Edward Shepherd Creasy

Easton Press Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy books

The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World - Library of Famous Editions - 1969 (black leather)

The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World - Library of Military History - 1969 (red leather)

 

 

Who is Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy

Edward Shepherd Creasy was a 19th-century British historian, jurist, and military theorist, born on September 12, 1812, in Bexley, Kent, England. He is best known for his significant contributions to historical literature, particularly his work in military history. Creasy's most renowned work, "The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo," has left an enduring impact on the study of military strategy. Creasy received his education at Eton College and later studied at King's College, Cambridge. He excelled academically, particularly in the field of law, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1837. Creasy combined his legal career with a keen interest in history, and in 1840, he published his groundbreaking work, The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. The book traced pivotal military encounters from ancient times to the early 19th century, highlighting battles that shaped the course of world history.

The success of The Fifteen Decisive Battles earned Creasy acclaim, and he continued to pursue his dual interests in law and history. He held various academic positions, including the Chair of Jurisprudence at the University of London. His historical writings were characterized by a clear and engaging style, making complex military strategies accessible to a broader audience. In addition to his notable book on decisive battles, Creasy authored works like "The Rise and Progress of the English Constitution" and "The History of the Ottoman Turks." His writings often reflected a Victorian perspective, emphasizing the moral and cultural aspects of historical events.

Edward Shepherd Creasy's influence extended beyond his lifetime, and his works remained popular and widely read. He died on January 17, 1878, leaving a legacy as a historian who brought military history to a broader readership and made significant contributions to the understanding of pivotal moments in global conflicts.

 

 

The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World - From Marathon to Waterloo

Undoubtedly the most famous work of military history of the nineteenth century, Edward S. Creasy's Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World has been read and re-read for close to 150 years. It is not only the authoritative account of each battle that makes Creasy's work such a classic it is his command of narrative, his interest in human struggle, his profound deductions as to effects of the battles, and his striving after truth. Furthermore, his selections seem as wise and well-considered today as when Fifteen Decisive Battles first appeared in 1851: Nobody since has made better ones, nor given us better accounts.

Apart from the scholarship and literary skill of Creasy's book, there is another reason it has endured: Creasy was essentially fair-minded. He had been a judge, and when he became England's great military critic and historian, he maintained a thoroughly judicial attitude. He was not a British partisan, nor French, nor German he was a cosmopolitan observer of great events.

Out of 2300 years, Creasy only found fifteen battles which he called decisive in the highest sense. He chose them not for the number of killed and wounded, nor for their status in myth and lore, but because they fundamentally changed the course of world history. In doing so, he made his book a miniature military history of the western world, a classic that will repay continued study for generations to come, as it has for generations.