One of the three British flags known to have survived the Battle of Trafalgar will be auctioned in London next week and is expected to make up to £800,000.
The Union Jack was on the HMS Spartiate, which took an active, dangerous and bloody role in the fighting during the pivotal battle.
The ship was sailed into the central melee that developed after Nelson’s unorthodox assault on the French fleet at around 3pm on October 21, 1805.
The flag shows obvious signs of its closeness to one of history’s most famous battles. Image courtesy of Christie’s.
Flags were a vital part of Nelson’s plan. With cannonballs flying at close quarters, he needed to know which ships were which, so ordered Union Jacks to be flown as visibly and frequently as possible.
The example on the Spartiate was close to the action.
Christie’s, who are selling it in the Exceptional Sale on July 1, say: “Microscopic analysis has revealed shards of cannonball shrapnel embedded in the flag’s woven cloth, especially around the half-moon-shaped hole at the edge, which is likely the ‘footprint’ from a round. Similarly, surviving wooden splinters corroborate the details of the damage Spartiate sustained in combat.”
The Spartiate was built for the French navy, but captured by the British at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.
It took 620 men into battle at Trafalgar. Three of them were killed in a firefight with the Spanish vessel Neptuno.
There is shrapnel in the flag, and the hole at the bottom probably records a near thing with a cannon shot. Image courtesy of Christie’s.
The Battle was Nelson’s triumph and his end. A French sniper picked him out and he died on board his ship, HMS Victory. His body was returned to England for a public funeral that was one of the largest London has ever seen.
The Spartiate’s flag was given to Captain James Clephan in recognition of his courage during the battle.
It is 2.3 metres by 3.5 metres. It was probably made or altered by the ship’s crew, who would have added the St Patrick satire to reflect the 1800 Act of Union with Ireland.
Clephan was not a sailor by choice. He was press-ganged into the navy, and was one of only 20 such men to rise to the rank of captain.
The flag was found by his descendants and was previously auctioned for £396,800 in 2009.
It has since been in the Zaricor Flag Collection of Ben Zaricor.
Another surviving flag can be found in the National Maritime Museum Greenwich.
The other is in private hands.
Fragments of Nelson’s own Union Jack have also been auctioned. In 2018, the largest known piece realised £297,000 at auction.
The Spartiate flag carries an estimate of £500,000 to £800,000. A compelling story and fantastic evidence of its connection to the battle will make it an attractive buy to collectors and perhaps institutional buyers.
