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C1964-215
JOHN BULL making new BATCH of SHIPS to send to the LAKES
C1964-215

JOHN BULL making new BATCH of SHIPS to send to the LAKES

Date1814
Artist/Maker William Charles (1776-1820)
OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
MediumEtching and line engraving on laid paper
DimensionsOverall: 17 1/2 × 11 1/4in. (44.5 × 28.6cm) Other (Plate): 13 1/4 × 10in. (33.7 × 25.4cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. Dunscombe H. Colt, Jr.
Object number1964-26
DescriptionTranscription of text:

Frenchman: Begar Monseer Bull/me no like dis new Alliance_Dere be one Yankey Man/da call MacDo-enough/ Take your Ships by de whole/Fleet_You better try to get him/for I never get Do-enough/made at dis rate!!!

King George: Ay! What_What_What!/ Brother Jonathan taken/another whole fleet on the/Lakes_Must work away_work/away & send some more or/He’ll have Canada next –

Man in background: Here are more Guns for the/ Lake service – If ever they do but/get there_I hear the last you sent were/waylaid by a sly Yankey Fox and the ship/ being a Stranger he has taken her in –

Kneeling man: I tell you what Master Bull_you/ had better keep both your Ships and/Guns at home – If you send all you’ve/got to the Lakes, it will only make/fun for the Yankeys to take them–

The lower margin reads:

Philad.a Pub.d. and sold Wholesale by Wm. Charles./Enter'd according to act of Congress/Charles del et sculpt.
Label TextThis print references British naval losses in the Great Lakes during the War of 1812, specifically the capture of British fleets by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in 1813 on Lake Erie, while the dialogue refers directly to the recent American victories on Lake Champlain and at Plattsburg Bay. Charles deposited both colored and uncolored versions of this print at the Library of Congress on October 24, 1814 – along with “JOHNNY BULL and the ALEXANDRIANS” and “JOHN BULL and the BALTIMOREANS.”– shortly after Captain Thomas MacDonough captured the entire British fleet on Lake Champlain on September 11, 1814.

This propaganda piece suggests that the out-of-touch King George III should give up naval campaigns rather than wastefully sending ships, guns, and resources to North America where they would just be destroyed or captured by the Americans. King George worries that “Brother Jonathan” – which was a personification of New England and was used as a nickname for any Yankee sailor – would capture Canada if reinforcements were not sent. While the British waged war with the Americans on the North American front, they continued to fight the French in Europe, particularly on the high seas. The “French Dough Trough” represents captured French ships that could be refurbished as British naval vessels. Despite Britain’s ability to supply its navy with fresh ships, the other figures remind the King of naval recent naval losses, including a specific reference to the 1813 capture of the British ship Stranger to the American ship Fox in 1813.

Charles based this print on a satirical etching published by Samuel Rowlandson (1756-1827) in 1798 entitled, “HIGH FUN for JOHN BULL, OR THE REPUBLICANS PUT TO THEIR LAST SHIFT.” (See an example in The British Museum, 1868,0808.6786) Rowlandson’s print was published after a series of British naval victories in which Admiral Lord Nelson successfully defeated its enemy’s at sea thereby thwarting invasion from Europe. The print featured King George gleefully watching his opponents (the French, Spanish, and Dutch) feverishly making (or baking) ships that the English would shortly capture as trophies before converting them into British naval vessels. By inverting the narrative, Charles adds insult to injury by insinuating that Britain’s naval prowess has come to an end with recent American naval successes.

ProvenanceEx. Coll: H. Dunscombe Colt.