Trench excavation, Mont-Saint-Jean, BelgiumWaterloo Uncovered
Trench excavation, Mont-Saint-Jean, BelgiumWaterloo Uncovered
After battles in that era, euthanizing wounded horses was a common task.
Do the British just call it the loo?
…Since 2015, Harding has been an archaeological supervisor for the veteran support charity Waterloo Uncovered, which conducts archaeology on the battlefield of Waterloo alongside veterans and serving personnel.[5][6][7]
In my grandmother’s adoptive line, she had a 2x great-grandfather who survived Waterloo. He was in the Royal Horse Guards, who were apparently at the center of the cannon fire. I think they lost something like 80-90 percent of their regiment.
The ultimate forlorn hope
Exact numbers are in question. But, it’s generally agreed that at least 10,000 soldiers were killed outright on the battlefield. At least that many horses were strewn there, too. (Many, many wounded left the field that day only to die in the weeks and months following.)
Burying that many bodies and dead horses, in even shallow graves, would have been a herculean and miserable task. It’s interesting and comforting to know that some burials, as this one, were done with as much dignity as possible.
SunkenCiv, thank you for your many excellent posts.
I am guessing, a fellow devoted to logistics and supplying his fellow troops . . . who were grateful.
