“Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar (Brave Nelson)”

Description

Nelson leads his English fleet to battle with the French and Spanish navies off Cadiz. "He broke their line of battle, and struck the fatal blow," but in the melee is shot. He dies knowing he has won and that Napoleon's threat to Britain is ended

Supplemental text

Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar (Brave Nelson) [Laws J17]
  Complete text(s)

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Nelson's Glorious Victory at Trafalgar

As printed by W. H. Logan, The Pedlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs,
pp. 67-69. Immediate source is not noted.

Arise, arise, brave Britons!
  Perform your loudest lays;
And join me in a chorus,
  To sing Britannia's praise.
Once more the hero of the Nile
Did seek to make Britannia smile
With another victory on the file --
  O brave Nelson!

October, on the twenty-first,
  It being a glorious day,
The combined fleets of France and Spain
  Were just off Cadiz Bay;
Their ships, in number thirty-three --
And Nelson, when he did them see,
Said, "Twenty then there is for me."
  O brave Nelson!

The signal made for fighting,
  Cannon began to roar;
Our ships, in number twenty-seven,
  We shook the Spanish shore;
And Nelson on the deck so high,
Aloud unto his men did cry,
"We'll conquer them, my lads, or die."
  O brave Nelson!

He broke their line of battle,
  And struck the fatal blow;
He blew some up into the air,
  And some he sent below.
But, when with victory on his side
A fatal ball his life destroyed,
He in the midst of glory died.
  O brave Nelson!

When the hero brave was dying,
  And with his parting breath,
He pray'd for England's glory,
  Till the moment of his death.
"Farewell, my lads, my glass is run,
This day must be my setting sun;
But Providence, thy will be done,"
  O brave Nelson!

The battle it being over,
  Which was a bloody fray;
We twenty of their finest ships,
  From them did take away.
Now Bonaparte! boast no more,
To land upon our native shore,
Lest you in pieces should be tore,
  Through brave Nelson.

May Collingwood's and Hardy's,
  Like Nelson's fame resound,
And all our force by land and sea,
  With good success be crown'd;
May Britain's trade and wealth increase,
All wars and tumults ever cease,
And may we have a lasting peace
  Through brave Nelson.

Notes

Napoleon dearly wanted to capture Britain -- and he was right to feel that way; Britain was his worst enemy and the one that finally defeated him. But he could not invade England unless the Royal Navy could be swept aside. Trafalgar was his attempt to do so, and it failed miserably. The Franco-Spanish navy, under Villaneuve, was slightly larger (33 ships to Nelson's 27), but poorly led and badly trained. Nelson not only had a better fleet, but new ideas. After a game of cat and mouse that had led the fleets all the way to the Americas, the two fleets finally met off Cape Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson's method of "breaking the line" worked, and he heavily defeated the French. In the midst of the battle, however, he was shot by a French sharpshooter and mortally wounded.

Even so, the French threat to Britain was permanently lifted.

Miscellaneous references in the broadside include:

"The hero of the Nile": Nelson's first great exploit against Napoleon occurred before the turn of the century, when he effectively destroyed the fleet that had carried Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. The conflict was known as "The Battle of the Nile" (August 1, 1798).

"Collingwood" was Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood (1758-1810), Nelson's second in command and Chief Assistant Hero of the battle. - RBW

A distinguishing characteristic of this ballad is that each verse ends "brave Nelson."

I haven't found this ballad among the broadsides in the Bodleian catalog though there are broadsides on the subject. See, for example, the chapbook printed by J. Pitts (London) with fifteen "admired songs, on the glorious victory off Trafalgar," Bodleian Curzon b.24(98) [not all of it legible]. - BS

Historical references

• 1758-1805 - Life of Horatio Nelson, victor at Aboukir (the Nile), Copenhagen, and Trafalgar
• Oct 21, 1805 - Battle of Trafalgar

References

1. Laws J17, "Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar (Brave Nelson)"
2. Logan, pp. 67-69, "Nelson's Glorious Victory at Trafalgar" (1 text)
3. Mackenzie 77, "Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar" (1 text)
4. Creighton-SNewBrunswick 94, "Brave Nelson" (1 text, 1 tune)
5. DT 549, NLSNTRAF
6. ADDITIONAL: C. H. Firth, _Publications of the Navy Records Society_ , 1907 (available on Google Books), p. 301, "Nelson's Glorious Victory at Trafalgar" (1 text)
7. ST LJ17 (Full)
8. Roud #522
9. BI, LJ17