‘Too long mere food for powder’: the British army in <i>Punch</i>, 1841–61

Abstract The place of the British army in Victorian society has been a popular subject for historical enquiry. Insufficient attention has been paid to the mid nineteenth century, however, other than studies of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. To illustrate the importance of the wider period, this article surveys the depiction of the army in the comic periodical Punch, or the London Charivari between 1841 and 1861. It notes a lasting interest in the army’s role at home and abroad and traces a radical tradition that lasted well into Punch’s so-called ‘respectable’ years.