Napoleonic 18k Gold Battle of the Nile Fusee Verge Pair Case Pocket Watch 1798 for Sale

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Napoleonic 18k Gold Battle of the Nile Fusee Verge Pair Case Pocket Watch 1798 For Sale

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Napoleonic 18k Gold Battle of the Nile Fusee Verge Pair Case Pocket Watch 1798:
$4718.51

SUMMARY:
A rare gold 18th century highly engraved verge chain driven fusee pair-case pocket watch made by James Rouse of London and a poly-chrome dial with a scene of the Battle of the Nile the centre. The watch is very substantial, and in a 1.5 oz cases, so requires a secure pocket! This fine pair-case verge fusee watch just cleaned and overhauled by my watch-maker and keeping good verge time.

The watch comes from a private collection where it has clearly been looked after. Watches from this period with the fire-gilding to the watch movement and cases in such bright condition are very uncommon and with a large balance cock foot.

The watch made to celebrate the victory of Nelson at the Napoleonic battle of the Nile in 1793, one of two dial designs I have seen for this period, very scare and in wonderful condition.

The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the Nile Delta of Egypt from 1 to 3 August 1798. The battle was the climax of a naval campaign that had ranged across the Mediterranean during the previous three months, as a large French convoy sailed from Toulon to Alexandria carrying an expeditionary force under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The British fleet was led in the battle by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson; they decisively defeated the French under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d\'Aigalliers.

Bonaparte sought to invade Egypt as the first step in a campaign against British India, part of a greater effort to drive Britain out of the French Revolutionary Wars. As Bonaparte\'s fleet crossed the Mediterranean, it was pursued by a British force under Nelson who had been sent from the British fleet in the Tagus to learn the purpose of the French expedition and to defeat it. He chased the French for more than two months, on several occasions missing them only by a matter of hours. Bonaparte was aware of Nelson\'s pursuit and enforced absolute secrecy about his destination. He was able to capture Malta and then land in Egypt without interception by the British naval forces.

With the French army ashore, the French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Alexandria. Commander Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d\'Aigalliers believed that he had established a formidable defensive position. The British fleet arrived off Egypt on 1 August and discovered Brueys\'s dispositions, and Nelson ordered an immediate attack. His ships advanced on the French line and split into two divisions as they approached. One cut across the head of the line and passed between the anchored French and the shore, while the other engaged the seaward side of the French fleet.

Trapped in a crossfire, the leading French warships were battered into surrender during a fierce three-hour battle, while the centre succeeded in repelling the initial British attack. As British reinforcements arrived, the centre came under renewed assault and, at 22:00, the French flagship Orient exploded. The rear division of the French fleet attempted to break out of the bay, with Brueys dead and his vanguard and centre defeated, but only two ships of the line and two frigates escaped from a total of 17 ships engaged.

The battle reversed the strategic situation between the two nations\' forces in the Mediterranean and entrenched the Royal Navy in the dominant position that it retained for the rest of the war.