To turn a blind eye?

Admiral Horatio Nelson of the British Royal Navy is said to have made this now famous statement while willfully disobeying the order of his superior officer to withdraw and disengage the attack.

During the 1801 battle of Copenhagen, Nelson lead the attack of the British fleet against a joint Danish & Norwegian enemy. The British Royal Navy supreme commander was Admiral Sir Hyde Parker. The two men often times disagreed over tactics.

At a pivotal moment in battle, Admiral Parker sent a signal (by the use of flags) ordering Nelson to disengage the attack. When the supreme commander's order was brought to Nelson's attention, He purposefully lifted the telescope up to his blind eye, said he saw no signal, and ordered his forces to continue to press on with the attack. The obvious deception of placing a telescope to his blind eye was a means to defy his commanding officer's order and continue with the attack.

This post is a compilation of information obtained from www.phrases.org and www.wikipedia.org