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Introducing the first book in an exciting new series by Helion and Company:
Famous by my Sword: The Army of Montrose and the Military Revolution
The Scottish Royalist armed forces, along with its principal leader, the Marquis of Montrose, have long had a romantic veneer that has obscured their true composition and function.
During the first half of the 17th Century, thousands of Irish and Scots traveled to Europe to fight in the wars. With the darkening clouds gathering at home, many would return to fight for their respective causes. Those that came home had seen military experience in the ranks of the Swedish, French and Spanish armies. They were to bring with them not only arms and ammunition in exchange of pay, but a great deal of experience in the new European ways of waging war.
In this work, the author examines the troops and their operational doctrines within the themes of the early modern military revolution, and places the Scots Royalist within a greater European context of development.
The book is supported by new and original artwork by Tony Barton, Alan Turton, and Peter Dennis, and photographic interpretations of the clothing the troops wore.
Famous By My Sword is the first book in Helion's new Century of the Soldier series.
The Century of the Soldier series will cover the period of military history, c. 1618-1721, the 'golden era' of Pike-and-Shot warfare. This timeframe has been seen by many historians as a period of not only great social change, but of fundamental developments within military matters. This is the period of the 'military revolution', the development of standing armies, the widespread introduction of black-powder weapons, and a greater professionalism within the culture of military personnel. The series will examine the period in a greater degree of detail than has hitherto been attempted, and has a very wide brief, with the intention of covering all aspects of the period, from the battles, campaigns, logistics and tactics, to the personalities, armies, uniforms and equipment.
The series will be supported by an annual conference and a launch event in Shrewsbury in May 2015 – see the Century of the Soldier Facebook page for all the latest news.
Forthcoming titles in 2015 include the War of the Spanish Succession in Spain, Royalist Oxford, and the officers and regiments of the New Model Army.
