Horatio Nelson's Trafalgar Order of Battle Sold for $189,888 at Auction
Nelson's Order of Battle for Trafalgar
A signed 'Order of Battle' document issued by Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson from HMS Victory days before the Battle of Trafalgar has sold for $189,888 in RR Auction’s Remarkable Rarities sale.
Addressed to Captain Hugh William Bayntun of HMS Leviathan, the document lists the frigates, sloops, and other vessels assigned within Nelson’s fleet. The one-page manuscript order is signed in ink “Nelson & Bronte” and was issued from HMS Victory 11 days before the fleet engaged the combined French and Spanish forces off the coast of Spain.
The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on October 21, 1805, ended Napoleon Bonaparte’s plans to invade Britain and established British command of the seas during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle and died aboard Victory after learning of the victory.
Bayntun’s copy of the order contains handwritten revisions made as the fleet prepared for battle. Several vessels are struck through and noted as “not in the battle”, leaving the ships that ultimately formed the British line at Trafalgar including Victory, Royal Sovereign, Téméraire, Neptune, Conqueror, Agamemnon, Leviathan, Ajax, Orion, Minotaur, and others.
Bayntun later added notes identifying casualties among the captains. George Duff and John Cook are recorded as “killed”, while Charles Tyler and James Nicoll Morris are marked as “wounded”.
The document also bears the signature of Nelson’s secretary John Scott. Scott stood beside Nelson on the quarterdeck of Victory during the battle and was killed early in the engagement when a cannonball struck the ship.
“Operational documents like this were distributed to the captains as the fleet prepared for battle, and few examples remain outside institutional archives,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice President at RR Auction.
Other highlights from the sale included a Charles Lindbergh oversized signed chart tracing the flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, presented to the commander of the USS Memphis ($168,213) and a Frederic Chopin signed autograph letter concerning the publication of Op. 61, Polonaise-Fantaisie ($137,314).
