English: Union Flag flown from HMS Spartiate during the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) and now in the Zaricor Flag Collection, a private American collection. The flag is made from wool, and – as is common for handmade flags – has been made incorrectly, with the arms of the saltires not counter-changed with one another in the proper way. Although the Union was typically only flown as a jack by British warships in port, the Vice-admiral of the White, Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson had ordered on 10 October 1805:

When in presence of the Enemy, all the ships under my command are to bear White Colours and a Union Jack is to be suspended from the foretopgallant stay.

This flag was, reputedly, the flag flown from this position by the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Spartiate during the Battle of Trafalgar eleven days later. After this crushing British victory and the death-in-action of the national hero Nelson, the Spartiate’s Lieutenant (navy) James Clephan (1768–1851) was awarded this flag. The French-built Spartiate had been in British service since having been captured at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, during which its ordnance blinded Nelson in one eye. Clephan was from Fife and, having been press-ganged into the navy aged 26, was appointed first lieutenant immediately after the Battle of Trafalgar, and rose eventually to the rank of captain. The flag remained among his and then his descendants' possessions until 2009, when it was sold at auction. The flag is 88" x 140" (223.5cm x 355.5cm).