Adventures of a Soldier, Written by Himself / Being the Memoirs of Edward Costello, K.S.F. Formerly a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Rifle Brigade, Late Captain in the British Legion, and Now One of the Wardens of the Tower of London; Comprising Narratives of the Campaigns in the Peninsula under the Duke of Wellington, and the Subsequent Civil Wars in Spain.

A first-person military memoir tracing the author’s enlistment and rise through light infantry ranks, and his service in the Peninsular campaigns and later Spanish civil struggles. It interweaves vivid battle and campaign episodes with candid camp-life detail—marches, sieges, hospital convalescence, discipline, and the everyday hardships soldiers endure. Numerous portraits of comrades and officers, anecdotes of courage and folly, and reflections on leadership and morale give a ground-level perspective on operations often described only in strategic terms. The narrative balances action, personal observation, and practical military detail to convey both the sweep of war and the lived experience of ordinary soldiers.