Book Review | Death Before Glory by Martin R. Howard (2015)
Title: Death Before Glory: The British Soldier in the West Indies in the French Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815
Author: Martin R. Howard
Publication Date: 2015
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 978-1-78159-341-7
The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars are amongst some of the most written about events in history. Go into any good bookshop and you will not need long to find a shelf full of books on the subject. Yet despite this fact, you might find it difficult to find a book that focusses on the campaigns fought between the British and French in the West Indies, with most writings on the subject being relegated to a chapter at best in books with a wider focus. Author Martin R. Howard, however, has thankfully produced a work to help fill this glaring gap in the current literature.
As the subtitle suggests, this book specifically examines the experiences of the British soldier fighting in the West Indies from the beginning of Britain’s involvement in the French Revolutionary Wars to the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815. The book itself is split into three sections, the first of which briefly examines the opposing armies, including: the British Army battalions sent to the region and the professional French soldier along with his locally raised militias and other citizen warriors. The second section considers the actual campaigns themselves in detail, which took place in and around the West Indies almost continuously throughout the wars. Finally, the author concludes his work with a number of chapters that closely examine the personal experiences of those who fought in the campaigns, shedding much light on what it was like for the ordinary men who had to endure the hardships and terrors associated with service on the islands.
At the time of writing this review, Death Before Glory is one of two Napoleonic Wars related books written by Howard, the other being Walcheren 1809: The Scandalous Destruction of a British Army, itself another understudied aspect of the wars. Like his first title, this book is easy to read and packed full of detail, making it appealing to both the general reader and military history enthusiast alike. Due to the scarcity of works on this specific subject, it should be considered a must-read for those with a serious interest in the period. Overall, the book deserves a five out of five star rating.
