Triumph of the British flag over the French Eagles & Colours

This hand-coloured etching was published by Robert Dighton. Dighton had a print studio in his home at Charing Cross, which he ran with his sons. At the time he was short of money owing to the slump in the print market during the Napoleonic Wars.

Under the command of the Duke of Wellington, the British Army fought Napoleon's forces in Spain from a base in Portugal. The campaign became known as the Peninsular War. By 1811 Napoleon had turned his attention to invading Russia. Dighton's print shows a military parade in Hyde Park on the 18th May 1811 celebrating British successes in the Iberian Peninsular campaign. British troops are displaying captured French standards as trophies for the crowds. The two soldiers at the front of the line are shown symbolically lowering the French banners.