This painting shows the ship 'Roxburgh Castle', of Green's Blackwall line, rescuing the crew of the burning 'British Merchant' of Newcastle on Tyne, about 60 miles south-east of St Helena on 17 January 1853. The 'Roxburgh Castle', 1121 tons, was built at Sunderland in 1852 for Richard Green and registered for voyages from London to Sydney. She is shown here in starboard-broadside view on the left, with a crowned classical male figurehead (possibly Neptune). Her stem also interestingly shows a point in the transition from beakhead to clipper style. The 'British Merchant' appears in bow view on the right with foremast and sails still intact but her other masts burnt and fallen overboard. The 'Roxburgh Castle's' boats are helping rescue her crew, watched by well-dressed male and female passengers on the poop and crew members on the fo'c'sle. An upturned boat is in the foreground, by implication from the burning vessel and suggesting the likely fate of crews forced to abandon ship in open ocean without such fortuitous rescue as the picture shows.

'The Times' of 28 February 1853 (p. 4), reported the arrival off Portland of 'Roxburgh Castle', Captain [Edward] Hight, on Saturday 26th, 'with 70 passengers and a large freight of gold' from her maiden voyage to Port Phillip (Melbourne), Australia. It adds: 'On the passage the Roxburgh Castle rescued the crew, 21 in number, of a merchant ship on fire, which afterwards burnt to the water's edge.' 'Roxburgh Castle' reached Gravesend on 2 March and on the 5th the 'Illustrated London News' (p. 180) published a full report of the incident, with a wood engraving of the burning ship in the foreground and the 'Roxburgh Castle' beyond. Appearances suggest Harris may well have used this and the 'ILN' report as a visual source for the casualty.

The 'British Merchant', Captain Anderson, was inward bound for London from Cochin, India, with a cargo of oil, coir fibre, pepper etc., when she caught fire about 4.30 a.m. on 11 January, apparently by spontaneous combustion in her cargo. Her position at the time was latitude 24. 32' S., longitude 5. 13' E., well off the west coast of southern Africa around Cape Frio. Attempts to douse the fire with water and then suffocate it by battening down the hatches both failed but the crew managed to contain it for the next five days. At about 10 a.m. on the morning of the 17th the boats were finally lowered for escape, although they were still fighting the flames with water.

The 'ILN' continues: 'About eleven A. M. a ship providentially hove in sight, promptly bore down, and proved to be the 'Roxburgh Castle', Hight, from Port Phillip for London, who immediately sent two boats. About noon part of the 'British Merchant' gave way. The flames, flying upwards, forced the master and crew into the boats, without saving anything belonging to them: ... In about half an hour after leaving ... the mizen-mast went over the side; and, about twenty minutes afterwards, the mainmast. The ship had burned down nearly to the water's edge abaft, and in a solid body of fire as far forward as the fore-hatchway, when Captain Hight, of the 'Roxburgh Castle' bore away at three P. M. : St Helena bearing about N.W., distant about sixty miles...' in latitude 16. 23'S., longitude 5. 2' W. The relative positions between the 11th and 17th suggest that, while fighting the fire, the 'British Merchant' may also have been trying to make St Helena - a major rendezvous and watering point in the South Atlantic shipping lanes: this would certainly have been the best thing to do, if possible.

The painting is signed and dated lower right, 'Jas Harris 1853'.