author
Benjamin Harris
1781–1858
Best known for a vivid memoir of life in the 95th Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars, this former British soldier left behind a rare account from the rank and file rather than the officer class. His recollections are valued for their plainspoken detail, hardship, and battlefield immediacy.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1781, Benjamin Harris is generally identified with Benjamin Randell Harris, the British infantryman remembered for The Recollections of Rifleman Harris, first published in 1848. The book draws on his service in the 95th Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars and has remained notable because it captures the experience of an ordinary soldier in a period more often described by officers and generals.
His memoir follows army life through training, campaigning, and combat, giving readers a direct sense of exhaustion, fear, comradeship, and survival. That grounded, firsthand voice is a large part of why the book still stands out for military and history readers.
The exact details of his death are not consistently presented across sources. Because of that uncertainty, it is safest to say that he was born in 1781 and was still remembered through the publication of his memoir in the mid-19th century.