Description:

Nelson Horatio 1758 - 1805 An important relic from the pinnacle of British sea power! Two fragments from the flag that flew above the HMS Victory at Trafalgar, torn to shreds by Nelson's sailors, who draped it over his coffin at St. Paul's Cathedral.


A pair of fabric swatches, .25" x .5" each, removed from the ensign flag that flew above HMS Victory during Nelson's victory at Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, housed in a .5" x .5" locket suspended from a fabric rope chain opposite a tiny portrait of Nelson. Expected wear, some abrasions to the bottom and sides of the locket.

At the apex of his career, Horatio Nelson was the cream of the British naval establishment when he engaged the Franco-Spanish fleet off Cadiz. Nelson pitted his numerically inferior fleet of 27 ships of the line against his opponent's 33 in a most unorthodox maneuver sailing his ships perpendicularly in two columns into his foe's line. The result was a resounding victory and confirmed Great Britain's status as the greatest naval power on Earth - a position that was not seriously challenged for over a century.

Yet the victory was bittersweet. Nelson, who refused to remove his elaborate uniform and medals during the action in order to appear less conspicuous, was mortally wounded by a French marksman at the height of the engagement. He died several hours later, enough time to learn that his tactics had proved effective. Soon before he expired, Nelson murmured: "Thank God I have done my duty."

The news of Nelson's death came as a great shock in England. George III was said to have remarked, in tears, "We have lost more than we have gained." The Times of London commented, "We do not know whether we should mourn or rejoice. The country has gained the most splendid and decisive Victory that has ever graced the naval annals of England; but it has been dearly purchased."

After making repairs at Gibraltar, the Victory sailed back to England with Nelson's body which was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral in an elaborate state funeral. The Prince of Wales volunteered to be chief mourner until his father reminded him that it was against protocol for the heir to the throne to officially attend any but a royal funeral. Sir Peter Parker served as chief mourner, and the Prince and his brothers attended the funeral as private citizens. At the close of the January 9, 1806 service, as Nelson's sailors draped the Victory's flag over Nelson's coffin, they spontaneously tore a portion of the flag away in order to preserve mementoes of their fallen commander.

The tearing of the flag is perhaps the best known episode in Nelsonå«s state funeral. Historian Carola Oman provides perhaps the most authoritative account of the incident: "The final incident of Lord Nelsonå«s funeral, found by many spectators the most impressive, was undisciplined and unrehearsed. It had been set down that the men of the Victory were to furl the shot-rent colours which they had borne in the procession and lay them upon the coffin; but when the moment came, they seized upon the ensign, largest of the Victoryå«s three flags, and tearing a great piece off it, quickly managed so that every man transferred to his bosom a memorial of his great and favourite commander" (Oman, Nelson)

Relics associated with Nelson, especially pieces of the standard that flew above Nelson's flagship, the aptly named HMS Victory, are extremely rare. A slightly large pair of fragments of Nelson's flag fetched $80,000 at a 2004 auction. (Bonham's, September 28, 2004, Lot 117)

The remnant from which the present example is derived (an unusually large fragment measuring 34.75" x 37") was consigned to Sotheby's by University Archives and sold in 2005 for approximately $200,000 (Sotheby's, London, October 5, 2005, Lot 102, å£120,000).

Ex-Royal United Services Museum, Whitehall, London.

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