100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 51 11 The Story of the Sailor Cap Streamer

Chapter 511 The Story of the Sailor’s Cap Streamer——The man is gone, but the spirit lives on
A person has left this world, but if his image is tall, he will always stand in people's hearts and will not fall down for a hundred years.

Everyone has seen the hat worn by sailors. It is a kind of beanie with two black streamers at the back.But these two streamers are also different from country to country. Some streamers are marked with certain words, some are blank, and some are printed with medal ribbons and other symbols.So, where did these two streamers come from?It is said that the streamer of the sailor's cap was originally to commemorate the British Admiral Nelson.

In 1758, Horatio, the most famous admiral of the British sailing age?Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk.When he was 12 years old, he joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet and went to the warship as a trainee.Fortunately for Nelson, the captain of this warship was his uncle Suckling.The young Nelson was diligent and studious. During the voyage with the ship, he quickly mastered many useful skills and gained a lot of practical experience in ship driving and sea life.With his uncle Suckling serving as the Auditor of the Royal Navy, Nelson was promoted quickly and finally became a shrewd and experienced young officer.When Suckling died, Nelson was naturally appointed captain.

At that time, the French Revolution was surging. After King Louis XVI was guillotined, anti-French alliances were organized many times, and France and European countries were at war. In 1793, the Battle of Cape St. Vincent began as the first in a series of contests between Great Britain and the Franco-Spanish alliance.In order to effectively defeat the French army's offensive, then Commodore Nelson personally led a squadron to attack the French army's maritime supply line and achieved great results.For his outstanding performance in battle, Nelson was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy and awarded the title of Lord.

On December 1804, 12, Spain declared war on Great Britain. In 12, Napoleon's army invaded Britain. On October 1805, a battle broke out at sea. The two warring parties were the fleet led by Nelson and the fleet led by Napoleon's admiral Villeneuve.In the battle, the British army quickly gained the upper hand.At this time, the British flagship "Victory" docked with the French ship "Awe" during the battle, and the two warships became entangled.After more than an hour, the two warships still did not leave.Just as Nelson was commanding the battle with Captain Hardy on the quarterdeck, a bullet was suddenly shot from the mast of the "Awe", piercing the epaulet on Nelson's left shoulder, shooting into his chest, and embedded in his spine. superior.Nelson was immediately carried into the cabin, and when his life was dying, he persisted until the end of the battle.When he heard the news of the victory in the battle, he left the world with peace of mind.When the British Royal Navy mourned Nelson, all sailors spontaneously put two black veils on the back of the hat to express their condolences and respect for him.Since then, the British navy cap has gradually been formally adorned with two black ribbons.Later, it was discovered that the streamer also has the function of measuring wind and decoration, so the navies of various countries followed suit.

Wisdom Interpretation:

The black streamer on the back of the navy cap commemorates Nelson.

As the Chinese poet said, "Some people are dead, but they are still alive", which means that the soul of the body can die, but the spirit will be passed down from generation to generation, loved and commemorated by thousands of people, competing with the sun and the moon!
(End of this chapter)