The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80

Archibald Forbes was a Scottish military correspondent. He was the son of Very Rev Lewis William Forbes DD (1794-1854), minister of Boharm in Banffshire and Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly in 1852, and his second wife, Elizabeth Leslie, daughter of Archibald Young Leslie of Kininvie. He was born in Morayshire in 1838. After studying at the University of Aberdeen from 1854 to 1857, he traveled to Edinburgh and volunteered in the Royal Dragoons after attending a series of lectures by the famed correspondent (Sir) William Howard Russell. While still a trooper, he began writing for the Morning Star and was successful in having many military-related items accepted by the Cornhill Magazine. After being invalided from the service in 1867, he founded and maintained a weekly publication named the London Scotsman (1867-1871) with minimal outside assistance. His opportunity as a war journalist came when he was hired by the Daily News to cover the Franco-Prussian war. He joined the Prussian army around Cologne and marched with them into France, witnessing fights at Spicheren, Gravelotte, and Sedan before joining the soldiers besieging Metz. In all previous warfare reports, the telegraph had been used sparingly.