Le Marchant

The consummate soldier of Wellington's Peninsular Army



Guernsey born John Gaspard Le Marchant was an intellectual born before his time. He had a gift for languages, was a competent musician and a talented water colourist. Nevertheless, he chose a career as a soldier and cavalryman, perhaps unusually, since cavalry officers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were not noted for their intellect. In common with many officers who were associated with the Duke of Wellington in the battles against Napoleon's First Empire, Le Marchant first saw action against the French Revolutionary armies in the Low Countries. The campaign was a debacle, but it caused Le Marchant to consider the formation, drill, equipment and tactical methods employed by the British army in the field, and resulted in his authorship of a number of important treatises on these subjects. These works were particularly well received by the Duke of York and this led to royal patronage and the adoption of several Le Marchant's ideas. His greatest achievement was certainly the creation of the Royal Military College, and his vision of a training school for military officers gave rise not only to Sandhurst, but also West Point and a number of other institutions created on his model internationally. His promotion to major-general excluded him from academic life and he was given command of a brigade of heavy cavalry in the Peninsular War, where he was, predictably, as effective in the field as he was in all his endeavours. Le Marchant fell, sabre in hand among enemy ranks, at the Battle of Salamanca having instituted a brilliant manoeuvre of cavalry which almost certainly sealed what is recognised as one of Wellington's greatest victories. This biography of by Le Marchant's son is accompanied in this special Leonaur edition by a short biography of Le Marchant's military career by historian, John William Cole.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.