author
Benjamin Harris
1781–1858
Best remembered for a vivid memoir of life in the 95th Rifles, this former British infantryman left one of the clearest enlisted soldiers’ views of the Napoleonic Wars. His recollections are valued for their plainspoken detail, toughness, and humanity.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1781, Benjamin Randell Harris was a British soldier who served in the 95th Regiment of Foot, the famous Rifles, during the Napoleonic Wars. He later became known for The Recollections of Rifleman Harris, a memoir that stands out because it tells the story of war from the viewpoint of an ordinary rank-and-file soldier rather than an officer.
The book was published in 1848 and is closely associated with Captain Henry Curling, who helped bring Harris’s memories into print. Readers and historians have continued to value it for its direct account of campaigning, hardship, comradeship, and survival in Wellington’s army.
Some sources identify him simply as Benjamin Harris, while others use the fuller name Benjamin Randell Harris. Details of his later life are less consistently reported, but he is generally listed as having lived from 1781 to 1858.