Nikolai Krasovsky. The Battle of the Brig "Mercury" with Two Turkish Ships

In 1867 Nikolai Krasovsky painted this picture of the 1829 battle between the brig Mercury and two Turkish ships of the line. On the canvas three sailing ships converge amid billowing gun smoke against golden clouds. The frame was made from the wood of the Mercury's own hull, as a plaque on the frame also states.

On 14 May 1829 the brig, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Alexander Kazarsky, was overtaken by the two largest and fastest ships of the Turkish squadron: the 110-gun Selimiye and a 74-gun ship of the line. The Mercury carried 18 carronades and two small guns. The brig withstood the battle and damaged the Turkish ships, which broke off the chase; the Mercury lost four men killed and received 22 holes in her hull.

The brig was awarded the stern St George flag, and Nicholas I ordered that the Black Sea Fleet should always have a brig of that name built to the Mercury's plans. The Mercury herself was struck off the navy list as dilapidated in 1857 and broken up.