Medium includes ink and scraping. Inscribed, as title. A British frigate seen in starboard-bow view running in to an anchorage under topsails, followed by a captured French merchant brig flying British colours above French at the gaff. The brig is still carrying much sail and heeling to port (viewer's right) suggesting the advancing frigate is coming into sheltered water. To the right under a high shoreline a captured French frigate lies at anchor, also flying British colours above French. Small craft are seen more distantly out to sea at far left.

The artist, Edward Bamfylde Eagles (1782-1865), was born in Bristol and was at sea by 1805: in 1807 he became a Royal Marine lieutenant but is unlikely to have served after 1815. What he subsequently did is unknown except that he may have been involved in the laying of the first transatlantic cable by the 'Agamemnon' in 1858. He was a good amateur marine and landscape draughtsman, and the Museum has three albums of drawings by him (PAF2659, PAF2586 and PAF2602) as well as the present example. An impressive third album of 124 pages of marine, British and Continental views was also sold at Sotheby's, London on 22 November 2007 (British Drawings sale, lot 137). Eagles lived at Crondall, Hants, from about the time of his marriage (to Mercy Robinson, at Rochester in 1808) until at least 1839: they had two daughters. Late in life he was living at Ostend, Belgium, but possibly not permanently, since he died on 7 December 1865 at Dover and was buried there. [PvdM 4/21]