Young English Soldier Gives BRUTAL First-Hand Account of Battle of Waterloo (1815, William Lawrence)

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Extracts taken from:
The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence: A Hero of the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns.
Music courtesy of:
Epidemic Sound
Artlist.io
We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.
Image credits:
Waterloo reenactors by WyrdLight.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

[@johnwilletts3984]

For anyone who thinks this was the distant past. I was born in 1952, my soldier Grandfather was born in 1881. In response to me joking about his Victorian ways, he would tell me stories of the strange old people he knew as a young lad. I’m now wondering if any of those old people were Waterloo veterans. Just checked on line, the last Waterloo veteran died in 1898. We are just one lifetime away from hearing this first hand.

[@georgemorley1029]

My dad born in 1938, passed away last year. His father, a WW1 veteran and MC recipient, was born in the 1890s and died in 1970. I was connected to Victorian and Edwardian values by them both. I feel privileged.

[@johnday6392]

I was born in 1945, i knew my Great Grandfather who died when i was 11. He was born in 1867 and it always makes me smile when i think that i have talked to a man who could have talked to Charles Dickens, to men who took part in the charge of the Light Brigade, and indeed, as you say, to men who fought at Waterloo. As you say, only one lifetime away.

[@hanoitripper1809]

When i was 5 in 1st grade a busload of old people came to our country school, likely a big excursion for them, nice old ladies trying to chat to the kids , and old men just smiling at us. They wouldve be born in the 1880s. I have so many questions now that i wish id asked them about their memories of historical events, lives and experiences. But at 5 we were just playing like kids..

[@theuglyfriend]

It’s crazy to think I’m here typing this comment on a smart in 2021 at 42yrs old and my grandfather was born in 1897 and fought in both world wars.

[@ralphraffles1394]

@@theuglyfriend Some years ago I visited my great Aunt in Belfast. I asked her if she recalled the men going off to the First World War, she replied, “I have clearer memories of waving off the boys going to fight the Boers.”

[@MajorMalfunction]

My GGGGrandfather fought at Waterloo as part of the Scots Greys. He lost his leg, which is a typical cavalry injury, but managed to survive. The family there still have his cavalry sword displayed on the wall.

[@HF06]

That must be an honour to own such item.

[@BaronsHistoryTimes]

Do you have his story of the campaign. This is always a big interest to history hobbyists.

[@MajorMalfunction]

@@BaronsHistoryTimes I'm afraid that's all I've got.

[@BaronsHistoryTimes]

@@MajorMalfunction Well, good to know he's remembered at least. Any chance to make a video of his sword for YT, along with the brief story?

[@MajorMalfunction]

@@BaronsHistoryTimes I don't own the sword. I kinda jokingly asked if I could have it, and they were like, "Haha... No."

[@jrodriguez1374]

"hullo, there goes my best friend" 8:20 Lmao classic military humor

[@arieheath7773]

Nothing helps get past hard times like some good dark humor.

[@jrodriguez1374]

@@arieheath7773 agreed

[@dennis-qu7bs]

It's a defense mechanism to escape the reality of the situation

[@Infernal460]

@@arieheath7773 I don't mind dark humour. I just don't like dark dark humour.

[@wishcraft4u2]

@@dennis-qu7bs it's actually also a noted symptom of so called "conversion hysteria", the state of neurotic anxiety that builds up under combat stress.

[@zaftra]

Imagine coming through the entire battle only to be killed getting something to make a fire with.

[@zaftra]

@@CeramicShot The fire wasn't next the gunpowder wagon.

[@ientrancedi]

That was crazy

[@leidersammlung6955]

Imagine suffering through these engagements, winning, and then returning home to have your economy and monetary systems forever hijacked........by those your enemy in the field was actually fighting. So it was, at Waterloo.

[@dannyboywhaa3146]

@@leidersammlung6955 still shocks me... still angers me...

[@hanoitripper1809]

Many guys survived war only to be hit by a car when returned.

[@enenao]

Here in Valparaíso, Chile, there is a grave of a former british soldier that fought in Waterloo. He died in this land because the ship he was on board sunk circa 1860 off the coast of Valparaíso.

[@raypurchase801]

Thankyou for your comment. I expect you know the name of Cochrane.

[@enenao]

@@raypurchase801 Of course. Any good chilean would know his name. A bit of an eccentric character, I must say.

[@raypurchase801]

@@enenao Your English is perfect. I'm impressed.

[@cristobalstark6929]

@@raypurchase801 many british came to Chile and died has chilean citizens, very interesting people

[@raypurchase801]

@@cristobalstark6929 A different era. In those days, travelling from Europe to Chile took as long as travelling to Mars.

[@2stroke984]

Amazing story. My GGG Grandfather fought at Waterloo with the 62nd Regiment of Foot. How lucky am I to be here. He migrated to Australia in the mid 1850’s with his wife and lots of kids and kept on having children till around 70yrs of age. Lived to 107yrs and died at Wallsend NSW in 1889. I wish I knew more of his story.

[@li4398]

Fantastic story Phil.

[@muhammadgbadegesin8043]

WOW!!!

[@TylerRichardson14]

Was he by chance the last waterloo veteran to live? Great family hero and story for sure!

[@Hew.Jarsol]

How do you get to 107?!

[@2stroke984]

@@TylerRichardson14 hi Tyler. Thanks for the comment. That is a great question. I don’t know the answer.

[@rickb1973]

Its good that this is the report and thoughts of a Sergeant....a man of some experience who understands what he is seeing and doing on the battlefield, but not an officer with duties of polite civilities to his class.....a man trying to avoid ruffling any reputations. -NCOs: The backbone of any army.

[@Ares_gaming_117]

Im glad we have this sergeant's account. He writes as elegantly as any author even today!

[@joshuaurbany6468]

@@Ares_gaming_117 "Made me dance for a time without a fiddle." Truly Shakespearian.

[@rickb1973]

@@joshuaurbany6468 Yeah, I caught that too... straight from the time before real painkillers or antibiotics...That's real.

[@Ares_gaming_117]

@@joshuaurbany6468 Lol yep. He's keeping it real

[@STScott-qo4pw]

@@Ares_gaming_117 certainly not a grammarly man... Notice the balance to the sentences. I think people may have been better off without TV.

[@jinz0]

what a true and propper Englishman

[@topbanana4013]

@@SobridMusic buy an urban dictionary

[@alm4264]

@@topbanana4013 who seriously cares

[@topbanana4013]

@@alm4264 the comment was in reply to a comment removed. have a nice day

[@topbanana4013]

@The Lost One that was not the point as the fella removed his comment.

[@alm4264]

@@topbanana4013 well why don't u delete ur comments then

[@TheUnslanderable]

First-hand accounts of battles, especially Napoleonic one's, are some of your best content. Keep it up :)

[@uppercutgrandma4425]

I wonder how much of it is just simply made up, or from periodicals of the time.

[@VoicesofthePast]

@@uppercutgrandma4425 it's from a diary written by Sgt William Lawrence. Why are people asking this ridiculous question all of a sudden. Did you watch the video? It explains it in the first four seconds. It shows the name of the book ON THE SCREEN.

[@uppercutgrandma4425]

@@VoicesofthePast @Voices of the Past lol ohhh you're in bad form, re-read the comment. Questions while maintaining a healthy curiosity of authenticity isn't ridiculous at all. It seems more unreasonable to dismiss any such inquiry. Still, this doesn't imply the diary is a historical literary hoax but, human nature is to make exaggerations. Look at the title itself "the hero of..". Lol lay off the meds

[@kuwaitisnotadeployment1373]

Yea i like the Russian campaign one best....or worst however you look at it. In my personal experience men suffer far less from battle than other miserable conditions such as weather, sickness, and the like and the Russian campaign french soldier definitely painted a miserable picture.

[@5amH45lam]

@@kuwaitisnotadeployment1373 yes, that piece was particularly outstanding. 👍

[@dday1412]

The vignette of the cynical soldier, employing irony at the death of his commanding officer and the officer's replacement naively misunderstanding the soldiers intent was edifying.

[@rodnabors7364]

I don't think soldiering has differed in that respect much at all over the last few millennia.

[@nUmBskulLL]

You write like joey with a thesaurus. I like it

[@peterherrington3300]

Your minimal yet accurate wording to describe such a short interaction is wonderfully refreshing

[@nurse580]

My GGG Grandfather was one of the Prussians enlisted by the English He was 18 yrs old, survived, emigrated to South Australia when he was 60, married again and was the last survivor of Waterloo to die in South Australia, possibly Australia He must’ve been quite an adventurer sailing out here in the 1860’s at 60, when the trip was horrendous and took months and usually many lives on the way He died on the isolated Willochra Plain, between Quorn and Wilmington South Australia

[@peterharris38]

I came to South Australia in 1988 I live remotely and know the places you mention. What a story of courage, survival and ingenuity ❤

[@terrygingell7253]

How much education was a common sergeant likely to have received, by our standards today, yet he writes with an eloquence I doubt one in a thousand of us alive today could match.

[@sublicense18a13]

His parents would have had to pay a few pennies a week to a local school master so he learnt to read, write and do simple arithmetic. If religious he would have read the Bible continuously and remembered scripture. He might have spent money on books but they were expensive and Army pay was not high. However there were instances of men of good education who enlisted due to lack of employment. One example is William Cobbett, the late 18th, early19th C social reformer who enlisted, served in Canada and became Regimental Sergeant Major within a few years, mainly due to his education. He later became a thorn in the side of Government with his political pamphleteering and had to go into exile several times to avoid imprisonment. The later Victorian Army formed a Schoolmaster Corps to teach all soldiers to read and write and eventually enlisted soldiers had to pass Education exams in order to gain promotion. The same applies today in the British Army.

[@johnwilletts3984]

@@sublicense18a13 Whilst doing some research for our local civic society, I was surprised to learn just how many people could read and write well during that period. As you say a few pennies for a local school master. Then charity schools especially ‘Blue Coat Schools’. But the biggest surprise for me was that the army taught men reading and writing and so obtained the clarks they needed. We all know of the dreadful conditions men, women and children endured in coal pits and mills. Education could have a dramatic effect on a persons life style. The Industrial Revolution needed Artisans, Clark’s, Engineers, Foremen and Managers. Education transformed the poor into the new prosperous middle class.

[@sublicense18a13]

@@johnwilletts3984 After the Reformation the Church of Scotland , who were Presbyterian, resolved to educate the population of their country. It took time but generally speaking most villages of a reasonable size had a Church subsidized "Dominie" or Schoolteacher. Not only were the children of working class parents educated to read, write and count they were also instructed in Latin and Greek, thus fitting them for University education if they showed ability. Scotland could claim to be the most educated nation in Europe. Of course there were Grammar Schools and Academies in the larger towns and cities as well, some of which still exist to this day.

[@adamgrimsley6455]

Also we are looking at a diffrent way of talking and using the language in any case. We talk and write in vernacular and informality today. It's not lesser, just diffrent

[@Brunaa00098]

@@adamgrimsley6455 Yes, it's lesser. Don't kid yourself

[@user-md9ee9xk8q]

As a British vet I find previous battles and wars fascinating yet so tragic. I was in the infantry and have served in active combat. But when you see these fighting in line or square or the trench warfare of wwl I realise how brave those fellas really were

[@jimihayes150]

I know right , I mean I think your extremely brave to of served in combat but these boys and those of ww1 experienced some other sort of hell i can't even image

[@hodgey7183]

These squares only worked if every man held his nerve.

[@charleshull5055]

If I were a commander back then I believe I would fight hit and run ,ambush more like a gorilla war. What a horrible loss of life in these lines from volley fire.

[@Ramiiam]

The pain "made me dance without a fiddle." I wish we had that phrase back!

[@dulls8475]

My GGGGrand father was at Waterloo and lost a leg. Strange thing was is that he was in the Royal Navy. We have his pension records and he lived to a good age.

[@mickharrison9004]

Many from that time seemed to live to a good age ,if they survived all the wars could it be there diet ,they would certainly be fit with all the action they saw and travelled.

[@willpotter8343]

My great great great grandfather was there. Pvt Donald Cattanach - enlisted in the 92nd Gordon Highlanders in 1792 from Kingussie, Inverness-shire. Survived and later a Chelsea Pensioner. Thanks for the post.

[@davidsmart8594]

I'm in the middle of recording the despatches of this battle. I, too, am a Gordon Highlander. I'll take care to mention him. edit: The 92nd, having lost half their number at Quatre Bras the night before, lost half again during this battle. Your GGGGrandfather was a fortunate man. BYDAND!

[@zaftra]

If you google his name and grave there is a small autobiography on his grave, quite miraculous he survived it all.

[@theblackprince1346]

If you can find it, get his autobiography. There's many times in it when you think he should have died. He was part of the forlorn hope at Badajoz 1812.

[@voltaireisamadlad7007]

@@theblackprince1346 Jesus, he must've been *very* lucky

[@theblackprince1346]

@@voltaireisamadlad7007 very lucky indeed. There's loads of passages in the book where he mentions that men close to him in the ranks were shot or blown apart by cannon balls.

[@voltaireisamadlad7007]

@@theblackprince1346 I'll have to give it a read.I'm a Sharpe fan, so it'd be brilliant to gain such an insight into the mind of someone who was *actually* there, cheers

[@theblackprince1346]

@@voltaireisamadlad7007 no problem. Honestly can't recommend the book enough.

[@pectenmaximus231]

The final anecdote of the powder cart is life-changing. Stern reminder of consequences in this world. I feel terribly for the man.

[@emmetsweeney9236]

My grandmother, who worked as a maid in Southsea around 1910, met a very old woman there who remembered the church bells ringing for Waterloo.

[@OlaftheFlashy]

10:55 - 11:55 What a truly shit end for poor Raus. You survive the mass carnage of one of the great battles of the era only to then blow yourself up sparking a nail while searching for firewood the evening after.

[@1001saar]

Every life ends the same way. Have you not realized yet?

[@OlaftheFlashy]

@@1001saar Yes, yes - I'm in fact was already well aware that the process of death is generally an unpleasant experience - unless you die suddenly in your sleep. However, some deaths I would argue are more dreadful than others. Nor do I think you can argue many deaths are as situationally ironic as this one. By that, I'm mean which activity do you think would kill a man - participating in battle or collecting firewood?

[@1001saar]

@@OlaftheFlashy Indeed - my point is that every death has some irony. If one can avoid realizing it before your lights go out, that would be preferable.

[@OlaftheFlashy]

@@1001saar Okay, I misunderstood your original reply - I thoght you were referring to the suffering side rather than the irony element. For that and my manner, I apologize and conceded the point. Still, I don't think I can agree that all deaths have some irony. To elaborate if one is diagnosed with terminal cancer and dies of that cancer months later, then I fail to see the irony. Sure, if it was the case one was a fitness fanatic who did all they could to minimize the risk of cancer (not smoke etc) then there is some irony there (was the case with an aunt of mine). But that irony is lessened by the fact that's it's impossible to reduce the risk of cancer to 0%.

[@RO8s]

If i was him, I'd have lit the fire with the powder. It was low explosive, so burned, rather than exploded. A bit of that would have got the wet wood hot enough to burn anyway...

[@luisemiliogonzalezberbel2520]

8:12 I always find it incredible how lot of soldiers have a sense of humor even in the middle of a bloodbath

[@peterherrington3300]

Gallows humour is just as relevant today , especially in the military/nursing/emergency services.

[@eardwulf785]

No matter how well read on Waterloo one might be, first hand accounts like this one always transport you to ground zero.

[@Ostarrichi996]

It is so hard to imagine how they must have felt inside. Worst times

[@sternleiche]

they felt what it means to truly be alive

[@Ostarrichi996]

@@sternleiche I agree with you completely

[@Dannyboi-re7vb]

Ww2? Lol that was 100% worse but that marching in lines shit i would never do

[@JM-nt5ex]

@@sternleiche I don't think the majority of combatants were pumped for the experience

[@gromit3315]

Well, it was either fighting or on the dole

[@apoenaabreu257]

Never arrived this early for my history classes

[@timothymatthews6458]

Are you in college?

[@NBAballToWalls]

I feel so blessed that I've never had to go to war

[@CartersKidsSteveInTheEve]

These are the real stories and history. War is hell and every man scared while trying to remain composed and courageous under severe pressure and carnage.

[@zsedcftglkjh]

Calm down, mate. You make it sound like these men were virgins. All in a days work.

[@ethancj5072]

@@zsedcftglkjh You make it sound like you have first-hand experience fighting as a line infantryman.

[@kokoeteantigha389]

I was a young growing lad in Calabar when I sat down to hear the tales of a veteran who had fought in my country's civil war. Ba, was his name and we all knew he had served on the rebel side. He told so many stories but the one that stuck long in my head was his tale about the day he lost his best friend. Their platoon was out on patrol when they were struck by a storm of fire from a waiting machine gun nest. Everyone dived under cover except his best friend who had been struck and was sprawled out in the open beyond anyone's reach. His guts and entrails spilled all about him, mixing with dirt and leaves as he tried to scoop them back into his bowel all the while crying for help. But no one could help him as each time an attempt was made a burst of fire sent everyone scampering back. According to Ba, his unfortunate friend lay there crying and moaning from dawn till sunset when he finally passed. That story left me with a morbid feeling for wars.

[@Engie_Boi]

I'm sorry for Ba

[@GeoffreyBronson]

Belgians: "Hey Brit you want a refreshment?" Brits: "Sure why not, cheers fella" Belgians: "You're going to be slaughtered like bullocks by the way" Brits: "lmao not the first time I've heard that"

[@williambuchanan8607]

Nothing has changed then !!

[@Humperdinkle0]

you mean David Hendrick Chasse on the right flank? I mean they saved the battle by charging off the french who where breaking the brittish ranks 30 mins before the general advance

[@1001saar]

Typical Belgian. Without the balls of bullocks, and defended by those that have them. A nation of ball-less Walloon chocolate makers, named the same as a fart-inducing tiny cabbage who have done nothing for civilization beyond being a puppet for the Germans, and a fictional detective - invented by a female English author. A proud nation indeed.

[@webtoedman]

@@1001saar Invented the Saxophone, and frites with mayonnaise, so there is that.

[@1001saar]

@@webtoedman Grow up.

[@Wanderer628]

9:29 Damn, even the common soldiers thought Ney was an idiot that day lol.

[@nixon9346]

😂😂😂

[@patrickluchycky1172]

Maybe Ney was a paid agent to fail. So many paradoxes to the behavior of many in this battle. People can be venal and change for the slightest. So much doesn't make sense.

[@phazoneatermetroid77]

English humor even in the darkest times... love it

[@coolmus1]

He’s a great story teller. It’s amazing how nobly he tells of what must have been a truly grim and harrowing experience. War in those times seemed to have been viewed and experienced through a somewhat romantic lens, the paintings even capture this. The advent of photography which captured images of the American civil and Crimean war and film footage of WWI dispelled this romantic myth of battle.

[@BVargas78]

I think with a lot of earlier historical accounts you can tell that they are people from another time and culture. But with Seargeant William Lawrence it's like words from a person of the modern world who happens to live in another time.

[@HowlinWilf13]

The painting first shown at 4:20 is of the 28th Regiment of Foot (the Gloucestershire Regiment) at the Battle of Quatre Bras, showing them in a square, being attacked by French Lancers and Cuirassiers, painted by Lady Elizabeth Butler. And the painting shown at 10:30 is of Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Royal Scots Greys capturing the regimental eagle of the French 45th Regiment of the line, having chopped his way in to the French position with his heavy dragoon sabre (which had been sharpened that morning). If you want to read a real blood and guts account from a survivor of Waterloo, then I recommend you search out Sgt Ewart's account.

[@TheCaptainZodo]

“I was too tired to go to sleep”, that really says it all.

[@drewfisher1619]

I would pay good money to hear dirty Martin's account of the battle.

[@justin_5631]

it must have been pretty significant for him. he lost his best friend.

[@porten1277]

I love the Napoleonic era!

[@coreystockdale6287]

It helped to fuel my love for history

[@grantquinones]

You have been conscripted sir!

[@myview5840]

Better to be able to love it from afar, than to have lived it close up

[@JM-nt5ex]

I really wish Napoleon were able to unite Europe, but he was against assimilation, and his ambition was his downfall. Although if he wasn't up against all of Europe constantly, or been in a more stable nation I'm sure he would have succeeded. He could have focused more on the America's though....

[@dragonmartijn]

@@JM-nt5ex Napoleon made some stupid mistakes: he needed to demilitarise the Prussians and Austrians after he defeated them.

[@stephensinclair3771]

There's an old English folk belief that their great triumphs are preceeded by thunderstorms. Similarly in Scotland some highland clans believed this.

[@LuisAldamiz]

I felt it rather as the gods crying for the ones to die that day.

[@stephensinclair3771]

@@LuisAldamiz they did weep! An ancestor of mine was there that day. Although he "gave not the false touch" but thrust home the baynote to the mussel....he was killed. At the end an oat cake was placed under the mens arms. Also those who worked with wood had shavings placed in their hands ✋. Thus would a poor carpenter from a poor village know his own.......

[@safeysmith6720]

I am British in blood. My daughter was conceived during a thunderstorm, she was born during a thunderstorm, and any further important moment in her life has been preceded by a thunderstorm. She recently told me that she is scared of thunder and lightning... I told her she should always feel safe in a thunderstorm... The thunder and lightning are her siblings, and they will watch out for her.

[@zachrobhan]

I know that a storm happened before Agincourt? Which other battles?

[@alexanderstrickland9036]

Does that indicate a prevalence of triumphs or of thunderstorms? Haha

[@aaronjohn6586]

Hearing the words of those that were there truly bring history to life. The feelings, thoughts and view of those that fought the battles face to face with their foe give insights to be relished.

[@jacksonp2397]

I feel privileged

[@skyhappy]

What does privileged mean

[@Tom-2142]

@@skyhappy lucky to be in a position of elevated living standards or importance when compared to the past.

[@Raadestdude]

White privileged

[@seanstoica6301]

Why? Your ancestors fought and died for you to live the life you do. Thank them and build on what they gave you.

[@Raadestdude]

@Δημήτρης Ο Δημήτρης does too

[@robinnicholas7867]

I have read so many books on this singular battle but nothing beats this first hand account narrated in such a calm English manner

[@kingjoe3rd]

I wish The Battle of Ligny didn't get glossed over so much in discussions. More men died in that battle than Arcole or Marengo. I get why it happens but its unfortunate.

[@zaja2418]

To be fair, the same thing happens with Borodino and Leipzig; they both get overshadowed by Waterloo, despite being bloodier and bigger.

[@gontrandjojo9747]

@@zaja2418 Because no British were there. The battle of Waterloo is famous because the British spam it everywhere (despite being only 30% of the Allied force in this battle which is still better than Borodino or Leipzig where they were 0%).

[@tonyhawk94]

@@zaja2418 Yup, the Anglos have a tendancy to rewrite history to overstate their successes and shadow the others. Just like the US will never tell that USSR detroyed 80% of the Wermacht.

[@pparker768]

@@gontrandjojo9747 No. Because it was the ending of Naploean

[@1ena585]

@@pparker768 The Waterloo campaign was doomed from the start, Leipzig was the deadly blow to Napoleon's empire.

[@oliverpearson1577]

Aside from the blood and guts showering everywhere, imagine the amount of urine and excrement that was passed. I'm guessing soldiers were not allowed to leave the line under any circumstances during a battle. The stench must have been mind boggling.

[@billjones3312]

Battle-fields stink like sewers because of the men whom are invicerated by shot and shell.

[@BaronsHistoryTimes]

Sgt. William Lawrence was part of General Lambert's brigade, in the British 1st battalion of the 40th Foot. They arrived on the battlefield in the morning and were put in reserve position in the center; they were recent reinforcements from North America. After D'Erlon's attack, Lambert's 3-Battalion brigade ( one battalion - 82nd Foot - was left behind to garrison Brussels ) was moved to the frontline near the crossroads, supporting Picton's division. In their brigade of 3 battalions, was also the 27th Foot - the British battalion that ended up with as much a square of wounded and dead, caused by the devastating fire from thefew bold French artillery crews that had moved up the frontline center.

[@GGdeTOURS37]

Great story! We also have this kind of soldiers story on the French side with the same strange calm and no emotion: Even with many respect for the opponents. Like in a rugby game: the players have much more respect between them than the crazy fans watching around (like us when we read history looking for glorious acts from our own side lol)!

[@naughtiusmaximus5057]

2 years later, the day before the semi - finals of the 2023 rugby world cup in France, and your comment is still so accurate!

[@chrisbaxter3597]

Shooting the horses- seems so obvious but a surprise to the elite French cavalry- I am an Englishman as were my ancestors, it baffles me that the wokists want to expunge our history - while I am in awe of the bravery and comradery of these men

[@ignignxkt]

Amen

[@simon-oy6um]

Its amazing that a simple soldier could write such prose with such a vivid memory 😮

[@Gorillafishing]

Ernst Hemingway Wilfred owen Kurt Vonnegut C.S .Lewis Robert Graves War creates authors every time,yet we continue to do it again.

[@kurtlee3198]

he couldn't write, he spoke it to an author who wrote it down, this is an excerpt from that autobiography, so this is essentially him speaking it out loud

[@fuferito]

Despite the bad blood, I heard stories that, at Waterloo, most British officers surveying the enemy French lines with their field glasses was, partly, for the intelligence and, mostly, to hope to catch a glimpse of Napoleon.

[@hugosophy]

No, you’re right, like when opposing players play against Ronaldo or Messi. Yeah old boney was a star till the end

[@rehan3600]

It’s true. I was there

[@biddyboy1570]

I am Napoleon. Who wants to comment next?

[@2394Joseph]

@@biddyboy1570 je suis napoléon,

[@yearofthedawgs8581]

@@rehan3600 me too bro

[@onenationhere]

Always surprised how practical the English are. So well composed, even under dire circumstance.

[@derekstocker6661]

Thank you for this and thanks also to the bravery of men on both sides in this epic battle. We cannot really even imagine what it was like, the noise, the smells and the death all around. Think also of the wonderful horses that suffered untold injury and often a slow death until someone ended their suffering. A battle among battles indeed.

[@Blalack77]

I just realized - literally a few minutes ago when I watched the one with the European who snuck (sneaked) into Mecca - how much I like these videos of journals/stories/firsthand accounts from basically regular people doing extraordinary things throughout history. I've been subscribed for a while and I've watched several of these but it really just clicked. It's almost like a movie or audio book or something. I'm not sure if the words have been edited for grammar or translated or whatever but these people seem very elegant with their words - like a book/story/poem from the 19th century or something - like that style of writing. I'm usually more elegant with my own words but when I comment, I'm trying to be more personable - instead of something like "My Dearest Eleanor" lol... Something I always wonder about with historic battles is: a lot of us in modern times are pretty far removed from war and severe brutality and violence but in the past, it touched almost everyone very closely. How did people - especially the soldiers back then - see so much gore and bloodshed and keep their sanity? A lot of them must have had PTSD... I mean, they were fighting with swords and bayonets hacking the enemy to death and cannons/artillery were shredding their fellow soldiers to pieces - they even basically cook their dinner on a fire that was accidentally started by a guy who was blown up... It's just wild all the things people dealt with in the past with little to no psychological treatment but then carried on and built the world we know today. I like to think I'd be able to carry on after seeing all of this but I don't know...

[@LuisAldamiz]

They were also more used to death and killing, at least in farm contexts. There were no vegetarians nor animalists, death was a common part of life. Granted that it's not the same but there's another flavor to death if you happen to work in a slaughterhouse or a hospital or somewhere where death is a common fact of life. As you say: we are very much removed from suffering and death these days, one can perfectly life all his or her life without ever killing anything larger than a fly. Not back then.

[@Blalack77]

@@LuisAldamiz Yeah that's true. I had that in the back of my mind as I was commenting that. From what I can discern of history, people were a lot more comfortable with death and decay in history. Like for me, dealing with a mangled, decomposing corpse would mess me up really bad for a long time but they had to deal with it a lot more back then so their thoughts on it were a lot different and it didn't bother them as much. And I've always lived on a farm in the country - I've done a little hunting and butchering - but they had to do that almost daily in history - or at least a couple of times a week. They were a lot closer and more intimately involved with their food/food production in the past.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@Blalack77 - It would still be traumatic, death and major injury always is to some extent, and humans are not felt the same as other animals (certainly not back then: animals were livestock or work beasts, not "pets"). But I feel they had their trauma much more distributed through their lifetime and just as they had a natural understanding of sex by being used to animals "doing it" since childhood, they had a natural understanding of death by means of dealing with both animal and human death since childhood. Personally I recall being much more traumatized by the death of a small duck I had my parents buy me at a fairy... which was later cooked and eaten by the people of a rural hotel I used to go to in summer with my granny (I was so pissed off!) than by the death of my great-grandmother around the same dates, even if I had much closer relation to her. The latter was perceived as weird but natural (she was very old, there was a religious "explanation" or "consolation" around it), while the former was perceived as cruel and totally undeserved (I did not see the duckling grow up, so I could only imagine it as chick). Similarly it never bothered (much?) me that animals had to be killed for us to eat but undue cruelty against even a fly (pick off their wings, or smashing live fish against the rocks to get them dead) got me extremely upset. The main reason I never got to fisihing was because I found cruel to impale live worms in a hook, but killing animals was all OK, as was the abstract idea of war (which I never faced in person but was a constant in the background, both as recent history and as urban guerrilla warfare, etc. and was staple in movies and games).

[@Blalack77]

@@LuisAldamiz Hmm. Good points. I guess I have those feelings about animals too for the most part. I was always more into fishing than hunting - I mean, the fish get hooked but I've always just let them go. And what you said about the duck made me think of my dog. We got a Dalmatian when she was a puppy and we'd had her for about a year and our other dog got her pregnant. She was a really sweet, good natured dog so we were excited to see how she'd handle motherhood (she was a really good mom) and how her puppies would turn out. She had her puppies and then 3 days later, she got run over by a truck and died. It bothered me the most that she was so young, had just given birth and then the extreme violent end she met and the suffering she went through. I would think I'd handle this sort of thing better as an adult but this bothered me much more than pets that died when I was a kid. We got a foster mom dog to raise the puppies and she has taken to them really well. I guess I'm getting off-topic but the duck story just reminded me of that - it's still fresh and heavy in my mind.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@Blalack77 - There's something so unfair about dying young and, even worse so, under cruel circumstances, that is different about dying old and "peacefully". In any case, personal experiences and subjective reactions are only somewhat transferable, but I'd think much of the trauma of war is not so much about death itself as it is about pain and the pointlessness (or even injustice) of it all. There may also be an aspect about social perceptions of war: a "just war" is much less traumatic than an "unjust" one, gratuitous crimes against civilians are much more traumatic than semi-random deaths in the course of battle, etc. And also different people put up with trauma differently, not just war veterans but survivors of rape, for example, do not experience the trauma identically, for some it becomes unbearable, leading even to suicide (let alone other psychological issues), for others it's still a traumatic experience but one they can get over it to a large extent. A lot may have to do also on how families and society treats them after the fact: it's not the same to be welcomed as hero than to be spit upon as potential war criminal, it's not the same a society that firmly rejects rape and tries to help the victims than a society that holds the victim as culprit, etc. In the end "the power of love" does matter, and this is socially manifested or not. I mention because there's sometimes this idea that veterans from WWII and even the Korean War do not seem to have experienced trauma in the same extreme degree as veterans from Vietnam (rejected by a peacenik society that saw the war as worthless and shameful) or WWI (when the death toll was extreme and painfully visible to all).

[@Limubi1]

'It made me dance for a while without a fiddle'- love this expression

[@BVargas78]

Really fascinating. He brings the era to life.

[@alviescott8676]

Thanks dude i enjoyed these voices from the past

[@donmarlon5924]

This is extraordinarily well done, with an excellent selection of dramatic illustrations to supplement the moving text. Thank you so much for creating it and making it available.

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

After the battle, one of the surgeons sketched the cases with some written notes. Later again he painted them in watercolours. Some of these artworks are in this video. Sir Charles Bell.

[@jeremybeard272]

Sgt Lawrence was from Dorset so he probably had a broad Dorset accent. He ran away from home in 1805 and joined the army serving throughout the Peninsula campaign where he was wounded (at Badajoz I think?) and eventually he was promoted. He eventually ran a pub in Studland (the New Inn) which no longer exists, it was opposite the current Bankes Arms.

[@erictroxell715]

These are so amazing and I'm so glad someone kept great information on these events

[@IAmTheStig32]

Very humanizing and harrowing account. Thank you Sgt. Lawrence, I hope you found peace.

[@safeysmith6720]

Belgians “You will be crushed by Napoleon, you are doomed” British “You’re welcome”

[@tonyhawk94]

Germans, Russians, Austrians, Italians, Spanish, Portugese : "I hope Britain is gonna mention that we did all the work" :)

[@zetos4440]

Not only british but dutch and germans aswell. Makes you sound arrogant.

[@aidy6000]

@@tonyhawk94 as britain has had a traditionally polite culture, not often given to boasting about ourselves in proper conversation, we often make wild exaggerations about our selves as a joke. If it annoys our friends on the continent then even better :D

[@baldwintheanchorite]

k but simultaneously like the opium wars, your army was funded with crack money

[@seanstoica6301]

@Landon Littrell you ever been around drunk Americans?

[@nicl8749]

I enjoy these descriptions normal soldiers gave in the battlefield, true to life, not like you see in the films or imagine, must have been frightening, keep up the good work voices from the past.

[@markrowley2739]

Thoroughly enjoyed, thank you.

[@milowagon]

Fascinating. To hear an account from one area of an enormous battle is educational. We are used to thinking of overall battles but to soldier, you are only fighting to survive with your pals in a small muddy corner. Sounds like hell on earth.

[@peterjames9610]

These personal stories are nothing short of brilliant.

[@vtdemocracy7520]

Excellent work, mate! Love your channel.

[@bratachban]

This is the stuff I subscribed for. Excellent. Thanks for uploading.

[@dennis-qu7bs]

It never ceases to disgust me how the egos and greed of a few men can cause the suffering and death of innocent others.

[@FiveLiver]

Yes - Napoleon is still considered a hero in France rather than the villain he was.

[@solwen]

Yes the kings of England, Prussia, Russia, Austria etc would have stopped at nothing to keep their power over the people. Even if it meant sending tens of millions to die.

[@1051POWER]

Damn!

[@waynevaughan9325]

Fantastic to hear someone was there.Thanks Make More.

[@khaleddekar2188]

What a great video! Keep up the good work!

[@ctrlaltdelete200390]

12:50 "Dance without a fiddle" I don't think he's talking about pain, but about Sydenham's chorea. Fluid and jerky uncontrolled movements caused by a simple skin bacteria infection. Either he's talking about the original infection (although usually in children) or the reactivation of childhood chorea, which can happen with stress. Reactivation isn't something we see anymore, given that everyone gets antibiotics as a child with their first episode.

[@Fenristhegreat]

This chap is great. I love how he wanted to shoot that bloke for cowardice but didn't have the time. Like a commissar from 40k.

[@jakehughes6087]

And how he laughed when the Brussel residents said that they were going to be slaughtered and his men remarked back that they're used to it

[@WorthlessWinner]

yeah, wanting to murder young conscripts for being afraid of dying for an evil empire is so cool and praiseworthy

[@Fenristhegreat]

@@WorthlessWinner The British army didn't employ conscription, they were all there voluntarily. As for 'evil empire' well that is as to each man's own discretion I suppose. I don't suppose the soldier who volunteered for the empires army thought it so bad though.

[@tone3817]

@@WorthlessWinner you do know that just about every inch of land on earth has been invaded & its population displaced at one time or another since the dawn of mankind , its part of human nature.

[@thekingshussar1808]

@@WorthlessWinner "evil empire" yeah, early 19th century British empire so bad being the first to formally abolish slavery and having Royal Navy escort civilian ships and enforcing on patrolling the seas for Barbary pirates and slavers whom have so long dreaded the European waters.

[@HarrisonsHistory]

I have been waiting for a first hand acount on this! Great video!

[@model-man7802]

Ive been to the battlfied dozens of times.I walked from charleroi to Mt.St.jean 33miles.I never tired of it.

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Interesting and worthwhile video.

[@david9783]

My great grandfather fell at Waterloo; he tripped over a monument they have up there.

[@hellomoto2084]

Good old British humour

[@stephentierney696]

Me too, down the escalators at the station.

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

Was he blind? I seem to recall it's rather big...

[@mickharrison9004]

Amazing presentation freind much appreciated thanks for your time .

[@patrickmullane30]

Thank you for this 😊

[@Artur_M.]

Amazing and quite harrowing account. The fate of that one poor fellow, who fell victim to a dumb accident immediately after surviving a day of bloody combat, is a great example of the absurdity of war (and perhaps life in general). BTW, not long ago you asked for suggestions of the best pre-20th century war diaries, and I recommended the Memoirs of Jan Chryzostom Pasek. I have to admit that I never actually read it before, aside from some fragments and quotations in other publications (quite of an embarrassment for a Polish history buff, like myself), so I decided to finally read it. It's honestly amazing, I recommend it even more than before. It thankfully has been also published in English as "Memoirs of the Polish Baroque: The Writings of Jan Chryzostom Pasek, a Squire of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania". After two laconic and not so impressing chapters, it really picks up in chapter "The Year of Our Lord 1658", where the real narrative and the arguably best part of the whole book starts. I found this whole chapter in a Google Books preview of one of the editions of this book. It alone has enough material for a fine Voices of the Past video. It would of course be advisable to get the whole book, especially as it apparently contains a "Key to Polish Pronunciation" in the appendixes. It might be helpful with the names etc. If you want to stay with the Napoleonic wars instead, I recommend "Memoirs of a Polish Lancer" by Dezydery Chłapowski.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks Artur, I´ll check it out!

[@SaleemBaluch1]

Nice work ❤️

[@cjlman77]

“I was too tired to sleep.” What an awful feeling it must have been laying there just reliving the worst parts of the battle.

[@TheTeaNinja]

Love the storytelling!

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

Voltaire once wrote: "Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day"

[@SpartanAesthetic]

He’s my favorite Pokémon

[@leroiarouf1142]

@@SpartanAesthetic he no a pokemon

[@leroiarouf1142]

@@meowfaceification ferme ta bouche petite merde

[@leroiarouf1142]

@@meowfaceification sorry

[@adomalyon1]

Doubly cynical when you realise he was a pamphleteer to the 'vulgar herd'

[@markmorrid8144]

To be honest if I had to choose one day at Waterloo or four years in the trenches I would choose Waterloo but for both you would have to be extremely brave .

[@jauntyangle5667]

To gawp or fight?

[@johnmunro4952]

Cool. Calm. Understated. Amazing.

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nicely informative video. Can't wait to see more on this soldier. Also I would like to see more video's on the accounts of Joseph Plum Martin. Please.

[@Stephen-gp8yi]

Young people should listen to this then maybe they will realise how blessed they are!great content ✌️

[@JF-xq6fr]

Hearing this has me recalling many scenes in the movie "Waterloo", which seemed were directly helped/created by this account.

[@Taima]

I literally just watched it mere minutes ago myself. Such a great film. I got a kick out of him wondering why the French so foolishly tried their cavalry endlessly against their square formations. Our bloke here said it was a terrible idea to do without artillery, whereas in Waterloo upon Napoleon finding out about the cavlary fuckery on his return to the battlefield is furious and says you can't push cavalry like that without infantry support. I suppose either of those works. Anything but cavalry vs squares. Feels like Bonaparte's men should've known better, yet there they were.

[@shadowpsfp]

Looking forward to more Napoleonic History!

[@MRMORGAN817]

Imagine going back in time and getting drone footage of this kind of warfare

[@gh-ik3jp]

That was the most horrifying account of war I've ever heard.

[@supernoodles908]

3:13 behold!!! He's looking great for being hundreds of years old

[@justskeptic]

Good video, I wish someone makes a film or a tv series about sgt William Lawrence and his experiences about war

[@NapoleonsTriumph]

Great account thank you. My favourite military period.

[@livingtwice]

Victor Hugo gave an epic description of the battle of Waterloo in his book 'Les Miserables.' If you like history and epic heroic stories I recommend you to check his novels.

[@1001saar]

Dramatists serve no-one but themselves. This was hell. So was the French revolution. Fuck Hugo.

[@dumupad3-da241]

@@1001saar If I have to use the same language as yours - f**k absolute monarchy, hereditary privilege and theocracy. And if you don't even realise that spitting on the French revolution means advocating for these things, then f**k the upper class propaganda that has deceived you to such an extent.

[@1001saar]

@@dumupad3-da241 Chill

[@justin_5631]

I found Hugo's account tedious and conceited. He wouldn't shut up about how great Napoleon was and how Wellington just got lucky and if it hadn't been for a single dip in the ground or something, Napoleon totally would have won, etc etc etc.

[@gregkosinski2303]

I’ll have to check out this up and coming young author. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@rhysnichols8608]

Listen mate PLEASE make a French soldiers perspective of Waterloo! These are so interesting and we are all thankful for the insight

[@paulday3916]

Totally Excellent thank you

[@nUmBskulLL]

That soldier who joked at his captain losing his head was probably the most British thing i have ever heard 😂

[@Arbiter099]

It's very interesting to remember that Waterloo was certainly not a foregone thing. Napoleon was the central military figure of his age, and he had just done the impossible, returning from exile and became Emperor of the French once again without firing a shot

[@FiveLiver]

what a rogue he was, all those men died for his ego.

[@mojo9291]

@@FiveLiver The changes he made in government when he returned in 1815 were fairly liberal. It's not clear a modern form of government wouldn't have emerged after the Waterloo campaign (with his dynasty at the top). This would have vindicated his complete devotion to France as he claimed all his life.

[@FiveLiver]

@@mojo9291 a complete devotion to the killing of young French men. His ambition ironically led to the the emergence of Germany as a war machine later in the century and in the following one. Respect for him is foolishly misplaced.

[@mojo9291]

@@FiveLiver I hadn't thought of that before. Intereesting take.

[@solwen]

@@FiveLiver All this men died because the bankers in London and the tyrants who ruled over Europe did not want the ideal of the republic to come in their country. The allied are 100% guilty of the napoleonic wars bloodshed

[@TheUnslanderable]

Please make videos of Napoleon in Egypt, that would be so interesting!

[@optimusdimegatron1297]

i love this content. i like making playlists and listening while at work. you should do a podcast format and make them longer. i dont want to come off as unappreciative, i bet a lot of effort goes into this content, im just saying i would listen. thank you

[@wetstoffels3198]

Absolutely fascinating. Thrilling even.