Charlton occasionally turned to wars from earlier periods or foreign wars not involving Britain, such as "After the battle: Sedan", based on an incident in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 described by Émile François Zola in La Debâcle. In this piece, Charlton chose one of his favourite themes, that of riderless horses after a battle, in this case in a mad gallop "across the blank, silent country." Scenes from the Peninsular War and the English Civil War followed, while his painting of Prussian General Seidlitz at the Battle of Rossbach in 1757 was shown at the Berlin Art Gallery in April 1914. It attracted the attention of a wealthy German who offered to buy the piece, but before the sale could be finalised, war broke out and the picture was 'interned' in Germany.