Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar by Adam Nicolson

Author:Adam Nicolson [Nicolson, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: History, Biography & Autobiography, Psychology
ISBN: 9780060753627
Goodreads: 42498
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2006-08-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

BOLDNESS

October 21st 1805 12 midday to 12.go pm

Distance between fleets: 1 mile - Contact Victory’s heading and speed: 104° at 3 knots

Boldness: the Power to speak or do what we intend, before others, without fear or disorder

John Locke, Essay on Human Understanding, 1695

The more southerly of the two British columns, led by Collingwood in the Royal Sovereign, was nearer the enemy line and came within range first. The wind was still light, now more westerly and dropping fast, the sea smooth, the sun shining on the newly painted sides of the French and Spanish ships. As soon as the first shots of the French were fired, from the Fougueux, the flags on the British fleet were let fly. Jacks and ensigns were lashed to the fore topgallant stay, the main topmast stay and the mizzen shrouds, a multiplicity of signals so that in the battle, when in the still airs smoke would hang in thick clouds around them, friends would have a chance of recognising friends. The multiple flags were a sign both of comradeship and isolation. This was a battle in which all of them, jointly, would be alone.

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