Dear Bernard, Thank you for always answering my questions and comments with such graciousness. I enjoyed ‘Agincourt’ and await ‘Burning Land’ and the Revolutionary War novel with excitement as well. I am eager to learn what campaign in our War of Independence you have chosen to address. I am writing to recommend a website I have discovered, in case you may not have seen it–it’s called napoleonistyka.atspace.com, and its focus is, as the heading implies, “Napoleon, His Army and His Enemies.” It is a rich treasure trove of information, detailed facts, illustrations, and photos, on oft-overlooked aspects of the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon. It is often updated and I view it frequently. Interesting to note was the respect the British bore for their French adversaries: one British observer wrote that “it is always impressive to see with what gallantry the French officers lead, and with what vehemence the troops follow.” Another observed that “our movements to theirs were as a dung cart to a mail coach.” Allied veterans must have recalled the pas-de-charge as an ominous sound indeed. Also, there are daguerreotypes online, taken in the 1850s, of French veterans of Bonaparte’s army in full uniform, as old men. If you have not seen them, a simple “google” search will lead to them–they are worth seeing. To think that there are PHOTOS of the men who saw Eylau, Wagram, Spain and Waterloo. It makes them seem less “distant” in time.

Lastly, I hope that when you return to Sharpe, we may see more of the colorful panoply of foreign regiments in the service of France–the fierce and devoted Poles (of whom Boney said that “nothing is impossible for my Poles!”), the gallant red-coated Swiss and green-clad Irish Legion, the stolid Italian units, Belgian line regiments, Germans, Croats, and so forth. It’s been years since I read ‘Sharpe’s Eagle’ but I recall that Sharpe took the eagle from the enemy’s white-uniformed Dutch troops. I have always thought that when you included some of these other components of the French armies, it enriched your splendid tales greatly, and helped bring the reader into the period even more effectively. Thanks for reading my thoughts, and I will keep relishing your works as long as you keep writing them. Best wishes in the New Year! MARC SALZANO, New York