A History Of The British Army Vol 8

Excerpt from A History of the British Army, Vol. 8: 1811 1812 When happier days shall come, I hope to publish my Ninth Volume as speedi as possible. Indeed, though it be a bold thing to say in a man who has undertaken to write a history of the present war, I do not despair, if life and health be granted to me, of completing my History of the British rmy, if not to the year 1870, as I had originally proposed, at least to the death of the Duke Of Wellington in 18 52. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

Sir John Fortescue holds a pre-eminent place amongst British military historians, his enduring fame and legacy resting mainly on his life’s work “The History of the British Army”, According to Professor Brian Bond, the work was “the product of indefatigable research in original documents, a determination to present a clear, accurate, and readable narrative of military operations, and a close personal knowledge of the battlefields, which enabled him to elucidate his account with excellent maps. Most important, however, was his motivation: namely, a lifelong affection for the old, long-service, pre-Cardwell army, the spirit of the regiments of which it largely consisted, and the value of its traditions to the nation. An important part of his task was to distil and inculcate these soldierly virtues which, in his conservative view, contrasted sharply with the unedifying character of politicians who habitually meddled in military matters.” ODNB. This third volume covers the period from 1763-1793, the European Powersfought each other via proxy but great vigour in North America and India. The British Army would have great success in India under military leaders of the calibre of Abercromby, Cornwallis and Warren Hastings. however the loss of the American Revolutionary War, gained for the Americans their Independence and the British troops, hamstrung by political foolishness, a humbling defeat. TIMES.—"Whatever Mr. Fortescue may do in the future, he has already, in his first three volumes, produced one of the most important military works in the English language. It is sincerely to be hoped that they will be read as widely as they deserve to be." ARMY AND NAVY GAZETTE.—"The Hon. J. W. Fortescue is greatly to be congratulated upon the third volume of his very important History of the British Army....With the publication of this book the British Army is gaining a complete history really worthy of the name." A MUST READ for any military enthusiast.

Reproduction of the original: A History of the British Army by J.W Fortescue

History of the British Army is an exhaustive military study which gives a comprehensive coverage of the English military situation from the beginning until the late 18th century and the formation of the New Model Army. Starting from the 11th century and the Battle of Hastings the author comprises six centuries of British history endeavoring to point out occurrences and incident that were essential to a coherent sketch of the growth of the British military system. One of the goals of the work was to correct the injustice of numerous political histories which have the Army, Navy, and the whole question of National Defense left out of account.