A dramatic moment in the face of a high seas storm, two sailing ships of the British Navy face a difficult voyage in the aftermath of the Battle of Trafalgar. As if the profession wasn’t perilous enough, 33 ships – from the 100-gun VICTORY, BRITANNIA and ROYAL SOVEREIGN to the eight-gun ENTREPRENANTE faced Napoleon’s Naval forces off Cadiz on Oct. 21, 1805 after months of maneuvers and chases throughout the Atlantic. The detail driven paintings of Thomas Buttersworth are full of accurate history while ringing forth with his superior artistic effort. The sky and driven sea carry the action of this work, much like the paintings of his famous grandson, James E. Buttersworth.

After the decisive naval battle, tragically the scene of English hero Admiral Horacio Nelson’s death at the receiving end of a French musket ball, the British warships and their 17 French and Spanish prizes faced a seven-day storm. Two vessels are shown, most likely 74-gun warships such as BELLEROPHON, REVENGE or ACHILLE (16 such Third-Rates were in the fleet, the most numerous type present) with the configuration of gun-ports. With her men on deck and at the rail, the Man-O’-War has broken her jib boom and shredded her spanker sail on the gaff boom. None of the British ships were lost to the battle or storm, but several prizes were either wrecked or scuttled.

Thomas Buttersworth portrayed many naval events from the Napoleonic Wars. His ability to accurately portray ships engaged in battle maneuvers is considered one of his hallmarks. Here, the fury of nature is as perilous as any adversary, and challenge met by the men shown on deck.