Batons of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington me among your trophies of unrivalled fame the staff of a French marshal, and I send you in return that of England." As mentioned above the Duke's Russian baton was stolen in 1965. "During the reign of Alexander I (1801–1825), only four Russian Generals and the Duke of Wellington received the coveted baton". A Russian baton circa 1878 (six were issued under Alexander II (1855–1881)) sold for $903,500 in a New York auction in 2004. Batons of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. 1 May 1769 – 14
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley Wellesley was appointed ambassador to Spain. He landed at Cádiz just after the Battle of Talavera, and tried unsuccessfully to bring the Spanish government into effective co-operation with his brother, who, through the failure of his allies, had been forced to retreat into Portugal. A few months later, after the duel between George Canning and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, and the resignation of both, Wellesley accepted the post of Foreign Secretary in Spencer Perceval's cabinet. Unlike his brother Arthur, he was an eloquent speaker, but was subject to inexplicable "black-outs" when he was apparently unaware of his surroundings. He held