| Chapter 1: | Educating Stockton |
|
|
Search for Glory
On the eve of the Battle of the Nile (August 1, 1798), Nelson wrote to his wife about his frustration in not being able to bring the French to battle, and ended his letter focused upon his ultimate purpose—“Glory is my object, and that alone.”50 Stockton's antebellum society saw such a pursuit of glory as a noble effort that transformed “man's base egoism and avaricious self-aggrandizement into a passion for distinction through public service.”51 Stockton most certainly learned this lesson from Nelson, as well as from the prestige his family had enjoyed for generations. However, young Robert was going to seek his glory in a way no one else in his family ever had.
Figure 3. The Reverend Andrew Hunter.52
