George Woodberry was commissioned into the 18th Light Dragoons (Hussars)
as a cornet on 16 Jan 1812, and joined Wellington's army as a
lieutenant, seeing action in the key battles of 1813 and 14 - Moralles,
Vittoria, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Croix d'Orade and the final battle of
the war at Toulouse. He was wounded at Mendionde in a clash with French
cavalry as Wellington advanced into France. He also served in the 1815
campaign, being at Waterloo and the march to Paris.
What is most remarkable is that Woodberry found time to record events at
length in his journal almost every single day. This enables the reader
to trace accurately the movements of the 18th Hussars and Wellington's
army in general with precision. It also provides an insight into life on
campaign in Spain, France and Belgium with the British Army of the early
nineteenth century
His lively, detailed and entertaining account of his time in
Wellington's army is matched by the unusual story of the history of his
journal. It was published once before, in 1898, but in French by a
Paris-based publisher. The original journal, in two leather-bound
volumes, has since been lost, but the French edition has now been
translated back into English by renowned Napoleonic historian Gareth
Glover and is published in the UK for the first time.