The Saints are a group of small islets in the West Indies between Guadeloupe and Dominica. They gave their name to the final sea battle of the War of American Independence, 1775-83, which was fought under their lee between the British West Indies fleet commanded by Admiral Sir George Rodney, with 36 ships of the line, and his French counterpart, Vice-Admiral the Comte de Grasse with 30 ships of the line. De Grasse had sailed from Fort Royal, Martinique, with a trade convoy and a large military force. Having dispatched the former for Europe he aimed to move on to attack the British island of Jamaica. Rodney, watching from St Lucia, pursued him and fought a running action off Dominica on 9 April, concluding with a victorious set-piece battle south-west of the Saints three days later. The latter is chiefly remembered for introducing the tactic of 'breaking the line'. This Rodney did against de Grasse as the two fleets passed on opposing courses and the French line was forced into more open order by a change of wind. Rodney led the way through a gap, casting the enemy into disorder by engaging from the opposite side. The tactic was subsequently adopted in the Navy as a desirable addition to fighting instructions.

The painting shows the action at sunset when de Grasse's flagship 'Ville de Paris', 104 guns, surrendered. Rodney's flagship, 'Formidable', 98 guns, is in the right foreground in port-quarter view, firing to starboard at the retreating sterns of two French ships, To port, a French two-decker is striking her colours, apparently in a sinking condition. 'Formidable' flies the red ensign from her stern, Rodney's distinguishing white St George's cross as an Admiral of the White at the main and a red signal flag at the foremast. The colours of the flags are particularly distinctive in paintings of the Saints because Rodney's ships normally flew white ensigns, appropriate to his rank. On this occasion he ordered them to wear red ensigns in action, to avoid confusion with the white Bourbon naval ensigns of the French. In the left background is a mass of ships. In the middle of them is Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood's flagship 'Barfleur', 98 guns, in starboard-quarter view, firing her starboard broadside into the de Grasse's flagship 'Ville de Paris'. She is also in starboard-quarter view, on the point of striking her colours.

In this highly stylized account, the artist has infused the scene with a golden glow to indicate the tropical sunset. He has adopted a panoramic, in-depth view and sky dominates three-quarters of the canvas. Wreckage is shown on the surface of the water and a ship's boat, bottom left, is on its way to rescue a sailor on a floating fragment of mast, lower right.

Whitcombe was born in London in about 1752 and painted ship portraits, battle scenes, harbour views and ships in storms. Although his output was vast, little is known about him. He produced a large number of subjects from the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815, and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1783 and 1824. His depiction of ships implies specific knowledge of life at sea, although he probably spent most of his career in London. Many of his works were engraved and they included 50 plates to James Jenkins's account of 'The Naval Achievements of Great Britain', published in 1817. The painting is one of a pair with BHC0446 and is signed and dated 'T. Whitcombe 1782', bottom left.