@knight2005pursuit
Knight, Roger. The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson. London: Allen Lane, 2005.
Summary
The leading modern academic biography of Nelson — 873 pages of exhaustive research drawing on Admiralty papers, the Nelson manuscripts at the British Library, the National Maritime Museum holdings, and continental archives. Knight, formerly Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum, brings administrative-historical rigour. Particularly authoritative on signal-flag interpretation, fleet logistics, and Nelson’s relationships with subordinates. Single-chapter treatments of Cape St Vincent (ch. 9, pp. 211–230), the Nile (ch. on the Mediterranean campaign, pp. 281–320), and Copenhagen (pp. 374–408) are each canonical.
Credibility Assessment
- Type: Secondary, scholarly
- Author expertise: Knight is the senior modern Nelson scholar; this is his magnum opus
- Peer reviewed: No (trade-academic monograph) but extensively cross-referenced
- Known biases or limitations: British perspective; sober but ultimately admiring of Nelson; less weight given to French/Spanish/Danish primary archives than Lavery (Nile) or Feldbæk (Copenhagen)
Key Claims and Page References
- pp. 211–230 — Cape St Vincent: Jervis’s signal interpretation, Nelson’s wear, the Patent Bridge
- pp. 281–320 — Mediterranean campaign and Nile; Foley’s inside passage
- pp. 374–408 — Copenhagen: Hyde Parker’s command, Signal 39, the truce
- pp. 511–572 — Trafalgar campaign and battle
Verbatim Quotes
(verbatim quotes live here only — never paste verbatim text into atomic notes)
Notes Used In
- San Rafael — Spanish 80
- Firme — Spanish 74
- Guillaume Tell — French 80-gun Ship
- Franklin — French 80-gun Ship
- Tonnant — French 80-gun Ship
- Spartiate — French Ship of the Line
- HMS Leander — 50-gun Fourth Rate
- Príncipe de Asturias — Spanish First Rate
- San José — Spanish 112-gun First Rate
- San Nicolás — Spanish 84-gun Third Rate
- Salvador del Mundo — Spanish 112-gun First Rate
- San Ysidro — Spanish 74-gun Third Rate
- Tsar Paul I of Russia
- Tsar Alexander I of Russia
- Westcott George — British Captain
- HMS Majestic — 74-gun Third Rate
- Córdova José de — Spanish Admiral
- Calder Robert — British Admiral
- Stewart William — Lt-Col
- Crown Prince Frederik — Denmark
- Second Coalition 1798–1802
- Egyptian Expedition 1798–1801
- Finisterre Prizes — 22 July 1805
- Troubridge Thomas — British Captain
- Treaty of San Ildefonso 1796
- Baltic Naval Stores — 1800–1801
- HMS Excellent — 74-gun Third Rate
- Four Spanish Prizes of Cape St Vincent 1797
- League of Armed Neutrality of the North 1800–1801
- Berry Edward — British Captain
- HMS Culloden — 74-gun Third Rate
- Nelson’s Patent Bridge for Boarding First Rates
- Foley Thomas — British Captain
- King’s Deep Soundings — Copenhagen 1 April 1801
- HMS Goliath — 74-gun Third Rate
- HMS Vanguard — Nelson’s Nile Flagship
- Nelson’s Prayer Before Trafalgar — Text, Context, and Providential Belief
- England Expects Signal — Trafalgar 1805
- Battle of Trafalgar 1805 — Death of Nelson
- Trekroner Fort — Copenhagen
- Brueys d’Aigalliers François-Paul — French Admiral
- Fischer Olfert — Danish Commodore
- HMS Agamemnon — Overview
- Hyde Parker — British Admiral
- HMS Elephant — 74-gun Third Rate
- Copenhagen — Denmark
- Aboukir Bay — Egypt
- L’Orient — French 120-gun Flagship
- Cadiz — Spanish Naval Port
- HMS Captain — 74-gun Third Rate
- Santísima Trinidad — Spanish First Rate
- Line of Battle — Naval Tactic
- Latouche-Tréville Louis-René — French Admiral
- Redoutable — French 74-gun Ship
- First Rate Ship of the Line — Class Overview
- Gravina Federico — Spanish Admiral
- Decrès Denis — French Naval Minister
- Storm After Trafalgar — 24–29 October 1805
- Trafalgar Campaign 1805
- Battle of Cape Finisterre 1805
- Jervis John Earl St Vincent — Biography
- Battle of Cape St Vincent 1797 — Overview
- Battle of the Nile 1798 — Overview
- Battle of Copenhagen 1801 — Overview