They Turned Out So Ill (Paperback)

The Independent Companies of Foreigners are widely regarded as the worst examples of foreign units in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. They were formed, in the last years of these wars, to receive French deserters who had come over to the British in Spain. Each company was intended to serve separately in the garrisons of the West Indies. Instead two of them were used in an active role on the East Coast of America a " this did not turn out well. Drawing of British, French and American sources, this book provides a fuller picture of the men, why the units were formed, why they were used as they were and what actually happened. Judgement can then be made whether the bad reputation of the units, and the soldiers in them, is justified.