On the Road With Wellington (Paperback)
Diary of a War Commissary in the Peninsular Campaign
Series: The Napoleonic Library
Pages: 448
Illustrations: 32 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781526781970
Published: 17th August 2020
Last Released: 17th November 2022
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'August Schaumann was a natural born storyteller. He describes his Peninsula adventures so vividly that you get the feeling that you are there, riding next to him dodging French cavalry patrols and conquering the hearts and bodies of Spanish and Portuguese ladies.' - Fons Libert, The Napoleonic Series
This remarkable memoir captures the life and adventures of a junior officer as he endures the drama and agonies of the fierce struggle in Spain, Portugal, and southern France between 1808 and 1814.
As a commissary, he was entrusted with gathering supplies and was caught up in
a host of brawls and skirmishes. He laments the lot of commissaries exposing themselves to the enemy on their foraging raids, risking assassination by enraged natives, and being treated shabbily by the generals.
This edition is introduced by Bernard Cornwell, author of the Sharpe series of novels and TV films.
"This book is a fabulous eye-opener about the early part of the Peninsular War, seen through the eyes of a particularly intelligent young man who is able to speak the truth as he witnessed it."
The Napoleonic Guide
Read the review here
This book describes the life and adventures of August Schaumann, who rose through the ranks to become a junior subaltern in the King’s German Legion, as he serves in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France 1808-1814. As a commissary Schaumann was entrusted with gathering supplies; in his account he provides a picture of the military operations in which he was involved and offers insights into some aspects of the Napoleonic Wars that generally do not receive much attention. He laments, for example, the lot of commissaries who were often exposed to the enemy on their foraging raids, risked being killed by angry natives, or were treated somewhat shabbily by senior officers. He also reveals the logistical problems that both sides faced in this era and how the civilian populations of Spain and Portugal coped during this period of their history. First published in 1999, this 2015 400 page edition features an introduction by Bernard Cornwell, author of the Sharpe series of novels.
Stuart Asquith, Author
As featured on.
Julian Stockwin Blog
About A L F Schaumann
SCHAUMANN was born in Hanover and at the age of 16 he was compelled to join the army against his will, but he eventually rose through the ranks to the rank of junior-subaltern, though he left the Hanoverian Army in 1799. When France invaded Hanover in 1803 Schaumann went to England where he was employed as a clerk at a Newcastle firm. In 1807 he decided to move to Russia. He never made it there because heavy storms forced him to take refuge in Goteborg, Sweden. Here too he found a brief employment as a clerk. When the English fleet sailed back to England after its Swedish expedition in 1808 August he boarded one of its ships and was taken to England to start a new career as war commissary in the King's German Legion.