Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,794
The Leg of Lord Uxbridge
One of the most seen exhibits in the Museum of Waterloo ...
... is the wooden leg prosthesis of Lord Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, Marquess of Anglesey ...:
As we know, Lord Uxbridge commanded ...
... during the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 the British cavalry ...:
Shortly before the end of the battle, Uxbridge was badly wounded in the leg by a French cannonball ricocheting (bouncing off the ground) ...:
To prevent gangrene, the leg had to be amputated immediately - which also happened on the battlefield...:
And unlike many, many other wounded soldiers that day, the noble lord was treated to a dose of opium, which he carried in his luggage in anticipation.
The bloody glove and the bone saw that surgeon Dr. John Hume ...
... went to work are also preserved ...:
The amputated leg was then "buried" on the battlefield in a regular funeral ceremony.
This "grave" ...
... has long been a favorite destination of British battle-goers visiting the site of the battle.
In 1854 Lord Uxbridge died; the leg was exhumed, taken to England, and buried with the Lord's other remains in Lichfield Cathedral in Somerset ...:
The next picture shows the lord's burial along with his reunited leg ...:
To compensate, so to speak, Waterloo got the prosthesis - it was not buried in place of the original hero's leg, but got its place in the museum, where it continues to attract many visitors.
The most prominent visitors to the prosthetic leg in the Waterloo Museum include Queen Elizabeth II - the four members of the Swedish pop group "Abba" (to promote their song "Waterloo")...:
...and me.
One of the most seen exhibits in the Museum of Waterloo ...
... is the wooden leg prosthesis of Lord Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, Marquess of Anglesey ...:
As we know, Lord Uxbridge commanded ...
... during the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 the British cavalry ...:
Shortly before the end of the battle, Uxbridge was badly wounded in the leg by a French cannonball ricocheting (bouncing off the ground) ...:
To prevent gangrene, the leg had to be amputated immediately - which also happened on the battlefield...:
And unlike many, many other wounded soldiers that day, the noble lord was treated to a dose of opium, which he carried in his luggage in anticipation.
The bloody glove and the bone saw that surgeon Dr. John Hume ...
... went to work are also preserved ...:
The amputated leg was then "buried" on the battlefield in a regular funeral ceremony.
This "grave" ...
... has long been a favorite destination of British battle-goers visiting the site of the battle.
In 1854 Lord Uxbridge died; the leg was exhumed, taken to England, and buried with the Lord's other remains in Lichfield Cathedral in Somerset ...:
The next picture shows the lord's burial along with his reunited leg ...:
To compensate, so to speak, Waterloo got the prosthesis - it was not buried in place of the original hero's leg, but got its place in the museum, where it continues to attract many visitors.
The most prominent visitors to the prosthetic leg in the Waterloo Museum include Queen Elizabeth II - the four members of the Swedish pop group "Abba" (to promote their song "Waterloo")...:
...and me.
)
