Fatigues of the Campaign in Flanders, 20 May 1793
Scope and Contents
Engraving (coloured impression). A staff dinner in a large open tent. At the head of the table the Duke of York carouses; a fat Flemish woman seated on his knee plays with his sword; he raises a full glass, looking down at the woman. He is seated on a drum, his left foot rests on a tattered British flag, beside which lies a bundle of muskets. On the table is a punchbowl ornamented with the royal arms. On one side (next the Duke) sits the Prince of Orange, a fat and stolid Dutch officer smoking a pipe and holding a small tankard. Facing him is a savage-looking (?) Prussian officer wearing a cap; his drawn sabre is on the table, he drinks wine voraciously from a bottle, his left arm round the waist of a stout Flemish woman seated beside him on the cannon which forms a seat; she raises her glass, holding a smoking pipe. Next the Dutchman a British officer and a fat Flemish woman are kissing. Behind the seated officers stand bandsmen wearing cocked hats and blowing wind instruments with great energy; an African musician clashes his cymbals behind the Duke. On the extreme right two files of gaunt and emaciated British foot-guards advance behind the Duke carrying wine-bottles, glasses, and a punch-bowl, also with the royal arms. Empty bottles are stacked under the table. Behind (left), a file of conical tents recedes in perspective; the three flags which fly from them are British, Austrian, and Hanoverian. Dutch and Austrian officers are caricatured, but not the Duke, who is handsome and florid. The Flemish women with their wide straw hats are studies of type and costume. The Duke's 'own deportment is perfectly steady and unexceptionable, and the stories which are spread of his drinking are absolutely false . ... But the very young men of his immediate circle caused a levity of manners at head-quarters'. Letter to Sir G. Elliot, 2 Nov. 1793. 'Corr. of Sir G. Elliot', ii. 185 n. He and his staff lived luxuriously in the field; Hanoverian mules carried, 'on a march, cold meats, the service of plate, rich wines and other necessary articles of refreshment. ... The cooks and servants ... preceded... in large covered waggons. 'Narrative of the War by an Officer of the Guards' [1796], i. 80 n. In 1793 Gillray went to Flanders with de Loutherbourg to follow the Duke of York's expedition, the latter making studies for his picture of the siege of Valenciennes (which began early in June 1793). Grego, 'Gillray', pp. 169-70 (small copy). Wright and Evans, No. 100. Reprinted, 'G.W.G.', 1830. Van Stolk, No. 5143. Partial description from Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Vol. VII. 8327.
Dates
- Creation: 20 May 1793
Conditions Governing Access
Available by appointment in our Reading Room
Extent
1 Item(s)
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository
Western Bank Library
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
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