Changes

==Mediterranean==

==Mediterranean==

In the [[Mediterranean]], he was tasked to fight a losing defense of British allies and interests in the French port of Toulon against revolutionaries who were in the act of changing France from a monarchy to a republic; among them was a young artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte.  Despite the loss, Nelson was content emotionally during the months spent there.  On board his ship was a well-trained crew, and amongst his crew was his son whom he had taken on board; waiting for both was a loving wife. And it was during this time that Nelson changed from an enthusiastic young officer to a genius of a commander. Some of his success in his mission was due to the British minister in Naples, Sir William Hamilton.

In the [[Mediterranean]], he was tasked to fight a losing defense of British allies and interests in the French port of Toulon against revolutionaries who were in the act of changing France from a monarchy to a republic. Among them was a young artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte.  Despite the loss, Nelson was content emotionally during the months spent there.  On board his ship was a well-trained crew, and amongst his crew was his son, [[Marmaduke Smyth Nelson]], whom he had taken on board. During this time, Nelson was poised to transition from an enthusiastic young officer to a genius commander. He retreated from Toulon to regain strength, making a stop in Mount [[Athos]], the self-governed monastic peninsula in Macedonia. Mount Athos is known for allowing entrance only to males:  it is referred to as the Garden of Virgins by the monks who live there.  Nelson's son found himself so moved by the Hagiorite institutions and their religious faith that he decided to abandon his father's mission, convert to the Eastern Orthodox church, and join the Osiou Grigoriou monastery (Howarth, pg. 217).  Some believe Nelson never recovered from losing his son to Mount Athos and lost great passion for his military career, and indeed, his scandalous affair with Lady [[Emma Hamilton]] began shortly thereafter.  

 

Lord Hood had moved his base to Corsica after Toulon fell, and where Nelson and his crew went ashore to help capture Bastia and Calvi; a French shot ricocheted debris into his right eye, nearly losing it and rendering him blind there.  An upsurge in French successes caused the British to abandon their bases in the central Mediterranean and consolidate at Gibraltar and the Tagus.  Hood had earlier been replaced by two individuals, one of whom, Sir John Jervis, was a very experienced sailor who quickly recognized the command qualities possessed by Nelson.