Military
Britannia Rules the Waves!!
This color drawing from 1798 mocks both the French navy’s abysmal performance against Nelson’s fleet and the French hope to invade England; in the style of Gillray, it depicts a grotesque, gargantuan woman, straddling the English Channel and urinating into French ships while her trident pierces F
The Mode of Training Blood Hounds in St. Domingo
This image reveals grotesque mistreatment of blacks even during training exercises. Here a French cavalryman (chasseur) plans to use someone as a live prey for hunting dogs.
The Mode of Exterminating the Black Army as Practised by the French
The fighting between the French and the Haitians was very bloody. When the French tried to put down Toussaint in 1802, it took them some five months with an expeditionary force of 23,000. Supplied by locals, the French seized the towns, gradually extending their control to the countryside.
Revenge Taken by the Black Army for the Cruelties Practised on Them by the French
This execution in Haiti simply suspends the French officer in the air, slowly strangling him to death. His struggles, emphasized by the convulsing legs, reveal the hatred visited on opponents, themselves guilty of so many atrocities.
Arrest of the King at Varennes, 22 June 1791
These images, all engraved and widely circulated years after the event, show four different moments of the arrest. Each successive image renders the scene increasingly dramatic. The first, a woodcut executed shortly after the event, shows the postman alone recognizing the King.
Battle For and Taking of Ratisbon, April 23, 1809
The general peace agreement lasted a scant two years after the treaty of 1801.
Sire, They Are My Sons and My Wife
Napoleon cultivated the intense personal loyalty of his troops with engravings like this one, which suggests a personal interest in the ordinary soldier.
Meeting of the Emperors at Tilsit
In July 1807, Napoleon and Alexander agreed to cooperate. Napoleon used this strategy to prevent his enemies from forming an alliance against him.
The Royal and Imperial Family of Napoleon
The remainder of the text on this image reads: Emperor of the French, King of Italy, and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. The military flags make clear the connection between military conquest and imperial glory.
Retreat from Russia
There was not much to celebrate in the Russian campaign, especially once the retreat from Moscow began. Print depicting the horrific conditions and loses suffered by the French army as it retreated from Moscow in the winter of 1812.