Cavalry pattern copper bugle
Date made: late 18th century
Description: Musical instrument. This is a bugle made of copper, missing its mouthpiece. Quite battered and dented. This object was part of the collection of items belonging to Major Caesar Bacon, who served at Waterloo in 1815. It is reputedly a souvenir of the battle.
CAESAR BACON (b. 1791, d. 1876) born at at Staward, Lezayre, son of John Joseph Bacon and his second wife, Anne, daughter of the Rev. J. Cosnahan, of Ballakilley, now Seafield, was an ensign in the 23rd Light Dragoons when he fought at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo.
At the latter battle he was lightly wounded in two places. He afterwards rose to the rank of major, and, retiring from active service in 1818, he went to the island. He was shortly afterwards elected a member of the House of Keys, and was appointed captain of the parish of Santon and a justice of the peace. He was a considerable landowner, and by the introduction of improved methods he did much for the improvement of agriculture in the island.
At the time of his death, a contemporary newspaper spoke of him as "a native of this island of whom Manxmen might be justly proud ; a man of strict integrity and honour ; a gentleman of the old school, whose kindly manners and hospitality will be missed among a large circle"
Measurements: overall: 21 x 15 x 10 cm
Materials: metal: copper
Object name: bugle
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1954-1764