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A rare eyewitness account of a British infantry officer with Wellington
This book is a first rate eyewitness narrative of the Peninsular War written by a regimental officer of the British Army. In 1807 Charles Leslie made his way to Iberia to serve with his regiment-H. M. 29th Foot (the Worcestershire Regiment)-and begin a life of campaigning against Napoleon's invading French Army. Travelling via Gibraltar and Cadiz, his first experience of the battlefield came at Rolica in 1808, followed by the Battle of Vimieiro. After a skirmish at Grijo the regiment crossed the Douro into Portugal. Return to Spanish soil saw Leslie engaged in the Battle of Talavera where the 29th performed brilliantly charging uphill and displacing the French; Leslie was wounded in the leg in this action. The regiment went on to fight in the bloody affair that was the Battle of Albuera in 1811 and Leslie's account of it makes riveting reading. As Wellington gained the advantage in Spain, the 29th joined him in his drive across the Pyrenees into the South of France and the battles that led to the abdication of the French emperor in 1814. In 1813 Leslie transferred to the 60th Rifles, and after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars served in Canada. This episode of Leslie's career up to 1832-together with a small section of anecdotes-concludes a highly interesting memoir. This essential volume, originally published in 1897 and rare on the antiquarian market, enhances the Leonaur collection of books on the military history of the Napoleonic era and will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of any student of the period.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.
