In the third volume of the Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars, we move away from the battlefield to discuss the many ways in which the Wars affected both those who fought in them and society at large. Even for the most hardened of veterans, battle constituted only a small part of a soldier’s military experience. Battles lasted only a few hours, or at most a couple of days, before the firing stopped and the adrenalin ceased flowing, and soon the daily round of exercises and route marches resumed. With them came the return of boredom, the feelings of stagnation and demoralisation which overcame men in the long months between engagements and were especially pronounced during winters spent in camps or barracks.1 Of course, campaigning brought danger and the risk of injury and death. But in their writings soldiers repeatedly said that they would willingly choose active service if it was a way to escape the deep-seated ennui that gnawed at their souls during the lulls between campaigns, the mindless hours spent on guard duty or devoted to what most saw as meaningless training exercises.