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| Title | A General Discharge |
| Subtitle | or THE DARLING ANGEL'S FINISHING STROKE |
| Creator | [Rowlandson, Thomas (1756-1827)] |
| Publisher | Tegg, Thomas, 1776-1845 |
| Place of Publication | England -- London -- Cheapside |
| Date | 1809 |
| Caption Text | Caption on Image:
A GENERAL DISCHARGE OR THE DARLING ANGEL'S FINISHING STROKE
Pub'd March 13th 1809 by Tho's Tegg Nº 111 Cheapside
Dialogue and Signage:
[Frederick, Duke of York] Alas! Alas for ever ruined and Undone
See See she has spiked my great Gun.
[Mrs. Clarke] A wise General shoud make good his Retreat
[above drummer] Rogues March
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| Historical Notes | Mrs. (Mary Anne) Clarke was mistress to the Duke of York, commander-in-chief in the British Navy. To support her lavish lifestyle, she took bribes from people seeking the Duke's support for military, civil, or even clerical favors. Her actions became a public scandal and, in 1809 (the year this drawing was published) the Duke was accused before the House of Commons of abuse of military patronage, and an inquiry was launched. Mrs. Clarke testified at the inquiry, and the charges were proved against the Duke, though it was shown he gained no benefit himself from Mrs. Clarke's actions. He resigned his post as commander-in-chief and broke off with Mrs. Clarke, paying a lifetime settlement in order to prevent her from publishing his letters.
In the drawing, she sits astride a large cannon, hammering a spike into it. The Duke of York is on the ground looking back over his shoulder, stating that she is the source of his ruin. In the background, two military officers and a cleric run away, and another female figure (George claims it is Mrs. Clarke) beats the "rogue's drum" as other soldiers retreat from her.
Reference source: George #11250
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| Subjects (LCSH) | Political cartoons
History--Caricatures & cartoons
Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, 1763-1827
Clarke, Mary Ann Thompson, 1776-1852
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| Geographic Coverage | England |
| Digital Collection | Napoleonic Period Collection
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| Digital ID Number | NAP001 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Napoleon Collection |
| UW Reference Number | E22 |
| Object Type | Print |
| Physical Description | Etching, hand colored ; on sheet 24 x 32 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original drawing in RGB at 200-400 dpi, saved in TIFF format, changed to indexed color, enhanced and resized using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2006. |
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