Could Nelson have beaten the United States in 1812?

Could Nelson have defeated the Americans in the War of 1812?

Probably: late-war British command was already suppressing opposition and organizing broad amphibious operations, a task Nelson was well suited to intensify.

The answer is yes, based on the scope already assumed by the actual late-war British commander. British command was consolidating the North American station and applying increasing pressure to remaining opposition. The admiral was raising marine forces, planning amphibious operations, and organizing a regional war effort with its own economic support. Nelson's energy and experience would have suited that expanding operational remit. This is a judgment about command potential rather than a claim that one admiral could erase every political and geographic constraint of the war.