Engraved by Burnet after his own best-known oil painting, exhibited at the British Institution in 1837 as 'Greenwich Hospital and Naval Heroes'. This was conceived as a pair to David Wilkie's 'Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo dispatch', which Burnet had already been responsible for engraving, and was purchased in 1841 for 500 guineas (£525) by the Duke of Wellington, who already owned the Wilkie. He bought it from Hodgson & Graves, publishers of the print rather than directly from Burnet as sometimes reported, so the latter may in fact have either done it for them or sold it first to them and the print itself was published by subscription. By contrast, the Duke had commissioned the Chelsea picture from Wilkie for 1200 guineas. The plates for both pictures, which are still at Apsley House, were in fact executed from smaller watercolour copies by S. P. Denning. That of the Greenwich picture is also in the NMM collection, PAJ2612, while that of the Wilkie was last seen when sold at Sotheby's (British Drawings and Watercolours) on 14 April 1994, lot 373.

Hodgson and Graves also issued a promotional description and key to the Greenwich print (copy in NMM) and a separate key and list of subscribers (PAI5148), identifying many of those shown, while others can be identified in nine oil portrait studies for the exhibited painting (not all used) which are also now in the NMM.

On the far right of the main group is Pensioner Samuel Wilkes. To his left a sailor of the 1830s from HMS 'Victory' waves his hat above two boys of the Greenwich Hospital School, the smaller wearing the 'Nelson Medal of Merit'. 'Victory' veteran, John Stacy, points out the Trafalgar tactics on the plan held by the boy, while Matthews, a Hospital boatswain and a gunner's mate on 'Victory', looks down with his hands around the small girl. Joe Brown, captain of the foretop in 'Victory', carries the girl in the bonnet with William Welch, captain of 'Victory's' main-top, next left with a glass raised in his left hand.

The Pensioner carving beef is Frank Cowen, one of the last survivors of Cook's voyages, and was ashore with him at his death on Hawaii. To his left is Tom Allen, Nelson's servant, whom Governor Keats admitted to the Hospital even though not a seaman. On the far left sits John Ross, a Nile veteran with a peg-leg. Beyond the buildings of the Hospital School (now the NMM) and the Hospital itself, a frigate passing down river fires a salute.