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Lot 169^*

A Powder Boy at Trafalgar

Amended

5 July 2005, 11:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £4,800 inc. premium

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A Powder Boy at Trafalgar

Account of Trafalgar, written or dictated in after years by Robert Sands, serving as a powder boy at the battle, 2 pages, folio, paper-losses at the head and foot (affecting a few words), slight browning and stained, passepartout frame (unexamined out of glass)

Footnotes

A rare account from below decks of the Battle of Trafalgar, the author identifying himself midway through his account as a powder boy, seemingly on board the Victory. It is written in an uneducated hand, with phonetic spelling, and was either written or dictated some time after the event (the wove paper would suggest a date of 1820 or later). The author's first-hand memories of the battle have clearly been later influenced by published accounts, becoming somewhat confused (in two places the account even echoes the phrasing of Nelson's 9 October memorandum and the author has Nelson issue his 'England Expects' order as a verbal message, which of course is the form in which it would have reached him). But parts of the memoir more clearly reflect the author's authentic experience, untainted by the Nelsonic mythos: "I was a pouder boy belonging to the 9 gun on the m[ain] deck Robert Sands was my name we had to leave our Quarters 2 to get breth the smoke sofecated us All most it was calm and still as tho we had been in som plesant harbour the 4 ships went of our After magesene skreens took fire and burnt the Leftanant of mereans badley I had jest left thair wen the exploshon took place the men Inside the skreens was burnt to deth so thay told me then I had to go to the fore magesene for my powder...".

Saleroom notices

Please note that Robert Sands is included on the muster roll of the 'Temeraire'.

Additional information

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ARCHITECTURE - ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL
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