ebooks Armies of the Irish Rebellion 1798 (Men-at-Arms) by Stuart Reid in History

Review

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful. A Parochial DisappointmentBy R. A ForczykI was looking forward to this volume greatly; since the French landing in Ireland in 1798 provides history with its only example of a Napoleonic campaign fought in the UK; but Stuart Reid's Armies of the Irish Rebellion 1798 comes up fairly short. While there are useful tidbits of information; they are almost entirely about the Anglo-Irish forces; not the Irish rebels or the French. Indeed; Reid almost misses including the French in the volume at all and is content to fob them off as ineffective. Instead; this volume is primarily about the British Army in Ireland and its associated local troops (Yeomanry; militia; fencibles). Overall; I found this volume too parochial and pro-British; which has appeared in some of Stuart's earlier books on Culloden. The author begins the volume by providing a brief background on the United Irishmen; followed by a 4-5 page campaign chronology (Humbert's landing in Killala gets exactly five sentences here). Afterwards; the author discusses the organization and training of the British Army in Ireland; beginning with the regulars and moving into the lower species; militia; yeomanry and fencibles. Along the way; the author does make some good points; such as that at the start of the war with France in 1793 one-third of the British army was in Ireland. The manner in which Scots and Irish Catholics were recruited for service in Ireland is also interesting; although it doesn't tell us much about the campaign of 1798. However; the biggest disappointment is that the author provides no order of battle for either the campaign as a whole or even battles such as Castlebar. Thus; if you want to find out which units were involved in defeating the French invasion; this volume is nearly useless. The Irish rebels are covered in only six pages and much of the information appears based upon British stereotypes. Are there no Irish historical studies on the rebels; Mr. Reid? Amazingly; the French forces are covered in just two pages of text and much of what appears is poorly researched. First; the author focuses on the so-called Black Legion and the earlier Fishguard expedition; which really had nothing to do with the 1798 landings in Ireland. Second; the author clearly did not use Sarrazin's La Descente des Francais en Irlande 1798; which was re-printed in 1998. Humbert's 2-week campaign in Ireland was doomed; but his victory at Castlebar deserves more than the sentence or two it gets here. Oddly; even General Cornwallis; the victor at Ballinimuck; is virtually ignored. While the author mentions rebel massacres of loyalists; he barely addresses the harsh measures enacted upon the Irish as a result of the '98 (Stuart did the same for the Scottish and the '45). Essentially; this is another one of Reid's volumes on the Eighteenth Century British Army; with a smidgeon about the 1798 campaign worked in.