A Napoleonic Sea Battle: A Series of four Works showing different Phases of a large-scale Naval Engagement, most probably the Battle of the Nile, 1798, involving British and French Ships-of-the-line

The so-called Battle of the Nile was fought in Aboukir Bay, about 15 miles west of Alexandria, on 1 August 1798. Nelson, having spent most of the summer cruising the Eastern Mediterranean looking for Admiral Brueys' Toulon fleet, finally came upon it as it lay at anchor in Aboukir Bay following the disembarkation of the army with which Napoleon was to conquer Egypt. Brueys had chosen a strong position in a well-protected anchorage although Nelson had the advantage of surprise. More significantly, it was already six o'clock in the evening when Nelson sighted the French and, with only two hours of daylight remaining, Brueys was confident that any attack would have to be postponed until the next day, by which time his own fleet would be ready. Nelson, with typical daring, amazed both his own captains as well as the French by ordering his ships into the Bay where they engaged the enemy in a spirited action which lasted almost throughout the night. The decisive moment came just after 10 o'clock when the French flagship, the huge 120-gun L'Orient, blew up with a tremendous explosion and, when dawn broke, the French annihilation became apparent with nine of their badly damaged ships captured and another four destroyed. It was a glorious victory for Nelson, one of the greatest in British naval history, and the one which brought him to the pinnacle of his career.

Although it is not possible to identify the scenes in these paintings with absolute certainty, there are several marked similarities with the various phases of the Battle of the Nile - not least the huge explosion of a large French warship lighting up the night sky - which lead to the conclusion that this is indeed the action being portrayed.