NA455
King & Country
This special 4-figure set shows the Duke himself dressed as he is portrayed in portrait paintings and on the big screen in the uniform style he wore at Waterloo.
Alongside him are three of his most famous subordinate commanders.
Lord Uxbridge, his cavalry commander, is dressed in Hussar uniform. It was Uxbridge, who during the battle had his right leg shot off by a French cannon ball and remarked to the Duke, “By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg!” Wellington calmly replied, “By God, sir, so you have!” Despite his leg being amputated, without antiseptic or anaesthetics, Uxbridge went on to enjoy a long and relatively happy life, dying in 1854.
Sir Thomas Picton, this senior officer wearing civilian attire, was alas not quite so lucky at Waterloo... While Wellington admired Picton’s courage and military capability he was less than happy with this soldier’s manners... “A rough, foul-mouthed devil as ever lived” was the Duke’s assessment.
Appointed to command the British 5th Infantry Division at Waterloo he was killed by a musket ball to the head while leading his troops in defence of La Haye Sainte farmhouse.
Sir Alexander Gordon was one of the Duke’s most able and trusted Aide de Camps. He joined Wellington during the Peninsular War and saw plenty of active service with him before joining him again during The Hundred Days Campaign leading up to Waterloo. It was there that he was severely wounded leading a battalion of Brunswickers attempting to hold back a French advance. Wellington himself, rarely a man to show emotion, wept at the news of his friend’s death.