Horatio Nelson was a British naval commander and national hero, famous for his naval victories against the French during the Napoleonic Wars. When Britain entered the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, Nelson was given command of the Agamemnon. He served in the Mediterranean, helped capture Corsica, and saw battle at Calvi, where he lost the sight in his right eye. He would later lose his right arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797.
Nelson led his fleet to many victories against the Spanish off Cape Vincent in 1797. At the Battle of Copenhagen, four years later, he ignored orders to cease action by putting his telescope to his blind eye and claiming he couldn’t see the signal to withdraw! Nelson’s most famous engagement was at Cape Trafalgar, where he saved Britain from the threat of invasion by Napoleon. He was killed by a French sniper a few hours later, while leading the attack. Is it any wonder that he is considered one of the world’s greatest naval leaders?