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A nineteenth-century rendering of one of the earliest fleet engagements of the American Revolutionary War, based on a British officer’s eyewitness drawing and prepared by one of New York’s most prolific lithographers for the city’s official publication.
The scene shows the 44-gun Phoenix and the 20-gun Rose, two Royal Navy ships that had sailed up the Hudson River in July 1776 to disrupt American communications and supply. On the night of August 16, a daring American assault was launched by Colonel Benjamin Tupper using fire ships and galleys. Though the attack succeeded in destroying one tender and demonstrated early American ingenuity in naval warfare, the major British ships survived with minimal damage. Their continued presence underscored the Royal Navy’s dominance in coastal and riverine operations at a moment when the British were preparing their full-scale assault on Manhattan.
The image traces its origin to a sketch made on site by Sir James Wallace, commanding officer of the Rose. This was later developed into an oil painting by Dominic Serres, Marine Painter to George III, and engraved in aquatint for British audiences in 1778. That original painting is now lost, but in 1864 George Hayward recreated the composition in lithography for inclusion in David T. Valentine’s annual Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, which was a richly illustrated compendium of historical and municipal information that helped preserve many early American historical views.
Hayward’s version stands out among the Valentine plates for its subtle atmospheric effects: the glowing yellows and oranges of the burning fire ship contrast dramatically with the calm grey wash of the river and sky. It remains the most widely accessible version of this Revolutionary naval encounter.
![Vue de la Poupe d'un Vaisseau du Premier Rang | Vue de la Poupe de la Galere Réale [View of the Stern of a First-Rate Ship | View of the Stern of the Royal Galley]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/88589.jpg)
