Napoleonic re-enactors and the Battle of Waterloo pt2

For Napoleonic re-enactors, events don’t come any bigger than the annual restaging of the Battle of Waterloo.

The spectacle regularly attracts around 3,000 men and women, dressed in the uniforms of the era, who act out the events of 18 June 1815 on the same ground that was trodden by the armies of Wellington and Napoleon.

And the colourful, dramatic and often noisy display is watched by many thousands more.

All the nations that participated on the day are represented and clothes and accoutrements are not only authentic-looking, but often extremely accurate copies of those actually worn by the soldiers and camp-followers of the day.

Among all the battles of the era, Waterloo holds a special place among Napoleonic re-enactors.

Chris Shaw, who portrays a rifleman of the British 95th Rifles, says: ‘It’s fascinating because it brought together the two main powers of the era, France and Great Britain, head-to-head on one small battlefield.

‘The two greatest generals of the time – Napoleon and Wellington – were in command. All the latest technology was in use – such as rockets and shrapnel shells. And there were many famous regiments present on both sides

‘But it’s also where the Napoleonic era ended. It’s where Britain’s identity changed; where its Empire began. Waterloo is an evocative place in so many ways.’

The 95th Rifles await their moment

The battlefield has also changed little since 1815 – with one obvious exception, the 43-metre-high Butte de Lion (Lion Mound). This stands near the centre of what was once the Allied line and commemorates the spot where the Prince of Orange was wounded by a musket ball.

The Duke of Wellington was reputedly not convinced about this addition, incidentally. ‘They have altered my field of battle,’ he is reputed to have complained.

The re-enactment generally takes place on the weekend closest to 18 June, with events occurring at the village of Plancenoit on the Saturday evening and Waterloo itself on the Sunday, beginning around 11.30am – the time the battle itself started.

Prior to the main events, the troops bivouac in the same places that their Napoleonic forbears would have pitched camp on the rain-soaked night of 17-18 June 1815.

In the case of the British that means close to the château of Hougoumont. For the French it is in the vicinity of the Emperor’s headquarters at the Ferme du Caillou. Visitors are welcome to wander through the camps and gain an insight into the everyday life of a Napoleonic soldier.

While many re-enactors take on the role of troops of their own nationality, some chose not too. Englishman Duncan Miles, for example, becomes a Lieutenant in the French 45th Infantry Regiment.

It’s a rather unusual choice, he admits, but one for which he has his reasons – not least a typically British favouring of the underdog. ‘The re-enactment scene in the UK is awash with riflemen and redcoats, but there aren’t that many opposition,’ he says.

In addition, his decision was influenced by an enduring respect for the way in which the innovations introduced by Napoleon in areas such as the French legal system endure to this day.

The French 45th Regiment: egalité and fraternité

Miles also suggests that traditions of egalité and fraternité have endured among French re-enactors – regardless of their nationality – while their British counterparts adhere to the type of relationship between officers and men with which the aristocratic Duke of Wellington would have felt comfortable.

As befits a good soldier of the Emperor, he recounts with horror tales of English soldiers putting up tents and generally kow-towing to their re-enactor-officers.

At Waterloo, the 45th find themselves joining forces with re-enactors from countries such as France, Italy, Belgium and Poland to portray the massed battalions of French infantry that were in action during the battle.

It can be an emotive business for all concerned, he adds.

‘Various people play Napoleon,’ he says. ‘One of them is a Canadian actor called Mark Schneider – who really looks the part.

‘I remember vividly how on one occasion we were marching towards the battlefield. Everyone was tired after a couple of nights in bivouacs.

‘Then, out of the morning mist, sitting on his horse on top of a hillock we saw Mark, who rose in the saddle and doffed his hat to us. Everybody started shouting: “Vive L’Empereur.” It was quite a moment.

‘It’s incredible to feel that level of camarardarie and exultation. And that’s just for us as re-enactors. It gives you a real insight into the effect Napoleon would really have had on his troops.’

That link with the past is something that also strikes a chord with Shaw. ‘One of our re-enactors is the descendant of a soldier who was with the 95th Rifles at Waterloo,’ he says.

‘He had served in the Peninsula War and wasn’t really fit for service, but the regiment was short of men and he ended up at Waterloo.

‘He lost his arm after being wounded near Hougoumont. Re-enactors want to show their respect to people like that.

Shaw also suggests that the Waterloo re-enactment is a way for participants and spectators alike to remember the conflicts that have ebbed and flowed through this corner of Europe – and not just in the Napoleonic era.

‘At Waterloo, the British and the Prussians were allies,’ he says. ‘Just 100 years later, those same regiments, with the same battle honours on their flags, were fighting each other almost in these same fields. That’s a humbling thought.’

The Waterloo Panorama

Six of the best Waterloo sites

Some 330ft long and 36ft high, the circular Waterloo Panorama depicts scenes from the battle. Created in 1912, it skilfully places the visitor in the thick of the action, while audio effects give an idea of the sounds of a Napoleonic clash of arms.

The Waterloo Visitor Centre also includes an auditorium showing excerpts from the film Waterloo by Sergueï Bondartchouk that explain how events unfolded.

The Butte de Lion, while it may not have impressed the Duke of Wellington, offers unrivalled views of the battlefield from its lofty heights.
www.waterloo1815.be

Situated in the Iron Duke’s former headquarters in Waterloo itself, the Wellington Museum contains a wide range of objects – from a captured French cannon to the false leg worn by British cavalry commander the Earl of Uxbridge after his was amputated after the battle.
www.museewellington.be

Napoleon and his marshals had their headquarters at the Ferme du Caillou and set out their battle plans here. The building survives to this day and also houses a museum of Napoleonic memorabilia, including the emperor’s camp bed and relics discovered on the battlefield.

The château of Hougoumont was a crucial strongpoint at the front of the Allied line. It still looks much as it did in 1815 and an appeal is currently underway to raise much-needed funds for its restoration.
www.projecthougoumont.com