Dr Zack White
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zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Dr Zack White
@zwhitehistory.bsky.social
3.5K followers 420 following 120 posts
Historian, podcaster, battlefield guide

Leverhulme Research Fellow with Portsmouth Uni: Napoleonic era warfare, crime, race & society

Founder of The Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity

Host of The Napoleonic Wars Podcast
Views my own
Posts Replies Media Videos
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
I’ve submitted the manuscript for my edited collection on Siege Warfare!

Massive thanks to my incredible authors, including @amikaberidze.bsky.social
Silvia Gregorio Sainz, @beatricedegraaf.bsky.social
@marksthompson.bsky.social Andrew Bamford who commissioned it & Rob Griffith at Helion
Cover of book entitled An Unavoidable evil. Cover shows a city under bonbardment with some soldiers by a fire in the foreground. Cover page showing wordcount for manuscript of 77572
April 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Does preserving and protecting a key site from the Waterloo campaign sound important to you?

Then follow @heritage1815.bsky.social to stay up to date with their efforts to safeguard the future of Gemioncourt farm, a site of significant fighting during the Battle of Quatre Bras.
March 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
I need YOU…

To fill out the @napwarspod.bsky.social Census

As the show’s 5th anniversary approaches we’re taking stock of how you access the show, what you enjoy, & how we can continue to improve

If you can spare five minutes we’d really appreciate your feedback

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Napoleon’s return from Elba
March 19, 2025 at 8:27 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Enroute to Leeds for the @societyarmy.bsky.social Land Forces of the Crown conference where I’ll be honoured to deliver my first ever keynote speech.

Had to pause before boarding to admire the beautiful architecture of King’s Cross Station
Arched roof of King’s Cross station - glass roof supported by metal beams Memorial to Sir John Moore in St Paul’s Cathedral Memorial stone to Lieutenant Colonel Richard Fletcher of the Royal Engineers, in San Sebastián, Spain
February 21, 2025 at 12:46 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Two years ago I took this picture as I flew out of Lisbon and vowed I would be back.

Flights are now booked. Roll on April…

The Peninsular War by Air beckons…
January 31, 2025 at 1:26 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
On this day in 1809 the British win the Battle of Corruna, a desperate action that bought them time to embark following a disastrous campaign.

Josh Provan & I discuss the campaign/battle as part of our History of the Peninsular War on the @napwarspod.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Death of sir John Moore. British commander hit by cannon ball whilst on his horse. British soldiers rush to attend to the wounded officer
January 16, 2025 at 8:54 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Happy New Year!

As you recover from your hangover, spare a thought for the soldiers of the 1808-9 Corunna campaign who trekked over the Galician mountains in a bitterly cold winter.

In the @napwarspod.bsky.social New Year Special Josh Provan & I retell the story podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Robert Craufurd, British general, sitting on a brown horse in a cold winter scene. His horse is on a muddy road, behind him are troops struggling up a snow covered hill. To his left, men of the 95th rifles stand huddled against the cold.
January 1, 2025 at 10:20 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
500,000

56 months.
270 episodes.
300 hours of content.

The @NapWarsPod has finally reached HALF A MILLION downloads.

Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible.

Watch the celebratory video at

www.patreon.com/posts/500-00...
The number 500,000 written onto a sandy beach
December 31, 2024 at 9:35 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Black Redcoats’ available now on @napwarspod.bsky.social

@blackredcoats.bsky.social share the inspiring story of the Corps of Colonial Marines - a unit formed of emancipated US slaves who fought for the British during the War of 1812.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
The cover of the book Black Redcoats by Matthew Taylor, showing a soldier of the Corps of Colonial Marines in uniform. The soldier is of African descent, wearing a red woollen jacket and blue trousers, with a musket resting by his side
December 28, 2024 at 9:52 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
The Life of Horatio Nelson

@kejamieson.bsky.social returns for Part 2 of the @napwarspod.bsky.social series on the life of Nelson, covering everything from losing his sight on Corsica to ‘making bridges’ at the Battle of Cape St Vincent.

Listen at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Captain Horatio Nelson painted byJohn Francis Rigaud, painted 1781
December 26, 2024 at 10:22 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
It was a privilege to contribute to History Magazine’s feature on what inspires our love of history, explaining how a visit to HMS Victory changed my life & ignited my passion for Napoleonic history by making the past tangible.

Read the full article in the Jan edition, out now!
Cover of BBC History magazine January 2025 edition Feature within an article in BBC History magazine on what inspires our love of history
December 23, 2024 at 11:58 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
The Battle of Bailen

Josh Provan returns for another instalment of the @napwarspod.bsky.social History of the Peninsular War as we discuss the ‘dream’ that was Castaños’s crushing victory over Dupont at Bailen in July 1808.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
French General Dupont surrenders to Spanish General Castaños following the Battle of Bailen
December 23, 2024 at 9:17 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
The Peninsular War: The Global Perspective

@amikaberidze.bsky.social & @beatricedegraaf.bsky.social discuss wider reactions to the conflict, if it was obvious that Napoleon had blundered in 1808, & whether the war was a sideshow.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Image: James Gillray, The Valley of the Shadow of Death, 24th September 1808. Caricature of Napoleon Bonaparte surrounded by enemy nations, with each nation represented by an animal
December 22, 2024 at 7:44 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
What was Christmas dinner like in the Napoleonic era?

Rebecca Earle joins @lureynol.bsky.social & Josh Redeen to talk about when the Christmas dinner got invented & what you’d be eating in the festive period 200 years ago

Christmas drink recipes are also shared. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Caricature by James Gillray entitled Monstrous Craws at a New Coalition Feast, showing two women and a man eating.
December 21, 2024 at 9:09 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
What was Christmas like in the Napoleonic era?

In the 1st of 12 festive specials on @napwarspod.bsky.social our very own @lureynol.bsky.social answers important questions like ‘would Sharpe recognise an Argos catalogue’? (We might be dating ourselves a bit there!)

open.spotify.com/episode/2XI9...
Napoleon Bonaparte wearing a Santa hat
December 17, 2024 at 8:48 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Today is the 282nd anniversary of the birth of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, aka ‘Marshal Vörwarts’.

Prussia’s best general of the Napoleonic era, who excelled at coalition warfare.

Feels apt that I’m spending the day finishing off a piece on him for future project…
Field Marshal Gebhard Lebrecht von Blücher, Prussian military commander. Painting by Ernst Gebauer
December 16, 2024 at 4:49 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Napoleonic Wars Pod Christmas Prize Draw

This month we’re giving TWO lucky patrons 1 month’s full access to all the perks we offer show supporters.

To enter, just be signed up as one of our ‘General’, ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ or ‘Admiral’ patrons by 21st December

www.patreon.com/c/thenapoleo...
Historian Dr Zack White standing near a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica. The statue is located near to the house where Napoleon grew up.
December 16, 2024 at 2:16 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
What a difference a year makes.
November 2024 vs Nov 2023

This is the grave of Severus Stretton, a British army officer who was wounded twice at the Battle of Vittoria.

I cleaned his grave in Southampton for the Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity last year, but nature is fighting back 😭
Dilapidated grave of Severus Stretton, covered in moss, algae and leaves Grave of Severus Stretton in 2023, after being cleaned
November 25, 2024 at 5:39 PM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
It is a huge honour to have been invited to deliver my first keynote speech at the @societyarmy Land forces of the Crown Conference.

I’ll be drawing on my work founding @NRWGCharity to talk about ‘Forgetting the Fallen?: Remembrance & (Dis)respect of British veterans, 1775-1815’
Then Chair of the Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity Dr Zack White laying a wreath on behalf of the organisation at the newly renovated grave of Guardsman John Russel who fought at Hougoumont Farm during the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815
November 22, 2024 at 11:38 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Who was Napoleon’s Greatest Marshal?

In this instalment of the @NapWarsPod series, the last of the heats sees Marmont, Grouchy, Poniatowski & Oudinot vie for the final places in the semi-final?

Who wins? You decide. Comment to vote for your favourite.

Listen at open.spotify.com/show/3Htn2J4...
Portrait of Marshal Auguste Marmont, Duke of Ragusa Portrait of Marshal Oudinot Portrait of Marshal Prince Poniatowski Portrait of Marshal Emmanuel Grouchy
November 15, 2024 at 8:17 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Durham views

And yes, inevitably I found a cemetery in which to go hunting for Napoleonic veterans - didn’t find any though.
Durham Cathedral viewed from river Durham Cathedral viewed from river looking underneath bridge, with reflection in still water Walter Scott inscription of Grey Towers of Durham on bridge overlooking Durham Cathedral. Inscription reads ‘Yet well I love thy mixed and massive piles, half church of God, half castle against the Scot and long to roam these venerable aisles with records stored of deeds long since forgot’ Cemetery in Durham
November 12, 2024 at 9:41 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Poppies on the battlefield of Salamanca.

While those who have served in conflicts since 1914 are rightly the focus of our thoughts today, all those who have fought and suffered in conflicts throughout history should be remembered with similar reverence.

#WeWillRememberThem
November 11, 2024 at 8:41 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
On my way to Durham to talk to the Durham Global Security Institute about travelling the world to negotiate the release of Napoleonic veterans’ remains for burial on behalf of the Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity.

Pretty apt considering today’s date
November 11, 2024 at 8:33 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
So how do we encourage the wider public to engage more willingly with women’s history?

What are barriers/misconceptions cause this disengagement? How do we overcome them?

I can, & will, keep producing the content, but there’s a deeper social problem underpinning this that we need to talk about.
November 10, 2024 at 9:37 AM
zwhitehistory.bsky.social
Part of the fun of being an ‘indie’ podcaster is that I get complete editorial freedom, and I care less about downloads and more about being representative.

However speaking to hosts of much bigger shows, I find that it’s not unique to my show - others experience the same % drop in engagement
November 10, 2024 at 9:37 AM