NELSON, Horatio, Viscount (1758-1805). Autograph letter signed ('Horatio Nelson'), with his right hand, to Sir William Hamilton [Ambassador to Naples], Leghorn, 20 May 1796, 2 pages, 4to , bifolium, docket (traces of paste to inner margin). Provenance : Christie's, 20 June 1990, lot 202.
NELSON, Horatio, Viscount (1758-1805). Autograph letter signed ('Horatio Nelson'), with his right hand, to Sir William Hamilton [Ambassador to Naples], Leghorn, 20 May 1796, 2 pages, 4to , bifolium, docket (traces of paste to inner margin). Provenance : Christie's, 20 June 1990, lot 202. Nelson belittles the achievements of the French armies under Napoleon Bonaparte in capturing Piedmont, in the aftermath of the Battle of Lodi (10 May), 'I am satisfied Piedmont has been took by treachery and not by the force of the French ... I hope the Court of Naples has not caught the general panic, for it is owing to that alone that the French have done what they have, here the people seem much alarmed', expressing his fears that French promises to respect the neutrality of Tuscany are deceitful. Turning to affairs in Corsica, Nelson reports that 'The Vice Roy [Sir Gilbert Elliot] ... has taken in person the field against the Rebels & hopes to subdue them, I assure you my Dear Sir I almost wish we had done with those ungrateful Islanders, one half the Island hates the other half and are we always to be at War with the half which is out of Office, the Rebellion is the struggle for power'. The letter concludes 'My best Compliments to Lady Hamilton'. Napoleon Bonaparte had been appointed general in chief of the undermanned and undersupplied French Army of Italy in March 1796: his campaign of that year is one of the most remarkable in military history, and there is a certain historical irony in Nelson's lowly estimation of the first towering achievement of his great adversary. Nelson's fears as to French intentions towards Tuscany were justified, and within a month he was assisting in the removal of British nationals from Leghorn to Corsica, which in turn he was to help evacuate in October.
NELSON, Horatio, Viscount (1758-1805). Autograph letter signed ('Horatio Nelson'), with his right hand, to Sir William Hamilton [Ambassador to Naples], Leghorn, 20 May 1796, 2 pages, 4to , bifolium, docket (traces of paste to inner margin). Provenance : Christie's, 20 June 1990, lot 202.
NELSON, Horatio, Viscount (1758-1805). Autograph letter signed ('Horatio Nelson'), with his right hand, to Sir William Hamilton [Ambassador to Naples], Leghorn, 20 May 1796, 2 pages, 4to , bifolium, docket (traces of paste to inner margin). Provenance : Christie's, 20 June 1990, lot 202. Nelson belittles the achievements of the French armies under Napoleon Bonaparte in capturing Piedmont, in the aftermath of the Battle of Lodi (10 May), 'I am satisfied Piedmont has been took by treachery and not by the force of the French ... I hope the Court of Naples has not caught the general panic, for it is owing to that alone that the French have done what they have, here the people seem much alarmed', expressing his fears that French promises to respect the neutrality of Tuscany are deceitful. Turning to affairs in Corsica, Nelson reports that 'The Vice Roy [Sir Gilbert Elliot] ... has taken in person the field against the Rebels & hopes to subdue them, I assure you my Dear Sir I almost wish we had done with those ungrateful Islanders, one half the Island hates the other half and are we always to be at War with the half which is out of Office, the Rebellion is the struggle for power'. The letter concludes 'My best Compliments to Lady Hamilton'. Napoleon Bonaparte had been appointed general in chief of the undermanned and undersupplied French Army of Italy in March 1796: his campaign of that year is one of the most remarkable in military history, and there is a certain historical irony in Nelson's lowly estimation of the first towering achievement of his great adversary. Nelson's fears as to French intentions towards Tuscany were justified, and within a month he was assisting in the removal of British nationals from Leghorn to Corsica, which in turn he was to help evacuate in October.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
