British Army, British Recruiting Party, 1780

This caricature was published during the American War of Independence (1775-1783), a conflict that made enormous demands on British Army manpower. Here a recruiting officer and a non-commissioned officer line up new recruits outside an inn. Although the Army required able-bodied men, in times of shortage it would make do with whoever it could get. Many recruits were less than ideal material, as this caricature illustrates. Even so, the Government could not find enough recruits at home, and was forced to supply the shortfall by hiring Hessian (German) mercenaries.