1810 DUKE OF WELLINGTON CLAIMS DANISH FLEET IN OPORTO WELLINGTON & ADMIRAL BERKELEY DO BATTLE WITH "RASCALS" Start Price USD 2,400.00 Current Price USD 2,400.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, November 13, 2008 End Time Saturday, December 13, 2008 Location Missouri See more about '1810 DUKE OF WELLINGTON CLAIMS DANISH FLEET IN OPORTO ' Description NAPOLEONIC & PENINSULAR WAR ARCHIVES WITH THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR CAMPAIGN UPON US - WELLINGTON LANDS IN PORTUGAL AT MOUTH OF THE MONDEGA ON THE 1ST OF AUGUST OF 1808 - WE ARE PRESENTING QUALITY ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENTS THAT WILL JUMP START OR ENHANCE ANY BICENTENNIAL EXHIBIT, COLLECTION, OR TRIP TO THE BATTLEFIELDS.    DUKE OF WELLINGTON SIGNED PENINSULAR WAR LETTER (LS)APRIL 24TH 1810 AT VISEU - ALONG WITH THREE ASSOCIATED SIGNED LETTERS BY ADMIRAL BERKELEY HERE WELLINGTON WRITES TO HIS FRIEND AND POLITICAL ALLY, SIR CHARLES STUART, TO EXPRESS HIS CONCERNS OVER THE DISPOSITION OF DANISH PRIZE SHIPS TAKEN EARLIER IN THE WAR. ALSO INCLUDED ARE THREE ADMIRAL GEORGE CRANFIELD BERKELEY LETTERS CONCERNING THE SAME SUBJECT. THE BODY OF THE WELLINGTON LETTER IS IN THE HAND OF FITZROY SOMERSET, WELLINGTON'S MILITARY SECRETARY, AND LATER, FIELD MARSHAL LORD RAGLAN OF CRIMEAN WAR FAME. A SCARCE AND EXCELLENT EXHIBIT ON THE ISSUE OF PRIZE SHIPS DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR THESE DOCUMENTS ARE COVERED BY OUR WRITTEN, SIGNED AND SEALEDLIFETIME GUARANTEE OF AUTHENTICITY Transcription:                    Viseu April 28th 1810 Sir,      I have received your letter of the 21st Instant regarding the Danish Ships at O'Porto.     I have the honor to inclose the copy of a letter which I wrote to the Secretary of State of the Portuguese Government upon this subject, when I transmitted the Report of the Commandant of O'Porto regarding the conduct of the Captain of H. M. Ship Growler.     As I was the Commander of the Army by which O'Porto was liberated from the Enemy, I have always refrained from interfering in any manner respecting the disposal of the Danish Vessels; and have only pointed out to the Portuguese Gov't the Steps which they ought to take if they did not think proper that these Vessels should be removed by order of Vice Admiral Berkeley from O'Porto.     I never saw the orders given by His Majesty respecting the Danish Ships found in the Tagus, when the French were removed from Portugal in September 1808; but I can easily conceive that the principle of those orders would not apply to he Danish Vessels found in the Douro, when the French were removed from O'Porto in May 1809.             I have the honor to be                 Sir           Your most obedient                  Humble Servant,                        Wellington    Historical Notes This signed letter by Wellington is addressed to Sir Charles Stuart K.G.C.B.(1779-1845), British statesman and one of the ablest diplomats of his day, the body of the letter is in the hand of his Military Secretary: Lord FitzRoy Somerset, later known as Field Marshal, Lord Raglan, General of the Army, during his legendary Crimean War exploits. This letter is important as it provides a critical insight into Wellington's thinking following the disastrous Convention of Cintra in 1808 and how he specifically does not see it as applying to his liberation of O'Porto in 1809. Thus, while he diplomatically avoids saying so directly, he considers the Danish Ships so taken as spoils of the British Admiralty. But see Berkeley's later letters as he protests the sale of the ships by a "rascal" of the Danish Government. The second and likely more important aspect of these letters is that Wellington was at this time still fighting a retreat from Talavera and Spain back to the Lines at Torres Vedras. Depending upon whether or not his defensive masterpiece held, Wellington knew that he might have to evacuate all his troops, using Lisbon as the point of embarkation. As Admiral Berkeley's letters confirm, he was adamant about securing these vessels and properly fitting them out in case the necessity arose where they would need a quick and vast armada to effectuate the withdrawal of the British Army. Transcription:                     Lisbon 5th June 1810   Sir,      The Commanding Officer of his Majesty's Ships and Vessels at Oporto has informed me that Mr. Kopke the Danish Consul at that place, has advertized the vessels of that Nation for Sale. The representations which have been made already to your Excellency on the subject of these ships I beg leave to state, has been most carefully attended to, until the question of Neutrality (under the existing circumstances of that Port at the time) is decided, but if this Sale is suffered to take place or that the Danish Consul alone is to decide this political question; the Interests of his Majesty's Army and Navy will of course suffer, and as Commander in Chief of one of those Services, I feel it my Duty to state it to you, that such representations may be made to the Government of this Country, to prevent this Sale, as you may think most expedient.                        I have the honor to be                    Your Excellency's                      Very obedient humble Servant                         G BerkeleyTo: His Excellency, The Right Honorable C. Stuart, Esq.[signed again on address panel] G Berkeley         Transcription:                    Lisbon circa May 1810 My Dear Sir,      I  Believe the Portuguese Feelings could most easily be appeased, if we could insure the Danes, taking their own Vessells, and keeping every thing secure on Board, but if you knew the Trouble and anxiety which those in The Tagus occasioned by Frauds and Robbery you would be astonished.     It will however afford me the means of proposing such an Arrangement, as will either place us in possession of the Vessells for any Embarkation, which may eventually be necessary, or convince the Government of Portugal that their faithfull Allies the Danish Merchants, are very nearly as great Rascals as the British in point of Honesty, and Consideration. Of this however you may safely assure Forjaz, that nothing Repugnant to the Feelings of the Portuguese Government will be attempted, and that the Interests of this Country cannot be felt more by themselves, than as in this Transaction. I remain.                        Your most ???                    G Berkeley    To: His Excellency, The Right Honorable C. Stuart, Esq.[signed again on address panel] G Berkeley   Transcription:                    Lisbon circa May 1810 9 o'clock My Dear Sir,      I had some conversation with Forjaz (Portuguese Minister of War) upon the Business of the Danish Vessels, and explained to him that I perfectly was aware of the Claim of Neutrality and of its Justice from what I had heard from Lord Wellington; but that my object in fitting them out was on other Grounds, a moments conversation on this Subject, will satisfy the Portuguese Government and I shall be very glad to call upon you tomorrow Morning, or even now, if you like it; as I am engaged to go over the Water at Eleven upon a Reconnoitering Business.              I Remain Sir yours,                 G BerkeleyTo Right Honorable C. Stuart, Esq. Here is an interesting and timely consideration of the "neutrality" of ships who were from nations not directly combatants, but busy making money supplying British troops on the Peninsula, in this case a Swedish ship:U.S. Supreme CourtTHE COMMERCEN, 14 U.S. 382 (1816)14 U.S. 382 (Wheat.) The Commercen.-LINDGREN, Claimant. March 21, 1816 APPEAL from the Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts.Justice Story:"Can a neutral stand on any better ground than a citizen? Either the British troops in the peninsula were enemies or friends. If enemies, that is an interposition which cannot be permitted to neutrals. Being at war, the British subjects and armies were hostile in every quarter of the globe. Where shall the line be drawn to mark when they became our enemies? At what period from the time of their landing in Portugal, until their crossing the Pyrenees, and embarking at Bordeaux for the United States? It is impossible to aid the operations of our enemy in any part of the world, without strengthening his means of annoying us. The very men fed by this trade came here to fight us on our own soil, and to destroy our capital. It is said that this involves the consequence that we were at war with Spain and Portugal; but it depends upon the councils of every country to judge what acts of hostility shall render it expedient to make war; it depended on us to be at war with the allies of our declared enemy. It is a general rule that it is not unlawful to carry provisions to a neutral country; but if the enemy be there, and the articles are destined for his use, it is unlawful. The whole evidence shows that the master knew he was carrying provisions for the supply of the British forces, and his ignorance of the law is immaterial. But even if it were material, the inflamed rate of freight shows that he was conscious of the risk he run." On the Beginnings of the Peninsular War      Napoleon signed the order to invade Portugal in the Treaty of Fountainebleau on October 27,1807, largely to seize their naval fleet, and capture the Royals and the wealth of Lisbon. In 1808 General Arthur Wellesley was preparing to command an expedition to Venezuela, when the Spanish revolt began the Peninsular War and he was sent to Portugal instead. Wellesley landed at the mouth of the Mondega River in August of 1808 and quickly defeated the French at the Battle of Roliça and the Battle of Vimeiro. Unfortunately, he was superseded in command immediately after the latter battle. General Dalrymple made peace with the French and insisted on associating Wellesley with the controversial Convention of Cintra, which stipulated that the British Royal Navy would transport the French army out of Lisbon with all their loot. Wellesley along with Dalrymple was recalled to Britain to face a Court of Enquiry. He proved that while he had agreed to sign the preliminary Armistice, he had not signed the Convention, and was cleared.     Later in 1808 Napoleon himself, with his veteran troops, entered Spain to put down the revolt which had now spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula, and the new commander of the British forces in the Peninsula, Sir John Moore, died during the Battle of Coruña in January 1809. Although the war was not going particularly well, it was the one place where the British and the Portuguese (their oldest ally) were managing to put up a fight against France. Wellesley submitted a memorandum to Lord Castlereagh on the defence of Portugal, stressing its mountainous frontiers and advocating Lisbon as the main base because the Royal Navy could make it impregnable. Castlereagh and the cabinet approved the memo, and appointed him head of all British forces in Portugal, raising their number from 10,000 to 26,000 men.     A reinforced General Arthur Wellesley took the offensive in April 1809. First, he crossed the Douro river in a brilliant daylight coup de main, and routed the French troops in Porto. He then crossed Portugal and entered Spain, joining with a Spanish army under Cuesta. They meant to attack Marshal Victor, but Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, now proclaimed King of Spain, reinforced Victor first, and the French instead attacked, and lost, at the Battle of Talavera. For this victory Arthur Wellesley was ennobled as Viscount Wellington of Wellington. With Marshal Soult threatening their rear, the British were compelled to retreat to Portugal. Deprived of the supplies and military support promised by the Spanish throughout the campaign and not told of Soult's movement, Wellington was reluctant to ever again rely upon Spanish promises or resources.     In 1810, a newly enlarged French army under Marshal André Masséna invaded Portugal. British opinion both at home and in the army was uniformly gloomy - they must evacuate Portugal. But Wellington first slowed the French down at Busaco and Celorico in September of 1810, then blocked them from taking the Lisbon peninsula by his magnificently constructed earthworks, the Lines of Torres Vedras, brilliantly assembled in complete secrecy, and with flanks guarded by the Royal Navy. The baffled and starving French invasion forces retreated after six months. Wellington followed and, in several skirmishes, drove them out of Portugal for good.     1812 saw the turning point in the French occupation of Spain. Breaking out of Portugal, Wellington's capture of Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo and Madrid, his victory at Salamanca, and the siege of Burgos, showed the potential of his army. The following year he was to return with a force that was overwhelming. Some thought that it might be possible to bribe French officers to desert. Wellington, however, did not underestimate the enemy that faced him or the qualities he needed in his own troops.     The French had relieved Burgos in October 1812 and the following spring intended to reinforce its fortifications. Wellington's forces proved too strong and he captured Burgos on 13 June 1813, going on to defeat Joseph Bonaparte at Vitoria on 21 June. The progress of the troops was marked by careful planning, secure support, particularly from the navy, and control of major positions along the coast and through the country. The major towns were captured in a series of actions and Wellington crossed the Pyrenees to defeat the French at Toulouse in April 1814. Accompanying him was Louis XVIII, returning to France as its King. To many in Spain and Portugal, Wellington was a savior. Biographical Note Field Marshal His Grace Arthur Wellesley1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (1769 – 1852) Arthur Wellesley, the son of the Earl of Mornington, was born in Dublin in 1769. After being educated at Eton and a military school at Angers, he received a commission in the 73rd Infantry. Eventually Wellesley obtained the rank of captain and became aide-de-camp to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1797 Wellesley was sent to India where his elder brother Richard Wellesley had been appointed Governor-General of India. While Napoleon was gaining victories in Egypt, Wellesley was dispatched to deal with Tippoo Sahib of Mysore. As brigade commander under General George Harris he impressed his superiors throughout the Seringapatam expedition and was made administrator of the conquered territory. Wellesley returned to England in 1805 and the following year he was elected as the MP for Rye in Sussex. A year after entering the House of Commons, the Duke of Portland appointed Wellesley as his Irish Secretary. Although a member of the government, Arthur Wellesley remained in the army and in 1808 he was sent to aid the Portuguese against the French. After a victory at Vimeiro he returned to England but the following year he was asked to assume command of the British Army in the Peninsular War. In 1809, following his victory at Talavera in Spain, Arthur Wellesley was made Viscount Wellington. In 1812 the French were forced out of Spain and Wellesley reinforced his victory against the French at Toulouse. In 1814 Wellesley was granted the title, the Duke of Wellington. He was then put in command of the forces which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in June, 1815. Parliament rewarded this military victory by granting Wellington the Hampshire estate of Strathfieldsaye. In 1818 the Duke of Wellington returned to politics when he accepted the invitation of Lord Liverpool to join his Tory administration as master-General of the Ordnance. In 1829 Wellington assisted Robert Peel in his efforts to reorganize the Metropolitan Police. In 1828 Wellington replaced Lord Goderich as prime minister. Although Wellington and the Home Secretary, Robert Peel, had always opposed Catholic Emancipation they began to reconsider their views after they received information on the possibility of an Irish rebellion. As Peel said to Wellington: "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger". King George IV was violently opposed to Catholic Emancipation but after Wellington threatened to resign, the king reluctantly agreed to a change in the law. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE LORD HIGH ADMIRAL SIR GEORGE CRANFIELD BERKELEY, GCB(1753-1818)      The second surviving son of Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley, 17th baron, was born 10 Aug. 1753, and in 1766 entered the navy on board the yacht "Mary", under the flag of his cousin, Rear-Admiral Keppel, then appointed to carry over to Denmark the unfortunate Caroline Matilda. Young Berkeley was for some time the queen's page, and was afterwards appointed to the "Guernsey", 50 guns, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Pallisser, then going out as governor of Newfoundland. Here he had the peculiar advantage of instruction from Mr. Gilbert, then master of the "Guernsey", and afterwards of the "Resolution" with Captain Cook, assisting him in the survey of the coast of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.     After two years of this service he was, in 1769, appointed to the "Alarm" frigate with Captain Jervis, afterwards the Earl of St. Vincent, and served under him in the Mediterranean. He was afterwards removed into the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Peter Denis, who, in September 1772, promoted him to the rank of lieutenant. In 1774 he returned to England, and at once contested the city of Gloucester in the interest of the opposition. The cost of the election to the two parties was said to be not less than 100,000£. Berkeley was unsuccessful; partly for political reasons he was not appointed to a ship till, in 1778, he was nominated by Admiral Keppel as a lieutenant of the "Victory". He was thus present in the Battle of Ushant, and in September was promoted by the admiral to the Command of the "Firebrand" fireship, in which he was attached to the Channel fleet. During the Invasion of the Channel in the summer of 1779 by the combined fleets of France and Spain, he acted on the staff of Lord Shuldham, the Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth. Berkeley's energy induced Lord Shuldham to recommend him to the admiralty for promotion; but the request was again refused on account of the part taken by Captain Berkeley in politics. He was, however, appointed to the "Fairy" sloop, and sent out to Newfoundland, where, within two months, he captured nine of the enemy's privateers, and was posted by the admiral into the "Vestal" frigate 12 Sept. 1780. In the "Vestal" he was sent to England, and commanded her in the following spring at the relief of Gibraltar by Vice-Admiral Darby. In 1782 he commanded the "Recovery" frigate in the fleet under Vice-Admiral Barrington and Lord Howe, and was paid off at the peace in 1783.     In 1786, after a few months in command of the "Magnificent", 74 guns, he was appointed Surveyor General of the Ordnance, an office which he held till the outbreak of the war with France, when he was appointed to the "Marlborough", 74 guns, and in her had an important share in the victory of 1 June 1794. The Glorious First of June (also known as the Third Battle of Ushant) is the British name for a naval battle fought in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 and 29 May and June 1, 1794 between the Royal Navy and the navy of Revolutionary France. It was the first major naval battle of the French Revolutionary Wars. In this battle the "Marlborough" suffered severely, was totally dismasted, and had 120 men killed and wounded. Berkeley himself was severely wounded in the head, and was unable to resume the command. In common with the other officers of the fleet he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and was one of the comparatively few who received the gold medal. Notwithstanding this, politically inspired disparaging rumours of Berkeley's conduct were set afloat, and even ten years afterwards a weekly paper, called the “Royal Standard” published a letter, in which he was described as a 'shy cock' and as having skulked in the cockpit. Berkeley brought an action for libel against the paper, and obtained a verdict with 1,000£ damages. There appeared no grounds whatever for the libel, which, however, is even now sometimes remembered.     For some months in 1795-6 Berkeley commanded the "Formidable" in the Channel, and in 1798 had command of the Sea Fencibles on the coast of Sussex (this was a coast based naval militia designed to use small colliers and gunboats to defend the coast from marauders). On 14 Feb. 1799 he was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and during that year and the next Commanded a Squadron in the Channel fleet under Lord Bridport and Lord St. Vincent. He became a Vice-Admiral 9 Nov. 1805, and about the same time was appointed to the Command of the Halifax station. It was during his command, and under his direct orders, that the conflict between the "Leopard" and "Chesapeake" took place, 22 June 1807, on account of some deserters from the English service, who had been received on board the American vessel. The case led to a long diplomatic correspondence, and was one of the first causes of the War of 1812 which broke out five years later; but Berkeley's conduct in the affair seems to have been strictly in accordance with rule and precedent, though at variance with the more modern traditions of international law. In December 1808 he was appointed to Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet of Portugal and the Tagus, which post he held till May 1812. On 31 July 1810 he was advanced to the rank of Admiral, and in acknowledgment of his services to Portugal he was nominated Lord High Admiral of Portugal. After his return to England in 1812, he retired altogether from active, and indeed from public life; for up to that time from 1781 he had represented the city of Gloucester in Parliament, and had been a warm and persistent supporter of Pitt, a Grenvillite and an uncompromising opponent of the Addington ministry. He was made a G.C.B. in 1814, and died 25 Feb. 1818. Admiral the Hon Sir George Cranfield Berkeley was once a resident of Hurst House and is buried in West Molesey church. In 1784 he had married Emily Charlotte, daughter of Lord George Lennox, and sister of the Duke of Richmond, by whom he left five children.[Extracts from Dictionary of National Biography, Naval Chronicle; Gentleman's Magazine (1818)] From the Sir Charles Stuart, Lord Rothesay, Correspondence. Stuart was His Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal during the greater part of the Peninsular War (10 January 1810 to 26 May 1814). He was a personal friend and confidante of Wellington and Nelson, member of the Portuguese Regency (the only British Subject in the war ever permitted to hold an official position in a foreign government while also representing Britain), and later ambassador to Netherlands & France. The most important foreign diplomat of the Peninsular War, his archive of diplomatic, military and intelligence dispatches are second only to Wellington's Dispatches.  Offered by Berryhill & Sturgeon, Ltd.   No Reserve - Free Shipping – No Auction Buyer’s FeesWhat You Bid Is What You Pay!! All items include a written guarantee of authenticity to the successful bidder and are accompanied by a full color picture receipt for your insurance and inventory records. All items are shipped fully insured and archivally packaged to your address with proof of delivery confirmation/signature. Please note that although we take great care in scanning our document images, color may vary from original. 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