author
Edward Costello
1788–1869
A former Rifle Brigade soldier turned memoirist, he wrote one of the liveliest first-hand accounts of the Napoleonic wars from the ranks. His adventures carry readers from the Peninsular campaigns to later fighting in Spain, all told with the directness of someone who was there.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Ireland in 1788, Edward Costello left a cabinet-making apprenticeship and enlisted in 1806 in the 95th Regiment, later known as the Rifle Brigade. He served through major campaigns in the Peninsula under Wellington, later fought in Spain with the British Legion, and eventually became one of the wardens of the Tower of London.
Costello is best known for Adventures of a Soldier, Written by Himself, a memoir drawn from his years of service. The book follows his experience as a non-commissioned officer and later officer, and it has endured because it offers a vivid soldier's-eye view of war rather than a distant official history.
He died in 1869. Today he is remembered not only as a veteran of the Napoleonic era, but also as a rare and engaging witness whose writing preserves the everyday life, danger, and rough humor of campaigning.