Laslett Pott Military Artwork

Pott specialised in historical recreations, exhibiting his first picture at the Royal Academy in 1860. One of his earliest military pictures was the Defence of 1867, showing a scene from the Civil War (probably the siege of Lathom House) in which the Countess of Derby and other women are cleaning and loading muskets for the four soldiers who man the window. Another Civil War picture was his 1881 submission, Before Naseby, which shows Charles I playing chess with a cortier. Pott exhibited two scenes relating to Napoleon's Moscow campaign of 1812, The first sight of Moscow of 1892, and On the march from Moscow (Private Collection) of 1873. The contrasts in the pictures are great. In the former, the soldiers cheer as the view of Moscow comes into sight; whilst in the second picture, a ragged line of French soldiers trudge through the snow. A scene representing the same period, The Regiments Return (Private Collection) portrays a French infantry regiment marching through the gate of a town led by a wounded Drum Major and drummer boys. Pott painted several domestic scenes of Napoleon and the King of Rome, as well as the events at Waterloo. In his 1897 Royal Academy picture, 18th June 1815, Napoleon seated on his horse is directing operations whilst his staff watch in the background. In another picture entitled Waterloo (Royal Green Jackets), the famous charge of the 52nd Light Infatry at 7.45pm on the evening of the battle is depicted.