More furies than men': The Irish brigade in the service of France 1690-1792: 97 (From Reason to Revolution)

‘More Furies Than Men’ is one of the latest books in Helion’s ‘From Reason to Revolution’ series. The exploits of the Irish Brigade in the service of France during the close of the seventeenth and most of the eighteenth centuries are well known and documented, yet this new study by Pierre-Louis Coudray takes us deep into the heyday of the brigade using many previously unused records from French, British and Irish sources. The book also examines the decline of the brigade in the service of France at the beginning of the French Revolution and how many of the officers and men joined new regiments raised by the British to pursue the war against the Revolution. Others stayed loyal to France and the new republic but were regarded with suspicion and many met a grisly end as a result. Many of those fighting under the British flag were to face disease and death in the West Indies. Much of the book is devoted to the battle of Fontenoy, arguably the brigade’s high water mark. Casualties were high, and suitable recruits and replacements hard to come by, a critical issue discussed at length by the author. The use of many first hand accounts and correspondence adds as always adds a degree of intimacy, and particularly poignant are the letter from senior brigade officers pleading to be utilised in continuing the war against a common foe. The book is well illustrated with a great many contemporary black and white images, nine pages of colour plates depicting the changing uniforms of the brigade, a contemporary colour map of Fontenoy and also contains an extensive bibliography. To conclude this surely is a must for anyone interested in the Irish Brigade from its creation to its demise. Highly recommended. ISBN 978-1-914059-82-7 206 pages, paperback.

The book looks at four discreet aspects of the Irish Brigade rather than a continuous history. The section on early formation and recruitment is especially interesting and the section on the Battle of Fontenoy looks at their role as described in official sources, art and literature of the time. Overall it ties together lots of snippets and chunks of information to fill out the gaps in the story of the Irish Brigade and take it beyond just a list of battles and campaigns. There are also some basic colour uniform sketches provided to complement the text.

A very interesting book with some nice colour plates