John H Cooke

With the Light Division: the Experiences of an Officer of the 43rd Light Infantry in the Peninsula and South of France During the Napoleonic Wars John H Cooke

This is a Leonaur original-never before in print. Cooke wrote three volumes of his military memoirs which originally embraced his service in America and the War of 1812 and which also included contributions from other authors. This book brings together Cooke's writings detailing his service with the 43rd Light Infantry as it fought Napoleon's French Army as a part of the famous Light Division. The author's narrative now cohesively records his experiences in a linear form for the first time, beginning with his enrolment in the army, to the Walcheren Expedition and onwards to his campaigns in Iberia. Here we join him in every engagement from the assault on Cuidad Rodrigo to the fall of Toulouse and the occupation of France leading to the First Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Leonaur's editors have created an exceptional first hand account of the experience of warfare from the perspective of a Light Division officer in the Peninsular War. Cooke is an able author with a fine eye for description and his attention to detail will particularly interest those who study the military dress of this period. This is an indispensable book which will be a new and invaluable addition to the library of every student of Napoleonic history.