Advancement in the Navy, for Nelson as for other officers, depended as much upon patronage as upon ability, and recommendations to and for friends were commonly sought.
The career of Sir Charles Cotton (1753-1812), of Madingley, Cambridgeshire, suffered from the lack of recognition by his commander in chief, Lord Howe, of his successful and courageous action at the battle of 1 June 1794 in the Channel. In 1805 he was again serving in the Channel, and thus missed sharing in the success at Trafalgar. He had however already served with Nelson, and in winter 1804/5, it seems, sent to him a protégée, Dr Gillespie, who joined Victory, Nelson’s flagship, then bound for Maddelena, as physician to the fleet. In response he received a letter from Nelson, in his own hand, and couched in affectionate terms.
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Cover of letter from Nelson, aboard the Victory, 16th January 1801, sent via Portsmouth to Sir Charles Cotton Bt., at Madingley.
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Text of the above letter.
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Careful examination of this letter will reveal that it has been repaired after being torn into small pieces, and one blank piece of the original is lost. On receipt in the Record Office it was held together with stamp paper. The horror of the accident, which presumably occurred whilst the family were sorting papers, can only be imagined.
Please note: An annotated transcript of this letter is available as a PDF file: please follow the link in the right-hand column.