1815 Battle of Waterloo at Hougoumont

“Battle commences at Hougoumont: Jerome’s columns put in motion, drew the fire of our battery upon them, to which theirs replied. Close fighting at Hougoumont … The enemy press on and approach the masked wall, from whence the crashing fusillade astounds them…” Edward Cotton, an English soldier who survived the defense of Hougoumont, published his account in 1849 in “A Voice from Waterloo.” It is viewable on Google Books here: Our video is based loosely on Cotton’s account, summarized at page XIV of his table of contents, and quoted above. Cotton remained at the property as a guide to visitors in the decades after the battle. At the back of his book are engravings and also a collection of other soldiers’ personal accounts of Waterloo. A video by Peter Snow that shows this place in real life and explains its significance - and asks for donations to prese