Letters from Portugal, Spain, & France: written during the campaigns of 1812, 1813, & 1814

After studying at St. George’s Hospital, the author was appointed assistant surgeon of the 2nd Life Guards and placed in charge of the service squadron’s that were to be posted to the Peninsular in 1812. His life in the army was to be much different from the sinecure of London life and his account book presents a very personal view of his campaigning experiences on the march from Lisbon to Boulogne during the Peninsular War against Napoleonic France. The letters contain fascinating details not often found in memoirs concerning this campaign, including descriptions of the local diet and portrayals of contemporary society, festivals, and customs, as well as recording the particulars of the military actions in which the author was engaged. From the balls and dinner-parties in Lisbon via the discomforts of campaign to the splendours of Paris, this is an engaging and elegant narrative of a tumultuous period in European history.
Author —S. D. Broughton (1787–1837)
Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1815.
Original Page Count – vi and 412 pages.