Waterloo messenger : the life of Henry Percy, peninsular soldier and French prisoner of war

Henry Percy is best known as the officer who carried the Waterloo Dispatch, the Duke of Wellingtons account of the Battle of Waterloo and the ultimate defeat of Napoleon, to London in June 1815. This was the climax of a remarkable military career. He served in the British army throughout the Napoleonic Wars in Sicily, Egypt, Sweden, Portugal and Spain, and he fought at Waterloo. This biography gives us a fascinating insight into active service and the high command during those wartime years. The strong, contrasting personalities of the notable British and French commanders he encountered Moore, Wellington and Junot among them are revealed, and his time as a captive in France offers us a rare inside view of the everyday existence of a prominent prisoner of war. Using archives in England, in particular at Alnwick Castle, and in France, William Mahon has reconstructed Percys life in meticulous detail. He paints a vivid picture of Percys wartime experience. He also describes his enduring friendships and his liaison with the French woman who bore him a son. At the Battle of Waterloo Sir William Ponsonby, a man who the Duke of Wellington stated had rendered very brilliant and important services and was an ornament to his profession, was killed by French lancers after leading the Union Brigade (the three Dragoon Regiments of the Royals, Iniskillings and Scots Greys) in a charge that wrecked a French advance that threatened Wellington with defeat. Sir William was a career soldier who had led his regiment in the decisive charge at the Battle of Salamanca and served with great distinction during the Peninsular War. Yet historians have blamed him because the charge at Waterloo got out of hand. In this book John Morewood uses family sources, including Sir Williams letters, as well as French and German accounts, to restore his reputation and, by shedding new light on the battle, establishes what really happen to him on that fatal afternoon. It is also a biography of a man whose bravery and professionalism distinguished him as one of the outstanding cavalry commanders of the age. Vivid biography of Henry Percy, the officer who carried the Waterloo Dispatch to London Sir William Mahon. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.