The letters here published were written by Major John Finlay R.E. to his wife during his absence on active service in the Netherlands in 1799 and form part of the Finlay papers preserved with the library of his son George Finlay, the Philhellene and Historian, in the British School at Athens.

John Finlay was the eldest of the numerous family of James Finlay, merchant and manufacturer, of Argyle Street, Glasgow, and of Abigail Wharry his wife. He was born there in 1757 on September 18th, and entered Glasgow University as a student in 1770. Later he adopted the army as his profession and received his commission in the Royal Engineers on May 25th, 1790. He served in the West Indies, and among his papers are some sketches made there and dedicated to his patron the Duke of Richmond, then Master General of the Ordnance, as well as plans for attacking various places held by the enemy in America, including Buenos Ayres.