The Cornet Battiery

This cartoon is unsigned but attributed to Williams by the AMOT Index. It is dated April 1824, prior to the Marquis of Londonderry’s visit to Ireland, which suggests that the ‘matter of discipline’ that caused the dispute between Cornet Battier and his Colonel was his involvement with English newspapers that were publishing articles damaging to the regiment. The large gun is being fired from Thompson’s Hotel in mainland Britain by a young man, who must be William Battier, against the unmanly officers of the 10th Hussars in Ireland. There are references to a Marquis which could be Lieutenant Francis George Godolphin D’Arcy D’Arcy-Osborne, Marquis of Carmarthen, future Duke of Leeds. King George IV stands on the right talking to his secretary, Sir Herbert Taylor. He seems unconcerned about his former regiment of which he was Colonel for 24 years. The full title of the cartoon is The ‘Cornet Battiery Opened on the Tenth’, with the ‘i’ of Battiery barely crossed out. The image is courtesy of Brown University.

Regimental Details | 10th Hussars Cartoons 1824