Edward Berry Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry , 1st Baronet , KCB ( 1768 – 13 February 1831 ) was an officer in Britain ' s Royal Navy primarily known for his role as flag captain of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson ' s ship HMS " Vanguard " at the Battle of the Nile , prior to his knighthood in 1798 . He had a long and prestigious naval career and also commanded HMS " Agamemnon " at the Battle of Trafalgar . Early life and naval career . Berry was born in 1768 , the son of a London merchant who died at an early age leaving a widow , 5 daughters and 2 sons in perilous financial circumstances . His early education was provided by his uncle , the Rev . Titus Berry , in Norwich . It was under the patronage of one of Titus Berry ' s former pupils Lord Mulgrave , that in 1779 Berry entered the Navy as a volunteer aboard the , at the age of 10 . Service in the French Revolutionary Wars . As a reward for his gallantry in boarding a French ship , Berry was promoted to Lieutenant on 20 January 1794 and in May 1796 was appointed to the with Captain Nelson , whom he followed upon his move to in June . He was soon to win his commander ' s esteem , and in a letter to Admiral Sir John Jervis , Nelson wrote , ' I have as far as I have seen every reason to be satisfied with him [ Berry ] , both as a gentleman and an officer ' . On sending Nelson ' s report to the Admiralty , Jervis added ' Lieutenant Edward Berry , of whom the Commodore writes so highly , is a protégé of mine and I know him to be an officer of talents , great courage and laudable ambition ' . Indeed , whilst Nelson was ashore during the siege of Porto Ferrajo , Berry commanded the ship in such a way as to make him the subject of his captain ' s ' fullest approbation ' , and he received the rank of Commander on 12 November 1796 . Whilst awaiting a posting he remained aboard HMS " Captain " during the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 . Although Berry had no specific duties during the battle , he again displayed his courage when Nelson came alongside the Spanish ship " San Nicholas " and gave orders to board her . Wrote Nelson , ' The first man who jumped into the enemy ' s mizzen - chains was Captain Berry , late my first lieutenant ; he was supported from our spritsail - yard , which hooked in the mizzen - rigging . . . Having pushed on to the quarter - deck , I found Captain Berry in possession of the poop , and the Spanish Ensign hauling down ' . In October of the same year Nelson was invested as a Knight of the Bath , accompanied on the occasion by Berry . When the King remarked upon the loss of Nelson ' s right arm , he wittily replied , indicating Berry , " But not my right hand , your majesty " . It was agreed between them that when Nelson next hoisted his flag , Berry would be his Flag Captain . With word of French plans to occupy Egypt , Nelson wrote to Berry in late 1797 , ' If you mean to marry , I would recommend your doing it speedily , or the to - be Mrs . Berry will have very little of your company , for I am well , and you may expect to be called for every hour ' . On 12 December Berry was indeed married to his cousin , Louisa Forster , and a week later appointed as Flag Captain of the . The Battle of the Nile and afterward . On 1 August 1798 , the campaign culminated in the explosive Battle of the Nile , at Aboukir Bay . During this , Nelson was struck on the head by a piece of flying langrage and fell , bleeding heavily , only to be caught by Captain Berry , to whom he uttered the words " I am killed . Remember me to my wife " . His wound was slight , however , and he escaped with mild concussion . He was well enough that evening to witness the shattering explosion of the French battleship " L ' Orient " . Only 4 of the 17 major French ships escaped destruction or capture and with French losses six times greater than those of the British , it was a triumphant victory . After the battle , Hardy was promoted to Flag Captain and Berry embarked for Britain in , carrying Nelson ' s despatches . During the voyage , however , the " Leander " was accosted and captured by one of the two surviving French ships , the 74 - gun " Généreux " , and Berry was severely wounded by a flying fragment of another man ' s skull , which was " driven through his arm " . It was a bloody and courageous battle , as described by one of the main - deck gunners , Tim Stewart , " We fired everything at [ the French ] we could get hold of - crow - bars , nails , and all sorts . . . We killed nearly three hundred of them before we surrendered , and our brave captain ordered our colours to be hauled down . " As a result of his capture , Berry did not reach England until December , at which point the news of the Nile had already been received . However , he wrote in a letter that upon his return to Norwich , " the people received me with mad joy . In short , I ' m so great a man that I ' m very " in and out " everywhere to the great annoyance of my pocket and distress of my feelings . " Berry ' s account of the Battle , titled " Authentic Narrative of the proceedings of his Majesty ' s squadron under the command of the Rear - Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson . . . drawn up from the minutes of an officer of rank in the squadron " was subsequently published in " The Sun " and " The True Briton " newspapers , and became a bestseller in pamphlet form . Britain revelled in Nile memorabilia , including ceramic jugs embossed with reliefs of Nelson and Berry - ' Heroes of the Nile ' . On 12 December he was knighted and given the Freedom of the City of London . The ornate gold and enamel presentation box is part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum , Greenwich . In the spring of 1799 he was appointed to the and sent to assist in the blockade of Malta . Here he assisted in the capture of the " Guillaume Tell " and " Généreux " , the two French ships that escaped the Battle of the Nile , the latter being his own former captor . On 30 March , Berry wrote to Nelson from the " Foudroyant " , " My very dear Lord , had you been a partaker with me of the glory , every wish would have been gratified . How very often I went into your cabin , last night , to ask if we were doing right ; for , I had nothing to act upon ! . . . " This goes some way towards illustrating Berry ' s dependence upon Nelson and perhaps helps to explain his failure to cultivate a more successful later career . Nelson himself confided in a letter to his wife Frances a few months earlier , " I shall be worn to death by being obliged to fag and think of those things which . . . excellent Captain Hardy takes entirely from me . " There is no doubting Berry ' s supreme gallantry and general amiability , but he had a certain reputation for blustering foolhardiness . It was Thomas Hardy and not Berry who would become Nelson ' s indispensable right - hand man . The following June , the " Foudroyant " carried the Queen of Naples from Palermo to Livorno , but a short time later Berry returned to England . Later actions . It was five years before Berry again took significant command . His failure to obtain a posting had left him feeling restless and somewhat slighted by the Admiralty , " A man ' s standing in the Service and his reputation all goes for nought , " he wrote bitterly . It fell to Nelson to placate him , " It is vexing to be unemployed at such a moment , but it is useless to fret oneself to death when the folks aloft don ' t care a pin about it . " It took a change of leadership in the Admiralty to present Berry with the chance of another commission . Nelson : " I sincerely hope , now that a change has taken place , that you will get a ship . I attribute none of the tyrannical conduct of the late Board to Lord St Vincent . . . he was dreadfully ill - advised . " The end to Berry ' s yearnings came on his arrival at Trafalgar in 1805 , captain of . " Here comes that fool Berry ! " Now " we shall have a battle , " exclaimed Nelson . Berry had rather a reputation as a fighter , though perhaps not as a master tactician , " Captain Codrington of found some wry amusement in seeing Berry in the " Agamemnon " blazing away for all he was worth , apparently at friend and foe alike " , notes Oliver Warner in " A Portrait of Lord Nelson " . " It was typical of Berry ' s luck that , having long and restlessly awaited a new ship , he should have been given the " Agamemnon " , before having the infinite happiness of joining Nelson on the eve of his greatest battle . " After a close escape from capture on her outward voyage , the " Agamemnon " had no particular opportunities for distinction at Trafalgar , and escaped the mêlée without heavy losses , engaging with the " Santissima Trinidad " and Admiral Dumanoir ' s division in the closing stages of the fight . At the battle ' s close , Berry took to his ship ' s boat in order to speak to Nelson on the " Victory " but by the time he arrived Nelson had just died , an unfortunate piece of timing which Berry would regret for the rest of his life . In 1806 Captain Berry fought in the " Agamemnon " at the battle of San Domingo , being highly praised for his actions . That same year he became a baronet and he remained in sea service throughout the war , subsequently commanding the " Sceptre " during 1811 , the the following year and one of the Royal Yachts . Later career and last years . He bough a house in Norwich in 1814 . On 2 January 1815 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and on 19 July 1821 he became a Rear Admiral . During these years , despite constant entreaties to the Admiralty , he never took up further important postings . However , his record is exceptional . He was the only officer in the Royal Navy at the time , except Collingwood , to have had three medals , having commanded a line - of - battle ship in the Battle of the Nile , Trafalgar and San Domingo . Following several years of severe illness and extreme debility , he died on 13 February 1831 at his residence in Bath and was buried in a nearby churchyard where his grave can still be seen . Since he left no children , his baronetcy became extinct with his death .