Having recently finished O'Brian's epic Aubrey/Maturin novels (I did Hornblower a couple of years ago), I've developed a fascination with Lord Nelson. And given that we are near to the anniversary of the glorious Battle of Trafalgar, it seems right tthat I note the presence of this document on the auction list at Bobnham's in London.

A description of the horrors of the Battle of Trafalgar written by a barely literate below-decks seaman is to be auctioned next month as enthusiasm for memorabilia peaks on the 200th anniversary of the battle in which Admiral Horatio Nelson crushed a French and Spanish fleet.

The document describes the action of Britain's greatest naval victory from the point of view of Robert Sands, a 17-year-old "powder monkey" on the Temeraire, and includes an account of how he almost suffocated in the smoke from the ship's 98 guns and how he narrowly escaped death from a fire.

His story opens with a description of the famous signal to the fleet sent by Nelson: "He said he oped that Everey man would doo his Duty this day for old Englands sake for it would be a gloureus day for them that lived to see the end of it."

Later Sands writes: "We had to leave our Quarters 2 get breth. The smoke sofecated us."

As I loke to remind my students, history is not just the lives of the great men and women of an age, but those of the humblest as well.

I wish I had an extra $7000 lying around to make this purchase.

It is expected to go for about $7000 (3000 pounds). I certainly wish I had that sort of cash to spare.

Posted by: Greg at 04:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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