Peninsular Eyewitnesses

Peninsular Eyewitnesses PDF Author: Charles Esdaile
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473817153
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
Many books have been written about the British struggle against Napoleon in the Peninsula. A few recent studies have given a broader view of the ebb and flow of a long war that had a shattering impact on Spain and Portugal and marked the history of all the nations involved. But none of these books has concentrated on how these momentous events were perceived and understood by the people who experienced them. Charles Esdaile has brought together a vivid selection of contemporary accounts of every aspect of the war to create a panoramic yet minutely detailed picture of those years of turmoil. The story is told through memoirs, letters and eyewitness testimony from all sides. Instead of generals and statesmen, we mostly hear from less-well-known figures - junior officers and ordinary soldiers and civilians who recorded their immediate experience of the conflict.

Peninsular Eyewitnesses

Peninsular Eyewitnesses PDF Author: Charles Esdaile
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473817153
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 612

Get Book Here

Book Description
Many books have been written about the British struggle against Napoleon in the Peninsula. A few recent studies have given a broader view of the ebb and flow of a long war that had a shattering impact on Spain and Portugal and marked the history of all the nations involved. But none of these books has concentrated on how these momentous events were perceived and understood by the people who experienced them. Charles Esdaile has brought together a vivid selection of contemporary accounts of every aspect of the war to create a panoramic yet minutely detailed picture of those years of turmoil. The story is told through memoirs, letters and eyewitness testimony from all sides. Instead of generals and statesmen, we mostly hear from less-well-known figures - junior officers and ordinary soldiers and civilians who recorded their immediate experience of the conflict.

Eyewitness to the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo

Eyewitness to the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo PDF Author: Gareth Glover
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844684423
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
The journals of the Honourable James Stanhope are among the most remarkable eyewitness accounts of the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo, and yet they have never been published before. The long fight against the French in Portugal and Spain, the campaign in Holland, then the Battle of Waterloo James Stanhope lived through all these extraordinary events and recorded them in vivid detail.Stanhope served as an aide de camp to the major commanders of the day Wellington, General Graham, Lord Paget, the Duke of York among them. And he described his experiences and observations in a lucid and candid prose that makes his journals of great historical value and of compelling interest to us today. His writing gives a graphic inside view of the military and political situation of the time as it was perceived at the top levels of the British army, and he depicts the daily experience of campaigning during the Napoleonic Wars in an unforgettable way.

Sword Over Richmond

Sword Over Richmond PDF Author: Richard Wheeler
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780060920678
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description


Peninsular and Waterloo General

Peninsular and Waterloo General PDF Author: Marcus de la Poer Beresford
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 139908321X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
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.

Eighteen Hundred and Eleven

Eighteen Hundred and Eleven PDF Author: E. J. Clery
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108101429
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
In 1811 England was on the brink of economic collapse and revolution. The veteran poet and campaigner Anna Letitia Barbauld published a prophecy of the British nation reduced to ruins by its refusal to end the interminable war with France, titled Eighteen Hundred and Eleven. Combining ground-breaking historical research with incisive textual analysis, this new study dispels the myth surrounding the hostile reception of the poem and takes a striking episode in Romantic-era culture as the basis for exploring poetry as a medium of political protest. Clery examines the issues at stake, from the nature of patriotism to the threat to public credit, and throws new light on the views and activities of a wide range of writers, including radical, loyalist and dissenting journalists, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, and Barbauld herself. Putting a woman writer at the centre of the enquiry opens up a revised perspective on the politics of Romanticism.

The Battle of Barrosa

The Battle of Barrosa PDF Author: John Grehan
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1629140732
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
By the winter of 1810–11, the armies of Napoleon had overrun most of Spain and Joseph Bonaparte sat on the throne in Madrid. But the Spanish Government had found refuge in the fortress-port of Cadiz and the Spaniards refused to admit that they had been conquered. With a British army under Sir Thomas Graham helping to defend Cadiz, the Spanish cause seemed certain to prevail. But then the Spaniards wanted to throw Graham’s force into a reckless battle against the French. If the battle was won, the siege of Cadiz would be lifted; if the battle was lost Cadiz would be rendered defenseless and the Spanish government left at the mercy of the invaders. The opposing forces met on the heights of Barossa in one of the most savage encounters of the Peninsular War. At stake was the very survival of the Spanish nation and the future course of the war against Napoleon. The Battle of Barossa is the first book to examine this crucial campaign in detail and to reveal its true historical importance. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Albuera Eyewitness

Albuera Eyewitness PDF Author: Guy Dempsey
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1399066447
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
On 16 May 1811, the small town of Albuera was the setting for one of the Peninsular War’s most bloody and desperate battles. A combined Spanish, British and Portuguese force of more than 30,000 men, under the command of Lord Beresford, stubbornly blocked the march of the French field marshal Soult, who was trying to reach the fortress of Badajoz, twelve miles to the north. However, after suffering losses of up to 7,000 men during the fighting, Wellington declared that, ‘Another such battle will ruin us’. One British regiment, the 57th Foot, suffered casualties of more than 50 per cent. Similarly, the French fought with enormous tenacity, and sustained almost equally heavy losses. The stories from those who fought in the battle on both sides make for both chilling and inspiring reading. These contemporaneous accounts include letters, diaries, official correspondence, army records, maps, newspaper reports and memoirs totaling over 100 contemporary accounts of the battle. They range from the comprehensive after-action reports of the British, Portuguese, Spanish and French commanders to casualty and prisoner lists and to recollections of individual soldiers from all the combatant armies. The purpose of this book is to tell the story of the battle exclusively by way of these primary sources, with English translations for foreign language sources, along with, in each case, a commentary identifying the source and its context. The heart of the work will be a vast number of first-hand accounts providing astonishing details of the intense fighting including the heroism of the Spanish troops, the massacre of Colborne’s brigade by Polish lancers, Beresford’s near-fatal indecisiveness, and the heroic charge of the Fusilier brigade. This presentation allows readers avid for detailed historical information to draw their own conclusions about how the events of the battle unfolded.

The Hunt for Moore's Gold

The Hunt for Moore's Gold PDF Author: John Grehan
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526730545
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
The author of The Charge of the Light Brigade examines the history behind a treasure of military gold that disappeared during the Peninsula War. History abounds with unresolved puzzles and unanswered questions, none more so than that of the loss of the British Army’s military chest during the retreat to Corunna in 1809. Now, with a group of fellow historians, the author set off to search the archives and the mountains of Galicia in a bid to find Moore’s gold. Sir John Moore’s small force had dared to attack Marshal Soult’s II Corps isolated in the north of Spain. But before Moore could pounce on the unsuspecting French corps, he learned that the Emperor Napoleon, at the head of an overwhelming body of troops, was bearing down on the British force, hoping to cut it off from the sea and its only avenue of escape. A desperate race for the coast then began, with the French hard on Moore’s heels. In subzero temperatures, the troops were driven on through the snow-clad Galician mountains at a punishing pace. As the men trudged on in deteriorating conditions, the bullocks pulling the army’s military chest could no longer keep up. So, in order to prevent the money from falling into enemy hands, the entire military chest was thrown down a deep ravine. What then happened to all those dollars and doubloons? Some were snatched up by the pursuing French cavalry. Some, also, were retrieved by British soldiers who intentionally lagged behind, though their greed cost them their lives on the end of a French bayonet. But what of the rest of the money?

Burgos in the Peninsular War, 1808-1814

Burgos in the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 PDF Author: C. Esdaile
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 113743290X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
For a full month in the autumn of 1812 the 2,000-strong garrison of the fortress the French had constructed to overawe the city of Burgos defied the Duke of Wellington. In this work a leading historian of the Peninsular teams up with a leading conflict archaeologist to examine the reasons for Wellington's failure.

Eyewitness Alaska

Eyewitness Alaska PDF Author: DK Eyewitness
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0744070066
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
Epic landscapes, abundant wildlife and unforgettable adventures - welcome to Alaska. Whether you want to be awed by its jaw-dropping scenery, spend time in the national parks, or learn about the rich historical roots of native culture, your DK Eyewitness travel guide makes sure you experience all that Alaska has to offer. Alaska is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. This vast state is chock-full of national parks and public lands, all ripe for adventure. What's more, every region has its own distinct terrain: roam barren tundra in the Arctic, lush rainforests in the southeast and craggy peaks in the Interior. But towns and cities dazzle, too. Top restaurants and Gold Rush history abound in the state capital Juneau, while Ketchikan, home to the world's largest display of totem poles, is the place to be for native history and culture. Our updated guide brings Alaska to life, transporting you there like no other travel guide does with expert-led insights, trusted travel advice, detailed breakdowns of all the must-see sights, photographs on practically every page, and our hand-drawn illustrations which place you inside the state's iconic buildings and neighbourhoods. We've also worked hard to make sure our information is as up-to-date as possible following the COVID-19 outbreak. You'll discover: - our pick of Alaska's must-sees, top experiences and hidden gems - the best spots to eat, drink, shop and stay - detailed maps and walks which make navigating the state easy - easy-to-follow itineraries - expert advice: get ready, get around and stay safe - colour-coded chapters to every part of Alaska, from Anchorage to The Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound to Arctic and Western Alaska Touring the states? Check out our DK Eyewitness USA