PU5480

Nelson's loss of his eye Long Caption: 'Loss of His Eye Before Calvi'. After the fall of Toulon to Revolutionary French armies, the British Mediterranean fleet fell back on Corsica. The French garrisons at Bastia and Calvi were besieged by land, with Nelson leading operations. Bastia fell in May 1794. In July, at a gun emplacement for the bombardment of Calvi, sand and stones thrown up by an enemy cannonball struck Nelson in the right eye. He never regained his sight in this eye but at the time seemed more hurt by Lord Hood's failure to give him the credit he thought was his due for his part in these successful operations. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Object: PAD5480 Artist: William Bromley; William Henry Worthington; Robert Bowyer Date: 1808 Medium: etching Size: 281 mm x 201 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.