Soldiers Attending Divine Service, 1798 (c)

Coloured aquatint by Schutz after Thomas Rowlandson, published by Rudolph Ackermann, London, 1 August 1798.

Compulsory church parade dated back to the 17th century and was only abolished in 1946. During the Wars of the French Revolution (1793-1802) the high command believed divine service acted as a moral guide for members of an army who were always prone to vices such as drink, adultery and theft.