Dr (later Sir) James Fellowes was in the Peninsula in his capacity as Inspector of Hospitals (later Inspector General) and was interested in collecting autograph letters from those involved, having been in Gibraltar before Nelson sailed for his rendezvous with Villeneuve. He enjoyed the rare privilege of an audience with Nelson shortly prior to the action and the odd experience of seeing his corpse in a cask of brandy ready for transit to England. Beatty's letter here offered is in reply to his request for the other three items included. Some of these bare pin holes from being exhibited in the past and are also believed to have been on show at the National Maritime Museum for the 100th and the 150th anniversaries of Trafalgar. They are not thought to have been published before. Sir James proved to be a colourful character, winning his MGS in 1793 with a bar for Barossa and makes a significant appearance in the book Dr Johnson and Mrs Thrale by A.M. Broadley, 1908, where a fuller account of his life may be had and a photocopied extact of which is included with this lot.