THE WATERLOO CAMPAIGN

The Royal Chapel and St-Joseph church of Waterloo

 


A) Inside the Royal Chapel

1) Monument to the British soldiers with a bust of the duke of Wellington

2) Monument to the soldiers of the Netherlands Army
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


B) Inside the St-Joseph church

Left side aisle :

1) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 2nd Battalion/30th Foot
2 ) Plaque to Cornet Alexander Hay, of the 16th Light Dragoons
3) Plaque to the officers of the Army of the Netherlands killed at Waterloo
4) Plaque to the officers of the Army of the Netherlands killed at Quatre-Bras
5) Plaque to 1st Lieutenant Claude François Sd van Haren

6) Plaque to the officers of the 6th Dutch Hussars
7) Plaque to the officers of the 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment killed at Quatre-Bras et at Waterloo
8) Plaque to the officers of the 1st Foot Guards killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo

9) Plaque to Colonel Sir Henry Walton Ellis, of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers
10) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 79th Regiment of Highlanders killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo
11) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the  Grande Armée fallen in June 1815
12) Plaque to Major Robert Cairnes, R.H.A.
13) Plaque to Colonel William Fuller of the 1st Dragoon Guards
14) Plaque to Captain George Battersby of the 1st Regiment of Dragoon Guards
15) Plaque to the Officers of the 7th  (Queen's own) Hussars killed on the 17th of June 1815
 

Right side aisle :

16) Plaque to the Officers of the 2nd Battalion/ 3rd Foot Guards
17) Plaque to Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Fox Canning, of the 3rd Foot Guards
18) Plaque to Lieutenant-Colonel  Richard Fitzgerald of the 2nd Life Guards
19) Plaque to Lieutenant George Orlando Gunning of the 10th Hussars
20) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 28th Regiment of Foot killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo
21) Plaque to the officers of the 33rd Regiment of Foot killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo
22) Plaque to Ritmeester baron van Pallandt, of the 4de Regiment Lichte Dragonders
23) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Royal British Artillery and the K. G. Artillery
24) Plaque to Major Frederick Howard of the 10th Hussars
25) Plaque to the officers and soldiers of the 12th Light Dragoons killed at Waterloo
26) Plaque to Major John Dorset Bringhurst of the 1st Regiment King's Dragoon Guards
27) Plaque to Lieutenant William Livingstone Robe of the Royal Horse Artillery
28) Plaque to the Officers of the 15th Hussars

Left narthex :
29) Plaque to general van Merlen, commander of the First Belgian Light Cavalry Brigade
30) Plaque to Major William Norman Ramsay, Royal Horse Artillery

 

 

A) Inside the Royal Chapel

1) Monument to the British soldiers with a bust of the duke of Wellington

The Royal Chapel was built in the 17th Century. The name is a reference to the King of Spain. At first (see here), all the commemorative plaques where placed here; only later these plaques where transferred to the church. Only to memorials (the British and the Dutch one) remain in the chapel.

 

 

 

 

IN HONORED MEMORY OF
ALL BRITISH OFFICERS
NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS
WHO FELL IN BATTLE,
UPON THE16TH,17TH, AND 18TH OF JUNE 1815.
THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED
BY A FEW BROTHERS IN ARMS AND COUNTRYMEN
A.D. MDCCCLVIII
-----------------------
GLORY ENCIRCLES WITH THE SAME NOBLE DIADEM
THE HUMBLE AS WELL AS THE EXALTED

 

 

 

 

 

This plaque was placed here by the Waterloo society for the commemoration of the Allied victory. The bas-relief is it a work of Guillaume Geefs -famous, among other things, for the statue of Leopold 1st on the Congress column at Brussels. Wellington's bust was made by the British sculptor Adams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

2) Monument to the soldiers of the Netherlands Army

Ancient view of the Chapel, with the plaques still in place. Maybe some of these don't exist any more.
Only one, the one to the 28th Foot, can clearly be identified at the right top.

 

To the right, the monument erected under the patronage of Frederic of Nassau. It was made by Wiener. One can see the Dutch lion on the shield and flags with the W of "Willem", as well as the shakos and helmets from various units of the Army of the Netherlands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auspice illustrissimo principe
Frederico Nassovio
in perpetuam memoriam
insignis victoriae
Anno MDCCCXV DIE JUNII XVIII
Relatae
WaterL. Sodal. aere et cura
hoc monumentum est erectum

 

Under the patronage of the most illustrious Prince Frederic of Nassau,
this monument was erected for the eternal memory of the remarkable victory of 18 June 1815
by the financing and care of his brothers in arms of Waterloo.

B) Inside the St-Joseph church

 

A complete visit of the commemorative plaques in the church, beginning with the left side aisle .

Click on the picture and you will immediately be taken to the plaque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plaques to general Van Merlen and to Major Ramsey are behind this (nearly always closed) door.

 

 

1) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 2nd Battalion/30th Foot killed at Waterloo

Sacred
to the memory of the officers
of the 2nd battalion 30th regiment of foot
who fell in the
Battle of Waterloo
18june 1815.
 Major T W Chambers,
 captain A. Mc Nab,
Lieuts H Beere,
Edwd Prendergast,
EnSns J. James,
J. Bullen,
and of
18 non commissioned officers and
112 privates of the same corps,
who also fell on
that memorable day.

 

2 ) Plaque to Cornet Alexander Hay, of the 16th Light Dragoons

Sacred
to the memory of
ALEXANDER HAY Esquire of NUNRAW
Cornet of the 16th Light Dragoons, aged 18 years,
Who fell gloriously in the memorable battle of
Waterloo June 18th 1815.

 


o dolor, atque decus magnum !                                          
Haec te prima dies bello dedit, haec eadem aufert !
 

 

This Tablet was placed here by his   
Brothers and Sisters.          
   

Born 6th Sept., 1796. Of Nunraw, 3rd son of Robert Hay of Drumelzier, by Janet, eldest daughter of James Erskine, of Cardross. He joined his regiment on 11 November 1813. *

 

3) Plaque to the officers of the Army of the Netherlands killed at Waterloo

NEDERLANDSCHE OFFICIEREN
GESNEUVELD IN DEN SLAG BIJ WATERLOO
18 JUNI 1815
---------------------------------------

STaF 1E lUIT. C.F.S. Baron Van Haren.
BatON Jagers n° 35: 2
E LuiT. Roberti.
BaT. Infanterie n° 7:  1
e Luit. J.e Carondel.
Bal. ln/anterie n° 7:  1
E Luit. A.J.L. Ponthieure de Berlaere
Bal. Nat. Mil. n° 6: Luit. Kol. A. Van Thielen.
Bat. NAT. Mil. n° 7: 2
E Lt. J.W.E. Jonquière
BaT. NaT. Mil. N° 7: 2
E LuiT. P. Heil.
Bat. Nat. Mil. N° 8: 1
E Luit. G. J. Werner.
1
E BaT. 2E Reg. Nassau: 1E Luit. A. Hardt.
1
E BaT. 2E Reg. Nassau: 2E Luit. F. K. Stammel.
2
E BaT. 2E Reg. Nassau: 2E Luit. F. Von Trodt.
3
E BaT. 2E Reg. Nassau: Maj G. HechmaNN.
     Cavalerie:
StaF: Luit. Gen. J.A. Baron de CoLlaert.
STAF: Gen. Maj. J.B. Van MerLen.
Reg. Karabiniers n° 1: Luit. KoL. L. P. Coenegracht.
Reg. Karabiniers n° 1: MaJ. D.R. Bisdom.
Reg. Karabiniers n° 1: 1
E Luit. j.c. Norbert.
Reg. Karabiniers n° 2: 2
E LUIt. j.j. Henry.
Reg. Karabiniers n° 3: Luit. KoL. CM. LechLeiTner.
Reg
Dragonders N° 4: RiTmR C.s. Kreijsig.
Reg Dragonders N° 4: RiTmR C. Mascheck.
Reg Dragonders N° 4: 2
E Lt. H.A. Daey.
Reg Dragonders N° 4: RTR W.A. Baron Van PalLandt Van Eerde.
Reg Dragonders N° 4: 2
E Lt. A. StraTenus.
Reg Dragonders N° 4: KAP. TissOT van PatoT.
Reg hUZAREN N° 8: RTRC. Graaf Duchastel de la Howarderie.
Reg hUZAREN N° 8: Maj. C.N.J.F.M. De Villers.
Reg hUZAREN N° 6: RiTmR W.L. Van Wijnbergen.
Reg hUZAREN N° 6: RiTmR F.M. VOn Heiden.
Reg hUZAREN N° 6: 1
E Luit. W.A. VerhelLow.

 

Even if the plaque mentions "Nederlandse" (i.e. Dutch) officers, I preferred to write "from the Army of the Netherlands", because the word "Dutch" is confusing. Indeed, the officers of Belgian regiments are also mentioned here. One will take notice of the fact that SLt Pierre-Eugène d'Astier, of the 2nd Carabiniers, who died of wounds in July 1817, is not mentioned on the plaque.
Lieutenant van Haren and Ritmeester (cavalry Capt) W.A. Baron Van Pallandt Van Eerde each have an individual plaque in this church.
Major de Villers, of the 8th (Belgian) Hussars, was born on 3 March 1772 at  Herbigny, near Rethel... in France.  He was mortally wounded by a shrapnel that hit him on the right side of his breast. He died of his wounds on Tuesday 20 June 1815 and was buried in the cemetery at Waterloo.

 

Further reading :

Claude Van Hoorebeeck, Les deux seuls enterrements dans le cimetière de Waterloo d'officiers tués lors des combats du 18 juin 1815 : le major baron Charles de Villers et le lieutenant colonel Richard FitzGerald, bulletin de la Société belge d'études napoléoniennes, n° 51, décembre 2007, pages 43 à 57.

 

 

4) Plaque to the officers of the Army of the Netherlands killed at Quatre-Bras

NEDERLANDSCHE OFFiCiEREN
GESNEUVELD IN DEN SLAG BIJ QUATRE-BRAS
16 juni 1815
--------------------------------------------------

Bat. Jagers n° 27        : Kapitein B.D.J. de Nave.
Bat. Nat. Militie N° 5 : 1
E LuitT j. De Haan.
Bat. Nat. Militie N° 5 : 1
E LuitTK. Boeltjes.
Bat. Nat. Militie N° 5 : 1
E LuitT A. Winoldy.
Bat. Nat. Militie N° 5 : 2
E LuitT P.R. Kleijn
1
E BON Oranje-Nassau n° 28: 1E LuitT Engel
Reg
t Huzaren n° 6     : 2E LuitT W. Wolf
Artillerie                   : Kap
n E. j. Stevenart.
 

Emmanuel-Joseph Stevenart was born at Orbaix (now part of Perwez, in Walloon Brabant) on 6 (or 8) June 1785, and had begun his career in the 8th Artillery regiment on the 1st of October 1805.  Becomes corporal on May 1st, 1807, sergeant on 9 September 1807, and sergeant-major on 22 September 1810. Takes part in the campaigns in Russia and Saxony, where he is promoted to Second Lieutenant on 15 June 1813, and also  in France in 1814. He was allowed to leave the French army on the 9th July 1814. 

When he gets home, he immediately joins the army of the Southern Netherlands and gets the rank of captain. At the Battle of Quatre-Bras, he was commander of a Foot Artillery battery when he was killed by the explosion of a French shell.


1st Lieutenant Everaert Engel was buired in the cemetery of Ways (Genappe), like general Duhesme, but unfortunately,his tomb was lost.


5) Plaque to 1st Lieutenant Claude François Sd van Haren

Den 18de Juny 1815
Sneuvelde in de slag van Waterloo
C
l fc Sd Baron Van Haren
Kamer Jonker van z.M.
den Koning der Nederlanden
1
tE Leut. by de Genle Staf&
Adj
t van den Generaal Major
Grave W. van Bijlandt,
gebooren den 21 juny 1793.

Zijn vader
C
l wm Baron Van Haren
Leut. Col. en Cap
t in de Gardes
Dragonders der Nederlanden,
had insgelijks zijn leven
voor het vaderland gelaten
den 18de sept. 1793
by Wervick.

 Opgerigt door zijn generaal.

His third Christian name could be Sigismond. Van Haren is the first name on the plaque to the fallen of Waterloo.

6) Plaque to the officers of the 6th Dutch Hussars

de heeren officieren van het Regement Hussaren n°6
in dienste van
Zijne Majesteit den Koning der Nederlanden !
Aangevoerd door den Colonel Boreel, Ridder der Militaire Willemsorde 3e Classe ;
Aan hunne brave Wapenbroeders, gesneuveld op den 18 juny 1815 bij de bataille van Waterloo.


Generaal Majoor van Merlen.
Commandeerende de Brigade ligte Cavallerie.
Ritmeester Willem van Wynbergen.
idem Mauritz van Heyden
Luitenant Willem Verhellouw
idem Willem Wolff
Jonker Cornelis Breda

Hun, die voor het Vaderland in 't harnas zijn gestorven
is door dien heldendaad onsterflijke eer verworven.

Cornelis Breda is the only one not mentioned on the plaques to the fallen of 16 and 18 June. Maybe because he was just an ensign ?

 

We continue further on the left side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the picture and you will immediately be taken to the plaque.

 

 

7) Plaque to the officers and non-commissioned officers of the 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo

 

To the memory of
the undernamed officers of the 3rD battalion of his
 britannic Majesty's Regiment of Royal Scots,
Who fell in the Battles of
Quatre Bras and Waterloo,
on the 16th and 18th June 1815,
and of their Gallant Sergeant-Major,
( who was shot through the heart
while holding the King's Color,
in the act of bearing which
one LieUtenant and three ensigns
had successively fallen )
This tablet is inscribed,
as a testimony of personal regard for the individuals
and of admiration of the Gallant Services of the Corps,

by their Colonel
His Royal Highness
Prince Edward,
Duke of Kent and sTrathearn
&          &         &          &
Field Marshal of his Majesty's Forces
and Governor of Gibraltar.
--------------------------------------
Captain     Buckley
LieutenantS Armstrong
                O' neil
                Young
Ensigns       Robertson
                  Kennedy
                     Anderson
Sergeant Major Quick                      

 


 

8) Plaque to the officers of the 1st Regiment de Foot Guards killed at Quatre-Bras and at Waterloo

 

Sacred
to the memory
of
Lieut. Colonel Edward Stables,
Lieut. Colonel Sir Douglas d'Oyly K.C.B.,
lieut. Colonel charles Thomas
Lieut. Colonel William Miller
Lieut. Colonel William Henry Milnes
Captain Robert Adair
Captain Edward Grose
Captain Newton Chambers
Captain Thomas Brown
Ensign Edward Pardoe
Ensign James Lord Hay
Ensign the Honble s.s.P. Barrington
of
His Britannic MaJesty's
1st Regiment Foot Guards
Who fell gloriously in the Battles
of Quatre-Bras and Waterloo
the 16th and 18th of June
1815

The Officers of the
regiment have erected this
monument in commemoration
of the fall of their
gallant companions.

To find out more about LtCol John William Miller :  A la recherche de la tombe du colonel John William Miller, blessé le 16 juin, aux Quatre-Bras, par Claude Van Hoorebeeck.
His tomb still exist in the Evere Cemetery. A recent ceremony on his tomb : here.

About Stables, go here, and here.

About Milnes, Grose, Brown, Hay, Barrington.
All of these Officers are commemorated on the Guards Officers Memorial at the Royal Military Chapel, Wellington Barracks.

 

 

9) Plaque to Colonel Sir Henry Walton Ellis, of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers

 

Sacred
to the memory of
Colonel Sir Henry Walton Ellis K.C.B.
Late of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Who after serving with distinctiQn
in Egypt, America, the West Indies,
and througout the Peninsular War,
fell gallantly at the head of his regiment
on the plains of Waterloo,
in the 32nd year of his age.

This tablet is erected
by Lieut. Colonel RoSS, and the Officers
of the 23
rd Fusiliers.

 

Much more about Sir Walton Ellis here.

 

 

 

10) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 79th Regiment of Highlanders killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo
 

Sacred to the memOry
of Captains
Neil Campbell, JOhn Sinclair, JOhn CamerOn
Lieutenants
DOnald Cameron, Duncan, MacphersOn
JOhn Kynock, JOhn Rowling, Ewen Kennedy,
And of nine Non-Commissioned Officers
and seventy five privates of the 79th Regiment of Highlanders
who fell in the memorable Battles of

quatre Bras and WaterlOO
16th and 18th June 1815
In which Actions, there were also wounded of the
same Corps 24 Officers 375 Non-Commissioned
Officers and Privates.

in testimony of the valOur of their deceased
bretheren in arms, this tablet is inscribed
by the surviving officers of the regiment.

How sleep the Brave who sink to rest ?
By all their Country's wishes blest !!!

 

 

11) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers  de la Grande Armée killed in June 1815

 

AUX OFFICIERS SOUS-OFFICIERS ET SOLDATS
DE LA GRANDE ARMÉE DE TOUTES ORIGINES
TOMBÉS EN ROMAN PAïS DE BRABANT, AUX
BATAILLES DES QUATRE-BRAS, WATERLOO ET
WAVRE EN JUIN 1815.
 

 

 

JUIN 1989                       
L'ASSOCIATION FRANCO-EUROPEENNE
DE WATERLOO A.S.B.L.       

 

This plaque was unveiled on the 15 June 1990 by the Count du Cause de Nazelle, Ambassador of France, in presence of baron Gourgaud, president of the Souvenir Napoléonien, of count de Meeus d'Argenteuil, Intendant of the Duke of Wellington and many other personalities. Mgr Letourneur, president of the French Veteran Priests, said mass with M. Dereymaeker, the parish priest.
The term "Grande Armée" is not quite right here. It should be "Armée du Nord".

 

12) Plaque to Major Robert M. Cairnes, Royal Horse Artillery

 

In MemOriam
ROberti CAIRNES,
Equitatus regii apud exercitum Britannicum
Sub duce de WELLINGTON,
bellica tormenta agentis, Legati
Qui in campo WaterlOOiensi,
18/4mo. cal. junii MDCCCXV,
acie fervente,
Occisus, defletam cOmmilitantibus,
et amicis luctuOsam
Anno aetat suae XXXmO mOrtem Obiit,
Fratri optimO et carissimO
    Frater, qui in proeliO lateri adhaerens           
    mOribundi halitum Suscepit Supremum,            
    hoc marmOr, pietatis aeternae testlmOnium,
    maerens POnere curavit.                                         

 Burke Cuppage

Major Cairnes was the 2nd son of Maj. W. Cairnes, of 39th Foot, who served all through the defence of Gibraltar, and who died in India. On the female side, he was of the elder branch of the same family to whom a baronetcy was granted by Queen Anne (extinct).
He had reached the rank of Captain on the 1st of February 1808. Cairnes had seen much service in the Peninsula : from June 1810 till July 1811 (Cadiz, Barossa, Seville) and from  June 1812 till August 1812, he had belonged to the 4th Company, 10 Bn., unit which he commanded from September until February 1814 (Vitoria (Gold Medal), Nivelle, Pyrenees (Gold Medal), Bayonne).
After that, he joined I Troop, R. H. A.. He became brevet Major on 12th of April 1814

At Waterloo, he was still a Captain and still belonged to the same unit, I Troop, under orders of Major Bull. He was killed by a cannon ball.
There is of course mentioned on the Artillery memorial in this church and he also has a memorial Canterbury Cathedral.*

13) Plaque to Colonel William Fuller of the 1st (or the King's own) Regiment of Dragoon Guards

 

Sacred t0 the memory
of Colonel William Fuller of the 1st
(or King's own) Regt of Dgn Gds
In the Royal Horse Gd Brigade,
who gloriouslY fell
On the 18th Of iune 1815
At the memOrable battle
of WaterlOO, whilst leading
his gallant regt
to the charge Of the
enemy's cavalry.
---------------------------------

This stone was erected
by his affectiOnate BrOther
M. General Fuller
Late Of the COldstm Guards.

He had joined this regiment on 22 August 1805 and had become it's commander on 4 June 1813. Let us remind that this most prestigious regiment hadn't taken part in the Peninsular War !
At Waterloo, he was still in command of this unit, belonging to the 1st Cavalry Brigade under Lord Edward Somerset.

 

14) Plaque to Captain George Battersby of the 1st Regiment of Dragoon Guards

 

Sacred to the memory
Of Capt GeOrge Battersby 1st King's Regt Of DragOon Guards
in the ROyal HOrse Guard Brigade
who fell in the field Of glOry in a distinguish'd charge Of
heavy cavalry june 18th 1815, at the battle of Waterloo,
aged 25 years.
--------------------------------------------
He had already serv'd with great credit in several campaigns
in Spain and in France as Aid de Camp tO M. General HOward K.C.B.
--------------------------------------------
He was an ardent, a superior and a nOble spirit.
In lasting remembrance of him, and Of his herOic End, this Tablet
is rais'd by a mOurning and an attached Friend.

Born on the 20th April, 1788. Youngest son of John Battersby, of the Westmeath family. Captain on 2 September 1813. Fell in the last cavalry charge.*

 

15) Plaque to the Officers of the 7th (Queen's own) Hussars killed on 17 June 1815 at Genappe

 

Sacred
tO the memOry
Of
MajOr Edward Hodge
and
Lieut. Arthur Myers
of the
7th Regiment Of Hussars
whO
were killed On the 17th of iune 1815,
This mOnument is erected
by their brother Officers,
as a tOken Of their respect
and esteem.

A pension of 100 Pound per ann. to his widow, who was younger daughter of Sir Edmund Bacon, Premier Baronet.
Arthur Myers, Adjt., rank in the regiment : 24 May, 1810.*
The London Gazette lists them both as severely wounded, le Waterloo Medal Roll mentions Myers as wounded and missing. The 7th Hussars is also Cotton's regiment.

The plaques on the right side aisle, from left to right.

Click on the picture and you will immediately be taken to the plaque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16) Plaque to the Officers of the 2nd Battalion / 3rd Foot Guards

 

T0 the memory
of the undermentioned Gallant Officers
of the second battalion
of his britannic Majesty's
Third Regiment of Foot Guards,
Who bravely felll
in the battle of Waterloo
on the 18th june 1815.
This tablet was inscribed by

their colonel
His royal highness
Prince William Frederic,
Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh,
&.    &.    &.   &.

Field Marshal of his Majesty's Forces.

-------------------------------------

Lieut. Colonel The HonBLE Sir Alexr Gordon K.C.B.
Lieut. Colonel Charles Fox Canning,
Captains William Stothert
Captain The HonBLE  Hastings Forbes,
Captain Thomas Crawford
Captain John Ashton.
Ensign Simpson.

 

Lt Col Sir Alexander Gordon, Lt Col Charles Fox Canning (see underneath) and Captain Thomas Craufurd are mentioned here.

All of these Officers are commemorated on the Guards Officers Memorial at the Royal Military Chapel, Wellington Barracks.

17) Plaque to Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Fox Canning, of the 3rd Foot Guards

 

 

Sacred to
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Fox Canning
Late Captain in his Britannic Majesty's Third Regiment of Foot Guards,
and aide de camp to his grace the duke of Wellington,
Who, after having served by the side of that illustrious commander
in Portugal, Spain and France,
Through several successive and most memorable campaigns,
was killed on the 18th day of June 1815, at the battle of Waterloo,
by a shot from the enemy's line, while engaged in the zealous discharge of his duty.
He expired in the 33d year of his age
His body was buried on the place where he fell.

Of temper mild, with kind affections warm'd,
For life's more peaceful walk by nature Form'd,
Rude was the shock his gentle heart withstood,
When first by duty call'd to fields of blood ;
but once in arms, all fonder thoughts repress'd,
the soldier's spirit mounted in his breast ;


Near his great chief, on many a trying day,
He brav'd each peril of the deadly fray ;
and when on Waterloo's ensanguin'd plain
He fell in glory 'midst the gloriOus slain,
Unmov'd by aught to selfish minds allied
"thank heaven ! my leader lives", he said, and died.

 

Third son of Stratford Canning, by Mehetabel Patrick, of Summerhill, Dublin, and brother of the subsequently celebrated diplomatist, Viscount Stratford of Redcliffe.

3rd Foot Guards : Lt & Capt 25 December 1807, Capt & Lt-Col 31 March 1814
Had acted as A.D.C, to Wellington in the Peninsula, from May 1809 until April 1814 (Talavera, Bussaco, Fuentes de Oñoro, Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Burgos, Vitoria, Pyrenees, Bidassoa, Nivelle (Gold Medal), Nive (GM), Orthez (GM), Toulouse (GM)) and it was by the former's special request that the Duke took him again on his personal staff just before Waterloo.*

He is commemorated on the Guards Officers Memorial at the Royal Military Chapel, Wellington Barracks.

18) Plaque to Lieutenant-Colonel  Richard Fitzgerald of the 2nd Life Guards

 

Sacred
to the memory
of
Lieut. Coln. Richrd Fitzgerald
of his B. Ms. 2nd Life Guards
who fell in the field of Waterloo
June 18th 1815
In the 41st year of his age
His remains are deposited in the church yard.

This tablet is erected as a tribute of gratitude
to his worth by his afflicted sister.

 

More about Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Fitzgerald

 

And even more:

Claude Van Hoorebeeck, Les deux seuls enterrements dans le cimetière de Waterloo d'officiers tués lors des combats du 18 juin 1815 : le major baron Charles de Villers et le lieutenant colonel Richard FitzGerald, bulletin de la Société belge d'études napoléoniennes, n° 51, décembre 2007, pages 43 à 57.

 

 

19) Plaque to Lieutenant George Orlando (William) Gunning of the 10th Hussars (10th (or the Prince of Wales's own Royal) Regiment of Light Dragoons (Hussars).

 

Sacred to the memory
of Lieutenant George William Gunning
of the 10th Hussars
Killed in the battle of Waterloo on
the 18th of June 1815.

George Orlando (according to the Waterloo and the Peninsula Roll Call) or William Gunning was born on the 18th December, 1796, second son of Sir George Wm. Gunning, Bart., by Elizabeth, daughter of Henry, 1st Lord Bradford.
Took part in the campaign in Southern France in March and April 1814. Saw action at Toulouse.
He had reached the rank of lieutenant in the 3rd Dragoons on the 8th April 1813 and entered the 10th Hussars on 26 December 1814.*

 

 

20) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 28th Regiment of Foot killed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo

 

28th
Regiment.
to the memory
of the Officers and
privates of the 28th
regiment, who fell in
the battles of qUATRE
BRAS, and WATERLOO on the
16th and 18th june 1815
This pyramid is erected by
Colonel Sir Philip Belson, and the
officers of that corps, who were
engaged in that memorable victory.

hic manuS, ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi.

 

 

21) Plaque to the officers of the 33rd Regiment of Foot killed at Quatre-Bras and at Waterloo

 

To the memory
of
Captains        John Haigh
                                                            Henry Rushton Buck              
Lieutenants  John Boyce
                            James Hart
                              Arthur Gore
                                Thomas Haigh
                                John Cameron
of the 33th Regiment of Foot
Who were killed at the battles of
Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
This stone was erected by their brother
Officers as a mark of their esteem
and regard.
-----------------------

 

22) Plaque to Ritmeester baron van Pallandt, of the 4de Regiment Lichte Dragonders

 

Ter
nagedachtenis
van
Willem Anne
Baron Van Pallandt
Gebn op den huyze Eerde
den 4den Jan: MDCCLXXXV
Als Ritmeester
bij het regiment
Ligte Dragonders n° 4
Roemryk
Voor koning en Vaderland
Gesneuveld
den 18 Jun: MDCCCXV

He is also mentioned on the plaque to the fallen  of 18 Junen.

23) Plaque to the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Royal British Artillery and the King's German Artillery killed at the battle of Waterloo

 

Sacred to the memory
of
Major William J. Lloyd
Major George Bean
Major W. Norman Ramsey
Major Robert M. Cairnes
Captain Samuel Bolton
Lieut. William Robe
Lieut. Michael T. Cromie
Lieut. Robert Manners
Lieut. Charles Spearman
Royal British Artillery
Lieut. Detlef de Schulzen
King's German Artillery
and
Iii Serjeants and LXX Rank and file
Who fell in the battle of
Waterloo
June XViii MDCCCXV
This stone was erected by
the officers of those two corps
who were in the action

Robert M. Cairnes has a personal memorial in this church. Lieutenant Carl von Schulzen is mentioned on the Hanoverian monument at la Haie-Sainte.

 

Click on the picture and you will immediately be taken to the plaque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24) Plaque to Major Frederick Howard of the 10th Hussars (10th (or the Prince of Wales's own Royal) Regiment of Light Dragoons (Hussars).

To the Memory of
the Honble Frederick Howard
Major of the 10th Hussars killed at the Battle of
waterloo
His mutilated remains were removed from the field
of Battle by order of his affectionate father Frederick
Earl of Carlisle to be deposited in the family Mausoleum
at
 CASTEL HOWARD
------------------------
This tablet was directed to be placed in the Chapel of Waterloo by his brothers officers.

Third son of Frederick, 5th Earl of Carlisle, by Lady Margaret Granville-Leveson, daughter of 1st Marquis of Stafford.

Captain  11 January 1805. Major 9 May 1811.
Peninsular campaign from November 1808 to January 1809 and December 1813 to April 1814.
Saw action at Sahagun, Benevente, Orthez and Toulouse.
Killed whilst gallantly leading the last charge. Buried at Waterloo. Afterwards brought home and buried at Streatham, 3rd Aug., 1815. Left issue by his marriage with Frances, only daughter of Wm. H. Lambton, of Lambton Hall, Durham, two sons. In 1879, Maj. Howard's remains were removed from Streatham, and re-interred in the family mausoleum at Castle Howard, Yorkshire.*

25) Plaque to the officers and soldiers of the 12th Light Dragoon killed at Waterloo

 

 

This monument was erected
by the 12th Lt Dragoons to the Memory of
The Officers and Soldiers belonging to the Regiment
who were killed at the Battle Of Waterloo
18th june 1815.

Captain Edward Sandys
Lieutenant Lindsey Bertie
Cornet John E. Lockart

Serjeant Majors
Robert Nelson                     Thomas Scanlon

Serjeants
William Baird          Thomas Finley         James Kirby
Wilson Cox                                                 William Toole

Corporals
William Horston          William Marsh        Samuel Nichols.

Privates

isaac Bishop
William Burley
John Baxter
Charles Cochran
Charles Clare
Thomas clarke
Hugh Donnegan
William Daxter
Guy Devitt
Edward Eadie
John Early
Francis Foster
James Fisher
John Glass
Edward Growcock
Jeremiah Hickey
George Hurst
Thomas Halford
Robert Kelly
John King
Francis Lang
Daniel Murphy
Philip Murphy
Robert Matthewson John Macfarlane
---
James Mc LasherEd
edward Mc Donald
John Nugent
Francis Percy
Michael Rainsford
Hugh Smith
William Stewart
James Sivell
Richard Slade
Joseph Williamson
James Wiggins
James Wilmot
John Welsh

 

26) Plaque to Major John Dorset Bringhurst of the 1st (or the King's) Regiment of Dragoon Guards

 

in memOry Of
Major john DOrset Bringhurst
Ie Regt King's DragOOn Guards,
Who after serving seven campaigns, as
aid de camp to Major Genl Sir h. Fane K.C.B.
in Spain, Portugal and France,
was killed
in a charge of cavalry at the battle of Waterloo
on the 18th of June 1815.
He was buried on the spot where he fell, near the
west entrance of the farm of la
HAYE SAINTE.

...the west entrance of the farm of la HAYE SAINTE...

From Woodstone, county of Huntingdon. Married to Frances Maria Bringhurst.
Captain in the regiment 24 October 1811, Major 12 April 1814.*

27) Plaque to Lieutenant William Livingstone Robe of the Royal Horse Artillery

 

Erected by his brothers officers,
this stone is in memory of
Lieut William, Livingstone, Robe,
of the British Royal Horse Artillery,
Son of Col. Sir Wm Robe, K.C.B. & K.T.S.
-------------------
He fell nobly at Waterloo 18th iune 1815
aged 24 years.
this was the 33rd time he had met his country's foe,
among which were
Fuentes de Onor Salamanca the Nivelle and the Nive
1812. & 1813.

He was known to and distinguished by
Field marshal the duke OF Wellington.
------------------------------
Pious to his God
Beloved by his friends and by his Soldiers
and devoted t0 his country.
His parents and his family,
while they glory in their country's triumphs,
must ever deplore his loss.
 


 

He was buried in the Waterloo cemetery, but unfortunately, his tomb has been lost.
 

 

28) Plaque to the Officers of the 15th Hussars

 

TO the Memory Of
MajOr Edwin Griffith
Lieutenant Isaac SherwoOd &
Lieutenant Henry Buckley
Officers Of the XVth King's Regt Of Hussars
(British)
Who fell in the battle Of
WaterlOO
June XViiith MDCCCXV
This stOne was erected by the officers
of the Regiment
as a testimony of their respect
----------------------------------------------------
Dulce et decorum est pro Patria mori

Griffith had become Captain on the 27th June 1805 and Major on the 5 November 1812.

He had participated in the Peninsular War from November 1808 to January 1809 (Corunna campaign) and February 1813 to April 1814 (Morales, Vitoria (G.M.), Orthez (G.M.), Toulouse).

The Waterloo Roll Call gives us this poem about Major Griffith :

" Weep not ; he died as heroes die,
The death permitted to the brave ;
Mourn not ; he lies where soldiers lie,
And valour envies such a grave.
" His was the love of bold emprise,
Of soldier's hardships, soldier's fame !
And his the wish by arms to rise,
And gain a proud, a deathless name."

Sherwood had joined the regiment on  4 October 1809. Lieutenant 13 September 1810.
He had served in the Peninsula from February 1813 to April 1814 (Morales, Vitoria, Orthez, Toulouse).

Buckley had only joined the regiment on 25 August 1814.*

 

These two plaques are not in the church, but in what one could call the narthex, behind the door on the left, in between the plaques to the Dutch fallen and to Van Haren.
I wish to thank Mr Claude Van Hoorebeeck for the two following pictures.

29) Plaque to general van Merlen, commander of the Second Light Cavalry Brigade of the Army of the Netherlands
 

D.O.M.
À LA MÉMOIRE
DU GÉNÉRAL-MAJOR
 BARON VAN MERLEN, TUÉ
AU CHAMP D'HONNEUR, LE
18 JUIN 1815 À LA BATAILLE DE
WATERLOO À LA TÊTE DE LA
BRIGADE DE CAVALERIE
LÉGÈRE BELGE N° 1.

DANS CE CHAMP BELLIQUEUX,
OÙ SA VALEUR SUCCOMBE,
SA GLOIRE ET NOS REGRETS
ACCOMPAGNENT SA TOMBE.
R. I. P.

We shall write a page on Van Merlen soon. He is commemorated three times in the church: on this plaque, on the one to the fallen of the 18 June and on the one of the 6th  Dutch Hussars.
 

 

30) Plaque to Major William Norman Ramsay, de la Royal Horse Artillery
 

@
GULIELMUS NORMAN RAMSAY,
IN EXERCITU BRITANNICO
SPECTATA VIRTUTE INSIGNIS,
QUI HONORIS ILLUSTREM CIRCULUM
PERBREVI SPATIO COMPLEVIT,
ET SIBI SATIS VIXIT,
SED NON PATRIAE :
PRO LIBERATIONE EUROPAE,
ET GLORIA ANGLIAE,
DUCE INVICTO WELLINGTON
FORTISSIME PUGNANS,
PULCHERRIMAM MORTEM INVENiT,
die octo decima iunii mdcccxv.
AETERNAE AMICI ET COMMILITIONIS MEMORIAE
HOC MARMOR SACRUM ESSE VOLUit
AUGUSTUS FRAZER.

 

William Norman Ramsay, who was famous in the British Army for his proven courage and who gained in a short time all honours and who lived enough for himself, but not for his Country.
He met a beautiful death fighting bravely for the liberation of  Europe and the glory of England, under command of an unvanquished Duke of Wellington, on the 18th June 1815.
[Sir] Augustus Frazer wanted to praise this sacred stone to the eternal memory of his friend and brother in arms.

 


William Norman Ramsay's name has been immortalised by Napier in his Peninsular War. He came of a Scottish family, and was the eldest of three sons of a retired naval officer who resided in Edinburgh. He was the pride and glory of the branch of the army to which he belonged, and the beau-ideal of what a Horse Artilleryman should be. He served with great credit in Maj. Bull's troop of R.H.A., in the Peninsula, from 1811 to 1813. It was in the campaign of 1811 that he performed the brilliant action which Napier's facile pen has so strikingly illustrated. This happened on 5th May, 1811, when, the British cavalry out-guards being far outnumbered near Fuentes de Oñoro, were driven in upon their supports, and Capt. Ramsay found himself cut off. It is a matter of history how Ramsay, at the head of his battery, charged like a whirlwind through the French squadrons who intervened between his handful of men and the British troops, and rejoined the latter in safety when given up for lost. And at the battle of Vitoria, Ramsay again distinguished himself, but, by an unfortunate act of disobedience to Wellington's orders, he incurred the Iron Duke's iron displeasure. The story has been told as follows by a well-known author, and differs somewhat from the account given by Col. Duncan in his History of the Royal Artillery : " I remember hearing a striking instance of what, perhaps, 'might be called severe justice, which he exercised on a young and distinguished officer of artillery in Spain ; and though one cannot help pitying the case of the gallant young fellow who was the sacrifice, yet the question of strict duty, to the very word, was set at rest for ever under the Duke's command, and it saved much after trouble, by making every officer satisfied, however fiery his courage or tender his sense of being suspected of the white feather, that implicit obedience was the course he must pursue. The case was this : The army was going into action. The Duke posted an officer, with his six guns, at a certain point, telling him to remain there until he had orders from him. Away went the rest of the army, and the officer was left doing nothing at all, which he didn't like ; for he was one of those high-blooded gentlemen who are never so happy as when they are making other people miserable, and he was longing for the head of a French column to be hammering away at. In half an hour or so he heard the distant sound of action, and it approached nearer and nearer, until he heard it close beside him ; and he wondered rather that he was not invited to take a share in it, when, pat to his thought, up came an aide-de-camp at full speed, telling him that Gen. Somebody ordered him to bring up his guns. The officer asked, ' Did not the order come from Lord Wellington ?' The aid-de-camp said ' No,' but from the general, whoever he was. The officer explained that he was placed there by Lord Wellington, under command not to move unless by an order from himself. The aide-de-camp stated that the general's entire brigade was being driven in, and must be annihilated without the aid of the guns, and asked, "Would he let a whole brigade be slaughtered ?" in a  tone which wounded the young soldier's pride, savouring, as he thought it did, of an imputation on his courage. He immediately ordered his guns to move, and joined battle with the general ; but while he was away an aide-de-camp from Lord Wellington rode up to where the guns had been posted, and, of course, no gun was to be had for the service which Lord Wellington required. Well, the French were repulsed, as it happened ; but the want of those six guns seriously marred a pre-concerted movement of the Duke's, and the officer in command of them was immediately put in arrest. Almost every general officer in the army endeavoured to get this sentence revoked, lamenting the fate of a gallant fellow being sent away for a slight error in judgment while the army was in full action ; but Lord Wellington was inexorable, saying he must make an example to secure himself in the perfect obedience of officers to their orders, and it had the effect." Mr. Lover's Handy Andy. To a man of Norman Ramsay's highly honourable and sensitive nature the circumstances of his arrest, coupled with the omission of his name from the Vitoria despatches, and the loss of a brevet he had well earned, may be said to have inflicted a wound which neither time nor subsequent honours could heal. Three weeks after his arrest he was restored to the command of his battery, to the great joy of the whole army in Spain, and after the battle of the Bidassoa he was promoted bt. maj.  At Waterloo, he commanded the H Troop R.H.A., and his forward gallantry in that battle attracted the fatal bullet which put an end to his noble life. He was buried on the field by his great friend Sir Augustus Frazer, during a momentary lull in the battle, but three weeks later was disinterred and his body sent to Edinburgh, as the only consolation to his aged father, half-demented with grief, who was fated to lose his three gallant sons in the short space of eight months. Norman Ramsay m., 14th June, 1808, Mary Emilia, eldest daughter of Lt.-Gen. MacLeod, of Macleod. Sir Augustus Frazer erected the above monument to Ramsay's memory in the church of Waterloo (and not on the battlefield, as Dalton says). The hero's remains were subsequently interred in Inveresk Churchyard.*

 

Of course, William Norman Ramsay is mentioned on the plate to the dead of the ArtilleryLieutenant Robe belonged to his battery.

 

* Most biographies were taken or compiled from :
- Dalton, Charles, The Waterloo Roll Call, with biographical notes and anecdotes, Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1904.

and
- Challis, Lionel S. Peninsula Roll Call. 1949. The Napoleon Series. December 2011. < www.napoleon-series.org >
 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Bibliography :

 

- An, The Waterloo Medal Roll, compiled from the Muster Rolls, The Naval and Military Press, 1992.

- Mark Adkin, The Waterloo Companion, Aurum Press, 2001.

- Alain Arcq, Les Quatre-Bras, le second prélude à Waterloo, in the collection "Les batailles oubliées", Historic'One Editions, 2005.

- Alain Arcq, Ligny, 16 juin 1815, La dernière victoire de l'Empereur, in the collection "Les batailles oubliées", Historic'One Editions, 2006.

- Alain Arcq, Wavre & le combat de Namur L'épilogue de la campagne de Belgique, in the collection "Les batailles oubliées", Historic'One Editions, 2008.

- Barral, Georges, Itinéraire illustré de l'épopée de Waterloo, guide historique et militaire du champ de bataille, avec les diagrammes de l'auteur et 60 dessins originaux d'Adolphe Hamesse. Flammarion, Paris, 1896.
- Alain CHAPPET - Roger MARTIN - Alain PIGEARD, Le Guide Napoléon - 4000 lieux pour revivre l'épopée, Bibliothèque Napoléonienne, Tallandier, 2005.

- Dalton, Charles, The Waterloo Roll Call, with biographical notes and anecdotes, Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1904.
- Yann Deniau et Yves Moerman, 1815 - Napoléon en Campagne, Jourdan éditeur, 2008.

- Peter Hofschröer, Waterloo 1815 - Quatre-Bras & Ligny, Pen & Sword, 2006.  

- Peter Hofschröer, Waterloo 1815 - Wavre, Plancenoit & the race to Paris, Pen & Sword, 2006.    

- André Sevrin and Alain Arcq, Route Napoléon 1815 (ouvrage collectif coordonné par), Edition Unité de projet "Route Napoléon 1815", s.d..

-  G. Speeckaert and I. Baecker, Les 135 vestiges et monuments commémoratifs des combats de 1815 en Belgique, Waterloo, relais de l'histoire, 1990. Exists also in English.
 - Mr. Claude Van Hoorebeeck's website : http://www.freepub.be/waterloo.php

- Van Neck, Léon, Waterloo met afbeeldingen, Lebègue, Brussel, s.d (around 1905).

 

 

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