History of the War in France and Belgium, in 1815: Containing Minute Details of the Battles of Quatre-Bras, Ligny, Wavre, and Waterloo

Originally published in 1844, this two-volume work by William Siborne (1797-1830) represented the first major history of the Waterloo Campaign that was based on eyewitness accounts. Although Siborne, an infantry officer, had not served in the campaign himself, he did write to scores of officers who had, and their replies provided him with information he later used to construct the famous but controversial model of the field at Waterloo, which earned him the enmity of the Duke of Wellington (largely because Siborne’s view of events conflicted with the Duke’s). Siborne used much of the material for this book, which covers the entire campaign from Napoleon’s escape from Elba in February 1815, through the battles of Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo, right up to the Allies’ entry into Paris in July. The maps published in a third volume can be viewed online. Volume 2 covers the greater part of the Battle of Waterloo and its aftermath.