The council-of-war is probably connected with the first Battle of Schooneveld, 28 May 1673, which took place during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1672–74. At this time van de Velde the Elder had only been in England for a few months, and the battle was the first he drew from the English side. In the centre middle-distance there is a broadside view of a three-decker, possibly the ‘Royal Sovereign’, lying becalmed with a crowd of boats around her. In the centre foreground a galliot is shown at anchor with several boats under her stern. On the right is a private ship, a man-of-war that is not wearing the flag of an admiral. This is an unsigned pencil and wash drawing.