June 18th and 19th, 2005 - Battle of Waterloo
Belgium
Four members of the Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada (Kevin Litghtfoot, Will Woods, Ron Saila and Paul Kelly) made their way to Waterloo, Belgium for the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. We were hosted by the 95th Rifles Living History Society and fell in with the 44th East Essex under the leadership of Edwin Parker.
What truly great hosts and friends to have in Europe!! We hope to maintain these new friendships for future events here in North America and again in Europe.
We camped with the 95th and the 44th in the orchard of Hougoumont farm orchard. Along with battalion drill and a march to Plancenoit on the Saturday, we were involved in a 4 and ½ hour battle on Sunday June 19. It is estimated that 3000 re-enactors were present for the battles, made up of infantry, artillery and cavalry.
Other links to the Battle Of Waterloo include:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/games/waterloo/game.html
http://www.trabel.com/waterloo/waterloo-thebattle.htm
http://www.britishbattles.com/waterloo/waterloo-june-1815.htm
The pictures below should tell part of the story of the weekend.
From the BBC News report of the event - Monday June 20, 2005
Anglo-French relations may be at a low after the EU summit in Brussels
last week, but elsewhere in Belgium things were getting a lot bloodier.
Around 3,000 re-enactors from all over the world gathered in Belgium
on Sunday to celebrate the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
The re-enactment started at 0900 in the main square of Plancenoit, a
village near the original site of the battle.
Napoleon's army was first into the field; marching in neat rows, the
French line troops occupied the sloping ground in front of the church,
and the artillery heaved their guns into position.
Their blue uniforms stained with sweat, the re-enactors chatted in
French, Polish, Spanish, English and a myriad of other languages as
they waited for the action to begin.
A company of horsemen appeared over the ridge, amongst them a white
charger carrying the hunched and hatted figure of Napoleon, played by
American historian Mark Schneider, fresh in from Virginia on his first
visit to Belgium.
In the early morning sunlight, the troops raised a ragged cry of "Vive
l'Empereur!" and Mark managed a stately trot along the serried ranks.
Within seconds muskets began to crack and pop.
Clouds of smoke drifted across the square, choking throats and making
eyes run.
Drums rattled, bagpipes droned, officers yelled themselves hoarse, the
guns pounded and horseshoes clattered on the cobblestones.
An hour later the fight shifted into a meadow, where the cavalry and
the heavy artillery were brought into action.
The fierce overhead sun scorched necks and faces. The Hussars,
broiling in heavy woollen pelisses embroidered with silver and gold
braid, cantered up the field carrying orders from Brigadier General
Wagg Ellis-Jones, the Allied Commanding Officer.
"It won't put them off, though, they'll be back.
This site is one of the Upper Canadian Heritage Websites. IMUC.ORG and this site are under the ownership of the Military Re-Enactment Society of Canada - The Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada (War of 1812 Re-Enactors) and all information, unless otherwise documented, is under the ownership of said group. If you wish to use any images or information on this page, please contact paulkelly@uppercanadianheritage.com and make your request. Students and non-profit organizations wishing to use the information can do so without permission provided proper credit is given to the Military Re-Enactment Society of Canada and/or IMUC.ORG.
© 2004 - Military Re-Enactment Society of Canada
To contact the webmaster of this site, please e-mail him at matthew@uppercanadianheritage.com
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