Customer Reviews
A very interesting book - By: PhilosopherKing, 22 Nov 2008 
This book covers approximately the period from 1750 to 1850. During this period the British soldiers or Red Coats fought in several major wars against France as well as the American War of Independence & a number of colonial wars. British soldiers fought on European, Asian, African & North American soil.
This is an interesting book covering a number of different topics including recruitment, the regiments, the families of soldiers, the camp women, the campaigns & many other topics. It seems that the poorer parts of the British Isles/United Kingdom such as Ireland & the highlands of Scotland provided a disproportionate number of British soldiers.
Richard Holmes knows his stuff & he provides details of the regiments throughout the period as names & numbers sometimes changed. Most people realize that Britain's European enemies such as the French were well armed but there is a myth that alll non-Western armies were defeated by the British due to superior firepower. This wasn't always the case as the British fought in several battles in e.g. India & China where they faced & defeated troops who not only outnumbered them but were well supplied with cavalry, artillery & muskets.
Altogether a compelling read.
Very Good - By: D. Spencer, 07 Mar 2008 
After a shaky start, this book rewards perseverence. It leaves no stone unturned in its exploration of army life in the 18th & 19th centuries (with an emphasis on the latter). I got mine in a second hand bookshop but won't be getting rid of it like the original owner did.
Delightful - By: Didier, 17 Sep 2007 For anyone even remotely interested in one of the most glorious periods of the British army and/or lovers of historical novels (think of Sharpe for one) this should be a real treat! Richard Holmes is not only an expert but knows how to write a compelling book, & in 'Redcoat' he's outdone himself.
Virtuallly every aspect of army life 'in the age of horse & musket' is treated in detail & often comes with eyewitness accounts or comments from contemporaries. Thoroughly enjoyable, I wish there were more of the kind!
Hard going - By: M. J. Bailey, 13 Aug 2007 
First things first. Richard Holmes is a meticulous researcher who obviously loves his subject, & full marks for him to that. Having put so much work into this book, he hardly deserves criticism from amateurs such as myself.
Yet, sadly, I found my love of History of Empire started to falter as I ploughed through page after page of exhaustive (and exhausting) detail.
The guy who wrote the "Turgid" review had it spot on.
A sociology of the British soldier 1700-1860 - By: A. Fonteyne, 15 Apr 2007 Professor Holmes has written a thematic sociological history of the British redcoated soldier in the age of the Brown Bess musket, i.e from the time of the First Hanoverian kings to the Indian Mutiny, with a focus on their experiences during the main conflicts, i.e the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea & the Indian Mutiny. It is built as a narrative. The style is very fluid & the text is full of quotes & anecdotes, it is well structured in chapters on specific themes.
It covers:
-the nature of warfare in Europe & the colonies
-weapons & their effect on tactics, injuries & casualties
-recruitment, command & discipline
-attitude under fire & towards the enemy
-life in barracks & on the march
-differences in social origins, ethics, prospects & lifestyle between officers & enlisted men & their families
It gives specific treatment to the subjects of infantry, cavalry, artillery, specialist services, siege warfare. It is a book on the military culture of the times in alll its aspects rather than on "events".
All in alll a very readable & informative study. Fans of Professor Holmes or John Keegan will not be disappointed.
