The quote “An army marches on its stomach” is attributed to both Frederick the Great (1712-1786) and to Napoleon (1769-1821). I choose to believe that Frederick the Great uttered it first, and that my ex-soldiers in 1808 are familiar with it.
On the subject of attributions, I confess that the quotations from The Histories of Herodotus are taken from the translation by George Rawlinson, published a few decades after the events of this novel. Earlier translations do exist, but I was unable to locate any copies. I don’t think Letty or Icarus noticed the difference, and I hope you didn’t either.
You may recognize General Wellesley as the man who led Britain’s army to victory in the Peninsular campaign and who vanquished Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. He is most familiar to us as the Duke of Wellington, a title he acquired several years after the events depicted in this novel.
The Battle of Vimeiro took place on August 21st, 1808. The northeastern ridge wasn’t occupied by British troops and the French did attempt to take it, but were repulsed.
General Wellesley had a number of aides-de-camp and one of them really was dismissed for insubordination at the exact same time that my fictitious Dunlop was discharged from his service.
Wellesley also had exploring officers on his staff. The most famous of these men was Colquhoun Grant, who scouted behind enemy lines in British uniform. Grant was captured by the French in 1812, but later escaped.