Evening star., 1936-09-06
Lord Nelson Recalled
By Spanish War
RY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

The civil war in Spain irreSdstibly
recalls the exploits of a century and
quarter ago Of the man who is regarded
as the greatest Of British naval COM
manders by all British and by many Of
all lands as the greatest naval COM
mander who ever lived The circum-
stances which evoked so much of his
heroic activity have curious parallels in
the warfare of today. The period of
disturbance through which Lord Nelson
passed was ushered in by much the same
sort of political unrest as that felt at
present. The French revolution had
brought foaming to the surface numer-
GUS group similar to the communist
group which has been in control Of the
Spanish government. Civil strife with
outside interferences, including that Of
the British, resulted.
There are no greater hero-worshipers
than the British. Whether it is because
of the various threats which have risen
like storm clouds out of the Mediter-
ranean or for some other reason, especial
attention has recently been directed to
Lord Nelson. Each year considerable
time is devoted to naval celebrations
including a Navy week. In the United
States, we have a Navy day but Britain
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year she seems to be devoting an entire
season to recalling to the British mind
and, Incidentally, to the mind of all
Europe. the great Mediterranean tradi-
ton of the British Navy.
Nothing could serve the purpose better
than special exhibitions of Lord Nelson's
flagship, the Victory, the great war
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in the hold of which he died. 1t is
somewhat difficult to realize the size of
H. M. S. Victory. Nowadays, one IS
familiar with huge battleships and liners,
but one rarely thinks of the sailing ships
of more than century ago as being SO
large. Indeed, few of them were Sd
large as the Victory. The Victory car
ried complement Of 1900 fighting men,
which is about as many as a modern
steam warship of the larger type carries
today. Steam, of course, was unknown
as a practical propulsive agency, al
though at the very period Robert Fulton
was engaged in experimenting with the
Napoleon in his experiments, but the
Emperor could not be bothered with
what he considered a toy.
The huge ship Victory was propelled
entirely by sail power. She spread acres
of canvas to the winds and achieved a
very respectable speed. She was the
very apotheosis of the three-decker of
which Kipling said: 1T cost watch TO
steer her and a week to shorten sail"
That, of course, was not true of the
Victory, for the crew was capable of
examining on sail or stripping her in a
matter of minutes. They had to be to
handle such a leviathan, especially in
action.
For many years the Victory remained
afloat. She was in the naval service for
long after Nelson's death, but later she
was superseded by steam. However, she
was useful as training ship in the same
manner that the smaller American Con-
Stitution-Old IronsideS-was used BY
Annapolis cadets until the close of the
nineteenth century.
At length, however, the Victory's sea
days were re Gded as definitely over.
The British people would not tolerate
her destruction, so she was put in
permanent drydock at Portsmouth. The
very dock she is in is interesting. 1t
Is believed to be the oldest in the world.
1t dates from the reign of Charles II.
To insure her safe repose the Victory is
shored up with steel beams. The level
Of the dock comes to the point where
her water line would be were she afioat.
At little distance the illusion that she
is afloat is produced.
Unquestionably naval architects and
seamen Of today see beauty in the grim
steel lines Of their fighting ships of steel.
But 1t Is beauty of a different sort from
that of the wooden ships of another day.
For example. the figurehead of the
Victory is work of the wood-carver's
art in itself and there is much else Of fine
wood carving about the ship.
X \
Lord Nelson was pacing the main
deck of the Victory at the Battle of
Trafalgar when he was struck by a
Sniper in maintop of one of the French
ships. The wound was mortal one and
he collapsed. One may see, on the very
spot, plate set into the deck, marking
the place.
The line of battle warship of those
days was quite different from what mod
ern navies display. The gun turret had
not been invented, so there was no such
spectacle as those huge revolving drums
which one now sees on the deck of a
battleship. They can be swiveled around
to train on an enemy target at any point.
Not so with such ship as the Victory
or our own Constitution
Nevertheless, those early ships pre-
sented formidable argument to the
enemy; for on either side were long lines
OF portfolios with huge roundshot dis
charging guns grinning from each Of
them. On the top deck there were guns
which, to some extent, took the place of
the modern gun turrets. The Victory
mounted two 68-pounder carronades
which could be changed in position. The
real batteries, however, were below. One
looks down the lower gun deck nearly
the length of a city block Along either
side are the huge monsters of guns, their
noses. 'poked through the portfolios,
their breecheS inbeam They are
mounted on gun carriages and are staid
with blocks and huge hawSersN to take
up the recoil. On single gun deck
there were 80 of the great 32-pounders.
In those days there was no high ex.
ploSive as now 1t is known. Round shot
were hurled from the cannons' mouths
to pierce the hulls of enemy ships, dis.
mast them or tear through their rigging.
Today, while it is necessary to maneu-
yer ships into line of battle, it is not as
necessary at 1t was then. Today the
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