Compendious Journal of All the Marches, Famous Battles & Sieges (of Marlborough)

The author, an officer of the Royal Regiment of Foot of Ireland, was sent with eleven other regiments under General Richard Ingoldsby by William III to his native Holland in 1701. Millner took with him a diary to record his experiences. So began his 'compendious journal' of Britain's campaigns against France in the twelve opening years of the 18th century, many under the command of that great Captain, John, Duke of Marlborough. Such an eye-witness account, rare even during the Napoleonic Wars a century later, was unusual indeed in the early 18th century, which makes this book a prized treasure to the student of Marlborough's campaigns. Present at the battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, Millner's account is also unusual for the trouble he has taken, not merely to describe the battles, sieges, skirmishes and other engagements he witnessed, but also to assemble much detailed data (laid out in the form of tables) of casualties, orders of battle etc. As such his book is an indispensible aid to all students of 18th century warfare and of Marlborough's campaigns in particular. A rare and valued find indeed.