The Gory Tale of Lord Uxbridge’s Leg
·
From Wikimedia Commons published
anywhere before 1923 and public domain in the U.S.
Lord Uxbridge: “By God,
Sir, I’ve lost my leg.”
Wellington: “By God,
Sir, so you have.”
During the battle of
Waterloo, Lord Uxbridge commanded the allied cavalry and 44 guns of the horse
artillery. Eight horses were shot from under him in the conflict. In the dying
moments of the battle, a cannon shot hit his right leg.
Did he panic?
Did he
complain?
No, he turned
to Wellington, all stiff upper lip and sangfroid. “By God, Sir, I’ve lost my
leg.”
The
remains of his leg needed amputating below the knee. Dr. John Hume operated in
the house of M. Paris in the village of Waterloo.
There
was no antiseptic or anesthetic. Uxbridge’s only comment: -
“The
knives seem somewhat blunt.”
Five days after the battle, the Prince Regent created Uxbridge Marquess of
Anglesey and made him a Knight
Grand Cross of the Order
of the Bath.
BUT
His leg took
on a life of its own.
M. Paris
buried the leg in his garden. Soon visitors arrived, making it a shrine. First,
they’d view the blood covered chair where Uxbridge had sat, then they’d visit
the leg’s grave.
The tombstone
read:
Here lies the Leg of the
illustrious and valiant Earl Uxbridge, Lieutenant-General of His Britannic
Majesty, Commander in Chief of the English, Belgian and Dutch cavalry, wounded
on the 18 June 1815 at the memorable battle of Waterloo, who, by his heroism,
assisted in the triumph of the cause of mankind, gloriously decided by the
resounding victory of the said day.
However,
someone added:
Here lies the Marquis of Anglesey's limb;
The Devil will have the remainder of him.
The King of Prussia and the Prince of Orange were among the visitors to
the gory exhibit.
In 1878, Uxbridge’s son visited the site. He discovered the bone wasn’t
buried but on public display. Horrified, he demanded the return of the bones to
England. The Paris family refused to give them up and demanded he buy it from
them.
The Belgium Ministry
of Justice intervened and ordered the bones reburied. When the last M. Paris
died, his widow found the bones in his study along with documents proving their
origin.
Fearing a scandal, she
burned everything.
After a successful
military career and stint as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Uxbridge died in 1854.
His leg outlasted him by 56 years.
* * * *
Why my interest in the blood and gore of Waterloo?
As well as my paranormal and contemporary romance, I’ve written two Regency Romances, one set in and around
Brussels at the time of Waterloo. The second features a hero who survived the battle but has the Georgian equivalent of PTSD
Buy links Wickedly Used
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Blurb for Wickedly Used
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
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Despite having
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when Elizabeth disobeys him Rothbury proves more than ready to strip her bare,
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Publisher’s Note: Wickedly Used includes
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Blurb - His Innocent Bride
Publisher's Note: His Innocent Bride is a stand-alone novel which shares the Regency-era setting of Wickedly Used. It includes spankings and sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.
Going about her mundane life
in a small fishing village, Alethea never dreamed she would end up with a man
like the Earl of Deanswood, yet when she caught the handsome gentleman's eye he
wasted no time in making her his wife. Unbeknownst to Alethea, however, her
conniving mother has convinced Deanswood that she has no interest in the
marital bed. Devastated by his seeming disinterest, Alethea searches for
someone to instruct her in the ways of enticing a man.
When a friend informs Deanswood of Alethea's plans, he decides to train his new bride himself. Soon enough, Alethea finds herself naked, blindfolded, and helplessly bound as she is thoroughly spanked and then brought to one blushing, quivering climax after another. But when Alethea's life is threatened by her mother's vicious scheming, can Deanswood protect his innocent bride?
When a friend informs Deanswood of Alethea's plans, he decides to train his new bride himself. Soon enough, Alethea finds herself naked, blindfolded, and helplessly bound as she is thoroughly spanked and then brought to one blushing, quivering climax after another. But when Alethea's life is threatened by her mother's vicious scheming, can Deanswood protect his innocent bride?
Publisher's Note: His Innocent Bride is a stand-alone novel which shares the Regency-era setting of Wickedly Used. It includes spankings and sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.
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