Cavalry Surgeon

Cavalry Surgeon Synopsis

With one of Wellington's heavy cavalry regiments during the war in Iberia

Samuel Broughton was an assistant surgeon for a regiment of militia before transferring to the 2nd Life Guards. He served with this elite cavalry regiment throughout the campaigns in Portugal, Spain and into the South of France and in the concluding battle for Toulouse. Broughton's take on the campaign as it appears in this collection of his letters-originally published in 1815-reveals a man with a keen eye for the details of the countryside through which he travelled and the habits and cultures of the people he met. This a very personal account of war from an observant and thoughtful medical man who clearly wanted to share his experiences of a journey through wartime. It is rich in period colour making it ideal background reference material of this fascinating episode of the Napoleonic War.