William Richard O'Byrne

“ Should any explanation, however, be looked for of the causes which have induced a civilian, previously unconnected with the Service, to embark in such an undertaking, the only excuse I have to offer is, that I perceived the necessity that existed for a book of the kind, and that I determined to attempt to supply it. The degree of success I may have achieved in the performance of my self-imposed task, it is not for me to estimate; but I can venture to claim credit for the most earnest zeal, the most unwearied industry, and the most undeviating impartiality in the prosecution of my labours. ”

“ In the prosecution of my task I have avoided adulation, and I hope that I have in no case rendered myself liable to the charge of having bestowed unmerited praise. I have, indeed, as a general rule, confined myself, in awarding commendation, to the language adopted in public despatches or other official documents; and in accordance with this principle, as well as with a view to rigid accuracy, I have, at no small pains, carefully examined the ‘London Gazettes’; affixing in every instance to a memoir, by way of note, the date and page of the Gazette in which the officer’s name stands recorded ”

“ For whatever errors may have crept, unconsciously on my part, into the memoirs of those who have afforded me information, I can only express my regret, and suggest as an excuse the impossibility, in a work embracing so immense a body of facts, of guarding against occasional inaccuracies. ”