Admiral Nelson's Sea Shanties

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A book of sea shanties collected by Lady Hamilton has been uncovered in Museum of London by researcher Lluis Tembleque Teres.

Lady Emma Hamilton, mistress of Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, by whom she had a second daughter, collected sea shanties commemorating her lover.

But her life was more interesting than just this one lover!

Emma Hamilton was born Amy Lyon, but she preferred to be known as Emma Hart. She was a daughter of a Cheshire blacksmith and was brought up in Wales by her grandmother.

Working as a servant she became the mistress of Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh, for whom it is said she danced naked on the dining table at Uppark for the entertainment of his friends. It was at this time, aged about 16, fathered by Sir Harry, she had a child named Emma Carew.

During her stay at Uppark she met the Hon. Charles Greville, a younger son of the Earl of Warwick and nephew of Sir William Hamilton. Greville was very impressed by her beauty, and had great hopes of making a lot of money out of a series of paintings of her that he had commissioned from George Romney, the artist.

In 1782, she became the mistress of Charles Greville, an earl's son and MP, who gave her a home in Paddington Green where he visited her over the next four years.

Then, in 1786, Greville wished to marry, and a mistress was an embarrassment, so he sent Emma with her mother to Naples to visit his uncle Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador. Hamilton was a widower and it is clear that the two men had decided that Emma should become Hamilton's mistress. At first she was distraught, writing anguished letters to Greville whom she genuinely loved, but Hamilton gradually won her over. They eventually married in 1791.

Nelson first met Emma Hamilton in 1793, when as captain of HMS Agamemnon he was sent to Naples by the Mediterranean commander-in-chief, Lord Hood, to persuade the King of Naples to send troops to hold the French port of Toulon, which had been surrendered to the British by French monarchists. He and Emma obviously liked each other as he wrote to his wife: ‘She is a young woman of amiable manners and who does honour to the station to which she has been raised.’

Emma and Nelson kept in touch afterwards, especially during the Nile campaign in 1798, when the British attempted to intercept Napoleon's landing in Egypt. When he realised the influence Emma had with the Queen of Naples, Nelson wrote to her of his progress chasing the French fleet and his urgent need for supplies. Emma became personally involved in the tension preceding the Battle of the Nile and the celebrations following it.

When Nelson arrived in Naples after the battle, he was a sick man. Emma and Sir William took him into their home at the Palazzo Sessa where she and her mother nursed him back to health. Nelson and Emma very quickly became close and confidential friends.

This bond was further strengthened in December 1798, when they worked together in the secret and often dangerous operation to evacuate the King and Queen of Naples to Palermo, when Naples fell to the French army and a republic was established. Emma made most of the arrangements with the court, and when the ships were hit by a violent storm, she rose to the occasion, helping the terrified royal passengers.

Her courage struck a chord in Nelson’s heart and they became inseparable. For perhaps the first time in his naval career, Nelson began to put his personal life before his duty. This marked the beginning of Nelson and Emma’s passionate affair that scandalised the high society of the day.

The sea shanties were written by William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry, 1st cousin, once removed of Emma's husband, Sir William Douglas Hamilton, KB, PC, FRS, FRSE.

William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry and a friend of Hamilton, composed a short but stirring song to mark the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, when the British navy sent a fleet to attack the Danish forces to prevent an alliance with Napoleonic France.

The Duke, whose family went on to lend their name to the Queensberry Rules that formed the basis of modern boxing, also wrote the music for a sea shanty. Douglas, better known as a gambler and racehorse owner, set the lyrics to a tune celebrating the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797, when Nelson fought under Admiral Sir John Jervis against the Spanish.

Emma Hamilton wrote on both pieces noting that Douglas was the composer. Her music books featured two other pieces whose lyrics were recorded by newspapers but for which scores have not survived elsewhere.

William Douglas’s song to mark the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801

In spite of the Russians, the Swede and the Dane,
Old England for ever shall rule o’er the Main,
For ever shall rule o’er the Main,
And while we’ve a Nelson to fight on our side,
Our fleets on the ocean in triumph shall ride,
Our fleets on the ocean in triumph shall ride.


A shanty by Douglas and another writer to celebrate the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797

Messmates put about the grog,
Give old father time a jog,
And that he may quicker flee,
To bring Nelson back to sea.


Source

 

Sources for this article include:
  • The London Times, 28 October 2021


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