At the height of the Napoleonic Wars local volunteer corps were formed to protect the country if the French did invade. In 1803 John Sturdy a local Southampton auctioneer     and a member of the small Roman Catholic community in the town, joined the Hampshire Militia. Sturdy kept a diary about the exploits of the militia between the years 1803-1809. When he left the corps he donated his diary to his captain John Butler Harrison II. Harrison was married to Elizabeth Austen, cousin of the author Jane Austen who also lived in Southampton between 1806-1809. She would have seen the corps, in scenes reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice, marching through the town and appearing at important events. The journal which has been transcribed for this paper gives an insight into the role of the volunteer militias, and the introduction looks at the life of John Sturdy and his captain John Butler Harrison II.