Part of the Union Jack flown from Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar before being torn up after his funeral is to go under the hammer for an expected £100,000.
The historic piece was said to been one of two flown from HMS Victory when Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was shot by a French sniper in 1805.
Admiral Nelson had issued orders that all his ships going into battle should not only fly the St George’s Ensign but also a Union Jack from their fore top-gallant sail.
The historic piece was said to been one of two flown from HMS Victory when Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was shot by a French sniper in 1805
HMS Victory flew two Union flags and a St George’s Ensign, which were returned to England with the ship and the body of Nelson.
These battle ensigns formed part of the ceremonials that marked his state funeral in January 1806.
His body lay in state at the Painted Hall at Greenwich for four days before processing upriver in a funeral barge with a flotilla of naval escorts, disembarking at Whitehall Stairs and resting overnight in the Admiralty.
The following day, 9 January, a vast procession followed Nelson’s remains to St Paul’s Cathedral with a funeral cortege including 48 seamen and Marines from HMS Victory, who bore with them the ship’s three battle ensigns.
But at the end of the funeral before folding the flags and placing them on the coffin, those who had served under Nelson had torn off a considerable part of the largest flag to share among them as a memento.
The Naval Chronicle recorded ‘the Comptroller, Treasurer and Steward of his Lordship’s household then broke their staves, and gave the pieces to Garter, who threw then into the grave, in which all the flags of the Victory, furled up by the sailors were deposited.
HMS Victory(pictured in 1997) flew two Union flags and a St George’s Ensign, which were returned to England with the ship and the body of Nelson
The Battle of Trafalgar saw the British 27-ship fleet led by Nelson defeat Napoleon Bonaparte’s 33-ship Spanish and French flotilla in 1805
‘These brave fellows, however, desirous of retaining some memorials of their great and favourite commander, had torn off a considerable part of the largest flag, of which most of them obtained a portion.’
Most of the surviving fragments are smaller in size and have appeared at auction while similar fragments are found at the National Maritime Museum and other collections.
Only two complete Union Jacks used as battle ensigns at Trafalgar survive, one from HMS Minotaur held by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and the other from HMS Spartiate sold at auction for £384,000 in 2009.
The 34- by 36 inch fragment forms part of the bottom-right or top-left quadrant of the Union flag.
It comprises of eight panels of red, white and blue hand-woven woollen bunting, hand-stitched together with a hem turned over enclosing 46cm of twine crudely torn at the edges.
It belonged to ‘Captain W.H. Dobbie, RN’, presumably William Hugh Dobbie who served in the East Indies Station from 1790 to 1808 and was gifted by him to the Museum of the Royal United Services Institute.
It has an estimate of £80,000 to £100,000 is to be auctioned as part the latest ‘Of Royal and Noble Descent’ sales at Sotheby’s in London on January 17.
It forms part of a group of 79 lots entirely dedicated to Nelson, Trafalgar and the British great maritime tradition.
A number of these objects would have been with Nelson at his final hour are also offered for sale including his grog chest with a cased set of fine decanters from his cabin with an estimate of £35,000 to £45,000.
Other personal items include his engraved glassware, each estimated at £12,000 to 18,000 and a pair of silver sauce tureens emblazoned with his coat of arms with an estimate £30,000 to £50,000.
Love letters Nelson sent to his mistress Lady Hamilton, shedding light on a liaison that scandalised 18th-century England written between 1801 and 1803 are also to go under the hammer.
Fought on 21st October 1805, the Battle of Trafalgar is one of history’s most epic sea clashes
Here is another of the flags to have survived the Battle of Trafalgar, riddled with holes from musket balls
In all, there are 256 royal and aristocratic heirlooms up for sale.
Sotheby’s Senior Specialist in Continental Furniture João Magalhães said: ‘Four years in the making, our ‘Of Royal and Noble sale’ sales have become an unmissable event for art lovers looking equally for fantastic property with great provenance and whimsical objects with a great story to tell.
‘This year, we are delighted to have been entrusted with a collection celebrating Britain’s hero, Nelson, which not only contains fragments of history, such as the Victory Jack, but also treasured items, from paintings and sculpture to porcelain and silver tracked down for their links to Britain’s rich nautical past.
‘Highlights in the sale also include table services which belonged to prominent families, important furniture and a replica set of the British Crown jewels.’
Battle of Trafalgar: An epic sea clash that laid foundations for Britain’s global power
The HMS Swiftsure, which was captained by William Rutherford, is portrayed at the Battle of Trafalgar in a painting by JMW Turner
Fought on 21st October 1805, the Battle of Trafalgar is one of history’s most epic sea clashes.
Not only did it see Britain eliminate the most serious threat to security in 200 years, but it also saw the death of British naval hero Admiral Lord Nelson.
This was not before his high-risk, but acutely brave strategy won arguably the most decisive victory in the Napoleonic wars. Nelson’s triumph gave Britain control of the seas and laid the foundation for Britain’s global power for more than a century.
Despite signing a peace treaty in 1903, the two nations were at war and fought each other in seas around the world.
After Spain allied with France in 1804, the newly-crowned French emperor Bonaparte Napoleon had enough ships to challenge Britain.
In October 1805, French Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve led a Combined French and Spanish fleet of 33 ships from the Spanish port of Cadiz to face Nelson and Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood.
Nelson, fresh from chasing Villeneuve in the Caribbean, led the 27-ship fleet charge in HMS Victory, while Vice Admiral Collingwood sailed in Royal Sovereign.
The legendary naval clash famously claimed the life of Lord Admiral Nelson, who is pictured above
Battles at sea had until then been mainly inconclusive, as to fire upon the opposing ship, each vessel had to pull up along side one another (broadside) which often resulted in equal damage.
Nelson bucked this trend by attacking the Combined Fleet line head on – and sailed perpendicular towards the fleet, exposing the British to heavy fire.
He attacked in two columns to split the Combined Fleet’s line to target the flagship of Admiral Villneuve.
11. 30am Lord Nelson famously declared that ‘England expects that every man will do his duty’, in reference to the command that the ships were instructed to think for themselves. The captains had been briefed on the battle plan three weeks before, and were trusted to bravely act on their own initiative and adapt to changing circumstances – unlike their opponents who stuck to their command.
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood led the first column and attacked the rear of the line, and broke through.
Nelson sailed directly for the head of the Combined Fleet to dissuade them from doubling back to defend the rear. But before he reached them, he changed course to attack the middle of the line – and Villeneuve’s flagship.
Speeding toward the centre of the line, HMS Victory found no space to break through as Villeneuve’s flagship was being tightly followed – forcing Nelson to ram through at close quarters.
In the heat of battle, and surrounded on three sides, Nelson was fatally shot in the chest by a well-drilled French musketeer.
The Combined Fleet’s vanguard finally began to come to the aid of Admiral Villeneuve, but British ships launch a counter-attack.
Admiral Villeneuve struck his colours along with many other ships in the Combined Fleet and surrendered.
4.14pm HMS Victory Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy dropped below deck to congratulate Nelson on his victory, to which he replied ‘Now I am satisfied. Thank god I have done my duty.’
4.30pm With the knowledge he has secured victory, but before the battle had officially concluded, Lord Nelson died.
5.30pm French ship Achille blew up signalling the end of the battle – in all 17 Combined Fleet ships surrendered.