The Salute
The Salute is one of a flurry of military prints produced by Gillray in 1796/97 as the war with France plodded on and the threat of French Invasion became all the more palpable after the failed attempt launched upon Ireland in December of 1796 and the later, smaller attack upon the British coast at Fishguard in February of 1797.
© Trustees of the British Museum
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Taken as a whole, Gillray's prints are hardly complimentary. In Supplementary Militia, Turning-out for Twenty-Days Amusement, he portrays a rag tag troop of mostly tradesmen—tailor, hairdresser, shoemaker, bricklayer, and an impoverished artist—the result of the policy which allowed eligible men to avoid serving by paying a £10 fine or by finding a substitute. In St George's Volunteers Charging Down Bond Street, he gives us a fine example of misapplied energy, as three would-be soldiers create havoc instead of order on Bond Steet with their newly acquired military "skills." And in the one dark note from Hero's Recruiting at Kelsey's. . , he shows a mere child in regimentals, whose commission was obviously purchased for him. Nice enough when all that is required is marching in parade or eating sugar plums at Kelsey's but not so nice when facing French troops in battle.
If I am correct, The Salute continues the critique of Britain's military preparedness—this time focusing on the supervision (or lack thereof) of General Thomas Davies. Davies is shown on horseback, supposedly reviewing his troops on parade. But he looks on, heavy-lidded, as if half asleep. He fails to notice that the first soldier in the line is saluting with the wrong hand, that the flag borne by the second soldier is (so far as I can tell) non-standard (See List of British flags below.), and the third soldier seems as comatose as Davies himself. Not surprsingly, the spectators seem more amused than impressed.
Davies later appears in Gillray's scathing portrait satire The Military Caricaturist (1799) after having spoken slightingly of Gillray. This print may have understandably provoked Davies' belittling remarks.
Sources and Reading
- Commentary from the British Museum on The Salute.
- "Thomas Davies (British Army officer)," Wikipedia
- "Salute," Wikipedia
- "List of British flags," Wikipedia
- Thomas Wright and R.H. Evans, Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray #442.
- Thomas Wright and Joseph Grego, The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist; With the History of His Life and Times, p. 231.
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