A starboard bow view of the Duke of Wellington (1852), a 120-gun wooden screw three-deck warship, at anchor in Portsmouth Harbour. Three of the ship's boats are alongside. The upper masts of the main for foremasts are out of the picture. Semaphore Tower, Portsmouth Dockyard, can be seen in the background just in front of the bow. The stern of one ship and the bow of another, with '14' painted on the port bow, are alongside the quay.

At this stage in her career the Duke of Wellington was the flagship for the Commander-in-Chief.