The second of the Chatham Pictorial Histories devoted to the great wars of 1793-1815, this volume charts the naval events of 1798 to 1801, a period which saw the frustration of Napoleon's destiny before Acre, and which included two of Nelson's greatest victories, at the Nile and Copenhagen.

The Royal Navy fought alongside some exotic allies during this period, including the Russians, Turks and Neapolitans, all of whom are represented, while the new navy of the United States, going into action for the first time in the Quasi-War with France, is also covered in this volume.

For Britain this continued to be an essentially maritime war, and the illustration sources are particularly rich in naval material for these years. As with the rest of the series, the visual emphasis is on the contemporary and original, and Nelson against Napoleon reproduces many previously unpublished images.