Wellington's Right Hand

Wellington's Right Hand
Author :
Publisher : The History Press
Total Pages : 429
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780752492995
ISBN-13 : 0752492993
Rating : 4/5 (993 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Wellington's Right Hand by : Joanna Hill

Download or read book Wellington's Right Hand written by Joanna Hill and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most unlikely soldiers of his day, General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almarez was imaginative, brave – and perhaps more surprisingly for the period in which he lived and fought – compassionate towards those under his command. This is the compelling story of one of history's forgotten heroes, a man who frequently led from the front in some of the deadliest battles of the Napoleonic Wars. Hill was given his own 'detached' corps and fought his way through Spain, Portugal and France, winning battles against the odds – such at St Pierre, where he defeated the redoubtable Marechal Soult when outnumbered two to one. When ministers at home asked that Hill be allowed to leave the Peninsula and lead an army elsewhere, Wellington dismissed the idea with 'Would you cut off my right hand?' Hill fought at Roliça, Corunna, Talavera, Bussaco, Almarez, Vitoria and Waterloo. He succeeded the Duke in 1828 as Commander-in-Chief of the forces and served as such until he resigned in 1842, a period marked by civil unrest that he reluctantly was obliged to confront. Based upon the Hill papers and a wide range of other primary sources, Wellington's Right Hand is an important addition to the literature of the Napoleonic age and in particular to that of the Peninsular War. Writer and historian Joanna Hill is the great, great, great niece of Rowland Hill and as such has gained unique access to the Hill family archives. In April 2005, she published her first book on the Hill family, The Hills of Hawkstone and Attingham; the Rise, Shine and Decline of a Shropshire Family. Serendipity has sometimes led her life in the footsteps of her illustrious ancestor. While working at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University's post graduate department for the history of art and archaeology, she spent three very hot seasons excavating in the Nile Delta of Egypt, a few kilometres from the site of one of the General's very first battles, at Aboukir in 1801. She currently lives with her husband (and an international champion Skye terrier, Dougal) in a 13th-century hilltop bastide village in South West France. This is just a short distance north of St Pierre d'Irube at the foot of the Pyrenees, where Rowland Hill won his very own general action in the closing stages of the Peninsular War in December 1813. When the victorious British cavalry rode home through France from Toulouse to the channel ports in May the following year, they must have passed by.

Wellington's Right Hand Related Books

Wellington's Right Hand
Language: en
Pages: 429
Authors: Joanna Hill
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-05-01 - Publisher: The History Press

GET EBOOK

One of the most unlikely soldiers of his day, General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almarez was imaginative, brave – and perhaps more surprisingly for th
At Wellington's Right Hand
Language: en
Pages: 488
Authors: Alexander Gordon
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2003 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

Alexander Gordon served as aide-de-camp to his uncle, Sir David Baird, in the Coruna campaign of 1808-9, then joined Wellington's staff and remained at his side
Napoleon and Wellington
Language: en
Pages: 297
Authors: Andrew Roberts
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-12-16 - Publisher: Hachette UK

GET EBOOK

A dual biography of the greatest opposing generals of their age who ultimately became fixated on one another, by a bestselling historian. 'Thoroughly enjoyable,
Wellington in the Peninsula, 1808-1814
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Jac Weller
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-03-30 - Publisher: Frontline Books

GET EBOOK

This classic account of Wellington s tactics and strategy in the Peninsular War is one of the best single-volume works ever written on the epic campaign. Jac We
Salamanca 1812
Language: en
Pages: 96
Authors: Ian Fletcher
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-08-20 - Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

GET EBOOK

Salamanca was the most decisive battle of the entire Peninsular War. This detailed, illustrated volume recounts its progression, alongside full-colour maps and