Twenty-Five years in the Rifle Brigade

A thoughtful account from the ranks of the Rifle Brigade, by a former enlisted man who raised himself to the rank of quarter-master and served throughout the Peninsular War and the expedition to America which met with a disastrous end at New Orleans. Surtees’ account of his service with the famed 95th rifles is littered with vivid descriptions of the battles and actions that he was engaged including, the battles of Barossa (perhaps the best first-hand account of the battle in which the British captured the eagle of the 8th de Ligne) , Vittoria, Orthez and Toulouse. He was also present at the siege of Badajoz and terrible retreat under Sir John Moore.
He also casts a thoughtful eye on the lot of the average ranker in the army, and the severe discipline that they served under; having seen the sack of Badajoz and court-martials he recorded that;
“An English army is perhaps, generally speaking, under stricter discipline than any other in the world; but in proportion as they are held tight while they are in hand, if circumstances occur to give them liberty, I know of no army more difficult to restrain when once broke loose. “
A fine memoir of a hard-campaigning soldier.
Author – William Surtees (4th August 1781 – 28th May 1830)