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HENRY, Walter.
Events of a Military Life:
Being Recollections after Service in the Peninsular War, Invasion of France, the East Indies, St. Helena, Canada, and elsewhere.
First UK edition, this, uncommon, lively and engaging autobiography was originally published in Canada as Trifles from my Portfolio in 1839. A native of Donegal, Henry studied medicine at Glasgow, St. Thomas', Guy's and St. George's. In 1811 he qualified as a Regimental Surgeon and joined the 66th in the Peninsula, seeing action at the Siege of Badajoz and the Battle of Vittoria, "Particularly useful for army medical services under Wellington" (Bruce). Subsequently he served with the 1st Bn. for 2 years in India, and was involved in the invasion of Nepal. In 1817 he proceeded with the Battalion to St. Helena where he remained until the death of Napoleon, whose post mortem he attended and an account of which is given in the second volume of the present memoir. In later life he was to become Medical Inspector General of Canada where he died in 1860. A note tipped onto a binder's blank of volume I explains that, "This book is scarce and valuable more especially for the account in the 2nd vol., of Napoleon's captivity at St. Helena. It is much referred to in bibliography on that subject & took me some considerable time and trouble to procure it."
2 volumes octavo (188 × 113 mm) Later nineteenth-century plum half morocco on marbled boards, title gilt to spine, double rules to compartments, spine and corner edges, sprinkled edges, aqua endpapers. Just a little rubbed at the extremities, light toning, scattered foxing, a very good copy. Armourial bookplates of Charles Gamble to the front pastedowns.
