Cuthbert “Old Cuddy” Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, Vice-Admiral of the Red (1748 – 1818) Battle of Trafalgar Victor

Cuthbert Collingwood and Horatio Nelson: British School, National Maritime Museum (19th century)

“Lord Nelson is an incomparable man, a blessing to any country that is engaged in such a war. His successes in most of his undertakings are the best proofs of his genius and his talents. Without much previous preparation or plan he has the faculty of discovering advantages as they arise, and the good judgement to turn them to his use. An enemy that commits a false step in his view is ruined, and it comes on him with an impetuosity that allows him no time to recover.”
Collingwood to Dr Alexander Carlyle (August 1801) Hughes 69, from HMS Barfleur

“Now, gentlemen, let us do something today which the world may talk of hereafter.”
To his Officers before the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 Oct 1805. Anectdotal remark, probably reported to the biographer Newnham-Collingwood by William Conway, the Admiral’s secretary. Newnham-Collingwood (1837) i, 174

“What would Nelson give to be here?”
At the start of the Battle of Trafalgar, as HMS Royal Sovereign surged towards the Spanish line, well ahead of any other British ship

“My Dear Sister – We fought a battle on the 21st and obtained a victory such as perhaps there is no instance of. We were 27 ships, the combined fleet 33. My dear friend Nelson fell in [the] middle of the battle. I followed up what he had begun…”
Collingwood to his sister (October 1805) Hughes 93, off Cadiz

“Fourteen or sixteen hours of every day I am employed. I have about eighty ships of war under my orders, and the direction of naval affairs from Constantinople to Cadiz, with an active and powerful enemy, always threatening, and though he seldom moves, keeps us constantly on the alert.”
Collingwood to Mrs Stead (April 1809) Hughes 174, from HMS Ville de Paris .

“You will be sorry to hear my poor dog Bounce is dead. I am afraid he fell overboard in the night. He is a great loss to me. I have few comforts, but he was one, for he loved me. Everybody sorrows for him. He was wiser than [many] who hold their heads higher and was grateful [to those] who were kind to him.”
Collingwood to his sister (August 1809) Hughes 184, from HMS Ville de Paris off Toulon

“The women [under siege at Gerona] are dressed in the habits of men, are armed with muskets and behave with the greatest gallantry. The soul of a woman is the excellence of creation, but how they would spoil it by foolish fashion, affecting a timidity which they do not feel. I wish my girls were taught their exercise and to be good shots. I think it will be useful to them before long. I am sure Sarah would be a sharp shooter, a credit to any Light Corps.”
Collingwood to Mrs Stead (October 1809) Hughes 190, from HMS Ville de Paris off Barcelona

Sailor Robert Hay who served with Collingwood wrote that: “He and his dog Bounce were known to every member of the crew. How attentive he was to the health and comfort and happiness of his crew! A man who could not be happy under him, could have been happy nowhere; a look of displeasure from him was as bad as a dozen at the gangway from another man” and that: “a better seaman, a better friend to seamen – a more zealous defender of the country’s rights and honour, never trod the quarterdeck.”

Cuthbert was second in command to Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, KB (1758 – 1805) at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). After Nelson’s death, he led the victorious assault on the French and Spanish fleet.

British Royal Marines 2nd Lieutenant Cuthbert Collingwood and Ensign David Collins (1756 – 1810), his cousin, fought together against the United Colonist troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775. The Colonists achieved a moral victory in inflicting egregious casualties on the enemy, though the British ultimately won the battle and thus held its strategic military position at Charlestown, Massachusetts. Colonel David Collins became 1st Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land.

The horrific slaying that day of Colonial Major-General Joseph Warren, MD, one of most beloved and revered American Patriots, galvanized revolutionary fervor like virtually nothing else could have before the signing of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776.

Robert Collingwood, High Sheriff of Northumberland (1486 – 1551; 15th great-grandfather) was his agnatic forebear. He was also an agnatic descendant of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (1018 – 1094), one of William the Conqueror’s (1028 – 1087) 1st Norman King of England‘s most trusted military counselors, and Ragnarr “Loðbrók” Halfdansson (c. 765 – 845) King of Denmark & Sweden. Lord Collingwood was the agnatic cousin of Bernard Law Montgomery KG (1887 – 1976) British Army Field Marshal.

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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