Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium

Inner yard of Mont-Saint-Jean Farm which was used as military hospital by the British forces at the end of the Battle of Waterloo. Restored in preparation of the bi-centennial of the Battle of Waterloo, June 2015. It now incorporates a small museum.
"The farm house of Mont St. Jean. This house being close to the rear of the action, it was much dilapidated by random shot" (1815). Engraver James Rouse

Mont-Saint-Jean is a hamlet located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, south of Waterloo located partly on Waterloo and partly on Braine-l'Alleud where the National road (N5) going from Brussels to Charleroi crosses the National road (N234) going from Nivelles to Leuven.

History

Mont-Saint-Jean is on the reverse slope of the escarpment where the Battle of Waterloo was fought, and is the name Napoleon Bonaparte gave to the battle (la bataille de Mont-Saint-Jean).[1] At the time of the battle there was a farm called Mont-Saint-Jean Farm, on the Charleroi–Brussels road about halfway between the edge of the escarpment and the village.[2]

Les Miserables

In the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Volume II, Book I, Chapter X is called "The Plateau of Mont-Saint-Jean" and it describes the massive French cavalry attacks on the British infantry squares situated on the reverse slope of the escarpment at the height of the battle.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Bonaparte 1820.
  2. ↑ Kaart van Ferraris 1777 section #78 'Braine la Leud' (in the south east corner)
  3. ↑ Hugo, Chapter X: The Plateau of Mont-Saint-Jean.

References

  • Bonaparte, Napoleon (1820), Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de France en 1815, avec le plan de la bataille de Mont-Saint-Jean
  • "'Braine la Leud' #78", Kabinetskaart der Oostenrijkse Nederlanden et het Prinsbisdom Luik, Kaart van Ferraris, 1777
  • Hugo, Victor, "Chapter X: The Plateau of Mont-Saint-Jean", Les Miserables


Coordinates: 50°41′27″N 4°24′22″E / 50.69083°N 4.40611°E / 50.69083; 4.40611

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