Young Nelsons: Boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars

by Douglas Ronald

"The fought like young Nelsons." The words of a schoolmaster, writing from aboard HMS Mars after the battle of Trafalgar, describing the valor of his pupils in the heat of battle. Made immortal by the novels of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent, these boy sailors, alongside those of every other Royal Navy ship, had entered the British Navy to fight the French across every ocean of the world. There was a long-standing British tradition of children going to sea, of boys who volunteered to fight for Britain, and along the way found adventure, glory, wealth and fame. During the Napoleonic Wars, these children, some as young as eight or nine, were also fighting for the very survival of Britain. For twenty years, the image of young Nelsons on the frontline of war caught the imagination of the nation.

Drawing on many first-hand accounts, letters, poems and writings, this book tells the dramatic story of Britain's boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars for the very first time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Christina Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may not be for everyone, but if you're writing historical fiction with Royal Navy characters, it's a gold mine. All the little details on what the "young Nelsons" needed to go to sea and what life was like aboard during the wars. Well-researched, chronological, and super interesting. Even Jane Austen, her two naval novels, and her two naval brothers come in for discussion, and while I might not agree with all the literary readings, it was enjoyable all the same.

Did you know that the James Stanier Clarke who was chaplain for the Prince Regent was also the founder of the Naval Chronicle? I didn't!

I got this book from the library but will probably end up purchasing so I can use it for reference.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb piece of work about the life and experiences of children in the Royal Navy around the Napoleonic Wars. The tone is energetic and engaging, the subject fascinating, and most of the many quoted memoirs and letters are beautifully interwoven with the author's voice. It's the kind of history book that can't help but continually spark your imagination, showing the very real, very personal side of growing up as one insignificant cog in the unfathomably complicated machinery of naval warfare. Ronald's writing exudes true empathy for these boys––their joys, sorrows, fears, hopes, traumas, ambitions, choices, and alternatives (or lack thereof). While riddled with facts and figures, details and dates (and a few dozen different people named William), it's a deeply human book, and in that combination of research detail and humanity, it's inspirational.

Nevertheless, there are a few flaws. While the first half of the book feels brilliantly organized, the second half appears to waver in focus. Some of the sections on Nelson seemed to drift away from the history of "boy sailors," running aground on the vast quantity of (admirable) background research Ronald clearly did. All interesting, but it still made parts of the book feel disjointed. Despite those issues, there are a number of standout segments in the latter half––for example, the analysis of how as a young boy and a young man, Josiah Nisbet found himself caught in conflict between his stepfather (Horatio Nelson), mother (Lady Nelson), and Nelson's infamous mistress Emma Hamilton. He's a piece of the puzzle that's often forgotten, but Ronald leaves his importance in no doubt. There's also a very interesting segment on Jane Austen and the difficulty of having siblings at war, which fits well into the theme of the book…the only pity is that this takes up the majority of the epilogue. I can't help but think that the analysis would have been better if it were fleshed out as its own chapter discussing the return of young sailors to their families (perhaps after the Land Ahoy chapter on shore leave when in port). Because of this, the epilogue was somehow less focused as a conclusion to the work than the chapter before it, and the last paragraph felt like a bit of a hollow finish. All of this makes me think that another edit would have helped refine the work tremendously––especially because there were a number of small details throughout that an editor should have caught. Several times, a quote would be repeated only a page or a few pages after its first appearance, as if Ronald had changed his mind about where to put it, and I found that repetition distracting. Like most books, there were also a handful of typos and a couple "off" facts/references that even I caught (e.g., Ronald mentions a boy on lookout in the "crow's nest," a feature absent in men-of-war)––but, again, that does nothing to discredit the wealth of amazing research in this book.

I'd also like to address one complaint from other reviewers––most of them criticize the fact that Ronald told each boy's story in pieces, integrating parts together into the different chapters instead of telling the tale from start to finish. Personally, I think this was a very good decision. Yes, it's hard to keep track of the three main Williams, but arranging the lives in pieces gives you a sense of what it was like to be a child in each aspect of the Wars; the experience of individuals is subjective, but taken together, the portrait it paints is both thorough and striking. And hey, plot twist––if you're still interested in a chronological account of one of the boys' life stories, maybe read the autobiographies/memoirs Ronald used to piece the book together. I'd also just like to take a moment to appreciate the title––it's perfect. I'd never realized how many times people used the phrase "young Nelson" to refer to a boy, even before Nelson's virtual apotheosis at Trafalgar. It's just another piece in the fascinating whirlwind of myth-making circling the Royal Navy.

Overall, with another round of editing, this would have been a masterpiece. As it is, it's still one of the most interesting naval history books I've read to date, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in in the British Navy, eighteenth–nineteenth century cultural history, or historical perceptions of childhood.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Nelsons by Douglas Ronald tracks boys who joined up with the Navy, a multitude of youngsters covering the entire spectrum of humanity. There were some who were well-placed with connections waiting to spring them into promotions and wealth, and there were some with no family, unable to read, and laden with pox. Some others were pressed into service, or had the dubious choice of going to sea or swinging from the gallows.

It is curious to read of these boys so quickly becoming an adult even when so tiny, many listed as not even being five feet tall. The journal excerpts and portions lifted from memoirs or nicked from letters really helps to ground the reader in the times.

The only downside is that the writing went back and forth, jumping around to events, and sometimes repeated portions of letters shortly after first mentioning it. Also there were so many Williams that it would have been difficult to keep them straight under the best of terms and I admit to being mostly lost as to who was who.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked learning about this period of history. The author has a decent writing style that gives the reader a lot of information without losing their attention. His words are not dry. It made me want to read more on the subject.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this at 3 1/2 stars. The content of the book is very interesting. It's about boys who worked on British navy ships from the time of the American revolution to the time of Napolean's exile to St Helena in 1815. It's well researched and gives a fascinating glimpse into another era.

My problem is that because of the scholarly nature of the book, each individual boy's story is broken up and different parts are told in different chapters. For example, one chapter was about what it was like to first come aboard, another was about first experiences under fire, etc. This allowed the author to try to show big-picture themes but it destroyed any sense of continuity for a single boy's story. For example, there were 5 different Williams and I could never keep them straight so I couldn't get as invested as I might have otherwise. I think I would have preferred reading many of the boys' stories from beginning to end.

Overall I learned a lot and thought it drew together some great primary sources but I wish some of it was presented differently.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A scholarly and well researched book that unfortunately, is unable to build any kind of interesting or entertaining narrative. A great subject but this is a damp squib of a book that soon looses the reader's interest due to breaking up a single person's story over various chapters so that you loose track of who is who. Many personal journals are quoted but the author never really gets down to the personal level of experience. Unable to get past page 100.