Depicts the Battle of Pulo Aura on 15th February 1804 in which the French Naval Squadron, under Rear Admiral Linois in the warship Marengo, attacked the East India Company's homeward-bound fleet from China. Although the scene shows a calm sea, there are billowing clouds and much cannon smoke obscurring the profusion of ships. The China Fleet consisted of 16 East Indiamen and 14 other smaller ships, commanded by Nathaniel Dance in the East Indiaman Earl Camden, shown in the centre of the picture. A broadside view of the Hope, under Captain James Pendergrass, is shown on the right-hand side of the picture. This identification is based on a sketch from the account of the action in The Times, 9th August 1804 (reproduced in the Mariners' Mirror, Vo.XXI, p.178).
Nathaniel Dance fooled the French into thinking his fleet was protected by at least eight British warships by forming his merchant ships into lines of battle and hoisting red and blue ensigns. The ruse allowed the fleet to get away to the safety of the Straits of Malacca.