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A scene during the Spanish assault on the British stronghold of Gibraltar. During the spring of 1782, with 'the Rock' under close siege, Spain had been adapting 10 old warships into powerful special floating batteries, in preparation for their assault. Under the direction of a French engineer, Marchand d'Aroon, they were reinforced and had water tanks with elaborate piping added, so that water could be turned on any part where red-hot shot had embedded itself. Their attack from the sea came on 13 September in perhaps the most furious and sustained gun duel ever experienced. None the less, the flotilla was repulsed by the Governor and Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar, General Sir George Augustus Eliott, later Lord Heathfield, and during the night it was destroyed by gunboats led by Captain Roger Curtis. Among the weapons used in the defence were guns with carriages specially adapted to allow them to fire downward from the Rock.
Whitcombe painted ship portraits, battle scenes, harbour views and ships in storms. Although his output was vast, little is known about him. He produced a large number of subjects from the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793–1815, and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1783 and 1824. His depiction of ships implies specific knowledge of life at sea, although he probably spent most of his career in London. Many of his works were engraved and they included 50 plates to James Jenkins's account of 'The Naval Achievements of Great Britain' (1817).
Title
Destruction of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, 14 September 1782
Date
1782
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 76 x W 122 cm
Accession number
BHC0451
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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