The Life of Nelson, Volume 2

Command at sea brings together public duty and private strain in A. T. Mahan's account of Horatio Nelson's later years. This second volume follows Mediterranean service, the Baltic expedition and the interval of peace at Merton. Biography and military history share the page: orders, negotiations and fleet movements appear alongside ill health, financial worries and difficult relations within Nelson's household. The account traces both his work with other senior officers and his return to active service.

Off Toulon, the narrative examines a confrontation in which French and British ships manoeuvre without bringing on a general battle. Mahan compares the movements with a French admiral's published report, then turns to Nelson's angry letters about the claim that he had retreated. Such passages offer readers a close look at how naval reputations were defended, how commanders explained their decisions and how personal feelings entered official correspondence.