Napoleonic Wars (1803-15)
Views of naval engagements and maps of battles
Ostend, 1804
To Commodore Sir William Sidney Smith K.t Commander & Grand Cross of the Royal Sweedish [sic] Military Order of the Sword, M.P &.c / This View of the Squadron under his Command engaging the Enemy's FLOTILLA consisting of fiftynine...
1804 or laterAquatint with etching and engraving; text engraved from a separate copperplate, printed on the same sheet of paper as the view; laid down on paper, the paper backing brought round the edges of the recto | 26.0 x 71.8 cm (view) | RCIN 735112
Between March 1803 and May 1804, Smith commanded a squadron of small vessels which were blockading the Flemish coast, engaging in actions such as that shown in this view.
Additional text: [bottom right of view:] Proof. [Bottom left, below imprint, printed from a separate copperplate, a transcription of a letter from Smith to to the Commander in Chief, Lord Keith, dated from the Antelope at anchor off Ostend, 17 May 1804. This gives a very detailed account of the action with a return of the killed and wounded of each ship, naming the officers. Text begins:] My Lord / Information from all quarters, and the evident state of readiness in which the enemy's armaments were in Helvoet, Flushing, and Ostend, indicating the probability of a general movement from those ports ... [bottom left, left of text, a summary of the British force; bottom right, right of text, a summary of the enemy force.]
For further reading, see:
R. Morriss, 'Smith, Sir (William) Sidney (1764–1840)', Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, 2004; online edition 2009.
Condition: no fold lines.
Robert Dodd (1748-1815) (publisher) [bottom left, below title:] Published by R. Dodd, Marine Painter near the Admiralty.
Sir William Sidney Smith (1764-1840) (dedicatee)
Watermark: None visible
Condition: no fold lines
26.0 x 71.8 cm (view)
28.4 x 76.3 cm (view)
23.5 x 71.8 cm (view)
39.1 x 78.3 cm (sheet)
6.5 x 27.5 cm (text)
8.8 x 76.1 cm (text)
Printed title:
To Commodore Sir William Sidney Smith K.t Commander & Grand Cross of the Royal Sweedish [sic] Military Order of the Sword, M.P &.c / This View of the Squadron under his Command engaging the Enemy's FLOTILLA consisting of fiftynine Sail, Brigs, Schuyts Schooners & Praams, near Ostend on the 16.th May 1804 is most respectfully Inscribed / By his Obed.t Servant, Rob.t Dodd. [bottom, below view, to each side of the coat of arms of Sir Sidney Smith]
Additional text:
[bottom right of view:] Proof. [Bottom left, below imprint, printed from a separate copperplate, a transcription of a letter from Smith to to the Commander in Chief, Lord Keith, dated from the Antelope at anchor off Ostend, 17 May 1804. This gives a very detailed account of the action with a return of the killed and wounded of each ship, naming the officers. Text begins:] My Lord / Information from all quarters, and the evident state of readiness in which the enemy's armaments were in Helvoet, Flushing, and Ostend, indicating the probability of a general movement from those ports ... [bottom left, left of text, a summary of the British force; bottom right, right of text, a summary of the enemy force.]
Annotations:
(Recto) [bottom left, black pencil:] 11; [top left, black pencil:] XV.112. (Verso) [bottom left, black pencil, in Evelyn Heaton-Smith's hand?:] 165.b; [bottom right, black pencil, obscured by paper backing;] 10 f 6.
George III catalogue entry:
Naval Engagement View of the Squadron under the command of Sir W.m Sidney Smith engaging the Enemy's Flotilla consisting of 59 sail, Brigs, Schuyts, Schooners and Praams, near Ostend, on the 16.th of May 1804: by R. Dodd: with a copy of Sir W. S. Smith's Letter to Lord Keith.
Subject(s)
Ostend, Flanders, Belgium (51°13'24"N 02°54'42"E)
Bibliographic reference(s)
H. Parker, Naval battles from the collection of prints formed and owned by Commander Sir Charles Leopold Cust, With an introduction by C.N. Robinson, London, 1911, no.165.b
R. Morriss, 'Smith, Sir (William) Sidney (1764–1840)', Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, 2004; online edition 2009.
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
