Osprey 232

The Armies of Bolivar
and San Martin (booklet)

Reviewed by Dave Sweet

Text by Terry Hooker and Ron Poulter. Colorplates by Ron Poulter. Osprey Menat-Arms Series No. 232. London: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1991. $10.95 in US.

For those interested in the South American Wars of Independence, this book, as the title indicates, concentrates on the armies and campaigns of the two great "Liberators", Bolivarand San Martin. Although, in a volume the size of Osprey's standard format, some details have to be left out, the authors have included useful material on battles, campaigns, organizations and uniforms. The book focuses on approximately 1813-1824, and includes information on such important battles as Boyaca, Carabobo, Chacabuco, and Ayacucho, as well as many others. There appears to be enough to set up basic armies of both Bolivar and San Martin, as well as some incidental information on their Spanish Royalist opponents.

Based on an address given in the book, Terry Hooker may be the same person as the producer of El Dorado, a magazine on Central and South American military subjects (see my review in THE COURIER, Vol. IX, No. 1, p. 35). Ron Poulter's plates are bright and clear. They admit to emphasizing the British in South American service, but the plates also include a variety of othersubjects. In addition, the book has a numberof black and white illustrations, such as reproductions of old paintings or material in museums.

From my own researches, I am not sure that I would agree with every word and illustration in the book, but there is room for debate, the authors appear to have done a great deal of research, and their interpretations seem at least possible ones from the sometimes conflicting or fragmentary sources. For example, the authors place the famous British Legion infantry in red as of 1821 - I had a source describing components of light blue as of about 1819, which might represent a conflict or just a different earlier uniform. In any event, this book pulls together information in one convenient place.

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