Three officers stand at the bar in a high panelled hall crowded with people within the Chelsea hospital as William Cobbett escapes in a boat in the distance seen through an open door. Etching by J. Gillray, 1809.

One of a set of eight plates

Cobbett had become a successful writer by this time but had published an article on severe flogging within the army which eventually in 1810 brought him a two year sentence of imprisonment but he tried to escape punishment as is indicated in this scene

London (27 St. James's Street) : H. Humphrey, 29 September 1809.

1 print : etching ; platemark 28.4 x 22.3 cm.

The life of William Cobbett, written by himself. Js. Gillray inv & fec ... Lettering continues below the design, on a separate plate, with text describing Cobbett's reaction to the prospect of his court martial Bears number: "363", top right

British Museum, Catalogue of political and personal satires, vol. VIII, London, 1947, no. 11377

Wellcome Collection 603149i