The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-05-18

SOD. In the height of hls power
Napoleon. though successful everywhere
on laod, vas defeated everywhere 90
sea. because his fleets could neither
Whip Nelson nor escape him.
The li..le one eyed, oue-armed
bullet-riddled British admiral liked
oosbiug so veil. got even an evening
with Lady Hamilton. as tc dispose CT
one of NapoIeon's aeets, and that he
did With wonderful rapidi.y and ip
. uobroken succession.
he had not ooly to fight Napoleon
but the British admiralty as we'll, but
he was too much for both. Napoleon
| boasted that be de6ed the rules of war
on land, but here was man who With
out Boosting brushed aside the rules OF
war on sea and followed only the white
light Of his own great genius and bis
own unconquerable courage 10 victory
after victory almost invariably against
heavy odds.
| The nan is shove in nothing better
4
than in the message be sent to tbe
admiralty which had vainly tried to
/ Keep bim down even when be bad be-
come the popular hero io England
II am seekieg the enemy l will
6qhs him whether be be at anchor or
under sail, wherever | 6nd him and
whatever bis strength na7 be "
These words referred to his sail into the
Baltic but in them there is a prophecy
of Trafalgar.
At Copenhagen. where he shatter-
ed the naval power Of Denmark and
prevented coalition, the prospect of
which had terrified England, his 50
perior in command. viewing the
fierce fight from afar and seeing the
odds against his feet. eignalIed Mel
son to retreat
Nelson KEEP. on fighting and when
one of his lieutenants called his at
teution to the admiral's signal, he
threw his glass up to his blind eye,
and, winking mis- good eye, mischiev-
ously, said 81 don't see it y A lit
tie later the signal to pull out of the
action was repeated and seversl of
Nelson's officers in a great apprehen
sion as to the result of his disobedi
ence begged him to order his ships
out Of the fight. His reply was.
| damn the signal! Keep mine fyiog
for closer battle. That's the way l
answer such signals Nail mine to
the mast r.
The world knows the sequel.
At the battle ofthe Nile he encoun-
tered French feet stronger tEan his,
DESTROYED or captured every one of
the French ships save two and these
escaped only to fall into Nelson's in
satiate grasp little later
If he could have chosen his time
and manner Of death could Nelson
have done better than fate did for
him? Who but Nelson would have
dared the battle at Trafalgar? The
allied feet of France and Spain out
numbering him in ships. guns and
men about two to one, lay before him.
He could fight or run As he had
never learned how to run he fought
aud won the greatest naval battle in
all history. He sailed in on his
thoorv that tfthe holdest measures are
the safest
|, The allied aeet.in spite of its i'm
mensely superior strength, was al-
most annihilated. but Nelson fell and
died on his flagship, which bore the
prophetic name. Victory.
The world has never looked upon
his like as naval commander
There are military critics who will
contend that Napoleon was greater
soldier tnan Marlborough, and
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge tells us
that Hannibal was greater soldier
than either, greater than julius
Caesar also. but there is no man
whose words are worth listening to
who will arise and say that greater
sea fighter than Nelson ever lived
England cheered and weps when
she heard what had happened at
| Trafalgar
She gave her immortal ADMIRAL the
grandess funeral ever seen In that
heroic isle and his name is to-day the
best one Of all to coniure with when
British patriotism is to be aroused
How happy should we be that our
own gallant boys under commander
who has so we'll won his place in the
list of naval heroes have given a new
CLEAN of glory to the stars Oh oar
flags and that in our grea: rejoicing
over the unexampled victory al
Mauila we have NOT to mourn the
death of glorioas George Dewey or
single man Of the two thousand whom
he led in such splendid fashion,
F Richardson, in A tlanta Journal.