Alexander John Scott
Encyclopedia
Reverend Dr. Alexander John Scott (1768–1840) was a chaplain
Military chaplain
A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...

 who served in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 during the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

 and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

. He served as Horatio Nelson's
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...

 personal chaplain at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

, and had previously served as his private secretary. Scott was a close friend of Nelson, and was with him as he died aboard .

Early life

Scott was born in 1768, the son of a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the navy. He was educated at Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...

, and after gaining a scholarship, he attended St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

, graduating from there in 1792. He was ordained in 1793 and joined the navy that year as a chaplain. He was initially assigned to , which was part of the Mediterranean fleet under Admiral Samuel Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...

. During his education he had become fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

.

Meeting Nelson

Scott first met Nelson while in the Mediterranean. Nelson was at this time captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...

 of the 64-gun . Scott was offered the position of Nelson's chaplain, but declined it, instead moving aboard the 98-gun , followed by the 100-gun , then under Sir Hyde Parker. He was present at Nelson's victory at the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...

 in 1801, this time aboard the 98-gun . After the battle was over, Scott helped to draw up the treaties subsequently presented to the Danish, and accompanied Nelson's party as an interpreter. After Parker's recall, Nelson asked for Scott to join him, but Scott could not bear to leave Parker and returned to England with him while Nelson remained in the Baltic.

West Indies

Scott was then assigned to the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

  which was sent to the West Indies, serving with Admiral John Thomas Duckworth
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...

. Duckworth used Scott's linguistic abilities to help in translating documents and to spy and eavesdrop whilst visiting foreign ports. On one occasion he brought Scott to dine with him and the French general Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc
Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc was a French Army general and husband to Pauline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon Bonaparte.-To 1801:...

, in order to try to ascertain the French intentions towards the Caribbean. In 1803, whilst aboard the Topaze, Scott was the victim of an accident that left him severely shaken. He was struck by lightning while sleeping in his cabin, the bolt also igniting some powder and cartridges that were stored above him. The explosion and electric shock knocked out several teeth, injured his jaw and affected his hearing and eyesight. He recovered, but was continually thereafter affected by his nerves.

Nelson and Trafalgar

Nelson arranged for Scott to be transferred to his flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, , in 1804 as his foreign secretary. He had decided that Scott's gift for languages would make him a desirable addition to his staff. Also aboard the Victory was another man named Scott, this was John Scott, Nelson's personal secretary. Nelson solved the problem by terming Alexander Scott, now installed as his chaplain, as 'Doctor Scott'. Scott was not actually a Doctor at this point, the award of the Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 came after Trafalgar. Scott often spent his time aboard Victory reading newspapers and letters captured from foreign prizes to Nelson.

Scott initially went below at the start of the battle to be with the wounded as they were brought to the cockpit. He soon became overwhelmed with the sights and sounds, and began to head up to the deck for fresh air. On the way he passed a figure being carried below to the surgeon, and learnt that it was Nelson. He remained with Nelson during his last hours, supporting him and rubbing his chest. After Nelson had died and the surgeon, William Beatty was summoned, Scott was found to be still rubbing the chest. He accompanied the body back to England, was with Nelson during the lying in state at Greenwich Hospital and attended the funeral processions and the ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...

. He later wrote of his friend:
Men are not always themselves and put on their behaviour with their clothes, but if you live with a man on board ship for years, if you are continually with him in his cabin, your mind will soon find out how to appreciate him. I could forever tell of the qualities of this beloved man, Horatio Nelson. I have not shed a tear before the 21st October, and since whenever I am alone, I am quite like a child.

Nelson had hoped that if he were to die, that George Rose
George Rose
The Right Honourable George Rose was a British politician.Born at Woodside near Brechin, Scotland, Rose was the son of the Reverend David Rose of Lethnot, by Margaret, daughter of Donald Rose of Wester Clune...

, then Vice-President of the Board of Trade
Vice-President of the Board of Trade
The office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade was a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created in 1786 and abolished in 1867. From 1848 onwards the office was held concurrently with that of Paymaster-General...

, would help Scott with money. He also wished for his brother William Nelson
William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson
William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson, 2nd Duke of Bronté was the elder brother of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson....

 to surrender his prebendal stall at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....

 to Scott, when William Nelson inherited. William however declined to.

After Trafalgar

Scott lived a peaceful life after the battle. In 1807 the 35 year old Scott married the 17 year old Mary Frances Ryder.
The newly-weds moved into the vicarage at Burnham on Crouch where Scott assumed the curacy to supplement his income as Rector of nearby Southminster
Southminster
Southminster is a town on the Dengie peninsula in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies about three miles north of Burnham-on-Crouch and ten miles south-east of Maldon. To the north is the River Blackwater, which is tidal and since Roman times has been the gateway to trading...

.
Alexander and Mary had a son who died shortly after birth and two daughters, Horatia and Margaret.
Mary died in 1811 having been weakened by the birth of her son. Scott's daughter Margaret became a best selling author under her married name of Margaret Gatty
Margaret Gatty
Margaret Gatty was an English writer of children's literature.Gatty was born in Burnham on Crouch, Essex, the daughter of the Rev. Alexander John Scott, D.D., a Royal Navy chaplain, who served under, and was the trusted friend of, Lord Nelson on board the HMS Victory before and during the Battle...

. Scott also became Chaplain to the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

 in 1816 and then the incumbent of a government living at Catterick
Catterick, North Yorkshire
Catterick , sometimes Catterick Village, to distinguish it from the nearby Catterick Garrison, is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England...

. He died at Ecclesfield
Ecclesfield
Ecclesfield is a suburb and civil parish in the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, about north of Sheffield City Centre. At the 2001 census the civil parish— which also includes the Sheffield suburbs of Chapeltown, Grenoside, High Green, and formerly Thorpe Hesley —had a population...

, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 in 1840, at the age of 72, and was buried in the churchyard of the Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield
Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield
The Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield is situated on Church Street in the village of Ecclesfield, now a northern suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated seven kilometres north of the city centre. It is a Grade One listed building, one of only five within the Sheffield city...

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