“The action commenced by the most dreadful cannonade I ever heard”.
Lieutenant John Roberts, Royal Horse Artillery describes the opening of the Battle of Waterloo
Happening right now, 210 years ago.
Dawn on the 18th June 1815 - it has been a night of frenetic activity for both sides, but the Battle of Waterloo beckons.
Hear more of what has happened overnight as Napoleon, Wellington and Blucher prepare for battle.
The Battle of Waterloo: 11am
The fight for Hougoumont begins in earnest.
Listen to what is happening across the battlefield, RIGHT NOW 210 years ago
“We had hardly taken our position at the loopholes when masses of French came out of the wood..”
Private Peter Leonard of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Nassau Regiment, describing the French attempts to cross the killing ground at Hougoumont, happening right now 210 years ago.
I saw this and immediately thought of you @zwhitehistory.bsky.social
This guys Wikipedia entry doesn't do him any justice based of the limited information they crammed onto his gravestone
Also, who's Suwarrow? Is that meant to be Suvorov? I can't find any mention of British troops in Italy
It wasn’t a dream…
Sean Bean and Bernard Cornwell really did join me & Liam Telfer @liamtelfer.bsky.social on the Napoleonic Wars Pod @napwarspod.bsky.social last night.
As Sean put it ‘we could have talked all night’.
We also discovered which is Bernard’s favourite book from the Sharpe series.
Race, Law and Empire, 1750-1850 Conference
University of Southampton AND online
17th - 18th July 2026
Call for Papers extended by popular request.
Full details below. Please share widely.
Established, emerging researchers are very welcome.
Supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk
Bernard Cornwell and Sean Bean will be appearing in a joint interview for The Napoleonic Wars Podcast.
If you’ve got a question for them, post it below and we’ll pick the best.
Publication Alert 🚨
Show trials: Legal Process in the British Army’s Military Justice System
I wrote an article on why military courts were much more careful about giving soldiers a fairer hearing than we’ve previously recognised
Read for free below
ageofrevolutions.com/2025/09/02/s...
Booking now open for the @leverhulme.ac.uk funded Law, Race & Empire Conference, 1750-1850, at the University of Southampton and Online.
17th-18th July 2026.
Includes a behind the scenes visit to @hartleyspecialc.bsky.social . Tickets limited. Don't miss out!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/law-race-e...
An academic conference examining the ways in which law, race and empire interacted in the 18th and 19th century
By Zack White In a well-received analysis of the British Army in the West Indies, Roger Norman Buckley described that the force’s military justice system as “capricious and arbitrary.”[1] Buckley’s…
