PREFACE
I hope that some readers may possibly be interested in these little tales
of the Napoleonic soldiers to the extent of following them up to the
springs from which they flow. The age was rich in military material,
some of it the most human and the most picturesque that I have ever read.
Setting aside historical works or the biographies of the leaders there is a
mass of evidence written by the actual fighting men themselves, which
describes their feelings and their experiences, stated always from the point
of view of the particular branch of the service to which they belonged.
The Cavalry were particularly happy in their writers of memoirs. Thus
De Rocca in his "Memoires sur la guerre des Francais en Espagne" has
given the narrative of a Hussar, while De Naylies in his "Memoires sur la
guerre d\'Espagne" gives the same campaigns from the point of view of the
Dragoon. Then we have the "Souvenirs Militaires du Colonel de
Gonneville," which treats a series of wars, including that of Spain, as seen
from under the steel-brimmed hair-crested helmet of a Cuirassier. Preeminent
among all these works, and among all military memoirs, are the
famous reminiscences of Marbot, which can be obtained in an English
form. Marbot was a Chasseur, so again we obtain the Cavalry point of
view. Among other books which help one to an understanding of the
Napoleonic soldier I would specially recommend "Les Cahiers du
Capitaine Coignet," which treat the wars from the point of view of the
private of the Guards, and "Les Memoires du Sergeant Bourgoyne," who
was a non-commissioned officer in the same corps. The Journal of
Sergeant Fricasse and the Recollections of de Fezenac and of de Segur
complete the materials from which I have worked in my endeavour to give
a true historical and military atmosphere to an imaginary figure.