Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Singles

Lot 3880    Session 13 (2.30pm Thursday)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Singles

Estimate $200,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $216,000

NAVAL GOLD MEDAL 1795, small size (33mm) as awarded to ship Captains, in fitted gold frame with loop mount and glazed cover on both sides as issued, obverse, winged figure of Victory standing on the prow of an ancient galley, spear in left hand, bestowing a laurel wreath on the head of Britannia standing in a galley with a Union Jack shield behind her, her right foot on a helmet, her left hand holding a spear, reverse, in the centre engraved, 'CAPTAIN / OF H.M.S. / THE DIRECTOR / ON THE 11th OCTOBER / MDCCXCVII', around the edge engraved, 'WILLIAM BLIGH ESQUIRE THE DUTCH FLEET DEFEATED'. Good extremely fine and rare.

The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter. At the time it was considered the greatest ever victory by a British fleet over an equal enemy. The battle was the most significant during the French Revolutionary Wars and resulted in a complete victory for the British who captured eleven Dutch ships without loss of any of their own. In 1795 the Dutch Republic had been overrun by the army of the French Republic and reorganized into the Batavian Republic, a French client state. After the French Atlantic Fleet suffered heavy losses in a disastrous winter campaign the Dutch Fleet was ordered to reinforce the French at Brest. The rendezvous never occurred and by September the Dutch Fleet under Admiral de Winter were blockaded within their harbour in the Texel by the British North Sea Fleet under Duncan. When Duncan returned to Yarmouth to re-supply, the Dutch Fleet, under orders from the Batavian Government, conducted a brief sweep into the North Sea in search of weak British forces. Vice Admiral de Winter's fleet consisted of sixteen ships however when it returned to the Dutch coast on 11 October, Duncan was waiting and intercepted it off the Dutch coastal village of Camperduin (Camperdown). Admiral Duncan made the signal, 'Prepare for battle', while Vice-Admiral de Winter organized his ships into a line of battle so as to meet the British in a solid defensive formation. After much manoeuvring during the next three hours, finally at about noon, Duncan gave the orders for his ships to engage the enemy at close quarters. Captain Bligh was in command of HMS Director which moved up the Dutch line of ships until it reached the battered Haarlem and then engaged it at close range. He was joined in this attack by HMS Adamant. The action was so close that the British ships were in danger of firing into one and other in the high seas, heavy rain and poor visibility. Harlaam, and several Dutch ships, battered by the British onslaught, were overwhelmed and surrendered. Meanwhile the battle was continuing between the other ships and when Admiral Duncan ordered the least damaged of his ships to sail in support of the outnumbered ships in the Dutch vanguard, Bligh's ship Director along with Powerful were the first two to respond, joining the attack on Vice-Admiral de Winter's flagship Vrijheid at 1400 hours. For the next hour de Winter resisted with Bligh maintaining Director on station off the stern of Vrijheid and repeatedly raking it with cannon. By 1500 all three of its masts had been brought down and most of the crew was injured, however de Winter refused to lower his colours. In an attempt to end the battle, Captain William Bligh closed his ship to within twenty yards of the Dutch flagship and demanded to know if de Winter surrendered. He refused and attempted to repair his ship and when sailors from Bligh's ship boarded de Winter was found assisting the ship's carpenter with repairs to a barge he wanted to use to transfer to another ship. He was informed he was now a prisoner and transferred to the British flagship, Venerable, to formally offer his surrender to Admiral Duncan. Losses were heavy on both sides due to the intensity of the battle as well as the fact that the Dutch mirrored the British tactics of firing at the hull rather than the masts and thus many more injuries were sustained by the British than normally. When the British Fleet retuned to England with its captured spoils of war it was greeted with great celebrations and news of the magnificent victory spread throughout England. Admiral Duncan was created Viscount Duncan of Camperdown and Baron Duncan of Lundie. Some of the other officers also received titles. Gold medals were created and presented to the captains and both Houses of Parliament voted their thanks for the victory. Many other rewards were given. On 23 December, King George III led a thanksgiving procession and ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral in London at which Admiral Duncan carried Vice-Admiral de Winter's flag from the Vrijheid and Vice-Admiral Onslow carried Rear-Admiral Hermanus Reijntjes' flag from Jupiter, followed by Captains Fairfax, Essington, Mitchell, Bligh, Walker, Trollope, Drury, O'Bryen, Gregory and Hotham, as well as various seamen from the fleet. The medal offered in this lot is the medal presented to Captain William Bligh in 1797.