Age of Revolution launches FREE TO ACCESS Napoleonic War Archive Material
Waterloo 200 Ltd and the Age of Revolution have commissioned Gareth Glover to transcribe a large selection of Napoleonic archival material for free access by both students, teachers and enthusiasts.
Nothing gives a clearer understanding of the lives led by the officers, soldiers and often their accompanying wives and children, than their contemporary accounts, recording their sufferings, the hardships and the joys experienced whilst campaigning in Portugal, Spain and France. They speak with authenticity, their accounts are generally uncomplicated by politics and were often written contemporaneously, therefore avoiding the problems of being heavily influenced by later professional histories. This is the raw truth as they saw it.
The amount of material now made available is huge and will be added to further in the future. This can make this resource appear formidable and difficult to navigate. Therefore, the reader has the choice of simply reading each account separately as they stand, or they can use the search facility to quickly identify material which deals with a specific subject that they are researching. The choice is yours.
Gareth Glover has also added copious notes to the various texts, identifying the people, places or incidents that they refer to, in an effort to further aid the researcher.
It is hoped that you will find this an invaluable resource and that you will use it again and again to aid your research or simply to foster an interest in the subject and that it will encourage the reader to delve further into this enthralling subject.
Please see the news release below along with the link to the archive.
News Release
Age of Revolution, an educational legacy project from Waterloo 200 Ltd, has funded the creation of an online archives project in which leading military historian, Gareth Glover, has transcribed a significant number of primary and contemporary material from worldwide archives pertaining to memoirs, journals and letters from British officers and men written during the Napoleonic Wars.
The archives are housed in a CMS database, which is accessible via the Waterloo Association, an historical society for those interested in the Battle of Waterloo and the Peninsular War campaigns of the Duke of Wellington. The database is easy to navigate and free to access to all interested audiences, in particular teachers, lecturers, researchers, enthusiasts and those with a deep interest in the period, including family history researchers. The archive is nearly 400,000 words and covers a wide range of material from the letters of ordinary soldiers to junior officers and generals. It includes material from all services, through the infantry, cavalry and artillery to the medical staff and also contains some official correspondence. It also readily facilitates the investigation of numerous aspects of the life of the soldiers and their families while on campaign.
Gareth Glover says:
“The archives of not only Britain, but Ireland, Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand are teeming with the memoirs, journals and letters from British officers written during the Napoleonic Wars. Much of this extraordinary material has never been published as it is difficult to read, in very poor condition (and rapidly deteriorating) and difficult to access. I have spent over three years transcribing this fascinating subject matter and am delighted to share this valuable research facility.” He adds, “Nothing explains the history of the period better than the contemporary journals and letters of those who were there and experienced these trials and tribulations first hand. The material from and to Lieutenant General Sir William Clinton on the East Coast of Spain is particularly rare and of great value. However, the letters and journals of the ordinary soldiers is for me by far the most interesting aspect of the collection and helps to dispel the myth that most soldiers could not read and write.”
Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter KCVO OBE DL, Co-Chairman Waterloo200 Ltd and Chairman of the Waterloo Association:
“Age of Revolution has been delighted to fund this educational source of great value for both teachers and lecturers seeking original source material and for historians, researchers and the wider public interested in this period of history.” He adds, “It is a long lasting legacy of the Government’s educational grant for the promotion of the study of Waterloo and the Napoleonic Wars.”
About the Age of Revolution
The Age of Revolution resource, working with both national educational and cultural partners, brings together objects and artworks from museums and galleries across the UK, together with fascinating facts, information and curriculum-linked ideas to help bring this extraordinary period to life. The Age of Revolution is an educational legacy project, from Waterloo 200 Ltd – the official body recognised by the UK government to support the commemoration of the Battle of Waterloo during its bicentenary in 2015 and beyond.
For further information visit www.ageofrevolution.org
About the Waterloo Association
The Waterloo Association is an historical society for those interested in the Battle of Waterloo and the Peninsular Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington. The Waterloo Association regularly contributes to the maintenance and preservation of existing monuments. The Association was responsible for the erection, and dedication in 2002, of a major memorial at Quatre Bras, commemorating the British and Hanoverian troops that fought and died there on 16th June 1815.
For further information visit https://www.waterlooassociation.org.uk/
About Gareth Glover
Gareth Glover is an ex Royal Navy officer who has studied the Napoleonic wars for over forty years. He is an acknowledged expert on the Napoleonic archival material available across the commonwealth and America, and has published in excess of ninety books and monographs to date.
For further information visit: www.garethglovercollection.com
Notes to editors
For additional quotes or information please contact:
Victoria Nielson, CEO Waterloo 200 Ltd