THE NAPOLEONIC ”DAD’S ARMY”
The British Volunteer Movement, 1794-1814
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During the crisis of 1792, Britain saw the rise of ‘Loyal Britons’ societies and volunteer regiments to defend king and country against Revolutionary France. The Volunteer Act of 1794 formalised these forces, which swelled to 380,000 by 1804, representing up to half of all home-service personnel. Including overseas service, nearly one in five adult males participated. Drawing on diaries and archival sources, this book examines the Napoleonic ‘Dad’s Army,’ revealing a previously unprecedented militarisation of British society that prefigured similar mobilisation in the twentieth century.
