MS 362 Diary of Samuel Holt Beever

Manuscript diary of Samuel Holt Beever, from a Manchester merchant family, providing an account of his travel through Portugal and Spain during the War of Independence or Peninsular War. The volume contains 183 pages. 

Holt Beever describes the countryside, towns and pueblos, buildings and fortifications, the corruption of drivers and muleteers, agriculture, the lack of provisions, the problems of flies and mosquitoes, visits to recent fields of battle still scattered with corpses and the detritus of war, including a visit to the field of the battle of Salamanca, costs and expenses. There are numerous references to recent military actions.

Date range:

17 August - 4 November 1812

Former references:

A3005

Size:

1 volume