NAM.1962-11-6-3

arrived in safety ... and soon after appointed to teach the Officers their duty ... Coloured sepia etching. From ‘The Life of William Cobbett - written by himself’, a set of eight coloured sepia etchings by and after James Gillray, nd Originally published by J Humphrey, 27 St James’s Street, London, 29 Sep 1809. Republished, 1816 (c). The set forms a satire against Cobbett’s account of his own army career. Cobbett worked hard with the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot at Chatham for a year and then joined the rest of the regiment in Canada. He was promoted to corporal and clerk of the regiment. After 18 months he became a Sergeant Major, by his diligence and (as he claimed) by making himself indispensable. With the introduction of a new musketry drill known as the ‘Dundas System’, it fell to Cobbett to instruct the officers, many of whom were illiterate, in the commands they should give their troops.