Marching with Sharpe: What it was like to fight in Wellington’s Army - Softcover

Bluth, B. J.

3.8

44 ratings by Goodreads

9780004145372: Marching with Sharpe: What it was like to fight in Wellington’s Army

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0004145372 ISBN 13: 9780004145372

Publisher: Collins, 2003

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Based on original accounts taken from the diaries, journals, and letters of veterans of the British Army from 1808-1815, this is a fascinating reconstruction of what life was really like for a British soldier during the wars against Napoleon.

Created from first-hand written accounts and contemporary military manuals of the time, this remarkable text presents a fascinating insight into the nitty-gritty of everyday life for the British soldier during the Peninsular war and leading up to the Battle of Waterloo.

With photographs of original items of equipment and of modern day re-enactment groups, Marching with Sharpe reveals what it was really like for ordinary soldiers and their camp followers.

Find out how the rifle developed from the musket; what kit the soldiers carried; how they kept dry in the mountains of Spain; what they ate; how the infantry faced charging cavalry and what the battlefield was like after ‘victory’.

Re-enactment is a growing ‘family’ activity, so there were plenty of troops and ‘camp followers’ to help the author illustrate the lives of the men and indeed the women and children who accompanied the regiments on campaign.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Author:

In Marching with Sharpe, the words of the soldiers of the Duke of Wellington's army tell their own story, the soldiers' story. The photographs of re-enactors give it sight.

Patrick O'Brian (The Aubrey/Maturian Series) called the technique "Stitching Passages," where the author combines first hand recollections of participants and eye-witnesses into a coherent tale, forming a bridge to their thoughts, feelings, and experiences -- with their turn of a phrase, lilt in the tone, and complete with every unique twist on the syntax of the English language.

Hopefully, you will feel you are there around the fire after a long, hard day in the Peninsula, getting to know these men who, against all the odds, defeated the might of Napoleonic France; describing in their own terms their joys, their jokes, their fun, their fashions, their food, their feats; the obstacles they overcame, the tragedies of their failures, and ... their victories.

Synopsis:

Created from first-hand written accounts and contemporary military manuals of the time, this text presents an insight into the nitty-gritty of everyday life for the British soldier in wartime leading up to the Battle of Waterloo. It includes photos of original items of equipment and of modern day re-enactment groups, revealing what it was really like for ordinary soldiers and their camp followers. Find out how the rifle developed from the musket; what kit the soldiers carried; how they kept dry in the mountains of Spain; what they ate; how the infantry faced charging cavalry; what the battlefield was like after "victory". Re-enactment is a growing "family" activity, so there were plenty of troops and "camp followers" to help the author illustrate the lives of the men and indeed the women and children who accompanied the regiments on campaign.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.