Download or read book The Personal Narrative of a Private Soldier written by Anonymous and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1821, this book vividly describes scenes of war with all its maddening excitement and all its horrors, as experienced by an anonymous Private who served in the 42nd Highlanders for 12 years during the latter part of the Peninsula War. Inspired by the narrative of an earlier published military diary entitled The Journal of a Solider of the 71st (1819), and having known our anonymous 42nd Soldier since childhood, the (likewise anonymous) editor of The Personal Narrative of a Private Soldier said to himself, “Why might not ******* write the personal Narrative of his Life, as ‘a poor, but honest Soldier?’” Subsequently, having read the 71st Soldier’s journal “with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret,” the editor approached the 42nd Soldier and requested from him, via letters, “a brief but faithful relation of what he did and what he saw, from the time he enlisted till he was discharged in 1814.” And thus was born this highly informative first-hand account of one of the most significant wars in history...
Download or read book The Highland Furies written by Victoria Schofield and published by Quercus. This book was released on 2014-12-09 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the oldest of the Highland Regiments, The Black Watch has an enviable roster of Battle Honors and a mystique born of repeated service on behalf of King, Queen and country. On the strength of her acclaimed biography of Field Marshal Earl Wavell, the regimental trustees commissioned Victoria Schofield to write this, the first volume of her magisterial history of The Black Watch, and have fully cooperated with her as she traces the story of the Regiment from its early 18th-century beginnings through to the eve of the South African War at the end of the 19th-century. Originating as companies of highland men raised to keep a watch over the Highlands of Scotland, they were formed into a regiment in 1739. Its soldiers would go on to fight with extraordinary bravery and elan in almost every major engagement fought by the British Army during this period, from the American War of Independence, the Peninsular Wars, Waterloo, the Crimea, Indian Mutiny to Egypt and the Sudan. Drawing on diaries, letters and memoirs, Victoria Schofield skillfully weaves the multiple strands of this story into an epic narrative of a valiant body of officers and men over one-and-a-half centuries. In her sure hands, the story of The Black Watch is no arid recitation of campaigns, dates and battle honors, but is instead a rich and compelling record of the soldier's experience under fire and on campaign. It is also a celebration of the deeds of a regiment that has played a unique role in British history and a vivid insight into the lives of the many remarkable figures who have marched and fought so proudly under its Colors. It is supported by more than 170 pages of appendices, bibliography, maps, and notes, as well as a brilliant array of illustrations' Military History Monthly.
Download or read book Wellington s Wars written by Huw J. Davies and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-26 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, lives on in popular memory as the "Invincible General," loved by his men, admired by his peers, formidable to his opponents. This incisive book revises such a portrait, offering an accurate--and controversial--new analysis of Wellington's remarkable military career. Unlike his nemesis Napoleon, Wellington was by no means a man of innate military talent, Huw J. Davies argues. Instead, the key to Wellington's military success was an exceptionally keen understanding of the relationship between politics and war.Drawing on extensive primary research, Davies discusses Wellington's military apprenticeship in India, where he learned through mistakes as well as successes how to plan campaigns, organize and use intelligence, and negotiate with allies. In India Wellington encountered the constant political machinations of indigenous powers, and it was there that he apprenticed in the crucial skill of balancing conflicting political priorities. In later campaigns and battles, including the Peninsular War and Waterloo, Wellington's genius for strategy, operations, and tactics emerged. For his success in the art of war, he came to rely on his art as a politician and tactician. This strikingly original book shows how Wellington made even unlikely victories possible--with a well-honed political brilliance that underpinned all of his military achievements.
Download or read book The Wandering Army written by Huw J. Davies and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-18 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling history of the British Army in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—showing how the military gathered knowledge from campaigns across the globe “Superb analysis.”—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal At the outbreak of the War of Austrian Succession in 1742, the British Army’s military tactics were tired and outdated, stultified after three decades of peace. The army’s leadership was conservative, resistant to change, and unable to match new military techniques developing on the continent. Losses were cataclysmic and the force was in dire need of modernization—both in terms of strategy and in leadership and technology. In this wide-ranging and highly original account, Huw J. Davies traces the British Army’s accumulation of military knowledge across the following century. An essentially global force, British armies and soldiers continually gleaned and synthesized strategy from war zones the world over: from Europe to the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Davies records how the army and its officers put this globally acquired knowledge to use, exchanging information and developing into a remarkable vehicle of innovation—leading to the pinnacle of its military prowess in the nineteenth century.
Download or read book Spying for Wellington written by Huw J. Davies and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2018-11-08 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intelligence is often the critical factor in a successful military campaign. This was certainly the case for Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, in the Peninsular War. In this book, author Huw J. Davies offers the first full account of the scope, complexity, and importance of Wellington’s intelligence department, describing a highly organized, multifaceted series of networks of agents and spies throughout Spain and Portugal—an organization that was at once a microcosm of British intelligence at the time and a sophisticated forebear to intelligence developments in the twentieth century. Spying for Wellington shows us an organization that was, in effect, two parallel networks: one made up of Foreign Office agents “run” by British ambassadors in Spain and Portugal, the other comprising military spies controlled by Wellington himself. The network of agents supplied strategic intelligence, giving the British army advance warning of the arrival, destinations, and likely intentions of French reinforcements. The military network supplied operational intelligence, which confirmed the accuracy of the strategic intelligence and provided greater detail on the strengths, arms, and morale of the French forces. Davies reveals how, by integrating these two forms of intelligence, Wellington was able to develop an extremely accurate and reliable estimate of French movements and intentions not only in his own theater of operations but also in other theaters across the Iberian Peninsula. The reliability and accuracy of this intelligence, as Davies demonstrates, was central to Wellington’s decision-making and, ultimately, to his overall success against the French. Correcting past, incomplete accounts, this is the definitive book on Wellington’s use of intelligence. As such, it contributes to a clearer, more comprehensive understanding of Wellington at war and of his place in the history of British military intelligence.
Download or read book Women in the Peninsular War written by Charles J. Esdaile and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2014-08-07 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Women in the Peninsular War, Esdaile looks beyond the iconography. While a handful of Spanish and Portuguese women became Agustina-like heroines, a multitude became victims, and here both of these groups receive their due. But Esdaile reveals a much more complicated picture in which women are discovered to have experienced, responded to, and participated in the conflict in various ways.
Download or read book Sir John Moore s Peninsular Campaign 1808 1809 written by D.W. Davies and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an attempt to present the chief events in the last campaign of Sir John Moore. Enough of Sir John Moore's life, and of life in England, France, and Spain to explain those events has been included. In several instances, perhaps important instances, accounts of events as given here differ from what may be found elsewhere. In such cases the documents upon which the present narrative is based have been indicated. The list of those to whom I am indebted is a long one. The staff of the Public Record Office have been unfailingly helpful, pleasant, and ef ficient on the many occasions when I have used the Record Office. The Librarian and staff of the National Library of Scotland were most help ful when the writer consulted the papers of Sir George Murray and the manuscripts of Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch, in that Library. An especially enjoyable occasion was the time spent in the Scottish United Services Museum working with the Sir David Baird papers. I am much indebted to The Honourable the Marquess of Anglesey for permission to consult the Paget papers in the Library at Plas-Newydd. The Libra rian and the Keeper of Manuscripts of the John Rylands Library have been most kind and generous in making available the papers of Sir Henry Clinton. As always, Mr.
Download or read book Retrospect of a Military Life During the Most Eventful Periods of the Last War written by Sgt. James Anton and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1841, this memoir by Qtr.-Mr.-Gen. Sgt. James Anton of the 42nd or Royal Highlanders is widely regarded as a leading source for the Peninsular and Waterloo period. “Since so many military memoirs have issued from the press during the last twenty-five years, it may be thought a rather presumptive undertaking on the part of a Soldier to usher another work of this kind into public notice. Yet amidst all the failures we daily witness in the book-making world, we still see fresh adventurers succeed to fill up the chasm occasioned by the unsuccessful speculations of their predecessors; and, although friendly hints may be given that this or that pursuit is overdone, the adventurers still pursue their course, and the usual results follow. Misfortune overwhelms the many, fortune favours the few, and the latter gives a stimulus to fresh adventure, while the former seldom serves as a warning to guard against the risk. [...] “Stimulated more by a desire to merit the esteem of my friends, and the good opinion of all who wish to maintain strict discipline in the army, than to reap any substantial reward for the labour of my pen, I come forward to offer this my mite for the use of those who may be pleased to cater for the public information, and lay before them some incidents which may have escaped the observation of more distinguished writers....”
Download or read book Marriage and the British Army in the Long Eighteenth Century written by Jennine Hurl-Eamon and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-02-27 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Girl I Left Behind Me addresses a neglected aspect of the history of the Hanoverian army. From 1685 to the beginning of the Victorian era, army administration attempted to discourage marriage among men in almost all ranks. It fostered a misogynist culture of the bachelor soldier who trifled with feminine hearts and avoided responsibility and commitment. The army's policy was unsuccessful in preventing military marriage. By concentrating on the many soldiers' wives who were unable to win permission to live "on the strength" of the regiment (entitled to half-rations) and travel with their husbands, this title explores the phenomenon of soldiers who persisted in defying the army's anti-marriage initiatives. Using evidence gathered from ballads, novels, court and parish records, letters, memoirs, and War Office papers, Jennine Hurl-Eamon shows that both soldiers and their wives exerted continual pressure on the state through evocative appeals to officers and civilians, fuelled by wives' pride in performing their own military "duty" at home. Respectable, companionate couples of all ranks reflect a subculture within the army that recognized the value in Enlightenment femininity. Looking at military marriages within the telescoping contexts of the state, their regimental and civilian communities, and the couples themselves, The Girl I Left Behind Me reveals the range of masculinities beneath the uniform, the positive influence of wives and sweethearts on soldiers' performance of their duties, and the surprising resilience of partnerships severed by war and army anti-marriage policies.
Download or read book Peninsular and Waterloo General written by Marcus de la Poer Beresford and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-05-05 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Denis Pack was one of a phalanx of senior Anglo-Irish officers who served with great distinction in the British army in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, earning a reputation as one of the Duke of Wellington’s most able brigade commanders. Despite his remarkable and varied military career, he hasn’t received the individual attention he deserves, but this omission has now been remedied by Marcus de la Poer Beresford’s full biography. Pack, who was born in 1774, served extensively in Europe as well as in Africa and South America. He was one of the few brigade commanders to serve first with the Portuguese army, and then with Wellington, in the Peninsula, at Quatre Bras, Waterloo and afterwards in the occupation of France. His life was cut short by an early death in 1823, which may have been the result of the many wounds he received in his thirty years as a soldier. This perceptive and meticulously researched study draws on previously unpublished material from archives in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Ireland. It complements other works on notable officers of the period, as Pack served with Cornwallis, Baird, Beresford, Whitelocke, Chatham, Picton, Henry Clinton, and others as well as Wellington. In addition it offers an absorbing portrait of Pack himself and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the many campaigns he took part in and the military life of his day.
Download or read book Highlander written by Tim Newark and published by Constable. This book was released on 2009-10-15 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Highlanders have long been among the most feared soldiers in the world and Tim Newark's book admirably tells their stirring tale. A great read!' Bernard Cornwell On the fields of Waterloo, the deserts of Sudan, the Plains of Abraham and the mountains of Dargai, the trenches of Flanders and the jungles of Burma - the great Highland regiments made their mark. The brave kilted troops with their pipes and drums were legendary, whether leading the charge into the thick of battle or standing fast, the last to leave or fall, fighting against the odds. Acclaimed historian Tim Newark tells the story of the Highlanders through the words of the soldiers themselves, from diaries, letters and journals uncovered from archives in Scotland and around the world. At the Battle of Quebec in 1759, only a few years after their defeat at Culloden, the 78th Highlanders faced down the French guns and turned the battle. At Waterloo, Highlanders memorably fought alongside the Scots Greys against Napoleon's feared Old Guard. In the Crimea, the thin red line stood firm against the charging Russian Hussars and saved the day at Balaclava. Yet the story is also one of betrayal. At Quebec, General Wolfe remarked that, despite the Highlanders' courage, it was 'no great mischief if they fall'. At Dunkirk in May 1940, the 51st Regiment was left to defend the SOE evacuation at St Valery; though following D-Day the Highlanders were at the forefront of the fighting through France. It is all history: over the last decade the historic regiments have been dismantled, despite widespread protest. Praise for The Mafia at War: An engrossing history that reads like a thriller. 'The Godfather' meets 'Band of Brothers'. Andrew Roberts An engrossing account that has the read-on factor of the finest thriller. James Holland Newark tells an extraordinary tale with pace and conviction, and impressively unravels what really happened from the pervasive myths. History Today
Download or read book Women Families and the British Army 1700 1880 Vol 3 written by Jennine Hurl-Eamon and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series concentrates on women and the soldiers in the ranks whose lives they shared, assembling a wide body of evidence of their romantic entanglements and domestic concerns. The new military history of recent decades has demanded a broadening of the source base beyond elite accounts or those that concentrate solely on battlefield experiences. Armies did not operate in isolation, and men’s family ties influenced the course of events in a variety of ways. Campfollowing women and children occupied a liminal space in campaign life. Those who travelled "on the strength" of the army received rations in return for providing services such as laundry and nursing, but they could also be grouped with prostitutes and condemned as a ‘burden’ by officers. Parents, wives, and offspring left behind at home remained in soldiers’ thoughts, despite an army culture aimed at replacing kin with regimental ties. Soldiers’ families’ suffering, both on the march and back in Britain, attracted public attention at key points in this period as well. This series provides, for the first time in one place, a wide body of texts relating to common soldiers’ personal lives: the women with whom they became involved, their children, and the families who cared for them. It brings hitherto unpublished material into print for the first time, and resurrects accounts that have not been in wide circulation since the nineteenth century. The collection combines the observations of officers, government officials and others with memoirs and letters from men in the ranks, and from the women themselves. It draws extensively on press accounts, especially in the nineteenth century. It also demonstrates the value of using literary depictions alongside the letters, diaries, memoirs and war office papers that form the traditional source base of military historians. This third volume includes personal accounts of service in the Napoleonic Wars Era.
Download or read book A Narrative of a Light Company Soldier s Service in the Forty First Regiment of Foot written by Nathan Goold and published by Franklin Classics Trade Press. This book was released on 2018-11-03 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book The Forgotten Highlander written by Alistair Urquhart and published by Little Brown GBR. This book was released on 2010 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urquhart tells a remarkable story of survival during World War II--a Scottish soldier who survived work camps, five days adrift at sea, and the atomic bomb.
Download or read book Reminiscences of Military Service with the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders written by William Munro and published by . This book was released on 1883 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Seaforth Highlanders written by Jim Stockman and published by Hyperion Books. This book was released on 1987 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book MEMOIRS OF THE LATE WAR written by George Augustus Frederick 1st Munster and published by Wentworth Press. This book was released on 2016-08-28 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
