Epochs of the British Army. By Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. Spalding.
(W. H. Allen and Co.)—Colonel Spalding makes eight epochs, beginning with the Commonwealth (for, as he remarks, "though the British Army dates from the Restoration, several of the regiments had previously served under the Commonwealth,") and ending with the "Egyptian Epoch." The Battle of the Downs, and the siege and capture of Dunkirk, are the leading incidents of the first chapter. It is an almost forgotten campaign, though remarkable for the fact, not repeated for nearly two centuries, that English and French fought side by side. Turenne was in command of the allied forces, and Napoleon considered the victory one of his most brilliant achievements. The defence of Tangiers was the most considerable feat of the Restoration period. William III., the hero of the third period (the Revolution), did not meet with the success which he deserved. This barren time is followed by the glories of Blenheim. The Georgian Epoch pre- sents nothing to be very proud of. The Peninsular follows, but the scheme of the book seems not to have included the crowning victory of Waterloo. Chapter the seventh gives us the Crimean Epoch, and the eighth a falling-off, it must be confessed, in the Egyptian. Each chapter is illustrated with a good coloured picture of the military costumes of the time. The narrative is clear and spirited.
Previous page
