25

Honouring the Brave

Victory brings with it rewards and a proud nation sought to honour its heroes. Though the award of Prize Money was a well-established principle in the Royal Navy, it was also applied to the victories of the British Army. Though generally distributed at the instigation of Commanders-in-Chief, in some instances the funds were controlled by local commanders. The Waterloo Prize Money was, however, granted by Parliament and was divided as follows:¹

The Chester Chronicle on 4 June 1819, took a moment to point out to its readers that ‘by the above scale’ the Duke of Wellington,

Gains a share nearly equal to 50 General Officers, 113 Field Officers, 666 Captains, 1,818 Subalterns, 3,158 Serjeants, [and] 24,000 Rank and File.

The distribution of the Prize Money was not without controversy. The matter was raised in Parliament on 7 May 1819 by Henry Bennet, the MP for Shrewsbury:

Whether it was from the vague and unsatisfactory regulations made for the distribution of this money, or from what other cause he knew not, but the effect was, that numbers of those who were entitled to it had been refused, while it was foisted upon those who had no claim whatever to receive it. The troops not actually engaged had been deprived of this money, though they were employed as beneficially, in protecting the flanks of the army and guarding the baggage, &c. as they otherwise could be: yet those troops who were on their passage from America, and those who had been lounging in St. James’s-street, when the battle was fought, and who had travelled over to Paris, en bourgeois, in their gigs, were allowed to participate in it.

The whole of the medical department, who had the care of the wounded of all countries, were also excluded from any share of this money. Was this fair or equitable? The whole of the Hanoverian corps, who had sustained great injury in the action, had also been excluded, with the exception (and it was rather a curious sort of exception), of those officers who had run away from their regiments, either before or during the action. Those officers who had so ran away, having joined the army before it reached Paris, were allowed prize money, while those who had remained at their posts were, according to some new-fangled rule, refused it.

Some more fair and liberal division of this prize-money ought to be made, and he hoped the noble lord would take the subject into consideration.

In addition to the generous prize money, the Duke of Wellington received other rewards, as the Norfolk Chronicle of Saturday, 1 July 1815 reported:

On FRIDAY, the THANKS of PARLIAMENT were voted to the DUKE of WELLINGTON for the consummate ability, unexampled exertion, and irresistible ardour which he displayed in the command of the allied army, in his conflict with, and splendid victory over Buonaparte in person. Thanks were also voted to the Officers and Troops respectively, who shared in the glory of the day, as well as to Marshal Blucher, and the Prussian Army, for their important assistance, which so materially contributed to the success.

In compliance with a Message from the Prince Regent, the sum of 200,000 l was likewise voted (in addition to sums already granted to his Grace) for the purpose of building and furnishing a house fit for the residence of the Duke of Wellington. While on this topic, the Earl of Liverpool remarked, that he never knew a more disinterested man than the Duke. Since his appointment to high command, there were several occasions when he must have been in difficult and even distressed circumstances, and yet he had never made any application for money.

Wellington may have been a duke in the British aristocracy, but in August 1815 he became a prince in the United Netherlands:

The Secretary of State to the King of the Netherlands has officially announced that his Majesty has conferred the title of Prince of Waterloo upon the Duke of Wellington, and the title of Marquis of Heusden upon the Earl of Clancarty.²

Field Marshal Blucher was already a Prince, and all he received from King Frederick William, the King of Prussia, was a medal. The order conferred ‘was accompanied with the following very gracious note in the King’s own hand writing’ (the note being dated 26 July 1815):

As a memorial of your late victories, I wish you to wear the insignia which you will receive with this note, in the place of the Iron Cross of the first class. I know that no golden ornament can heighten the splendour of your merits; but it is a delightful task for me to announce, by suitable external distinctions, how fully I acknowledge them, reserving to myself for more peaceful times the pleasure of giving you still further marks of my continued gratitude.³

Wellington was indeed amply rewarded for his services, but the ordinary solders were not forgotten. As the announcement in the Morning Post of Monday, 31 July 1815 reveals, the men received more than just their prize money:

We are rejoiced to hear that his Royal Highness the Prince Regent is about to testify his sense of the conduct of the British army in the battle of Waterloo, by increasing the pension of wounded Officers, and to allow Subalterns, Non-commissioned Officers, and Soldiers, to count two years’ service in virtue of that victory, and to be honourably distinguished as ‘Waterloo Men.’

It was also decided that every man that had taken part in the Waterloo campaign, whether they had actually been involved in any of the fighting or not, would be issued with a medal. The issue of the medal was announced in The London Gazette of 23 April 1816, the memorandum being dated ‘Horse-Guards, March 10, 1816’:

The Prince Regent, has been graciously pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to command, that, in commemoration of the brilliant and decisive victory of Waterloo, a medal shall be conferred upon every Officer, Non-Commissioned Officer, and Soldier of the British Army present upon that memorable occasion.

His Royal Highness has further been pleased to command, that the ribband issued with the medal shall never be worn, but with the medal suspended to it.

About 39,000 medals were struck, (6,000 to the cavalry, 4,000 to the Guards, 16,000 to the infantry, 5,000 to the Artillery, 6,500 to the King’s German Legion and 1,500 to miscellaneous units, attachments and others) and the first instalment was reported by the Mint as being ready for delivery on 4 March 1816. They were issued throughout 1816 and 1817.

Not only was the Waterloo Medal the first campaign medal awarded to all ranks, it was also the first medal awarded to the next-of-kin of men killed in action. As well as the award of the medal, recipients were also credited with two extra years’ service and pay.

The distribution of the medals to the Scots Greys was recorded in the Caledonian Mercury of 22 April 1816. The medals were handed out by Colonel Clarke, who made the following speech:

I have the pleasure this day to deliver these medals to the regiment, which is the most gratifying duty that has fallen to my lot since I had the honour of commanding one of the finest, I was most tempted to say, the finest regiment of cavalry in the British service, whose well- known valour needs no comment from an humble individual like myself. Its fame is registered in the hearts of all men, and its name will live revered and respected as long as history remains.

May happiness be yours, and may you all long live to enjoy these honourable marks of your country’s applause. May they stimulate those who wear them to further acts of bravery, wherever their services may be required, and may the bright example stimulate the young recruit.

At this moment I feel but one regret, that it is not in my power to present every man in the regiment with a medal; but let not those who are excluded from the honour feel the slightest uneasiness. I now allude to those who were serving at the depot. We all know, that their hearts panted to share the glories of the day; but the various duties on which they were employed at home were of the highest magnitude; and it must also be recollected, that many of them were actually engaged in providing comforts for their comrades on service.

It remains for me only to urge one request, that every man will most religiously treasure the medal given to him by the Prince Regent, in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, as a testimony of his most gracious approbation of their well earned fame; - let them guard the precious gift to the latest hour of their lives; and, when summoned from this to a better world, let them bequeath it to their children, who will proudly exclaim, ‘This was my father’s - who gained immortal honour at the battle of Waterloo! This was my father’s - who gloriously assisted in giving peace to Europe! This was my father’s - who helped to hurl the tyrant Bonaparte from the throne of France to the rock of St. Helena.’

A few days later, it was the turn of the men of the 23rd Light Dragoons. This account of the presentation ceremony, written by a reporter for the Morning Post, was published on Friday, 30 May 1816:

Last Sunday [30 April], we witnessed a grand, interesting and gratifying Military Spectacle, at Radspole Barracks, that imposed on the feelings of every one present the most reverential awe. It being the period appointed that Lieut.-Colonel CUTCLIFFE read the commands of his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, previous to his distributing the honourable Medals to that part of the 23d Regiment of Light Dragoons which so nobly distinguished itself at the ever-memorable Battle of Waterloo, on the 18th of last June …

In the morning the troops paraded as usual for Divine Service; after which, the ranks were opened to receive those inestimable badges of distinction.

The guard, which formed on the right of the regiment, wheeled to the left; the Standard-bearers, together with the Troop Sergeant- Majors, formed in their front; the latter for the purpose of carrying the Medals of their respective Troops, which were laid on separate silver salvers …

Their distribution being completed, Lieut.-Colonel CUTCLIFFE addressed the Regiment in very eloquent, animated, and appropriate terms; at the conclusion of which, the vociferations and heartfelt acclamations of the whole Regiment were heard at a great distance, and repeated by a very respectable assemblage of visitants and inhabitants.

The myth that it was the Grenadiers of the Old Guard who in the 1st Guards defeated in the last French attack at Waterloo became firmly established almost immediately after the battle, and indeed is still widely believed today. This received official recognition in a note from the War Office on 29 July, which was reproduced in the Cambridge Chronicle of Friday, 4 August 1815:

The Prince Regent, as a mark of his Royal approbation of the distinguished gallantry of the Brigade of Foot Guards in the Victory of Waterloo, has been pleased, in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, to approve of all the Ensigns of the three Regiments of Foot Guards having the rank of Lieutenants, and that such rank shall be attached to all the future appointments to Ensigncies in the Foot Guards in the same manner as the Lieutenants of those Regiments obtain the rank of Captain. - His Royal Highness has also been pleased to approve of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards being made a Regiment of Grenadiers, and styled ‘The 1st or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards,’ in commemoration of their having defeated the Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guards upon this occasion.

Another of the Household regiments to be honoured was the Life Guards, who, it was announced, would be granted the same ranks as those referred to above in the Foot Guards.⁴

The Prince Regent then went one step further, as the Lancaster Gazette of Saturday, 29 July 1815, duly reported:

The Prince Regent, as a mark of his high approbation of the distinguished bravery and good conduct of the 1st and 2d Life Guards at the battle of Waterloo, on the 18th ult. is pleased to declare himself Colonel in Chief of both the Regiments of Life Guards.

His Royal Highness the Regent has been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, to approve of all the British regiments of cavalry and infantry which were engaged in the battle of Waterloo, being permitted to bear on their colours and appointments, in addition to any other badges or devices that may have heretofore been granted to those regiments, ‘Waterloo’, in commemoration of their distinguished services, on the 18th of June, 1815.

A more significant gesture was made when a ‘Great Patriotic Meeting’ was held in London at the City of London Tavern by the Merchants, Bankers ‘and others’ to ‘consider opening a subscription for the relief of the Widows of those who fell in the Battle of Waterloo’. The Chairman was the banker Mr Alexander Baring. Another banker, by the name of Fuller, opened the subscription by promising the sum of 200 guineas and at the same time hoping that ‘gentlemen of Bond-street would lay off buying baubles and nonsense, and a pack of fooleries’ and urging them instead to ‘spend their money more laudably’ - not only for the good of their fellow-men but also their soul. The meeting ended with £500 having been subscribed.

The idea was quickly seized upon by towns and cities around the United Kingdom, an example of which was reported in the Leeds Intelligencer of Monday, 31 July 1815:

At a MEETING of the INHABITANTS of the Town and Neighbourhood of Huddersfield, convened by the Constable, and held on the 24th of July, 1815, for the Purpose of cheerfully cooperating with their Fellow-Subjects, on a Case so interesting to the Feelings of Britons, by manifesting their Support in pecuniary Aid, to the WIDOWS and CHILDREN of those who have so nobly fallen, and to those who return Disabled, from the same glorious Struggles at Waterloo, &c.

The Chairman was one Mr. W. M. Rhodes. The meeting passed the following resolution, as the same edition of the Leeds Intelligencer noted:

Resolved. That a subscription be now opened, for the Benefit of the Families of the Brave Men Killed, and of the Wounded Sufferers of the British Army, under the command of the Illustrious Wellington, in the signal Victory of Waterloo, and in the several Battles which preceded or may succeed during the present Campaign; and that all Persons be invited to join in this Expression of National Gratitude: - They are reminded, that the Army most nobly did their Duty to their Country, - and they called upon, to do their Duty to the Army.

Such subscriptions were soon to adopt a more formal and official status after this announcement by the Prince Regent:

WATERLOO SUBSCRIPTION. - The Prince Regent has written a Mandatory Letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, requesting the benevolent interposition of the Church in aid of the Waterloo Subscription; and in consequence of this humane recommendation, there will be a collection made for that patriotic fund throughout all the parishes of the Empire. The official letter directs, that ‘the ministers do effectually excite their parishioners to a liberal contribution, which shall be collected the week following the Sermon, at their respective dwellings, by the churchwardens and overseers of the poor, in each parish.’⁵

In the end, the Waterloo Subscription fund managed to raise sufficient funds for the widows to receive £10 per year - but only if they remained unmarried!