L'amiral Nelson

Recollect that you must be a Seaman to be an officer: also that you cannot be a good officer without being à Gentleman.
Vice Admiral Lord Nelson to Midshipman Charles Connor c 1803

Nelson recollected when he wrote the Sketch of my life in 1799. The first lieutenant had failed to board the prize because of heavy seas and Nelson pushed his way in front of the master into the ship's boat to attempt boarding." I know," he wrote," it is my disposition, that difficulties and dangers do but increase my desire of attempting them "

He had the opportunity to observe some strikingly effective leadership. Constantine Phipps was notably strong and took more than his share of physical exertions, leading by example, which was unusual for an aristocrat. The popular first lieutenant of the Carcass, John Baird, also set a powerful example. An anonymous observer singled him out: " His conduct was always calm, and his order resolute. He never was heard, during the whole voyage on the most pressing emergencies, to enforce his commands with an oath, or to call a sailor by any other than his usual name."

One contemporary naval historian exulted: " That our trade is the Mother and Nurse of our seamen; Our Seamen the Life of our Fleet; And our Fleet the Security and Protection of our Trade: And that both together are the Wealth, Strength and Glory of Great Britain"
The reserve of seamen led to a great advantage over France and Spain, rooted in the consistently increasing number of British merchant ship throughout the eighteenth century.

The firmest guide for the young officer was, however, the idea of "Honour" .One contemporary definition of the word was "The Desire of fame, or the Applause of men, directed to the end of public Happiness "

The Midshipman's importance and role were emphasized by one captain who made a case to keep his together, bound in personal loyalty to him, as "The discipline of the ship cannot be strictly kept us as they form a very necessary part of the system of organisation in a man of war" Cuthbert Collingwood, Nelson's lifelong friend, was an innovater where training was concerned and made his midshipman " mess with common men, where we lived with them for three months, performing all the offices of the ship boys such as cooking the victuals ". Indignant at first, one young midshipman, Jeffery Raigersfeld, saw the wisdom of this unusual order:" And I am glad I was so placed, as it gave me a great insight into the character of the seamen"

It was my good fortune to have under my command some of the most experienced officers in the British Navy, whose professional skills was seconded by the undaunted courage of British sailors "
Nelson's speech at the dinner at the Beaufort Arms, Monmouth

It is an old saying:" Show me the company a man keeps, and I will tell you his character, " why not on a similar principle, "Show me the correspondence which a man receives and I will show you what manner of a man he is"
Sir John Barrow, life of George Lord Anson