Tactless and ambitious, George Robert Gleig was perhaps a strange choice for an army chaplain; however, his enthusiasm for army life was clear and as an annalist of military manoeuvres he proved both insightful and popular. First published in 1821, just six years after he had witnessed the British campaigns in Washington and New Orleans, Gleig's volume presented readers with a vivid chronicle of conflicts that had unfolded thousands of miles from their own cosy parlours and drawing rooms. Just as his own itinerary had moved him rapidly from one iconic landmark to the next, so too does the pace of his written narrative progress. From Bermuda to the Blue Mountains and on to New Orleans, this account provides a glimpse of the impressions, sentiments and attitudes fostered among the young men who fought some of the most influential battles in British and American history.
