Crumplin, Michael/Glover, Gareth Waterloo After the Glory. Hospital Sketches and Reports on the Wounded after the Battle

The Battle of Waterloo was one of the most horrific actions fought during the Napoleonic Wars. There have been several studies of battlefield injuries and the field care that casualties received during the campaign of June 1815. However, what happened to the many thousands of injured men left behind as the armies marched away is rarely discussed. In June 1815, around 62,000 Allied and French wounded flooded into Brussels, Antwerp, and other towns and cities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and swamped the medical services. These casualties were eventually cared for by a wide mix of medical personnel including hundreds of "Belgian" surgeons, most of whom had trained in the French Service de Santé and who assisted in the dispersal, treatment, and rehabilitation of thousands of casualties after the battle. New data concerning the fate of the thousands of Allied and some French casualties has emerged from the library of the University of Edinburgh. This has revealed a collection of over 170 wound sketches, detailed case reports, and the surgical results from five Brussels Hospitals. The sketches were carried out by Professor John Thomson, who held the first Regius Chair in Military Surgery appointed by the University of Edinburgh. Most accounts are of Allied wounded, but certainly not all. The accounts, drawings and surgical results dramatically alter our understanding of the management of military wounded in the Georgian army.

In June 1815, around 62,000 Allied and French wounded poured into Brussels, Antwerp and other cities in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, overwhelming the medical services. These wounded were eventually cared for by a wide range of medical personnel, including hundreds of 'Belgian' surgeons, most of whom had been trained in the French Service de Santé, who helped to distribute, treat and rehabilitate thousands of wounded after the battle. New data on the fate of thousands of Allied and some French casualties has emerged in the University of Edinburgh library. It is a collection of over 170 wound sketches, detailed case reports and surgical results from five hospitals in Brussels. The sketches were prepared by Professor John Thomson, who held the first Regius Chair of Military Surgery at the University of Edinburgh. Most of the reports relate to Allied casualties, but by no means all. The reports, drawings and surgical findings fundamentally change our understanding of the treatment of military casualties in the Georgian army.