Wellington’s Despatches & Letters: A Selection from The Peninsular War & Waterloo Campaign, 1808-1815

The military affairs of the great duke in Iberia and Belgium-in his own words

Most people interested in the military career of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington have read accounts of his campaigns. He was one of the most renowned of British military men in history, not least because it was he who brought about the ruin the man whose name came to define an epoch; Napoleon Bonaparte. Many students have also read well-regarded biographies of Wellington’s life. However, it is always intriguing to read what the subject himself wrote about the various affairs and incidents that constituted his long and eventful career as a commander of men in battle. The pursuit of that information will inevitably bring the curious reader to the tomes that contain Wellington’s volumes of personal despatches. The principal author of this work, who undertook the task of discovering their most interesting entries, was a regarded popular historian of his day and within his original work he encompassed the Duke’s entire military career. Whilst a fraction of the original whole, Wood’s book was still a sizeable volume, covering several theatres of operations. This Leonaur edition, by way of contrast, confines itself to selections from possibly the most engrossing aspects of Wellington’s time as a great commander; the Peninsular War in Portugal and Spain and the subsequent Waterloo campaign in Belgium. Although Wood wrote an introduction to the Peninsular War period, he did not include one for the Campaign of 1815- here provided by historian Charles Walker Robinson.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.