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Archival updates and private family contributions enrich the historical record of Waterloo officers. Annotation notes left by J.W. O'Brien at the British Museum provided vital obituary details for revised entries. A new dedicated section highlights non-commissioned officers and privates who earned battlefield commissions.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
Decades of war against Napoleon transformed public panic into widespread volunteer mobilization across Great Britain. Government appeals raised over 300,000 defensive volunteers alongside expanded military forces. Victory at Trafalgar thwarted invasion plans, but Peninsular demobilizations left Britain with a scattered veteran force by 1815.
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST EDITION.
Deciphering campaign staff abbreviations reveals an intricate hierarchy surrounding the Duke of Wellington. High-ranking aides like Lord Fitzroy Somerset and the Prince of Orange coordinated communication across divisions. Precise codes document casualties, foreign honors, and regimental postings across the entire Allied staff.
ABBREVIATIONS. → THE WATERLOO ROLL CALL.
Wellington relied on closely trusted aides who suffered severe battlefield injuries. Lord Fitzroy Somerset lost his right arm to gunfire from La Haye Sainte before later commanding troops in the Crimea. Staff officer Henry Percy carried the news of victory back to London alongside captured French eagle standards.
STAFF.
Lord Edward Somerset's heavy cavalry brigade faced relentless counterattacks during the opening clashes. Lieutenant-Colonel Ferrior led the 1st Life Guards in eleven separate charges despite severe sabre and lance wounds. Captain Edward Kelly defeated a French cuirassier colonel in single combat, stripping his epaulettes as trophies.
BRITISH AND HANOVERIAN ARMY AT WATERLOO, → 1st (or the KING’S)…
Horrible horse-mounted combat forced soldiers into immediate split-second decisions of mercy or defense. Colonel Robert Wallace spared a fallen French trumpeter who promptly slashed back at him from the ground. Other officers like Cornet Battersby perished in the final cavalry charges as forces swept forward.
1st (or ROYAL) REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS.
Surviving officers faced grueling night duties succouring the wounded and burying fallen comrades. Lieutenant Graham of the Scots Greys spent the night of June 18th managing recovery details across the field. High officer turn-overs left junior leaders commanding troops during critical final advances.
6th (or INNISKILLING) REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS.
Family lineages ran deep through light dragoon units across decades of foreign service. Three generations of the Doherty family commanded the 13th Light Dragoons through yellow fever in the West Indies and Waterloo. Major-General Sir James Chatterton later carried the Great Banner at Wellington's state funeral.
13th REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS.
Veterans of Spain brought crucial combat resilience to the 16th Light Dragoons at Waterloo. Lieutenant-Colonel James Hay survived severe wounds that left him immobile on the field for eight full days. Years of continuous campaigning forged hardened officers capable of sustaining extreme physical trauma.
16th (or the QUEEN’S) REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS.
Foot Guards units earned historic battle honours defending key forward positions like Hougomont. Lord Saltoun had four horses shot beneath him while holding the orchard against overwhelming French infantry forces. Recognizing their decisive role, the 1st Foot Guards were officially renamed the Grenadier Guards.
COLDSTREAM REGIMENT OF FOOT GUARDS.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonell and Sir Alexander Woodford spearheaded the desperate barricade of Hougomont farm. Together with Sergeant Graham, a small group used raw physical strength to close the courtyard gates against French stormers. Their steadfast resistance pinned down entire enemy divisions throughout the entire day.
3rd REGIMENT OF FOOT GUARDS.
Young replacement troops demonstrated remarkable discipline when placed in the main line of battle. The 3rd Battalion 14th Foot, dubbed the "peasants" for their youthful recruits, won Wellington's personal praise. Officer Frank Tidy survived years of French imprisonment and epidemics to command troops under heavy artillery fire.
23rd REGIMENT OF FOOT (or ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS).
Standing in dense defensive squares exposed infantry regiments to extreme casualty rates. The 27th Inniskillings lost 480 out of 698 men while holding position near the Charleroi road sandpit. Officers like Lieutenant Cradock survived grievous face wounds as units refused to yield ground.
28th (or the NORTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE) REGIMENT OF FOOT.J → 30th…
Generals insisted that holding infantry positions was vital to the army's overall survival. Sir Colin Halkett informed Wellington that his decimated brigade would stand until every last man fell. Battlefield field medicine was so primitive that Officer Hamilton's leg narrowly escaped unnecessary amputation after three prepared attempts.
32nd (or the CORNWALL) REGIMENT OF FOOT.
Close-quarters infantry fighting saw officers overwhelmed in chaotic squad-level melees. Colonel Sir Robert Macara was cut down by enemy lancers after being captured while already wounded. Major Menzies survived sixteen distinct wounds after wrestling a French cavalry officer onto his chest as protection.
44th (or the EAST ESSEX) REGIMENT OF FOOT.
Peninsular war experience produced hardened leaders adept at tactical assault missions. Ensign Joseph Dyas famously led two successive forlorn hope breaches at Badajoz before serving at Waterloo. Light infantry companies provided flexible skirmishing screens that buffered main line formations from enemy fire.
52nd (or the OXFORDSHIRE) REGIMENT OF FOOT (LIGHT INFANTRY).
High-ranking commanders accumulated extensive combat records spanning global campaigns from America to Spain. General Sir Thomas Reynell began his career after his father died at Saratoga, eventually leading the 71st Foot. Officers who survived Waterloo went on to lead major colonial campaigns across India and Africa.
73rd (HIGHLAND) REGIMENT OF FOOT.
Severe combat loss rapidly decimated senior officer ranks within Highland regiments. The Cameron Highlanders saw all field officers disabled, leaving junior subalterns to direct the regiment's final advance. Officers like Andrew Barnard of the 95th Rifles earned foreign orders for managing post-war occupying forces in Paris.
92nd REGIMENT OF FOOT (GORDON HIGHLANDERS). → ROYAL STAFF CORPS.
Specialized technical units managed ammunition transport and artillery deployments across difficult terrain. The Royal Waggon Train evolved to maintain vital supply routes during intense combat operations. Artillery commanders like Sir Augustus Frazer coordinated horse artillery batteries to break advancing French columns.
ROYAL WAGGON TRAIN.N → CAPTAIN EDWARD C. WHINYATES’S TROOP.
Horse artillery batteries stood directly between infantry squares and attacking French cavalry. Captain Mercer's troop maintained rapid fire, refusing to retire into squares so they could keep their guns active. Medical officers worked under fire, establishing surgical transport networks for thousands of wounded soldiers.
CAPTAIN MERCER’S TROOP. → ORDNANCE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.S
Non-combatant commissariat officers and reserve regiments maintained essential line security without directly engaging. Officers like Randal Routh managed vital food supplies and transport logistics across Belgium. Several infantry regiments stationed at Hal earned campaign medals despite being held back from direct combat.
FIELD TRAIN DEPARTMENT OF THE ORDNANCE.T → 59th (or the 2nd…
Surviving Waterloo did not guarantee a safe return home for victorious regiments. Numerous officers of the 91st Foot drowned off the Irish coast when the Seahorse transport wrecked in 1816. Detailed muster rolls captured exact troop counts and casualties immediately following the battle.
91st REGIMENT OF FOOT. → PART II
Battlefield heroism allowed exceptional non-commissioned officers to rise into the officer corps. Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Scots Greys captured the French 45th Regiment's Eagle standard in hand-to-hand fight. Private Francis Stiles assisted in capturing the 105th Regiment's Eagle, earning an ensigncy in the West India Regiment.
PART III.
Enlisted troopers achieved fame through extraordinary physical feats in heavy cavalry charges. Prize-fighter John Shaw cut down multiple cuirassiers before falling, while Samuel Godley captured an enemy horse to rejoin his unit. Massive artillery barrages of 250 guns produced unprecedented destruction across the battlefield.
PART IV. A FEW WATERLOO HEROES. → APPENDIX.
A detailed record of British officers, regiments, and enlisted heroes who fought in the 1815 Waterloo campaign.