Fine, Incredibly Beautiful Presentation, King George IIIrd Brass Barrel Blunderbuss. Presented to John Holmes, of HMS Thunderer 'As A Token Of Regard' in London 1800. Potentially, It May Have Seen Service At the Battle of Trafalgar. By Thomas, of London

Finest walnut stock with wonderous patination. Excellent action and overall in superb condition. Probably by gunsmith John Thomas of Fore Street, Edmonton .

Presentation inscribed in 1800 from Vincent Drew to John Holmes. Very recent family research these past two months has determined it was presented to the Reverend John Holmes, who was the chaplain of HMS Thunderer, a '74 Gunner' Warship that was part of Nelson's fleet that served at the Battle of Trafalgar.
He joined the Thunderer in May 1805, served at battles of Cape Finisterre and Cape Trafalgar, during 1805, and was discharged from the Ship on the 26th November 1808 when the Thunderer was laid up in Ordinary at Chatham. There is no way to determine if the reverend Holmes took this blunderbuss aboard, but it is intriguing to think he may have done, and of course, if it was indeed used in the battle by the chaplain. In war, chaplains, and indeed ship's surgeons, were armed, as they were expected to have the ability to defend themselves should the need arise. In fact, by regulation, all British officers currently are required to possess {and carry in dress circumstances} a sword of combat quality, for the very same reason, unlike for example the current US armed services, where the officer's sword is regulated to be of dress quality only

In 1805 HMS Thunderer fought in Admiral Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre. Her captain, William Lechmere, returned to England to attend a court-martial as a witness to the events of Admiral Calder's action off Cape Finisterre at the time of the battle. Later that year she fought at the Battle of Trafalgar under the command of her First Lieutenant, John Stockham. The surgeon on board was Scotsman James Marr Brydone, the chaplain the reverend John Holmes, it was the first of the main British battle fleet to sight the Franco-Spanish fleet. Thunderer signalled the Victory and three minutes later battle orders were signalled to the British fleet beginning the Battle of Trafalgar.

Rev. John Holmes resume of service on the Thunderer;

15 Jul 1805 with the blockading squadron off Ferrol, under Sir Robert Calder : departed 30 to 40 leagues off Finisterre to intercept Franco-Spanish fleet from the West Indies. On the 22nd sighted each other. Signal made to engage the enemy - followed by the engagement.

15 Aug 1805 Victory, with Nelson onboard, departed from Portsmouth ; was joined off Plymouth by the Ajax and Thunderer on 18th ; and arrived off Cadiz 28 Sep.

10 Oct 1805 off Cadiz - the tactical preparations etc. for the forthcoming battle. 20 Oct combined fleet departed Cadiz, fleet manoeuvres.

21 Oct 1805 'England expects' signalled, the first shots of the Battle of Trafalgar are fired.

22-30 Oct 1805 losses amongst the prizes due to bad weather etc: Redoutable, Rayo, Monarca (sank) ; Fougueux, Bucentaure, Indomptable, San-Francisco-de-Asis, Aigle, Berwick (wrecked) ; Algsiras (taken into Cadiz) ; Santa-Ana, Neptuno (recaptured) ; Santisima-Trinidad (scuttled) ; Achille, Intrepide, San-Augustin (burnt)

12 Mar 1806 captured the Spanish privateer Santo Christo del Paldo, 14 guns, 67 men, off Cadiz.

8 Dec 1806 with a squadron under R.-Admiral. Sir T. Louis, anchored in Valetta harbour, and having victualled departed the 15th for Tenedos, arriving on 21st. 27th departed for the Dardanells, and anchored in Azire bay. 1 Feb the squadron returned to off Tenedos.

11 Feb-3 Mar 1807 With Sir John Duckworth on what some have described as his somewhat less than successful expedition to Constantinople. 14th anchored off Cape Janizary, ships' boats used to rescue men from the burning Ajax. 19th steered for Constantinople. 2 Mar returned to the Mediterranean.

Late 1807 stationed at Palermo.

21 Feb 1808 joined in Palermo bay by R.-Admiral Strachan's squadron.

2 Mar 1808 joined Lord Collingwood's squadron off the island of Maritimo. 6 Mar received news that the French fleet had been at sea for a month and departed in search, which continued for a week or two after the French fleet had returned to Toulon on 10 Apr. Leaving Vice-admiral Thornborough with a sufficient force to blockade Toulon, Lord Collingwood departed for Gibraltar and Cadiz, to contribute his aid to the cause of the Spanish patriots.

The Blunderbuss (born of the Dutch word "Donderbus", appropriately meaning "Thunder Pipe" or "Thunder Gun") came to prominence in the early part of the 18th Century (1701-1800) and was more akin to the modern day shotgun than a "long gun" musket or heavy pistol of the time. As such, she excelled in close-in fighting, be it within the confines of naval warfare or walled nature of the urban environment, where her spread of shot could inflict maximum damage to targets at close ranges. Its manageable size, coupled with its spread shot, ensured some level of accuracy for even the novice user and its appearance was rather intimidating to those unfortunate enough to be staring down the business end. As with modern firearms, the Blunderbuss also made for an excellent security-minded weapon and soon found popularity amongst all matter of operators - military, civilian and, of course, criminal parties - by the middle of the 1700s. Even George Washington championed the Blunderbuss for Continental Army "Dragoon" units of the burgeoning American military as opposed to the carbine this being nothing more than a full-featured long gun of lesser overall length, proving suitable for horse-mounted handling. In fact, the short-form version of the Blunderbuss came to be known as the "Dragon", giving rise to the term "Dragoon" for such gun-wielding cavalrymen. Dragoons went on to form specialized units of mounted infantrymen within their respective armies during the end of the 17th Century and into the middle of the 18th Century - in a way, becoming an evolutionary step of the fabled mounted knight of the Middle Ages. Their use of Dragons soon gave way to the widely-accepted carbine musket. The Blunderbuss was also known as the "Blunderbess" As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables

Code: 23068