The packet was not opened by me until the year 1908.
The letters, on perusal, seemed to be of interest, as giving a graphic description of the life and opinions of an officer serving on the Staff during the Peninsular War, and, in particular, of one immediately concerned in the organisation of the Portuguese army.
Moreover, the letters, which are written on the spot and without reserve, being chiefly addressed to his father or mother, seem to reflect in some measure, as regards the campaign, and as to home politics, to which there are plentiful allusions, the conversation and opinions of the Headquarters’ Staff at the time; and further, the intimate acquaintance of the writer with the Portuguese character, and with the methods of the Portuguese Government, enhances the illustration of the difficulties which had to be overcome in the effort of Great Britain to save her ally from the crushing yoke of French imperial despotism.
Mr James Warre of Oporto, the father of Sir William Warre, was a man of great ability, and of influence both in Portugal and at home. He was a partner in the firm of Warre & Co., which was at the time one of the leading commercial houses in Oporto—an old firm, established in the seventeenth century—with which, however, the family connection was severed at the death of Sir William Warre’s brother George, in the year 1850.
The letters themselves, considering the circumstances under which they were written, are very fairly legible; but in places there are lacunæ which are sometimes difficult to fill up. The orthography is not at all consistent—often old-fashioned, sometimes faulty. I have corrected it in some places, but in many have left it as in the original.
I cannot claim to have any particular knowledge of military history, and, as regards the brief introductions to the several chapters, wish to acknowledge in limine my indebtedness to Napier’s great work, to Professor Oman’s three most interesting volumes, which bring the story of the war down to 1810, and to Sir Herbert Maxwell’s Life of the Duke of Wellington.
I am indebted also to my cousin, Mr George Warre, for help in translating the Portuguese words and phrases that occur in the letters.
My thanks are also due to my cousin, Mrs Wm. Rathbone, for kindly allowing me to use several of the collection of family letters in her possession, extracts from which help to fill up some of the gaps in the correspondence.
Lastly, I must acknowledge my debt of gratitude to my friend and publisher, Mr John Murray, for his most valuable help in many ways. Without his assistance, the map which illustrates the volume could not have been constructed.
EDMOND WARRE.