History of the British Legion, and War in Spain

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Title continues: "From Personal Observations and Other Authentic Sources, Containing a Correct Detail of the Events of the Expedition under General Evans, - Its Moral, Political, a nd Military Character, - Its Successes and Reverses in the Engagements Fought, and Hardships Suffered, with Numerous Anecdotes of Individuals, Etc., Etc., Etc. With an Appendix, Containing Every Officer's name, Rank, and Service, that was in the Expedition, And a Portrait of Lt. Gen. Sir George De Lacy Evans, M.P G.C. St. F. and K.C.B." This book is an unusual military memoir, an exploration of a near-forgotten episode in British military history. The British Legion was the name of an expeditionary force raised in 1837 to fight in the First Carlist War, a dynastic dispute in Spain. Don Carlos, brother of the deceased Spanish King Ferdinand, refused to accept the succession of his young neice Isabella and raised the standard of revolt in the ultra-conservative Navarre and Basque provinces of northern Spain. Britain and France, fearing instability, sent forces to shore up the relatively liberal Madrid regime against the Carlists. The campaign that followed was messy, inconclusive, and, according to Somerville's account, characterised by incompetence, cowardice and even mutiny on his own side. The narrative switches between accounts of bloody battles at Irun and St. Sebastian, comparisons with the Peninsular War fought over the same terrain only a quarter of a century before, and farcical episodes in which Somerville makes no attempt to disguise his disgust with his own side. An inglorious episode in the history of British arms, it's not surprising that the Carlist Wars are today relatively unknown even to military buffs. This book, however, will fill a gap in their knowledge. Includes appendices listing the Legion's Nominal Roll etc. Show more