1 When this ode was written England was arrayed singly against France and the greater part of Europe, and her safety depended on the maintenance of her supremacy on the sea. 2 Robert Blake (1599-1657), a great English admiral, particularly noted for his victories over the Dutch in 1652 and 1657. Horatio Nelson (afterwards Viscount), the greatest of England's admirals (1758-1805), who was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar. In the original version of the poem Sir Richard Grenville's name was used instead of Nelson's, who was then living. 1 Campbell was near Hohenlinden, a village in upper On the lofty British line: It was ten of April morn by the chime; 10 10 15 Bavaria, at the time of the battle there in 1800, between the victorious French and the allied Bavarians and Austrians. 1 An English expedition under Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson second in command, was sent to the Baltic against a confederacy formed by Russia, Sweden and Denmark. The Battle of the Baltic was fought on April 2, 1801, and Nelson, rather than Parker, was the hero of the day. |