At the age of 17, he joined the Royal Navy and was, along with William Hoste, one of a group of boys from Norfolk who went to sea in the year of 1793, and who served under Horatio Nelson.

The force arrived back in Toulon on 5 October to find that the French army had occupied the hills surrounding the city and was bombarding it.

[8] The Agamemnon inflicted considerable damage but the remaining four French ships turned to join the battle and, realising he was outnumbered, Nelson withdrew and continued to Cagliari, arriving on 24 October.

On arrival, Nelson was given command of a small squadron consisting of the Agamemnon, three frigates and a sloop, and ordered to blockade the French garrison on Corsica.

[9] The fall of Toulon at the end of December 1793 meant the Agamemnon's mission to Corsica had added significance, as it could provide the British a naval base close to the French coast.

By late March the arguments had been resolved and Nelson began to land guns from his ships and emplace them in the hills surrounding the town.

On 11 April the British squadron entered the harbour and opened fire, whilst Nelson took command of the land forces and commenced bombardment.

[16] After overseeing the evacuation of British nationals from Leghorn and transporting them to Corsica, Captain was ordered to blockade the newly captured French port.

[18] By October, the Genoese position and the continued French advances led the British to decide that the Mediterranean Fleet could no longer be supplied; they ordered it to be evacuated to Gibraltar.

[24] Nelson took with him a number of his trusted followers including Midshipman William Hoste and the newly promoted Lieutenant John Weatherhead.

Although he personally led one of the battalions, the operation ended in failure: the Spanish were better prepared than had been expected and had secured strong defensive positions.

Nelson's boat reached its intended landing point but as he stepped ashore he was hit in the right arm by a musketball, which fractured his humerus bone in multiple places.

[1] Nelson wrote in a letter to Weatherhead's father, "...Believe me I have largely partaken in our real cause for grief in the loss of a most excellent young man", and "....when I reflect on that fatal night I cannot but bring sorrow and his fall before my eyes".