This View of the French National Frigate La Cleopatra, Commanded by Monsr Mullon, as brought into Action by his Majesty's Frigate La Nymphe, Commanded by captn Pellew on the Morning of the 17th of June 1793...

Coloured etching and aquatint depicting the Cleopatra (or Cleopatre, shown broadside on the right) being captured by the Nymphe. After capture, the Cleopatra became the Oiseau (there was already an HMS Cleopatra). Robert Dodd describes (in the inscription) how he painted the original picture from the 'real ships a few days after the action', and the specific damages to sails etc have been clearly depicted. The Action of 18 June 1793 was the first decisive and one of the most celebrated encounters between British and French frigates during the French Revolutionary Wars.

There is a query that the collection might have been made a gift to NMM in 1935, however, this cannot be confirmed from Museum Records Sources.
La Cleopatra was renamed Oiseau after capture.

Object Details

ID: PAI6359
Type: Print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Dodd, Robert; Freeman & Woodfall Adams, T
Vessels: Cleopatre (1781); Nymphe (captured 1780)
Date made: 20 Sep 1793
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Sheet: 419 x 642 mm