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  1. #1
    thewideeyedowl
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    Default Battlefield casualties c1793-1815

    What would have happened to battlefield casualties during the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815?

    There was war in Europe for over 20 years following the French Revolution - first, the French Wars and later the Wars precipitated by the Emperor Napoleon. What would have happened to the casualties when they were wounded on the battlefield?

    I imagine that there would have been some sort of field hospital where the wounded could be treated. Perhaps a local barn would have been requisitioned? And what medical personnel would have been there - surgeons (qualified doctors who happened also to be soldiers)? Orderlies (soldiers who were roped in to help)? And how would the wounded have been taken to a field hospital - possibly on a waggon from the Royal Waggon Train, which was the corps responsible for moving supplies around? Would the wounded have jolted along in agony over the rough ground? And when it came to 'treatment', what operations could be done other than amputations? (And all without anaesthetic, remember. It doesn't bear thinking about.)

    Last autumn I was lucky enough to acquire a copy of the The Times newspaper for 22 June 1815, which prints the Duke of Wellington's despatch from Waterloo. See here: https://www.british-genealogy.com/for...June-22nd-1815. It lists the names of the officers who were killed and wounded. There are about 70 names in the list of wounded: five men had an arm amputated, two had a leg amputated; another two were "dangerously" [critically?] wounded, about 36 "severely" wounded, and about ten "slightly" wounded. There is no further information. And that's just the officers. There must have been many many more soldiers who were wounded. What would have happened to them?

    I am very curious.

    Owl

  2. #2
    gasser
    Guest

    Default

    Hi Owl,
    Although I'm not answering your question in the main , I did stumble upon this site and thought it might be of interest,
    plus there is contact information as well ........https://www.britisharmyresearchnapoleonicwars.co.uk/
    The owner of the site is a keen researcher of the napoleonic wars and to quote her ' it is the men, who were the ordinary soldiers, the Sergeants, Drummers/Buglers, Corporals and Privates, that are of special interest to me and make up the main part of my research. Who were they, where did they come from and what happened to them once they joined the army?
    Gail

  3. #3
    thewideeyedowl
    Guest

    Default Royal Waggon Train

    Hi Gail - thank you

    In fact, I came across that informative website last week when trying to find out how a service pension would have been paid in those days, https://www.british-genealogy.com/for...have-been-paid. The Forum came up with the answer . I am scratching around everywhere for info about so many things that relate to this period, and it looks as if I will soon have enough to post about how to research it . But not quite yet...

    Working on the theory that the Waggoners had carts ("waggons") used to transport supplies and, presumably, capable of carrying men, I've been rummaging around for info on them. Well, the first Waggoners seem to have been rather an unsavoury bunch. See here: https://waggoners.co.uk/wbsitepages/hist/rwc.htm. The Waggoners of those days have evolved - via the Army Service Corps and Royal Corps of Transport - into the Royal Logistics Corps. The RLC has a museum at Deepcut, and the museum has an informative website. From there I have learnt that during WW1, they had a General Service Wagon which could be, to quote: "...equipped to be used as an ambulance, transporting the dead and wounded soldiers back to the field hospitals." There is a picture of this wagon in an interesting piece about the Battles of Fromelles in July 1916, which you can find here: https://www.rlcmuseum.co.uk/docs/exhi..._957901452.pdf. You have to scroll down quite a way.

    Well, I am now guessing that the same sort of thing would have happened a hundred years earlier. But if anyone can come up with other theories, please post about them.

    Owl
    Last edited by thewideeyedowl; 14-03-2014 at 4:27 PM. Reason: PS I have posted twice, when all I wanted to do was change 'Corps' to 'Train' in the tiitle. Sorry about this.

  4. #4
    gasser
    Guest

    Default

    This looks an interesting site.....www.napoleonguide.com/medical_evacuation.htm
    Not studied it in depth but will look properly later and also your links from your last post.
    Cheers for now, Gail

  5. #5
    thewideeyedowl
    Guest

    Default

    Brilliant - thank you .

    It sounds even worse than I thought it might have been - those poor wounded lying amidst the dead bodies, and with the real threat of having their throats cut by scavengers after the battle was over. Dreadful, dreadful.

    At least, the top brass knew things had to be improved, though this was not at the top of the list of priorities; and I have to admire the ingenuity of the improvised stretchers.

    Thank heavens we live in the 21st century.

    Owl

  6. #6
    gasser
    Guest

    Default

    Thank heavens we live in the 21st century.
    You're not wrong there! It was pretty grim back then to say the least....history is a fascinating subject, we can all romanticise on living in the past, it's only when you read things like that when you begin to appreciate life as we know it!
    Gail

  7. #7
    Monty Stubble
    Guest

    Default

    The most comprehensive book on the subject is by Michael Crumplin and is called "Men of Steel", a fascinating if harrowing read.

  8. #8
    thewideeyedowl
    Guest

    Default 2nd-hand copy?

    Hi Monty...and welcome to the Forum,

    Thank you very much indeed for posting details about Michael Crumplin's book 'Men of Steel'. As the author is a retired surgeon and medical historian, he will really know his subject. Longing to read it and have just spent the last quarter of an hour or so trying to find a copy online at an affordable price - unfortunately, new start at about £75 and second hand at about £38 (!). So it is obviously greatly sought-after by those in the know but, alas, outside my budget. I might try to get it on inter-library loan.

    My interest in the the subject was sparked when I discovered that a gt x 3 grandfather in the IoW line had been in the Royal Wagon Train. The fascinating thing about family history is that you never know where it will take you next.

    Again, many thanks for your help.

    Owl

  9. #9
    Monty Stubble
    Guest

    Default

    Another book you might try, and a bit more affordable ( I bought my copy second hand in Hay on Wye) is "For Fear Of Pain, British Surgery1790-1850" by Peter Stanley.

    There is a big chapter on military surgery in there.

  10. #10
    Monty Stubble
    Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by thewideeyedowl View Post
    Hi Monty...and welcome to the Forum,

    Thank you very much indeed for posting details about Michael Crumplin's book 'Men of Steel'. As the author is a retired surgeon and medical historian, he will really know his subject. Longing to read it and have just spent the last quarter of an hour or so trying to find a copy online at an affordable price - unfortunately, new start at about £75 and second hand at about £38 (!). So it is obviously greatly sought-after by those in the know but, alas, outside my budget. I might try to get it on inter-library loan.

    My interest in the the subject was sparked when I discovered that a gt x 3 grandfather in the IoW line had been in the Royal Wagon Train. The fascinating thing about family history is that you never know where it will take you next.

    Again, many thanks for your help.

    Owl
    Just remembered, the Thackeray medical museum in Leeds. Had some paperback copies about a month ago. Don't know how much though.

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