Just returned from having the hilt wrap restored and rebound and it looks as good as it did before the war.

This superb sword straddles the two most famous eras of Japanese history, from the battle of Sekigahara the most significant combat period in Samurai history, right through, used by the same clan, and into the very last period when as a true, traditional, samurai sword, it would have been used in hand to hand combat conflict, WW2.

The specific benefit with this word is that is a lot less expensive than if traditionally mounted, as it once was in the Edo period, but not that much greater in cost than a good traditionally made modern Japanese shingunto sword from the 1940's.

In overall superb condition throughout.
Surrendered after one of Japan's greatest defeats of WW2 to a senior officer within General Slim's overall command in the 8th Gurkha Rifles, under General Scoones. An absolute beauty, with a circa 450 year old blade.
Signed Shigetaka, made for a samurai of the Hosokawa up to 500 years ago, The clan was descended from the Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan, and ultimately from Emperor Seiwa himself, through the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyō families in Japan. In the present day, the current clan head Morihiro Hosokawa, has served as Prime Minister of Japan.

The blade shows a very good notare undulating hamon, based on sugaha. Very nice wooden saya with horn kurigata combat leather covered. Traditional gunto mounted tsuka with single menuki. Iron plate pierced tsuba with clan mon. The blade is a bright as a button, and the condition overall is exceptional and the leather covered saya has a wonderful patina. Tsukaito hilt wrap now in perfect condition over a single menuki

Surrendered nearing the end of WW2 by a Japanese commanding officer to a British Colonel, serving under General Slim, after The Battle of Imphal. It took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in North-East India from March until July 1944. Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and invade India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses. Together with the simultaneous Battle of Kohima on the road by which the encircled Allied forces at Imphal were relieved, the battle was the turning point of the Burma Campaign, part of the South-East Asian Theatre of the Second World War. The defeat at Kohima and Imphal was the largest defeat to that date in Japanese history. The defeat at Kohima and Imphal was the largest defeat to that date in Japanese history. They had suffered 55,000 casualties, including 13,500 dead. Most of these losses were the result of starvation, disease and exhaustion. (The Allies suffered 17,500 casualties, almost entirely from battle.) The Japanese had also lost almost every one of the 12,000 pack horses and mules in their transport units and the 30,000 cattle used either as beasts of burden or as rations. The loss of pack animals was to cripple several of their divisions during the following year.

Mutaguchi had sacked all of his divisions' commanders during the battle. Both he and Kawabe were themselves subsequently relieved of command.

In December, Slim and three of his corps commanders (Scoones, Christison and Stopford) were knighted by the viceroy Lord Wavell, at a ceremony at Imphal in front of Scottish, Gurkha and Punjab regiments. Slim was created KCB, the others were made KBEs.

This is a great sword for a collector of original, early, samurai swords, but an example that has continually used for hundreds of years by several samurai, then used by a samurai descendant officer up to the end of WW2 1945. His family mon clan crest} is displayed in the swords tsuba.

Ashikaga Yoshisue, son of Ashikaga Yoshizane, was the first to take the name of Hosokawa. Hosokawa Yoriharu, a Hosokawa of the late Kamakura period, fought for the Ashikaga clan against the Kamakura shogunate. Another, Hosokawa Akiuji, helped establish the Ashikaga shogunate.

The clan wielded significant power over the course of the Muromachi (1336–1467), Sengoku (1467–1600), and Edo periods, moving, however, from Shikoku, to Kinai, and then to Kyūshū over the centuries.

The clan was also one of three families to dominate the post of Kanrei (Shōgun's deputy), under the Ashikaga shogunate. One such individual was Hosokawa Yoriyuki. At the beginning of the Ashikaga's rule, the Hosokawa were given control of the entirety of Shikoku. Over the course of this period, members of the Hosokawa clan were Constables (shugo) of Awa, Awaji, Bitchū, Izumi, Sanuki, Settsu, Tanba, Tosa, and Yamashiro Provinces.
Hosokawa Tadaoki, was a retainer of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi

A conflict between Hosokawa Katsumoto, the fifth Kanrei, and his father-in-law Yamana Sōzen, over the shogunate's succession, sparked the Ōnin War, which led to the fall of the shogunate and a period of 150 years of chaos and war, known as the Sengoku period. Following the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate, which was based in Kyoto, control of the city, and thus ostensibly the country, fell into the hands of the Hosokawa clan (who held the post of Kyoto Kanrei – Shōgun's deputy in Kyoto) for a few generations.

Katsumoto's son, Hosokawa Masamoto, held power in this way at the end of the 15th century, but was assassinated in 1507. After his death, the clan became divided and was weakened by internecine fighting. What power they still had, however, was centered in and around Kyoto. This gave them the leverage to consolidate their power to some extent, and came to be strong rivals with the Ōuchi clan, both politically, and in terms of dominating trade with China. The Hosokawa remained in Kyoto for roughly one hundred years, fleeing the city when it was attacked by Oda Nobunaga. Another division of the clan whom many believed became extinct is the Saikyū clan. Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the third lord of Kumamoto, was the patron of the artist and swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Following the abolition of the feudal class in 1871, the Hosokawa clan and its branches were made part of the new nobility in the Meiji era. The head of the main family line (Kumamoto) was given the hereditary title of marquis (kōshaku), while the heads of the secondary branches became viscounts (shishaku); the titles became obsolete in 1947. The present head of the main family line, Morihiro Hosokawa, was a former Prime Minister of Japan, is a descendant of the Hosokawa of Kumamoto.

The leather combat cover to the saya has shrunk a little at the bottom, through combat wear and age in the jungles of Imphal, and on to in 1945. One press stud is no longer fixed to the leather.  read more

Code: 25033

From its misshapen rim, that is very strong indeed, one can deduce it was likely shot through by a musket ball, thus tearing out the face, dial, mechanism, and back plate. This would not be damage caused by simply dropping or even treading upon it. It is also assumed to be formerly the property of an officer, as a pocket watch would have been a most expensive luxury at the time.

It would look amazing framed. There is no doubt the interest in shot-through relics, is incredible, especially from famous battles. They have incredible desirability for collectors of historical pieces, and great conversational value as well. The carabiniers breastplate, shot through by a cannon ball at Waterloo, is one of the best and most famous in the world. It is housed on display in Les Invalides in Paris, and considered to be literally priceless. Speculation about the fate of the carabinier would of course be pointless, but one can presume the watch's officer owner, may possibly have survived, although more likely, not.

At the time it was shot through it would have glistened like gold, as it was made of pinchbeck metal, a very strong Georgian period jeweller's metal made from an amalgam of zinc with copper, but it has now gained a green patina after being long buried in the ground.

This extraordinary Waterloo battle relic was already old when it was lost at Waterloo, probably a family heirloom, and then discovered around La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby).

It is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery.

In the 1700s, a London clock maker, Christopher Pinchbeck invented an alloy of zinc (17 per cent) and copper (83 per cent), ie a type of brass, which he sold as imitation gold or 'pinchbeck metal'.  read more

Code: 25031

Adam urn pommel silver multi-wired grip of superb quality, D hilt with single quillon, with straight double-edged blade of flattened-diamond section, engraved with the crowned Royal arms, trophies, foliage and 'For King and Country' (worn),

We are offering a few Waterloo battle site recoveries alongside the farm’s cast iron fireback and some other relic items of combat, such as soldiers thimbles, plus grenades, cannon balls etc. discovered around La Haye Sainte. Plus, weaponry and items that were part of the Cotton Collection at the Waterloo Museum on the Waterloo battle site that were sold in 1909 at auction.

La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby), is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.
La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

Strategic importance

A view of the battlefield from the Lion's mound. On the top right are the buildings of La Haye Sainte. This view looks east, with Allied forces behind the road to the left (north) and French forces out of shot to the right(south)
The road leads from La Belle Alliance, where Napoleon had his headquarters on the morning of the battle, through where the centre of the French front line was located, to a crossroads on the ridge which is at the top of the escarpment and then on to Brussels. The Duke of Wellington placed the majority of his forces on either side of the Brussels road behind the ridge on the Brussels side. This kept most of his forces out of sight of the French artillery.

A spadroon is a light sword with a straight-edged blade, enabling both cut and thrust attacks. This English term first came into use in the early 18th century, though the type of sword it referred to was in common usage during the late 17th century. They were primarily used as a military (army & navy) sidearm in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and for officers in the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The type of sword also saw widespread use across Europe and America, though the term 'spadroon' is unique to the Anglophone world.
Spadroon is a term used to categorise a type of sword that is in between a small sword (which thrusts only), and the heavier-bladed broadsword.

1786 regulation
A hugely significant year for the sword and specifically the spadroon, in army service, was 1786, as it saw the end of pole arms for officers, and the introduction of the first standard for a sword, the 1786 pattern. Though it may be called that today, it was not in fact a pattern at all. 'Pattern' refers to a piece of example equipment that has been accepted for army service. Since the start of the eighteenth century a band of officers (or other responsible persons) has approved the quality and finish of all items of military clothing, it was then sealed with the wax of the Board of Ordnance or other Government (wax) seal to be recognised as the standard to be kept by manufacturers. This allowed manufacturers, tailors, and swordsmiths to have an example to use as a reference for both design and quality. The 1786 sword was not a pattern, but a rather vague description. Nonetheless it was the first standard outlined for army wide service, and so is commonly referred to as the 1786 pattern today but might be better described as the 1786 regulation.

The Spadroon is a key weapon in the study of British military swordsmanship of the Napoleonic period, as well as those practising from earlier 18th century British sources. It was one of three main weapons outlined in the key works of swordsmanship in that period, such as Charles Roworth's 1798 manual, 'The Art of Defence on Foot, with Broadsword and Sabre...to which are added Remarks on the Spadroon'. A number of Historical Fencing, or HEMA clubs around the world are now pursuing modern day practice of the spadroon.

Cotton Collection exhibit sword, used at Waterloo
No scabbard  read more

Code: 25035

All steel scabbard, with steel P hilt and leather bound grip. The blade is very good indeed, and nicely bright overall, with ordnance crown inspection stamp, and maker stamp on the blade spine. Overall very nice condition for age, obviously seen combat service but it has been cared for very well since it left service over 200 years ago, and entered the Cotton Collection Museum

The mounted swordsmanship training of the British emphasised the cut, at the face for maiming or killing, or at the arms to disable. This left masses of mutilated or disabled troops; the French, in contrast, favoured the thrust, which gave cleaner kills. A cut with the 1796 LC sabre was, however, perfectly capable of killing outright, as was recorded by George Farmer of the 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons, who was involved in a skirmish on the Guadiana River in 1811, during the Peninsular War:
"Just then a French officer stooping over the body of one of his countrymen, who dropped the instant on his horse's neck, delivered a thrust at poor Harry Wilson's body; and delivered it effectually. I firmly believe that Wilson died on the instant yet, though he felt the sword in its progress, he, with characteristic self-command, kept his eye on the enemy in his front; and, raising himself in his stirrups, let fall upon the Frenchman's head such a blow, that brass and skull parted before it, and the man's head was cloven asunder to the chin. It was the most tremendous blow I ever beheld struck; and both he who gave, and his opponent who received it, dropped dead together. The brass helmet was afterwards examined by order of a French officer, who, as well as myself, was astonished at the exploit; and the cut was found to be as clean as if the sword had gone through a turnip, not so much as a dint being left on either side of it" The blade is remembered today as one of the best of its time and has been described as the finest cutting sword ever manufactured in quantity. Remarkably, this sword still has its original wooden scabbard liner.

We have more from our Waterloo recovered souvenirs to add this coming week. Some very small, amazing yet most inexpensive pieces, and a few absolute beauties, shrapnel, cannon balls, grenades, etc, swords French and British, and, including, an iron fire back that bears an unknown family crest that was likely ripped out from a fire place at La Haye-Sainte farm house, to use just like sniper shield’s were a hundred years earlier in the trenches of WW1. The rear, of the very heavy iron plate, about two feet square, shows likely impact marks of ball and shrapnel.

The last photo in the gallery shows a photograph of one section of the collection in the museum of Waterloo, taken in around 1900, showing all the weapons of Waterloo en situ, including all the protagonists {British, French, Prussian and Belgian muskets, swords, pistols, armour uniforms, etc}. The museum was founded and owned by a veteran of the 7th Hussars that fought at Waterloo.

An extract from an 1862 publication;

A VOICE FROM
WATERLOO
A HISTORY OF THE BATTLE
FOUGHT ON THE 18TH JUNE 1815
WITH A SELECTION FROM THE WELLINGTON DISPATCHES, GENERAL ORDERS
AND LETTERS RELATING TO THE BATTLE.
ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS, PORTRAITS AND PLANS.
BY
SERGEANT-MAJOR EDWARD COTTON
(LATE 7TH HUSSARS).
“Facts are stubborn things.”
SIXTH EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED.


HOTEL DU MUSÉE,
AT THE FOOT OF THE LION MOUNT.


This Hotel, kept by a niece of the late Sergeant-Major Cotton, is situated in the very centre of the field of Waterloo, and is strongly recommended to visitors on account of its proximity to the scenes of interest connected with the great battle, and also for the excellent accomodation and comfort it offers at moderate charges.  read more

Code: 24995

Recovered alongside the farm’s cast iron fireback and some other relic items of combat, such as soldiers thimbles, plus grenades, cannon balls etc. discovered around La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby).
It is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.
La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

Strategic importance

A view of the battlefield from the Lion's mound. On the top right are the buildings of La Haye Sainte. This view looks east, with Allied forces behind the road to the left (north) and French forces out of shot to the right(south)
The road leads from La Belle Alliance, where Napoleon had his headquarters on the morning of the battle, through where the centre of the French front line was located, to a crossroads on the ridge which is at the top of the escarpment and then on to Brussels. The Duke of Wellington placed the majority of his forces on either side of the Brussels road behind the ridge on the Brussels side. This kept most of his forces out of sight of the French artillery.


In the nineteenth century things started to speed up for pipe smokers. General Lassalle declared that “a hussar that does not smoke is a bad soldier!”. Following the advice of his General, Napoleon arranged for the creation of a tobacco pipe that would be specifically designed for soldiers in combat.

Photo in the gallery of a French Wellington satirical pipe bowl, also recovered from Waterloo, now in Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington's former home.

This is the clay head of a French pipe, found on the battlefield of Waterloo. The front of the pipe is an unflattering caricature of the Duke of Wellington, with a bowl in his cockaded hat to hold the burning tobacco. The stem of the pipe is carved into a depiction of a French soldier, disrespectfully thumbing his nose at the Duke – perhaps this is the face of the Frenchman who made this mocking piece of personal propaganda.

At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, political satire and caricatures of political and military leaders became extremely popular across Europe – often showing the elite in ridiculous situations, full of insulting or sexual references. In a time of wars and revolutions, these depictions gave ordinary soldiers and civilians a way of understanding the world and expressing their voices. Buying or making political items like this pipe gave ordinary people the feeling that they were taking a side in these momentous events.

Wellington’s craggy features and large nose are particularly exaggerated, mimicking his popular nickname of “Nosey”. The soldier’s thumbing his nose behind Wellington’s back is a traditional gesture of disrespect, known at the time as “cocking a snook” at someone.

At the time of the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington was the most famous soldier in the British Army, having fought a long and successful campaign against the French in the Spanish Peninsular. He was less well-known in France, but was still notorious enough to be the target of satire and derision, from all quarters of society. Napoleon, who had never faced the Duke of Wellington in battle before Waterloo, was inclined to insult his adversary – possibly in order to inspire confidence among the French commanders. Napoleon called Wellington “the sepoy general”, referring to the latter’s service in India, and supposedly declared that beating the Allies would be “as easy as eating breakfast” on the morning of the Battle of Waterloo.

This pipe would have had a longer wooden stem, which has rotted away. Smoking tobacco was extremely popular among soldiers, for comfort, warmth and to suppress hunger. The health risks of tobacco were not yet understood, and smoking was thought to be good for the nervous system and strengthening to the lungs. One British Captain, Robert Percival, claimed that his men stayed healthy “by drinking strong arrack alcohol and smoking tobacco.”  read more

Code: 25046

Recovered alongside the farm’s cast iron fireback and some other relic items of combat, such as soldiers thimbles, plus grenades, cannon balls etc. discovered around La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby).
It is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.
La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

Strategic importance

A view of the battlefield from the Lion's mound. On the top right are the buildings of La Haye Sainte. This view looks east, with Allied forces behind the road to the left (north) and French forces out of shot to the right(south)
The road leads from La Belle Alliance, where Napoleon had his headquarters on the morning of the battle, through where the centre of the French front line was located, to a crossroads on the ridge which is at the top of the escarpment and then on to Brussels. The Duke of Wellington placed the majority of his forces on either side of the Brussels road behind the ridge on the Brussels side. This kept most of his forces out of sight of the French artillery.

During the night from the 17th to the 18th, the main door to the courtyard of the farm was used as firewood by the occupying troops. Therefore, when the King's German Legion (KGL) was stationed in the farm at the morning of the battle they had to hastily fortify La Haye Sainte.

The troops were the 2nd Light Battalion KGL commanded by Major Georg Baring, and part of the 1st Light Battalion KGL. During the battle, they were supported by the 1/2 Nassau Regiment and the light company of the 5th Line Battalion KGL. The majority of these troops were armed with the Baker rifle with grooved barrels, as opposed to the normal Brown Bess musket of the British Army. The French troops also used muskets which were quicker to load than the Baker rifle but the latter was more accurate and had about twice the range of a musket.

Both Napoleon and Wellington made crucial mistakes about La Haye Sainte as it was fought over and around during most of the day. Napoleon failed to allocate enough forces to take the farm earlier in the day while Wellington only realised the strategic value of the position when it was almost too late.



Photo in the gallery of a range of 2" and smaller {Biscayen} French round shot recovered at Gemioncourt Farm that was located at Quatre Bras and was the scene of fighting between the Dutch and French in the battle which preceded Waterloo.

Biscayan bullets, are very large round shot used in very large calibre blunderbuss type guns used by the French at Waterloo and Quatre-Bras.  read more

Code: 25045

Recovered alongside the farm’s cast iron fireback and some relic items of combat, soldiers thimbles plus grenades, cannon balls etc. discovered around La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby). We acquired 3 from Waterloo, this is the last one, the first sold, the second is on reserve. We may never get any again
It is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

Strategic importance

A view of the battlefield from the Lion's mound. On the top right are the buildings of La Haye Sainte. This view looks east, with Allied forces behind the road to the left (north) and French forces out of shot to the right(south)
The road leads from La Belle Alliance, where Napoleon had his headquarters on the morning of the battle, through where the centre of the French front line was located, to a crossroads on the ridge which is at the top of the escarpment and then on to Brussels. The Duke of Wellington placed the majority of his forces on either side of the Brussels road behind the ridge on the Brussels side. This kept most of his forces out of sight of the French artillery.

During the night from the 17th to the 18th, the main door to the courtyard of the farm was used as firewood by the occupying troops. Therefore, when the King's German Legion (KGL) was stationed in the farm at the morning of the battle they had to hastily fortify La Haye Sainte.

The troops were the 2nd Light Battalion KGL commanded by Major Georg Baring, and part of the 1st Light Battalion KGL. During the battle, they were supported by the 1/2 Nassau Regiment and the light company of the 5th Line Battalion KGL. The majority of these troops were armed with the Baker rifle with grooved barrels, as opposed to the normal Brown Bess musket of the British Army. The French troops also used muskets which were quicker to load than the Baker rifle but the latter was more accurate and had about twice the range of a musket.

Both Napoleon and Wellington made crucial mistakes about La Haye Sainte as it was fought over and around during most of the day. Napoleon failed to allocate enough forces to take the farm earlier in the day while Wellington only realised the strategic value of the position when it was almost too late.

The grenade is spherical and made of cast iron. The first grenades were small iron spheres filled with gunpowder fused with a length of slow-match. These types of grenades weighed around 1.5 kg and were equivalent in size to a four-pound cannonball (Crowdy 2015). These types of hand grenades were used during land combat and on Naval vessels. One of the more common munitions aboard warships during the late 18th century and early 19th century was the hand grenade, used for close quarter action. Examples were recovered from HMS Pomone that also had their original fuse in place (Henry 2004). Hand grenades of this kind were used during the Napoleonic era (1799−1815) and were used by both the French and British.

Grenadiers were a specific type of soldier during the late 18th century to the early 19th century, in the earliest days they were tasked with throwing grenades during combat. They had to be at the forefront of the fight to light the fuse and throw at the appropriate moment to minimize the opportunity for the enemy to throw the grenade back. They were selected for being strong, tall and skilled enough to throw them far enough away so as not to harm themselves or their comrades. Such skills led to grenadiers being regarded as an elite fighting force and they were easily identified by their head-gear from ordinary musketeers. The uniform included a belt tube that held the match for lighting the fuse, a feature that was retained in later grenadier uniforms.

Peter Goodwin, a Historical Maritime Consultant and previous curator of HMS Victory confirmed that based on its size, the photographed with size scale grenade, is certainly a hand grenade dating to the Napoleonic era. From an article in Wessex Archaology.

Photo in the gallery {from the above article} of a recovered Napoleonic Wars grenade, almost identical to ours, but still with its fuse plug intact that was recovered from HMS Pomone, as detailed above by Peter Goodwin, but shown by us to show exactly how this grenade would have looked before it was thrown, but failed to detonate, hence it survived intact to be recovered from La Haye Sainte, but now deeply pitted, and empty, with a two inch long thin surface crack but still very sound.

References

Crowdy, T. 2015 Napoleon's Infantry Handbook. Barnsley, Pen and Sword

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery.

Last photo in the gallery of two English hollow cast cannon balls found at and from Quatre-Bras, in the Relics of Waterloo book, plus some Biscayan bullets,very large round shot used in very large calibre blunderbuss type guns used by the French at Waterloo and Quatre-Bras.

We have a hollow cast cannon ball to add to the site from a find at Waterloo and a Biscayan round shot  read more

Code: 25043

Recovered alongside the farm’s cast iron fireback and some relic items of combat plus grenades, cannon balls etc. discovered around La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby). We acquired 3, the first we sold and once they are all sold there will likely be no others to be found.

It is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

Strategic importance

A view of the battlefield from the Lion's mound. On the top right are the buildings of La Haye Sainte. This view looks east, with Allied forces behind the road to the left (north) and French forces out of shot to the right(south)
The road leads from La Belle Alliance, where Napoleon had his headquarters on the morning of the battle, through where the centre of the French front line was located, to a crossroads on the ridge which is at the top of the escarpment and then on to Brussels. The Duke of Wellington placed the majority of his forces on either side of the Brussels road behind the ridge on the Brussels side. This kept most of his forces out of sight of the French artillery.

During the night from the 17th to the 18th, the main door to the courtyard of the farm was used as firewood by the occupying troops. Therefore, when the King's German Legion (KGL) was stationed in the farm at the morning of the battle they had to hastily fortify La Haye Sainte.

The troops were the 2nd Light Battalion KGL commanded by Major Georg Baring, and part of the 1st Light Battalion KGL. During the battle, they were supported by the 1/2 Nassau Regiment and the light company of the 5th Line Battalion KGL. The majority of these troops were armed with the Baker rifle with grooved barrels, as opposed to the normal Brown Bess musket of the British Army. The French troops also used muskets which were quicker to load than the Baker rifle but the latter was more accurate and had about twice the range of a musket.

Both Napoleon and Wellington made crucial mistakes about La Haye Sainte as it was fought over and around during most of the day. Napoleon failed to allocate enough forces to take the farm earlier in the day while Wellington only realised the strategic value of the position when it was almost too late.

The grenade is spherical and made of cast iron. The first grenades were small iron spheres filled with gunpowder fused with a length of slow-match. These types of grenades weighed around 1.5 kg and were equivalent in size to a four-pound cannonball (Crowdy 2015). These types of hand grenades were used during land combat and on Naval vessels. One of the more common munitions aboard warships during the late 18th century and early 19th century was the hand grenade, used for close quarter action. Examples were recovered from HMS Pomone that also had their original fuse in place (Henry 2004). Hand grenades of this kind were used during the Napoleonic era (1799−1815) and were used by both the French and British.

Grenadiers were a specific type of soldier during the late 18th century to the early 19th century, in the earliest days they were tasked with throwing grenades during combat. They had to be at the forefront of the fight to light the fuse and throw at the appropriate moment to minimize the opportunity for the enemy to throw the grenade back. They were selected for being strong, tall and skilled enough to throw them far enough away so as not to harm themselves or their comrades. Such skills led to grenadiers being regarded as an elite fighting force and they were easily identified by their head-gear from ordinary musketeers. The uniform included a belt tube that held the match for lighting the fuse, a feature that was retained in later grenadier uniforms.

Peter Goodwin, a Historical Maritime Consultant and previous curator of HMS Victory confirmed that based on its size, this is certainly a hand grenade dating to the Napoleonic era. From an article in Wessex Archaology.

Photo in the gallery {from the above article} of a recovered Napoleonic Wars grenade still with its fuse plug intact recovered from HMS Pomone, but shown to show exactly how this grenade would have looked before it was thrown, but failed to detonate, hence it survived intact to be recovered from La Haye Sainte, but now deeply pitted but sound.

As with all our items, every piece will be accompanied by our fully detailed Certificate of Authenticity

References

Crowdy, T. 2015 Napoleon's Infantry Handbook. Barnsley, Pen and Sword

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