~ Cheroot Holder Of Joshua Macer Who Served With Nelson At The Battle Of Copenhagen With Provenance ~
This unique and very interesting meerschaum cheroot holder is housed within a Moroccon leather case with a deep red colour featuring gold lettering to the interior lid ‘H.M.S. Victory’.
This cheroot holder is provenanced by decent through the family to the late Joshua Macer, who served on H.M.S. Monarch under Lord Horatio Nelson and Admiral Sir Hyde Parker at the Battle of Copenhagen on the 2nd April 1801.
The paperwork with the cheroot holder tells this story:
Joshua Macer was born in 1779 in Camberidge near the village of Whittlesford. He joined the navy in September 1797 and served aboard H.M.S. Belvedere. In September 1799, he was transfered to H.M.S Monarch and in 1801, fought at the Battle of Copenhagen on 2nd April, in which he subsequently lost his right arm. He was then discharged from H.M.S Monarch at Chatham, Kent on 27th April 1802.
In 1802, he served aboard H.M.S Renown from March/April until he was discharged in September of the same year.
On Friday 19th November 1826, Macer was granted a Greenwich Out-pension for life, examined by Sir Henry Hotham.
Joshua Macer died at St Johns Hospital, Huntingdon on 9th June 1858 of Chronic Cystitis, aged 79.
~ H.M.S Monarch ~
HMS Monarch was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 July 1765 at Deptford Dockyard.
Monarch had a very active career, fighting in her first battle in 1778 at the First Battle of Ushant and her second under Admiral Rodney at Cape St. Vincent in 1780. She fought in the van of Graves’ fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781. In early 1782 she fought at the Battle of St. Kitts, and later that year at the Battle of the Saintes. In 1795 she was deployed as part of the small fleet under Admiral Elphinstone that captured the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch VOC at the Battle of Muizenberg. In 1797 Monarch was Vice Admiral Richard Onslow’s flagship at the Battle of Camperdown, under Captain Edward O’Bryen, and in 1801 she was part of Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen, where she suffered the most damage out of the British ships present.
~ The Battle of Copenhagen ~
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker’s order to withdraw, destroying many of the Dano-Norwegian ships before a truce was agreed. Copenhagen is often considered to be Nelson’s hardest fought battle, surpassing even the heavy fighting at Trafalgar.
~ The Paperwork ~
The paperwork includes:
A photograph of Joshua Macer’s gravestone.
Joshua Macer’s Death certificate.
A letter from Sarah Gifford detailing the relation of Joshua Macer to Naomi Macer (His neice) who married Henry Gifford and the link to the Gifford family name.
A copy of a birth certificate for a boy named Joshua in 1856 Father being named as Henry Gifford and the mother named as Naomi Gifford Nee Macer.
Photographs of the gravestones of Naomi and Henry Gifford.
A Letter signed by the District Registrar, Henry Pearson-Gates.
There is also a copy of the the Muster for H.M.S. Monarch, of which Joshua Macer is listed.
~ Dimensions ~
The cheroot holder measures 10.5cm in length and 0.8cm in diameter at the tip.
The case measures 11.75cm in length by 2.1cm in width.
~ Condition ~
The Cheroot holder is in good condition, with only teeth grinding marks to the end.
The holder is in fine condition with the very clean, deep red interior, whilst the Moroccon leather to the outside is missing in places.
