Single Campaign Medals 462


The Boulton’s Trafalgar Medal together with an unusual collection of items belonging to Able Seaman Thomas Fletcher, H.M.S. Defence, including what is believed to be the oldest known ships’ biscuit


i. Matthew Boulton’s Medal for Trafalgar 1805, white metal, unnamed, contained in a removable hinged gilt-metal watch-type case, now lacking suspension loop and one glass, some damage to edge affecting inscription, otherwise good very fine


ii. Manuscript Booklet, predominantly in Fletcher’s hand, comprising the ‘General Order’ dated H.M.S. Euryalus, 22 October 1805, as published in the London Gazette on 6 November; a list of those killed and wounded at Trafalgar; ‘The Battle of Trafalgar Composed by Joseph Dixon on board His Majesty’s Ship Defence’, a remarkable contemporary poem written by a participant in the battle (Able Seaman Joseph Dixon, from Whitehaven, Cumberland, aged 22, serving on H.M.S. Defence). The victory at Trafalgar inspired a huge mass of patriotic verse and Fletcher clearly appreciated this unusual, and apparently unpublished, poem because he also included it in his journal (see Provenance below). All the British ships are described, some action detailed, and the victory summarised; two further poems celebrate the British naval victory over the Ottoman Empire in the Dardanelles, 19 February 1807; and despatches describing the victory at Trafalgar; 28 pages, 4to, stitched with string, unbound, some leaves detached, some leaves missing


iii. Shaving Box, a naively produced piece of treen, mahogany and oak, 135mm x 80mm x 35mm, name inscribed on cover, with original mercurial gilded mirror, losses to interior, residue of lining paper


iv. Ships’ Biscuit, 120mm diameter, portion broken but a remarkable survival, unless otherwise described, condition generally good for age


£2,000-£2,600


Provenance: Sotheby’s, Trafalgar sale, October 2005, Lot 193, by family descent. Fletcher’s autograph journal, October 1804 to January 1807, was offered as the previous lot in the same sale.


The remarkable survival of Fletcher’s ships’ biscuit is a reminder of one of the less edifying aspects of life in an eighteenth century warship. Jeffrey Raigersfield, a midshipman in Mediator, noted how it ‘was so light that when you tapped it upon the table, it fell almost into dust, and thereout numerous insects, called weevils, crawled; they were bitter to the taste, and a sure indication that the biscuit had lost its nutritious particles; if, instead of these weevils, large white maggots with black heads made their appearance, then the biscuit was considered to be only in its first state of decay; these maggots were fat and cold to the taste, but not bitter...’


What is purportedly the oldest known ships’ biscuit in the world, circa 1852, is prominently displayed at the Maritime Museum in Kronborg Castle, Elsinore, Denmark.


Thomas Fletcher was born in 1779, and was pressed into service as a crewman on H.M.S. Defence (74) in 1803, probably after some experience of the sea during the brief peace of 1801-03 or even earlier. The Defence, launched in 1763, was one of the oldest line-of- battle ships in the navy. Fletcher kept an autograph journal written between October 1804 and January 1807, during which time he was second gunner, then Able Seaman. Defence arrived off Cadiz in late August 1805. The ‘Great Gunes’ were exercised on September 3rd, a ‘general exercize’ was held on the 4th, and on 6th September news was that ‘the french Was Making all Ready to Come Out’.


This was a false alarm and the Defence settled down to wait. Fletcher records an exhausting regime of cleaning, repairing sails, mustering, and other preparations for battle. He also records, on 29th September, the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief: ‘At Seven Lord admiral Nelson Joined Us with three Sail of The Line wich maid twenty Nine Sail of the Line with Us besides frigates Sloaps Brigs’.


www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 24% (+VAT where applicable)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208