Book Description

Wellington added a Judge-Advocate-General to his staff in 1812 “to ensure that courts-martial were conducted with proper forms and due appreciation of the validity of evidence – in which the commander-in-chief considered that they had often failed . . . Larpent, who has left an interesting diary of his duties and his personal adventures [he was captured briefly in 1813 but immediately exchanged], discharged the function of this office . . . down to the end of the war” (Oman, Wellington’s Army pp. 159–160). “When in the Peninsula, Larpent wrote descriptive letters to his stepmother, Anna Margaretta Larpent. Publication of this important first-hand account of Wellington’s headquarters was deferred until after Wellington’s death. The letters were edited, with a biographical preface by Larpent’s half-brother, Sir George Larpent, first baronet (1786–1855), in 1853 and passed through three editions in the same year” (Oxford DNB). Author — Larpent, F. Seymour 1776-1845. Editor — Larpent, George, Sir, 1786-1855. Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London: R. Bentley, 1853. Original Page Count – 296 pages.