Whilst hoping to ambush a Spanish treasure fleet in the Azores, an English squadron of some 28 vessels was surprised by a Spanish force of 53 ships. Making good their escape, all the English ships sails clear……bar one. This was the ‘Revenge’ (of Armada fame) under the command of Sir Richard Grenville.

For reasons still unknown, instead of trying to evade the enemy, Grenville chose to fight his was through! In a running battle that lasted 15 hours, the Revenge fought against overwhelming odds, sinking two ships and disabling four others (two of which later sank) until the following dawn finally brought her exhausted surrender.

This scene depicts that dawn as all await the final decision. A wonderfully accurate account of this story can be found in Peter Earle’s book of the same title.