A three-quarter view of the stern and port-broadside of the screw ship of the line, the 'Napol̩on.' She leans on her starboard side, exposing her hull below the waterline. To the right of her stern is an unusually small-scaled topsail schooner. She is rendered smaller than the fishing dinghy in the foreground. A paddlewheel steamship is half-obscured by a wave to the left of bowsprit of 'Napol̩on.'
The 'Napol̩on' of the French Navy was the first purpose-built steam battleship in the world. Although steam power was not unusual in boats of her nature, she was notable for the fact that steam was her main propulsion. She was masted, but her engines were more powerful than a sail-steam mixed warship design.
