Through the Queen Empress's Wars
Gordon had a long military career. Indeed he became Surgeon General and this book has been extracted from his autobiography-'Recollections of Thirty-Nine Years in the Army'. Although his later carer took him on several interesting military missions as an observer including the Franco-Prussian War, the Leonaur editors have elected to concentrate this account of an actively involved British officer of the Victorian Age around those campaigns where the author found himself in the front line of events. We join Gordon during the early Victorian central Indian campaign of the Gwalior War and several field force expeditions. Service on the coast of Guinea is followed by the bloody days of the Indian Mutiny before service with the Azimghur Field Force. For those interested in the campaigns-particularly within the sub-continent-of the early to mid Victorian period this is an interesting eyewitness account by a military medical man.

This joint reissue comprises two works on military medicine, providing instruction on the treatment of ailments common to soldiers, and methods for preventing their occurrence. The title work, written by Charles Alexander Gordon (1821-99) and published in 1873, is followed by A Guide to Health for the Use of Soldiers by fellow surgeon R. C. Eaton (1842-1902), which first appeared in 1890. Intended to be read by infantrymen and officers, both works offer succinct and practical advice on topics ranging from malaria to drunkenness. The texts take slightly different approaches in their presentation of advice: Gordon adopts a crisp and formal style, while Eaton incorporates instructive medical facts in his brief yet fluent explanations. Together, the works provide an effective exposition of problems and practicalities that would assume tremendous significance decades later in the trenches of the First World War.