Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - Naval and Military History series

This book is an eye-witness account of the Battle of Nile, reputedly Nelson's greatest triumph. Rev. Cooper Willyams was a naval chaplain with the fleet during the battle. His journal and sketches provide the most authentic report of the battle. It was published in London, 1802.

This 1880 book considers, 'with special reference to gunpowder and firearms', the weaponry of the Hindu armies of the Middle Ages. Oppert's claim that gunpowder was being used in India in the twelfth century is probably untenable, but the work remains an interesting study of Hindu fighting forces.

David Steel was a highly respected naval publisher at the turn of the nineteenth century. This influential work, first published in 1794, was the first English manual of best naval practice and provides valuable information about British naval techniques during the Napoleonic wars. Volume 1 describes the making of masts.

Sir Edward James Reed (1830-1906) was a naval architect who pioneered the use of scientific calculations in designing ironclad ships. This 1885 study reviews nineteenth-century research and practice in England and France aimed at improving the stability of iron-built ships, and documents Victorian developments in the subject.

This book, first published in 1899, explores the significant role of American privateers during the Anglo-American wars of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Privateers provided essential reinforcements for the small American navy in attacking and capturing foreign merchant ships during this key period of maritime history.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) served in the Union Navy before becoming a lecturer in naval history and tactics. This 1899 study of the role of the navy in the American Civil War of 1861-1865 was based on official reports as well as recollections of participants on both sides.

Kinglake's Invasion of the Crimea was commissioned by Lady Raglan to counter criticisms of her husband. First published between 1863 and 1887, it was much criticised for its bias. However, it is still a valuable source, as Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to many confidential state documents.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was an American naval officer and lecturer. These volumes, first published in 1893, contain Mahan's detailed analysis of British and French naval strategy during naval campaigns of the French Revolution, which he defines as lasting between 1793-1812. Volume 1 covers the period 1793-1801.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was an American naval officer and lecturer. This highly influential volume, first published in 1890, contains Mahan's analysis and discussions of the factors leading to Britain's naval domination in the eighteenth century, with strategic and tactical recommendations based on these factors.

From 1779 to 1783 a British garrison at Gibraltar fought off a fierce Franco-Spanish siege, with the aid of the navy. This bestselling account by a member of the garrison was first published in 1785. Gibraltar was of vital strategic importance to Britain during the Napoleonic Wars and subsequently.

Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), first Duke of Wellington, was one of the leading military figures of the nineteenth century. These volumes of dispatches, reissued from the revised 1844 edition, provide fascinating details of his military campaigns. Volume 1 covers campaigns in India between 1798-1803.

John Esquemeling (c. 1645-1707) was a French barber-surgeon best remembered for this fascinating account of the buccaneer Henry Morgan's exploits in the West Indies. Covering 1668-1674, this volume, reissued from the 1893 reprint, remains a valuable source for information on seventeenth-century piracy.

This five-volume survey of the state of the British Navy, its ships and organisation, was published between 1882 and 1883. Brassey was much involved with questions of the modernisation and reform of the Navy, at a time when international relations were marked by a maritime arms race.

James Ralfe (fl. 1820-1829) was a historian remembered for this comprehensive history of the British navy between 1803 and 1816. First published in 1820, these volumes contain details of major naval engagements arranged chronologically, providing a valuable reference for study of naval history. Volume 1 covers 1803-1806.

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758-1805) is considered one of the greatest commanders in British naval history. This biography, published in 1809 with the approval of Lord Nelson's family, ran into many editions and is now reissued from the 1840 version. Volume 1 covers Nelson's life up to 1797.

William James (1780-1827) was a lawyer and naval historian best known for this magisterial history of the Royal Navy between 1793 and 1827, which remains one of the most comprehensive accounts of the Navy during the Napoleonic Wars ever published. Volume 1 covers 1793-1796.

Malleson's edition and continuation of Kaye's seminal History of the Sepoy War in India was published as the History of the Indian Mutiny in 1890. Volume 1 contains the first three books, covering introductory remarks on political, military and religious history; a description of the Sepoy army; and the outbreak of the Mutiny.

As Southey states in this two-volume 1813 work, his account is intended to be 'clear and concise enough to become a manual for the young sailor'. Volume 1 covers the period from Nelson's birth and early experiences at sea, up to the battle of the Nile.

With naval experience and contacts, John Charnock (1756-1807) embarked on research into historical and contemporary naval affairs. His six-volume Biographia Navalis (1794-8) is also reissued in this series. This three-volume work, published 1800-2, stands as the first serious study of British naval architecture, and also covers developments overseas.

A comprehensive two-volume account, published in 1845, of the history of the Royal Marines from their formation to 1842, by former marine Paul Harris Nicolas (1790-1860). Volume 1 covers the seventeenth-century genesis of the corps through to the first phase of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Published between 1828 and 1840, Napier's History of the War in the Peninsula was a tremendously influential, if controversial, work. He had access to many of the participants, or their papers, including French ones. The work was both highly praised and criticised. Although biased, it remains an important eyewitness source.

Sir Julian Corbett (1854-1922) was an eminent British naval historian. These volumes, first published in 1907, contain Corbett's detailed historical analysis of English naval strategy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), and were the first scholarly work on the subject. Volume 1 covers 1754-9.

John Marshall (1784-1837) was a naval officer. These volumes, first published between 1823 and 1830, contain biographies of contemporary high-ranking naval officers, providing details of their lives, naval careers and wars in which they took part. Part 1 of this Supplement contains biographies of Post Captains 1806-1808.

John Marshall (1784-1837) was a naval officer and biographer. These volumes, first published between 1823 and 1830, contain biographies of contemporary high-ranking naval officers, providing details of their lives, naval careers and the engagements in which they took part. Volume 1, Part 1, contains biographies of Flag Officers.

These 'opinions and reflections of Napoleon ... in his own words' were published in two volumes in 1822 by Barry O'Meara, who became the ex-emperor's physician during his final exile. This fascinating and controversial work is also a polemic against the allegedly harsh treatment of Napoleon, strongly denied by other witnesses.

Following a controversial naval career, Isaac Schomberg (1753-1813) published this five-volume work in 1802. A classic source of naval history, it includes detailed descriptions of engagements, events on board, and politics at home, as well as an appendix of facts and figures stretching back to the Royal Navy's origins.

This two-volume history, published between 1832 and 1837, is the definitive account of what was effectively the Hanoverian army in exile between 1803 and 1816. Its most notable period of service came when it formed part of Wellington's army during the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign.

William Siborne (1797-1849) constructed his famous model of the field at Waterloo using testimony from scores of British officers who had fought in the battle on 18 June 1815. These accounts form the basis of this classic and extremely detailed two-volume history of the campaign, first published in 1844.

This two-volume work, published in 1851 by the Scottish traveller James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856), charts the career of James Skinner (1778-1841), a military adventurer who acquired wealth and fame in India for raising regiments of irregular cavalry, aiding the British in their wars against the Marathas and Pindaris.

This two-volume work, published in 1847 by cavalry officer Daniel Henry Mackinnon (1813-84) describes his military service in India, in the campaigns against the Afghans in 1839 and the Sikhs in 1845-6. Volume 1 begins with his arrival in India and his involvement during the First Anglo-Afghan War.