In Search Of The
WATERLOO DEAD
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The Waterloo Dead: Top Left: a painting depicting the burial of soldiers by local Peasants digging pits. With so many dead to deal with this quickly became impossible.
Bottom Left: The field graves of Captain John Lucie Blackman left; killed at the end of the battle by a French bullet and buried where he fell at Hougoumont. Right; is the grave of Sergent Major Edward Cotton who survived the battle but had wished to be buried where he had fought and was interned at Hougoumont in 1849. Both bodies were moved to Evere Cemetery, Brussels in 1890. |
Just moments before the battle commenced it is said that a young British artillery officer rode confidently up to the Duke of Wellington and announced that Napoleon had strayed into the range of the British guns and may he be obliged permission to try for a shot. To which Wellington famously replied “Certainly not; Commanders have better things to do on the field than take random pot shots at each other”!
In one of history’s strange ironies that dismissal had it been reversed and a successful hit obtained, might have saved the lives of thousands of somnolent soldiers and the Battle of Waterloo might never had been fought.
This article focuses on the fate of those very same men; at a time when officers were only recruited from the aristocracy and most of the “other ranks” were either conscripts or criminals where the life value placed on them was pitifully small; indeed horses had more worth.
Waterloo was a seminal moment in the history of European warfare and it marked the end of the era of gentlemanly killing and the beginning of the era of wholesale mechanised slaughter that would come to dominate the 20th Century. That said the Battle of Waterloo saw the most concentrated loss of human beings in history during one day of conflict; we know that estimates vary from between 40,000 to 60,000 dead and wounded all in an area of just 5 square miles over a ten hour period. Into this area some 200,000 men, 60,000 horses and 537 guns fought furiously resulting in Allied casualties that work out to be 2,291 per square mile of battlefield. Compare this to the Somme of 1916 when applying the same formula then just 234 casualties per square mile of land over the entire 120 days of the battle and spread over a front line of 25 miles; is the result and this battle is judged to be the most expensive in human lives than any other. Clearly, time has softened the true horror that occurred on 18th June 1815.
Such vast numbers of Waterloo Dead raise an interesting question, where are they all? Unlike the wars to come there are no battlefield graves to mark the loss of so many common soldiers save for a few monuments to the commanding officers. How did these men simply vanish? It is this question that inspired my recent visit to the battlefield and to try to learn more about the “Lost Dead of Waterloo”.
In one of history’s strange ironies that dismissal had it been reversed and a successful hit obtained, might have saved the lives of thousands of somnolent soldiers and the Battle of Waterloo might never had been fought.
This article focuses on the fate of those very same men; at a time when officers were only recruited from the aristocracy and most of the “other ranks” were either conscripts or criminals where the life value placed on them was pitifully small; indeed horses had more worth.
Waterloo was a seminal moment in the history of European warfare and it marked the end of the era of gentlemanly killing and the beginning of the era of wholesale mechanised slaughter that would come to dominate the 20th Century. That said the Battle of Waterloo saw the most concentrated loss of human beings in history during one day of conflict; we know that estimates vary from between 40,000 to 60,000 dead and wounded all in an area of just 5 square miles over a ten hour period. Into this area some 200,000 men, 60,000 horses and 537 guns fought furiously resulting in Allied casualties that work out to be 2,291 per square mile of battlefield. Compare this to the Somme of 1916 when applying the same formula then just 234 casualties per square mile of land over the entire 120 days of the battle and spread over a front line of 25 miles; is the result and this battle is judged to be the most expensive in human lives than any other. Clearly, time has softened the true horror that occurred on 18th June 1815.
Such vast numbers of Waterloo Dead raise an interesting question, where are they all? Unlike the wars to come there are no battlefield graves to mark the loss of so many common soldiers save for a few monuments to the commanding officers. How did these men simply vanish? It is this question that inspired my recent visit to the battlefield and to try to learn more about the “Lost Dead of Waterloo”.
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Three monuments to be seen today: Top; The Royal Irish Rangers. Bottom Left; the French Monument to the men who died attacking Hougoumont sited in the old orchard where thousands were killed. Right; the monument to Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton. A rough and foul-mouthed man who took a French bullet through the right temple which emerged on the other side of his head barely breaking the skin; he died within minutes.
The events leading up to the battle
Waterloo very much overshadows the entire campaign to stop Napoleon’s march across Europe and it is worth just recapping on the previous battles that occurred in the days just prior to it. From this we can learn a little about the lives of the poor soldiers that sacrificed their existence in the name of freedom.
On the 16th June 1815 between 3pm and 9pm the French advance was stopped at the village of Ligny by The Prussian army. This intense battle bore the signs of things to come and cost the French 11,000 to 12,000 killed and wounded and the Prussians around 16,000 killed and wounded. The French had in fact shown their superior strength and Napoleon looked unstoppable.
Also on 16th June 1815 during the same period the French had been halted by the British armies at the crossroads of Quatra Bras. This smaller skirmish resulted in a further 4,000 French killed and wounded and 4,600 allied soldiers killed and wounded; The allies effectively defeated withdrew and regrouped to make their stand on the ridge at Mont St Jean though both the Prussian and Allied armies had had quite a battering from the French Grand Armee.
So it was that on the Saturday evening of 17th June 1815 while enduring a torrential rainstorm that was to last all night, these pitiful and wretched British soldiers made camp in a muddy field after having marched two days on minimum rations and further denied a dry place to sleep without a hot meal to fill their hungry bellies; for they bravely sat it out and made ready for the great battle that was to come the next day. They were in no fit state to fight at all but then as if in some quirk of fate – neither were the French.
Waterloo very much overshadows the entire campaign to stop Napoleon’s march across Europe and it is worth just recapping on the previous battles that occurred in the days just prior to it. From this we can learn a little about the lives of the poor soldiers that sacrificed their existence in the name of freedom.
On the 16th June 1815 between 3pm and 9pm the French advance was stopped at the village of Ligny by The Prussian army. This intense battle bore the signs of things to come and cost the French 11,000 to 12,000 killed and wounded and the Prussians around 16,000 killed and wounded. The French had in fact shown their superior strength and Napoleon looked unstoppable.
Also on 16th June 1815 during the same period the French had been halted by the British armies at the crossroads of Quatra Bras. This smaller skirmish resulted in a further 4,000 French killed and wounded and 4,600 allied soldiers killed and wounded; The allies effectively defeated withdrew and regrouped to make their stand on the ridge at Mont St Jean though both the Prussian and Allied armies had had quite a battering from the French Grand Armee.
So it was that on the Saturday evening of 17th June 1815 while enduring a torrential rainstorm that was to last all night, these pitiful and wretched British soldiers made camp in a muddy field after having marched two days on minimum rations and further denied a dry place to sleep without a hot meal to fill their hungry bellies; for they bravely sat it out and made ready for the great battle that was to come the next day. They were in no fit state to fight at all but then as if in some quirk of fate – neither were the French.
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Top Left; The monument to Capt. A.C. Mercer Artillery Officer who from here with his gun battery blasted to death thousands of charging French cavalry and then later on the last advance of the French Imperial Guard. Top Right; A Bronze French Eagle. Bottom Left; the Belgian Monument under which is the mass grave of around 600 soldiers killed near this spot. Bottom Right; the new monument erected to mark the 200th anniversary and depicts the brave men who closed the gates of Hougoumont against the French and thereby saved the day for Wellington at Hougoumont Farm.
Dealing with the Dead
Although Amatol high explosive, poison gas and long range machine gun fire were still one hundred years away the wounds inflicted at Waterloo were no less horrific. They fell into four distinct categories: Incised wounds by sabre; puncture wounds by bayonet or lance; contused and lacerated wounds by cannonball or fragments thereof and gunshot wounds by lead musket balls. One surgeon commented that he never ceased to be amazed at the damage that can be endured by the human body without killing it particularly as the amputation tally rounded out at 15 to16 legs removed for every one arm. Indeed at a make shift hospital on the road to Mont St Jean it was noted that 500 legs had been removed during the afternoon.
The cure was of course equally horrific; recovery from serious wounds was not good and remedies such as leeches and blood letting commonplace. For every one recovery from blood letting, that sometimes helped to control the swelling of damaged organs, infection created by dirty surgical instruments and a surgeons filthy probing fingers killed many more.
Ignorance of internal injuries was another killer; Colonel Sir William De Lancey, ADC to Wellington was struck by a ricocheting canon ball that struck him full in the middle of his back throwing him clean over the head of his horse. When attended to he had not a mark on him save for a bruise but fell serious ill shortly afterwards. He lasted some two weeks while being nursed by his devoted wife, bed ridden until death. During the Post Mortum it was discovered that the canon ball had smashed his spine and separated all of the ribs from its right side some of which had punctured his lungs. Repairing such an injury was far beyond the surgeons skills of 1815.
Napoleon had begun his attack on the Farm House of Hougoumont at 11:30am. Originally intended as a short battle it raged all day and here saw the loss of some 6,000 men of both sides. Our plan below, of the losses and location of known burial sites at Hougoumont illustrates the carnage here as the French initiated assault after assault on the beleaguered allied garrison.
Throughout the day on the main battlefield intense canon fire, frequent cavalry charges, French infantry attacks in column against allied canon fire and massed musketry took a terrible toll. The final French Imperial Guard infantry attack during the evening against emplaced allied artillery on Wellingtons right slaughtered 1,000 's of men ending supposedly with General Hill ordering the remaining Frenchmen to accept Wellingtons invitation to spare their lives; they declined and were subsequently shot down by artillery grape shot.
Although Amatol high explosive, poison gas and long range machine gun fire were still one hundred years away the wounds inflicted at Waterloo were no less horrific. They fell into four distinct categories: Incised wounds by sabre; puncture wounds by bayonet or lance; contused and lacerated wounds by cannonball or fragments thereof and gunshot wounds by lead musket balls. One surgeon commented that he never ceased to be amazed at the damage that can be endured by the human body without killing it particularly as the amputation tally rounded out at 15 to16 legs removed for every one arm. Indeed at a make shift hospital on the road to Mont St Jean it was noted that 500 legs had been removed during the afternoon.
The cure was of course equally horrific; recovery from serious wounds was not good and remedies such as leeches and blood letting commonplace. For every one recovery from blood letting, that sometimes helped to control the swelling of damaged organs, infection created by dirty surgical instruments and a surgeons filthy probing fingers killed many more.
Ignorance of internal injuries was another killer; Colonel Sir William De Lancey, ADC to Wellington was struck by a ricocheting canon ball that struck him full in the middle of his back throwing him clean over the head of his horse. When attended to he had not a mark on him save for a bruise but fell serious ill shortly afterwards. He lasted some two weeks while being nursed by his devoted wife, bed ridden until death. During the Post Mortum it was discovered that the canon ball had smashed his spine and separated all of the ribs from its right side some of which had punctured his lungs. Repairing such an injury was far beyond the surgeons skills of 1815.
Napoleon had begun his attack on the Farm House of Hougoumont at 11:30am. Originally intended as a short battle it raged all day and here saw the loss of some 6,000 men of both sides. Our plan below, of the losses and location of known burial sites at Hougoumont illustrates the carnage here as the French initiated assault after assault on the beleaguered allied garrison.
Throughout the day on the main battlefield intense canon fire, frequent cavalry charges, French infantry attacks in column against allied canon fire and massed musketry took a terrible toll. The final French Imperial Guard infantry attack during the evening against emplaced allied artillery on Wellingtons right slaughtered 1,000 's of men ending supposedly with General Hill ordering the remaining Frenchmen to accept Wellingtons invitation to spare their lives; they declined and were subsequently shot down by artillery grape shot.
Hougoumont Farm saw terrible suffering; our picture above shows the farm today and inset an engraving depicting the preparation for burning the dead. The location seems to be at the bottom left of our photograph above and accounts from the time suggest that there is also a mass grave here of British soldiers as yet undiscovered.
The night after the battle was witnessed by many as a dreadful one, the full moon glinted off the metal accoutrements of the dead and dying and moans echoed everywhere along with the sad baying of dying horses. Initially the dead were to be buried and tossed 30 to 40 at a time into large pits dug 6ft deep and 15 to 20ft square by the local Peasants who received minimal payment for the task; when some refused they were forced to continue or be shot. The pillaging of the dead had started even before the battle had ended and most were naked when buried making identification extremely difficult; often it was the officers wealth carried on them by way of medals, gold braid, swords and specially gold watches that attracted the most attention but clothing equally had its value. By the following day all of the found dead were stripped of everything; equally some 10,000 horses also had to be dealt with; these poor beasts if wounded were shot by pistol fire, the dead turned onto their backs with their legs stiffly in the air like an up turned table to facilitate the Farrier’s who removed their valuable shoes.
By 23rd June the hot weather had made burial impossible and the risk of disease forced the remaining human corpses to be burnt. This was undertaken by building huge multi layered pyres and though moderately successful by harvest time farmers were still uncovering unburied dead in their fields. The horses on the other hand were simply left to rot where they lay attracting as one witness wrote, “Incalculable swarms of huge black carrion flies”. It was further noted that by July 23rd the visitor could see massive piles of smoking ash that once cooled would be spread across the fields as “free fertiliser” for any farmer so inclined.
There was one more windfall to be retrieved from the dead of Waterloo and this was a practice well instituted during the Napoleonic wars; it was begun during the Franco-Spanish war of 1814 when enterprising peddlers followed the great armies into battle with the aim of drawing the teeth of men as fast as they were killed. When sent back to England and set in Hippopotamus ivory by London dentists the strong healthy incisors and front teeth of war dead, rather than those of the diseased or hanged, helped the wealthy to smile again, for a price.
Many of these “Resurrectionists” became very rich on the profits and battlefields offered easy pickings until it was noted that their means were being ruined by hundreds of Russian Jews who "ruthlessly worked the burial pits chiselling out the teeth of the dead with the most brutal indifference".
The practice continued well into the 1840’s when Polish Jews became equally prominent in this field of work with one London Dentist being nick-named Dr Pulltuski for his dealings with them.
It was said that on the day after Waterloo the visitor to the infernal field could hear the metallic clink clink clink of hammer upon chisel as the preferred younger less tobacco stained teeth were liberated from the freshly dead; these teeth were from then on known as “Waterloo Teeth”.
By 23rd June the hot weather had made burial impossible and the risk of disease forced the remaining human corpses to be burnt. This was undertaken by building huge multi layered pyres and though moderately successful by harvest time farmers were still uncovering unburied dead in their fields. The horses on the other hand were simply left to rot where they lay attracting as one witness wrote, “Incalculable swarms of huge black carrion flies”. It was further noted that by July 23rd the visitor could see massive piles of smoking ash that once cooled would be spread across the fields as “free fertiliser” for any farmer so inclined.
There was one more windfall to be retrieved from the dead of Waterloo and this was a practice well instituted during the Napoleonic wars; it was begun during the Franco-Spanish war of 1814 when enterprising peddlers followed the great armies into battle with the aim of drawing the teeth of men as fast as they were killed. When sent back to England and set in Hippopotamus ivory by London dentists the strong healthy incisors and front teeth of war dead, rather than those of the diseased or hanged, helped the wealthy to smile again, for a price.
Many of these “Resurrectionists” became very rich on the profits and battlefields offered easy pickings until it was noted that their means were being ruined by hundreds of Russian Jews who "ruthlessly worked the burial pits chiselling out the teeth of the dead with the most brutal indifference".
The practice continued well into the 1840’s when Polish Jews became equally prominent in this field of work with one London Dentist being nick-named Dr Pulltuski for his dealings with them.
It was said that on the day after Waterloo the visitor to the infernal field could hear the metallic clink clink clink of hammer upon chisel as the preferred younger less tobacco stained teeth were liberated from the freshly dead; these teeth were from then on known as “Waterloo Teeth”.
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Above: The remains of a 23-year-old soldier named Friederich Brandt were discovered in 2012. He was a slightly hunchbacked infantryman, 1.60 metres (5.2 ft) tall, and was hit in the chest by a French bullet. His rifle, coins, and position on the battlefield identified him as an Hanoverian fighting in the King's German Legion. His skeleton is very well preserved complete with the lead bullet that killed him, above right. His body appears to have never been found by the pillagers suggesting that there may well be many more lying undiscovered on the battlefield.
Four skulls found on the battlefield during the early 20th Century. The one on the extreme right is interesting as it has had its front teeth removed; could this be a victim of Waterloo Teeth?
In Conclusion
Our accompanying map “The Lost Waterloo Dead” has been compiled from the results of our research both on the battlefield and using aerial imagery. It is based upon accounts written by observers after the battle and details both known and “probable” unknown burial or cremation sites. The accompanying text to the map offers credible reasons for our annotations.
It may seem strange that little archaeological work has been undertaken in attempting to excavate these sites but this might be answered by two schools of thought; Firstly, what would actually be found? We know that anything of material value was taken immediately after the battle by local peasants. Any remaining skeletal evidence may inform us of biological details including injury and cause of death but perhaps little else. We also know that vast numbers of corpses were burnt to ash. Secondly, the Belgian Government have always denied access to professionals wishing to excavate the battlefield even when ground work for commercial projects that extend onto the site are readily undertaken, which sometimes lead to accidental finds. This policy alone makes future exploration of the Waterloo battlefield impossible as in their eyes the area belongs to Belgium and not Great Britain or France of whose soldiers might still lie there missing, to this day.
Lastly, we believe that the Battle of Waterloo should never be forgotten and indeed a visit to the area today reinforces that notion with the new visitors centre and museum costing millions of Euros having opened in time for the 2015 Bicentennial. The Battlefield itself is largely protected from development although the very busy Charleroi to Brussels road runs right through it. Our only complaint and a common one, is the lack of a balanced acknowledgement over those who took part and that Britain was in fact present on the day and won!!
Our accompanying map “The Lost Waterloo Dead” has been compiled from the results of our research both on the battlefield and using aerial imagery. It is based upon accounts written by observers after the battle and details both known and “probable” unknown burial or cremation sites. The accompanying text to the map offers credible reasons for our annotations.
It may seem strange that little archaeological work has been undertaken in attempting to excavate these sites but this might be answered by two schools of thought; Firstly, what would actually be found? We know that anything of material value was taken immediately after the battle by local peasants. Any remaining skeletal evidence may inform us of biological details including injury and cause of death but perhaps little else. We also know that vast numbers of corpses were burnt to ash. Secondly, the Belgian Government have always denied access to professionals wishing to excavate the battlefield even when ground work for commercial projects that extend onto the site are readily undertaken, which sometimes lead to accidental finds. This policy alone makes future exploration of the Waterloo battlefield impossible as in their eyes the area belongs to Belgium and not Great Britain or France of whose soldiers might still lie there missing, to this day.
Lastly, we believe that the Battle of Waterloo should never be forgotten and indeed a visit to the area today reinforces that notion with the new visitors centre and museum costing millions of Euros having opened in time for the 2015 Bicentennial. The Battlefield itself is largely protected from development although the very busy Charleroi to Brussels road runs right through it. Our only complaint and a common one, is the lack of a balanced acknowledgement over those who took part and that Britain was in fact present on the day and won!!
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Above Left: The Prussian Monument at Plancenoit. Above Right: a personal remembrance to the 95th Rifles. Bottom Right: The Kings German Legion plaque at La Haye Sainte. All three mark the passing of thousands of soldiers during the afternoon of the great battle.
The Waterloo Battlefield from Butte d' Lion June 2016
The Waterloo battlefield is still an evocative place to visit and there is much to see and learn. The museums are very informative if perhaps over "techno" in their presentation methods. A walk to the top of the Lion Mound rewards the fit, 226 steps; with a magnificent view of the entire battle field; panorama above. The striking element that immediately impacts the modern observer is just how small the area actually is and one cannot fail to wonder what a spectacle it must have been to see it packed with 300,000 colourfully uniformed men and 60,000 horses together with the shear noise of the conflagration.
With thanks to the Waterloo Museum, Belgium.
With thanks to the Waterloo Museum, Belgium.
Copyright Steve Sullivan, March 2021
