@nelson1805memorandum
Nelson, Horatio. Secret Memorandum. 9 October 1805. Issued to his captains before the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 — Overview.
Summary
Nelson’s Secret Memorandum of 9 October 1805 was issued to his captains before Trafalgar. It explicitly describes the two-column attack and his reasoning. The line-breaking question note cites it. This card does not treat White p.287 as the memorandum page — that page is already the prayer on @white2005nelson. No verbatim text is licensed here.
Credibility Assessment
- Type: Primary — commander’s pre-battle memorandum
- Author expertise: Nelson wrote the order as commander-in-chief of the fleet off Cadiz
- Peer reviewed: No (1805 service paper)
- Known biases or limitations: The Q-note says historians dispute the weight of each factor in the line-breaking decision. Archive class-mark and full text stay unwritten
Key Claims and Page References
- 9 October 1805 — issued to captains; describes the two-column attack and his reasoning (Q — Why did Nelson break the line at Trafalgar)
Verbatim Quotes
(verbatim quotes live here only — never paste verbatim text into atomic notes)
(none licensed; do not invent memorandum wording)