‘Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch’ by David Wilkie (1785-1841) shows elation at the military Hospital in London when news of the Duke of Wellington’s victory came through. Napoleon’s vision of a Europe-wide French Empire governed through his relatives and chosen lieutenants had led to a decade of bloodshed and thrown all Europe into utter confusion; no wonder the pensioners were glad that Britain, at least, had escaped relatively unharmed.
Part 1 of 2
WHEN it ended in 1713, the War of the Spanish Succession had confirmed that the French had designs on Britain as well as other European states,* and during the Seven Years War of 1756-63 Louis XV harassed British colonies in North America and India too.* When thirteen American Colonies broke away and declared independence as the United States of America in 1776, it was done with French help.*
The French Revolution in 1789 brought no change. Fired with enthusiasm for the cause of republicanism, the new Government in Paris continued to threaten the United Kingdom;* but the most serious threat came from Napoleon Bonaparte, who declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804.* In 1814, following a disastrous assault on Moscow (intended to forestall any Anglo-Russian alliance) and defeat in the Peninsular War at the hands of Arthur Wellesley,* Napoleon was forced into exile as governor of Elba; but it was only a matter of months before he collected a few hundred loyal men and marched back to a hero’s welcome in Paris.
See The War of the Spanish Succession.
See The Seven Years’ War.
See The American Revolutionary War.
It was not always particularly alarming. See Jemima Fawr and the Last Invasion of Britain.
See Home Page.
See Retreat from Moscow and The Peninsular War.
Précis
The Battle of Waterloo was the culmination of decades of struggle between the rulers of France and the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as French Emperor in 1804 promised more strife. His campaign stumbled after his retreat from Moscow in 1812, but three years later he returned to Paris full of renewed hopes. (56 / 60 words)
Part Two
Enthusiasts re-enact the Battle of Waterloo. The battle itself was fought in muddy fields and settled rain, and until late evening came things looked bad for Wellington and for freedom in Europe. ‘He saw his solid squares melting away under the murderous French fire,’ wrote American historian D. H. Montgomery, ‘as line after line of his soldiers silently stepped into the places of their fallen comrades.’ Brave Englishmen held on long enough for the Prussians to come and tip the scales in liberty’s favour.
THE Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, at once despatched an army under the command of Arthur Wellesley, now the Duke of Wellington, for a final reckoning. To prevent the British from joining up with General Blücher’s Prussians — several European states were as anxious as Britain was — Napoleon intercepted Wellington in the mud and rain at Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815.
The British were severely tested all day, so much so that Wellington was heard to sigh ‘Oh that night, or Blücher, would come!’ Happily, towards the evening Prussian troops burst onto the battlefield, and together they put the French to flight. It was, said Wellington, ‘the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life’. Afterwards he would often declare, remembering the bloody scene, that a great victory was the worst thing in the world, except a defeat.
A month later, Napoleon gave himself up to Captain Frederick Maitland on board HMS Bellerophon.* This time there was no sensational escape. Napoleon was banished to the island of St Helena, where he died six years later.
Bellerophon is a figure from the Greek myths: see Bellerophon and the Chimera. The ship saw action at The Glorious First of June, and with Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and The Battle of Trafalgar. The name was consequently used by several steam locomotives of the Victorian era.
Précis
Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign for European Empire depended on ensuring Britain could not support rebel states on the Continent. At Waterloo in Belgium on June 18th, 1815, he tried to prevent the Duke of Wellington’s men from joining with General Blücher’s Prussians, but narrowly failed. Napoleon’s army was defeated, and his dream of Empire was over. (55 / 60 words)
