Founder of Sandhurst, Maj-Gen John Le Marchant: 'A Most Able Officer'

John Gaspard Le Marchant (1766-1812) was no ordinary soldier. Born to a Guernsey father and a French mother, he rose from modest beginnings to become one of Britain's most brilliant cavalry officers and a visionary reformer. Yet today, his name is all but forgotten.

A gifted swordsman, Le Marchant revolutionized cavalry training. Appalled by the poor standard of swordsmanship in the British Army, he designed a new cavalry saber, wrote the definitive manual on sword fighting, and personally t...