H.M.S. Collingwood, 80 guns, in the bay of Valparaiso, 25th October 1847, at the moment of shifting the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir George Seymour, C.B. & G.C.H. from white to the red with H.M.S. Carysfort, in attendance and saluting

H.M.S. Collingwood, 2,889 tons, was one of the eleven 'Vanguard' class of 80-gun two-deckers designed by Sir William Symonds in 1832. Built at Pembroke Dock and a full six years on the stocks, she was launched on 17th August 1841 and measured 190 feet in length with a 57 foot beam. Selected by Rear-Admiral Sir George Seymour to be his flagship when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific in May 1844, Collingwood came home with Seymour in 1848 and was one of the vessels chosen for conversion to screw propulsion in the late 1850s. Although docked at Sheerness from March 1860 until July 1861, during which time she had her engines installed, she was never completed for sea and was eventually sold for breaking in 1866.

The extensive inscription on the reverse of this highly accomplished work refers to Sir George Seymour's promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Red which was announced on 26th July 1847 but which took three months to reach him at Valparaiso, hence the delay in changing his flag.