[CONTENTS]
| [CHAPTER I] SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR (1779-1782) | PAGES |
| The position of the Rock—State of defence—Food-supply—Rodney brings relief—Fire-ships sent in—A convoy in a fog—Heavy guns bombard the town—Watching the cannon-ball—Catalina gets no gift—One against fourteen—Red-hot shot save the day—Lord Howe to the rescue | 17-27 |
| [CHAPTER II] DEFENCE OF ACRE (1799) | |
| Jaffa stormed by Napoleon—Sir Sidney Smith hurries to Acre—Takes a convoy—How the French procured cannon-balls—The Turks fear the mines—A noisy sortie—Fourteen assaults—A Damascus blade—Seventy shells explode—Napoleon nearly killed—The siege raised—A painful retreat | 28-36 |
| [CHAPTER III] THE WOUNDED CAPTAIN IN TALAVERA (1809) | |
| Talavera between two fires—Captain Boothby wounded—Brought into Talavera—The fear of the citizens—The surgeons’ delay—Operations without chloroform—The English retire—French troops arrive—Plunder—French officers kind, and protect Boothby—A private bent on loot beats a hasty retreat | 37-52 |
| [CHAPTER IV] THE CAPTURE OF CIUDAD RODRIGO (1812) | |
| A night march—Waiting for scaling-ladders—The assault—Ladders break—Shells and grenades—A magazine explodes—Street fighting—Drink brings disorder and plunder—Great spoil | 53-61 |
| [CHAPTER V] THE STORMING OF BADAJOS (1812) | |
| Rescue of wounded men—A forlorn hope—Fire-balls light up the scene—A mine explodes—Partial failure of the English—Escalade of the castle—Pat’s humour and heroism—Saving a General—Wellington hears the news—The day after the storm | 62-75 |
| [CHAPTER VI] A PRISONER IN ST. SEBASTIAN (1813) | |
| The coup de grâce—The hospital—A cruel order—An attempt at escape—Removed to the castle—The English at the breach—Many are wounded—French ladies sleep in the open—A vertical fire—English gunners shoot too well—A good sabre lightly won | 76-89 |
| [CHAPTER VII] JELLALABAD (1842) | |
| Position of the town—Sale’s brigade rebuilds the defences—A sortie—Bad news—A queer noise—A ruse that did not succeed—The only survivor comes in—Story of a massacre—The earthquake—The walls are down—Are rebuilt—English magic—Pollock comes—Fight outside—The peril of Lady Sale | 90-109 |
| [CHAPTER VIII] SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL (1854-1856) | |
| The English land without tents—Mr. Kinglake shows off before Lord Raglan—The Alma—Strange escapes—Looted houses—Fair plunder—Balaklava Bay—Horses lost at sea—A derelict worth having—Jack very helpful—The Heavy and Light Brigades—Spies—Fraternizing | 110-125 |
| [CHAPTER IX] AFTER INKERMANN (1854) | |
| Valiant deeds—Lord Raglan under fire—Tryon the best shot—A Prince’s button—A cold Christmas—Savage horses—The Mamelon redoubt—Corporal Quin—Colonel Zea | 126-136 |
| [CHAPTER X] THE INDIAN MUTINY—DELHI (1857-1858) | |
| The Mutiny begins—A warning from a sepoy—A near thing—A noble act of a native officer—In camp at Delhi with no kit—A plan that failed—Our first check—Wilson in command—Seaton wounded—Arrival of Nicholson—Captures guns—The assault—The fate of the Princes—Pandy in a box | 137-158 |
| [CHAPTER XI] THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW (31st of May to 25th of September, 1857) | |
| Firing at close quarters—Adventures of fugitives—Death of Sir H. Lawrence—His character—Difficulty of sending letters—Mines and counter-mines—Fulton killed—Signs of the relief coming—A great welcome—Story of the escape from Cawnpore | 159-174 |
| [CHAPTER XII] THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW (1857) | |
| The scene at Cawnpore—Fights before Lucknow—Nearly blown up—A hideous nightmare—Cheering a runaway—All safe out of the Residency—A quick march back—Who stole the biscuits?—Sir Colin’s own regiment | 175-190 |
| [CHAPTER XIII] RUNNING THE BLOCKADE (1861) | |
| North v. South—A new President hates slavery—Port Sumter is bombarded—Ladies on the house-top—Niggers don’t mind shells—A blockade-runner comes to Oxford—The Banshee strips for the race—Wilmington—High pay—Lights out—Cast the lead—A stern chase—The run home—Lying perdu—The Night-hawk saved by Irish humour—Southern need at the end of the war—Negro dignity waxes big | 191-201 |
| [CHAPTER XIV] THE FIRST IRONCLADS (1862) | |
| Will they sink or swim?—Captain Ericsson, the Swede—The Merrimac raised and armoured—The Monitor built by private venture—Merrimac surprises Fort Monroe—The Cumberland attacked—The silent monster comes on—Her ram makes an impression—Morris refuses to strike his flag—The Cumberland goes down—The Congress is next for attention—On fire and forced to surrender—Blows up at midnight—The Minnesota aground shows she can bite—General panic—Was it Providence?—A light at sea—Only a cheese-box on a raft—Sunday’s fight between two monsters—The Merrimac finds she is deeply hurt, wounded to death—The four long hours—Worden and Buchanan both do their best—Signals for help—The fiery end of the Whitehall gunboat | 202-212 |
| [CHAPTER XV] CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS (1862) | |
| New Orleans and its forts—Farragut despises craven counsel—The mortar-fleet in disguise—Fire-rafts rush down—A week of hot gun-fire—A dash through the defences—The Varuna’s last shot—Oscar, aged thirteen—Ranged before the city—Anger of mob—Summary justice—Soldiers insulted in the streets—General Butler in command—Porter nearly blown up in council—Fort Jackson in ruins—“The fuse is out” | 213-219 |
| [CHAPTER XVI] THE SIEGE OF RICHMOND (1862 AND 1865) | |
| Fair Oaks a drawn battle—Robert Lee succeeds Johnston—Reforms in the army—Humours of the sentinels—Chaffing the niggers—Their idea of liberty—The pickets chum together—Stuart’s raid—A duel between a Texan and a German—Effect of music on soldiers—A terrible retreat to James River—Malvern Hill battle-scenes—Three years after—General Grant before Richmond—Coloured troops enter the Southern capital in triumph—Lee surrenders—Friends once more | 220-230 |
| [CHAPTER XVII] THE SIEGE OF PARIS (1870-1871) WITH THE GERMANS OUTSIDE | |
| The Germans invest Paris—Trochu’s sortie fails—The English ambulance welcomed—A Prince’s visit to the wounded—In the snow—Madame Simon—A brave Lieutenant—Piano and jam—The big guns begin—St. Denis—Old Jacob writes to the Crown Prince—A dramatic telegram—Spy fever—Journalists mobbed | 231-240 |
| [CHAPTER XVIII] THE SIEGE OF PARIS—Continued WITH THE BESIEGED (1870-1871) | |
| Moods in Paris—The Empress escapes—Taking down Imperial flags—Playing dominoes under fire—Cowards branded—Balloon post—Return of the wounded—French numbed by cold—The lady and the dogs—The nurse who was mighty particular—Castor and Pollux pronounced tough—Stories of suffering | 241-250 |
| [CHAPTER XIX] METZ (1870) | |
| Metz surrounded—Taken for a spy—Work with an ambulance—Fierce Prussians rob an old woman—Attempt to leave Metz—Refusing an honour—The cantinière’s horse—The grey pet of the regiment—Deserters abound—A village fired for punishment—Sad scenes at the end | 251-263 |
| [CHAPTER XX] PLEVNA (1877) | |
| An English boy as Turkish Lieutenant—A mêlée—Wounded by a horseman—Takes letter to Russian camp—The Czar watches the guns—Skobeleff’s charge—The great Todleben arrives—Skobeleff deals with cowards—Pasting labels—The last sortie—Osman surrenders—Prisoners in the snow—Bukarest ladies very kind | 264-279 |
| [CHAPTER XXI] SIEGE OF KHARTOUM (1884) | |
| Gordon invited to the Soudan—The Mahdi—Chinese Gordon—His religious feeling—Not supported by England—Arabs attack—Blacks as cowards—Pashas shot—The Abbas sent down with Stewart—Her fate—Relief coming—Provisions fail—A sick steamer—Bordein sent down to Shendy—Alone on the house-top—Sir Charles Wilson and Beresford steam up—The rapids and sand-bank—“Do you see the flag?”—“Turn and fly”—Gordon’s fate | 280-288 |
| [CHAPTER XXII] KUMASSI (1900) | |
| The Governor’s visit—Pageant of Kings—Evil omens—The Fetish Grove—The fort—Loyal natives locked out—A fight—King Aguna’s triumph—Relief at last—Their perils—Saved by a dog—Second relief—Governor retires—Wait for Colonel Willcocks—The flag still flying—Lady Hodgson’s adventures | 289-302 |
| [CHAPTER XXIII] MAFEKING (1899-1900) | |
| Snyman begins to fire—A flag of trace—Midnight sortie—The dynamite trolley—Kaffirs careless—A cattle raid—Eloff nearly takes Mafeking—Is taken himself instead—The relief dribble in—At 2 a.m. come cannon with Mahon and Plumer | 303-317 |
| [CHAPTER XXIV] THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY (1899-1900) | |
| The diamond-mines—Cecil Rhodes comes in—Streets barricaded—Colonel Kekewich sends out the armoured train—Water got from the De Beers Company’s mines—A job lot of shells—De Beers can make shells too—Milner’s message—Beef or horse?—Long Cecil—Labram killed—Shelter down the mines—A capture of dainties—Major Rodger’s adventures—General French comes to the rescue—Outposts astonished to see Lancers and New Zealanders | 318-325 |
| [CHAPTER XXV] THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH (1899-1900) | |
| Ladysmith—Humours of the shell—The Lyre tries to be funny—Attack on Long Tom—A brave bugler—Practical jokes—The black postman—A big trek—Last shots—Some one comes—Saved at last | 326-340 |
| [CHAPTER XXVI] SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR (1904) | |
| Port Arthur—Its hotel life—Stoessel not popular—Fleet surprised—Shelled at twelve miles—Japanese pickets make a mistake—Wounded cannot be brought in—Polite even under the knife—The etiquette of the bath—The unknown death—Kondrachenko, the real hero—The white flag at last—Nogi the modest—“Banzai!”—Effect of good news on the wounded—The fleet sink with alacrity | 341-352 |