The Waterloo Roll Call With Biographical Notes and Anecdotes

About this book

The Waterloo Roll Call with Biographical Notes and Anecdotes is a meticulously compiled reference work that lists every British officer who fought at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, together with their service records, promotions and obituary notices. The second edition, issued in 1904, expands the original 1890 volume by incorporating material supplied by relatives of the officers and by the late J.W. O’Brien of the British Museum Library, whose annotated copy of the first edition supplied many of the new entries. In addition to the staff officers, the book presents a full muster‑roll of the Scots Greys, a separate section on non‑commissioned ranks who later earned commissions, and a series of short memoirs of selected “Waterloo heroes.” Dalton’s introductory essay frames the roll call within the broader political and military context of the Napoleonic Wars, emphasizing the collective effort that secured victory over Napoleon’s forces.

Written in the formal, scholarly style of an early‑20th‑century military historian, the text combines exhaustive enumeration with occasional narrative flourishes and contemporary quotations. Its language reflects the patriotic tone of the period, while the footnotes and extensive references reveal a careful reliance on official army lists, memoirs and personal correspondence. Readers with an interest in British military history, genealogists tracing ancestors who served in 1815, or scholars of the Napoleonic era will find the work’s detailed registers and biographical sketches especially valuable. The book also appeals to collectors of historic regimental literature who appreciate the meticulous documentation and the glimpse it offers into the lives of the men who shaped one of Europe’s defining battles.