Lord Nelson's brilliant naval strategy and unparalleled command gave Britain total supremacy at sea and made him a national hero. Much of his success, however, was also due to the Band of Brothers under his command; the most loyal and dedicated officers that the Royal Navy had ever seen. They included Troubridge, that dear good soul; Hardy, with whom Nelson was always in accord; Berry, his right hand; Fremantle, his staunch supporter; and Hood, gentle and unaffected. Despite their different backgrounds and outlooks, they were united in their devotion to Nelson.

Throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy had a peculiar problem: it had too many talented and ambitious officers, all competing for a limited number of command positions. Given this surplus, we might expect that a major physical impairment would automatically disqualify an officer from consideration. To the contrary, after the loss of a limb, at least twenty-six such officers reached the rank of commander or higher through continued service. Losing a limb in battle often became a mark of honor, one that a hero and his friends could use to increase his chances of winning further employment at sea. Lame Captains and Left-Handed Admirals focuses on the lives and careers of four particularly distinguished officers who returned to sea and continued to fight and win battles after losing an arm or a leg: the famous admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, who fought all of his most historically significant battles after he lost his right arm and the sight in one eye, and his lesser-known fellow amputee admirals, Sir Michael Seymour, Sir Watkin Owen Pell, and Sir James Alexander Gordon. Their stories shed invaluable light on the historical effects of physical impairment and this underexamined aspect of maritime history. Peculiar Bodies: Stories and Histories

This is a biographical dictionary of the two flag officers and captains of 27 battleships, four frigates and two minor combatant vessels that were present under Nelson's command at the historic battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. Each officer's family background and naval career will be covered and his and his ship's role in the Battle analyzed. In addition there will be a general introduction.

A biographical survey of all the admirals, captains and commanding officers who served with Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, together with details of the graves and monuments erected to their memory. Nelson's immortal fame has almost completely overshadowed the memory of those who served with him, and with the exception of a few famous names such as Collingwood and Hardy, most of the other commanding officers at Trafalgar are now completely unknown. The bicentenary of the battle, in 2005, offers a unique opportunity to rescue these men from obscurity and celebrate their achievements. The book opens with a chapter on the concept of the Band of Brothers, and looks at how many of the Trafalgar captains had actually served with Nelson before (in fact, very few of them) and highlights some of the main new insights that have emerged as a result of recent research. It then gives brief biographies of each of the thirty-eight officers. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the work is the part given over to descriptions of the graves and monuments, with transcriptions of their epitaphs, based on a survey by members of the 1805 Club; and each description will be accompanied by clear directions to enable readers to find and visit them, and specially-commissioned black and white photographs. Part travel book, part biography and a moving testimony to Nelson's faithful captains, this work will appeal to all Nelson enthusiasts and historians as well as to a wider readership inspired by the bicentennial celebrations in 2005.

An account of the British naval commander's life and career explores his leadership style, his victory against the Spanish fleet at Cape St. Vincent, and his relationships with women and family members.

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