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"Right in front of us was drawn up a triple line of Russian grenadiers"
ADVENTURES
OF GERARD
By A. CONAN DOYLE
PREFACE
I HOPE that some readers may possibly be interested in these little tales of the Napoleonic soldiers to the extent of following them up to the springs from which they flow. The age was rich in military material, some of it the most human and the most picturesque that I have ever read. Setting aside historical works or the biographies of the leaders there is a mass of evidence written by the actual fighting men themselves, which describes their feelings and their experiences, stated always from the point of view of the particular branch of the service to which they belonged. The Cavalry were particularly happy in their writers of memoirs. Thus De Rocca in his "Memoires sur la guerre des Français en Espagne" has given the narrative of a Hussar, while De Naylies in his Mémoires sur la guerre d'Espagne gives the same campaigns from the point of view of the Dragoon. Then we have the "Souvenirs Militaires du Colonel de Gonneville," which treats a series of wars, including that of Spain, as seen from under the steel-brimmed hair-crested helmet of a Cuirassier. Pre-eminent among all these works, and among all military memoirs, are the famous reminiscences of Marbot, which can be obtained in an English form. Marbot was a Chasseur, so again we obtain the Cavalry point of view. Among other books which help one to an understanding of the Napoleonic soldier I would specially recommend "Les Cahiers du Capitaine Coignet," which treat the wars from the point of view of the private of the Guards, and "Les Mémoires du Sergeant Bourgoyne," who was a non-commissioned officer in the same corps. The "Journal" of Sergeant Fricasse and the "Recollections" of de Fezenac and of de Segur complete the materials from which I have worked in my endeavour to give a true historical and military atmosphere to an imaginary figure.
March, 1903.
CONTENTS
I.
How Brigadier Gerard Lost His Ear
II.
How the Brigadier Captured Saragossa
III.
How the Brigadier Slew the Fox
IV.
How the Brigadier Saved the Army
V.
How the Brigadier Triumphed in England
VI.
How the Brigadier Rode to Minsk
VII.
How the Brigadier Bore Himself at Waterloo
- I.—The Story of the Forest Inn
- II.—The Story of the Nine Prussian Horsemen
VIII.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1930, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 93 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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