From the Victory, Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson Presages the Most Famous Quote in Military History, His – “England expects that every man will do his duty”.

This philosophy of duty first resounds with every patriot everywhere, and continues to inspire bravery today

Admiral Sir Richard Keats and and his ship HMS Boadicea were stationed close inshore off Brest, France through 1799 and 1800, taking prizes and commending themselves to Lord St. Vincent, who had taken command of the Channel Fleet in April 1800, amidst the Napoleonic Wars. Keats’s reward for his diligence came on March 17, 1801, when he was given command of HMS Superb, and moved to a new station off Cadiz, Spain, thus beginning a new chapter in his career. Although Keats had served on line-of-battle ships previously, Superb was his first command of one of these heavy yet versatile workhorses of the Royal Navy, and he immediately set to work to train her ship’s company in his own ideas of seamanship and gunnery. When combined Spanish and French squadrons sailed south from Algeciras into the Mediterranean in 1801, he sank or took six enemy ships. For his services on this occasion, Keats received the thanks of Parliament. Nelson, who knew Keats and was aware that he was a friend of the Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV, wrote Clarence: “Most cordially do I congratulate your Royal Highness on the distinguished merits of Captain Keats, your opinion of him was truly formed…”

In 1803, when Nelson came out to take command of the Mediterranean Fleet, he wrote Clarence of Keats that “I esteem his person alone as equal to one French 74, and the Superb and her Captain equal to two 74- gun Ships.” This was praise indeed and Nelson clearly so enjoyed his early assessments of Keats that he called him “one of the very best Officers.” In 1804, Nelson wrote Clarence of Keats, “His life is a valuable one to the State, and it is impossible that your Royal Highness could ever have a better choice of Sea friend, or Counsellor, if you go to the Admiralty.” The earliest surviving invitation to dine from Nelson to Keats dates from July 1804. By January 1805, when HMS Victory was moored in Agincourt Sound, Corsica, Nelson was addressing Keats, who was on his way back from a trip to Algiers as ‘My dear Keats’, suggesting to him ways in which to avoid being quarantined by the Governor of Corsica. Keats’s devotion professionally to the service and personally to Nelson was never in doubt and never so well demonstrated as in 1805 when, despite HMS Superb being in poor condition and badly in need of docking and repair, he was determined that she should remain with Nelson as he chased the movements of the French fleet across the Mediterranean and back and then across the Atlantic to the West Indies and back. Nelson recognized this devotion and told Clarence about it: “Victory, March 13th 1805. ‘…I hope to meet them [the French fleet] soon for which reason I have deferred my departure in the Superb and for the same reason Keats wishes to stay, although his ship ought long time since to have been in England [for repairs].”

By May 1805 Keats had clearly assured Nelson of his determination for the Superb to remain in the Mediterranean Fleet with Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory while there was a chance of an engagement with the French, since Nelson wrote to him early that month. Autograph letter signed, on board The Victory, May 8, 1805, to Keats, being that very letter, presaging the words he would use at Trafalgar. “I am very much pleased with the cheerfulness with which you are determined to share the fate of the fleet. Perhaps none of us would wish for exactly a brief West India trip but the call of our country is far superior to any consideration of self. I will take care that Superb shall have neighbor’s fare in everything. I have wrote to the admiralty that Superb would be sent home before the hurricane weather. I am anxious to get off [Cape} St. Vincent to meet [HMS] Amazon from Lisbon when my route will be fixed. Will you dine here if we have little wind, and believe me ever my dear Keats, yours most faithfully, Nelson & Bronte.”

HMSs Victory and Superb sailed from Gibraltar for England in August and arrived off the Isle of Wight on August 17; Nelson and Keats dined together that evening. . While both men remained in England, they also remained in touch, although Keats was busy overseeing the refitting of Superb in Portsmouth Dockyard and Nelson busy between political matters in London and domesticity at Merton. On August 22, 1805, with Superb still at anchor at Spithead, Keats wrote Nelson a letter that is indicative of the feelings that he – and his ship’s company – had for Nelson: “…Permit me to assure you that we all feel much pleasure in finding that all classes write in the sentiments of admiration of your Lordship’s judicious and persevering endeavours…” Keats went to visit Nelson at Merton, probably early in September 1805. There Nelson told him of his plans when he met the French fleet, saying “I think it will surprise and confound the Enemy. They won’t know what I am about. It will bring forward a pell-mell Battle, and that is what I want.” Keats’s related of this conversation that Nelson assumed that HMS Superb would be with him at this projected ‘pell-mell Battle’ but it was not to be. HMS Victory and Nelson left Spithead on September 14, 1805, and the Superb would not have repairs complete and leave England until October 15. By the time Keats arrived at Cadiz, the Battle of Trafalgar was fought and Nelson was dead.

HMS Victory joined the British fleet off Cadiz on September 27, 1805, Nelson taking over command from Rear Admiral Collingwood. He spent the following weeks preparing and refining his tactics for the anticipated battle and dining with his captains to ensure they understood his intentions. Nelson had devised a plan of attack that anticipated the enemy would assume the British fleet would form up in a traditional line of battle. Drawing on his own experience from the Nile and Copenhagen, Nelson decided instead to split his fleet into squadrons rather than forming it into a similar line parallel to the enemy. These squadrons would then cut the enemy’s line in a number of places, allowing a pell-mell battle to develop in which the British ships could overwhelm and destroy parts of their opponents’ formation, before the unengaged enemy ships could come to their aid. At four o’clock in the morning of October 21, Nelson ordered the Victory to turn towards the approaching enemy fleet, and signaled the rest of his force to battle stations. He then went below and made his will, before returning to the quarterdeck to carry out an inspection. Despite having 27 ships to the French 33, Nelson was confident of success, declaring that he would not be satisfied with taking fewer than 20. He then joined Victory’s signal lieutenant, John Pasco, and told him to signal the fleet what would become the best known quotation in military history: “Mr Pasco, I wish to say to the fleet ‘England expects that every man will do his duty’”.

The battle was the greatest naval success since the battle at Actium in 31 BC between Octavian (Augustus Caesar) and Mark Anthony. But Nelson had been hit by a marksman from the French ship Redoutable, firing at a range of 50 feet. Nelson told the ship’s surgeon, “You can do nothing for me. I have but a short time to live. My back is shot through.” Nelson was made comfortable, fanned and brought lemonade and watered wine to drink after he complained of feeling hot and thirsty. He asked several times to see his flag captain, Thomas Hardy, who was on deck supervising the battle, and asked to be remembered to his beloved Emma Hamilton, his daughter and his friends. Hardy came belowdecks to see Nelson just after half-past two, and informed him that a number of enemy ships had surrendered. Nelson told him that he was sure to die, and begged him to pass his possessions to Emma. After reminding him to “take care of poor Lady Hamilton”, Nelson said “Kiss me, Hardy”. Hardy knelt and kissed Nelson on the cheek; and then Nelson died. His victory at Trafalgar gave Great Britain incontestable rule of the seas for over a century, ended the threat of invasion by Napoleon and placed the French cause on the road to defeat, and bolstered British colonial rule in India and around the world.

This is the first letter we have seen that calls to mind Nelson’s most famous phrase. It remained in the Keats family for years, and we obtained it in Europe. It has never before been offered for sale in the United States.