nelson.co.ukEarly Life Of Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson was born on 29 September 1758 in a rectory in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, the sixth of eleven children of The Reverend Edmund Nelson and Catherine Nelson. His mother, who died when he was nine, was a grandniece of Sir Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, the de facto first prime minister of the British Parliament. It was at Beccles church, Suffolk in 1749 that Catherine Suckling from the nearby village of Barsham, Suffolk married the Reverend Edmund Nelson.
Nelson was briefly educated at Paston Grammar School, North Walsham, and Norwich School, and by the time he was twelve he had enrolled in the Royal Navy. His naval career began on 1 January 1771 when he reported to the third-rate Raisonnable as an Ordinary Seaman and coxswain. Nelson’s maternal uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, commanded the vessel. Shortly after reporting aboard, Nelson was appointed a midshipman and began officer training. Ironically, Nelson found that he suffered from seasickness, a chronic complaint that dogged him for the rest of his life.
Suckling became Comptroller of the Navy in 1775 and used his position to help Nelson's rapid advance. By 1777 Nelson had risen to the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to the West Indies. During his service as lieutenant he saw action on the British side in the American Revolutionary War. By the time he was 20, in June 1779, he was made post-captain. The 28-gun frigate Hinchinbroke, newly captured from the French, was his first command as post-captain.
In 1780 he was involved in an action against the Spanish fortress of San Juan in Nicaragua. Though the expedition was ultimately a major debacle, none of the blame was attributed to Nelson, who was praised for his efforts. He fell seriously ill, probably contracting malaria, and returned to the UK for more than a year to recover. He eventually returned to active duty and was assigned to Albemarle, in which he continued his efforts against the American rebels until the official end of the war in 1783.