Hougoumont Defender - Major William Drummond, 2nd Battalion/3rd Foot Guards

[Owen]

I just thought I would share what I think is quite an interesting find. We keep horses, so I am often buying books related to their health/welfare etc. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when looking (a couple of days ago) at a 19th Century book on Equine Vetinary Medicine to find (quite by chance) that it had an owners inscription, handwritten in ink for:

"Major Wm Drummond 3d Foot Gds 1815"

Needless to say, I bought the book! It did not take long to find that William Drummond was at Waterloo with the 2/3 Foot Guards...an erstwhile defender of Hougoumont! He served in Lt Colonel William Keate's Company. There are quite a number of references to Drummond (including two of Drummonds letters (written pre and post Waterloo) now published on John Franklin's 1815 website) and of course many to 2nd Battalion 3rd Foot Guards, I am reading into William Drummond as I write, so won't include too much here.

But, in brief, born in 1786, he joined the 3rd Guards as an ensign in 1806. He then served through the Peninsula campaign (earning MGSM clasps for the battles of Talavera, Busaco and Fuentes d'Onoro)...he was at the siege of Burgos (and the subsequent retreat) ....also at the bombardment of Antwerp...the storming of Bergen op Zoom fortress...Quatre Bras, Waterloo and on to Paris.... . He retired in 1844 and died in 1862. He appears to have been pronmoted all the way through to Brevet Lt Colonel without purchase (he then purchased his Colonelcy) and was then promoted again without purchase (quite extraordinary achievement).

His potted history is listed on one of Lionel Challis's Index Cards:

I have taken the liberty to include some 2/3 Foot Guards Hougoumont history here - from the Scots Guards own website http://www.scotsguar...uk/history1.htm: "At the glorious crowning victory of Waterloo on 18th June, 1815, the 2nd Battalion was on the ridge behind the farm of Hougoumont, with its Light Company in the farm buildings with those of the Coldstream and of the two battalions of First Guards. Throughout the long day, from eleven o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock in the evening, these four companies, and subsequently the whole of the 2nd Battalion of Coldstream and Third Guards frustrated the desperate attempts of nearly 30,000 French to capture this key position. No finer feat is recorded in the history of the Regiment than this defence of Hougoumont against overwhelming odds. One historian, Robinson, has written: “probably the gallantry of the defenders of this post has never been surpassed on any battlefield.”

A note on the book itself: The book (published in 1812) is about the size of an average adult hand, so certainly one small enough to carry in personal belongings and one that any caring British Officer would have wanted refernce to at that time. It was written by Vetinary Surgeon James White (Vet to the First Dragoons) and contains easy to read and highly practical information on horse care (quite a focus on looking after hooves etc)...still very relevent today.

There are very faint, but clearly written, old hand-written page references, to things a caring horse owner would have wanted to understand. Of course, I will never really know...but it seems realistic to think that Drummond carried this book with him (and referred to it) in and around the time of the Battle and the days/months that followed in 1815. With the peculiar tradition of the Guards 'double ranking' (i.e. you could be a Lt/Capt and a Lt Col at the same time) it is a bit confusing to decipher Drummonds exact ranks/promotions at around the time of the Battle of Waterloo...however, the Army List for 1815 is very explicit: Drummond was promoted Major on 18 June 1815 (presumably at the time of the battle itself?):

[Mervyn Mitton]

Monkey - I read this when you first posted and thought what an interesting find. However, with the shop

flooded I just didn't get back to replying. I am surprised our members seem to have missed it also -

a great pity, because it's not everyday you buy a book and find the history of a senior officer who fought

at Warterloo.

Have you been able to find any further details of his military history ? I am also wondering where his medals

are ? I must say that I think you have stumbled on a wonderful item. Mervyn

[Owen]

Hello Mervyn, thanks for your interest & encouragement - much appreciated,

Sadly, I have not had enough time recently to do much more research (I am also researching a Waterloo medal to an Officer of the 1st Foot, which I bought recently). A bit more though....it seems that Drummond went to Portugal with 2nd Battalion 3rd Foot Guards, as part of the British Intervention force (5000 strong Division) under Lt Gen Sir William Clinton (1826 - 1828). I admit to wondering about his medals too! It would be great to find them....according to the spreadsheet kept by Alec (at British Medal Forum) - http://www.britishmedals.us/resources/downloads.html - his Waterloo Medal sold in Australia back in 1971, but no sign of his Military General Service (yet!). Owen

[Mervyn Mitton]

Owen - I am going to mention this on the Napoleonic Wars Forum - I think our members will be very interested. Mervyn

[Owen]

Mervyn,

I am happy for you to sahre....also....had a bit of a Eureka moment today. I have been doing some online searching on an address that William was writing to in 1815 (letters pub on John Franklin's 1815 website) and (long story short) found that William was the brother of a certain disgraced British Naval Captain (John Drummond) living in Hobart, Australia at the time of Waterloo (perhaps the reason that his Waterloo medal ended up for sale in Australia in 1971).

I will probably need to go to Kew to get more depth on Williams military career, but today has certainly opened a fascinating window into his immediate family (at the time) and his ancestry......

......There is a fascinating story on Captain John Drummond (which gives some 'shocking' insight into the life & times of William Drummond) here (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/drummond-john-1996) and some very tangible evidence of the connection between the brothers here (http://www.auspostalhistory.com/articles/420.shtml). You will see that the handwriting on the first envelope is the same as that of the inscription in the book (I had already noted the wobbly nature of William Drummond's handwriting....which I had put down to his probable state of mind/body in the aftermath of the Battle (he would likely have had some dreadful experiences at Hougoumont). But, maybee he just had wobbly writing! I

Also, William has famous scottish lineage with literary (i.e. William Drummond of Hawthornden - famous Scottish poet) and Royal connections (i.e. to King James VI of Scotland / Charles I of England). I have spent quite a bit of time going back through his lineage...but following captures both of his most notable ancestors in one easy paragraph.....taken from (http://spenserians.cath.vt.edu/authorrecord.php?action=GET&recordid=32773):

"William Drummond of Hawthornden, son of John Drummond, gentleman-usher to James VI and the nephew of the poet William Fowler, was knighted upon the succession of James to the English throne. He took his M.A. from Edinburgh (1605), studied law abroad, and became

laird of Hawthornden in 1610. Drummond was devoted to the Stuart dynasty and was said to have died for grief at the death of Charles I.

His poetry was particularly in vogue during the Elizabethan revival at the end of the eighteenth century."

[Mark C]

"...the Army List for 1815 is very explicit: Drummond was promoted Major on 18 June 1815 (presumably at the time of the battle itself?): "

I do not know about the British army, but in some others it was usual for promotion for distinction at a battle to be backdated to that day, and subsequent army lists would show that date for purposes of seniority.