A pair of flintlock duelling pistols by Twigg of London, owned by Captain Jeremiah Coghlan (1774-1844), English, circa 1785
Captain Jeremiah Coghlan (1774-1844) was famous for his extraordinary daring in a series of naval engagements. After going to sea in the Merchant Service, Coghlan attracted the attention of Captain Pellew when he secured a line for the troopship Dutton before the ship sank off Plymouth in 1796. Like the fictional Hornblower, for whom he was the godfather in real life, Coghlan was taken on by Pellew as an ensign on the Indefatigable, where he continued to impress in a series of daring boat actions. After his rapid promotion to lieutenant, Coghlan was given command of the cutter Viper, from which he led the elimination of the Cerbère at Port Louis in Brittany against almost insurmountable odds. He surpassed this exploit when, greatly outnumbered and outgunned on both occasions, when he destroyed General Ernouf off San Domingo and captured the Diligent off Puerto Rico.
Coghlan was also successful on land, leading 200 marines in the capture of the citadel battery at Cassis in southern France in 1813, before forcing the surrender of Joachim Murat, King of Naples, in May 1815, securing the city and its treasures for the restoration of the Bourbon royal family. Having dined with Nelson in 1800, Coghlan was given the double honour of dining with Napoleon when the Emperor was taken to Elba for short-lived exile.
During his career, Coghlan received a number of presentation arms, including a 100 Guinea sword from Admiral Earl St Vincent. Given the date and nature of the weapons, it is likely that his dueling pistols were also a gift, possibly from his patron Admiral Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth.
Backstory: the Next Generation is now obsessed with the Age of Sail (GLEE!) due to playing The Return of the Obra Dinn. So we sat down and watched episode 1 of A&E’s Horatio Hornblower series, which is on YouTube and that’s good because all my DVDs are packed up. She got to see a story set in that period and I got to fall in love with Captain Sir Edward Pellew all over again. Win-win!
Idk if this account is still active but holy shit it's epic! So glad I found someone that's as thirsty over Edward as I became lol ❤️ looking forward to going through your past posts. Stay epic.
Greetings fellow Thirstmiral!
These days I´m in retirement from posting new things, but am still checking in :D
Enjoy the Madness on here and have fun♥