Images of Waterloo 200

[exp101]

Everyone,
Just returned from a trip to Europe that included 5 days at the Waterloo 200th. While still in the throws of jet-lag, thought I'd post a few photos of the battlefields and colorful reenactors who were EVERYWHERE. Since it will take some time to plow through the 1100+ photos, I wanted to start with Ligny. Posts will follow of Quatre-Bras, Walhain/Wavre and, finally, Waterloo (i.e., Mont St. Jean, Waterloo, Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte, Plancenoit, etc.).

It's difficult to create perspective in a photo group, so I'll also include a battlefield map in each post. Between that, and Flickr's map function, I hope it's easy to see where the various photos were captured.

Enjoy!

Palmer/Ron
Waterloo 200 - Ligny in Flickr

[tim]

Thank you - really looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos. I went to the 2007 reenactment and we used the photos from that for reference along with recent photos by a team member who lived locally. Hope you had fun there - it's quite a spectacle isn't it?

[exp101]

It is indeed a spectacle! As you would expect, I did get a large number of uniform shots. Can't imagine what it must have looked like in 1815...

BTW, the last pic struck me as the perfect Norb-mobile.

[Saddletank]

Fantastic Ron. As I expected your pictures are super crisp and colourful. I take it the blue cannon is Prussian? The ochre of the French gun surprises me, its even yellower than other re-enactors guns I've seen. The Brunswickers look awesome, even in their camp uniforms. Who are the gentlemen in the red uniforms?

Finally that close up of the Frenchman practising musket drill with an NCO is a marvellous shot, his face is perfect.

Looking forward to more of these.

[exp101]

Thanks, Martin. I have no further information on the red-unformed soldiers, except to say that they made themselves quite at home in the KGL camp. It was also interesting to learn that this KGL group included members from several nations, including the UK, but the majority were German. The KGL gentleman in #537 revealed that the group was able to assemble almost monthly through the summertime, which seems remarkable.

The blue guns were located in the area of the French bivouac. However, all three encampments were very close so that fact does not necessarily conclude ownership. It was, however, located farther away from the Prussians than either the KGL or French.

[gunship24]

I went in 2013 just before they re did Hougoumont. Will be interesting to see what it looks like now.

[HoldTheLine]

Very nice work Ron. The D7000 is a great camera and you do it justice.

[exp101]

More images here from Quatre Bras and Walhain/Wavre. It was at Walhain that Grouchy spent the fateful night of 17 June and from which he famously issued a controversial dispatch to the Emperor, and ate strawberries. It was also the site of the bivouac of 9ème Régiment d'Infanterie Légère reenactors who were "coming home" to camp on the precise spot their namesakes used in 1815. Uniforms, horses, guns and cavalry were everywhere -- and all spent the night in the same field!

Waterloo 200 - Quatre Bras
Waterloo 200 - Walhain/Wavre

[Saddletank]

Wow, Gemincourt is a very substantial place, walls far higher than La Haye Sainte.

I still think your best pictures are the close-up portraits that show the re-enactor's faces.

I hope Tim drops by to study your photos of the Guard Chasseurs a Cheval uniforms. They look a lot like one of the paintings I linked to earlier.

[tim]

Stunning photos - keep them coming. And yes I study all possible references I can and then have to decide which one is the most accurate. When making sprites I will google and download a load of images as well as using the uniform books I own - ranging from Osprey to Waterloo Companion to Men of Waterloo.