Footnotes

'PAID LORD NELSONS BILL': ST VINCENT PAYS NELSON DAMAGES AFTER THEIR FAMOUS DISPUTE OVER PRIZE MONEY, FUNDS SPIES, PAINTINGS & HIS WIFE'S JEWELLERY.

A brief one-line entry in this ledger, kept by Benjamin Tucker, the earl of St Vincent's indispensable private secretary and Agent for Mediterranean Prizes, shines a light on the lengthy litigation between Nelson and St Vincent over a substantial prize, in which they were embroiled between 1801 and 1803. In the autumn of 1799, the HMS Alcmene under Captain Digby captured two Spanish ships off Cape Finisterre, the Santa Brigada and the Thetis. Nelson, who had been senior flag officer and de facto acting Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet at the time of the capture, demanded his share of the prize, whereas St Vincent, the outgoing Commander-in-Chief who was at home on sick leave, believed the prize should be his, as he still was formally in post. Nelson, desperate for money to fund his extravagant lifestyle with Emma Hamilton, his payments to his estranged wife Fanny and the education of his nephews (see his accounts for March 1803 in Nicolas, Dispatches & Letters, Vol.5, p.47), and with the £2,000 mortgage on Merton due, doggedly pursued St Vincent through the courts. The verdict was initially given against Nelson, with Tucker awarded £500 damages, but Nelson's agent immediately appealed and the Court of the King's Bench overturned the decision in February 1803: "...'the said Lord Viscount Nelson do receive against the said Benjamin Tucker his damages aforesaid', and also 'from the said Tucker... £334 for his costs and charges'..." (Evelyn Berckman, Nelson's Dear Lord, 1962, p.190) – the exact amount noted in our ledger. Whilst the disputed capture is not recorded in our volume, the Alcmene is recorded as having captured, amongst others, La Courageux, and vessels El Altruide, the Baptista, and the Ruby.

Amongst the more mundane entries in the ledger for personal expenditure, including that relating to St Vincent's Essex property, Rochetts, there are a few notable entries, perhaps the most intriguing being a fee to Evan Nepean for "Mediterranean secret service expenses". As Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, Nepean had been responsible for naval and political intelligence which led to him running a network of spies across Europe and, although by this time he was Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, it is clear his intelligence duties were not over. Other payments include a fee to marine artist Robert Cleveley for his pair of paintings depicting the Battle of Cape St Vincent, now in the National Maritime Museum, for which he was paid £105 (£6,605 today) – and in another his wife orders a diamond-encrusted anchor costing £25 (25 July 1801), a fashionable patriotic accessory particularly among naval wives and popularised by Emma Hamilton, who owned several. The Dr Baird referred to here was Andrew Baird, St Vincent's private physician who vastly improved the health of sailors through diet and good hygiene on board ship.

Benjamin Tucker (1762-1829) served with St Vincent for a decade, as secretary and private secretary, with a seat on the Navy Board from 1801 when St Vincent became First Lord of the Admiralty. Despite his closeness to St Vincent - 'I can not possibly go on without Mr Tucker' he wrote (Berckman, p.223) – he remains a shadowy figure and there is virtually no mention of him by contemporaries. His son Jebidiah published Memoirs of Admiral the Rt Hon. The Earl of St Vincent, written from Tucker's notes, in 1844. His other son, named John Jervis, became an admiral.

Provenance: Admiral John Jervis, 1st Earl St Vincent (1735-1823); Honora Mary Jervis and her husband Colonel E.H.B. Lysons; by descent to J.M.C. Lysons (1924-2018) and the present owners.