Dear Mr. Cornwell. I am an enthusiastic fan of all of your writing. In the US we are taught that the American Civil war was the first “modern” war. Factors such as railroad supply and troop movement, Ironclad steam powered ships, the first submarine, and Grant’s and Sherman’s tactics are usually sited. I wondered if English history makes the case for the Peninsular war as a “modern” war because of the use of the rifle, improved artillery and Wellington’s tactics. Steven Hall