I thought those with an interest in Napoleonic cavalry might find a list of non-fiction books useful for reference. So here are those I’ve read which cover the Peninsular War and Waterloo period, split by subject, nationality and in alphabetical order of title.
I’ve given the publication date in my personal copies as a guide because a few are long out of print and can be hard to find.
NOTE: Some older books are re-published under different titles, really annoying when you think you’ve found something new only to discover you already have a copy. Where I’ve come across this I’ve put a note after the book description, together with the alternative title if known.
British Cavalry
A Hawk at War by Brian Perrett
Picton Publishing 1986
Anecdotes of Thomas Brotherton, 14th Light Dragoons
And They Rode On by Michael Mann
Michael Russell Publishing 1984
The Kings Dragoon Guards at Waterloo
A Scots Grey at Waterloo by Gareth Glover (Editor)
Frontline Books 2017
Biography of Troop Sergeant Major William Clarke, 2nd (North British) Dragoons (Scots Greys)
Attack the Colour! by A E Clark-Kennedy
The Research Publishing Co 1975
the 1st (Royal) Dragoons in the Peninsula and at Waterloo
Boots and Saddles by Paul L Dawson
Black Tent Publications 2014
Selection, training and equipment of the horses and riders in Wellington’s army
British Cavalry Equipments 1800-1941 by Mike Chappell
Osprey Men-at-Arms Series No. 138
Detail of saddlery and weapons during the given period
British Cavalryman 1792 – 1815 by Phillip Haythornthwaite & Richard Hook
Osprey Warrior Series
Decent general guide to regiments and their actions in this period
Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign by Sir Evelyn Wood
Worley Publications 1992 (Facsimile Edition)
NOTE: Also published by Leonaur as Cavalry at Waterloo: British Mounted Troops in the Campaign of 1815
Charge the Guns! by Paul L Dawson
Black Tent Publications 2015
Wellington’s cavalry at Waterloo
Charging Against Napoleon by Eric Hunt
Leo Cooper 2001
Three hussar officers in Portugal and Spain
Diary of a Cavalry Officer in the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign by William Tomkinson
Generally considered one of the most reliable diarists of the period.
NOTE: Also published as by Leonaur as With Wellington’s Light Cavalry
From Corunna to Waterloo by Gareth Glover (Editor)
Greenhill Books 2007
Letters and journals of Major Edwin Griffith and Captain Frederick Phillips, 15th Hussars, 1801-1816
Gallantry and Discipline by Andrew Bamford
Frontline Books 2016
The 12th Light Dragoons at war with Wellington and really useful as a guide to the internal workings of a cavalry regiment at this time.
Galloping at Everything by Ian Fletcher
Stackridge Books 1999
A more even-handed reappraisal of cavalry actions in Iberia
Horses and Saddlery by Major G Tylden
J A Allen 1980 reprint
An account of the animals used by British and Commonealth armies from the 17th century to the present day and a description of their equipment
Horses in the British Army 1750-1950 by Janet Macdonald
Pen & Sword 2017
Breeding and sourcing of mounts
Instructions and Regulations for the Formation and Movements of the Cavalry
Third Edition printed by the War Office 1799
Available online at Archive.org
Intelligence Officer in the Peninsula by Julia Page
Spellmount 1986
Biography of Edward Charles Cocks, 16th Light Dragoons
Journal of a Cavalry Officer in the Corunna Campaign by Alexander Gordon/H C Wylley
Naval & Military Press Reprint of 1913 Edition
Gordon’s original notes, edited for publication
NOTE: Also published as Hussar in Winter by Leonaur, 2006
On the Road with Wellington by August Schaumann
Wm Heinmann 1924, Reprint
Adventures of a German commissary officer serving with various British infantry and cavalry regiments. Filled with tragedy and humour but perhaps some should be taken with a pinch of salt?
Peninsular Cavalry General by T H McGuffie
George Harrap 1951
Biography of the oft-maligned Robert Ballard Long
Peninsular Portrait 1811-1814 by SCS Cassels (Editor)
Oxford University Press 1963
Letters of Captain William Bragge, 3rd (King’s Own) Dragoons
Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry by the Adjutant General’s Office, 1796
Naval & Miltary Press Reprint
Scarlet Lancer by James Lunt (Editor)
Robert Hart-Davies 1964
Career of John Luard in the navy, 4th Dragoons and 16th Light Dragoons during the Napoleonic Wars and later.
The British Cavalry in the Peninsular War by Mark S Thompson
Reprint of 1831 articles in the United Services Journal
The Cavalry That Broke Napoleon by Richard Goldsbrough
The History Press 2016
The 1st (Kings) Dragoon Guards at Waterloo
The Light Dragoon by Rev George R Gleig
Available online (1844 edition)
The Story of Private George Farmer, 11th Light Dragoons, 1808-1836.
NOTE: Also published by Leonaur as The Adventures of a Light Dragoon in the Napoleonic Wars – A Cavalryman During the Peninsular & Waterloo Campaigns, in Captivity & at the Siege of Bhurtpore, India
The Princes’ Dolls by John Mollo
Leo Cooper 1997
Hussar regiments during the French Revolutionary wars
NOTE: Also published by Pen and Sword in 2014 as From Corunna to Waterloo with the Hussars, easily confused with Gareth Glover’s book of the same name.
The Trumpet of Glory by Ernest A Gray
Robert Hale 1985
Biography of veterinary surgeon John Shipp
The Young Hussar by Michael Birks (Editor)
The Book Guild 2007
Peninsular war journal of Thomas Wildman, 7th Hussars
Waterloo General by John Morewood
Pen and Sword 2016
Biography of Sir William Ponsonby (Union Brigade, Waterloo)
Wellington’s Heavy Cavalry by Bryan Fosten
Osprey Men-at-Arms Series No 130
General uniform and equipment guide
Wellington’s Light Cavalry by Bryan Fosten
Osprey Men-at-Arms Series No 126
General uniform and equipment guide
With Wellington’s Hussars in the Peninsula and Waterloo by Gareth Glover and Colin Yorke (Editors)
Frontline Books 2018
Journal of Lieutenant George Woodbury, 18th Hussars.
With Wellington’s Outposts by Andrew Bamford (Editor)
Frontline Books 2015
John Vandeleur’s Peninsular War and Waterloo letters
French Cavalry
Au Galop! by Paul L Dawson
Black tent Publications 2013
Selection, training and equipment of the horses and riders in Napoleon’s army
Au Pas de Charge by Paul L Dawson
Black tent Publications 2015
Napoleon’s cavalry at Waterloo
Campaigning for Napoleon by Rosemary Brindle (Editor)
Pen and Sword 2006
Diary of Maurice de Tascher 1806-1813
Charging Against Wellington by Robert Burnham
Frontline Books 2011
Detailed account of French cavalry in the Peninsula, 1807-1814
In the Peninsula with a French Hussar by Albert Jean Michel de Rocca
Greenhill Books (1990)
NOTE: Also published as Hussar Rocca
Napoleon’s Cavalry by Emir Bukhari
Presidio 1979
French cavalry types, uniforms
Napoleon’s Cavalry and Its Leaders by David Johnson
Spellmount 2007
General French cavalry treatise
The Exploits of Baron De Marbot by Jean-Baptiste de Marbot
Constable & Robinson (2000, abridged)
Adventures of a chasseur throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Very entertaining memoir but who knows how much of it is fact and how much exaggerated?
NOTE: Also available unabridged and as a three-volume autobiography.
The French Cavalry 1793-1815 by David Johnson
Belmont Publishing 1989
General French cavalry treatise
General Cavalry Info
Charge! Great Cavalry Charges of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith
Greenhill Books 2007
Exactly what the title says.
Napoleonic Cavalry: Napoleonic Weapons and Warfare by Philip Haythornthwaite
Cassell, 2002
General treatise covering the whole spectrum of cavalry during the wars
The British Cavalry Sword from 1600 by Charles Martyn
Pen & Sword 2004
Details of the majority of sabre types issued from 1600 to the present day.
The Warhorse in the Modern Era by Ann Hyland
Black Tent Publications 2009
From breeder to battlefield, 1600-1865. Selecting military horses throughout Europe and beyond.