Politically Correct Trafalgar
”...accusations of triumphalism.”? What the hell is that? You can win but not be happy about winning? That would make for a great NFL season.
Posted by yatalli
06/29/2005 at 11:04 AM
So, are they getting ready to pull Nelson’s statue down from Trafalgar Square? Perhaps rename it EU square? They’re getting PC enough and “sensitive” enough to consider it.
In 1801, Denmark was under Napoleon’s control, and so was the Danish Fleet, stationed in and about Copenhagen. These ships constituted a severe threat to the Royal Navy’s control of the sea, on which Britain’s survival depended. Nelson argued, cajoled, and struggled for a pre-emptive strike at the Danish Fleet, fighting the timidity of the politician types, one of whom was his commander-in-chief, Admiral Sir Hyde Parker. After a heated wrangle, Nelson got his way.
On April 2, 1801, Nelson’s fleet stood in to Copenhagen to sink the Danish Fleet, and came under hot fire immediately from the Danish ships and shore batteries. Parker arrived with another squadron. A look at the action in progress convinced him that disaster was in the offing. He lost his nerve and sent Nelson a signal to break off action and withdraw.
As noted by Capt. Russell Grenfell RN in Nelson the Sailor (New York: Macmillan, 1950), pp. 149-150:
“When this signal was reported to Nelson he was dumbfounded and outraged. Break off the action? ‘Damn me if I do!’ he exclaimed. He took a turn or two up and down the deck in patent agitation. He had had a bitter fight against weak-kneed hesitancy before he could get the action staged at all; and now that the guns were actually doing their work, here was this order to break everything off in the middle. It was maddening. But how could he ignore a direct order like this? Then in his moment of sore perplexity and distress there came to him a flash of pure artistic genius. Carefully extending his telescope to normal focus, he put the eyepiece to his blind eye. ‘Really,’ he said, with a mock facetiousness that delighted the few close spectators, ‘I do not see the signal.’ Then turning to the signal officer, he asked if his own signal for close action was still flying, and on learning that it was ordered that it was to remain so.
Parker’s timidity (or panic) notwithstanding, Nelson went on to shatter the Danish Fleet and deny its use to Boney, who was sorely vexed. And, to crown Nelson’s fortune, Parker was recalled, and Nelson made commander-in-chief in his place.
To hell with PC, and may its adherents swell the legion of devils so that hell sloppeth over!
Thanks, Tann. I had heard the bare essentials of the story. You have filled in the details.
Red and blue fleets? They make it sound like an election.
Glad to oblige, Stin, as always. Nelson is one of my heroes. And good for Anna Tribe! A bit of the old spirit, what?
Tanney - I am so impressed with your knowledge of military history.........
Posted by Dottie
06/29/2005 at 04:58 PM
Thank you, Dottie. It’s been one of my hobbies since elementary-school days, when I first saw Victory at Sea. It means a lot to turn a hobby to such good ends, and I’m proud that others are benefitting from it.
Keep those pretty photos coming. Any chance of turning up a luna moth? Do you have them out your way? They are my favorite tiny flying creatures.
I’ve never seen a luna moth out here. I believe they are found mostly along the east. I have yet to see any moths in my garden.......
Posted by Dottie
06/29/2005 at 11:21 PM
Sadly the idea of red and blue fleets so as not to offend our “good friends” is another sign of the pc times in which we live. More disturbingly for me was the scandalously high level of ignorance amongst British schoolchildren regarding Nelson & Trafalgar.
Can you imagine if you asked an American teenager who George Washington was and they had no idea? Had it not been for Nelson and the Royal Navy, Britain would most likely have been invaded by corporal Bonaparte. There would be Old Boney’s column in place of Nelson and we would have to speak gibberish!Political correctness is going to sink everything good about our country. The first time I became aware of it was what Yatalli mentioned above about the NFL. - When someone stopped the players from wiggling and high-fives and dancing around after making a touchdown. ??? Good grief… Because it might make those who had not made a touchdown FEEL BAD ? It’s a sport where there are winners and losers. Just as in battles there are winners and losers. What kind of mindgame is it to ‘pretend’ by giving colors to a fleet that there were no actual winners and no actual losers for fear of offending someone ? Is it better for our feelings to pretend things did not happen realistically in history. PC has ruined education in this country. To care more for FEELINGS than historical realities is to scorn the face of logic.
For all of you (Tanny!) who love this history, do read Patrick O’Brian’s 21 book set of Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. It is all about the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Outstanding reading. I cannot say enough about these books.
Posted by Phoenix
06/30/2005 at 09:57 AM
Hi Phoenix, I have O’Brian’s books on my list. Still plowing toward them. Thank you for reminding me of them and kindest regards as always....
And by the way:
Wrath of a lady
The breath of a volcano
Storm of feckless flame.
Tanny,
“Storm of feckless flame.” Damn. That is good. Good.
Posted by Phoenix
06/30/2005 at 12:28 PM
Yes, I liked that one too.
Seemed very appropriate.
Thank you, Phoenix and Stin. I think I had better sort through old threads and pull all of these haikus together. Like a fool, I didn’t keep copies of them. But I do remember the first one for Phoenix:
Elusive lady
Like mist on water floating
Before the sun comes.Best regards as always to you both.
Tanny,
I wrote that one down. I will cherish it always.
Posted by Phoenix
06/30/2005 at 05:36 PM
Thank you, Phoenix. You are a good inspiration.
Tanny, Stin, I am of an age that I had to copy down the deployment of the fleets at Trafalgar, for a history lesson. Didn’t appreciate it at the time, but I do now.
Phoenix, nice to see your lovely face in BMEWS. Maybe I’ll expose my whiskers to the public like Stin does.
06/30/2005 at 02:55 AM
07/02/2005 at 07:56 PM
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