A Bloody Day: The Irish at Waterloo

At least one third of the British army that faced the French forces of Napoleon at Waterloo on June 18 1815 were, like Wellington himself, Irish. Yet such a substantial Irish participation in an event that decided the fate of Europe is not readily brought to mind by the British, nor indeed by the Irish themselves, when mention is made of the battle. In this book, Dan Harvey seeks to redress the balance. He retells the story of Waterloo with a keen military eye, examining specifically how the thousands of Irishmen who took part on the battlefield helped to ensure victory. Napoleon himself acknowledged the Irish role. Speaking of the 27th Inniskillings, he said, ‘I have seen Russian, Prussian, and French bravery, but anything to equal the stubborn bravery of the regiment with castles in their caps, I have never witnessed.’