Speaker: Séverine Angers, PhD student, History Department, University of York
This lecture will explore the correspondence of British officers during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to uncover the challenges of wartime relationships with their families. We’ll look at the figures of the son and the brother behind the uniform.
The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars saw an unprecedented number of British men separated from their families and sent overseas to fight. Officers on campaign put considerable efforts in maintaining communication with their families in often challenging circumstances.
Looking at the experiences of British officers who fought between 1793-1815, this lecture will explore how they nurtured ties with and endured separation with their parents and siblings who remained in Britain. What did officers write about in the letters they sent to their loved ones? How did they remain involve in their familial circles at distance? Was there a change in the nature of their relationship with home after being away at war for so long?
In placing at the forefront their identities as sons and brothers, this lecture will give a new perspective on British officers’ wartime experiences during the Napoleonic era. Through this lens, war emerges as a shared and affective experience written between the battlefield and home.
Image: Letter from John Lucie Blackman to his father and mother, Niza, 4 May, 1812. National Army Museum (1988-07-52)
Please register for this lecture to be sent a link to access the online presentation.
This is a free lecture, please consider making a donation to support our work as guardians of the national collection of arms and armour.
