Major Alexander Gillespie

Major Alexander Gillespie was a British author associated with the early nineteenth century. He is credited with An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps, from its Original Institution down to the Present Era, 1803, a substantial history of the Royal Marines that has been preserved by major public-domain archives.

He also wrote Gleanings and Remarks: Collected During Many Months of Residence at Buenos Ayres, and Within the Upper Country, which points to time spent in South America and helps explain the firsthand, report-like quality of his writing. Across the works that can be confirmed here, he comes across as a soldier-author who wrote from direct experience as well as research.

Little reliable biographical detail beyond his rank and authorship was clearly confirmed in the sources reviewed, so it is safest to remember him primarily through the books he left behind: detailed, observant accounts that reflect British military and travel writing of his period.