Aubrey is a prisoner of war with a perfect view of the naval battle in Algeciras Bay in "Master and Commander". He is a passenger aboard HMS "Java" when she is captured by USS "Constitution" in "The Fortune of War". Again a prisoner of war, Aubrey arrives in Boston aboard USS "Constitution". He heals from a serious wound in Boston. He, Maturin and Diana Villiers escape aboard HMS "Shannon", which defeats USS "Chesapeake" in Boston Harbor as part of the War of 1812, also in "The Fortune of War". The battles in which Aubrey participates are inspired by real ship engagements, but not involving the same ships by name, or sometimes by exact date of the real encounter. An example of this is Aubrey's first command, HMS Sophie taking a far heavier Spanish frigate with 32 12-pound guns to the Sophie's 14 4-pounders and a crew of 319 compared to 56, which is very similar to an encounter of HMS "Speedy" under Cochrane in May 1801.