Waterloo Banquet

[Owen]

Thought I would share another item from my collection. A rare surviving piece of Wellingtonian ephemera, from the first half of the 19th century - a hand coloured ticket (circa 1841), to see 'The Waterloo Banquet' painting, when it was first displayed, at Apsley House, home of the 1st Duke of Wellington, in 1841:

Every year after 1815, on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington hosted a 'Waterloo Banquet', at Apsley House. This banquet was effectively a reunion of the principal officers who fought at Waterloo, Quatre Bras and Ligny.

The banquet is still held, every year.

In 1836, to mark the attendance of King William IV (seated on the right of Wellington), William Salter was invited to paint this banquet. When finished, 'The Waterloo Banquet' was "exhibited to wide acclaim. In fact, the demand to see it was so great that tickets were issued. One reviewer noted… it is a great national picture, and its interest is enhanced when we consider how soon the illustrious characters before us will exist only as historical celebrities, and their place among men be found alone in the breathing canvas of Mr Salter”.

The painting is still on display at Apsley House.

To help compose the scene, Salter chose the moment when Wellington rose for a toast...at which time "the rules of etiquette meant that diners could arrange themselves in small clusters and move away from the initial place settings, thus allowing Salter to paint all the sitters from recognizable angles. Aside from Wellington and William IV, the sitters include; Earl Bathurst (posthumously included), the King of Holland (on Wellington’s right), the 4th Duke of Richmond (host of the famous ball before Quatre Bras), Lord Vivian (commander of Light Dragoons cavalry brigades), Major-General Sir Peregrine Maitland (commander of the 1st Brigade of Guards), and Lord Hill (a survivor of the fierce fighting, despite having his horse shot from under him)".

The entry ticket to Apsley House is signed by F.G. Moon (of 20 Threadneedle Street, London), an engraver and printer, by Royal Appointment. As a footnote, Moon was given sole permission, by Wellington, to manage a run of official engravings of the painting. As part of an advert, placed in the "Athenaeum" in August 1839 (2 years before Salter finished the painting), Mr Moon cautioned:

It would seem that Mr Moon & Mr Salter were working in very close cooperation over the 'Waterloo Banquet' project.

The picture of the painting and some of the background information on it is from Philip Mould's website: http://www.historica...-William-Salter

[Mervyn Mitton]

Owen - a very interesting historical post. The invitation must be rare ?

[Owen]

Owen - a very interesting historical post. The invitation must be rare ?

Hi Mervyn, yes I think it probably is. Maybe there are some tucked away in collections and I think there is one at Apsley House, but I have never seen another 'out there' (and I am constantly on the prowl for things like this!). Owen

[Ulsterman]

Very,very cool. Oh to have gone back and had a microphone....

There was an article in the Times @ 1840 about how Wellington began to invite an enlisted man, one of those "who had done the hardest part" to the banquet as well.

[Paul R]

Does anyone know the last time actual participant of the war was in attendance?

[Owen]

Does anyone know the last time actual participant of the war was in attendance?

I don't know who the last Waterloo survivor to attend the Banquet was, but I think the last surviving Waterloo Officer is thought to have been Lieutenant Colonel William Hewett...nice to think he might have attended. Hewett was born 2^nd July 1795 (Hampshire, England) and died 26^th October 1891 (aged 96). He fought as a Captain with 3rd Bn, 14th FootHe is buried at Southampton Old Cemetery, Hampshire, England (just down the road from me!).

Hewett's Waterloo medal was sold at auction by DNW back in 1992 - link here, which gives a fuller biography of Hewett http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/searchcataloguearchive/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=2340

Also, his gravestone is pictured here: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57144145

Very,very cool. Oh to have gone back and had a microphone....

There was an article in the Times @ 1840 about how Wellington began to invite an enlisted man, one of those "who had done the hardest part" to the banquet as well.

Very interesting indeed, I didn't know that....bit overwhelming for the soldier I suspect - far more frightening than facing the enemy in battle!

[Owen]

Ah ha...I have just come across the last Waterloo man standing (perhaps)! From the New York Times, 16th July 1905:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50D13F73C5C1A728DDDAF0994DF405B858CF1D3