Theodor Goethe joined the Royal Saxon Hussar Regiment in November 1806 at barely 18 years old, where he was soon appointed as a quartermaster, today known as a supply sergeant, due to his beautiful handwriting. With his regiment, he participated in the occupation of Poland in 1809, the campaign in Russia in 1812, which he survived, and finally in the battles of 1813 in Germany. He provides a detailed account of life in a garrison in the early 19th century, service in a light cavalry regiment, and the transition from military to civilian life from the Ancien Régime to modern times.

Theodor Goethe was born on March 24, 1789, in Weissensee, Thuringia, where his father, August Christoph Goethe, was a sergeant in the infantry regiment Prinz Clemens stationed there. He is also a relative of the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe experienced the annexation of Poland and the campaign of 1809, as well as the disastrous Russian campaign of 1812. After recovering, he participated in the battles of 1813 in Germany and was eventually appointed as a tax official in Prussian service due to the hardships he endured.