A gold medal awarded to one in all Admiral Lord Nelson’s ‘Band of Brothers’ has emerged on the market for £100,000.
Vice Admiral Sir Davidge Gould was one of many loyal captains underneath Nelson’s command on the Battle of the Nile in 1798.
Gould’s ship, HMS Audacious, performed a key position in guaranteeing a decisive victory for the British over the French.
On the finish of the battle Gould despatched Nelson the message that he had the French ship, Le Conquerant, in his possession.
Vice Admiral Sir Davidge Gould, who later additionally helped Nelson conduct his scandalous love affair with the married Woman Emma Hamilton, obtained the Royal Naval Gold Medal for his heroics on the Battle of the Nile
Gould (pictured) was one of many loyal captains underneath Nelson’s command on the Battle of the Nile in 1798
He added: ‘The slaughter on board her is dreadful; her Captain is dying. I provide you with pleasure. It is a superb victory. I’m, with the utmost respect, yours in haste. D. Gould.’
The Audacious then helped batter the French ships Guerrier and Spartiate into their submissions and destroy L’Orient.
Of the 13 French ships that went into motion in opposition to Nelson’s navy, all however 4 have been both sunk or captured.
Afterwards Nelson declared that ‘victory shouldn’t be a reputation sturdy sufficient for such a scene’.
He went on the quote Shakespeare’s Henry V to explain his 14 loyal captains who served underneath him on the Nile and known as them his ‘Band of Brothers’.
Vice Admiral Gould, who later additionally helped Nelson conduct his scandalous love affair with the married Woman Emma Hamilton, obtained the Royal Naval Gold Medal for his heroics on the Battle of the Nile.
After 28 years at sea, he was compelled to resign his command attributable to ill-health in 1804 – a 12 months earlier than the well-known Battle of Trafalgar the place Nelson was fatally wounded.
Vice Admiral Gould was the final surviving member of Nelson’s Band of Brothers and died in 1847.
Of the 13 French ships that went into motion in opposition to Nelson’s navy, all however 4 have been both sunk or captured
Afterwards Nelson (pictured) declared that ‘victory shouldn’t be a reputation sturdy sufficient for such a scene’. He went on the quote Shakespeare’s Henry V to explain his 14 loyal captains who served underneath him on the Nile and known as them his ‘Band of Brothers’
Vice Admiral Gould was the final surviving member of Nelson’s Band of Brothers and died in 1847. His gold medal is now being offered by a non-public collector at auctioneers Noonans of Mayfair, London
His gold medal is now being offered by a non-public collector at auctioneers Noonans of Mayfair, London.
Due to his shut connection to Nelson, the one medal is valued at £100,000.
Christopher Mellor-Hill, head of consumer liaison at Noonans, stated: ‘The gold medal speaks for itself in that only a few of those ever come in the marketplace having survived being melted down for his or her gold content material.
‘They have been solely awarded to the captains of the HMS ships in such necessary and profitable naval actions. It’s being offered by a collector.’
Vice Admiral Gould was born at Bridgewater, Somerset, in 1758, and joined the navy on the age of 13 as a volunteer on HMS Alarm, a 32-gun frigate.
He labored his method as much as midshipman and spent 4 years on HMS Phoenix, collaborating within the American Revolutionary Battle.
By 1782 he was a lieutenant on HMS Conqueror and took half within the British victory on the Battle of the Saintes over the mixed French and Spanish fleet.
After that he was made captain and was on the invasion of Corsica in 1794 throughout which Nelson was blinded in the proper eye.
He was then on the Battle of Genoa earlier than he joined Nelson’s fleet in racing throughout the Mediterranean to achieve the French navy at Alexandria, Egypt, in the summertime of 1798.
Through the voyage Gould was summoned to Nelson’s quarters on the flagship HMS Vanguard to debate techniques.
The British took the French abruptly and attacked their ships on each side.
The British took the French abruptly and attacked their ships on each side
Vice Admiral Gould’s crew overcame Le Conquerant after a determined close-range battle and took her give up.
It then helped with the assault on the Guerrier and Spartiate earlier than sinking L’Orient which exploded right into a ball of flames with the lack of 1,000 of her crew.
The British victory made Nelson a hero in a single day and he returned to Naples, Italy, to nice fanfare.
It was presently he met and fell in love with the married Woman Hamilton.
Throughout a peaceable interval within the Napoleonic Wars, Vice Admiral Gould returned to Somerset and married Harriet Willes, eldest daughter of the Reverend William Willes, Archdeacon of Taunton.
On the resumption of hostilities in opposition to the French in 1803, he was given command of HMS Windsor Fortress and engaged in blockading Brest.
On the age of 46 and after spending 28 years at sea, he was compelled to resign his command.
The sale takes place on January 18 after Nelson’s battle plans which led to his Trafalgar victory have been up for public sale on December 13.
‘Neglect Trafalgar… the Battle of the Nile was Nelson’s most interesting hour’
Many historians agree that the Battle of the Nile was extra important than Trafalgar, the battle wherein Nelson died. It was throughout this battle that Généreux was almost taken by the Lord Admiral’s males however the ship managed to escaped – solely to be captured two years later.
In August 1798, the French have been at anchor in Aboukir Bay in shallow water, utilizing the shore to guard the south-western facet of the fleet, whereas the north-eastern confronted open sea.
Though the ships have been chained collectively, Nelson believed the chain between the final ship within the line and the shore was sunk deep sufficient to let a vessel cross.
In a daring night-time manoeuvre, his fleet slipped by means of the hole and attacked the French on their unprotected facet.
The battle established Britain because the dominant sea energy throughout the French revolutionary wars and was immortalised within the poem Casablanca, recognized for its opening line ‘The boy stood on the burning deck’.
Nelson’s flagship throughout the battle was the Vanguard. Different British ships commemorated by surviving copses embody the Minotaur, Defence, Swiftsure, Theseus, Orion, Bellerophon and Alexander.
Stephen Fisher of the Nationwide Belief stated: ‘The Battle of the Nile in 1798 was one in all Nelson’s most vital clashes with Napoleon.
‘Neglect Trafalgar, this was Nelson’s most interesting hour and on the time was his most well-known victory.’
Divers pull out a 200-year-old canon (pictured) from the ship wreck of the Orient, the French fleet’s flagship throughout the Battle of the Nile, in 1999
