Waterloo is probably the most famous battle in military history.
Thousands of books have been written on the subject but mysteries remain
and controversy abounds.
By presenting more than 200 previously unpublished accounts by Allied
officers who fought at the battle, this collection goes right back to
the primary source material. In the letters the Allied officers recount
where they were and what they saw. Gareth Glover has provided historical
background information but lets the officers speak for themselves as
they reveal exactly what happened in June 1815.
Originally sent to, and at the request of, Captain W Siborne, then in
the process of building his famous model of the battle, these letters
have remained unread in the Siborne papers in the British Library. A
small selection was published in Waterloo Letters in 1891 but much of
vast historical significance did not see the light then and has remained
inaccessible until now. Glover now presents this remarkable collection
which includes letters here by Major Baring, George Bowles, Edward
Whinyates, John Gurwood and Edward Cotton as well as letters by
Hanoverian and King's German Legion officers.
This is a veritable treasure trove of material on the battle and one
which will mean that every historian's view of the battle will need
correcting.