With his weapon on the shoulder and one foot advancing, NA032 represents the movement between the famous moments. He is an effective reminder that an infantryman’s campaign involved far more marching than firing.
NA031 moves the early 71st group forward. The long stride and diagonal weapon give him a sense of purpose that is absent from the more formal ready and firing poses.
NA012 combines a defensive kneeling stance with the catalog’s wounded subject. The lowered body and raised weapon make the scene readable without needing a stretcher, medic or a large group around him.
The uncovered head is the first clue to NA011. It brings an individual face into the early 71st group, while the musket held diagonally keeps the figure connected to the soldiers still preparing for action.
NA007 leans into a close fight with the musket held across his body. The bent posture and forward gaze give the sergeant a different job from a neatly aligned firing figure: he is reacting to an immediate threat.
NA006 waits on one knee with the musket held upright. It is a quiet pose that creates a pause between the early 71st figures already firing, loading or preparing to meet an attack.
NA004 takes the same firing task as a standing infantryman and lowers it almost to the height of the neighboring figures’ belts. The result gives an infantry display a front edge and a clear direction of attention.
The long, level musket gives NA003 its shape. This is the instant after a soldier has brought his weapon to the shoulder, with the red coat and pale trousers framing a very deliberate firing stance.
The crested helmet, dark blue clothing and short firearm make this York Rangers figure look different from the later green riflemen. Its 1796 date is the starting point for identification, not a licence to attach any unit history containing the words York and Rangers.
The word vélite changes the reading of this miniature. Del Prado’s subject represents a young soldier within a system intended to develop future leaders, rather than simply another battle-hardened Old Guard grenadier.
