The officers and seaman of the Fleet on shore at Nargen

As the threat of a general war with Russia increased throughout 1853, the Admiralty was forced to gather enough ships to meet its requirements in two separate theatres of operation. At the turn of the New Year, on 3rd January 1854, a powerful Anglo-French fleet entered the Black Sea at the same time as another fleet was being assembled at Spithead for despatch to the Baltic. This second fleet was under the command of Admiral Sir Charles Napier, flying his flag in the huge 131-gun three-decker Duke of Wellington, and consisted of twelve screw-assisted ships-of-the-line supported by three new paddle frigates. The flotilla, the first steam-powered battlefleet in British naval history, was ready for sea early in March and sailed for northern waters on the 11th of the month.

Following operations elsewhere, the fleet arrived off the island of Nargen on 21st September after a rough passage up the Gulf of Finland. Using Nargen as a temporary base, Napier's intention was to reconnoitre the fortifications protecting the Russian stronghold at Reval. During this short respite, many officers and men were able to make excursions ashore and Carmichael has captured one such foray here, where only the backdrop of the anchored fleet suggests that a major war is in progress. The fleet remained off Nargen until mid-October when Napier withdrew as the Gulf began to freeze.

This watercolour was executed for publication in the Illustrated London News and was then lithographed by Joseph Needham (for Day & Son) as 'A sailors' pic-nic on the Island of Nargen, Revel [sic] in the distance'.