Gustave Le Gray was famous for making cloudy seascapes like this. They were composite photos made by combining negatives of clouds with his seascape negatives. The smoke from the guns doesn't look quite right either, so I think there is some editing going on there as well.
More than 'some' smoke editing me thinks. Then again smoke was one way they could 'photoshop' photos back then. Plenty of British railway scenes have had it done to them (with varying levels of success).
As to the ships... it all looks very Napoleonic... and yet it is just three short years until the start of the Civil War.
There's a lot hinky about the OP image. Most of the flags are streaming forward, when they should be streaming aft. The ships are anchored by the bow, based on the string of boats behind the near corvette.
There's a lot hinky about the OP image. Most of the flags are streaming forward, when they should be streaming aft. The ships are anchored by the bow, based on the string of boats behind the near corvette.