Wellington's Rifles: The British Light Infantry and Rifle Regiments, 1758?1815

by Ray Cusick

Until now there has not been a serious study of the rifle-armed regiments of the British Army that earned such renown in the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns. Compiled by a former rifleman, Ray Cusick, who has written extensively on the subject, Wellington’s Rifles examines the new rifle regiments, how they came about, their development, and their actions.

The author also investigates the introduction of rifled muskets into the British Army in the French and Indian wars of the eighteenth century, where they were shunned by the military establishment, to their transition into a key element in Wellington’s extraordinarily successful Peninsular army.

The training and tactics of the riflemen are explained and each significant engagement in which they were involved is explored in thrilling detail. It was the riflemen of the 95th Regiment who inspired Bernard Cornewell’s famous series of Richard Sharpe books. That was the fiction—here is the reality. Featuring a foreword by renowned Napoleonic historian Ian Fletcher, Wellington’s Rifles is an authoritative account of the early history of rifle regiments in the British Army.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2015

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The first part of the book has nohing to do with Wellington, but once you get to the Peninsular War it picks up as you learn about the famous Light Division and its equally famous commander, Robert Craufurd. You also learn about the 5th battalion of the 60th regiment and of course the 95th Rifles. Using the Baker rifle, they became famous for their fighting ability. (Also for a Rifleman named Sharpe.) The last chapter deals with the controversy at Waterloo about which soldiers delivered the telling blow against the Imperial Guard.

This is an interesting book although I have read many of incidents before. As I have done so, I have decided that Wellington gave Craufurd more chances than he deserved. Perhaps his heroic death at Ciudad Rodrigo was part of that.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and an excellent reference work. Pity the author did not live long enough to see in print. Easy to read although the author repeated himself in several places; I tended to use that as review. I found the section up through the American Revolution to be the best. The book desperately needs maps, particularly of the Peninsula Campaign and the battle of Waterloo. Many of the skirmishes and battles mentioned cannot be found in larger works. Altogether an excellent history of Wellington's Rifles or Sharpe's Rifles (if one is a Bernard Cornwall fan).

[John McNair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect example of a good book that does not migrate very well to Kindle format. Rafts of detail and very well researched, yet a wearying slog when read digitally. I had to put it aside several times and move on to something else. The "Wellington" addition in the title is of course misleading since the "story" begins well before Wellington entered the picture. There was, however, a great deal of narrative of the Peninsular War and Wellington's employment of his Rifle Brigade (or the Division to which it was attached), and somewhat less detail (but it a one-day battle) of the Brigade's Waterloo battle. And then nothing. Of course, it states in the title the period covered in 1758 to 1815, but in one Appendix is listed the transformation of the Rifles over the years, to now. But any more detail beyond 1815 would mean a much bigger book, and therefore even more tiresome in Kindle format.