Lithographic Album of 1837: Half-Battalion at Left…Aim!...Fire!...Load

The image portrays a disordered combat scene, with soldiers in various poses, fallen comrades, scattered horses and artillery, and a haze of smoke or dust. Although a caption links the picture to the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, the composition functions more as a generic illustration of the chaos and discipline of early‑nineteenth‑century warfare.

Raffet employs rapid, gestural lines characteristic of lithographic sketching, allowing him to convey movement and tension without detailed modeling. The stark contrasts and loose rendering emphasize immediacy, aligning the print with the broader Romantic interest in dramatic, emotionally charged subjects.

Trained under the veteran lithographer Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, Raffet applied his skills to a series of retrospective works that looked back on the Napoleonic era. This particular sheet was issued as part of an 1837 album, intended for an audience interested in military history and visual records of past campaigns.

The title’s enumeration of drill commands reflects the period’s focus on regimented infantry tactics and the growing popularity of printed visual documentation of military life. Raffet’s prints, like this one, contributed to a visual culture that both commemorated and analyzed the experience of war during the post‑Empire years.