Eliza's Challenge

None of these are my best works, so I apologize if they are not that good or accurate.


Challenge:HMS Victory after Nelson's death From an ordinary seamans P.O.V



Lord Nelson was shot just after one, I was busy fighting at the time, we were in a battle you see. I wasn't worried, the admiral had been injured so many times and always pulled through. No landlubber from the Redoubtable was going to get the better of such a fine man. So it was with great sadness and even greater shock that they told us of his death at four thirty. There was not a sailor among us that did not have a look of dismay across his brow. My eyes welled up at the news. We lost fifty seven men, but no death was mourned greater than Lord Nelson's.

Vice Admiral Collingwood took control after Lord Nelson fell. Lord Nelson's orders were cast aside, we raised anchor and pulled back. I was duty cook that night, the food was cold, the maggots were awful but no one could taste them anyway. Collingwood informed us that we would return Lord Nelson's body to England. There was no singing that night, no talking, the ship sat almost silent on the sea, only the waves crashing against the hull broke the silence. The rum at breakfast couldn't lift the sorrow that had befallen my shipmates, but it didn't matter the work was waiting and I was needed. The voyage home was the worst voyage I had ever undertaken. Nothing went wrong, how could it? Had anything occurred it would have had only a minor effect after loosing the admiral. He was a great leader and attacked the enemy hard. With Lord Nelson gone, who would stop old boney now? He was England's only hope. I was at the funeral, everyone was, it was so extravagant you'd think we'd lost a king, but to many of us we had lost more than that, we had lost a god. It was January 6th, 1806, I've never seen St. Paul's so crowded and I doubt I ever will again. I cried that day, I never cried at me own wife's funeral, but I cried for Lord Nelson. I continued to sail with the Victory, but it was never the same ship again, how could it ever be anything great without Lord Nelson at the helm.