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A Dorset Rifleman: The Recollections of Benjamin Harris
In an era devoid of modern communication methods, letters and diaries from the literate officer classes of the Napoleonic wars abound, in all of the languages of the combatant nations. Much less often heard is the voice of the enlisted man, particularly in the British armed forces, an invaluable insight is provided by the recollections of Rifleman Harris late of the 95th Rifles. The often brutal realities of the era were collated by an officer whom he knew, Captain Curling, and published in 1848, and although not well known at the time has become one of the most famous recorded by any rank.One of Harris’ first memoires of his time in the army is the devastating spectacle of a firing squad for a court-martial of one of the rank and file and of the court-martial of the bungling General Whitelock whose mishandled expedition to Buenos Ayres. The man from the rank and file was shot, but General Whitelock was merely cashiered, a difference of class and the times unintentionally brought to light. Whitelock’s court-martial provides the first appearance of General (at the time Colonel) Craufurd, who went on the expedition with Whitelock and want to have his former commander shot for his ineptitude!, and under whom Harris would spend a great deal of his soldiering career.Harris takes a small part in another expedition to Denmark, but the only sort of action he is involved in is defending a Danish family from the depredations of fellow soldiers. It is however with his entrance into Portugal in 1808, that his adventures really begin to take shape; as his fellow soldiers fall around him at the battles of Roliça and Vimiero he describes the horrific injuries sustained, the plundering of the dead that took place (which he was not above joining in) and the task of the surgeons to try and stitch up the wounded.A large part of the narrative is taken by the retreat of Sir John Moore’s army to Coruña, and the Light Brigade’s to Vigo. His tales of the retreat are vividly described; from the capture of the French general Lefebvre-Desnouettes at Benavente, the privation, the wifes of the soldiers and their struggle to stay with the column, to the iron resolve of General Craufurd to keep going. Eventually and in a pitiable state Harris reaches Vigo and embarks for England. It was not enemy action that ended Harris’ career in the army but diseases contracted during the pestilent 1809 Walcheren campaign, the lingering sickness forced Harris to leave the army and take up trade as a cobbler.A valuable and excellent read.Text taken, whole and complete, from the 1848 edition, published in London by H Hurst. Original – 298 pages.Author- Benjamin Harris (1781-????)Editor – Captain Henry Curling (????-????)Linked TOC.
203 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1848
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
October 13, 2019
This is one of the best known of the Napoleonic War memoirs and I can see why. As an ordinary soldier, Harris had no knowledge of strategic matters and could only relate what happened around him. There’s enough though in his account to provide insight into the campaigns in which he was involved. Harris served in The Rifles in Denmark in 1807, Portugal and Spain in 1808-09 and in the ill-fated Walcheren Expedition of 1809. In the latter the British Army had hardly any men killed in combat but lost thousands to disease. Harris himself fell sick but eventually recovered. From his description he may have suffered from malaria.
Probably the most significant part of the account concerns the notorious retreat to Corunna in 1809, which took place across the Galician mountains in the middle of winter. Harris describes how numerous men died of exhaustion and hypothermia. Towards the end he himself became a straggler and only just made it to Corunna in time to be evacuated.
One of the striking things about Harris’ account is his descriptions of the soldiers’ families who trailed after the British Army. These women and children were given no billets and often had to sleep in the open. One can only imagine their suffering during the retreat to Corunna. Harris tells of one Irishwoman giving birth during the retreat, amidst mountain snows.
It’s been said that Harris’ memoir was the inspiration for Bernard Cornwell’s “Sharpe” novels. I have no idea whether this is true. There are obvious similarities, in that Sharpe was also meant to be a rifleman who fought in the Peninsular War, but it’s also clear that Harris himself would not have thought much of Richard Sharpe.
“Nay, whatever folks may say upon the matter, I know from experience, that in our army the men like best to be officered by gentlemen, men whose education has rendered them more kind in manners than your coarse officer, sprung from obscure origin, and whose style is brutal and overbearing.”
It’s also noticeable how Harris quite openly talks about scavenging dead bodies after a battle, to find valuables. This seems to have been tolerated, at least if the dead bodies were those of Frenchmen. He does relate one instance where a soldier was flogged for trying sell a valuable ring he had taken from the body of one of his own officers.
Another book that illustrates the remarkable levels of fortitude possessed by our ancestors.
Probably the most significant part of the account concerns the notorious retreat to Corunna in 1809, which took place across the Galician mountains in the middle of winter. Harris describes how numerous men died of exhaustion and hypothermia. Towards the end he himself became a straggler and only just made it to Corunna in time to be evacuated.
One of the striking things about Harris’ account is his descriptions of the soldiers’ families who trailed after the British Army. These women and children were given no billets and often had to sleep in the open. One can only imagine their suffering during the retreat to Corunna. Harris tells of one Irishwoman giving birth during the retreat, amidst mountain snows.
It’s been said that Harris’ memoir was the inspiration for Bernard Cornwell’s “Sharpe” novels. I have no idea whether this is true. There are obvious similarities, in that Sharpe was also meant to be a rifleman who fought in the Peninsular War, but it’s also clear that Harris himself would not have thought much of Richard Sharpe.
“Nay, whatever folks may say upon the matter, I know from experience, that in our army the men like best to be officered by gentlemen, men whose education has rendered them more kind in manners than your coarse officer, sprung from obscure origin, and whose style is brutal and overbearing.”
It’s also noticeable how Harris quite openly talks about scavenging dead bodies after a battle, to find valuables. This seems to have been tolerated, at least if the dead bodies were those of Frenchmen. He does relate one instance where a soldier was flogged for trying sell a valuable ring he had taken from the body of one of his own officers.
Another book that illustrates the remarkable levels of fortitude possessed by our ancestors.
January 5, 2021
This is a well written first person account of service in the 95th Rifles. It moves along quite smoothly and the stories of campaign life are very engaging. The descriptions are frankly honest and the casual acceptance of death and hardship is one of the best and most realistic features of this account. The author writes of his initial enlistment, until he was medically discharged in 1814. The book starts off with a bang, quite literally, with the description of his first couple of months in service in England, and never slows down. One of the best first-person accounts of the period that I have ever read.
May 7, 2025
War is logistics, and logistics are hell.
August 20, 2012
Rifleman Harris's autobiographical account of fighting with the Greenjackets in the peninsular campaign provides a brilliant insight into the reality of a soldier's life in this period. Whether describing the horror of battle or his amorous adventures between engagements, his sharp eye and lively style bring his adventures vividly to life. A cobbler by trade, he was responsible for repairing the boots of soldiers whose footwear worn away with marching, but he also saw his share of action on the field. He was there during the successes led to the siege of Lisbon and there for the retreat to Corunna. Back in England, he recounts his adventures out recruiting before he set off on the disastrous expedition to Walcheran, which saw the Rifles overcome not by the enemy, but by disease. He himself fell victim to the illness, which saw him invalided out of the Army.
I particularly enjoyed his views on the British Army officer class: "I know from experience, that in our army the men like best to be officered by gentlemen, men whose education has rendered them more kind in manners than your coarse officer, sprung from obscure origin, and whose style is brutal and overbearing.
My observation has often led me to remark amongst men, that those whose birth and station might reasonably have made them fastidious under hardship and toil have generally borne their miseries without a murmur; whilst those whose previous life, one would have thought, might have better prepared them for the toils of war have been the first to cry out and complain of their hard fate."
I particularly enjoyed his views on the British Army officer class: "I know from experience, that in our army the men like best to be officered by gentlemen, men whose education has rendered them more kind in manners than your coarse officer, sprung from obscure origin, and whose style is brutal and overbearing.
My observation has often led me to remark amongst men, that those whose birth and station might reasonably have made them fastidious under hardship and toil have generally borne their miseries without a murmur; whilst those whose previous life, one would have thought, might have better prepared them for the toils of war have been the first to cry out and complain of their hard fate."
November 12, 2023
Great book, a must read for anyone interested in the reality of war. The horrors and hardships of a simple private soldier of this time are unbelievable.
I have read many accounts of the retreat of the British in Spain. But reading this book gives you an understanding of their trials, suffering and deaths.
Rifleman Harris is amazing as all around him die, he some how remains untouched. He is so matter of fact about friends deaths. Most of all he seems not bitter about the whole affair.
I have read many accounts of the retreat of the British in Spain. But reading this book gives you an understanding of their trials, suffering and deaths.
Rifleman Harris is amazing as all around him die, he some how remains untouched. He is so matter of fact about friends deaths. Most of all he seems not bitter about the whole affair.
May 21, 2021
Книга «Щоденник рядового Гарріса» багато в чому унікальний текст. Це спогади англійського солдата, простого англійського селянина, що воював проти Наполеона, які були записані Генрі Керлінгом, коли автору було 95 років. Віддаленість від описуваних подій в майже ніж пів століття спричинила певану специфічність цієї розповіді. Я читав і мені постійно здавалося, що я тримаю в руках якийсь неймовірним чином збережений артефакт, що цей текст крихкий і розсиплеться в руках від одного лише необережно прочитаного слова. Наскільки іншими були тоді порядки, наскільки не схожими на теперішніх були люди. Я відрізнялося життя від того, що ми зараз бачимо навкруги! В мене, як в людини, що має певний пієтет до старих часів, від цього просто перехоплювало подих.
Окремо треба сказати про український переклад, цієї книги, яку виконала Тамара Горіха Зерня. Це напевно єдине, що мені в книзі не сподобалося. Перекладачка вживає в тексті специфічно українські вислови і діалектизми «неньо», «не дуже банував над своєю долею», «я єстим непридатний» «таких збойників йому тре» і так далі. Мені зрозуміло навіщо це зроблено, аби наблизити англійського хлопаку Бенжаміна до українського читача, аби провести паралель і тісніше зв’язати той час з цим часом, той терен з цим тереном. Звісно перекладач може наближувати мову оповідача до реалій мови, на яку здійснюється переклад. Звісно я не читав англійського оригіналу і не можу оцінити наскільки точно і якісно він виконаний. Проте я не розумію чому на початку тексту таких діалектизмів на кожній сторінці по 5 -10 штук, а далі вони різко зникають і оповідь продовжується стандартною українською. Так я уявляю яке це робота в такому стилі виконати переклад, проте, як на мене, тут або не починати взагалі, або витримувати єдиний стиль. Ця помилка перекладача добряче попсувала мені задоволення від читання.
Бенджамін Гарріс в своїх спогадах не розказує нічого нового, не проливає світло на таємниці минулого, не викриває нікого і не звеличує. Найбільша цінність цієї книги в тому, що це саме спогади в форматі «як пам’ятаю – так і кажу». Я теж записував кілька таких спогадів деяких старих людей і я відчував дуже схожі вібрації від цього тексту. Людина пам’ятає якусь подію, описує її чітко, наскільки бачить, а сусідні події ховаються в нетрях, перекриті уже якимись іншими думками, що їх і не видно. Може здатися, що текст спогадів в дечому уривчастий, що немає неперервної оповіді, проте саме в цьому і є суть цього тексту. Це наче окремі епізоди на шляху автора, що освітлені ліхтарями пам’яті, коли весь шлях тоне в мороку забуття. Читаючи ти ніби рухаєшся між цими освітленими острівцями, перестрибуєш між ними і розглядаєш сцени, що навічно застигkи без руху. Дещо лячно стає коли усвідомлюєш, що це й усе, що залишилося від людини, яка прожила таке цікаве життя. Уже не тільки його тіло зотліло, а і тіло того, хто записав і підготував ці спогади… А вони і досі живуть. Якщо це не вічність, то я не знаю, що таке вічність!
Окремо треба сказати про український переклад, цієї книги, яку виконала Тамара Горіха Зерня. Це напевно єдине, що мені в книзі не сподобалося. Перекладачка вживає в тексті специфічно українські вислови і діалектизми «неньо», «не дуже банував над своєю долею», «я єстим непридатний» «таких збойників йому тре» і так далі. Мені зрозуміло навіщо це зроблено, аби наблизити англійського хлопаку Бенжаміна до українського читача, аби провести паралель і тісніше зв’язати той час з цим часом, той терен з цим тереном. Звісно перекладач може наближувати мову оповідача до реалій мови, на яку здійснюється переклад. Звісно я не читав англійського оригіналу і не можу оцінити наскільки точно і якісно він виконаний. Проте я не розумію чому на початку тексту таких діалектизмів на кожній сторінці по 5 -10 штук, а далі вони різко зникають і оповідь продовжується стандартною українською. Так я уявляю яке це робота в такому стилі виконати переклад, проте, як на мене, тут або не починати взагалі, або витримувати єдиний стиль. Ця помилка перекладача добряче попсувала мені задоволення від читання.
Бенджамін Гарріс в своїх спогадах не розказує нічого нового, не проливає світло на таємниці минулого, не викриває нікого і не звеличує. Найбільша цінність цієї книги в тому, що це саме спогади в форматі «як пам’ятаю – так і кажу». Я теж записував кілька таких спогадів деяких старих людей і я відчував дуже схожі вібрації від цього тексту. Людина пам’ятає якусь подію, описує її чітко, наскільки бачить, а сусідні події ховаються в нетрях, перекриті уже якимись іншими думками, що їх і не видно. Може здатися, що текст спогадів в дечому уривчастий, що немає неперервної оповіді, проте саме в цьому і є суть цього тексту. Це наче окремі епізоди на шляху автора, що освітлені ліхтарями пам’яті, коли весь шлях тоне в мороку забуття. Читаючи ти ніби рухаєшся між цими освітленими острівцями, перестрибуєш між ними і розглядаєш сцени, що навічно застигkи без руху. Дещо лячно стає коли усвідомлюєш, що це й усе, що залишилося від людини, яка прожила таке цікаве життя. Уже не тільки його тіло зотліло, а і тіло того, хто записав і підготував ці спогади… А вони і досі живуть. Якщо це не вічність, то я не знаю, що таке вічність!
October 1, 2020
A fascinating view from the field. I had no idea so many wives and children accompanied the riflemen in those days and their stories during the retreat was not happy reading. This is better written than many other memoirs I've read. Some poignant moments and a great depiction of the hardships faced. Scarcely any mention of Napoleon so it's not recommended for anyone trying to learn about the larger conflict but for the experiences from this one soldier's perspective it delivers admirably and is well worth reading.
June 15, 2022
Picked it up expecting a somewhat dry but interesting account of life as a rifleman during the Peninsula Campaign. Instead read like anecdotal fiction. Incredibly tragic to read first-hand what those experiences must have been like, but at the same time the narrator calls the experience the best time of his life, and as a reader you can’t help but get swept along. A quick read too, felt like I was sitting in a tavern with a master storyteller regaling me their exploits in the war.
July 25, 2017
These memoirs give a rare view into the daily life of a private solder in the British army during the Napoleonic wars. Harris, drafted into the 66th Regiment of Foot from his quiet life as a shepherd's son, shares his adventures, war stories, and privations over several years of active service during a very busy time for the Army. In a short while he sees the riflemen as the most dashing and exciting of the units he had seen, with the smartest uniform, and volunteers into an Irish battalion of the 95th Rifles, where he spent most of his career.
Since the writer is a shepherd and part time shoemaker, his writing is rather straightforward than eloquent, and he recalls events in no particular order, so it is not a linear history, but it gives a good feel of the daily life on campaign of the regular foot soldiers, a picture we seldom see.
As a Rifleman, Harris was frequently, as he states it, it the van of the vanguard on advance, and the tail of the rearguard on retreat, which neither he nor his General liked to do. He was heavily involved in the Penninsular Campaign against Napoleon, and describes action in the battles of Roliça, Vimeiro, and the march from Portugal into Spain. He loved the glorious appearance presented by the advancing Army, colours flying, appearing invincible, but also describes the desperate fatigue and debilitating hunger of the long retreat to Corunna and their pathetic arrival at the coast, where the sailors had to push the weakened survivors and their wives and children up the rope ladders onto the troopships to take them home to England.
Harris' recollections include several interesting vignettes of life on campaign. He met Wellington before he was made a Duke, and describes General Craufurd creeping among his weary troops as they lay hidden in the grass to refresh and inspire them with a canteen full of rum during a long battle watch. He also describes the severe discipline on campaign, but maintains that only by dint of that strict control did so many of them as did survive a grueling retreat to return home. He also describes several instances where, given a few minutes or hours to rest, he took out the cobbling tools he carried in his pack to repair shoes and boots for the men and officers who still had any.
Overall, Harris gives his reader an invaluable glimpse into the life of a foot soldier of 200 years ago. We see accounts by and about officers with much greater frequency, which is what makes Rifleman Harris' recollections so valuable. Through his eyes we experience the excitement, thrills, chills, and hardships of the common soldier.
Since the writer is a shepherd and part time shoemaker, his writing is rather straightforward than eloquent, and he recalls events in no particular order, so it is not a linear history, but it gives a good feel of the daily life on campaign of the regular foot soldiers, a picture we seldom see.
As a Rifleman, Harris was frequently, as he states it, it the van of the vanguard on advance, and the tail of the rearguard on retreat, which neither he nor his General liked to do. He was heavily involved in the Penninsular Campaign against Napoleon, and describes action in the battles of Roliça, Vimeiro, and the march from Portugal into Spain. He loved the glorious appearance presented by the advancing Army, colours flying, appearing invincible, but also describes the desperate fatigue and debilitating hunger of the long retreat to Corunna and their pathetic arrival at the coast, where the sailors had to push the weakened survivors and their wives and children up the rope ladders onto the troopships to take them home to England.
Harris' recollections include several interesting vignettes of life on campaign. He met Wellington before he was made a Duke, and describes General Craufurd creeping among his weary troops as they lay hidden in the grass to refresh and inspire them with a canteen full of rum during a long battle watch. He also describes the severe discipline on campaign, but maintains that only by dint of that strict control did so many of them as did survive a grueling retreat to return home. He also describes several instances where, given a few minutes or hours to rest, he took out the cobbling tools he carried in his pack to repair shoes and boots for the men and officers who still had any.
Overall, Harris gives his reader an invaluable glimpse into the life of a foot soldier of 200 years ago. We see accounts by and about officers with much greater frequency, which is what makes Rifleman Harris' recollections so valuable. Through his eyes we experience the excitement, thrills, chills, and hardships of the common soldier.
February 8, 2018
Really gives a great insight in to the life of a rifleman in the Peninsular War. I was surprised by the respect he had for his officers, how well some of the officers interacted positively with the men, and how well he was cared for after he became ill. I would have loved to read a little more about his life after he was discharged, but all in all I have total respect for this man. No complaints, no "ooooh I'm so stressed out", or "I can't cope", he just got on with it in far more difficult circumstances than those we enjoy now.
October 15, 2019
This is an interesting account of just how hard army life was at the beginning of the the 19th Century. Although it seems the book wasn't written by Harris, but recounted to one of his officers years after Harris' service, it is remarkably lucid and full of details. Harris comes across as a cool customer in the face of the enemy and takes the horrors of war in his stride. The style isn't too florid considering the time of publication and, unlike the denseness of many Regency and Victorian authors, Harris' narrative is easy to read.
August 19, 2019
An interesting read giving the life experiences of a soldier in Napoleonic times
I recommend reading this as it gives a realistic expectancy of surviving the life of rifleman or skirmisher in Napoleonic times
I recommend reading this as it gives a realistic expectancy of surviving the life of rifleman or skirmisher in Napoleonic times
March 23, 2022
This is such a well-known primary source that I kept having déjà lu all through it. And, indeed, I had already read these instances in secondary works.
There is a bit of haziness about the text itself, which is not uncommon in memoirs from the time. Benjamin Harris was a real rifleman, and the published text is based on his recollections, but he did not write the book himself. Henry Curling, who was an officer of the same regiment but more recently than the events described, became a prolific popular writer. He met Harris and got him to tell his story, then Curling wrote it up and saw it published. We have no way of knowing how much of this is Harris and how much is Curling; and certainly the choice of material is mostly Curling.
But, in any case, there is a strong feeling of authenticity to this document. Harris tells things about himself that many would hide, and he makes observations about how battle feels (especially the dissociation from death) that are rather "ahead of their time" in war memoirs.
Harris was conscripted to fight Napoleon, in a regular unit, the 66th Regiment of Foot. While in Ireland with the 66th he saw a group from the 95th Rifles (an elite unit) and loved their uniforms and their attitude, so he got permission to join them. He was also a cobbler, and so he had to carry his shoemaker's gear with him at all times, and was often kept up the night before a battle repairing shoes (even when he himself was barefoot) and boots. He did get some extra money for this, as well as from picking over dead bodies on the battlefield, which served him in the end.
He campaigned in Denmark and then in the Peninsular War, serving under He-Who-Would-Be-Wellington, as well as Moore and Craufurd. He was part of the reinforcement that arrived at the front after a long march, just before Moore began the disastrous Retreat to Corunna, though his group diverged, retreating to Vigo under Craufurd. Napoleon had arrived personally in Spain after Moore had surprised and defeated Soult, and Napoleon had a very large, fresh army with him. Moore fled, moving too fast to bring up stragglers, abandoning equipment and damaged wagons, as they crossed the Galician mountains in the dead of winter. It all seems like a prelude to the Retreat from Moscow. Moore's group basically dissolved into a rabble along the way -- though it did partially reform for a final battle, when they got to Corunna and found no transports.
Craufurd's army suffered horribly, too, but Craufurd kept his folks together as a functioning unit. Yes, they had to leave the sick, exhausted and wounded behind, along with many wives and children. Yes, they took considerable losses from weather and from repeated rear-guard action. But they did much better than Moore, and one of the essential elements of this book is that Harris tries to explain how he did it. It was a mixture of strict discipline with clear signals that he was doing this all for them. Harris knows he's not quite explaining how it worked, but he knows it was a really big deal, and that Craufurd was a gifted leader.
The story of the Retreat alone would make this invaluable, but Harris served in another campaign for which he is an equally invaluable historical source, including for debates that rage to this day. This was the ill-fated Walcheren Campaign, in which the British tried to distract Napoleon from the Austrians, by seizing part of the Netherlands. Alas for the British, Napoleon had already defeated the Austrians at Wagram, before they even landed. But worse was still to come. The campaign began as a cake-walk, the Brits landing with little resistance and occupying Flushing and a couple of islands. And then everybody, and I mean pretty much everybody, got very, very sick. The Army that arrived was 42,000 strong, and 8,000 of them would die in short order, and something like twice to thrice that were sickened. Some think that the majority of those "sickened" would ultimately die, off the books, of the disease. Our best guess today is that it was a combination of malaria and typhus and typhoid and dysentery. Swollen spleens were common, which says malaria, but that wouldn't account for the numbers.
Harris's account of the event and the aftermath (he spent years in various hospitals and camps) is shocking and powerful, despite not being very long.
I'm sorry I took so long to get to the original. Highly recommended.
There is a bit of haziness about the text itself, which is not uncommon in memoirs from the time. Benjamin Harris was a real rifleman, and the published text is based on his recollections, but he did not write the book himself. Henry Curling, who was an officer of the same regiment but more recently than the events described, became a prolific popular writer. He met Harris and got him to tell his story, then Curling wrote it up and saw it published. We have no way of knowing how much of this is Harris and how much is Curling; and certainly the choice of material is mostly Curling.
But, in any case, there is a strong feeling of authenticity to this document. Harris tells things about himself that many would hide, and he makes observations about how battle feels (especially the dissociation from death) that are rather "ahead of their time" in war memoirs.
Harris was conscripted to fight Napoleon, in a regular unit, the 66th Regiment of Foot. While in Ireland with the 66th he saw a group from the 95th Rifles (an elite unit) and loved their uniforms and their attitude, so he got permission to join them. He was also a cobbler, and so he had to carry his shoemaker's gear with him at all times, and was often kept up the night before a battle repairing shoes (even when he himself was barefoot) and boots. He did get some extra money for this, as well as from picking over dead bodies on the battlefield, which served him in the end.
He campaigned in Denmark and then in the Peninsular War, serving under He-Who-Would-Be-Wellington, as well as Moore and Craufurd. He was part of the reinforcement that arrived at the front after a long march, just before Moore began the disastrous Retreat to Corunna, though his group diverged, retreating to Vigo under Craufurd. Napoleon had arrived personally in Spain after Moore had surprised and defeated Soult, and Napoleon had a very large, fresh army with him. Moore fled, moving too fast to bring up stragglers, abandoning equipment and damaged wagons, as they crossed the Galician mountains in the dead of winter. It all seems like a prelude to the Retreat from Moscow. Moore's group basically dissolved into a rabble along the way -- though it did partially reform for a final battle, when they got to Corunna and found no transports.
Craufurd's army suffered horribly, too, but Craufurd kept his folks together as a functioning unit. Yes, they had to leave the sick, exhausted and wounded behind, along with many wives and children. Yes, they took considerable losses from weather and from repeated rear-guard action. But they did much better than Moore, and one of the essential elements of this book is that Harris tries to explain how he did it. It was a mixture of strict discipline with clear signals that he was doing this all for them. Harris knows he's not quite explaining how it worked, but he knows it was a really big deal, and that Craufurd was a gifted leader.
The story of the Retreat alone would make this invaluable, but Harris served in another campaign for which he is an equally invaluable historical source, including for debates that rage to this day. This was the ill-fated Walcheren Campaign, in which the British tried to distract Napoleon from the Austrians, by seizing part of the Netherlands. Alas for the British, Napoleon had already defeated the Austrians at Wagram, before they even landed. But worse was still to come. The campaign began as a cake-walk, the Brits landing with little resistance and occupying Flushing and a couple of islands. And then everybody, and I mean pretty much everybody, got very, very sick. The Army that arrived was 42,000 strong, and 8,000 of them would die in short order, and something like twice to thrice that were sickened. Some think that the majority of those "sickened" would ultimately die, off the books, of the disease. Our best guess today is that it was a combination of malaria and typhus and typhoid and dysentery. Swollen spleens were common, which says malaria, but that wouldn't account for the numbers.
Harris's account of the event and the aftermath (he spent years in various hospitals and camps) is shocking and powerful, despite not being very long.
I'm sorry I took so long to get to the original. Highly recommended.
November 2, 2019
For any military history buff, "The Recollections of Rifleman Harris" is a must read. Unlike most books on the Napoleonic War, "Recollections" is not a grand overview from beginning to end, nor does it focus on the generals, the wide movements of companies, or politics at home or abroad. It is, instead, exactly what its' title suggests: the memories of a single Rifleman's experiences during the course of his time at war. The son of a shepherd, and a shepherd himself before enlisting, Harris never tries to sound like someone he isn't. He never tells of things he didn't see himself, or heard told to him by someone he knew. He is a common soldier, trained to repair shoes and boots for his men, and telling the story of a common man's experience. Harris fought in the Peninsular Campaign and tells of marching through Portugal, gives a harrowing firsthand account of the retreat at Corunna, the hardships, illnesses, fatigue, and challenges faced in day-to-day life as a soldier. Nothing is overblown or moralized, he describes searching dead soldier's bodies for useful items with the same tone as charging a line of French cavalry or marching for days: as something you did to survive.
All told matter-of-factly, in a straightforward style, you can imagine the former Rifleman telling you his stories over a pint at the pub. This inside look at a soldier's life should fascinate and intrigue any military history buff.
All told matter-of-factly, in a straightforward style, you can imagine the former Rifleman telling you his stories over a pint at the pub. This inside look at a soldier's life should fascinate and intrigue any military history buff.
November 22, 2025
Маю претензії як до якості написання книги, так і до змісту книги, а також є питання до перекладу.
Про якість тексту: автор постійно перестрибує між подіями, намагаючись розповісти то про одного, то іншого персонажу. І виходить у нього це погано. «Ми на полі бою, тут я бачу персонажа А, а після битви персонаж А зробив ще це і це, потім він помер через багато років. А тепер ми повертаємося до битви. І тут зʼявляється інший персонаж Б, якого поранило, він певний час був у госпіталі, а потім помер. І ми знову повертаємося до битви»
Про зміст книги: зрозуміло, що це війна і люди гинуть і стається всіляке. Але це можна по різному описати. А в нас тут книга починається та закінчується покаранням дезертирів. І в середині є покарання дезертирів. Ну і війна, де багатьох або розпанахує або ядро відриває голову. Класно, але я не тільки цього очікував.
Про переклад: я так розумію, вставляння слів із карпатської говірки - це така задумка перекладачки, щоб передати певні звороти англійської двохсотлітньої ддавності. На жаль , краще від цього не стає і книга б нічого не втратила, якби, наприклад, «неньо» замінили на «батько».
Якщо брати книгу в цілому, то напочатку взагалі проблемно читати книгу, десь через 30 сторінок стає дещо краще, але не набагато.
В цілому, книга тягне максимум на 3 з 5, хоча б я дав 2,5, якби була така можливість.
Про якість тексту: автор постійно перестрибує між подіями, намагаючись розповісти то про одного, то іншого персонажу. І виходить у нього це погано. «Ми на полі бою, тут я бачу персонажа А, а після битви персонаж А зробив ще це і це, потім він помер через багато років. А тепер ми повертаємося до битви. І тут зʼявляється інший персонаж Б, якого поранило, він певний час був у госпіталі, а потім помер. І ми знову повертаємося до битви»
Про зміст книги: зрозуміло, що це війна і люди гинуть і стається всіляке. Але це можна по різному описати. А в нас тут книга починається та закінчується покаранням дезертирів. І в середині є покарання дезертирів. Ну і війна, де багатьох або розпанахує або ядро відриває голову. Класно, але я не тільки цього очікував.
Про переклад: я так розумію, вставляння слів із карпатської говірки - це така задумка перекладачки, щоб передати певні звороти англійської двохсотлітньої ддавності. На жаль , краще від цього не стає і книга б нічого не втратила, якби, наприклад, «неньо» замінили на «батько».
Якщо брати книгу в цілому, то напочатку взагалі проблемно читати книгу, десь через 30 сторінок стає дещо краще, але не набагато.
В цілому, книга тягне максимум на 3 з 5, хоча б я дав 2,5, якби була така можливість.
January 4, 2021
Extremely Interesting
To go from a shepherd on day to a soldier in the British Army in the early 1800's is hard to imagine. To have survived what he went through and then not get his pension
.....! Well written in the style of the day. The small bites of daily reminensces made the reading of his life and experiences that much more realistic. He was a candidate for PTSD given the trauma he went through, and the friends and acquaintances he saw killed next to him - but his life seemed to continue with minimal impact, even after enduring the retest from Corinne. A great historical read by the person that was there!
To go from a shepherd on day to a soldier in the British Army in the early 1800's is hard to imagine. To have survived what he went through and then not get his pension
.....! Well written in the style of the day. The small bites of daily reminensces made the reading of his life and experiences that much more realistic. He was a candidate for PTSD given the trauma he went through, and the friends and acquaintances he saw killed next to him - but his life seemed to continue with minimal impact, even after enduring the retest from Corinne. A great historical read by the person that was there!
November 27, 2021
Miners used to talk of the "Mother Lode", that rich seam heavy with high quality ore, hidden deep in the bowells of the earth. Often it would evade them but when they found it they would celebrate their good fortune.
For any military historian, the Recollectiuons of Rifleman Harris represents the mother lode. It is esentialy a first hand account by one who served as a rifleman in Wellington's army, a top quaslity primary source for the Peninsular War.
Numerous authors have taken details to support serious historical studies, and there has also been a range of fictional stories devoted to the riflemen, one of which is the Sharpe series.
A slim book, but woth its weight in gold.
For any military historian, the Recollectiuons of Rifleman Harris represents the mother lode. It is esentialy a first hand account by one who served as a rifleman in Wellington's army, a top quaslity primary source for the Peninsular War.
Numerous authors have taken details to support serious historical studies, and there has also been a range of fictional stories devoted to the riflemen, one of which is the Sharpe series.
A slim book, but woth its weight in gold.
November 12, 2017
Real history through the thought and feelings of someone who was actually there.
If you have read any any historical fiction like Cornwells Sharpe Series you will find this book fascinating. Marching in the army, skirmishing ahead of the column and facing the French. People being cut down all around, its got pure excitement. There is also the social anthropology of the conversations and relationships, the wives of the soldiers and the baggage train. The language he speaks and the language in the conversations takes you back two hundred years.
If you have read any any historical fiction like Cornwells Sharpe Series you will find this book fascinating. Marching in the army, skirmishing ahead of the column and facing the French. People being cut down all around, its got pure excitement. There is also the social anthropology of the conversations and relationships, the wives of the soldiers and the baggage train. The language he speaks and the language in the conversations takes you back two hundred years.
September 19, 2023
I think the best way to experience this is to imagine your old great uncle or Granddad recounting his time in the army when he was young. Not all the the accounts string together in exactly the right order, and some bits are only briefly accounted, but you can tell what stuck with him 30-40 years later.
The part that sticks out to me as the most details and effecting parts is the description of the retreat to corunna and the aftermath, as well as the recovery from walcheren. The first half of the book in comparison is somewhat light in detail.
The part that sticks out to me as the most details and effecting parts is the description of the retreat to corunna and the aftermath, as well as the recovery from walcheren. The first half of the book in comparison is somewhat light in detail.
August 14, 2017
This was the book which inspired Bernard Cornwall to create the Sharpe adventure novels. The adventure is found between the lines here - Harris doesn't heavily structure his memoirs, but lets anecdote, event, character study follow on from each other. A sense of his life as a rifleman in the Napoleonic wars, with its excitement and hardships, evolves from his writings. It's a compact read - short, but with little filler.
December 21, 2023
Якщо ви любите історію або цікавитесь Наполеонівськими війнами ця книга обов'язкова для прочитання. Погляд на війну очима звичайного солдата, який описав повністю свій шлях, від мобілізації з села до виходу на пенсію. Тут описаний кожний аспект життя та побуту звичайного піхотинця тієї епохи: мобілізація, навчання, перші бої, марш-кидки, хвороби, рекрутинг... Зараз ця вся інформація виглядає, як скарб. Книга 100% варта своєї уваги.
July 30, 2017
Not Sharpe
A sometimes harrowing description of what it was really like in the 95th from the point of view of a remarkably articulate man, considering his origins as a shepherd boy. From his stories it sounds as if sickness, starvation and forced marches accounted for more deaths than Napoleon ever did.
A sometimes harrowing description of what it was really like in the 95th from the point of view of a remarkably articulate man, considering his origins as a shepherd boy. From his stories it sounds as if sickness, starvation and forced marches accounted for more deaths than Napoleon ever did.
August 7, 2020
A must-read for fans of wartime diaries. Harris does a good job of isolating the most interesting anecdotes from his experiences, from escaping drunken brawls to repairing boots under fire from French cannons. As a result, his brief diary is well-paced and engaging while still providing a robust and thorough view of life as a soldier in 19th century Europe.
May 21, 2021
A unique view into the toils ordinary men had to endure for centuries. Hunger, equipment that's falling apart, looting, camp followers, desertion, death by exhaustion and o so many floggings. From the point of view of men who in general where illiterate. A book like this is rather necessary reading as a countra point to commander's memoirs or 'big' history.
September 26, 2021
Насилу дочитав. Книга відносно цікава, у ній цінні історичні свідчення від першого лиця. Але, м'яко кажучи, дуже специфічний переклад на українську значно ускладнив задачу - він навіщось вщент заповнений застарілими виразами та діалектизмами. Можливо, щоб зімітувати мову людини початку ХІХ сторіччя? Як на мене, це була погана ідея.
January 23, 2022
Many of the reviews have already captured the main elements of this book. For me this book is unique as it is a first hand account of the Peninsular War. It gives a first hand account of battle during this period of time but also events and procedures after a battle. A must read for anyone interested in this period of history.
February 3, 2022
The recollections of Rifleman Harris by Benjamin Harris
An extraordinary tale of the life a British rifleman soldier in the Napoleonic wars. If you have any of the Sharpe series then you must read this to see what the reality of the circumstances were. Horrific and uplifting at the same time.
An extraordinary tale of the life a British rifleman soldier in the Napoleonic wars. If you have any of the Sharpe series then you must read this to see what the reality of the circumstances were. Horrific and uplifting at the same time.
May 2, 2024
This was unexpectedly delightful.
Death is mentioned over and over again as casually as if recounting the eating of a meal. What a sad reality that these soldiers had to live in. This is definitely be a piece of our school reading when we get to the Napoleonic Wars.
Death is mentioned over and over again as casually as if recounting the eating of a meal. What a sad reality that these soldiers had to live in. This is definitely be a piece of our school reading when we get to the Napoleonic Wars.
January 23, 2019
A superb account of one rifleman's peninsula war.
March 4, 2018
Very interesting and insightful view of the common soldier. It is a great shame his service wasn't longer to get a bigger picture.
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