WELLINGTON’S AMERICAN GENERAL
THE OLDEST SERVING SOLDIER IN THE BRITISH ARMY
AN ENTERTAINING AND AUTHORITATIVE ACCOUNT OF A REMARKABLE MILITARY CAREER Author: Nicholas Fogg Publisher: Amberley Price: £20
There is an insatiable appetite for books on the Napoleonic Wars, and Nicholas Fogg will find an appreciative audience for his latest work. Wellington’s American General works on several levels. First of all, it is a fascinating account of the unusually long and eventful military career of Frederick Robinson. Secondly, it is a well-written travelogue, packed with detail and anecdote that will be engrossing to any enthusiast of the era. Finally, it offers eyewitness accounts not only of battles but of the swirling rumours surrounding military matters – being a brigadier general did not necessarily mean an officer had any idea what was really going on.
Robinson’s military adventures started when he was just 14, fighting as a Loyalist during the American War of Independence. Remarkably, by the time he was a general in Wellington’s Peninsula Army he was only about halfway through his career, which lasted until 1852.
Robinson is an interesting character.
His voluminous notes have helped Fogg immensely, revealing a man with wit and spirit, but also occasionally an ability to be blind to the struggles of others. The author is not slavish in his depiction of this soldier, in fact on several occasions he criticises an action or comment, but there is also a sense of affection for the man.
The writing is occasionally staccato and sometimes relies too heavily on extended quotes from Fogg’s journals and letters, but overall this is a very readable account that offers valuable insight into the life of a highranking officer in the British Army.