Letter written by Admiral Lord Nelson emerges for sale for £10,000
Letter written by Admiral Lord Nelson penned year before his death at Trafalgar revealing he feared for his financial future after the Napoleonic wars emerges for sale for £10,000
- It was written to his friend Sir John Acton, Prime Minister of Naples, in 1804
- He wrote of worries about his finances when his Royal Naval pay would be halved
- The sale will take place at Reeman Dansie auctioneers in Essex on Tuesday
A letter written by Admiral Lord Nelson penned a year before his death at Trafalgar has emerged for sale for £10,000.
The note revealed he feared for his financial future after the Napoleonic wars when his Royal Naval pay would have been half of what he was used to.
Nelson wrote the one page letter on October 8, 1804, while the British fleet were blockading the French at Toulon.
Nelson wrote the one page letter on October 8, 1804, while the British fleet were blockading the French at Toulon
It was addressed to friend Sir John Acton, the Prime Minister of Naples, and he wrote of how his administrator Abraham Gibbs was working on his future finances.
He wrote: ‘Gibbs is at work for me about Bronte but there seems some difficultys (sic) in the arreingement (sic) of paying certain pensions or salaries.
‘If peace was firmly established I still should wish for a certain income being paid me.’
The letter also mentions Reverend Dr Alexander Scott, Nelson’s personal chaplain at Trafalgar, who tended to him in his final moments.
The sale takes place on Tuesday and has been consigned by a private collector with Reeman Dansie auctioneers in Colchester, Essex.
A Reeman Dansie spokesperson said: ‘We are delighted to be handling this rare handwritten and signed letter by Nelson which discusses some financial affairs and mentions Dr Scott who eventually attended to his fatal wounds.
‘It is historically very interesting and has rightly attracted a lot of interest.’
Admiral Lord Nelson wrote the letter to friend Sir John Acton, the Prime Minister of Naples, and he wrote of how his administrator was working on his future finances
At the time the letter was written he seemed to concern himself more with mundane domestic matters than with plotting the downfall of the enemy.
Nelson had a three-year-old daughter by his mistress Emma Hamilton to care for and had just bought a large family home in Merton, south London, for them.
His Bronte Estate in Sicily – his reward for defeating Napoleon’s navy at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 – was also losing money.
The sale takes place on Tuesday and has been consigned by a private collector with Reeman Dansie auctioneers in Colchester, Essex
Nelson died onboard Victory on October 21, 1805.
On his deathbed, Nelson wished for Emma and Horatia to be taken care of financially but his wishes were ignored.
His body was pickled in a cast of brandy and returned to England where he was given a state funeral.
The Napolonic Wars came to an end in 1815 following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
The letter also mentions Reverend Dr Alexander Scott, Nelson’s personal chaplain at Trafalgar, who tended to him in his final moments
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