The treasure of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes

As part of a 4 frigate flotilla loaded with a cargo of Spanish gold, silver and jewels, the 34 gun frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes set off for Cadiz from Montevideo in mid 1804. Unbeknown to the Spanish, the Royal Navy was aware of their cargo and, importantly, their movements and on 5 October, just 100 miles short of their destination, off the Cape of Santa Maria (close to Faro in Portugal) 4 British frigates intercepted, engaged and captured the Spanish ships, with the exception of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes which exploded and sank with all her treasure on board. The action created tremendous anti-British feelings in Spain and resulted in her declaring war in Great Britain on 12 December. Less than a year later a combined Spanish and French fleet would be destroyed off Cape Trafalgar. In 2007 the American recovery firm discovered and recovered the treasure and quickly flew the coins to Miami, where they claimed salvage rights. Subsequently the hoard was valued at in excess of $500 million! Not unsurprisingly, the Spanish government took great umbrage at this act and commenced legal action in the US courts to have the fortune placed in their care. In February the courts found in favour of the Spanish and last Saturday (25 February), the trove arrived just outside of Madrid on-board a Spanish military aircraft, presumably the RAF being instructed to take the weekend off. Apparently Spain's Culture Ministry has ruled out the idea of the treasure being sold to pay off the country's national debt.

Raglan collection to be auctioned

Lord FitzRoy Somerset joined the Duke of Wellington’s staff in 1807 and as a prominent aide de camp served with him throughout the Peninsular War and at Waterloo his arm was severely wounded resulting in its amputation. After Waterloo he became the Duke’s secretary and ultimately his military secretary when the former became Commander-in-Chief in 1827. In 1852 he became 1st Baron Raglan and two years later he was promoted to General and appointed to command the British forces during the Crimean War. After victory at Inkerman in November 1854 he was promoted to Field Marshal, but died of dysentery shortly after the abortive assault on Sevastopol in June 1855.

On 10 January 2010 the 5th Baron of Raglan died without issue and his executors have decided that many of the items that the 1st Baron collected over the years should be put up for auction at Christies on 4 April.

Of particular interest are FitzRoy Somerset’s Peninsular War awards and medals estimated to fetch between £250,000 - £350,000 and amongst which are his Peninsular Gold Medal (with clasps for Badajoz and Salamanca), the Peninsular Gold Cross (with five clasps) and his Field-Marshal’s baton. As FitzRoy Somerset married Wellington’s ‘favourite’ niece, it is no surprise that the auction contains a ring that was supposedly taken from the Tippu Sultan’s body after the assault of Seringapatam (estimate up to £15,000). There are also two Russian bronze cannon taken from Sevastopol in 1855. As their estimate is up to £40,000. might this indicate that the Ministry of Defence is looking to back up its stock of Victoria Cross bronze?

Although Christies have yet to update their website with the details of the sale, the collection can be viewed at their Kensington showrooms from April 1 – 3.

Wellington Chair

I notice that Taylor and Fletcher auctioneers have the ‘Wellington Chair’ up for auction on March 1. According to the Daily Mail the chair could fetch up to £8,000!  whilst an ‘expert’ in a local paper put an estimate on it as high as £20,000.

And this struck a chord with me, as many years ago I remember seeing such a chair at Belvoir Castle. So, I wondered, just how many pieces of furniture were actually made from the famous Elm tree that stood at ‘Wellington’s Crossroads’ on the battlefield of Waterloo? I did a quick bit of research and found an article by A.E. Gunther in the September 1977 bulletin of the British Museum, whereby it seems that in the autumn of 1818 a gentlemen by the name of John George Children purchased the tree from the Belgian farmer on whose land it had stood. Children shipped it back to England and commissioned Chippendale the Younger to make “various items of furniture out of its timber”. Three chairs were made and one, known as the ‘Wellington Chair’ was presented to King George IV and Gunther asserts that this was still to be found in the Royal Collections at St James Palace in 1967. The second chair was presented to the Duke of Wellington and according to the Daily Mail  in 2008 still resides in his private apartments at Apsley House. The third chair was last known to be in the possession of the Duke of Rutland, and I personally saw this chair at Belvoir castle about 10 years ago and indeed the Duchess of Rultand confirms its presence in her book on the castle that was published in 2009.

As the location of all three chairs has been established as late as 1967, the recent auction story in the Daily Mail asserting that the ‘Wellington Chair’ for auction was purchased by its vendor in the 1950s raises the eyebrows somewhat, especially given the values concerned. So was A.E. Gunther, who was a prominent historian at the British Museum (and incidentally, or coincidentally, J G Children was Assistant Keeper at the Natural History Museum), incorrect in stating that there were only three chairs made from the Elm Tree?

The auctioneers state that they found some provenance from an article in a 1936 edition of the Gentlemen’s Magazine, and yet that august magazine ceased publication in 1922. However my research indicated that volume 156 (p290) of the same magazine published in 1834 corrects hearsay in a book review of ‘Thomas Dykes travel memoirs’ and states that J G Children was the purchaser of the said elm tree and that he did make a chair, but that it was not for sale. So could the chair that is up for auction be of doubtful provenance? A mystery that requires further research, particularly on behalf of the potential purchaser. Certainly a question that I will be asking of eminent historian Professor Jeremy Black who will be accompanying our Waterloo Campaign tour this June.

St Mary’s Collegiate Church, Warwick

Whilst in the Midlands recently, I had an hour or so to spare in Warwick. This town has a wealth of historical places to visit, not least its famous castle. But in the short time I was there I happened across the Collegiate Church of St Mary. And what a pleasant surprise it was. Besides its fine architectural style (it was rebuilt on its Norman foundations after the great fire of Warwick in 1694) and its imposing tower (with its impressive views of the surrounding area and the castle in particular), there are a number of beautiful tombs of some very important characters from the medieval and Tudor periods.

As the church was born out of the benefaction of the Thomas Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, naturally he lies in pride of place in the chancel besides his wife, Katherine Mortimer. He was Marshall of England for 25 years until his death in 1369. He fought beside Edward III at Crecy, the siege of Calais (both 1346) and with the Black Prince at Poitiers (1356).

Inside the Baeuchamp Chapel.

The 13th Earl of Warwick (Richard de Beauchamp) commissioned the construction of the Beauchamp chapel, were he was subsequently laid to rest some years later after his death; his magnificent tomb is made from Purbeck marble and gilded latten. During his life time, the earl was the scourge of the Welsh and the nemesis of Owen Glendower. He also fought with Henry IV against Harry 'Hotspur' at Shrewsbury in 1403.

Also in the chapel can be found the Dudley brothers – Ambrose and Robert; the latter, the 1st Earl of Leicester and suitor of Elizabeth I. Both their tombs are works of art in their own right, the detail of their sculptured effigies being remarkable.

Elsewhere in the church can be found the chapel of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment with many memorial plaques to its former members, Enoch Powell (who is buried in Warwick cemetery, apparently buried in his Brigadier's uniform) and Field Marshall Montgomery included.

Whilst there are a myriad of reasons to visit Warwick (and I will provide more in future editions of this newsletter), if you only have an hour to spare, it would not be wasted at St Mary’s. See the church website for more information. 

James Arnold's 'Napoleon on the Danube'

Wading my way through James Arnold's 'Napoleon on the Danube' in preparation for The Cultural Experience's tour of the same name - see http://www.theculturalexperience.com/battlefield_tours/vienna.php.
I read his 'Crisis on the Danube' many years ago, which I remember enjoying. The latter dealt with the opening battles of the 1809 campaign in Germany - Ratisbonne, Eckmuhl, etc, whereas this one deals with Aspern-Essling and Wagram.
Arnold writes really well - an easy author to get to grips with. His description of Aspern-Essling is very good as his round up of other worldwide events concurrently taking place in 1809. The book lacks a bit of balance because its light on Austrian sources. However he needs to understand that river banks are defined as left and right when one faces the direction of flow of a river. Either he has got that wrong or he erroneously believes that  the Danube flows from east to west. These are errors that he repeats throughout, and given that much of this book is about the crossing of the Danube, they can very much confuse the reader. Also the maps (in my 1990's edition) are appalling - I suspect that he or his 'cartographer' where trying to get to grips with the latest 'drawing' software, which in the early 1990s was pretty bad compared to what it available today. If this book has been reprinted, I hope that the publishers have the good sense to have the maps redrawn. Failing that, you will need to get hold of other maps to facilitate your understanding - especially with the manoeuvring of 5/6 July.
Overall though, a good read so far and despite my criticisms (and anyhow you have been forewarned) I would recommend this book. I'll update this review when I've finished it.
Really looking forward to Vienna though.