#lord nelson
The Funeral and Burial of Lord Horatio Nelson
9 January 1806
The state funeral of Lord Horatio Nelson took place on this day in history, 9 January 1806. Nelson had gained a huge measure of fame in Britain by leading the navy to victory over the Franco-Spanish navy at Trafalgar. Nelson, however, was killed by a sniper’s bullet at the moment of victory. His body was transported back to England where his coffin was fashioned from the mast of ‘L’Orient,’ the French flagship at Nelson’s victory in the Battle of the Nile.
His body lay in state in the Painted Hall at Greenwich before it was eventually carried to St. Paul’s Cathedral at the head of an enormous procession. Stands were constructed inside St. Paul’s to accomodate the seating of thousands, and the dome was hung with the flags from captured French and Spanish vessels. After a four-hour service he was interred within a sarcophagus originally carved for Cardinal Wolsey. The sailors charged with folding the flag draping Nelson’s coffin and placing it in the grave instead tore it into fragments, with each taking a piece as a memento of their much beloved leader.
Read more about the funeral and burial of Lord Horatio Nelson here…
http://maritimehistorypodcast.com/funeral-burial-lord-horatio-nelson-9-january-1806/
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