William Congreve

The Details of the Rocket System Employed by the British Army During the Napoleonic Wars William Congreve

Congreve's own work on the effectiveness and operation of his rockets




In 1814 British Guards officer Rees Gronow took part in the Peninsula War action known as 'The Passage of the River Adour'. He wrote of his experiences during that battle in his reminiscences; 'Three or four regiments of French infantry were approaching rapidly when a well-directed fire of rockets fell amongst them. The consternation of the Frenchmen was such when these hissing, serpent-like projectiles descended, that a panic ensued and they retreated'. Congreve's invention had come to the battlefield. Though many of his contemporaries were either suspicious of his innovation or contemptuous of its potential, such was the effectiveness of well managed rockets that military arsenals would include them thereafter. Congreve's book describes his early rockets, the formation, equipment and practices of 'rocket troops' and the various applications for the use of rockets in different military scenarios. This Leonaur edition contains the illustrations which originally appeared in the book plus additional illustrations of early rocket troops. This is an essential book for those interested in the development of rocket warfare and for modellers, war-gamers and re-enactors.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.