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This regimental history looks at the 23rd Regiment of Foot, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, during the long years of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars against France, a war that lasted for just over twenty years, and that spread to just about every corner of the planet. During this period the Royal Welch Fusiliers took part in just about every major deployment of the British Army, serving in the West Indies, in the disastrous interventions on mainland Europe (in the 1790s, at Copenhagen and on Walcheren), in Spain and Portugal, where they were involved in most major battles, and finally at Waterloo, ending the war camped outside Paris. As a result this regimental history also serves as a good overview of the British Army's involvement in the wars.
The well written text is supported by a good use of quotes from letters and books written by members of the regiment, along with some useful maps and illustrations and a decent section of higher quality plates. As a result the Fusiliers come alive in a way that is not always the case in regimental histories, making this a very readable account of their actions. The main focus is on the regiment's battles, but we also get a good view of the daily life of the soldiers and their wives and children.
This is a high quality piece of work, and of great value as a regimental history, for students of the British army and for anyone interested in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Chapters
1 - Well behaved and orderly regiment - The Long Years of a Short Peace, 1784-1793
2 - The army was suffering in a most shameful manner - The West Indies, Britain and Europe, 1793-1799
3 - Our men attacked likes wolves - Egypt and Gibraltar, July 1800-June 1803
4 - Where are the men to come from? - 1st Battalion, Britain, Germany and Denmark 1803-1807; 2nd Battalion, Britain 1804-1808
5 - The excellence of the Fusilier Brigade - 1st Battalion, Britain and North America, 1808-1809
6 - At every league dropped hundreds of our comrades - 2nd Battalion, Spain and Walcheren, 1808-1809
7 - The finest brigade in the army -1st Battalion, Nova Scotia, Portugal and Spain, April 1809-May 1811
8 - A glorious day for the fusiliers - 1st Battalion, Spain and Portugal, May-December 1811
9 - We kept up a hot fire on the enemy - 1st Battalion, Portugal and Spain, November 1811-November 1812
10 - We paid Jack Frenchmen in his own coin - 1st Battalion, Portugal and Spain, November 1812-July 1913
11 - My people thought only of fighting - 1st Battalion, Spain and France, July 1813-June 1814
12 - And gentle peace returning - 1st and 2nd Battalion, Britain, June 1814-March 1815
13 - Remember the old times boys, this is their last try - The Waterloo Campaign 1815
14 - The deeds of the good old Fusiliers done due justice - The Fates of Men, a Women and a Regiment, 1815-2010
Author: Donald E. Graves
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 302
Publisher: Frontline
Year: 2010