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Volume: 1Publisher: London, New York : G. RoutledgeSubjects: Peninsular War, 1807-1814Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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Volume: 3Publisher: London, New York : G. RoutledgeSubjects: Peninsular War, 1807-1814Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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MORE ENGAGING THAN A NOVEL - A CAVALRYMAN'S LIFEIN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS AND BATTLES FOR INDIA.Trooper Farmer's military career was packed with adventure andincident.Through his words the reader experiences life in the British Light Cavalry on campaign in Spain against the French.During one sharp action Farmer is taken prisoner and we follow him through captivity until his release at the First Restoration.Napoleon's return puts him back in the saddle once again to go to war on the bloody field of Waterloo.Although he had already experienced enough action for a lifetime Farmer was then dispatched to India to play his part in the early days of the conquest of the sub-continent. A gripping military memoir! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Lively if superficial treatment of the material issues.
Finley combines an essay format with accessible, reader-friendly language and clear, well organized points in which the most important are further embellished with choice quotes, neatly capturing both the main thrust of his material and something of the flavor of the era and its protagonists.
Reference notes blissfully follow each essay chapter.
Also in Finley's favor is his ability to immediately characterize vastly different personalities, from the rigid Reynier, the corrupt and vain Massena, to the absurd royal couple, Ferdinand and Maria Carolina Bourbon.
Finley accomplishes this feat by gleaningbits from his excellent sources, many of which are far superior, in scope and detail, to Finley's own book.

Herein lies the reason for this reviewer's criticism: Finley's breezy and adept writing style could have accommodated the additional text needed to develop a fuller reading of all the pertinent political and military factors that made Calabria the "ulcer" of not only foreign military domination but even for King Murat's long-held desire for Italian unification.
This last observation is itself a critical indicator that Finley's resources, such as R.M.Johnston's extraordinary history of the Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy, and the eight volume (not ten volume as cited in bibliography) compilation ofMurat's letters, deserved a more astute discussion concerning Napoleon's most mischaracterize associate.
The reader, upon seeing thehopeful sign that Murat's "Lettres" have been included, may be forgiven their subsequent disappointmentthat yet again a scholarsuccumbs to the disease of academic gullibility, an all too crowded, and international, sickroom as it is.
Any understanding of thisCalabrian misery and Italian vulnerability, in which their rights to autonomy would be abused by the likes of a Metternich for decades to come, is dependent upon a legitimate analysis of the dauntingly complex personal and public relationship between Emperor Napoleon and King Murat.
To this end, Finley's reader is advised to put aside this brief collection of essays for the Johnston book, the Murat "Lettres;" also see Cmmdr.Weil's publication of additional correspondence and material on Murat.

If it is any consolation to Finley, this reviewer considers the efforts of exceedingly gullible French historians to be patently embarrassing; they werethe first tofall prey to theidiocies contained in the now sacred tomes of certain"memoiristes."
Beth E.K.William ... Read more

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Unabridged and Unedited-Kincaid's experiences with the famous Rifles

John Kincaid's recollections of his time soldiering under Wellington with the famous green coated riflemen of the 95th are perhaps the most famous accounts by an officer of this corps d'elite on campaign against Napoleon's French Army during the Peninsular War and in the Campaign of 1815 as the Emperor was finally brought to account at Waterloo. His first book, Adventures was well received in his own time which led him-by public demand as it were-to produce a sequel, Random Shots. Both are included in this special Leonaur edition in their full original texts-unlike some editions of Kincaid's works. Kincaid was a personable character, full of fun and well liked by his brother officers of the 95th. Predictably his likeable personality shines through his recollections providing a clear justification for their appeal and popularity. For the historian, Kincaid was, of course the consummate rifleman and his soldiering took him on campaign and onto many of the battlefields of the Peninsular War, over the Pyrenees and into Southern France. His descriptions of the 95th in action are invaluable as his Waterloo memoir. This is a bumper helping of 'Rifleman Green' for every enthusiast to enjoy. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1910.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Presented here for the first time in this important and ground breaking work are more than 600 detailed biographies of the senior Russian officers who commanded troops in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. ... Read more

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In this fascinating study, Mike Broers explores the intense cultural conflict created by French rule in Italy at the start of the nineteenth century. ... Read more

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A unique and exceptional account of the British Army on campaign against Napoleon

Most British military memoirs of the Napoleonic period focus, understandably, on the actions of Wellington's army as it fought through the Iberian peninsula during the bloody struggle to expel the French from Portugal and Spain. Morris's important memoir is somewhat different. He elected to join his elder brother in the second battalion of the 73rd regiment of foot and found himself on board ship bound for Sweden. Campaigning and battles against the French in close co-operation with the Northern European Allies followed as he marched with his regiment through Germany, taking part in the actions which led to the Emperor's great reverse at Leipzig. As the First Empire recoiled in its final days before the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, Morris took part in the last actions as the French Army was pushed from the Low Countries after which they remained there in garrison. So it was that the 73rd were literally 'on the spot' when Napoleon slipped away from his exile on Elba and began his fateful march towards the apocalyptic battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo in 1815. Morris's accounts of the famous events of --perhaps-the world's most famous battles have become classic and often quoted descriptions of these great conflicts. They are here in their entirety, together with Morris's complete military memoir making this book an essential addition to any Napoleonic history library. ... Read more

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SURTEES OF THE 95TH RIFLES - FROM REDCOAT TO RIFLE GREENIn more ways than any other writer from the ranks of the 95th, William Surtees' story most closely resembles that of fiction's most famous Rifleman. Surtees actually came from a humble background and served in the ranks. He was not born a gentleman but had to approximate one at a time of huge class distinctions. Surtees rose to the rank of Quartermaster. Through his tone we feel the difficulties of living with those of higher station, but through his words we alsoexperience life on campaign from the viewpoint of a soldier who couldn't resist picking up a rifle for a 'pot' at the French. An essential perspective on life in the Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1920.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Stories of surgeons battling against contagion, infection, and bleeding, often operating in appalling conditions, and achieving some remarkable results

Based on the author's exhaustive research, this is the first dedicated account of surgery during the Napoleonic Wars, before anaesthetic and antiseptic. Includes background and nature of the patients, the experience of wounding, and the training of surgeons, with extensive and many unique illustrations.

... Read more

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"... sparkles with wit, intelligence and bold characterization." -- Women's Review of Books

"... a ripping yarn... admirable translation... sensitive introductory essay." -- Times Literary Supplement

"... a remarkable journal worthy of the attention of a wide audience." -- Doris Grumbach, National Public Radio

In male guise, Nadezhda Durova served ten years in the Russian cavalry. The Cavalry Maiden is a lively narrative which appeals in our own time as a unique and gripping contribution to the literature of female experience.

Customer Reviews (1)

Rare Memoir of a Female Soldier
Very few of the historical women who disguised themselves as men to become soldiers have told their adventures in their own words.Nadezhda Durova was a minor noblewoman who spent seven years in the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic wars and earned the distinguished cross of St. George.Years later a chance meeting introduced her to Pushkin, who read her service journals and encouraged her to publish with the praise, "Charming!Vivid, original, beautiful style."

A key moment in Durova's life happens during infancy.Her father, an army officer, brings his family to camp.Shocked to see his wife abusing the baby girl, he keeps Nadezhda with the regiment and orders his soldiers to raise her.Soon her favorite toy is an unloaded gun.

After her father's retirement, when Napoleon's ambitions turn to Eastern Europe, Durova needs little excuse to run away on her horse and join the army.She reaches the front just in time for the disastrous Prussian campaign.Her worried family asks friends to seek her whereabouts.Soon rumors of an amazon reach the tsar.

Durova has little praise for her own performance at the front. In a fit of exhaustion she even sleeps through a town's evacuation.Her superiors give better reports that result in a decoration from the tsar for saving the life of an officer during battle.During a direct interview Alexander I allows her to remain in the army using his name as a pseudonym.He then places her in an elite unit.

Life in the hussars is less than ideal.Unable to grow the Russian officer's expected mustache, Durova gets passed over for promotion by superiors who think she is a boy. Not everyone considers this a disadvantage-particularly the colonel's infatuated daughter.Durova's talent for amusing anecdotes shines as she describes how she extracts herself from this predicament.

Durova sees action again during the 1812 campaign.Wounded in the battle of Borodino outside Moscow, she has the good fortune to go home before Napoleon's death march retreat.

This narrative has both the freshness and the failings of journal writing.Pushkin appears to have lent some editorial assistance.Individual episodes shine but frequent interruptions disturb the flow.Readers are advised to consider that Durova is a creature of her era, occasionally exhibiting prejudices not accepted in the present age.

Although famous in her native Russia, Durova is little known to the English speaking world.Mary Fleming Zirin's translation brings an original story to a new audience.This volume reproduces the entire memoir with additional documentary evidence of Durova's military career and a well-researched introduction. ... Read more

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This book presents ten selections from the most important scholarship on the French Revolution over the past quarter century, introduced and contextualized for student readers.

Historians typically categorize the historiography of the French Revolution according to each author's approval or disapproval of the Revolution, political agenda (for example Marxist, liberal, conservative, or feminist), or methodology (for example social, political, or cultural history). This book demonstrates the inadequacy of these categories of analysis for a nuanced understanding of the Revolution and emphasizes the surprising connections between historians typically seen simply as opponents in a debate. In its thorough introduction, The French Revolution: The Essential Readings demonstrates the success of an eclectic, interdisciplinary approach to this central period in modern European history and the larger relevance of the historiography to the humanities more generally. ... Read more

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Horses in Warfare. Saddle, Stirrup, Horse Artillery, History of the Horse in South Asia, Horses in East Asian warfare, Horses in the Middle Ages, Horses in the Napoleonic Wars, American Indian Wars, Cavalry (United States), Cavalry in the American Civil War, Cavalry, Horses in World War I, Horses in World War II, Mounted Police, Mounted Search and Rescue ... Read more

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* 5 x 9
* An eyewitness account of the campaigns of the Peninsular War
* The colorful adventures of a German soldier in the British Army

This remarkable memoir captures the life and adventures of a junior officer as he endures the drama and agonies of the fierce struggle in Spain, Portugal, and southern France between 1808 and 1814. As a commissary, he was entrusted with gathering supplies and was caught up in a host of brawls and skirmishes. He laments the lot of commissaries exposing themselves to the enemy on their foraging raids, risking assassination by enraged natives, and being treated shabbily by the generals. This edition is introduced by Bernard Cornwell, author of the Sharpe series of novels.

A. F. L. Schaumann enlisted in the King's German Legion and fought throughout the Napoleonic Wars, retiring from active service in 1816. He died in 1840. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Adventures in Portugal and Spain
A.L.F. Schaumann's "On the Road with Wellington" is a delightful memoir of his service as a deputy assistant commissary officer during the Peninsular War.Schaumann's duties as a civilian supply officer for various units took him everywhere the Anglo-Portuguese Army went on campaign during the period 1808-1812.As a non-combatant, Schaumann's story focuses on the mundane tasks required to keep an army quartered and fed, but his eye for detail captures vignettes of the soldiers and civilians with whom he dealt.His gift for narrative provides the reader with a strong of sense of what it was like to be on campaign in that era.His account of the retreat of the British Army under Sir John Moore to Corunna under horrendous conditions in the winter of 1808-1809 is particularly vivid (and heartbreaking).

This is not a battlefield account, although Schaumann was close enough to the fighting to pass on some accounts of battles.Nor is this in any sense a history of the Peninsular War.Strategy and politics are played out well above Schaumann's head, and even Wellington is glimpsed only in passing.The average reader will sometimes be dependent on the footnotes to understand what is happening in the larger war.What Schaumann does provide is the human level detail that makes such a distant conflict real for the modern reader.It is no wonder that writers such as Bernard Cornwell of the Sharps series happily mined Schaumann's memoir for material.Cornwell provides an introduction to complement the translater's preface and the author's own introduction, all well worth reading for the context of Schaumann's story.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Peninsular War.It may also be of interest to the casual reader with some background in the Napoleonic Wars.

Baron Munchausen & the Iron Duke
Greenhill Books has done students of the Peninsular War a great favor with this addition to their Napoleonic Library. August Schaumann, a 30-year old Hanoverian served as a commissary for the King's German Legion, paints an incredible picture of Britain's war in Iberia while maintaining a running travelog with wry humor and succint observations. Whether describing the horrendous retreat to Corunna, his cook (the Witch of Endor), the small kissable feet of a young lady, or the peculiarities of the English, French, Spainish and Portugese his insightful pen entertains and educates without stopping. His small book will make you roar with laughter and sigh sadly at man's inhumanity to man. ... Read more

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Presented here for the first time in any language are more than 600 detailed biographies of the senior Russian officers who commanded troops in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic WarsThis amazing study, which spans the critical years of 1795 to 1815, is based upon years of research in a wide variety of Russian and European archives. It includes several introductory chapters on the organization, training, and other aspects of the officer corps. This book will be of tremendous use to historians, scholars, hobbyists, wargamers, and anyone working or studying late 18th and early 19th-century European history.

Alexander Mikaberidze holds a law degree from the Republic of Georgia and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University. He works at the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at FSU and serves as president of the Napoleonic Society of Georgia. In addition to numerous articles, his publications include a Napoleon biography in Georgian, two volumes on the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812, and the forthcoming Lion of the Russian Army: Life and Career of General Peter Bagration (University of Oklahoma Press). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Top notch reference source
If you have any interest in learning about russian officers who fought with Napoleon, run to get this book. I needed to learn more about some of these guys, and for one of them I could not find the info anywhere else and he was here, sooo happy.

The first liberators
This is a book about a very unique officer corps written using a wealth of research not seen on the subject before. Far more then just a dictionary of names, it seeks to give something of a feel for what it was that eventually led the Imperial Russian Army of Tzar Alexander 1st (the Blessed) to eventually enter Paris in 1814. For the first time it becomes evident that the Russian officer corps was far from lacking in sophistication, and far less xenophobic then is often supposed. The many foreign officers who served in its ranks attest to the fact that almost anyone was accepted if they could show good will and contribute skill to the evolving force which was at the time but a century into its modern history after Peter the Great's reforms.
Apparently due to publisher's editing the bibliography was greatly reduced, but this takes nothing away from the contents. Anyone who wants to understand the leadership that made the Russian Army of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars must have this volume on their bookshelf.

The Unknown Soldiers
With but a handful of exceptions, the Russian officer corps is the least known of those who served and led in the wars of the Napoleonic era.While careful readers and hobbyists might be able to name most of Napoleon's marshals, they might be hard-pressed to identify even a fraction of as many Russian generals.Georges Six's Dictionnaire of French officers or Mullié's Biographie of early nineteenth century military men, as well as any number of English-language reference tools on the Napoleonic era military have been available to students of history, but no comparable biographical work on the Russian militaryhas been available to the non-Russophone reader.The Russian language, the Cyrillic alphabet and the relative unavailability of Russian sources has presented a barrier to those seeking more information on the Russians who fought Napoleon's armies.

Dr. Mikaberidze has written what will undoubtedly be the essential work of reference on the Russian officer corps. He begins with an overview of the Russian officer corps, giving a brief history from its beginnings under Peter the Great through to the Napoleonic era. We learn how Russia's military was trained, as well as the cultural milieu of the officer corps.Mikaberidze manages to pack a great deal of information into this introduction, supplementing the text with numerous tables and graphs.Included is a discussion of the ranks in the Russian military, with a number of tables marking their evolution over time.Finally Russian military orders are detailed with illustrations of their use.

Dr. Alexander Mikaberidze, an assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University, holds a law degree from the Republic of Georgia and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University, where he was a member of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution. He serves as president of the Napoleonic Society of Georgia. Mikaberidze is also the author of the forthcoming Lion of the Russian Army: Life and Career of General Peter Bagration.

The Russian officer corps was made up almost exclusively of nobles (86.5 % in 1812), and many had entered the service at the age of sixteen or younger (nearly 500 of the officers serving in 1812 were sixteen or younger at their enlistment-13 had been five years of age or younger).Promotion for the nobility could be relatively quick if the officer had the right connections, while soldiers from the ranks might have to wait a quarter of a century to advance from the ranks of NCOs to commission officer status.

The meat of the books is the 800 biographies of Russian officers who fought against the French, Turks, Swedes, and Russia's other enemies during "our" era (naval officers are included as well).These biographies generally include dates of birth and death, family and educational history, military and civil service including notable battles and events, promotions and awards (including foreign orders) as well as other details of the subject's professional history. More than half the biographies are accompanied by black-and-white portraits.The biographies are arranged alphabetically, in an attractive double-column format.Individual entries run from a single paragraph to a couple of pages.

Dr. Mikaberidze has consulted a small library of archival, primary and secondary sources in compiling this unique and solid dictionary. These biographies will be a boon for historians wishing to distinguish, for instance, officers of the same surnames who are frequently identified by numbers (Mikaberidze points out that there were eighteen officers named Grekov, of whom six are detailed here).The volume also includes foreign-born officers serving in the Russian service, including British, Irish, German, Austrian, Polish, Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, Danish Dutch, Serb, and Armenian officers in the Russian military, demonstrating the cosmopolitan nature of war in the Napoleonic era.

Attractively produced, well-bound (though it will undoubtedly get heavy use), this work should be in libraries everyone with a keen interest in the Napoleonic wars and Russian history.The Russian Officer Corps is certain to be a standard reference source for years to come. Though I can't recommend this book more highly, I would have liked to have seen an index.An index, for example, would have allowed the reader the reader to locate all the officers who participated in a particular battle.A glossary of Russian military terms might also have been useful.

Consumate reference material for Napoleonic buffs
Name any Russian staff officer of the Napoleonic Wars and he's almost certain to be in here. You get a full treatment for each officer with their medals and awards and a brief social and military history. I haven't yet found an officer I wanted to look up not listed in this comprehensive guide.
An essential work of reference for all scholars of Russian Napoleonic history and also for fanatical followers of the Emperor who want to know more about their adversaries.

The Russian Juggernaut
This superb volume is a must for any student of the Napoleonic Wars whether or not you are interested in the Russian Army, its campaigns, its organization and equipment.Books such as these, at the level of scholarship with which it is written, seldom come along.In short, this volume is indispensable for any student, enthusiast, or historian of the period.

The author has compiled an unrivaled source of material on the Russian officer corps of the period and in doing so has written biographical data on hundreds of Russian officers, many having a portrait of the officer concerned with the biography.

The volume is thoroughly sourced and documented, and the endnotes, where appropriate, are most helpful.The foreward for the volume is by Don Horward, one of the best Napoleonic historians in the United States and in the Napoleonic community as a whole.His endorsement of this fine effort speaks volumes for its accuracy and worth.

The best portion of the book, however, is the excellent opening chapter on the history of the Russian Officer Corps.It is chock full of data, tables, and information that covers the Russians officer corps from 'muzzle to butt plate.'It is the most valuable portion of the book and a great introduction to the biographies.

Seldom does one come across a book of this value, scholarship, and scope.It is the definitive volume for the subject in English, and the author and publisher have done all of us a great service in presenting this outstanding volume to the public. ... Read more