Keywords: Dominic Serres the Elder - The Capture of Havana, 1762- The Morro Castle and the Boom Defence Before the Attack.jpg A depiction of an episode from the last major operation of the Seven Years War 1756-63 It was part of England's offensive against Spain when she entered the war in support of France late in 1761 The British Government's response was immediately to plan large offensive amphibious operations against Spanish overseas possessions particularly Havana the capital of the western dominions and Manila the capital of the eastern Havana needed large forces for its capture and early in 1762 ships and troops were dispatched under Admiral Sir George Pocock and General the Earl of Albemarle <br /> <br /> The force which descended on Cuba consisted of 22 ships of the line four 50-gun ships three 40s a dozen frigates and a dozen sloops and bomb vessels In addition there were troopships storeships and hospital ships Pocock took this great fleet of about 180 sail through the dangerous Old Bahama Strait from Jamaica to take Havana by surprise Havana on Cuba's north coast was guarded by the elevated Morro Castle which commanded both the entrance to its fine harbour immediately to the west and the town on the west side of the bay A landing was made without opposition six miles east of the castle on 7 June On 1 July the 'Cambridge' 80 guns 'Marlborough' 70 guns and 'Dragon' 74 guns were ordered to bombard the castle but were driven off with heavy losses including Captain Goostrey of the 'Cambridge' On 30 July a breach was made with mines in a wall of the castle and it was taken by storm After its capture the fall of Havana was inevitable and took place on 11 August In addition to stores and valuables nine Spanish ships of the line were captured <br /> <br /> The painting shows the Spanish preparations before the siege The Morro Castle is on the left and the entrance to the harbour of Havana is blocked by sunken ships and a boom defence A gun is being hoisted or lowered above the Shepherd's Battery with the star-shaped Apostles' Battery from its twelve embrasures immediately to the right This is one of a series of eleven painted by Dominic Serres to illustrate the principal events of the campaign for the Keppel family of whom three distinguished brothers served at Havana George Keppel 3rd Earl of Albemarle 1724-72 was the army commander-in-chief; Commodore the Hon Augustus Keppel 1725-86 who was naval second-in-command and Major-General the Hon William Keppel 1727 -82 who directed the storming of the Morro Castle 1770 oil on canvas cm 83 8 175 3 Institution National Maritime Museum object history credit line On loan to the National Maritime Museum Greenwich London from a private lender The artist himself knew Havana from his earlier sea-going career and may have lived there for a short period Serres also did a second set of eleven paintings of the capture Havana which were engraved by P C Canot Nine of these were entirely different views one a variant version of the British landing and one a close version of the British fleet enterng the harbour Serres was a well-born Frenchman from Gascony who ran away to sea in merchant service rather than follow family wish that he enter the Church He probably arrived in England as a naval prisoner of war took up painting and settled there His early paintings show the influence of Brooking and Monamy's interpretations of Dutch art but he rapidly achieved recognition for his more documentary visual accounts of sea actions of the Seven Years War 1756-63 becoming established as England's leading marine painter His work was even more in demand in the 1770s and 1780s recording the naval history of the War of American Independence In 1768 Serres was a founder member of the Royal Academy and at the end of his life its librarian A well respected and sociable man he was appointed Marine Painter to George III in 1780 The painting has been signed by the artist and is dated '1770' accession number BHC0408 http //www nmm ac uk/collections/explore/object cfm ID BHC0408 National Maritime Museum BHC0408 PD-old-100 Dominic Serres Paintings of Battle of Havana 1770 paintings Cuba in the 1760s 18th-century paintings of naval battles Paintings in the National Maritime Museum London |