Fix Bayonets!: A Royal Welch Fusilier at War, 1796-1815: Being the Life and Times of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Pearson, CB, KCH 1781 - 1847

by Donald E. Graves

Thomas Pearson, a country parson's son, was commissioned in the 23rd Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers, in 1796. In a career spanning 47 years he fought on three continents, was wounded five times, received two battlefield promotions and achieved the rank of general.Fix Bayonets follows this hard-biting soldier in the deserts of Egypt, the dikes of the Netherlands, the jungles of the West Indies, the mountains of Spain and the wilderness of America. Through Pearson's true-life adventures we learn about war, wine, women and song in a fascinating epoch and meet a cast of famous and infamous characters, including King George III, Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, James Madison, Winfield Scott, Mar chal Soult, Lord Nelson and Major General William ("Auld Grog Willie") Stewart.The centrepiece is a detailed account of the bloody battle of Albuera in 1811. Albuera was the high point of Pearson's career - he went into it as a junior major in his brigade and came out as the brigade commander because he was the only officer above the rank of captain still standing.

490 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Donald Edward Graves is a military historian who has worked for the Canadian National Historic Sites Service, the National Archives of Canada and the Canadian Department of National Defence. He is currently the director of Ensign Heritage Group.

Reviews

[Maxwell Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic of a British soldier!

Donald Graves wrote a great work retelling the service, adventures, and struggles of Thomas Pearson of the 23rd Regiment of Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers, starting with his commission in 1796 against Napoleon and ending in 1815 (barring his officer role post-1815 to 1847).

The author, who is a well-known historian on Canadian military history, detailed the life of Pearson and contextualised the world and societies around him, his promotions and interactions with other officers such as the Duke of Wellington, the battles he fought at from the Low Countries in the 1790s to Lundy's Lane in 1814, and finally his later life and death in 1847.

Further, the reader can learn of the consequences of the battles and actions of commanders friendly and hostile, doubling this book as a biography and a military history book. Personally, I learned a lot about the cultures and times in which Pearson lived in, plus it helped me understand the Iberian Campaign in the Napoleonic Wars, especially with its description of Albuera in 1811. One can learn a lot here!

In conclusion, excluding appendices, this was a long book at around 420 pages, but if the reader pushes on through it, he/she can learn so much about a dedicated officer in a prestigious regiment, followed by his battles, foes, and era. I recommend this work to a Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812 readers.

[Jonathan Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of a regiment, but mostly of the enthusiastic but sometimes not-too-likeable Thomas Pearson, was notable for a superb description of the battle of Albuera in which the Royal Welch Fusiliers were hotly engaged.

Though it took me a long time to read, that wasn't the author's fault.