Historic Naval Battles

Vintage illustrations of notable naval battles depicting ships, confrontations, and historical maritime warfare from different eras.

Captain Horatio Nelson ordering the 'Minerva' to slow under the guns of the Spaniards in order that Hardy might be saved. Hardy had gone to the rescue of a sailor who had fallen overboard and was struggling to get back to the 'Minerva'. Date: 21/10/1905

Battle of Lepanto Greece1571

Captain Horatio Nelson ordering the 'Minerva' to slow under the guns of the Spaniards in order that Hardy might be saved. Hardy had gone to the rescue of a sailor who had fallen overboard and was struggling to get back to the 'Minerva'. Date: 21/10/1905

The Glorious First of June (also known as the Third Battle of Ushant, and in France as the Bataille du 13 prairial) of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars.In this picture HMS Brunswick turned and tried to cross aft of Vengeur and Brunswick and Vengeur collided

Engraving showing the moonlit scene as Confederate troops laid torpedoes in the main channel of Charlestown Harbour during the American Civil War. Date: 1863

Tuna hunting with harpoons, tuna, fishing in La Madrague on the coast of Provence, in 1869, France, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th century painting, exact original date not known, Europe

GENERAL GARIBALDI SPEARING FISH BY NIGHT OFF CAPRERA

The Embankment, Waterloo Docks, Liverpool, 1850. Emigrants leaving Britain for the colonies: United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand. The average annual emigration from the United Kingdom between 1825 and 1850 was 91,407. 'The principal emigrants are Irish peasants and labourers...Since the fatal years of the potato famine and the cholera, the annual numbers of emigrants have gone on increasing, until they have become so great as to suggest the idea, and almost justify the belief, of a gradual depopulation of Ireland'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.

Boat from the "Madras" Steamer picking up an Arab Budgerow in the Red Sea, with Capt. Gough and the Australian Mails, 1857. '...the Royal mail steamer Emeu, on her passage to Suez with the Australian mails, struck on a coral reef...A portion of the mail was then taken out, and conveyed in an open boat, at great peril, the officer in charge displaying an amount of courage and endurance in the discharge of a public duty...On the second night after leaving the ship there came on a terrific thunderstorm, which, lasted several hours; and so violent was the rain that it was thought the boa

Guerra Franco-Prusiana (1870-1871). Exploradores franceses de vanguardia. Grabado. Original por Alphonse Marie de Neuville (1835-1885). En Campagne, por Jules Richard. Obra editada en París en 1885. Biblioteca Histórico Militar de Barcelona. Cataluña. España.

Arrival on the dunes of Helgoland or Heligoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, wood engraving, c 1880, Europe

Engraving of the crew on deck in heavy rain scrubbing the decks with brushes. Date: 1879

The Attack on the Peiho Forts by the English and French Fleets, 1858. 'Fort, 8 Guns; Nimrod; Fort, 10 Guns; Avalanche (French)...The Chinese sent off a message to the Russian Plenipotentiary's ship to say that we (British and French) had better clear out of the river, that if we were afraid they were not, and that they really should have to fire at us if we would not go away. No answer, of course, was given. On the following morning...the British and French presented a communication to the effect that, peaceably or otherwise, we intended to occupy the forts, and giving the Chinese an hour to

Illustration showing the arrival of a vessel in Paris on the Seine River, carrying provisions from London for the beleagured inhabitants of Paris, 1871. After the French surrender and the cessation of hostilites in the Franco-Prussian War, aid from London was at last allowed to reach Paris by boat. Date: 1871

Nelson and the signal, Battle of Copenhagen, 1801. Artist: Unknown

The Hecla and Griper in winter quarters, Parry's first Arctic expedition.

Engraving showing the attack on Charleston Harbour defences carried out by Federal ironclads, 3pm on the 7th April 1863. This panorama shows the battle, watched by ladies in crinolines, men and negro children. Date: 1863

BOODS. According to Dilla CORS, Adolf (1840 1894), GOOBER

A torpedo is brought into position near Villau, German-French campaign of 1870, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th-century master, exact original date unknown

Illustration depicting smugglers unloading their cargo. Dated 19th Century

The Wreck of the Atlantic - From Liverpool to New York sank off the Coast of Nova Scotia - April 1st 1873 - 562 lives were lost

A naval battle in India, vintage engraving. A naval battle in India, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyages, Travel Journal, 1880-81. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10657042

Garibaldi's 'thousand' embark at Quarto, Sicily, to invade the mainland. Date: May 1860

Russian prisoners are embarked at Bomarsund, a Russian fortress in the Baltic. Date: 16 August 1854

Coral fishermen, historic engraving of 1883

Sinking of the armoured frigate Grosser Kurfuerst in the English Channel, three-master, German frigate, catastrophe, warship, Imperial Navy, rescue, help, England, historical illustration 1880

Embarking troops and General Buell's Artillery at Bird's Point, Missouri by order of General Fremont

Installing a torpedo, January 1871, historical illustration, Illustrierte Kriegschronik 1870 - 1871 illustrated chronicle of war, German-French campaign

Wintering in polar ice, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, (1880-81).

Revenue Cutters Capturing an American Smuggling Vessel; Illustration from Cassell's History of England, King's Edition Part 33

Napoleonic Wars. War of the Second Coalition. Battle of Copenhaguen. 2 April, 1801. British victory. Engraving.

The Hurricane at Samoa on the morning of March 16, 1889

Della Bella, A Sea Fight. Photo Production of drawing in 'The Reveley Collection of Drawings at Brynygwenin', Fig. 37.

Canoe racing in Cambodia, vintage engraving. Canoe racing in Cambodia, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1873. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 1042871605st

Edward, Prince of Wales, (later Edward VII) on a visit to Ireland in 1885; here at Killarney. Date: 1885

The landing of the Romans in Briton, 55B.C. From History of England, 55B.C. to the present time, published 1907.

Cornish pilchard fishermen.

The British Royal Navy bombarded Sweaborg on the Gulf of Finland from offshore for 3 1/2 days, destroying the Russian dockyards, Crimean War (1853-1856), Engraving c1860

Peter I in Arkhangelsk between the Dutch and English merchants, Anonymous

Return of the Doge on the Bucentoro, Bucintoro, Bucentaur or Golden Barque, the Ship of State, after the Marriage with the Adriatic, Venice, Italy, on the day of the Assumption in 997 of Doge Pietro II Orseolo set sail to liberate Dalmatian coastal towns from pirates. This rescue operation established the long-lasting Venetian rule over the entire Adriatic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date not known, Europe

The Indo European Telegraph - Landing the Cable in the mud at Fao, Persian Gulf

España. Guerra de Sucesióm. Batalla de Rande (Ría de Vigo). Combate naval en que la escuadra anglo-holandesa persiguió y destruyó la flota franco-española cargada con tesoros de las Indias el 22 de octubre de 1702.

Engraving depicting the Duruof being rescued from the North Sea. Dated 19th Century

Evacuation of the Crimea. British troops return home. Embarkation of the 34th Regiment. Date: 1856

ARREST OF LOUIS NAPOLEON AT BOULOGNE.The early 1900s caption reads: Louis Napoleon, nephew of the great Napoleon and afterward Emperor himself as Napoleon III., made several attempts to master France before he at last succeeded. In 1840 he led an expedition from England and landed at Boulogne. His purpose failed; he fled and was almost drowned, being finally rescued and made prisoner in most unheroic fashion. He accepted his captivity, however, with a quiet dignity which did much to aid him in the minds of Frenchmen.

1800s 1860s JUNE 1864 CAPTAIN SEMMES OF THE CSS ALABAMA BEING RESCUED BY BOAT FROM BRITISH DEERHOUND

SEPTEMBER 1814 CAPTAIN MCDONOUGH VICTORY BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN NAVAL BATTLE PLATTSBURGH WAR OF 1812

Spain, Andalusia, Cadiz province, San Fernando. La Carraca arsenal. Spanish cruiser "Castilla" (1881-1898), launched on September 9, 1881 and given to the Spanish Armada in 1886. Its armour was reduced to armoured redoubts for the main guns. It took part in the naval battle of Cavite against Dewey's American squadron, during which he was set on fire and destroyed on 1st May, 1898. Life drawing by A. Cortellini Snchez. Engraving by Toms Carlos Capuz (1834-1899). La Ilustracion Espaola y Americana, 1881.

The Battle of Lake Champlain, a Negro sailor among Macdonough's crew, 1814

Voyage of the Imperial Prince Crown Prince Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte (16 March 1856 to 1 June 1879) to Cherbourg, the Prince coming ...

The freed victims, soldiers have controlled a slave trader ship and free the captured slaves, authentic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century model, exact date of depiction unknown, historical

España-Mexico. Siglo XIX. Expedición de tropas europeas a Mexico. Campamento de tropas españolas en Veracruz. Enero de 1862. Grabado de época.

Part of the crew of HMS Guardian, try to escape in boats after a collision with an iceberg circa 1780

A dramatic painting of Gordon Bennett, with members of his staff, escaping from the Singapore waterfront. October 11, 1950.

Engraving depicting the 'Great Eastern' used during the creation of the Atlantic Telegraph. The men are splicing the cable on board the 'Great Eastern'. Dated 19th Century

Scientific implements on the deck of the Astrolabe during Dumont d'Urville's expedition in the Antarctic, 1840.

Loss of iron paddle-steamer troop ship 'Birkenhead' off Simon's Bay South Africa 26 February 1852. Commanding officer, Colonel Seton, gave the order Women and children first. Men stood on deck awaiting their fate. Of 638 on board 184 were saved by the boats. The vessel going down. Wood engraving.

Return of the Arthur Thouar expedition, Bolivia, South America. Journey in search of the remains of the Crevaux mission by Émile-Arthur Thouar 1884. Old 19th century engraving from Le Tour du Monde 1906

Engraving showing emigrants on the deck of their ship, at sea, 1849. A group of children are being taught their lessons by a school master whilst a small crowd gathers around the ship's galley. 1849

The crew of HMS 'Lynx' take in sail during a squall. Date: 1860

Bombardment of Copenhagen, vintage engraved illustration. History of France 1885.

Amsterdam, Houttuyn, Frans, Fokke, Simon, Illustrations of Dutch history, Unusual water movement in the Haarlemmer-Meer, on 1 Nov. 1755, Rough water in the Haarlemmermeer, 1755, verso - stamped, Illustration from Dutch history. Unusually rough water, during calm weather, in the Haarlemmermeer on 1 November 1755. Boats in distress on the water, a man watches on the shore., print, prints, height 165 mm, width 105 mm, Northern Netherlands, 1712-09-01 - 1784-04-10, print maker, printmaker, 1755 - 1757, paper, papier, etching, etchings, Work conception, after own design by, Publication (Event), Publication, Dutch, publisher

In this illustration by American pictorial historian Captain Seth Eastman (1808-1875), Eastman shows the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in Plymouth and their meeting with the Indians. The Mayflower in moored in the distance. In American history, the Pilgrims were the founders of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. The key members of the group were English separatists who had moved to Holland in 1607-08. They obtained a charter from London Co. and, with the help of London merchants, sailed on the Mayflower in 1620.

c.1779 John Webber, black and white drawing, canoe with masked paddlers, mountains and palms background

The War in Egypt: hoisting invalids on board a hospital ship. Wood engraving.

Laying the submarine telegraph cable in the Persian gulf.

Attack on the Spanish Armada 1588 19th Century Illustration

Peter I Alekséievich Tsar of Russia. Peter I of Russia, nicknamed Peter the Great, belonging to the Romanov dynasty, learns to build ships in Sardam.

Engraving showing Captain McClintock and a sledge team of the 'Fox' Expedition meeting some Inuit at Cape Victoria, Boothia Felix, 1859. The 'Fox', commanded by McClintock, went to the Arctic region in search of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition of 1845. During the meeting depicted, the Inuit told McClintock about a group of starving white men they had seen near the mouth of the Great Fish River years before. These were the last survivors of Franklin's expedition. With this

Destruction of the barge in front of Segou, Guinea. Africa. Two campaigns in French Sudan, 1886-1888 by Joseph Simon Gallieni (1849 - 1916) Le Tour du Monde 1890

Mezzotint of the Battle of Trafalgar with Nelson being carried below. Print by J. Walker. Dated 1805

Engraving showing a typical scene on the deck of an Australian Emigrant ship, outward bound from Europe to Australia, in the mid 19th century. Date: 1849

Two Boats with Crews, Study for The Royal William at Sea. Drawing. Brushed black ink, gray wash and graphite; verso: graphite and pen and brown ink on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper. Height: 146 mm (5.74 in); Width: 273 mm (10.74 in). Author: Samuel Scott.

Sardine fishery on the coast of Brittany, 1871. View of '...the arrival of the sardine fleet...in the bay of Douarnenez, Finisterre...Douarnenez may be looked upon as the "quartier general'' of the great sardine merchants...Here there are about 900 boats engaged in sardine fishing, each with a crew of four men and a boy...The boats go out twice daily; and to see the fleet arrive in the evening...is really a fine sight. In the background is the graceful form of the Méné Horn, the highest of the chain of Black Mountains, 1000 ft. above the sea level. We see the boats coming up

THE WAR IN EGYPT

The Banks Expedition - A Confederate Schooner running into the USS Transport Dhe-Kiang off the Florida reefs with the intention of sinking her. December 11, 1862. USA Civil War

The Livingstone Expedition in Africa - Dr. Livingstone's station at the mouth of the Kongone River, on the Zambezi Delta, 1860. Engraving from a sketch by '...T. Baines, Esq., artist to the Livingstone expedition...The Zambesi, or Secheke, a river of Central Africa, rising in the marshes of the interior, is the main stream of a vast system explored by Livingstone in 1856, and has a winding course from the west. In latitude 17 deg. 57 min. south, long. 26 deg. 6 min. east, it bends to the south, and forms a magnificent cascade. On the north it is joined by the Kafue, its chief affluent; it then

The Fort Boyard, in the harbour of L'Ile d'Aix, is one of the prisons where convicted Communards are incarcerated.

Mahdist War (1881-1899). It faced the followers of Sudanese religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal, the self-proclaimed Mahdi, against Egyptian Khedivate troops, who were later joined by British forces. Egypt. Embarkation of Egyptian troops at Boulaq, Cairo, towards Aswan. The contingent was formed of 1,500 soldiers, led by British officers, who went to reinforce the Aswan garrison aboard four British steamers, with the mission of facing the advance of the Mahdi's supporters who were besieging Khartoum. Engraving by Bernardo Rico. La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana (The Spanish and American Illustration), April 30, 1884.

Crossing the River on Pontoons to dislodge the sharpshooters opposing the laying of the upper bridges at the Battle of Fredricksburg, USA Civil War

A shipwreck. The sailors swim with all their might, vintage engraving. A shipwreck. The sailors swim with all their might, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyages, Travel Journal, 1879-80. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10656796

Franco-Prussian War

The Great Fire near London Bridge, view of the fire from the river, 1843. A fire on Tooley Street destroyed St Olave's Church. From "Illustrated London News", 1844, Vol I.

Black and white print depicting The pirates' ruse luring a merchantman in the olden days. Dated 1896

Magellan is killed by natives of the Philippines, when he makes an alliance with a treacherous chieftain Date: 27 April 1521

World War 1, Bombardment of a Russian cruiser off Varna in Bulgaria (original pictorial text from 1915, original colouring), illustration, reproduction from a 19th century original. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of original unknown, Historical, Sailors on a ship are involved in a fierce hand-to-hand combat while shots hit the water

Entrenchment near Raboe in the Bay of Kiel, Germany, December 1870, historical illustration, Illustrierte Kriegschronik 1870 - 1871 illustrated chronicle of war, German-French campaign, Europe

Third Crusade: Finding of the Body of Drowned Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in June 1190 by Wilhelm Beckmann, 1852-1942

The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there. The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.

Land Ho! - Scene on Board an Emigrant Ship c. 1871 Matthew White Ridley (1837-1888) Engraving Culver Pictures Inc.

Illustration from a nineteenth century edition of 'Robinson Crusoe' a novel by Daniel Defoe. The book was first published on 25 April 1719. It relates the story of Robinson Crusoe, stranded on a desert Island for 28 years and his subsequent fight for survival.

Slavery in Africa. The Treaty, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, (1880-81).

Battle of La Hogue. Anglo-Dutch naval victory over the French under Tourville, 19 May 1692. War of the Grand Alliance. Engraving after painting by Benjamin West.

Lord Viscount Duncan's Victory.(Admiral De Winter resigning his sword on board the Venerable, October 11, 1797) Engraved by H. Lemon painted by W. Orme.From England's Battles by Sea and Land by Lieut Col Williams, The London Printing and Publishing Company circa 1890s

Klaas Klaassen Bording and his two sons on the 13th of Durgerdam ter Botvangst, and after 14 days of wandering on an IJsschots in the Zuiderzee den 27 Jan, IJ 1849 in Vollenhove, 1849 print Klaas Klaassen Bording and his two sons on an IJsschots for fourteen days on the Zuiderzee, 13-27 January 1849. The three had gone with a sledge on the ice to catch fish but was surprised by suddenly falling thaw. They were saved at Vollenhove on January 27. Print Maker: Netherlands Printer: Netherlands Publisher: Zwolleoverijssel paper getting lost; having lost one's way; losing one's way. sea and coastal fishery. drift ice Zuiderzee

Nares, Sir George Strong (1831-1915). British naval officer and Arctic explorer. The crew of "Discovery Alert" cutting ice for the free navigation of the ship. Nineteenth-century engraving.

''The Death of Lord Nelson in the Moment of Victory, October 21, 1805, after Benjamin West, R.A.' 1891. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 44. July to December, 1891.

Egyptian fields are irrigated by water drawn from the Nile by a shadoof whereby buckets are lowered into the river, then raised and swung to deposit the water in ditches. Date: 1895

Historical drawing, US-American history, 19th century, the rescue of Raphael Semmes, 1809 - 1877, a sailor, lawyer, shipmaster, admiral and general, by the Deerhound, a British yacht, 1864, American Civil War

Foghorn, fog signal to warn ships off coasts

The Late Storm at Dover 1856, 19th Century Engraving

of 2