Description:

HORATIO NELSON
(1758 - 1805) British naval officer whose brilliant tactics made the British fleet victorious in battles against the French at the Nile and Trafalgar where he was mortally wounded by a sniper. "THE FRENCH FLEET IS AT SEA" Fine content A.L.S. "Nelson & Bronte", 1p. large 8vo., aboard "Victory", April 4, 1805 to a "Capt. Thomas H. M. Bomb Aetna". French admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve with eleven ships of the line had escaped Nelson''s blockade at Toulon only six days earlier, and here the great British naval leader urgently seeks to gather his fleet for an attack. He writes, in part: "...The French fleet is at sea steering to the Southward bound[?] off Cagliari fire guns and call our the [HMS] Seahorse advise Capt. Boyce to join me I am now standing to the westward as I do not think the French will make Toro [Mallorca]. I can tell him no more, as my movements must be very uncertain...if they do not make Toro, will make Galita...". Fine condition. Four days after this letter was written, Villeneuve would slip past Gibralter, bound for the Caribbean. The two fleets would meet six months later at Trafalgar. Ex: Maggs Bros.

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December 19, 2017 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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