Nelson was bleeding copiously and his stepson, Lieutenant Nisbet, cut a piece of his own neck handkerchief and tied it tightly around Nelson's arm to stop the bleeding. The admiral refused to use the frigate "Seahorse" that was stationed close by, to be taken back to his flagship, as it would imply that Captain Fremantle would have to hoist a flag of distress and thereby demoralise the crews. Instead, the sailors of his boat rowed hard back to the "Theseus". The surgeon had been warned of the contingency and got his instruments ready. Nelson was cited as saying, as he pointed to his right arm "Doctor, I want to get rid of this useless piece of flesh here". Nelson's operation was quick and aseptic, and most of the arm was amputated. The limb was thrown overboard (as was common practice in the day), despite the admiral's wish to keep it.