
Collection bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in 1946 by the grandson of Horatia, Nelson and Emma
Hamilton's daughter.
Discovered on the Antiques Road Show brought in by a descendant of Nelson
Our First Gathering of the Year at Wireless Hill, Monday, February 9th
5
The Leopardess
Talk given at the AGM of the Nelson Society of Australia
by Gillian Mead, 30th March 2014
It is likely that Emma, restless and already discontented with
her lot, flitted in and out of jobs as swiftly as she was learning to
hop in and out of bed. She admitted her early promiscuity,
years afterwards.
In late eighteenth century London the rich and rakish worked
hard at their pleasures so the quacks of the period sought to
generate, even to rejuvenate a bloated aristocracy.
Doctor Graham’s Temple of health was conveniently situated
to receive the debauched and the debilitated of the capital’s
most fashionable square mile.
How James Grant recruited Emma for his staff is open to
conjecture. Among the attractions of Doctor Grahams odd
establishment was a mud bath. It was also the centrepiece of
the Temple of Health, the Celestial Bed, an ornate and
extraordinary contraption that was guaranteed as a cure all for
infertility. It was probably the Temple of Health where Emma
met Sir Harry Featherstonehaugh. Sir Harry a 26 year old
member of the aristocracy an bachelor, immediately captivated
by Emma and he whirled her away to Up Park, the Sussex
estate he had recently inherited from his father.
Emma fell in love with the boisterous late eighteenth century
upper-class country life as to the manor born. However, she
overplayed her hand, recklessly spending Sir Harry’s money.
She abused his trust as a mistress of the household which
resulted in her peremptory dismissal. Moreover, she was
pregnant. With little more than the coach fare to Flintshire,
Emma had no alternative but to return to her grandmother’s
cottage at Hawarden.
Before leaving Up Park, Emma had taken out an insurance for
the future, slipping into her bundle of belongings a handful of
pre-paid postal covers addressed to the Hon. Charles Greville,
one of Sir Harry’s London friends and house party guests.
Greville at the age of 32, was a cautious aesthete and
suggested that at some future time she might care to consider
a more sober existence with him. Thus, Greville, second son of
the Earl of Warwick, became Emma’s insurance policy for her-
self and for the unborn child, whose father was probably Sir
Harry.
The Nelson legend, with which the story of Emma, Lady
Hamilton, is so intimately linked, is one of the most potent in
British history. Something in the character of this frail,
wayward man, who yet showed such persistence and
audacity, seems to speak to the British heart.
As Lady Hamilton's fame therefore to be attributed solely to
her connection with Nelson? Emma's tremendous drive and
character brought this peasant girl from Flintshire, despite
her humble origins, to an exalted position in society. She
inspired Romney, the artist, to adulation and many fine
portraits. He called her his divine lady and thought her
superior to all womankind.
She won the confidence of that haughty pair, the King and
Queen of the two Sicilies in Naples and showed
considerable talent for politics and management. She even
charmed that acerbic wit, Horace Walpole. And there was a
William Hamilton, himself an elegant, cultivated gentlemen,
who became her slave, then married her, and, finally, of
course, the great Lord Nelson, England's hero, who owed to
her, as he often said, the inspiration for his career.
However Emma born Emily Lyon was undeniably coarse
and vulgar. An Irish woman, who met her in Vienna in 1800,
described her figure as colossal and her hair was dirty. She
said she thought her bold, daring, vain, even to folly, and
stamped with the manners of her first situation much more
strongly than one would suppose, after having lived in “good
company” for 15 years.
And yet, through the sheer force of her personality, which
was just as important as her glowing young beauty, Emma
did win the confidence of the great. Particularly through
Nelson, who worshipped her, she left her mark on the
course of history before dying at tragic death, exiled and
forgotten.
She was a woman of many facets. When she was in her
early teens she had discovered that men found her
interesting and physically attractive and she was beginning
to appreciate that a girl of her natural attributes might find
comfort and a career somewhere along the many cornered
road that separated an obliging serving wench from a
full-blown prostitute.
To whom then, did Emma owe her further education – how
to please men, preferably gentlemen with money? Possibly,
in the first place, to a certain Mrs Kelly, the Abbas of
Arlington Street who, had there been telephones, might
have ranked as high priestess among call girls.
6
It was clear to Greville that Emma was his if he wanted her,
but only when he was satisfied that Emma had finished with
her past, would be free to dry up the tears of his lovely
Emily and to give her comfort.
Greville planned that his tamed Emma would be respected
and admired and that her expected child would be cared for
and never want for anything.
He welcomed her to the house he had prepared in
Paddington Green. Greville intended to groom his flighty
Flintshire lass into a companion as acceptable at table and in
his world as she was good in his bed. Now, the below stairs
Emily (Lyon) was discarded in favour of the more gentle
Emma.
No girl could have wished for a more generous education
than that which Emma received from her Greville. Emma
devoted herself to pleasing Greville, play acting where
necessary, to provide her mentor with the perfect mistress.
Indeed within days of her arrival at the house she fell into her
new role as though the rough-and-tumble of Emily Lyon’s past
had not occurred. Very soon Paddington Green became
charmed by this demure and disciplined creature of Charles
Greville’s fashioning, Emma! However, below the surface of
the new Emma, the born exhibitionism of the old Emily was
ever tempted to break through.
Kept busy, Emma was kept out of mischief. She sang and she
danced for Greville’s personal pleasure. She learn to walk
well, to talk well, to read well and to dress well. She played
the harpsichord and she poured tea to Greville’s directions;
lifting, tilting, replacing the teapot with the precision of a
recruit at rifle drill but with a great deal more delicacy.
However, Greville knew he was almost certainly his uncle’s
heir and would inherit an income of at least 5000 pounds a
year from the Welsh Estates which had come into the family
through Sir William’s widow. But supposing Sir William was to
marry again and produce a direct heir? There was one
reasonable way to avert such a disaster. Emma must become
the old man’s mistress. In practice, Greville needed a wealthy
wife to help further his political ambitions and in needed to
palm off Emma in order to place himself on the snob marriage
market. Gradually and in the course of a lengthy
correspondence, Greville prepared Sir William for the offer
and Sir William accepted. Finally, Emma was to be told she
was taking a long holiday in sunny Naples and that Greville
hoped to join her there. In his letters to Sir William, Greville
described Emma as honourable honest and trustworthy.
Rescued from giddiness and dissipation, she was prudent
and quiet. He also wrote that she had vanity and liked
admiration, but she connected it so much with the desire of
appearing prudent that she was more pleased if it was
accidental rather than planned.
On the third of December 1785 Emma wrote to Sir William
politely asking him if he would agree to her staying with him
in Naples for six or eight months until Greville returned from
Scotland. She was on the threshold of an adventure which
would assure her a place in history.
For all his scheming Charles Greville never made a name for
himself in politics nor did he secure a wife, rich or poor. Of
the pair, it is Emma, Lady Hamilton, who is best remembered
– the Leopardess Greville had temporarily tamed - but who
never truly changed her spots.
When Emma finally realised that Greville had ‘sold’ her to his
uncle, Sir William, she wrote a letter with a postscript “Pray
write, for nothing will make me so angry and is not in your
interest to disoblige me, for you don’t know the power I have
here. Only I will never be his mistress. If you affront me, I
will make him marry me.”
In September 1787 when Emma had lived in Naples 18
months, she was unrecognisable from the fretting, insecure
creature that Greville had made over to his uncle without her
knowledge. William doted on her and arranged for her to be
tutored in manners, language and particularly music.
He considered her singing voice remarkably fine and she
took three lessons a day with her singing master. At the
end of May in 1791, the Hamiltons arrived in England where
society was on tenterhooks to see what would happen next
in this fascinating relationship. But there was no
quick and easy marriage. Emma was on trial, biding King
George the III’s permission for the match, and Emma put the
prospect of becoming her ladyship greatly at risk. Trium-
phant, beautiful, anticipating marriage, she flouted conven-
tion and made life something of a circus wherever she went.
Sir William followed in doting attendance, a whipless
ringmaster who had been tamed by his prize Leopardess.
In the months preceding her marriage Emma was foolish.
For all the good fortune which had so extraordinarily
changed her circumstances, the Leopardess still could not
change her spots. The same restlessness that cost Emma
the hospitality of Up Park now cost her ultimate prize. She
was barred from appearing at court by Queen Charlotte.
Had Emma been prepared to play
the demure, engaged crystal to Sir
William’s eccentric sugar daddy, the
Queen of England might have
overlooked Emma’s past. However,
living in open defiance with Sir
William and rolling His Britannic
Majesty’s Ambassador in the saw-
dust of her high spirited circus,
Emma really put herself out of court
in London for life.
Sir William Hamilton
7
In the summer of 1798, five years after Emma’s first brief
encounter with the young and comparatively unknown
naval captain, Nelson was again at sea and again sailing
over Emma’s immediate horizon. Admiral Sir Horatio
Nelson was returning to the Bay of Naples in command of
a squadron and under orders to hunt down Napoleon.
Because of Spanish intentions, action had been taken and
the Spanish fleet had been defeated off Cape Vincent on
14 February, 1797. On that famous battle on Saint
Valentine’s Day, Nelson, under Jarvis, had displayed all
his brilliance and had gained a knighthood. The success of
Nelson’s dashing action in command of Captain at the
Battle of Cape St Vincent accelerated the process through
which he was fast becoming the most exhibitionist of
patriots.
Nelson’s cry “Westminster Abbey or Glorious Victory” as
he led a boarding party to enforce the surrender of
another great Spanish ship, the ‘San Joseph’, typified the
aggressive exhibitionist which inhabited the man and
which would soon prove so blissfully compatible with Lady
Hamilton’s nature.
On the 17th of June,1798 Nelson’s squadron dropped
anchor off Naples. He had not come expressly to see
Emma, nor indeed her husband. He was short of frigates
and hoped to borrow some from the Neapolitan Navy. The
Admiral differed in appearance from the young
captain of ‘Agamemnon’. One armed, one eyed, tiny, thin,
fragile and much decorated, Nelson was beginning to
resemble an overloaded scarecrow.
Ashore, Emma had greatly change in appearance too. The
basic coarseness of her peasant birth had begun to
reassert itself and together with the good living – the
“guttling” (guzzling) she so much enjoyed – was creating a
grotesque character of the beauty who had enraptured
Romney 16 years before. However the love story of
Nelson and Emma flourished and Nelson became the
Hamilton’s permanent lodger. This arrangement was
described as the ‘trio juncta in uno’.
Moving forward to the early 19th century Emma’s fairytale
existence was approaching its climax and soon she was
saying goodbye to Vienna. London in damp November
brought reality. Now Emma and her lover must face up to
the truth of their situation; to the existence of Fanny,
Nelson’s long neglected wife; and Sir William had his
problems too. He must organise his retirement and
prepare for death.
Nelson, outwardly the popular national hero, had been
reduced, when ashore, to a puppet sailor on Emma’s
string. To the horror of Charles Greville, she had returned
to London a gross, overweight, tasteless virago, mistress
in every respect of Nelson and a domineering wife of his uncle.
It was the roughest luck that when Emma most needed Nelson,
the country’s need was even greater. Britain went to war again
with France, on the sixteenth of May 1803, barely a month
after’s Sir William’s death. On the twentieth of May Nelson
sailed from Portsmouth bound for the Mediterranean in his
flagship, HMS Victory. Then followed the Battle of Trafalgar on
the 21st of October 1805 and news eventually reached Emma
that she had lost her Prince Charming for ever.
After Trafalgar Emma was left 2000 pounds in addition to 900
pounds a year between herself and her daughter, Horatia,
together with “Paradise Merton” and all its contents. But shortly
after Nelson’s funeral, talk spread of parties taking place at
Merton and it was clear, yet again, that the leopardess would
never change her spots. Emma entertained wildly, attracting the
worthless froth of society to eat and drink at her expense and all
the time her debts were rising as fast as her beauty was fading.
Eventually, in alcoholic despair, she began to pour wine and
spirits on to her already weakened liver. Inevitably, worry,
frustration and drink began to weaken an amazing
constitution which had sustained so much assault and battery
for so long.
Emma died in Calais on the fifteenth of January, 1815 at the
age of 51. The British consul paid for her funeral.
Our Treasurer and his assistant -John and Cynthia Lyall
Congratulation John from all of us at the Nelson Society on being
awarded the Legion of Honour for your service with the RAAF and
also to you and Cynthia on your 70 years of marriage. John and
Cynthia met in England in WW11 in Norfolk where Cynthia was in
the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force operation centre as an aircraft
plotter and John was a rear gunner on Stirling Bombers. The 91-
year-olds keep themselves busy with entertaining 6 great-grand
children and looking after the finances of the Nelson Society.
8
This article does not refer to the commander of the Russian
Mediterranean Squadron, Admiral Ouschakoff, who was a sore
trial to Nelson, even when supposedly co-operating. It refers to the
ally he never met, other than by correspondence, but arguably the
greatest Russian soldier of any era, Generalissimo Count
Aleksandr Suvorov.
First, a little scene setting. The Austrian Empire
had been slow to join the post-Nile coalition being
engineered by William Pitt. Loaning General Mack
to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had proved a
poor substitute for active resumption of the war
against Revolutionary France. The debacle of the
Neapolitan army occupying Rome, and then
fleeing before the French even arrived to do battle,
led to the ignominious Royal flight from Naples to
Palermo and a winter of near despair for Lord
Nelson and Sir William Hamilton. However, one piece of Austrian
thinking about the basis for a renewed campaign in Northern Italy
was undoubtedly correct. Russian military support for their army
needed to include generalship of high quality and, for that
purpose, the Tsar Paul was specifically asked to send Suvorov,
who was created a Field Marshal of the Austrian army, in order to
lead the campaign.
Although nearly seventy and in disgrace for presuming to criticise
Tsar Paul’s new Infantry Manual, he was as little loath to be sent
with the Russian army to the Veneto as his Tsar was to send him
far away. Austrian realisation that they had been out-generaled in
Northern Italy two years previously (mainly by Napoleon
Bonaparte, now trapped in Egypt), clearly outweighed any qualms
on the score of Suvorov’s reputation for brutal generalship.
This had followed from his putting down the Kosciuszko Uprising
of 1794 in partitioned Poland, whether or not responsibility for the
massacre of twenty thousand Polish civilians by Cossacks in the
Warsaw suburb of Praga was correctly laid at his door.
There seems to have been no difficulty in Suvorov and the
principal Austrian commander in Northern Italy, General Melas,
working well together from the outset, once Suvorov arrived in
April 1799. This was also the time that Cardinal Ruffo’s Army of
the Holy Faith had advanced beyond Calabria, still gaining
strength, in the march towards Naples and Nelson already had
arrangements in hand to support this Royalist resurgence, subject
to the need to see off any French naval incursion. That the French
Directory still espoused the cause of atheism and persecuted the
Church was an excellent recruiting sergeant for Ruffo in Southern
Italy! Undoubtedly, Nelson’s resources were stretched, owing to
three ships of the line being committed to the Levant with Sir
Sidney Smith, and the need to sustain support to the Maltese
against the French in Valletta, but he still had a burning
desire to reverse the winter retreat from the mainland.
The opportunity would not be slow in coming. Even
before the arrival of the Russians, the Austrian army had
defeated forward French units at Verona on 26 March and
Magnano on 5 April, causing a French retreat
towards Milan.
From a setting off point south-west of Verona,
Suvorov had, in eight days, marched the Austro
-Russian army to the River Adda and defeated
Moreau at Cassano, just east of Milan on 27
April. Two days later, he entered Milan, but
rapidly continued the pursuit of Moreau and
defeated him again at Marengo so that, upon
entering Turin in May, the King of Piedmont-
Savoy declared him ‘A Prince of the House of
Savoy.’ News passed at reasonable speed up and down
the west coast of Italy, so when Ruffo’s advance towards
Naples was matched by the news of early success in the
north (the interpretation of which was surely helped by Sir
William’s extensive knowledge of inland Italian
geography), use by Nelson of a squadron to seize the Bay
of Naples islands (Thomas Troubridge) and a single ship
to take Salerno (Sam Hood in Zealous), kept inexorable
pressure on the French armies.
This late spring truly demonstrated the weakness of
seeking to occupy large tracts of a mountainous country in
which the population were largely opposed to French
domination, even if reluctant to face the risk of reprisals
that uprisings would have carried. Thus, when the plan to
order General MacDonald to denude central Italy of
French troops, in order to trap the allied army between
MacDonald and Moreau, was put into effect, Suvorov was
quickly appraised of MacDonald’s strength and direction of
advance.
He likewise knew he had time to attack MacDonald near
Piacenza, before any of Moreau’s forces arrived. The
result was that MacDonald’s army suffered a heavy defeat
in a three-day battle at the River Trebbia, 17-19 June
1799, close to the scene of Hannibal’s first Italian victory
over the Romans in 218 BC. Nelson had already made his
delayed departure for the Bay of Naples before he knew
the outcome of this battle, so the information coming after
his arrival off Naples on 24 June would only have
strengthened his determination as King Ferdinand’s
plenipotentiary to take a hard line with Neapolitan rebels
and the French.
NELSON’S RUSSIAN ALLY OF 1799
Howard Cartwright
[Extract from: The Nelson Dispatch Volume 11 Part 12 Autumn 2014, pp. 717-21
9
The subsequent Naples
executions, starting with
Caracciolo and continuing for
many months, both before
and after King Ferdinand’s
stay on board Foudroyant,
sadly tainted Nelson’s human
rights record at just the time
when Suvorov’s own past
record in that respect was
being put in the shade by his
phenomenal achievements
against the French.
It must be remembered that Moreau had been a very
successful general north of the Alps earlier in the war, while
MacDonald, a subsequent Marshal of France, now had to
make a difficult upland retreat to the Ligurian coast and
thence to join Moreau near Genoa.
There now followed the complete reoccupation of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the capitulation of the remaining
French garrisons and, with the aid of a division of Russian
troops detached by Suvorov, the occupation of Rome, with
Captain Thomas Louis of Minotaur serving as Governor.
The northern allies took the fortress of Mantua on 28 July.
However, the zenith of allied achievement was yet to come.
The French Directory dismissed Moreau in favour of their
next bright hope, Joubert, who was apparently regarded as
even more promising than the temporarily discredited
Napoleon Bonaparte! Substantially reinforced and having the
benefit of those units which had survived earlier battles,
including General Moreau himself, it was Joubert’s terminal
bad luck to advance into a strong defensive position, only to
find that his army did not outnumber the army of Field
Marshal Suvorov.
Moreau, who survived this battle at Novi Ligure on 15
August, after taking command again on the death of Joubert,
nearly rescued the defensive line. However, Suvorov, right at
the front, could continue to summon reinforcements until the
French broke.
They could now only retreat on Genoa, their last foothold in
Italy, but an immediate siege had been rendered impossible,
thanks to the Gulf of Genoa embracing such a wide sweep of
coastline and Admiral Lord Keith having pursued the Franco-
Spanish fleet of Admiral Bruix out of the Mediterranean with
almost the entire fleet he had brought into that sea. As acting
Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean (yet again!), and with
hopelessly stretched resources, Nelson could no more
blockade Genoa that he could bring the siege of Valletta to a
successful conclusion without an adequate army – a subject
upon which he had made repeated requests.
This would have left Suvorov with a straight choice between
invading southern France or simply masking Genoa, while
establishing early winter quarters to keep the bulk of his army
intact and healthy. Naturally, he favoured the former, more
active option, but his Tsar intervened to order him and all his
Russian troops to invade Switzerland from the south. There he
came under the command of Rimski-Korsakov (otherwise
known as Prince Korsakov), who was invading north-eastern
Switzerland with a joint Austro-Russian army from the
adjoining Vorarlberg part of Austria. Melas had sufficient
Austrian troops to mask Genoa, until the Royal Navy sent out
the Mediterranean fleet once more. The lack of prompt forward
planning at Horse Guards Parade to send an army to bring
about French surrender of Valletta and in Egypt was now
brought into sharp focus by the escape of Bonaparte from
Egypt, even though his whereabouts remained secret until
after he had landed in France. Sadly also, speed of
communication by sea militated against the Admiralty ordering
the Mediterranean fleet back to the blockade of Genoa soon
enough to create a viable argument for the siege of Genoa
being given priority over the removal of Suvorov and his army
from Northern Italy into Switzerland.
In the mind of the mad Tsar Paul, the seizure of Switzerland
from the French would bring a tidy end to the successful 1799
campaign on land, thanks largely to Russian forces. That an
Autumn invasion of a mountainous country was hazardous
appears not to have entered his thinking. However, it is out of
this impossible aim that the Alpine legend of the endurance
and heroism of Suvorov and his men has arisen.
The writer will return to this story in another article following in
their steps, as he has done in part by motor car on modern
roads.
The Madron Banner
Believed to have been made as news of the Battle of
Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson were received off
Penzance in November 1805
Cardinal Ruffo 1744-1827
10
The Nelson Society of Australia Inc
Patron: Commodore David J Orr. RAN (Ret’d ) Honorary Life President: Graham Perkins
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Bob Woollett,
Betty Foster
At last the fatal wound,
Which spread dismay around,
The hero’s breast,
The hero’s breast received
“Heaven fights upon our side!
The days our own”, he cried
Now long enough I’ve lived,
In honest cause my life was passed,
In an honour’s cause I fall at last,
For England, home, and beauty,
For England, home, and beauty.
Thus ending life as he began.
England confessed that every man
That day had done his duty,
That day had done his duty.
John Braham
O’er Nelson's tomb with silent grief oppressed.
Britannia mourns her hero now at rest.
At those bright laurels will not fade with years,
Whose leaves, whose leaves
Are watered by a nation's tears.
Was in Trafalgar Bay
We saw the Frenchman Lay;
Each heart was bounding then;
We scorned the foreign yoke,
For our ships were British Oak,
And hearts of Oak our men!
Our Nelson marked them on the wave,
Three cheers outr gallant seamen gave.
Nor thought of home or beauty,
Nor thought of home or beauty.
Along the line the signal ran
England expects that every man
This day will do his duty,
This day will do his duty.
And now the cannons roar
Along the frightened shore;
Our Nelson led the way.
The ship the Victory named!
Long be that Victory famed,
For Victory crowned the day!
But dearly was that conquest bought,
Too well the gallant hero fought,
For England home and beauty,
For England home and beauty.
He cried as midst the fire he ran
England expects that every man
This day will do his duty,
A song the ‘Death of Nelson’