The Recollections of Rifleman Harris: A British Soldier in the Napoleonic Wars (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor) - Softcover

Harris, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486836037 ISBN 13: 9780486836034

Publisher: Dover Publications Inc, 2019

Synopsis

Accounts by officers of the Napoleonic era abound, but this book presents a rare glimpse into the life of a common foot soldier. British rifleman Benjamin Randell Harris recounts the camaraderie among infantrymen, the physical hardships they endured, their lack of supplies and equipment, their endemic drunkenness and frequent hunger, the terrible punishments meted out for even small infractions, and the narrow margin between death and survival.

About this title

About the Author

Benjamin Randell Harris (1781-1858) was a rifleman in the English army, fighting against Napoleon in the European wars that culminated with Napoleon's loss at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. By the time of Waterloo, Harris had endured many campaigns and had been forced by illness to leave the Army and return to England to ply his trade as a shoemaker. He had joined the 95th Regiment of Foot in 1803, serving first in Denmark and then in 1808-09 in Portugal and Spain. Back in England, Harris encountered a former British Army officer and prolific novelist named Henry Curling (1803-64), who recorded Harris' memories of his life as a soldier and created this unique text from those accounts.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dover Publications Inc
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0486836037
• ISBN 13: 9780486836034
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144