Drachinifel Hey Drach, I have a semi simple question for you. Apologies if this isn’t where you submit them I can be kinda dumb. What’s the hardest part about running a history channel like this? As always. Great content, your voice puts me to sleep in a great way. I can always put on a video by you and relax and crash after a hard day. I always look forward to that accent at the end of the day. Cheers from Canada!
I'd like to ask, given the Royal Navy's habit of naming ships after admirals, do you think it's likely that any ships will be named after WW1 or WW2 admirals any time soon, and if so, would it be fitting for Jackie Fisher to have a ship named after him?
"The Black Pearl is gone and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice- unlikely" "Not as unlikely as you seem to think" "How in the blazes did you get off that island?" "When you marooned me on that god forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate: HMS Swann" "You can't beat me, Jack!" *BOOM* Mostly fictional adventures of Nelson's great grandmother.
There are still some fishermen who will take kids aboard over the summer or winter. I used to spend two weeks in the summer on a fishing boat starting at the age of 12. I wasn't compelled to work, but I did gain some experience in navigation and how to work fishing gear (although the crew loved to torture me by forcing me to gaff fish, which I was terrible at)
@Jacob Zondag But it means that at the age of twenty few you can be in command of a ship. So where is the progress. Most people died well before the age of 60, Kings included. All we've made progress in is that now people who die at age 85 are considered too young, so we need to shut down the economy.
I'll never forget how I went from boy to Battlecruiser, in the span of my life as I sailed the Atlantic, hunting the Bismarck. Honestly, the title of the video makes it feel like he got promoted from Boy to Frigate. Gonna start referring to my life stages as ship types from now on
10:41 Drachism of the day “Nelson was of a different view [on the chance of a man in melee against an adult Polar Bear] and decided, against the view of his companion to attack the bear with the rear end of the musket”
I would’ve liked to have been there for that Persuasive discussion, the Counterpoint must have been epic. The other gentleman with him must have failed out of the school debate team
A close second must be at 34:32 "to be honest the more and more you read about his career the more and more I'm convinced he wasn't so much captain Horatio Nelson, royal navy, as he was a time traveling version of captain Leeroy Jenkins, royal navy."
So my take-away from this: HMS Victory just spent her early career flirting with Nelson from a distance knowing that they were destined to be together.
Imagine Nelson’s first Navy experiance in a modern context. *Aboard the USS Iwo Jima* “Hey Jorge!” “Yea?” “Who’s the 12-year-old poking around the munitions elevator?” “What am I, I nun? Go ask the Captain!” “Ahh, whatever, I got a flight deck to manage, I’m sure he’ll be fine!”
that would be a interesting book TBH. i mean they ain't gonna turn a aircraft carrier round for a single kid, middle of the pacific with weeks to the next base could be an intriguing scenario.
So what I’m getting so far is that the truest staggering fact of Nelson’s life is just how long he stayed alive in spite of him trying his damndest to get a Darwin Award whilst hollering the period equivalent to “Leeroy Jenkins”
Thank you for this detailed history of Nelson and HMS Victory. Whist listening I have on my desk a block of Oak wood cut from Victory whist under going repairs in Portsmouth Dockyard back in the 1960s. It has a large dowel and some caulkers oakum. The smell of tar is still fresh. A visit to Victory is highly recommended.
Yes! Age of sail fan here. Everytime Drach puts up a vid on this period, its such a fresh breakaway from the usual WW1 and WW2 stuff (in itself still good and interesting) looking forward to more from the period!
34:32 " Captain Leeroy Jenkins, Royal Navy" I approve of this definition of Nelson. Can we see someone animate Nelson/ships of the line with that infamous audio clip, as Drach pointed out it wouldn't be completely inaccurate!
@@burnstick1380 Yeah "Jamie Smith" comment is probably best Basically to the best of my understanding, some dude on a server (Think it was World Of Warcraft) was part of a team, the team was suggesting strategy, he wasn't listening ignored all the planning and advice and charged into battle crying "LEEEEROOOOY JENKINNSSSSS" So yeah given that old Horatio allegedly tried to kill a Polar Bear (as well as other things) by waking it with an old rusty musket/rifle, I agree with Drach in it being quite the fair comparison, at least at time's Not knocking Nelsons intelligence, he was just rather gun-hoe as they say, which to be fair is kind of what you need sometimes in a military commander, if Jellicoe had been more like Nelson at Jutland and not turned and run (smartly) from the torpedos launched at his battle fleet, theres at least a chance he could have the added a numerical victory to Britains strategic victory at Jutland.
@@NightHeronProduction Jellicoe, not Beatty. Beatty just commanded the battlecruisers. Jellicoe was in command of the Grand Fleet and it was his stated intention, which he followed when it occurred, to turn away in the face of a torpedo attack to preserve the fleet. Jellicoe was the guy who people said he could lose the war in an afternoon. What that means is that If Jellicoe won a crushing victory not much would change, if he maintained the status quo nothing would change, if he suffered a crushing defeat then the war could well be lost. That being the case, Jellicoe was most focused on not suffering a crushing defeat and while a massive victory would have been nice, the status quo would do in a pinch.
"Baldrik, that was the stupidest thing said since Lord Nelson's famous battle cry at the battle of the Nile: "England knows Lady Hamilton is a virgin, pluck out my eye and cut off my arm if I'm wrong.""
Drach, please take as many episodes to enlighten us as you'd like; no one can make naval history come alive as well as your masterpieces can. And Nelson's is a story that deserved to be told by a man such as you enlivened by your accurate and sardonic wit
39:50 My understanding is that being made a Colonel of the Marines was also a way to increase the pay of a successful post Captain, as further promotion to Admiral (& thus more pay) was not possible until all Captains ahead on the list had been promoted or Died. The Captain in question did not have to anything for or with the Marines.
40:20 I was intrigued by the image shown, especially as one of the ships appears to fly Dutch colours. I googled the image and arrived at a painting by Thomas Whitcombe representing the Battle of Camperdown (Camperduin as we Dutch call it)....... not related to the narrative about Nelson, but a nice painting nevertheless.
For somewhat understandable reasons nobody seems to have wanted to paint a picture of the encounter I was discussing at the time, so I went with a 'relevant time period battle that has a ship on fire in it' to give the general gist of things :)
Talking about arctic expeditions by the Royal Navy brings back memories of the ill fated Franklin expedition with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror which have just been found recently.
Great telling of an incredible life, thanks! Now why on earth haven't Hollywood picked up on this insane-but-true story? Born in relative simple surroundings, personal bravery, early promotion, battles won, loving a married woman, more battles won and ending up as Lord and the hero of an entire nation. What's not to like?? For sure, I'd LOVE to see a modern day, well casted movie about Nelson!!
@@AdmRose correct sir, with time many words have changed their meaning, 'carcass' being one, 'problem' is another example. For the definative book on that subject I recommend "Nelson's Arctic Voyage" by by the near legendary Peter Goodwin, published a couple of years astern. I had the good fortune to be asked to make a painting of HMS Racehorse, for the book. The latter painting and the remarkable story can be seen on my website under 'warships/Nelson & Trafalgar series', enjoy.
Hi just finished watching your video of one of our greatest hero’s. Thoroughly enjoyed your excellent commentary of Nelson’s early life and career in the Navy. Brilliant quality, narration and in-depth analysis, looking forward to part two.
Great show! One day maybe give us a breakdown of how they built ships. I understand that they would look for certain parts inside of trees. And they would mark these trees. This is an older thing, a lot of things were built with natural forming parts of trees.
@@comeslittorissaxonici7395 From what I understand, trees were a huge thing the British wanted in America. They had cut so many down. We had special woods also, like the ones that built the Constitution. We could not build that ship today because that tree is gone forever. Trees for mast here and in Russia was big business. I read where a member of the Navy would go through the woods and chalk or paint or somehow mark a certain part of a certain tree. And if you cut that tree down, it was your ass. Much like right now, they were not thinking about trees 200 years from then. But they did a great job. For me, they had to be one of the most professional organizations of all time.
@@francisdrake6622 because war is horrifying and traumatizing and being a soldier teaches you terrible life lessons for civilian life. You think we have problems with reintegration of veterans into society. Just imagine if a decent amount of them didn't have even high school educations.
Having a bit of Leeroy Jenkins in one's blood and enough luck to survive a few borderline suicidal charges is pretty much a necessity for achieving certain levels of greatness in warfare. Alexander and Caesar certainly had more than their fair share of near-death experiences.
Terrific video as always! Fascinating to learn so much of Adm Nelson's early career. Part two is out now and I'm ready for more. Wow, what a guy! Thanks for the link to Dr Clarke's website, too.
ARE YOU TELLING ME that Nelson had a relation, albeit far-fetched and distans, to the WALPOLE family?? The same family that spawned the evil genius mastermind of the South Sea Bubble?? Oh mah gawd, the rabbit hole goes deeper!
Walpole was not the Mastermind of the South Sea Bubble and indeed the was NO master mind of the South Sea Bubble, since no one planned for that to happen. The master mind of the South Sea COMPANY, was a man named John Blunt, who was the one who formed the South Sea Company and was responsible for the resulting financial chicanery. Robert Walpole, actually OPPOSED Blunt, but he did take advantage of the resulting economic and social chaos that followed for his political benefit, making himself Britain's first Prime Minister
7:20 Lobbying for a NW passage expedition "... and this is not necessarily as suicidal as it might sound, it is not like we are going to run after white bears with sticks, sirs!" ...a few weeks later... "Where is Nelson?"..."Oooohhhh dear!"
Some of these things, like fighting a polar bear with a essentially stick, might seem unbelievable that some one would be so brazen yet so lucky. But it’s Nelson. So of course he did.
I thank you for your presentations. I would love to see series on the English Civil War and the American Revolution. Primarily I am curious about how a member of the lesser gentry, Oliver Cromwell, became a solid military commander. Thanks again.
Great video, I know a bit about Nelson and you have certainly filled out some of his earlier career, I am sure that others will say that you sped over a few points and here are mine, By that time the RN had a reputation of hauling guns into improbable places, Corsica was one but probably the most audacious was HMS Diamond Rock, look it up. Next Colonel of the Marines was a way of giving the recipient something like £1,000 a year. Lastly by the time Nelson gave up Agamemnon she had an anchor cable wrapped around her hull to try and stop her coming apart. I am looking forward to part 2.
I was recently watching Arch Warhammer's playthrough of the Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail where the British Campaign follows the exploits of Nelson. Then this pops up, joy!
I find it perfect how the Nelson Class, sadly not Nelson herself but class still counts, is the only battleship EVER to fire torpedos in anger at, and hitting, another battleship. Also ironically named Bismarck .
"From boy to frigate" You know between him and Joakim Brodén we could start a whole book series about people who transform into different fighting vehicles, complete with Animorphs-style covers
Dreadnought gang comes steaming in and meet the protagonist's little brother. "And what on earth are you, a ball with sticks, lol" "I'm a naval mine. Hug me." And so the protagonist has to deal with a terrible loss.
Walrus takes a musket ball to the face (!) and just shrugs it off like, "seriously guys?". The Royal Navy just needed to enlist walruses as Marines for boarding parties and they would have been invincible!
British naval history is so fascinating, it is amazing that such a small nation could become master of the world almost exclusively because of their navy and their industry.
This is wonderful. You do Lord Nelson justice, in a very literal sense - neither stinting him nor fawning over him. Hope that at some point you will do Korea's Admiral Yi. And I would love to hear your take on John Paul Jones.
Nelson attended for a short time my old school in Norwich. He apparently ran away to soon join the navy. Whether this is a comment on life in that school or more of a comment on Nelson's character we will never know.
Lord Nelson's famous signal at the Battle of the Nile: 'England knows Lady Hamilton's a virgin, poke my eye out and cut off my arm if I'm wrong'." Sorry but it had to be said. Blackadder has a quote for all seasons
This was an excellent account of Nelsons life. (I especially liked the WoW reference. 😀) I read "Sword of Albion" three times and didn't get enough, this video was the capper for me. Thanks and kudos.
I’m pretty sure commander evans deserves respect for his command of the Johnston the same the respective polish captain does. John Paul Jones might have been with the crew of the Johnston though, given he ran a one squadron navy, a one ship squadron makes sense
An untold story: Nelson: "Hmm, how am I to engage the Spanish and French fleet?" Unknown Aide: "Sir, just think of them as the polar bear except this time you have close to 1000 guns." Nelson: "Where are they? I need to engage NOW!"
Hey! You missed something. Bomb vessels where also very shallow draft--this because they were used for shore bombardment with short range morters--thus they had to be able to get close in shore. In the ice, this meant that if they were caught between two ice flows they'd have a tendency to be lifted up on to the ice--thus not being crushed. Of course, "ice ships" also had to be very strongly built, as where Bomb vessels. (Lessons that Earnest Shackleton learned the hard way).
Im curious about that engraving of the 2 Bomb vessels in the ice. I thought the Bombs had NO foremast.... (to allow the two 13" mortars to fire forward). perhaps there were different types in service.
@@trooperdgb9722 Good history on Wikipedia under "Bomb vessel". The original bomb ketches with 2 masts aft were so unhandy that the navy switched to massively reinforced small 3 masted ships, although the foremast rigging was often chain instead of rope.
Very good. Thank you. A very small point - Sir John Jervis is "Jarvis". "Er" was pronounced "ar" until the 17th or 18th centuries. Then - as part of the Great Vowel Shift - people started saying "ur" instead. But place-names and surnames that were already well established usually retained the old pronunciation. That's why Derby and Berkshire are pronounced as they are. Also clerk and sergeant. Then there's Chaucer in The Miller's Tale, starting at line 3798: This Nicholas was risen for to pisse, And thoughte he wolde amenden al the jape; He sholde kisse his ers er that he scape Note "ers" in the third line.
@El Bearsidente Which one? There are to my knowledge two books on the subject, The Terror which is more a novel and Erebus, which is more to do with the history of the event and is written by former Python Michael Palin
thanks I enjoyed this and looking forward to part 2. would love to hear some anecdotes about how he handled leadership, discipline and man management if they are out there. A modern man or one of his time?. how was his diplomacy?. I ask only because a ships captain is so much more than just a guy who steers a ship. anyway love your stuff.
Pinned post for Q&A :)
Drachinifel Hey Drach, I have a semi simple question for you. Apologies if this isn’t where you submit them I can be kinda dumb. What’s the hardest part about running a history channel like this? As always. Great content, your voice puts me to sleep in a great way. I can always put on a video by you and relax and crash after a hard day. I always look forward to that accent at the end of the day. Cheers from Canada!
any chance of a video on the USS Constellation that's in Baltimore? maybe your take on the fight over which Constellation it is?
@@soapjayson3358 Yes. Drach has tapped into "The Bob Ross Effect" here too..
I'd like to ask, given the Royal Navy's habit of naming ships after admirals, do you think it's likely that any ships will be named after WW1 or WW2 admirals any time soon, and if so, would it be fitting for Jackie Fisher to have a ship named after him?
Ah yes, i truly wish i could put pictures on here lol *australia the ship* comes to mind xd
I’m choosing to take the title literally, Nelson now canonically transforms into a frigate
Transmogrification
Frigatification
"The Black Pearl is gone and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice- unlikely"
"Not as unlikely as you seem to think"
"How in the blazes did you get off that island?"
"When you marooned me on that god forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate: HMS Swann"
"You can't beat me, Jack!"
*BOOM*
Mostly fictional adventures of Nelson's great grandmother.
I was trying to think of the Japanese word which means horse and rider are as one. In this case Nelson and frigate are as one.
@@bigblue6917 You're probably thinking of 人馬一体 jinba ittai
“At the age of 12, he decided to go to sea”
Times where *somewhat* different back then
And more the worse for it I say.
There are still some fishermen who will take kids aboard over the summer or winter. I used to spend two weeks in the summer on a fishing boat starting at the age of 12. I wasn't compelled to work, but I did gain some experience in navigation and how to work fishing gear (although the crew loved to torture me by forcing me to gaff fish, which I was terrible at)
Some midshipmen came aboard naval ships as young as ten or even seven years old, so 12 isn't too young for back then
weldonwin Well ‘boy’ was an official Royal Navy rank at the time
@Jacob Zondag But it means that at the age of twenty few you can be in command of a ship. So where is the progress. Most people died well before the age of 60, Kings included. All we've made progress in is that now people who die at age 85 are considered too young, so we need to shut down the economy.
34:30 *"HORATIO NEEEEEEEEEEEEELSON!!!!"*
"OH MY GOD, HE JUST SAILED IN!"
"STICK TO THE PLAN!!!"
Oh my god Nelson you are just stupid as hell.
"It's not my fault"
This is the best comment ever. Of all times. 🤣🤣🤣
Is this not exactly what happened at Trafalgar?
I have so many memes in my head when I saw that. "At least I have limes!" oh dear god . . .
@@renardgrise THIS... so much this.
The five minute guide on the Nelson class person.
Wait hang on
HMS Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB, would ascend from his mortal form to become a frigate.
Yes, also in that class were Ernest E. Evans, William Halsey and Jack Aubrey.
“More or less”
I'll never forget how I went from boy to Battlecruiser, in the span of my life as I sailed the Atlantic, hunting the Bismarck. Honestly, the title of the video makes it feel like he got promoted from Boy to Frigate. Gonna start referring to my life stages as ship types from now on
10:41 Drachism of the day
“Nelson was of a different view [on the chance of a man in melee against an adult Polar Bear] and decided, against the view of his companion to attack the bear with the rear end of the musket”
I would’ve liked to have been there for that Persuasive discussion, the Counterpoint must have been epic. The other gentleman with him must have failed out of the school debate team
Even the polar bear in the painting is like "Dude, what the fuck?!"
@@catfish552 hes like bro, you dumb?
Nelson was always picking fights with enemies who outclassed him... he got better at it.
A close second must be at 34:32 "to be honest the more and more you read about his career the more and more I'm convinced he wasn't so much captain Horatio Nelson, royal navy, as he was a time traveling version of captain Leeroy Jenkins, royal navy."
So my take-away from this: HMS Victory just spent her early career flirting with Nelson from a distance knowing that they were destined to be together.
LOL
Sure sounds that way
*tilts fan coquettishly*
Is that... ship.. flirting with me?
Hmmm, another comment joked about an anime adaptation where Nelson transforms into Victory. But maybe it could be a naval harem romance.
HMS Victory pulled a Mae West...'Why don't ya come up and see me sometime?" [Wink].
And now we wait for the anime adaptation, where he will be portrayed as a 16 year old high school girl that can transform into HMS Victory.
The Laughing Cavalier I hate this. Have a like
The Laughing Cavalier you mean becomes the HMS Victory through a magical girl transformation sequence
Cursed comment.
Don't give the anime producers any ideas! Have a like.
Must be a tsundere too. With at least 1 beach episode where she wears an Union Jack bikini.
Drach expects that every man will do his duty and like this video.
Drach Expects
confides. the signalman used 'expects' because it worked better in flag-mail days.
Though it seems there are a number of Frenchmen here who disliked!
thanks god i have done my duty
HERE HERE....!!!!
Imagine Nelson’s first Navy experiance in a modern context.
*Aboard the USS Iwo Jima*
“Hey Jorge!”
“Yea?”
“Who’s the 12-year-old poking around the munitions elevator?”
“What am I, I nun? Go ask the Captain!”
“Ahh, whatever, I got a flight deck to manage, I’m sure he’ll be fine!”
that would be a interesting book TBH. i mean they ain't gonna turn a aircraft carrier round for a single kid, middle of the pacific with weeks to the next base could be an intriguing scenario.
@@larryfoullke219 theyd helicopter him out like they do to very sick people or pregnant women.
I think a royal navy ship would fit better
So what I’m getting so far is that the truest staggering fact of Nelson’s life is just how long he stayed alive in spite of him trying his damndest to get a Darwin Award whilst hollering the period equivalent to “Leeroy Jenkins”
Thank you for this detailed history of Nelson and HMS Victory. Whist listening I have on my desk a block of Oak wood cut from Victory whist under going repairs in Portsmouth Dockyard back in the 1960s. It has a large dowel and some caulkers oakum. The smell of tar is still fresh. A visit to Victory is highly recommended.
Yes! Age of sail fan here. Everytime Drach puts up a vid on this period, its such a fresh breakaway from the usual WW1 and WW2 stuff (in itself still good and interesting) looking forward to more from the period!
34:32 " Captain Leeroy Jenkins, Royal Navy" I approve of this definition of Nelson.
Can we see someone animate Nelson/ships of the line with that infamous audio clip, as Drach pointed out it wouldn't be completely inaccurate!
Can you explain who Leeroy Jenkins is?
Burn Stick look it up
@@burnstick1380 Yeah "Jamie Smith" comment is probably best
Basically to the best of my understanding, some dude on a server (Think it was World Of Warcraft) was part of a team, the team was suggesting strategy, he wasn't listening ignored all the planning and advice and charged into battle crying "LEEEEROOOOY JENKINNSSSSS"
So yeah given that old Horatio allegedly tried to kill a Polar Bear (as well as other things) by waking it with an old rusty musket/rifle, I agree with Drach in it being quite the fair comparison, at least at time's
Not knocking Nelsons intelligence, he was just rather gun-hoe as they say, which to be fair is kind of what you need sometimes in a military commander, if Jellicoe had been more like Nelson at Jutland and not turned and run (smartly) from the torpedos launched at his battle fleet, theres at least a chance he could have the added a numerical victory to Britains strategic victory at Jutland.
@@burnstick1380 Lots of videos about the meme, here's one of them: ruclips.net/video/MKPDxC9PQ7Q/видео.html
@@NightHeronProduction Jellicoe, not Beatty. Beatty just commanded the battlecruisers. Jellicoe was in command of the Grand Fleet and it was his stated intention, which he followed when it occurred, to turn away in the face of a torpedo attack to preserve the fleet. Jellicoe was the guy who people said he could lose the war in an afternoon. What that means is that If Jellicoe won a crushing victory not much would change, if he maintained the status quo nothing would change, if he suffered a crushing defeat then the war could well be lost. That being the case, Jellicoe was most focused on not suffering a crushing defeat and while a massive victory would have been nice, the status quo would do in a pinch.
Your ability to elucidate history yet make things hilarious is unmatched sir
"Baldrik, that was the stupidest thing said since Lord Nelson's famous battle cry at the battle of the Nile:
"England knows Lady Hamilton is a virgin, pluck out my eye and cut off my arm if I'm wrong.""
Loetz Collector ah, I see you too have a good taste in comedy
Drach, please take as many episodes to enlighten us as you'd like; no one can make naval history come alive as well as your masterpieces can. And Nelson's is a story that deserved to be told by a man such as you enlivened by your accurate and sardonic wit
39:50 My understanding is that being made a Colonel of the Marines was also a way to increase the pay of a successful post Captain, as further promotion to Admiral (& thus more pay) was not possible until all Captains ahead on the list had been promoted or Died. The Captain in question did not have to anything for or with the Marines.
Please, God, let this be a 20-part series.
Without a shadow of doubt the finest video about Nelson and his career ever made. Bar none.
Never realized how much of an absolute madlad this guy was.
Thank you very much for making these. There are very few, such detailed, accounts of Nelsons life that exist in audio form these day.
Last Time I Was This Early, Nelson still had Both Eyes.
Eagerly waiting Part Two!
Elevating Boredom to a Much Higher Level of Interest! TYVM!!!
Nelson and Cochrane are two of my favorites. Thanks for the video.
40:20 I was intrigued by the image shown, especially as one of the ships appears to fly Dutch colours. I googled the image and arrived at a painting by Thomas Whitcombe representing the Battle of Camperdown (Camperduin as we Dutch call it)....... not related to the narrative about Nelson, but a nice painting nevertheless.
For somewhat understandable reasons nobody seems to have wanted to paint a picture of the encounter I was discussing at the time, so I went with a 'relevant time period battle that has a ship on fire in it' to give the general gist of things :)
Talking about arctic expeditions by the Royal Navy brings back memories of the ill fated Franklin expedition with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror which have just been found recently.
Great telling of an incredible life, thanks! Now why on earth haven't Hollywood picked up on this insane-but-true story? Born in relative simple surroundings, personal bravery, early promotion, battles won, loving a married woman, more battles won and ending up as Lord and the hero of an entire nation. What's not to like?? For sure, I'd LOVE to see a modern day, well casted movie about Nelson!!
"We're assigning you to the HMS Carcass."
*thinks* carcass- I'm dead!
"Ummm... Thank you?"
Our Lieutenant's name was Coffin.....
I think it was named, at least I’m hoping, after carcass shot; an early form of incendiary shot.
@@AdmRose correct sir, with time many words have changed their meaning, 'carcass' being one, 'problem' is another example. For the definative book on that subject I recommend "Nelson's Arctic Voyage" by by the near legendary Peter Goodwin, published a couple of years astern. I had the good fortune to be asked to make a painting of HMS Racehorse, for the book. The latter painting and the remarkable story can be seen on my website under 'warships/Nelson & Trafalgar series', enjoy.
@@gordonfrickers5592 How did problem change?
Hi just finished watching your video of one of our greatest hero’s. Thoroughly enjoyed your excellent commentary of Nelson’s early life and career in the Navy. Brilliant quality, narration and in-depth analysis, looking forward to part two.
Great show! One day maybe give us a breakdown of how they built ships. I understand that they would look for certain parts inside of trees. And they would mark these trees. This is an older thing, a lot of things were built with natural forming parts of trees.
That's a deep rabbit hole to go down. Drach could get hours of content out of that subject and still be a long way from done.
Grown knees? Quite correct. That's why hedge and field trees were more valuable than forest ones - they produced more such timbers.
@@comeslittorissaxonici7395 From what I understand, trees were a huge thing the British wanted in America. They had cut so many down. We had special woods also, like the ones that built the Constitution. We could not build that ship today because that tree is gone forever. Trees for mast here and in Russia was big business. I read where a member of the Navy would go through the woods and chalk or paint or somehow mark a certain part of a certain tree. And if you cut that tree down, it was your ass. Much like right now, they were not thinking about trees 200 years from then. But they did a great job. For me, they had to be one of the most professional organizations of all time.
@@LikeUntoBuddha the us navy actually owns special trees that are just for the Constitution
I can't imagine a twelve year old today doing what Nelson did.
How times change
John Fisher 12 year olds, log onto steam and command a fleet or squadron of ships in ETW or NTW.
Yes because we all think child soldiers have wonderful lives. Nelson was a badass and a hero but we should not send preteens to the navy.
I believe you can still find 12 year olds on some country's " tall training ships".
@@ieuanhunt552 Why not?
@@francisdrake6622 because war is horrifying and traumatizing and being a soldier teaches you terrible life lessons for civilian life. You think we have problems with reintegration of veterans into society. Just imagine if a decent amount of them didn't have even high school educations.
Having a bit of Leeroy Jenkins in one's blood and enough luck to survive a few borderline suicidal charges is pretty much a necessity for achieving certain levels of greatness in warfare. Alexander and Caesar certainly had more than their fair share of near-death experiences.
Excellent, thank you for keeping us amused while we are under lockdown. I look forward to listening to this tonight. 🙂
Well done Drach. Outstanding review. Well researched and with your usual dry wit. Looking forward to Part 2
Terrific video as always! Fascinating to learn so much of Adm Nelson's early career. Part two is out now and I'm ready for more. Wow, what a guy! Thanks for the link to Dr Clarke's website, too.
ARE YOU TELLING ME that Nelson had a relation, albeit far-fetched and distans, to the WALPOLE family?? The same family that spawned the evil genius mastermind of the South Sea Bubble?? Oh mah gawd, the rabbit hole goes deeper!
Walpole was not the Mastermind of the South Sea Bubble and indeed the was NO master mind of the South Sea Bubble, since no one planned for that to happen. The master mind of the South Sea COMPANY, was a man named John Blunt, who was the one who formed the South Sea Company and was responsible for the resulting financial chicanery. Robert Walpole, actually OPPOSED Blunt, but he did take advantage of the resulting economic and social chaos that followed for his political benefit, making himself Britain's first Prime Minister
Yes,down the rabbit hole with you!
@@weldonwin Walpole is always involved in important events (even if the link is quite minor), and Bismark ALWAYS has a plan.
@@benjaminmiddaugh2729 And the Fortress of Oblivion isn't a good prison.
@@benjaminmiddaugh2729 Bismarck AAAAAALWAYS has a plan.
7:20 Lobbying for a NW passage expedition "... and this is not necessarily as suicidal as it might sound, it is not like we are going to run after white bears with sticks, sirs!"
...a few weeks later...
"Where is Nelson?"..."Oooohhhh dear!"
Some of these things, like fighting a polar bear with a essentially stick, might seem unbelievable that some one would be so brazen yet so lucky.
But it’s Nelson. So of course he did.
That was absolutely fascinating! You created a wonderful account of Admiral Lord Nelson, so far! I cannot wait for the next bit!
Thanks Drach for bringing my Childhood legend to life
Drachinifel, thank you for the work you put into the channel. We appreciate you.
Great upload,very much looking forward to part 2.👍
Oh boy! I didn’t even watched it but I am already excited!
This :)
The Alternate History where the french defeat Nelson with the Aide or Walruses and Polar Bears has to be a high priority for the channel!
Your likes to dislikes ratio has got to be one of the best on RUclips.
Exceptional commentary on Nelson. Looking forward to the second part.
Listening to this while prepping my little sailboat. I could fit a one pounder... I can almost see Amherstburg from here.
Excellent! I can never read nor hear enough about Nelson. I never truly realized how similar Alexander Kents novels are to Nelson’s career.
I thank you for your presentations. I would love to see series on the English Civil War and the American Revolution. Primarily I am curious about how a member of the lesser gentry, Oliver Cromwell, became a solid military commander. Thanks again.
Great video, I know a bit about Nelson and you have certainly filled out some of his earlier career, I am sure that others will say that you sped over a few points and here are mine, By that time the RN had a reputation of hauling guns into improbable places, Corsica was one but probably the most audacious was HMS Diamond Rock, look it up. Next Colonel of the Marines was a way of giving the recipient something like £1,000 a year. Lastly by the time Nelson gave up Agamemnon she had an anchor cable wrapped around her hull to try and stop her coming apart. I am looking forward to part 2.
That might be the best intro I've seen in my life
I was recently watching Arch Warhammer's playthrough of the Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail where the British Campaign follows the exploits of Nelson. Then this pops up, joy!
The most admired admiral in Naval history.
Not quite. Guy was a bit of a git too.
I find it perfect how the Nelson Class, sadly not Nelson herself but class still counts, is the only battleship EVER to fire torpedos in anger at, and hitting, another battleship. Also ironically named Bismarck .
thanks for making this so accessible for non-experts . . .
Thank you. I had not had this much detail on Nelson's early commands before this.
16:25 so your telling me , Horatio Nelson one of the greatest admirals to ever live also knew spider man? damn this guy did it all.
Superb! Perfectly narrated and historically comprehensive 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😊😊😊
"From boy to frigate"
You know between him and Joakim Brodén we could start a whole book series about people who transform into different fighting vehicles, complete with Animorphs-style covers
Then the 6th rate boys arrived!
This is funnier with the new Steel Commanders music video in mind
Dreadnought gang comes steaming in and meet the protagonist's little brother.
"And what on earth are you, a ball with sticks, lol"
"I'm a naval mine. Hug me."
And so the protagonist has to deal with a terrible loss.
rŕ6
rŕ6
Walrus takes a musket ball to the face (!) and just shrugs it off like, "seriously guys?". The Royal Navy just needed to enlist walruses as Marines for boarding parties and they would have been invincible!
Walruses rule.
I suspect the polar bear expedition may have been post rum ration, children, alcohol, faulty firearms and polar bears, what could possibly go wrong.
British naval history is so fascinating, it is amazing that such a small nation could become master of the world almost exclusively because of their navy and their industry.
These longer form videos are awesome! 👍👌👏👏👏
This is wonderful. You do Lord Nelson justice, in a very literal sense - neither stinting him nor fawning over him. Hope that at some point you will do Korea's Admiral Yi. And I would love to hear your take on John Paul Jones.
Attacking polar bears with melee weapons...that's not the kind of guy you want to pick a fight with when he has a fleet of warships.
Nelson attended for a short time my old school in Norwich. He apparently ran away to soon join the navy. Whether this is a comment on life in that school or more of a comment on Nelson's character we will never know.
Fantastic! Loved every minute of the 48+❤❤👍
Lord Nelson's famous signal at the Battle of the Nile: 'England knows Lady Hamilton's a virgin, poke my eye out and cut off my arm if I'm wrong'." Sorry but it had to be said. Blackadder has a quote for all seasons
Lol
This was an excellent account of Nelsons life. (I especially liked the WoW reference. 😀) I read "Sword of Albion" three times and didn't get enough, this video was the capper for me. Thanks and kudos.
Nothing inspires confidence like sailing the HMS Carcass.
That was wonderful. Thank you.
Are we sure he wasn't commanding a certain US Destroyer in WWII? Or maybe a Polish one early in WWII?
...some say his spirit still takes over naval vessels to this day...
I’m pretty sure commander evans deserves respect for his command of the Johnston the same the respective polish captain does. John Paul Jones might have been with the crew of the Johnston though, given he ran a one squadron navy, a one ship squadron makes sense
An untold story:
Nelson: "Hmm, how am I to engage the Spanish and French fleet?"
Unknown Aide: "Sir, just think of them as the polar bear except this time you have close to 1000 guns."
Nelson: "Where are they? I need to engage NOW!"
Matt Blom "good point. With 1000 guns we can club them easily!"
How did I miss this one? Three years late!!!!
You mean I have to wait approximately 6 WEEKS for Part 2!? It's a travesty!
Thank's Drach, that was a superb listen!
Hey! You missed something. Bomb vessels where also very shallow draft--this because they were used for shore bombardment with short range morters--thus they had to be able to get close in shore. In the ice, this meant that if they were caught between two ice flows they'd have a tendency to be lifted up on to the ice--thus not being crushed. Of course, "ice ships" also had to be very strongly built, as where Bomb vessels. (Lessons that Earnest Shackleton learned the hard way).
Im curious about that engraving of the 2 Bomb vessels in the ice. I thought the Bombs had NO foremast.... (to allow the two 13" mortars to fire forward). perhaps there were different types in service.
@@trooperdgb9722 Good history on Wikipedia under "Bomb vessel". The original bomb ketches with 2 masts aft were so unhandy that the navy switched to massively reinforced small 3 masted ships, although the foremast rigging was often chain instead of rope.
That's why "Erebus" and "Terror" were used for the Ross and Franklin expeditions.
An impressive biography. Looking forward to the second part...
I would pay money for the ability to like this video more than once
Very good. Thank you.
A very small point - Sir John Jervis is "Jarvis". "Er" was pronounced "ar" until the 17th or 18th centuries. Then - as part of the Great Vowel Shift - people started saying "ur" instead. But place-names and surnames that were already well established usually retained the old pronunciation.
That's why Derby and Berkshire are pronounced as they are. Also clerk and sergeant. Then there's Chaucer in The Miller's Tale, starting at line 3798:
This Nicholas was risen for to pisse,
And thoughte he wolde amenden al the jape;
He sholde kisse his ers er that he scape
Note "ers" in the third line.
that was most enjoyable. thank you.
Fascinating. I am watching and listening bit by bit, extending my pleasure.
Amazing thank you for your work you deserve awards and prizes for your work
Ah yes I too remember when I decided as a young boy that I wanted to be a Star Destroyer.
Pellaeon, is that you?
I'm American but still... YES YES YES HOORAY!
Thanks Drachy
That polar story reminded me of the mini-series "The Terror".
I live in Greenland. You do not hunt polar bears with a clumsy club.
@El Bearsidente Which one? There are to my knowledge two books on the subject, The Terror which is more a novel and Erebus, which is more to do with the history of the event and is written by former Python Michael Palin
Can't wait for part TWO.....
“Give me joy, Cuthbert. I’m made post!”
Well, at least with the prize money he’d won, he could afford to properly wet that new swab...
Excellent biographical over view. Greatly enjoyed it.
“Request to shed a tear for Lord Nelson!”
permission granted
6 weeks for part 2! My soul is crushed.
Another great vid Drac', possibly one of the best. thank you
thanks I enjoyed this and looking forward to part 2. would love to hear some anecdotes about how he handled leadership, discipline and man management if they are out there. A modern man or one of his time?. how was his diplomacy?. I ask only because a ships captain is so much more than just a guy who steers a ship. anyway love your stuff.
Helping put things in historical context - tyvm.
One of these on James cook would be brilliant
super job! Thank you Drach!
7:18 HMS carcass. What a great name!
16:29 who gave Spider-Man a ship?!?!
34:41- Capt. LEEEEROY JENKINS!!!
Who the devil is Leroy Jenkins???
I need more now!!!! How much for the full series in a week?!!?!?!?!
Alright everyone, bring out your rum bottles! Time for some Drachinifel Wednesday Rum!