Wellington's Spies

by Mary McGrigor

Overview

Intelligence was just as important in the Napoleonic Wars as it is today. Then there was only one way of obtaining it by spies and informers. The author uses first hand accounts of three of Wellington's most daring and successful Intelligence Officers. The three men, all of Scottish descent, were very different in character. One was killed in action and another taken prisoner and after narrowly avoiding summary execution made a dramatic escape. There is a romantic angle too.

Their stories skillfully interwoven against the backdrop of the brutal Peninsula War where atrocities were common place. This book gives a fresh insight into Wellington's remarkable triumph over Napoleon's armies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526766960
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	05/10/2020
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Lady Mary McGrigor grew up in a 15th-century Scottish castle which inspired her love of history. When she was twenty she married Sir Charles McGrigor who eventually retired to become a hill farmer in Argyll. Inspired by local artefacts she wrote a number of local histories before branching out into articles for Scottish Field. Anna, Countess of the Covenant, her biography of Lady Anna Mackenzie, was published by Birlinn in 2008. She lives near Port Sonachan in Argyll.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Maps xi

Introduction xv

Part 1 1

1 The First Campaign 3

2 Searching for Intelligence 6

3 'If the Bubble Bursts' 25

4 Retreat to Corunna 29

Part 2 45

5 Searching in Southern Spain 47

6 Crossing the Douro 52

7 Talavera 58

8 'This Mortal and Unnecessary Infliction' 69

9 Shadowing the French 76

10 Spanish Ladies; The Smugglers of Andalusia; The Siege of Cadiz 85

11 The Summer Campaign of 1810 93

12 The Battle of Busaco 107

Part 3 113

13 Pursuit and Retreat 115

14 The Lines of Torres Vedras 119

15 Colquhoun Grant - the 'Lifter' of Cattle 123

16 The Battle of Fuentes de Onoro and Charles and Josepha 129

17 Rivals in Love and War: The Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 138

18 Colquhoun Grant - 'Intelligence Rare and Useful' 143

19 Badajoz 148

20 Construction and Destruction 152

21 The Spy who Walked into the Night 156

22 An American in Paris 164

23 Salamanca 167

24 The Battle of Salamanca 176

25 The Siege of Burgos 179

Part 4 187

26 The Retreat from Burgos 189

27 The Consequences of Moscow 196

28 'Mr Jonathan Buck of Boston' 206

29 A Prisoner of the French 211

30 'What has become of Lord Wellington?' 221

31 The Watcher at the Battle of Vitoria 230

32 The French General's Wife 238

33 San Sebastian 243

34 Into France 248

35 The Final Triumph - Toulouse 253

Epilogue 255

Source Notes 258

Bibliography 262

Index 263