Citations Horatio Nelson
„It is nonsense, Mr. Burke, to suppose I can live. My sufferings are great but they will soon be over.“
citation needed
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
„England expects every Man will do his Duty.“
Famous signal to the British fleet before the battle of Trafalgar, as quoted in Life of Nelson, Ch. 9; Initially dictated as: "England confides that every man shall do his duty." The signaller pointed out that "expects" was in the signals alphabet, but "confides" was not and so had to be spelt out, taking longer, and Nelson agreed to the change.
Variant:
England expects every officer and man to do his duty this day.
As reported in The London Times (26 December 1805)
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
„I am myself a Norfolk man.“
On being welcomed on arrival in Great Yarmouth, in his home county [citation needed]
1790s
„Success, I trust — indeed have little doubt — will crown our zealous and well-meant endeavours: if not, our Country will, I believe, sooner forgive an Officer for attacking his Enemy than for letting it alone.“
Statement regarding the attack on Bastia, Corsica (3 May 1794), as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. I : 1777-1794, p. 393
1790s
„I am Lord Nelson. See, here's my fin.“
Indicating his stub of his missing arm during the battle of Copenhagen, as quoted in Nelson and the Hamiltons (1969) by Jack Russell, p. 238
1800s
„Now I can do no more. We must trust to the Great Disposer of all Events and the Justice of our Cause. I thank God for this great opportunity of doing my Duty.“
In response to the cheer that was raised after he sent the signal "England expects every Man will do his Duty.", as quoted in The Life of Admiral Lord Nelson, K.B. from His Lordship's Manuscripts (1810) by James Stanier Clarke and John McArthur, p. 667
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
„It is warm work; and this day may be the last to any of us at a moment. But mark you! I would not be elsewhere for thousands.“
At the Battle of Copenhagen (2 April 1801) [citation needed]
1800s
„…When he was on the eve of departure for one of his great expeditions the coachmaker said to him, "The carriage shall be at the door punctually at six o clock"; "A quarter before," said Nelson. "I have always been a quarter of an hour before my time and it has made a man of me."“
letter from Sir Thomas Buxton to his son quoted in "Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton" from Sylvanus Urban (ed.) The Gentleman's Magazine" July to December 1848, p. 577
1800s
„Let me alone, I have yet my legs left, and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and get his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is off the better.“
After being wounded during the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (24 July 1797), as quoted in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. II : 1795-1797, p. 423
1790s
„The business of the English Commander-in-Chief being first to bring an Enemy's Fleet to Battle, on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his Ships close on board the Enemy, as expeditiously as possible;) and secondly, to continue them there, without separating, until the business is decided.“
"Plan of Attack" (1805), drawn up during pursuit of the French fleet to the West Indies, as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1866) edited by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. VI : May 1804 - July 1805, p. 443
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
„Desperate affairs require desperate measures.“
As quoted in The Book of Military Quotations (1992) edited by Peter G. Tsouras, p. 54
1800s
„In honour I gained them, and in honour I will die with them.“
Life of Nelson (ch. 9), when asked to cover the stars on his uniform to hide his rank during battle.
1800s
„Victory or Westminster Abbey.“
Life of Nelson Vol. I, Ch. 4 : In the battle off Cape Vincent, giving order for boarding the San Josef
1800s
„There is in the handling of these Transatlantic ships a nucleus of trouble for the Navy of Great Britain.“
On American ships sighted sometime between 1801 and 1803, as quoted in The Royal Navy: Its Influence in English History and in the Growth of Empire https://books.google.com/books?id=mlNnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA149 (1914) by John Leyland
1800s
„This is too warm work, Hardy, to last long.“
citation needed
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
„Time is everything; five minutes make the difference between victory and defeat.“
Frothingham, Jessie Peabody. Sea Fighters from Drake to Farragut New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1902. p. 314
1800s
„Something must be left to chance; nothing is sure in a sea fight above all.“
Before the battle of Trafalgar [citation needed]
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
„Before this time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or Westminster Abbey.“
Before the Battle of the Nile (1 August 1797), as quoted in Life of Nelson, Ch. 5; alternately reported as "Westminster Abbey, or victory!"
1790s
„First gain the victory and then make the best use of it you can.“
Before the battle of the Nile (1 August 1797) [citation needed]
1790s
