British Generals during Napoleonic Wars

 

Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton GCB (24 August 1758 – 18 June 1815) was a Welsh officer of the British Army who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible temperament". The Duke of Wellington called him "a rough foul-mouthed devil as ever lived", but found him capable. Picton came to public attention initially for his alleged cruelty during his governorship (1797–1803) of Trinidad, as a result of which he was put on trial in England for approving the illegal torture of a 14-year-old girl, Luisa Calderón. Though initially convicted, Picton later had the conviction overturned arguing that Trinidad was subject to Spanish law, which permitted the use of torture. Controversy over the torture and Picton's role in the colonial slave trade continued. In 2020, Cardiff council voted to remove Picton's statue in the "Heroes of Wales" gallery in Cardiff City Hall. He is chiefly remembered for his exploits under Wellington in the Iberian Peninsular War of 1807–1814, during which he fought in many engagements, displaying great bravery and persistence. He was killed in 1815 fighting at the Battle of Waterloo, during a crucial bayonet charge in which his division stopped d'Erlon's corps' attack against the allied centre left. He was the most senior officer to die at Waterloo. He was a sitting Member of Parliament at the time of his death. Above: Portrait of Thomas Picton by Thomas Lawrence.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Picton

British Grenadiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill

Title: Battle of Bunker Hill
Artist: Edward Percy Moran
Date: 1909

A depiction of the battle of Bunker Hill by Edward Percy Moran (1862-1935), known for his scenes of American history. This significant battle took place on 17 June 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after the adjacent Bunker Hill. Although the uniform details are inaccurate, the formation of the British grenadiers advancing uphill toward the Americans behind prepared positions is largely representative of the closeorder formation used by the British during their assault. After the experience of the retreat from Lexington, British commander Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage ordered his men to form in two rather than three ranks but retained the close-order formation. Although Gage attempted to outflank the American position, a quick reaction by American commanders frustrated British efforts and resulted in a sustained firefight on unequal terms. The British grenadiers were ordered to assault the American lines with the bayonet but their close-order formations made it difficult for them to cross several fences and as the formations lost cohesion the grenadiers lost momentum. As a result many grenadiers began to fire at the enemy rather than carry home their charge. In the aftermath of Bunker Hill British commanders understood that the bayonet was the most effective weapon against the untrained Americans. Conversely, American commanders realized that effective use of terrain and cover, including walls, fences, and woods, could negate some of the lethal nature of the British bayonet charge.

Source :

Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371124825518568626/

Prince Alfred of England

Title: Prince Alfred of England
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date: 1865

Oil on canvas, 74.4 x 61.4 cm. Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Schüler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death. Prince Alfred (1844–1900), aged 21, is wearing naval uniform with the star of the Garter. He was the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and joined the navy when he was 14 years old, in August 1858. He served on the Euryalus and sailed to the Mediterranean, South Africa, and the West Indies, returning home in August 1861. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1863 and, after a career in the navy, was made Admiral of the Fleet in 1893. Signed and dated: Fr Winterhalter / 1865. Inscribed on the back with the names of the artist and sitter and as painted at the Rosenau, August 1865.

Source :
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/404833/prince-alfred-1844-1900-later-duke-of-edinburgh

Albert, Prince of Wales (Later Edward VII of Great Britain)

Title: Albert, Prince of Wales
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date: 1864

Oil on canvas, 161.8 x 114.1 cm. Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Schüler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death. Prince Albert Edward, Queen Victoria’s eldest son, is dressed in the uniform of Colonel of the 10th Hussars and holds his shako which, from 1800 onwards, became a common military head-dress in most armies. He wears the ribbon and star of the Garter, the badge of the Golden Fleece, and the Star of India. The portrait was commissioned by Queen Victoria along with that of Princess Alexandra (RCIN 402351) whom he had married in 1863. Signed and dated: Fr Winterhalter 1864.

Source :
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/402352/edward-vii-1841-1910-when-prince-of-wales

Paramedic of the British UKSF in Afghanistan

Title: Battle Mist
Artist: Stuart Brown
Date: 2007

Commissioned by the UK Special Forces Medical Group. A role one Paramedic from the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) Medical Group hands over a casualty, following advanced resuscitation, to colleagues for onward evacuation. The casualty will be moved, via the waiting CH47 from 7 Squadron Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, to a deployed UKSF Medical Group role two facility; where life saving damage control surgery will take place.

Source :

http://skipperpress.com/portfolio/gallery-prints/battle-mist/

The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island (1776)

Title: The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island
Artist: Domenick D'Andrea
Date: 2004

The battle of Long Island, a British victory, began just after the Siege of Boston. As the British fled after their defeat in that siege, General George Washington guessed that they would head south and try to take New York. Therefore, he and his army went there and prepared for the British to attack. As it turns out, the British had in fact gone North to Halifax, Nova Scotia. They reached the Hudson River on June 29, 1776, and on July 3, British General William Howe arrived on Stanton Island. The next day (July 4, 1776) was the day that the America's Continental Congress announced the independence of America.

While all of this was happening, George Washington had been preparing for battle in New York. He had created a wall of men with guns to defend the city from any attacks from the sea and placed 10,000 men on Brooklyn Heights to defend Manhattan. He was ready for anyone who would attack New York. There was just one problem: the British would be attacking Long Island, not New York.

On August 27, 1776 the British landed on Long Island, which is south of New York. Two days later, General Howe learned that the Americans had no one guarding the road leading North from Long Island into New York, but had defenses set up on all the other roads. Using this information, Howe led his men up the North road. He then proceeded around to attack the Americans Guarding the left road, who were led by General John Sullivan. While Howe's army attacked Sullivan's from the back, a German troop, which was allied with the British, attacked from the front. Sullivan fought as well as he could, but he was soon overpowered and forced to retreat behind the Brooklyn walls. Howe, feeling proud of his victory, led his men and attacked the men guarding the right road, using the same technique. They, like Sullivan's men, fought hard but were forced to retreat to Brooklyn.

Source :

http://www.revolutionary-war.net/battle-of-long-island.html

The Battle of Lexington (1775)

Title: The Battle of Lexington (1775)
Artist: William Barnes Wollen
Date: 1910

A painting of the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775) by William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936). Courtesy of the Council, National Army Museum, London, UK. The disposition of the British troops and American colonists in the painting represents the prevailing image of closely ranked British engaging a loosely formed enemy. The colonists were drawn up in a formal line on the village green at Lexington where, after refusing to disperse, they were fired upon by British regulars deployed in a three-rank, close-order formation. While some of the colonists that engaged in the running battle with the British on April 19, 1775 may have been veterans of the French and Indian War, they had little organization or training. After that initial exchange of musketry the American tactics largely involved hit-and-run attacks on the British column returning to Boston. The Colonists made extensive use of available cover, stone walls, and fences, and repeatedly forced the British to deploy from march column into line, only to find the Americans had dispersed.

Source :

Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk

And When Did You Last See Your Father?

Title: And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Artist: William Frederick Yeames
Date: 1878

The oil-on-canvas picture, painted in 1878, depicts a scene in an imaginary Royalist household during the English Civil War. The Parliamentarians have taken over the house and question the son about his Royalist father (the man lounging on a chair in the centre of the scene is identifiable as a Roundhead officer by his military attire and his orange sash). Yeames was inspired to paint the picture to show the crises that could arise from the natural frankness of young children. Here, if the boy tells the truth he will endanger his father, but if he lies he will go against the ideal of honesty undoubtedly instilled in him by his parents.

The boy in the pictures is based on Thomas Gainsborough's painting 'The Blue Boy'. It was modelled by Yeames' nephew, James Lambe Yeames. Behind the boy, there is a girl, probably the daughter, waiting her turn to be questioned. The girl was based on Yeames' niece, Mary Yeames. At the back of the hall the mother and elder daughter wait anxiously on the boy's reply. The scene is neutral: while the innocence of the boy is emphasised by his blond hair, open expression and blue suit, the questioners are also treated sympathetically; the main interrogator has a friendly expression and the sergeant with the little girl has his arm on her shoulder as if comforting her. The painting is at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, having been bought in 1878, just a year after the gallery opened in 1877. Madame Tussauds in London has a life-size waxwork tableau of the scene, faithfully reproduced from the painting.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Yeames

The First of May 1851

Title: The First of May 1851
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date:1851

This picture shows the Duke of Wellington offering a gift to Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and Prince Arthur, in a scene resembling the Adoration of the Magi. The painting was commissioned by Queen Victoria to commemorate the 1st of May 1851, which held a threefold significance: it was the first birthday of Prince Arthur, the eighty-second birthday of prince's godfather the Duke of Wellington, and the opening day of the Great Exhibition. Prince Arthur holds Lily-of-the-valley, a traditional 1st of May gift said to bring good luck. The Crystal Palace can be seen in the background.

Source :

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_of_May,_1851.jpg

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Title: Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Date: 1842

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha wearing the Golden Fleece, painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1842. Commissioned by Queen Victoria, it is perhaps unsurprising that this early portrait was one of Queen Victoria’s three favourite pictures of her husband, given the artist’s romantic treatment of the subject. Prince Albert is depicted in officer’s undress uniform, standing in a noble pose set against stormy skies, in a manner evocative of Ingres.

Source :

https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/eGallery/object.asp?maker=12557&object=401412&row=1&detail=about