In the early 1830's the working quarter of St. Martin in Paris was the scene of many riots and anti-government protests. On 15 April 1834 a riot was put down with particular brutality by government soldiers and amongst many eyewitness records of the affair was the report of an innocent family murdered by the government troops in the Rue Transnonain. Daumier's dramatic choice of perspective lends particular intensity to the wretched scene. The lithograph was issued in L'Association mensuelle in July 1834.