HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 30, 2015 – Dr. Frederick C. Schneid, professor and chair of the department of history at High Point University, has published a new book, “European Armies of the French Revolution, 1789-1802” (Oklahoma University Press, 2015).
Schneid served as organizer and editor for the project and contributed by writing the introduction and a chapter on the French Army.
Other scholars, many of whom have spoken at events held by the history department at HPU, provided chapters on the armies of Europe’s other powers of the time – Prussia, Austria, Russia, Britain, Spain, the German principalities, the Italian states and the Ottoman Empire. The book provides the latest research on the impact these armies had on the French Revolutionary Wars and on European military practices.
“The intent of the book is two-fold: to fill a significant lacuna in the historical literature on European armies during the French Revolutionary Wars, and second, to explore the extent to which European states and military institutions responded to the new French way of war,” Schneid says. “My introductory chapter places the French Revolutionary Wars in their historical context, and my chapter on the French army examines its transformation from royal to revolutionary institution.”
Schneid says the idea for the book originated out of research he’s conducted on European armies over the past decade. He plans on integrating the new material gathered for the book into his classes at HPU.