Whitworth Porter

A History of the Knights of Malta - or, The Order of St. John of Jerusalem is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1883. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

The engineers, sappers and miners during the closing battles of the Napoleonic WarsThe initial part of this book contains letters written to his father, by a British officer of the Royal Engineers serving in the army towards the end of the conflict with Napoleonic France. In fact, the first letter, written aboard his transport ship at anchor, bound for continental Europe is dated in December of 1813. The conclusion of that war was only three months into the future, but before the defeated emperor abdicated his throne more blood would be spilled by those who fought for both sides. Sperling was not bound for the southern campaign theatre, but to the Low Countries where Graham was tasked with subjugating Bergen-op-Zoom and Antwerp. The author's descriptions of this campaign from an engineer's perspective offer rewarding details, especially his descriptions of the various works he was commissioned to execute. By the opening months of 1815, Sperling was in Brussels and so already in theatre as hostilities broke out once again when Napoleon made his final desperate bid to regain power by absconding from his exile on the island of Elba. Naturally, Sperling's personal experiences and descriptions of his work around the field of battle at Waterloo and afterwards are essential. This valuable first-hand account is supported in this Leonaur edition by two excellent and detailed histories of the Royal Engineers and the Sappers and Miners by Porter and Connolly which specifically focus on the period of time covered by the Sperling letters. This edition is accompanied by maps and illustrations which were not included in any of the original editions of these works.

The engineers, sappers and miners during the closing battles of the Napoleonic WarsThe initial part of this book contains letters written to his father, by a British officer of the Royal Engineers serving in the army towards the end of the conflict with Napoleonic France. In fact, the first letter, written aboard his transport ship at anchor, bound for continental Europe is dated in December of 1813. The conclusion of that war was only three months into the future, but before the defeated emperor abdicated his throne more blood would be spilled by those who fought for both sides. Sperling was not bound for the southern campaign theatre, but to the Low Countries where Graham was tasked with subjugating Bergen-op-Zoom and Antwerp. The author's descriptions of this campaign from an engineer's perspective offer rewarding details, especially his descriptions of the various works he was commissioned to execute. By the opening months of 1815, Sperling was in Brussels and so already in theatre as hostilities broke out once again when Napoleon made his final desperate bid to regain power by absconding from his exile on the island of Elba. Naturally, Sperling's personal experiences and descriptions of his work around the field of battle at Waterloo and afterwards are essential. This valuable first-hand account is supported in this Leonaur edition by two excellent and detailed histories of the Royal Engineers and the Sappers and Miners by Porter and Connolly which specifically focus on the period of time covered by the Sperling letters. This edition is accompanied by maps and illustrations which were not included in any of the original editions of these works.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1858.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1858.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1859.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1859.

At the close of the Napoleonic Wars, Malta officially became part of the British Empire in 1814. As the British presence there increased, so too did public interest in the island's history, particularly the military religious order of the Knights Hospitaller. In 1858, the army officer Whitworth Porter (1827–92) published this two-volume work, tracing the fortunes of the order since its establishment following the First Crusade. Incorporating details of the knights' social habits and customs into his narrative, Porter also provides supplementary material such as royal and papal documents in translation. Volume 2 opens in 1522 with the surrender of Rhodes, followed by the order's eventual relocation to Malta, which the Ottomans besieged without success in 1565. The coverage extends to the blockade of Valletta, then under French control, at the end of the eighteenth century.