JEWELLERY, DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS AUCTION Tuesday, 18 August 2026 / 10:00 am start
An 1810 hand written letter from 'Wellington' (Arthur Wellesley 1769-1852) to ‘Commander in Chief' (Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany),
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Lot Details
written from 'Badajoz' and dated 14th November 1810. On Royal Navy letterhead. Essentially describing how he is having difficulty responding to all the 'correspondence that surrounds me' and that he would rather be training men to 'beat any force opposed to them in the field'. The letter reads.... 'My Lord, If I attempted to answer the mass of futile correspondence that surrounds me, I should be deborned from all serious business of campaigning. I must remind your Lordship ...... under his command that they under his command that they may without question, beat any force opposed to them in the field. I am, My Lord , Your obedient Servant. Wellington. Note: ‘Wellington’ (Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke of Wellington) was the celebrated, astute and successful Commander-in-Chief of the British Army leading the land campaign against the French in the Peninsular War. While primarily an army general, he collaborated closely with the Royal Navy during the 1810 defence of Portugal. He directed naval brigades and coastal squadrons from his headquarters, signing his official military dispatches and correspondence simply as ‘Wellington’. He defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Known as the 'Iron Duke', he died a veteran of some 60 battles across the Empire, a leading statesman and twice a British Prime Minister.
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