On 1 February 1793 France declared war on Britain and Holland and by 11 February Britain had also declared war on France.On 9 March, the 16-gun naval brig 'Scourge' sailed from Spithead under the command of George Brisac to cruise for a month in the Channel. Having been dispatched in a great hurry, after receiving somewhat extensive repairs at the dockyard, she was not fully prepared. Not all her guns were mounted, she did not have her full complement of crew and some of those she did have were inexperienced; but in the circumstances captains were glad to get hold of almost any class of men for their ships, provided that they were strong and able-bodied.

On 13 March 1793, west of Scilly, and with a crew of only 70 men and boys instead the usual 90, 'Scourge' fell in with the French privateer ‘Sans Culotte’, which had considerably more guns and a larger crew. After a fight that lasted three hours and in which the French boarded the ‘Scourge’ but were repelled, the English ship was victorious and captured the privateer. The French lost nine men with 20 wounded but the ‘Scourge’ lost only one man with one wounded. 'Scourge' took her prize into Plymouth the following day.

The painting shows the action between the two ships. The ‘Sans Culotte’ is shown firing into the 'Scourge' and flying the early naval ensign of the French Revolution, in use from 1790 to May 1794 (after which the standard French tricoleur took over). The painting is shown from the perspective of the ‘Scourge’ by concentrating on her struggle over the larger and more powerful French ship.

The artist, Yates, was probably born about 1760 and was commissioned as a Royal Naval lieutenant in 1782. It is not clear when he gave up the sea to become a painter but he first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1788 and continued to do so until 1794, specializing in sea actions and other marine views. His work is rare, since his career was short and came to a tragic end. He and his wife shared a house (formerly owned by his great-uncle, the actor Richard Yates) with a Miss Jones, and they were in dispute over who owned it. On 29 August 1796, his wife being out, Yates went into the garden and was locked out by Miss Jones. As he tried to climb back in through a kitchen window, he was shot dead by a neighbour and friend of Miss Jones, a Mr Sellers. At trial the jury accepted the argument that Sellers had acted to protect Miss Jones, and convicted him of manslaughter: he was fined 1 shilling (5 pence) and imprisoned for six months.