In 1815, the British public supposed the army to be a band of murderous thugs and drunkards whipped into shape only by the strenuous efforts of great men like Wellington. By 1885, the curious figure of Charles Gordon could immediately and easily slip into the robes of Christian martyr splendor, standing as proxy for the moral force of the army at large.

This study tells the story of how the British army went from rabble to crusaders beginning with the century that witnessed Britain's greatest imperial triumphs, and how institutional reforms helped to shape and alter public opinion.