Rifle and Riflemen: Two Works on the Development of Light Troops, Their Operations & Weapons

Twenty-Three Years Practice and Observations with Rifle Guns
by Ezekiel Baker

An iconic weapon and the soldiers who carried it

This remarkable and unique Leonaur edition comprises two vital accounts; one concerning the development of the military rifle in the British Army and the other a treatise on the formation and operational activities of the light troops who employed it and who made both the rifle and themselves famous. The treatise, translated from the original German, is the work of Colonel von Ehwald and is essentially a guide book for the conduct of the petit guerre-the skirmishing combat the riflemen and other light infantry knew. Ehwald also covers the activities of light cavalry. This is very far from being simply a military instruction manual because the author was no mere theorist. He fought during the American War of Independence in British pay with the mercenary Hessians and commanded a 'Jaeger' corps of light troops in the Danish Army. So the concepts he explains in his book have been elaborated by the inclusion of descriptions real battlefield incidents based on personal experience. Those interested in the activities of light troops in action will be introduced to the activities of Simcoe's Queen's Rangers and others. In its original edition this book was published using an archaic form of printed English with widespread use of ligatured characters and a form of the letter 'f' used as the letter 's.' This edition has replaced those characters, often difficult to read for the modern reader, with contemporary forms, making Ehwald's text truly 'up to date.' Ehwald's book is accompanied here by Ezekiel Baker's remarkable book on the creation, construction, maintenanance, firing and capabilities of his legendary Baker Rifle, the weapon used to such deadly effect by the green coated riflemen-the 95th and 60th-of Wellington's Army of the Peninsular War and Waterloo. A must for all 'Rifles' enthusiasts.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.