Lot Essay
William Beatty (d.1842) was surgeon on board the Victory, attending to the general health of Admiral Nelson and present in his last hours at the Battle of Trafalgar. This book may well be inscribed to the wife of Robert Adair, Surgeon-General to King George III.
The map depicts the decisive moment at the Battle of the Nile when the French ship L'Orient caught fire and blew up, killing the French Admiral Brueys. Nelson, on the flagship Vanguard, had tracked down the French fleet 15 miles from Alexandria on their way to Egypt and despite a dangerous operation undertaken without accurate charts, led the English to an important victory. 'Before this time tomorrow', he said 'I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey' - he was created Baron Nelson of the Nile in November 1798.
The map depicts the decisive moment at the Battle of the Nile when the French ship L'Orient caught fire and blew up, killing the French Admiral Brueys. Nelson, on the flagship Vanguard, had tracked down the French fleet 15 miles from Alexandria on their way to Egypt and despite a dangerous operation undertaken without accurate charts, led the English to an important victory. 'Before this time tomorrow', he said 'I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey' - he was created Baron Nelson of the Nile in November 1798.