ltwilliammowett: The Battle of the Chesapeake Bay, 1781by Patrick O’Brien The Battle of th
ltwilliammowett: The Battle of the Chesapeake Bay, 1781by Patrick O’Brien The Battle of the Chesapeake Bay was one of the decisive turning points in American history. The British navy’s loss of this battle allowed General George Washington to defeat the British at Yorktown, thereby ending the American Revolution. The battle took place just outside the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, between a British and French fleet. For two and a half hours the fleets traded broadsides. Neither fleet was decisively defeated, but the French won the day by denying the British entrance into the Bay, and thus forcing the British to surrender to General Washington.In the painting, the British and French lines are sailing opposite each other in the traditional “line of battle.” The British line on the right and the French line on the left. Traditional maritime paintings generally depict battles at sea from afar, as if the viewer is watching the battle from a safe distance. Mr. O’Brien has chosen a viewpoint from inside the action. The first ships of the line have passed the viewer, and at the center are the only two ships which approached close to each other, the French Auguste and the British Princessa. -- source link