author

Jonathan Leach

Best known for a vivid memoir of service with the 95th Rifles, this British officer left behind one of the memorable firsthand accounts of the Napoleonic Wars. His writing brings campaigns in Portugal, Spain, France, and Waterloo close to the reader.

1 Audiobook

Rough sketches of the life of an old soldier : during a service in the West Indies; at the siege of Copenhagen in 1807; in the Peninsula and the south of France in the campaigns from 1808 to 1814, with the Light Division; in the Netherlands in 1815; including the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo; with a slight sketch of the three years passed by the army of occupation in France, &c., &c., &c.

Rough sketches of the life of an old soldier : during a service in the West Indies; at the siege of Copenhagen in 1807; in the Peninsula and the south of France in the campaigns from 1808 to 1814, with the Light Division; in the Netherlands in 1815; including the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo; with a slight sketch of the three years passed by the army of occupation in France, &c., &c., &c.

by Jonathan Leach

About the author

Jonathan Leach was a British Army officer, often listed as Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Leach C.B., whose reputation rests on his firsthand military memoirs. Modern editions and bookseller records identify him as the author of Rough Sketches of the Life of an Old Soldier and Captain of the 95th (Rifles), works drawn from his service during the Napoleonic Wars.

His best-known writing follows campaigns from Copenhagen in 1807 through the Peninsula, the south of France, and the 1815 fighting in the Netherlands, including Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Publishers describe these books as eyewitness narratives based on his journals, which helps explain why they remain popular with readers interested in Wellington's army and the history of the famous Light Division.

Because the available sources here are mainly modern edition listings rather than full biographical references, it is safest to present him primarily through his work: a soldier-author whose accounts preserve the texture of campaigning, battle, and army life in the early 19th century.