The Light Dragoon

The Reverend George R. Gleig was a prolific writer of the military history of his own period and his near past, he was also well qualified to do so as a former Ensign in the 85th Regiment, the Chaplain General to H.M. forces and a friendship with the Duke of Wellington. In his capacity at the Royal Chelsea Hospital, he would have been surrounded by any number of former soldiers who campaigned under the Iron Duke and other British generals. Of these many men with stories to tell, Gleig pushed a number forward for publication, such as this book "The Light Dragoon" which he edited into its present form from the recollections of George Farmer.


Farmer's recollections are earthy, vivid and detailed, and valuable from a historical stand-point as they are written by an ex-ranker of the cavalry. His adventures take him from Ireland in when he enlisted in the 11th Light Dragoons, taking him far from his home to the Peninsular, on the Waterloo campaign and to India. Although not written at the time, or following notes at the times of the events that he describes, Farmer's memory and story-telling seem undimmed by the passage of time.