The Wooden Walls of England

24" x 36" — oil on canvas

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England was the world’s only superpower in the 18th century, projecting its might around the globe with its vast numbers of wooden warships. England’s men-of-war also functioned as the country’s defense, collectively forming “the wooden walls of England” around the island nation.

This painting depicts a British fleet during the American Revolution. In August of 1781 the fleet sailed north from the West Indies in search of the French fleet. They would meet on September 5 in The Battle of the Chesapeake, a naval action that was crucial to the American victory in the war. 

The lead ship in the painting is HMS Royal Oak. Carrying 74 guns, she was a seventy-four, the most common type of British ship-of-the-line. She was named for a famous patriotic symbol in England, an oak tree in which King Charles II had hidden from his enemies in 1651.

The two larger vessels at left are also seventy-fours, HMS Invincible and HMS Terrible. At the far right is the frigate HMS Richmond. Frigates were smaller and more nimble than seventy-fours, and sailed beside the main fleet, relaying signals and messages. 

These noble vessels, with their tall oaken sides, were but a small part of the vast wooden walls that protected a small nation surrounded by sea.