This hand coloured aquatint depicts a battle scene between French and British naval ships with cannon smoke swirling amongst the vessels. In the centre of the picture, in stern view, the Royal Navy 32-gun Pallas, under command of Lord Cochrane, manoeuvres between the French vessels, passing upwind of the French 38-gun Minerve (which is seen from the port stern quarter, on the left of the picture) and downwind of a line of three French 18-gun brigs - the Lynx, Sylphe and Palinure (in portside view, on the right of the picture). In the far distance, on the right of the picture, many naval vessels (presumably the French fleet) are anchored off a fortified headland. On the left of the picture there are several small local sailing vessels on the horizon.

All the French ships named in this picture escaped this encountered, but were eventually captured by the British and taken into the Royal Navy: Minerve in September 1806 by Sir Samuel Hood's squadron; Lynx in January 1807 off La Guaira by HMS Galatea; Sylph in August 1808 off Ile d'Yeu by HMS Comet; and Palinure in October 1808 off Martinque by HMS Circe.