The nineteenth century was an age when the entire world seemed to be in conflict, from the Napoleonic Wars and the American Civil War to the Crimean War and the Afghan and Zulu Wars. During this period the musket gradually gave way to the rifle, and heavy artillery was the most feared weapon, yet cavalry and swords were still part of the fighting man's daily experience.

This anthology brings together nearly 30 new and classic stories of thrilling military adventure:

Richard Howard presents a new Alain Luisard story set in the Napoleonic Wars.

John Aquino looks at the early military adventuress of Robert E. Lee.

Peter Garratt gives a new insight into the Charge of the Light Brigade.

John Jakes brings alive a moment of doubt in the American Civil War.

Garry Douglas tells a new adventure of Sergeant John Crossman in the Crimean War.

Plus stories from George MacDonald Fraser, Alexandre Dumas, Prosper Mérimée, Stephen Crane, Ambrose Bierce, and many others.

Edited by Mike Ashley and with an Introduction by Bernard Cornwell.

Contents:

• Introduction by Mike Ashley
• Foreword by Bernard Cornwell
• The First Conflict by Richard Howard (extract from "Bonaparte’s Warriors")
• Spiking the Guns by C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne
• How the Redoubt was Taken by Prosper Mérimée
• The Duel by Joseph Conrad
• Gallant's Gamble by Charles Partington
• "Every Man a King" by Clayton Emery
• Zodomirsky’s Duel by Alexandre Dumas
• High and Mighty by Tim Lebbon
• Perdita’s War by Daphne Wright (extract from "The Distant Kingdom")
• The Crossroads at Churubusco by John T. Aquino
• Damned Ranker by Paul Finch
• The Calvary Charge by Peter T. Garratt
• Vengeance by Pamela Brooks
• The Sharpshooter by Garry Douglas
• The Fallen Plume by Tom Holt
• The Man Who Saw by Talbot Mundy
• Flashman Besieged by George MacDonald Fraser (extract from "Flashman in the Great Game")
• The Private History of a Campaign That Failed by Mark Twain
• The Little Regiment by Stephen Crane
• Mercy at Gettysburg by John Jakes
• From a Soldier’s Wife by Bella Spencer
• One of the Missing by Ambrose Bierce
• The Storming of the Fort by Walter Wood
• Loved I Not Honour More by Amy Myers
• For Valour by L. T. Meade & Clifford Halifax
• Sphinx by Clotilde Graves
• Appendix: Stories of the Victoria Cross by H. Greenhough Smith