The Recollections of Rifleman Harris

Dorset , 1803.

A shepherd’s son is enlisted as a soldier of the Army of Reserve.

His name is Benjamin Randell Harris, private of the 95th Regiment of Foot.

The Recollections of Benjamin Harris are the classic memoirs of a foot soldier during the Napoleonic Wars, originally published in 1848.

With personal anecdotes, quick wit and vivid descriptions, The Recollections of Benjamin Harris is one of the few surviving accounts of military service from the Napoleonic era.

The memoir charts Harris’s years of active service from joining the 95th Rifles in Ireland, to the Peninsular Wars of Northern Spain.

Harris recollects the gripping campaign at Copenhagen, the engagement at the Battle of Rolica, the gruelling march to Salamanca and, finally, culminates with the Battle of Corunna.

The Recollections of Benjamin Harris is a personal military account from the eyes of a foot soldier, and offers military history fans a unique insight into the Napoleonic wars.

Praise for The Recollections of Benjamin Harris:

“Wonderful memoirs... A piercing eye, a talent for description, and a constant good humour” – Bernard Cornwell

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

BENJAMIN HARRIS was a young shepherd from Dorset who joined the army in 1802 and later joined the 95th Rifles. He told his story to Henry Curling, an officer on the half-pay of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, who came across him long after the war was over when Harris, discharged through ill health in 1814, was working as a cobbler in Soho. CHRISTOPHER HIBBERT served as an infantry officer during the war, was twice wounded and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Hon. D. Litt of Leicester University.