Description

The lovely HMS Surprise approaches HMS Ocean with dispatches for Admiral Thornton. Patrick O Brian fans will think back at once to The Ionian Mission …

Signed and numbered limited edition print. Edition of 700, including 75 remarques.

Image size: 13 3 4 x 22 inches
Paper size: 19 x 26 1 4 inches

As related to Patrick O Brian s Ionian Mission, the Royal Navy devoted a colossal effort during the Napoleonic wars to the close blockade of the French Coast, maintaining fleets of battleships permanently in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. While the battleships endlessly patrolled their stations, smaller vessels ran to and fro with supplies. In this Mediterranean scene, we see the frigate HMS Surprise arriving with dispatches for Admiral Thornton, flying his flag in the massive 110-gun HMS Ocean.