Lord Nelson was back at work giving orders 30 minutes after his arm was amputated. A collection of 1,200 naval journals, not seen for 200 years, depicts life on board British fighting vessels, including details of medical treatment given to Nelson.

Researchers at the National Archives in Kew have gathered personal accounts written by surgeons at sea, reports The Independent. Among the documents, is a handful of journals describing the remarkable speed and skill with which medics nursed Nelson back to health from surgery - twice.

It's claimed that within 30 minutes of having his right arm cut off, Nelson was again issuing orders to his men. He had been hit in the right arm by a musket ball shortly after stepping ashore on Tenerife in July 1797.

Lord Nelson was taken to HMS Theseus for treatment. The ship's surgeon, James Farquhar, wrote in his journal: "Compound fracture of the right arm by a musket ball passing thro a little above the elbow; an artery divided; the arm was immediately amputated."

On 1 August, Farquhar noted: "Admiral Nelson; amputated arm; continued getting well very fast. Stump looked well; no bad symptoms whatever occurred... The sore reduced to the size of a shilling in perfect good health, one of the ligatures not come away."

A year later, Lord Nelson was shot in the head at the Battle of the Nile. The surgeon's log of HMS Vanguard claims he was discharged from the ship's hospital after only one month.-- Courtesy of Ananova.Com

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment