WITH WELLINGTON’S OUTPOSTS The Peninsular and Waterloo Letters of John Vandeleur

The author has done a quite outstanding job of editing and footnoting this rare memoir.
John Vandeleur’s letters home to his mother are a lively and engaging account of active service during the Napoleonic Wars, recounting everything from day-to-day life on campaign to the experience of pitched battle at Vitoria and Waterloo.
As first a light infantryman and then a light cavalryman, Vandeleur was frequently on the outposts of Wellington’s forces. He was in frequent contact with the French and often obliged to live a rough-and-ready lifestyle as a result. The conditions that he endured, and the camaraderie that sustained him, are vividly recounted in this fascinating collection – previously only available in an extremely rare private publication over a century ago.
Expertly edited and enhanced with contemporary documents and a commentary by Andrew Bamford, this is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the Peninsular War and the Waterloo campaign.