Military miscellany; comprehending a history of the recruiting of the Army, military punishments, &c. &c. by MARSHALL, Henry

London: John Murray. 1846. 8vo., (8) + 375 + (1)pp., followed by 12pp. of publisher's advertisements, original red cloth embossed in blind, spine gilt lettered and neatly restored. A very good presentation copy inscribed and signed by the author> on front free endpaper. A particularly useful review by Henry Marshall (1775-1851), the military surgeon and Deputy Inspector General of Army hospitals. By far the greatest part of this review (i.e. pp.115-316] is devoted to military punishments and it makes pretty harrowing reading. 'Marshall was instrumental in improving the conditions of the soldier both in service and in retirement. He campaigned for shorter service, better general and sanitary education of the troops, and the reduction of brutal punishments such as flogging and branding. His work in this area gained widespread attention in 1847, when a soldier died from injuries received as a result of whipping. Marshall was not just a medical reformer, but an army reformer. In 1847 he received an honorary MD degree from the University of the State of New York. He contributed regularly to the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal> and the United Service Journal.> He died in Edinburgh after a prolonged illness on 5 May 1851, and was buried in Dean cemetery, Edinburgh.' [George Stronach, rev. Claire E. J. Herrick in ODNB]. Other subjects covered here by Marshall are recruiting, enlistment, 'physical and moral qualities of recruits', duration of engagement, suicide, 'vices and virtues of soldiers', education, 'urbanity to soldiers', pensioning of soldiers, numerical statistics of the Army from 1814 to 1839, and [pp. 353-375] punishments in the Navy.