Turn A Blind Eye

Where on earth did that saying come from?

Legendary naval commander Horatio Nelson was known for bold strategies and a willingness to press on with battles, even when the odds seemed stacked against him. He rose to fame thanks to several key victories, first during the French Revolutionary Wars and later the Napoleonic Wars against his longtime rival, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

While laying siege to the settlement of Corsi on the island of Corsica in 1794, debris from a French cannon struck Nelson’s face, blinding him in his right eye.

Six years later during the Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson was commanding troops under the elderly Admiral Hyde Parker. After initially believing that his side was suffering huge losses, Parker ordered Nelson to retreat. Nelson disregarded his superior’s orders, allegedly joking that his “blind eye” made him incapable of seeing the signal flags being waved at him to call off his men.

Within hours, Nelson’s troops were dominating the opposing Danes, who would soon negotiate the terms of their surrender.

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