A printed copy of Admiral Sir John Jervis’s despatch to the Admiralty about the Battle of St Vincent, 14 February 1797. The despatch mentions that Commodore Nelson, HMS Captain, was bruised during this battle, ‘but not obliged to quit the Deck’. Moreover, Nelson was able to witness at first hand the importance of surprise, the seizing of opportunity and the use of initiative in naval combat in the tactics used by Jervis in the Battle of St Vincent. In future, where Nelson held a similar position, this experience was of personal importance.