In 2010 with my husband, Ed, and my Number One London blog partner Kristine Hughes (http://onelondonone.blogspot.com) and her daughter Brooke, I traveled to Belgium to experience the 195th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
At the left is the way the battle field looked from the Chateau Hougomont, The contemporary poles. white tents, traffic, and the distant Lion Mound, erected in 1826 in honor of the Prince of Orange, weren't present in 1815. But the flat fields of rye and grass were there. What you cannot see is the mud, much as it was 200 years before. The threatening skies were about the same.
The re-enactors often rode through the fields rehearsing their roles. This year's 200th pagent will be larger and full of excitement, though I have to say that once it strted on the 18th,it was almost impossible to understand what was supposed to be happening. The cavalry rode and the soldiers marched back and forth, firing puffs of smoker here and there. Despite the splendid uniforms and elaborate replica weapons, the result will always be the same: victory for the Allied troops of the Duke of Wellington. Below, snaps from the British encampment.
When we engaged the Scots in conversation we discovered they were from Italy. And the lower far right shows one nod to modern conveniences.
Below, pictures from the French Encampment at Caillou, where Napoleon spent the night before the battle. Note the elaborate uniforms of the "generals."
Below, pictures from the French Encampment at Caillou, where Napoleon spent the night before the battle. Note the elaborate uniforms of the "generals."
Here are more miscellaneous photos: upper, l to r: memorial in wall of Chateau Hougomont; Targte for shooting practice in the French encampment; the Imperial Garde re-enactors; lower, l to r: obvious!, Waterloo, The Beer of Victory; The re-enactors are ready to perform.
The Waterloo Battlefield is actually a mile or two south of the village where Wellington had his headquarters. There is a small museum there. Since the three-day battles covered large areas, monuments are far-flung to various regiments of all the participating armies. Chateau Hougoumont is undergoing considerable restoration and I recently heard one can stay in rooms there. Spooky!
The entire site is only a dozen or so miles from Brussels where we visited a large Victorian monument to the British Dead in the Evere Cemetery, completed in 1890.
The entire site is only a dozen or so miles from Brussels where we visited a large Victorian monument to the British Dead in the Evere Cemetery, completed in 1890.
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