PENINSULAR WAR.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Pakenham Letters: 1800 to 1815. First edition, principally reproducing letters from the Peninsula by Sir Edward and Sir Hercules Pakenham, brothers-in-law to Wellington. Edward (1778-1815) commanded at Basaco, Salamanca, and Madrid; Hercules (1781-1850) first saw action at Roliça, Wellington recommending him for promotion as "one of the best officers of riflemen I have seen" (ODNB).Edward "liked, admired, and worked well with Wellington... He was appointed deputy adjutant-general in the Peninsula on 7 March 1810; no desk soldier, he disliked what he called 'this insignificant clerking business'... At the battle of Salamanca, on 22 July 1812, described by Wellington as the best manoeuvred battle in the whole war, Pakenham commanded the 3rd division, which broke the French centre" (ODNB).The letters are addressed to their brother, Thomas, 2nd Earl of Longford (1774-1835), and their mother. The collection was assembled by Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford (1864-1915), a veteran of the Second Boer War. He died leading his yeomanry brigade at Gallipoli.Records show a total of just eight institutional copies.

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