Dragon Rampant

‘I never saw any regiment in such order,’ remarked Wellington shortly before the battle of Waterloo, ‘it was the most complete and handsome military body I ever looked at.’ The object of the duke's admiration was the 23rd Regiment of Foot, the Royal Welch Fusiliers. 'Dragon Rampant' is the story of this famous fighting unit during the tumultuous and bloody period of the wars with France. Based on rare and untouched personal memoirs and correspondence as well as new research, this compelling new history offers new insights into the evolution of the British army. Largely scorned by even its own countrymen in 1793, by 1815 it had become a professional force service capable of triumphing over the greatest general and army of the time.

The men of the Royal Welch Fusiliers come alive again as Graves tracks them across three continents. We join them in major battles and countless minor actions, and empathize with them as they endure short rations, shipwreck and disease. We come to know such hard-bitten fighting men as the intrepid Drummer Richard Bentinck; the love-sick Lt George Booker; the eccentric Major Jack Hill; the naive Private Thomas Jeremiah; and, above all, their beloved commander, Lt-Col. Harvey Ellis, who led his Fusiliers in some of the most famous actions of the time only to fall at Waterloo, the last and greatest of them all. We also meet many of the men fought alongside the Fusiliers, as well as the women who faithfully accompanied them on their travels. This is a book that will appeal to all those interested in the Napoleonic wars, musket period tactics and the meaning and the cost of courage.