Upon beginning Desolation Island again, I see that the Beechey painting of Jack shows him with the “red ribbon of the Bath”. I thought one had to be knighted to be a member of the Order of Bath.
I’m not sure about the Order of the Bath but some orders (e.g. the Order of the British Empire) have more than one class of membership, not all of which entail a knighthood.
As for the painting, I don’t have my copy of Desolation Island on hand, but if it’s by William Beechey I think it must be of Nelson, who was a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath. Beechey died in 1839.
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
I don’t know where my brain was when I posted this. If I came across as snarky at all I offer apologies.
Having dug up my copy of Desolation Island I now know what you were referring to. For some reason I had a portrait actually reproduced at the beginning of the book in mind.
Anyroad, to answer your question the Order of the Bath is one of those orders with more than one class of membership. A Companion does not become a knight either as requirement or a consequence of being a member. Cite:
All the other Googling I did seemed to indicate they were all knights, but obviously a Companion of the Bath isn’t.
Thanks!