George Allan Madden was born in London on the 3rd of January 1771. . The story of his unusual military career is described in this work.
His active service covered twenty-four years and included being shipwrecked, resigning the service following a court martial, fighting a duel, being reinstated to the army, and then finally being asked to relinquish his command due to a squabble over seniority. In that time he had some memorable successes and some disappointing reverses. His early military service in Egypt earned him the respect of his senior officers. His later service in the Peninsula was a great deal less successful where he initially commanded a Portuguese cavalry brigade. Its first significant action was a major success when they overcame a body French cavalry which had just routed the Spanish cavalry saving the Spanish infantry which would otherwise have been destroyed. The later actions of his brigade were less successful and was generally attributed to his troops spending to much time in the vicinity of the unreliable Spanish cavalry.
The story as told in this narrative depicts Madden as an officer who has been unfairly treated and missed all his opportunities for glory. The same story as told by others is slightly different as I will try to show in this book. The story is however, a unique insight into the life of a British cavalry officer. His services with the Portuguese cavalry are highly illuminating as to the British view of both the Portuguese and the Spanish cavalry.
This work was originally printed in 1820 as part of Madden's entry in the Royal Military Calendar, a biography of serving officers. His 70 page entry is the second largest, only Wellington's being longer. I do not know why he warranted such an extensive entry but we may never have seen this work if it was not published here.
Printed and bound by hand with card cover. Approximately 120 pages in length.
Price £16 Sterling. ISBN 0-09522930-6-4
Copyright © December 2002 Mark S Thompson