Mercer's journal is one of the most outstanding eyewitness accounts of the Waterloo campaign ever published. It is a classic of military history. This new, fully illustrated edition, featuring an extensive introduction and notes by Andrew Uffindell, one of the leading authorities on the Napoleonic Wars, contains a mass of additional material not included in the original.

As the bicentenary of Waterloo approaches, this beautifully prepared, scholarly edition of Mercer's work will be essential reading for anyone who wishes to know what it was really like to fight in the final, great battle against Napoleon. Captain Mercer was in acting command of G Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. His journal vividly describes the campaign, from his landing at Ostend as Wellington's army began to assemble, through the excitement and confusion of the battle itself, and on to the occupation of Paris and the conclusion of the war.

His graphic account – which is just as readable and relevant today as it was when it was written – is full of telling, authentic detail, for Mercer was a gifted, sensitive writer and an acute observer, and he was equally adept at capturing the scenery, people's characters, and his remarkable experiences while under fire.