BHC0392

French fireships attacking the English fleet off Quebec, 28 June 1759 Long Caption: An incident during the Seven Years War, 1756-1763, between France and Britain. 1759 was a year of victories for Britain and on 26 June Admiral Sir Charles Saunders' powerful fleet, which had conveyed Major-General James Wolfe's land forces to Canada, anchored off the Ile d'Orleans on the St Lawrence River, below Quebec. At midnight on 28 June the French attacked with seven fire-ships and two fire-rafts. Saunders had received advance warning and the boats of the fleet were sent out loaded with his men, who grappled the fire-vessels and towed them safely clear of his ships. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection Object: BHC0392 Artist: Dominic Serres, the Elder Date: 1767 Medium: oil on canvas Size: 914 mm x 1524 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.