---
product_id: 143397307
title: "Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket"
brand: "richard holmes"
price: "A$48"
currency: AUD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/143397307-redcoat-the-british-soldier-in-the-age-of-horse-musket
store_origin: AU
region: Australia
---

# Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket

**Brand:** richard holmes
**Price:** A$48
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket by richard holmes
- **How much does it cost?** A$48 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.au](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/143397307-redcoat-the-british-soldier-in-the-age-of-horse-musket)

## Best For

- richard holmes enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted richard holmes brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket

## Images

![Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qC0CNvSVL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Excellet
  

*by G***N on Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016*

Extremely well written.  While not for perhaps the casual reader, this work has a depth that I have never found before.  It moves back and forth among the private soldier, the non-commissioned offer and the officer castes with significant detail.  I would rank this as a must have for any fiction author's shelf who writes of the era.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    An Excellent Survey of the British Army in the age of Brown Bess
  

*by H***E on Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2005*

"Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket" is a well written survey by Richard Holmes of the British Army in the period from roughly the Seven Years War to the Crimean War.  As Holmes points out, this is the period of time in which the British Army, although never the size of its European counterparts, managed to play a key role in the conflicts of Europe, especially the Napoleonic Wars, and in the establishment of a worldwide Empire.  How the British Army was equal to this challenge is the subtle theme of this book."Redcoat" is not a battle history, although Holmes makes frequent references to the Army in battle and on campaign.  Instead, Holmes focuses on the organization, equipment, and life of the Army during this period.  We find that the British Army ranked behind the Royal Navy in terms of funding and prestige, and was saddled with a complicated, even Byzantine organizational and support structure designed, perhaps, to keep it from being too efficient and therefore a threat to the state it served.Holmes suggests that the British Army fashioned its success out of a unique set of circumstances that involved the integration of a more or less volunteer soldier into regiments with generally well-established traditions, armed with basically reliable weapons, and led by officers and NCO's who, if often more enthusiastic than professional, was also often surprisingly good.  Out of these combinations came an infantry that was as  professional, and as successful in battle, as that of any nation in the period; the British cavalry and artillery also often performed well.That the British Army suffered from all the shortcomings of any armed force in that age (or any age) is also thoroughly explored by Holmes.  Particular attention is paid to a draconian system of discipline and to what now seems like incredibly harsh and unhealthy living conditions."Redcoat" covers over a century of conflict and numerous changes in organization, equipment, and national policy.  This is perhaps too much material to handle in a single volume; the narrative ocassionally wanders and sometimes jumps from topic to topic.  Richard Holmes is an exceptional capable writer who is obviously very familiar with his subject.  Readers who can persist through the long text will be rewarded by his combination of factual narrative and vivid vignettes that provide a human scale to the story.  Holmes has included a nice set of illustrations.This book is highly recommended to the reader looking for a survey level treatment of the British Army for the period.  This book is also a solid foundation for those intending a more detailed study of the role of the British Army in, for example, the Napoleonic Wars.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    An Overdue, Stand-Alone Treatment
  

*by T***N on Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2004*

Perhaps the single most identifiable soldier in History, the British Redcoat, gets Author Holmes' undivided attention in this delightful volume, and it's about time. As an avid reader of 18th and 19th Century British military history, I thought myself thoroughly familiar with the lives and times of the common soldier, loved or reviled by the same sobriquet, "Redcoat", but I couldn't resist ordering this volume just in case, and I'm very glad I did. In reading it, one realizes that the numerous works recounting major battles, etc., although necessarily touching on the lives of those who fought them, seldom take the time (or make the effort) to dwell on them. Using the technique so skillfully and more expansively employed by Lyn MacDonald in her wonderful World War I books, that is, the recollections of actual soldies as an integral part of the narrative, Holmes weaves a rich and unique tapestry of every facet of the British soldier's life during the period (c. 1755-1860) with discussions of military actions limited to setting the stage for the "real" central players, the men who took the orders rather than gave them. If this concentration on rank-and-file British combatants of the era is not unique to this book, it is certainly rare in my experience, and I recommend this fine work to anyone interested in the period and its soldiers.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/143397307-redcoat-the-british-soldier-in-the-age-of-horse-musket](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/143397307-redcoat-the-british-soldier-in-the-age-of-horse-musket)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Australia*
*Store origin: AU*
*Last updated: 2026-01-30*