Robert Craufurd: The Man and the Myth: The Life and Times of Wellington's Wayward Martinet

by Ian Fletcher

Overview

To most students of the Peninsular War the name Robert Craufurd evokes images of a battle-hardened martinet, flogging his men across Portugal and Spain, driving them hard and generally taking a tough stance against anything and everything that did not meet with his own strict disciplinarian code.

But that is only a partial picture of this most complex character, and it is the other side of Craufurd’s personality that is revealed in this, the first full-length biography to be written in the last hundred years. Craufurd’s letters to his wife are published here for the first time, and they show that he was a far more interesting and varied man in his private life than he appeared to be on campaign.

Ian Fletcher follows Craufurd’s controversial career from India, Ireland and South America to the Iberian Peninsula where he achieved immortality as one of Wellington’s finest generals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526775191
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	05/25/2021
Pages:	616
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ian Fletcher is a Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society and a leading authority on the Peninsular War and Wellington’s army. Born in London in 1957, his first book, In Hell Before Daylight, was published in 1984, since when he has written or edited twenty-four others, including Galloping at Everything, The Crimean War: A Clash of Empires, and Wellington’s Regiments. He worked on the BBC’s Decisive Weapons series, the History Channel’s Line of Fire and Sharpe's War series and Channel 4's series Revolutionary Armies. He has also appeared on Russian and Ukrainian television as part of an award-winning 4-part documentary series on the Crimean War.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

List of Maps ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 First Steps 7

Chapter 2 Monsoon 18

Chapter 3 The Austrian Mission 37

Chapter 4 Rebels 55

Chapter 5 Fanny 81

Chapter 6 In the Wilderness 99

Chapter 7 A Little Madness 123

Chapter 8 A Bad Situation 143

Chapter 9 Waters of Oblivion 168

Chapter 10 The Bubble Bursts 179

Chapter 11 Hard Toil and Long Miles 198

Chapter 12 Standing Orders 224

Chapter 13 Under Scorching Rays 241

Chapter 14 A Fortunate and Favoured Brigadier 262

Chapter 15 Lull Before the Storm 286

Chapter 16 The Strong Demon 307

Chapter 17 Overwhelmed with Anguish 328

Chapter 18 An Error of Judgement 352

Chapter 19 Revenge 365

Chapter 20 Homeward Bound 386

Chapter 21 The Most Dangerous Hour 404

Chapter 22 The Blue Devils 424

Chapter 23 Into the Breach 452

Chapter 24 Ashes to Ashes 477

Appendix I 499

Appendix II 501

Appendix III 502

References 507

Bibliography 577

Index 586

Editorial Reviews

"...this is a particularly good overview of a very enigmatic character, where a number of his failings have been discussed at length in a serious attempt to view Robert Craufurd from all sides alongside his creditable successes."

The Napoleon Series