Box, freedom box

This box was presented with the Freedom of the City of London to Admiral Augustus Keppel after his acquittal at a court martial in 1779. At the start of the Amercian War of Independence, Keppel was put in charge of the Channel Fleet but found it unprepared for action. In July 1778, he led the fleet into battle against the French off Ushant, an island at the north-west tip of France. The action proved indecisive but his second-in-command, Sir Hugh Palliser, failed to support him during the battle. This led to a quarrel that resulted in Keppel's trial at Portsmouth. The case was politically charged as Keppel was a Whig and Palliser a Tory. Keppel was acquitted, he became a popular hero. When the news of the outcome of the trial reached London, crowds gathered in the streets to celebrate the result. They attacked Palliser's house and burnt him in effigy.

The box is made of heart-of-oak with reeded gold trellis-work chased at intersections with roses and applied with seven medallions 'en grisaille' on a brown ground. The cover is further embellished with chased trophies of arms and plenty with the border bright-cut with anchors and scallop shells. The inside cover of the box has a presentation inscription. The box was made by Andrew Fogelberg, a Swedish silversmith who had settled in London in the 1760s, and designed by William Charron, an engraver and enameller, and William Bacon, a sculptor. The enamels on the cover are possibly later replacements.