“I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God,
they frighten me.” -The Duke of Wellington
Wellington
was talking about his rag-tag army, but some of his officers and Allies at
Waterloo were eccentric too.
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton fought the Battle of Waterloo wearing a top hat.
Wellington called Picton "a rough
foul-mouthed devil as ever lived."
He added that, "I find him capable."
Picton wasn't well loved. HIs cruelty when Governor of Trinidad saw him put on trial for torture. Although
convicted, the conviction was later overturned.
He
fought in the Peninsula War then became a member of parliament. When war broke
out again, he headed for Waterloo. He arrived, but his luggage didn’t. Which is why he fought in his top hat.
That
must have made people look twice. It probably marked him as a target, too.
Welsh folklore says that his
top hat was shot off by a cannonball moments before his death.
Sadly,
he was the most senior officer killed in the conflict.
Some
historians think he was shot by his own troops since they despised him for his harsh regime.
Compare him with -
Gebhard Leberecht von
Blücher,
"Forwards!"
he was quoted as saying. "I hear you say it's impossible, but it has to
be done! I have given my promise to Wellington, and you surely don't want me to
break it? Push yourselves, my children, and we'll have victory!"
Ever
used the phrase, “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle”. My guess is it wouldn’t translate
well into another language.
The same applies to Blucher. Once, when he rallied
his men he told them he was pregnant with a baby elephant.
Injured
at the start of the allied campaign, he lay beneath a dead horse.He was
repeatedly ridden over by French cavalry.
Thankfully, his great coat
concealed his uniform, otherwise the French would have killed him.
.
Once
he rejoined his troops, he bathed in a liniment of rhubarb and garlic,
fortified himself with schnapps, and led his army to the battle.
He was 74 at
the time.
By late afternoon, their intervention helped the Allies win a great
victory.
Why my interest in
Waterloo?
Because Stormy Night
Publishing released my dark Regency Romance,
Wickedly Used.
Buy links
Blurb
While he is no
stranger to pleasurable company from ladies of the night, Major Richard
Rothbury of the royal dragoons is not the kind of man who will stand idly by as
a woman is taken against her will, and when he witnesses a disreputable cad
attempting to force himself on a girl in a back alley, he does not hesitate to
intervene.
But after the
grateful young woman offers herself to Rothbury, he is shocked to discover that
not only was she no harlot, she was a maiden and he has deflowered her. Furious
at the girl’s scandalous behavior and her carelessness with her own safety,
Rothbury chastises her soundly.
Though she is due
to inherit one of the largest fortunes in England, the fact that she cannot
touch the money until she marries or turns thirty has kept Elizabeth completely
at the mercy of her cruel uncle, and for years she has been treated as if she
were a servant. Her encounter with Lord Rothbury is by far the most exciting
thing that has ever happened to her, but while he shows great concern for her
safety, he refuses to believe that she is anything more than a serving girl.
Despite having
made it clear that he doesn’t consider a match between them to be possible,
when Elizabeth disobeys him Rothbury proves more than ready to strip her bare,
punish her harshly, and then enjoy her beautiful body in the most shameful of
ways. But can she dare to hope that he will one day make her his wife, or is
she destined to spend her life being wickedly used?
Publisher’s Note: Wickedly Used: A Dark Regency Romance includes
spankings and sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don’t buy
this book.
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