Bullocks, Grain, and Good Madeira by Joshua Provan - Book Review

It would be very easy (and lazy) for me to post a couple of paragraphs about Joshua Provan's book, Bullocks, Grain and Good Madeira, and call it a day. After all, if you've read Andy Copestake's Their Infantry And Guns Will Astonish You, you'll know that the last two chapters in his book are the topic of Mr Provan's entire tome. 

But I'm not going to do that as that would be a great disservice to Mr Provan and the effort he has put into this excellent history of the Maratha and Jat Campaigns. Let us continue, gentle reader...

As the author notes, Arther Wellesley's early career is pretty much glossed over due to his later achievements, but that detracts from the hardships and struggles of the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War, almost to the point of wiping out any real teaching of what happened during the years 1802 to 1806. And whilst Wellesley may have glory laid upon him for his victory at Assaye, that narrative neatly forgets that the final victory for the future Duke did not occur until three months later. It also completely ignores the forces of Lord Gerard Lake and the campaign against Yashwantrao Holkar. 

To set the scene, we have an introduction covering the key events leading up to the Deccan and Hindustan Campaigns (so if it's been a while since you've read Andy's book, this is a great primer), before the first section handles the forces involved, their organisation, equipment and the like. Next comes the sections on the Deccan (56 pages) and the Hindustan (33 pages) campaigns. The fight against Holkar and the siege of Bharatpur take up 44 pages, and the book ends with a section on the end of the war.

I was very impressed with the clarity of Mr Provan's writing, not only making even the most confusing of battles very easy to understand, but also giving the reader a real feel as to what it was like to be there. This is aided by the numerous quotations from contemporary sources as well as plates and maps that do an excellent job. Each side is given equal treatment and this, like Andy's book, is very much a warts and all history, so not your usual "Fisher-Price guide to British History" that I have seen in some texts (slight dig at popular history books there). Where there is ambiguity in events or motivations, the author clearly states his reasoning for choosing a particular course. 

Where this book also scores is its portrayal of the logistical effort required to support even a moderately sized force in the field, and credit is due in how the author makes this part as engaging as the actual battles. This also works from the point of view of showing how the East India Company's Native Army developed into a highly capable fighting force. The refusal to fight by some of the European troops of the 75th and 76th of Foot at Bharatpur was shown up by the actions of the 12th Regiment of Native Infantry, and that was an event I hadn't known of. However, the siege of Bharatpur was both hard fought and shambolic in equal measure, so there should be some understanding here and, despite their bravery, you can guess what happened to the 12th Regiment... 

There are numerous colour plates and illustrations throughout, alongside appendices on the British forces at Assaye, the Regular Corps of Gwalior State, and the Grand Army of the Doab and Yamuna and Ganges at the same period. There is also a very comprehensive bibliography. 

Bullocks, Grain and Good Madeira is an excellent addition to Helion's From Reason to Revolution range, providing an even handed, informative and detailed history of a period so often glossed over as just "Welly in India." It is a handy and well suited companion piece to Their Infantry and, ideally, they should be purchased together. There is much here for both casual historian and wargamer, and you can purchase both this book and Andy's directly from Helion.