[1] [2] It depicts his April 1782 victory at the Battle of the Saintes in the Caribbean Sea during the American War of Independence.

Rodney led the Royal Navy to a decisive victory over the French fleet commanded by the Comte de Grasse by "breaking the line".

In 1788 the artist's nephew Gainsborough Dupont produced a mezzotint based on the picture.

Reynolds similarly included action from the Battle of the Saintes in the background.

Commissioned by the Prince of Wales, it remains today in the Royal Collection.