‘I am almost blind and it is with very great pain I write this’: Nelson’s battle-wound agony is revealed in 223-year-old letter written after the Battle of Corsica as it goes to auction with starting price of £8,000
- Nelson lost sight in right eye during Battle of Corsica and wrote letter a year later
- The 1795 letter to British minister of Genoa was penned when Nelson’s fleet was blocking French vessels and restricting trade ships going into the Italian port
- Two years later Nelson lost his right arm in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Admiral Lord Nelson (pictured) revealed his physical pain and blindness in a letter written in 1795 to the British minister of Genoa, Italy
The physical pain Admiral Lord Nelson endured from battle wounds can be revealed in a 223-year-old letter that has surfaced.
The naval hero described the agony he was in a year after he lost sight in his right eye during the Battle of Corsica in 1794.
Even the simple task of letter writing proved arduous for him, judging by the note he wrote to the British minister of Genoa, Italy in August 1795.
He wrote: ‘I am almost blind and it is with very great pain I write this letter.’
At the time of writing Nelson was also troubled by the French ships in the Italian port of Genoa that his fleet was blockading.
Although the city was neutral in the Napoleonic Wars, the British were concerned by the French increasing their presence there.
During 1795, the British navy blocked the French vessels from leaving and restricted the arrival of trade ships the enemy might benefit from.
At the same time Nelson’s fleet also had to make sure goods meant for the people of Genoa could get through.
The letter, now on sale for £8000, reveals a more personal side to the naval officer. Before signing off his note Nelson wrote ‘I am almost blind and it is with very great pain I write this letter’ (seen in second block of text) giving a rare insight to his suffering
Despite numerous battle injuries, Nelson went on to become Britain’s greatest sailor, culminating in his famous victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 where he was fatally shot. Pictured right is Nelson after the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where he lost his right arm
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In the letter that has now emerged for sale for £8,000, Nelson tries to reassure the British minister that his fleet’s actions were not to the detriment of the locals.
He wrote: ‘The disposition and acts of my Cruizers (sic) will soon prove incontestibly that Genoa is not blockaded, as all vessels will arrive in perfect security, which are not French or loaded with French property.
‘Cruizers off Cape Corse will not stop the trade so well as where I have placed them…I have been very careful to give no offence to the Genoese territority or flag.’
Nelson’s fleet was blocking French ships from leaving the Italian port of Genoa at the time the letter was written. Pictured is Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, London
The letter was written two years before Nelson lost his right arm after it was hit by a musket ball in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Despite the injuries, Nelson went on to become Britain’s greatest sailor, culminating in his famous victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 during which he was fatally shot.
The four page letter penned 10 years earlier is being sold by a private collector at London-based Forum Auctions.
Auctioneer Max Hasler said: ‘Nelson wrote a lot of letters to a lot of people but it is very unusual to come across one in which he opens up and gives an insight into his suffering.
‘The personal statement is in many ways the most interesting aspect of this letter.
‘His eyesight degenerated and clearly he was in pain. There was no time or chance for him to rest of recover from the injury and allow his body and eyes to adjust.
‘Perhaps the pain was caused by the strain in his eyes which made writing a letter a clearly very painful endeavour for him.
The letter is being sold on September 27.
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