October 21
BOTTLE O’ RUM DAY
The Battle of Trafalgar was fought this day in 1805. Admiral Horatio Nelson led the English fleet to victory over Napoleon’s combined French and Spanish navies. This win ended any threat to England by Napoleon.
In those days, a lot of drinking was done on board the ships. You’ve heard the refrain, “Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.” And rum probably had a lot to do with the victory. All Lord Nelson had to say to his men was, “England expects that every man will do his duty.” And they did, getting up enough nerve to defeat the enemy in a mere five hours. There was much bravery or bravado.
Unfortunately, the good Admiral was hit by an enemy musket ball and died as the enemy surrendered.
The crew preserved his body in the rum. Now, bear in mind that the British tars were entitled a tot of rum each day; it was part of the navy regulations. When the officers aboard Nelson’s flag ship commandeered part of the crew’s booze to preserve the old boy’s body in a cask, the crew went on short rations. But when the cask was opened back home, it was discovered that the crew had been surreptitiously tapping the barrel and the admiral’s upper half was pretty ripe. Apparently even a distinct change in flavor was not enough to put a British sailor off his rum.
Now we know where that other refrain came from, “Oh, it’s rum, rum, rum that makes you feel so numb.”
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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