June, 8th, 2013

Trafalgar | La Belle Epaulette | Admiral Lord Nelson

…one epaulette has been damaged by the shot that killed him in The Battle of Trafalgar, october 21, 1805. The ball was fired at close range from the rigging of the Redoubtable alongside Nelson’s flagship, Victory. It entered the admiral’s left shoulder, descending obliquely through the ribcage and spine to lodge in the muscles of the lower back. When Sir William Beatty, Nelson’s surgeon, removed it from his corpse, traces of gold braid and cloth were found embedded in the lead. The relic was mounted in its oval locket by Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy and presented it to Beatty, who is said to have worn it suspended from a chain round his neck…