Napoleonic News Desk

1998 Book News

Book News from Portsmouth 1797 was a key year in Nelson's life and included two events which had a profound effect upon both his public and private character: 14 February, the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the great naval victory against the Spanish, where he first came to public fame, and 22-25 July, the attack on Santa Cruz, where he suffered a bloody defeat at the hands of the Spanish and lost his arm. Colin White, the Deputy Director of the Royal Naval Museum, has made an extensive study of both events and in 1997 played a key role in the commemoration of their bicentenaries. He gave conference papers, published articles, organised a special exhibition at the Museum and visited Tenerife, where he walked over the battle-site and was introduced to the Spanish sources. As a result, he has discovered that the traditional accounts of both battles need considerable revision. 1797: Nelson's Year of Destiny by Colin White draws together all his research, discoveries and insights into one comprehensive account. It places the two battles in their strategic and political context, and offers new narratives of both conflicts, using the fresh evidence now available. The new information is analysed and compared against the traditional accounts, and the significance of the events for Nelson are highlighted. The book contains some 40 illustrations, mostly drawn from the Royal Naval Museum's collections and new, specially prepared, sets of plans for both battles. It will be published in Autumn 1998 price £ 18.99 by the Royal Naval Museum in association with Alan Sutton, and further details may be obtained from the Royal Naval Museum Trading Company, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, Hants. Book News from Greenhill Greenhill continue to pamper us with an exciting publishing schedule for the next year. Their titles will include: 1998 May The Note-Books of Captain Coignet: Soldier of the Empire, 1799-1816 by Captain Jean-Roch Coignet. A History of the Peninsular War Vol.VIII: The Biographical Dictionary of British Officers Killed and Wounded 1808-1814 by Dr John Hall. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792-1815 by Digby Smith. June The Jena Campaign, 1806 by Colonel F.N.Maude. September The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789-1802 by Paddy Griffith. October On Wellington: The Duke and His Art of War by Jac Weller, edited by Andrew Uffindell. Wellington at Waterloo by Jac Weller (paperback edition). November A Soldier for Napoleon: The Campaigns of Lieutenant Franz J. Hausmann, 7th Bavarian Infantry, 1805-1814, translated by Cynthia Joy Hausmann, edited by John H. Gill. 1999 February Napoleon in the Holy Land by Nathan Schur. March 1807: Napoleon's Campaign in Poland: The Habit of Victory by Kevin Zucker. ?? The Adventures of a Soldier in the Peninsula Under the Duke of Wellington by Edward Costello. 1815 The Waterloo Campaign: The German Victory by Peter Hofschroer. On The Road With Wellington: The Diary of a War Commissary by A.F.L. Schaumann. A History of the Peninsular War Volume IX: New Perspectives, edited by Paddy Griffith. All of the above titles are available mail order through First Empire Book News from Spellmount Spellmount will distribute Swords of the British Army: The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914, to be published on 29 May. This is a revised edition of the book first published in 1975, and is being produced a second time by the National Army Museum priced at £ 50.00 hardback. More Napoleonic Newsdesk Conferences Book News Napoleonic Wars Come to Sainsbury's Re-Enactment (Easter 1998) Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #41 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com