Napoleon’s Invasion of Egypt - an eyewitness history by Jonathan North - book review

Did Napoleon’s troops fire cannons at the pyramids of Egypt? And what was his army doing there?

Those were questions provoked by the teaser trailer for the 2023 movie Napoleon. The second of these questions is answered by this new book by Jonathan North, Napoleon’s Invasion of Egypt.

The book’s subtitle, ‘An Eyewitness History’, promises a wealth of firsthand accounts from the French invasion and occupation of a corner of North Africa. It delivers on that promise. This is a compelling account of that French adventure, told in the words of many who were there.

Napoleon at Arcole from The Life of Napoleon
Bonaparte by W Sloane 1896

An introduction to Napoleon’s occupation of Egypt

While it’s titled the ‘Invasion of Egypt’, Jonathan North’s book covers the full period of the French occupation. Napoleon and his army arrived in July 1798 and the survivors left three years later, in 1801. Bonaparte himself effectively abandoned his troops in late 1800, sailing back to France, somehow evading the British Royal Navy.

The expedition was sent by the Directory, the committee that ruled revolutionary France. Their star general, Napoleon, proposed it, with a view to opening a land route to India.

It was also to be a scientific expedition, taking scholars to examine the marvels of ancient Egypt. Their discovery of the Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering Egyptian writing, helped to open up the field of Egyptology.

Napoleon and his army landed in Egypt on 1 July 1798 and was immediately engaged in fighting the occupying Mamelukes, rulers of Egypt under the distant auspices of the Ottoman Empire.

‘The boats were rowed to the shore and a mass of cavalry showed itself and seemed ready to wade into the sea to oppose the landing. A few rounds of artillery saw them off,’ wrote 18- year-old soldier Joseph Laporte.₁

The Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July inflicted a heavy defeat on the Mamelukes, allowing Napoleon to enter Cairo and commence his occupation of Egypt.

Despite sweeping in as victorious invaders, in only days the French became a beleaguered garrison. On 1 August 1798 a British fleet, under Horatio Nelson, defeated the warships of the French fleet that had transported the army across the Mediterranean, at the Battle of the Nile. The victory put the British in command of the sea, making it unlikely that the plan to reach India could be fulfilled.

‘We realised that any communication with Europe would now be impossible,’ wrote Captain Etienne Louis Malus in his journal. ‘We began to lose hope that we would ever see our homeland again.’₂

The Destruction of L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile
1 August 1798 by G Arnald (1825-7)
at National Maritime Musuem Photo A Knowles (2022)

Occupation and assimilation

Napoleon set up a French administration of Egypt that included some of the local rulers, and established a scientific Institute. During their time in Cairo the French attempted to replicate something of their culture from home, including street cafes. Some adopted a local style of dress, partly because of the climate.

The French invasion force was almost exclusively male. It wasn’t long before soldiers began to find mistresses among the local population. General Menou married a Muslim woman and converted. He seemed to be one of the few who would have preferred to remain in Egypt indefinitely.

Most did not feel the same way. Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, a young scholar, wrote:

The soldiers yearn for the delights of France. Their hatred for Egypt stems from being denied essentials. They have only water to drink. They cannot be attracted to women who hide themselves in veils.₃

North’s book goes into considerable details about the challenges faced by the French as they experienced life in a different climate and culture. Scorpions, slavery, plague, mirages and mummies are all discussed, often in the words of eyewitnesses.

The end of the Egyptian adventure

To help protect Egypt, Napoleon’s army ventured into Syria and reached the Holy Land in 1799. Unable to capture the city of Acre, defended with British help, he had to turn back.

By now Napoleon sought a return to France, knowing he would be welcomed by the people. His departure was kept secret from almost all his officers and when they discovered he’d gone, many felt abandoned in a strange, unwelcoming land.

The remaining French army, significantly reduced by death and disease, began looking for its own way home. They continued to fight off local revolts and attacks by the Ottomans. On 21 March 1801 they were defeated by the British at the Battle of Alexandria, after which many were repatriated to France in British ships.

The British kept many of the artefacts discovered by the French in Egypt, including the Rosetta Stone.

A page-turning eyewitness account

This is my kind of history book—a strong story illustrated with an extensive tapestry of quotes from those who experienced it firsthand. Letters, journals and reports provide a rich seam of material which North has used to great effect.

I would like to have heard more from those being occupied. How did they feel about this French army inserting itself into their world? I’m guessing that sources for this are limited, hence their scant use.

The book contains a number of illustrations and maps, along with a detailed bibliography. The index only seems to include names of people—not places or key subjects. There’s a separate list of the around 40 eyewitnesses whose words are included in the book (presumably all translated).

This book has a high, and sometimes gruesome, body count. Thousands died, both soldiers and civilians. Battles, executions, revolts, raids, assassinations and plague all contributed to the carnage, and both sides carried out massacres.  

I recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in the history of Napoleon or that of France or the Middle East in the period. It’s packed with fascinating details and has certainly helped me better understand Bonaparte himself, along with how Egypt became a subject of fascination during the Regency period.

Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt is available from Amberley Publishing.

Andrew Knowles researches and writes about the Regency and late Georgian period. He's also a freelance editor and writer for business. He lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with his wife, Rachel.

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Notes – all quotes from Napoleon’s Invasion of Egypt

1. p49

2. p99

3. p114

All photos © A Knowles RegencyHistory.net

A quick guide to the Napoleonic Wars and the Great War against France (1792-1815)

The Battle of Waterloo in The wars of Wellington, a narrative poem
by Dr Syntax illustrated by W Heath and JC Stadler (1819)

Rachel writes: I don’t do military history, but as a Regency romance author, it’s impossible to ignore the war with France that raged during the opening years of the 19^th century. If I want to make a soldier the hero of a Regency romance, I can’t afford to be completely ignorant about the Napoleonic Wars or was it the Peninsular War or the War of the Something-or-other Coalition…?

I confess to have got somewhat confused about the war with France, and in the name of historical accuracy, I would at least like to try to refer to the war correctly in my novels. Fortunately, my husband does like military history, and as he has a better understanding of the Great War with France, he wrote this blog to help me understand it. I thought others might find it helpful too.

The Great War against France

It’s really easy to get confused about the various wars with France that raged outside Regency-era England. It’s also easy to make silly mistakes in your writing, by using the wrong names for the various wars, campaigns and even battles.

This guide should help you make more sense of what was going on where, and what to call it.

Britain₁ was at war with France for around 23 years—almost a quarter of a century. That’s most of Jane Austen’s adult life, from when she was a teenager to just two years before she died.

When people talk about the ‘war with France’ at this time, they could mean one of several different wars. They were all sparked by the French Revolution in 1789.

Napoleon Bonaparte from The Life of Napoleon,
Emperor of the French by Sir Walter Scott (1871)

The Coalition Wars

The French Revolution shocked the rulers of other European countries. Relations between the revolutionaries in France and their neighbours broke down, initiating the first of several wars.

The first two Coalition Wars are also known as the French Revolutionary wars, because France was under a revolutionary government. The later Coalition Wars are part of the Napoleonic wars, because Napoleon Bonaparte governed France.

Coalition, meaning temporary alliance, is the name given to these. That’s because each war involved an alliance of different European nations.

Admiral Lord Nelson after the painting by John Hoppner
in Miller's edition of Robert Southey's Life of Nelson (1896)

The French Revolutionary Wars

War of the First Coalition 1792–1797

France declared war on Austria in April 1792, and then on Britain and the Netherlands in February 1793.

Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire (much of central Europe) and various smaller nations formed an alliance against France. Over time, different nations dropped out, making their own peace deals with France.

France captured the Netherlands and turned it into the Batavian Republic.

It included the only battle of the Revolutionary Wars fought in Britain, near Fishguard in Wales, where a small French invasion force was quickly defeated 22–24 February 1797.

The war ended in October 1797, although Britain did not make a peace treaty.

War of the Second Coalition 1798–1802

Britain, Russia, Portugal, the Holy Roman and Ottoman Empires, with other smaller countries, again took on France in a series of campaigns all over the continent, and in Egypt.

This war saw Nelson defeat a French fleet at the Battle of the Nile, on 1–2 August 1798.

The Battle of the Nile from Horatio Nelson and 
the Naval Supremacy of England by W Clark (1890)

Again, countries made their own peace with the French. Britain signed a peace treaty on 25 March 1802—the Treaty of Amiens.

End of the French Revolutionary Wars

The peace of March 1802 initiated the longest period of peace during the long years of war with France.

It also marks the end of the French Revolutionary wars. In 1799 Napoleon had effectively become ruler of France. In 1802 he became ruler for life, and in 1804 he crowned himself Emperor of France.

The peace lasted just 14 months, with Britain declaring war on France in May 1803. Britain faced France alone from 1803 to 1805, during which time the French threatened to launch an invasion.

The Napoleonic Wars

War of the Third Coalition 1805–1806

Britain, Russia, Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire, plus smaller states, allied against France. This war includes the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, where Nelson defeated a French and Spanish fleet.

The Battle of Trafalgar from Horatio Nelson and the 
Naval Supremacy of England by W Clark (1890)

Just a few weeks later, on 2 December 1805, Napoleon crushed the armies of the Emperors of Russia and Austria at the battle of Austerlitz. The war effectively ended, although there was no peace agreement with Britain or Russia.

War of the Fourth Coalition 1806–1807

Britain, Prussia, Russia, Saxony and Sweden again allied themselves against France. French military successes soon reduced the alliance to Britain and Sweden. Russia swapped sides, declaring war on Britain.

With most of Europe under his control, Napoleon turned his eyes to Portugal, still an ally with Britain. In late 1807 he sent an army to capture its ports, thereby initiating the Peninsular Wars. These are separate from the Coalition Wars.

Napoleon Bonaparte from The Life of
Napoleon Bonaparte by W Sloane (1896)

War of the Fifth Coalition 1809

Britain, Austria, Sardinia and Sicily joined forces, with Austria fighting back after its huge defeat at Austerlitz. This war saw the British launch the Walcheren campaign, in an attempt to support the Austrians by invading the Netherlands. It failed and the war ended with Austria’s defeat at Wagram.

War of the Sixth Coalition 1813–1814

Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and other smaller states formed an alliance that defeated Napoleon.

The allies took advantage of France being weakened by the failed invasion of Russia in 1812 and the ongoing Peninsular Wars.

The allies captured Paris on 31 March 1814 and Napoleon was sent into exile on the island of Elba.

War of the Seventh Coalition 1815

Also known as the Hundred Days, this was the final campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, prompted by Napoleon’s escape from exile on Elba in February 1815.

It led to Napoleon being defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815  and surrendering himself soon after, on 15 July 1815. He was sent into exile on the remote island of St Helena.

The Battle of Waterloo from Historic, military and naval anecdotes
of particular incidents by E Orme & illustrated by JA Atkinson (1819)

A huge number of nations allied against France, including Britain, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, Russia, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Peninsular War 1807–1814

This war overlapped with the fifth and sixth Coalition Wars. It saw Britain and Portugal, and later Spain, taking on the French. The name comes from its location on the Iberian Peninsula.

This war began with the Corunna campaign, with the British being driven out of Spain in early 1808. However, under Arthur Wellesley, later 1^st Duke of Wellington, the British soon returned to Portugal. They launched a series of campaigns that eventually drove the French back to their own country.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
© Rachel Knowles - own collection

The French invasion of Russia 1812

The peace made between France and Russia in 1807, after the War of the Fourth Coalition, was breaking down. Napoleon launched a massive invasion of Russia, but it failed.

This war has other names. Napoleon himself called it the Second Polish War.

The failure of the invasion, and the decimation of the French army, helped encourage the formation of another alliance against France, leading to the War of the Sixth Coalition.

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who has written this post.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage us and help us to keep making our research freely available, please buy us a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

Note

1. I have used the term Britain throughout for simplicity. Until 1801, Britain was known as the Kingdom of Great Britain. From 1801 onwards, Ireland joined the union and Britain became known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Killing Napoleon by Jonathan North - a review

On Christmas Eve 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte narrowly escaped being blown to pieces while travelling to the Paris theatre. A cart carrying a barrel of gunpowder was deliberately detonated in a busy street, with the aim of killing the new ruler of France. Several Parisians were less fortunate, becoming innocent victims of the assassination attempt.

In Killing Napoleon, historian Jonathan North gives a thorough account of events before, during and after that dramatic moment in Paris. He explains how the plot emerged from the swirling mess of Revolutionary and counter-Revolutionary currents, which saw Bonapartists, Jacobins (pro-Revolutionaries) and Royalists jostling for control of their nation’s destiny. With what appears to be a thorough examination of the contemporary records, North details the moments surrounding the explosion and the dramatic aftermath, which included the forced exile of perceived enemies of Bonaparte who had no connection with the plot to kill him.

A compelling read and rich in detail

I found Killing Napoleon to be a compelling read - largely because I was unfamiliar with the story and was keen to discover the fate of those involved. It was obvious that Bonaparte survived - the explosion took place almost fifteen years before Waterloo. But what became of the perpetrators, and who, if anyone, was behind them?

On top of that I was curious about the impact on Paris of what became known as the Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise. Today we would call it an act of terrorism. While the motive was to kill one man, the bombers (as we would call them today) were willing to sacrifice the lives of civilians going about their daily business.

For those less familiar with the ebb and flow of French political life between 1789 and 1800, North provides a useful summary. He describes Bonaparte’s rise, alongside the continued resistance to the Revolution by Chouans in western France. The action really begins when the future Emperor seized power and became First Consul in late 1799.

I particularly enjoyed three aspects of North’s book - the story of the plot, and his illumination of both Parisian life and the world of espionage in 1800. The details were absorbing, and it was worth keeping a finger in the back of the book to read the footnotes. I had no idea that early forensic testing of pistol balls for poison involved persuading a dog to swallow them and then monitoring its health. From the notes I learned of the 1800 Law of the Trousers, requiring women to hold a licence in order to wear them. It was only abolished in 2013!

For all that I was entertained and informed by North’s telling of this story, his is first and foremost a history book. Which makes it an excellent resource for those wanting details about the events surrounding the outrage on Christmas Eve 1800.

Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul from Life of 
Napoleon Bonaparte by WM Sloane (1906)

Not an easy read

As a story, it’s less accessible. The book is rich in facts, particularly names, but arguably there are too many to make it easy to follow. On top of that, the text is what I describe as ‘academic prose’. That is, complex sentences, assumptions about the reader’s knowledge, and surprising words. I now know that ‘quotidian’ means ‘everyday’. While I admire rich vocabulary, I think there’s a place for using language that the majority understand.

All of this stood between me and the story. Which is a pity, because it is an extraordinary tale when you consider how close the conspirators came to killing the man who would go on to shape Europe. It’s also surprising how inept they were - taking few precautions to cover their tracks, with the inevitable results once the authorities commenced their hunt.

The plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise

The plotters were Chouans, that is, Royalists from western France who had resisted the Revolution, often with violence. The police, whose activities are described by North in some detail, knew they were in Paris and knew of the threat to Bonaparte. Indeed, other schemes, organised by disillusioned Revolutionaries, had already been uncovered in 1800. One of these involved a bomb; the other was perhaps more a figment of the imagination of police informers. Such was the atmosphere in Paris that justice was swift and probably not entirely fair.

At the heart of the plot were Saint-Réjant, Limoëlan and Carbon, who were backed by Chouan leaders outside of Paris. They in turn were financed by the British Government. They identified the best location to place the bomb on Napoleon’s route to the theatre, and constructed it by filling a barrel with gunpowder and pieces of metal. Saint-Réjant experimented with fuses in the fireplace of his lodgings, in full view of a young girl of the household. This was just one of a list of indiscretions recounted at his trial.

Despite their apparent lack of concern for being observed, somehow the three men constructed the bomb and drove it on a cart through the Paris streets. Positioned so as to impede the First Consul’s coach, the cart was left with Saint-Réjant, who lit the fuse as he saw the target approach.

His timing was off, and Bonaparte’s coach had already passed the barrel when it exploded. The First Consul was woken by the blast and insisted on being driven to the theatre where he was acclaimed by the audience when they heard of the atrocity.

Many in the busy rue Saint-Nicaise were less fortunate. Almost a dozen died and scores were injured. North provides a detailed record of the many whose lives were ended, or changed forever, by the blast.

While violence and death were not uncommon in Paris of 1800, there was outrage at the manner in which these innocents of rue Saint-Nicaise had died. No one wanted to be associated with such a crime and the public wanted swift justice. Bonaparte seized the opportunity to send into exile over 100 Jacobins he wanted to be rid of, despite their having no part in the plot.

Of the bombers, Saint-Réjant and Carbon were tracked down, tried and guillotined. Limoëlan escaped and travelled to America where he became a Catholic priest.

Napoleon at Arcole from Life of Napoleon 
Bonaparte by WM Sloane (1896)

A thorough examination of attempted assassination

North provides a satisfying amount of detail in the postscript, footnotes and coda of his book. But for me, he left one question unanswered - what became of rue Saint-Nicaise? When I next travel to Paris, how close can I get to the scene of the crime and what markers, if any, remain?

The answer, it appears from other sources, is that there is nothing to see. The once-bustling thoroughfare has long been demolished.

I recommend North’s book to anyone keen to gain a better understanding of life in Paris in 1800, particularly with regard to policing and intelligence-gathering. It could provide a rich source of plot ideas for historical novels.

Killing Napoleon was published by Amberley in 2019 and has been reviewed at the request of the publisher.

What happened to Napoleon's carriage?

The capture of Napoleon's carriage after the Battle of Waterloo
from Ackermann's Repository (1816)

How Napoleon’s carriage came to London

Napoleon’s carriage was captured by Major Von Keller at Genappe on the night of 18 June 1815 as Napoleon fled the battlefield of Waterloo. The Prussian Major “reserved the carriage as his own booty” and “brought it to England to gratify the curiosity of the people of this country, who have now an opportunity of viewing it at the London Museum, Piccadilly.”1

It is not clear whether the carriage was sold to the British government by the Prussians or sent as a present to the Prince Regent.

According to the Literary Panorama (1815):

The splendid carriage taken at the battle of Waterloo which was fitted up in a most magnificent style, for Buonaparte, was taken while waiting for the Ex-Emperor: the driver was killed by a Prussian general and Major. It was sent as a present to the Prince Regent, with the four horses which were attached to it, and a French driver accompanied it.2

However, the Monthly Magazine (1816) said: 

It was taken by the Prussians, sold to Government, and re-sold,—lent to Mr Bullock as a Prussian trophy. Mr Bullock’s room constantly filled with company, and at least a hundred thousand persons have already gratified themselves by sitting in the very chariot which once held Napoleon le Grand.3

Mr Bullock's London Museum, Piccadilly
from Ackermann's Repository (1815)

Either way, the carriage came to England and was sold (or lent) to Mr Bullock. It went on display at his London Museum, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and then, at the Prince Regent’s desire, went on tour throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. The carriage excited a good deal of interest and it was estimated that Mr Bullock made in excess of £26,000 from the exhibition!

The popularity of the exhibition at Bullock’s Museum was caricatured in Rowlandson’s print, shown below. 

Exhibition at Bullocks Museum of Bonepartes Carriage
taken at Waterloo by Thomas Rowlandson, published by
R Ackermann (1816)  © The Trustees of the British Museum

What was the carriage like?

There was a detailed description of the carriage included with the print shown at the top of this post which appeared in Ackermann’s Repository (1816):

The exterior

The exterior of the carriage is, in many respects, very like the modern English travelling chariots. The colour is a dark blue, with a handsome bordure ornament in gold; but the Imperial arms are emblazoned on the pannels of the doors. It has a lamp at each corner of the roof, and there is one lamp fixed at the back which can throw a strong light into the interior.1

It claimed that “the pannels of the carriage are bullet-proof” and stated that “the under-carriage and wheels are painted in vermillion, edged with the colour of the body, and heightened with gold.”

On the outside of the front windows is a roller-blind made of strong painted canvass: when pulled down, this will exclude rain and snow, and therefore secure the windows and blinds from being blocked up, as well as prevent the damp from penetrating.1

The interior

The interior deserves particular attention; for it is adapted to the various purposes of a kitchen, a bed-room, a dressing-room, an office, and an eating-room.

Among the gold articles are a tea-pot, coffee-pot, sugar-bason, cream-ewer, coffee-cup and saucer, slop-bason, candle-sticks, wash-hand-bason, plates for breakfast, &c. Each article is superbly embossed with the Imperial arms, and engraved with his favourite N.; and by the aid of the lamp, any thing could be heated in the carriage.

Beneath the coachman’s seat is a small box about two feet and a half long, and about four inches square; this contains a bedstead of polished steel, which could be fitted up within one or two minutes.

Other items in the carriage included “a small mahogany case” containing “the peculiar necessaire of the ex-emperor” - “nearly one hundred articles, almost all of them solid gold”; a liquor-case; and a writing desk.

Exhibited at Madame Tussaud’s

After the tour, the carriage and its contents were sold by auction and bought by someone who wanted to exhibit them in America. Unable to realise his intentions, it was sold again and then taken by a coach maker as part payment of a bad debt! In 1842, this company sold it to Madame Tussaud and Sons where it formed part of a special exhibition about Napoleon.

An advertisement in The Times (1843) stated:

Napoleon’s celebrated military carriage, taken at Waterloo, room magnificently fitted to show the decorations of his period, engravings of his history, splendid bust by Canova, the cloak he wore at Marenge, the sword of Egypt, the standard given to his guards, his watch, gold snuff box, ring, one of this teeth, the instrument that drew it, tooth-brush, Madras worn in exile, dessert service used by him at St Helens, counterpane stained with his blood: the greater part late the property of Prince Lucien – Madame Tussaud and Son’s Exhibition, Bazaar, Baker-Street: open from 11 till dusk, and from 7 till 10. Great room, 1s; Napoleon relics and chamber of horrors, 6d.4

Napoleon from The Life 
of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke
 of Wellington by WH Maxwell (1852)

The end of the road for Napoleon’s carriage

The carriage was exhibited at Madame Tussaud's until 18 March 1925 when fire swept through the waxworks. A report in The Times declared that:

Madame Tussaud’s, the famous waxworks exhibition, which for generations has had a great fascination for visitors from every land, is no more.

Of the most treasured possessions of the exhibition, the Napoleonic relics, only scrap iron remains to suggest the coach in which the Emperor rode at Waterloo.

The owner, John Tussaud, commented that:

You cannot put a price on the Napoleonic relics…which cannot be replaced. I consider many of the most valuable things in the collection have been destroyed. They include Napoleon’s three coaches—the Waterloo coach, the carriage he used at St Helena, and the coach he is said to have used on the occasion of his coronation at Milan.5

And so Napoleon’s carriage met a sad end, consumed by flames, 110 years after the Battle of Waterloo at which it was captured.

Fortunately, some of the items captured from Napoleon’s baggage train did survive and a number of them were on display at Windsor Castle in the Waterloo at Windsor 1815-2015 exhibition.

Notes

(1) From Ackermann’s Repository (Feb 1816).

(2) From Literary Panorama (Dec 1815) as quoted in The Military Carriage printed for Madame Tussaud and Sons (1843).

(3) From the Monthly Magazine (July 1816) as quoted in The Military Carriage printed for Madame Tussaud and Sons (1843).

(4) From The Times Digital Archive for 8 Apr 1843 accessed 6 Feb 2015 © Times Newspapers Ltd – transcribed by me.

(5) From The Times Digital Archive for 20 Mar 1925 accessed 6 Feb 2015 © Times Newspapers Ltd – transcribed by me.

Rachel Knowles writes clean/Christian Regency era romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

Sources used include:

Ackermann’s Repository (1815-1816)

The Military Carriage of Napoleon Bonaparte, taken after the Battle of Waterloo, printed for Madame Tussaud and Sons (1843)

British Museum website
The Times Digital Archive

In the shadow of the Battle of Waterloo - three days in June: part 3 - 18 June 1815

The Battle of Waterloo in The wars of Wellington, a narrative poem
by Dr Syntax illustrated by W Heath and JC Stadler (1819)

For two days, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 June 1815, the population of Brussels, including many visitors from England, had endured painful uncertainty. They could hear the sounds of cannon to the south and knew that Wellington's army was engaging the French under Napoleon. But it was far from clear who had the upper hand.

Read about Day 1: Friday 16 June 1815

Read about Day 2: Saturday 17 June 1815

What these thousands of civilians feared most was that victorious French troops would enter, and ransack, the city.

An anonymous observer of events in the city later published an account of their experience, offering us a vivid insight into what it was like for civilians during the Battle of Waterloo.

Decisive charge at Waterloo by A Cooper engraved by P Lightfoot
from The Life of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington
by WH Maxwell (1852)

Day 3: Sunday 18 June 1815

“On Sunday the terror and confusion reached its highest point.” After two uncomfortable nights for Brussels, probably sleepless for many, “news arrived of the French having gained a complete victory, and it was universally believed.”1

Panic swept through the baggage train at the rear of the British army, and a torrent of frightened people fled into Brussels, leaving a trail of “broken and overturned waggons – heaps of abandoned baggage – dead horses, and terrified people.”1

Surrounded by this chaos, everyone in Brussels was desperate for news.

Ladies accosted men they had never seen before, without preface or apology, with eager questions. Strangers conversed together like friends – every body addressed each other without hesitation, and English reserve seemed no longer to exist.1

Despite all the questions, there were no answers. The dreadful overture of battle, the distant rumble of cannon fire, again played in the background throughout the day. Their nerves shredded by three days of suspense, “constant agitation and fluctuating hopes”, the population who chose to stay, or could not flee, had no choice but to wait. Just a few miles away, one of the most celebrated battles in European history was being fought in the fields, woods and hedgerows of Waterloo.

Finally, at around 9pm, “some wounded officers arrived on horseback from the field, bringing the dreadful news, that the battle was lost!” This prompted a fresh exodus away from the city, and the sense of foreboding deepened as carriages filled with wounded rolled into the city.

Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton
- one of the officers who died at the Battle of Waterloo
from The Life of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington
by WH Maxwell (1852)

Reliable news at last!

Finally, at around 3am on Monday 19 June 1815, an official message arrived from Waterloo

...containing a brief account of the victory. A party of wounded Highlanders, who had found their way on foot from the field of battle, no sooner heard the news, than, regardless of their sufferings, they began to shout and huzza with the most vociferous demonstrations of joy.1

The ‘near observer’ who recorded this account soon paid a personal visit to the battlefield.

Every tree in the wood of Hougoumont is pierced with cannon-balls – in one alone, I counted the holes, where upwards of twenty had lodged.1

The mixture of relief and disgust engendered by a trip to the battlefield so soon after the conflict is hard to imagine.

Wild flowers are still blooming, and wild raspberries ripening beneath their shade; while huge black piles of human ashes, dreadfully offensive in smell, are all that now remain of the heroes who fought and fell upon this fatal spot.1

Horse Guards at the Battle of Waterloo from Historic, military and 
naval anecdotes of particular incidents by E Orme & illustrated
 by Heath & Dubourg (1819)

A summary of the events on Sunday 18 June

Following two days of smaller military engagements, Napoleon and Wellington faced one another on the battlefield for the first and only time. The Battle of Waterloo began at around midday and continued into the long June evening, both sides bitterly contesting the battlefield in a bid to break the other. Many of those present later recorded that it was the most ferocious battle they had ever experienced.

In early evening the Prussian army under Blucher, defeated by the French two days earlier, arrived to support the struggling Allied army led by Wellington. Napoleon made a final assault with his Imperial Guard, undefeated in all their previous engagements. They were broken and their defeat signalled the end to the French, who fled the battlefield.

The meeting of Wellington and Blucher at La Belle Alliance in
The wars of Wellington, a narrative poem
by Dr Syntax illustrated by W Heath and JC Stadler (1819)

While not the last battle between the French and the Allies, Waterloo was effectively the end of Napoleon's campaign. He raced back to Paris, but discovered he had little support and on 15 July, at Rochefort on the French coast, he gave himself up to a British warship. He hoped to be allowed to travel to America, or make a quiet home in England, but was instead exiled to the distant island of St Helena. 

List of dead and wounded at the Battle of Waterloo
from The Life of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington
by WH Maxwell (1852)

Rachel Knowles writes clean/Christian Regency era romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who wrote this post.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

 

Note
(1) All quotes from The Battle of Waterloo by a near observer (1815).

Sources used include:
Booth, J (publisher), The Battle of Waterloo by a near observer (1815)
Maxwell, William Hamilton, Life of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington in three volumes (1852)

In the shadow of the Battle of Waterloo - three days in June: part 2 - 17 June 1815

The Battle of Waterloo from Historic, military and naval anecdotes
of particular incidents by E Orme & illustrated by JA Atkinson (1819)

On Friday 16 June 1815, the city of Brussels listened in fear and awe to the sound of distant cannon fire. The British and their allies had marched from the city in the early hours to face the advancing French under Napoleon.

Read about Day 1: Friday 16 June 1815

All day rumours and reports from the nearby battlefields reached the increasingly nervous inhabitants, who feared that a French victory would see their city sacked by the French. Few went to bed easily that Friday night.

An anonymous observer of events in the city later published an account of their experiences, offering us a vivid insight into what is was like for a civilian during the three days of the Waterloo campaign.

Napoleon from The Life 
of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke
 of Wellington by WH Maxwell (1852)

Day 2: Saturday 17 June 1815

Not long after midnight, the population of Brussels, mainly Belgian but swollen by the many British who accompanied the army, was disturbed once more. This time it was by “the rolling of heavy carriages, in long succession, passing rapidly through the Place Royale.”1

Rising to enquire what was happening, the ‘near observer’ who recorded an account met a panic-stricken chambermaid, who insisted that the French were within half an hour of taking the city. “At the bottom of the stairs, a group of the affrighted Belgians were assembled - consternation pictured on their faces.”

The alarm subsided, for now, when they realised the wagons were artillery heading towards, not away, from the battlefields to the south of the city. But fresh panic swept in at 6am when Belgian cavalry galloped through the streets “at full speed, as if the enemy were at their heels.”1

The doors of all the bed-rooms open - the people flew out with their night-caps on, scarcely half dressed and looking quite distracted, running about pale and trembling.1

Retreat from Waterloo by J Gilbert engraved by AW Warren
from The Life of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington
by WH Maxwell (1852)

Flight from the fight

The nervous made hasty preparations to flee.

In the court-yard below, a scene of the most dreadful confusion ensued; the scuffle that took place to get at the horses and carriages it was impossible to describe; the squabbling of masters and servants, ostlers, chambermaids, coachmen and gentlemen.1

Yet again, this disorder was followed by news, from an aide-de-camp of the Duke of Wellington, that the British army was in good order and more fighting was to be expected.

Illustration from The Life of Field-Marshal
His Grace the Duke of Wellington by WH Maxwell (1852)

The grim reality of war soon became evident on the streets, as wagons filled with injured troops began to arrive, along with the bodies of those who had died during the journey.

Numbers of wounded who were able to walk, were wandering upon every road; their blood-stained clothes and pale haggard countenances looking most dreadful.1

These terrible sights were accompanied by accurate reports that Wellington had retreated towards Brussels, as part of a tactical game of cat and mouse with the enemy. But

...nobody could convince the Belgians that a retreat and a flight were not one and the same thing; and firmly convinced that the English had been defeated, they fully expected every moment to see them enter Brussels in the utmost confusion, with the French after them.1

The sense of panic intensified on what must have been a sultry afternoon. “Every hour only served to add to the dismay.” The fearful were offering huge sums of money for a horse on which to escape the city, and many left on foot or in canal boats.

The weather broke later that day, with a “violent thunderstorm”. As night fell, the frightened city and the armies in the field were lashed by “torrents of rain”.

Illustration from The Life of Field-Marshal
His Grace the Duke of Wellington by WH Maxwell (1852)

A summary of the events on Saturday 17 June

After the battles of Friday, the French and British armies spent Saturday positioning themselves for another fight the following day. The heavy rain that soaked the ground at Waterloo, making movement difficult, is considered to be one of the factors turning the final battle in favour of the British.

Read about the Battle of Waterloo in the final post of the series.

Rachel Knowles writes clean/Christian Regency era romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who wrote this post.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

 

Note
(1) All quotes from The Battle of Waterloo by a near observer (1815).

Sources used include:
Booth, J (publisher), The Battle of Waterloo by a near observer (1815)
Maxwell, William Hamilton, Life of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington in three volumes (1852)