The brothers who lost an arm and a leg to Napoleon
MARQUESS OF ANGLESEY AND HIS BROTHER BOTH LOST LIMBS DURING THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
MILLIONS of people died during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century.
The wars lasted for 12 years in total, running from 1803 until Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Among the millions involved in the fighting were two brothers from an aristocratic family that would grow to have strong links with Anglesey that have lasted to this day.
The story of one brother is far better known than the other, although both made similar sacrifices during these wars. Henry William Paget remains a famous North Wales figure for several reasons.
Anyone who has crossed the Britannia Bridge will have seen the huge column dedicated to him in Llanfairpwll.
Henry Paget was initially known as the 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a title he inherited from his father, until he was made the 1st Marquess of Anglesey in 1815 for his service during the Battle of Waterloo.
The Marquess commanded a cavalry of 13,000 men at the battle, during which he famously lost his leg. His right leg had to be amputated above the knee after it was hit by one of the last cannon shots
fired on the day the British cavalry famously charged against Comte d’erlon’s column. The amputated leg later became a tourist attraction in the village of Waterloo in Belgium where it had been removed.
The 27-metre-high Marquess’ Column was completed after his death in 1860. As recently reported in the Mail, it is set to reopen, with works on a brand new visitor centre now under way.
His daughter also lost her hand while tending to her husband’s wounds on a battlefield in Spain, but no such monuments were erected for her, or for Edward Paget - the Marquess’ younger brother who also fought during the Napoleonic Wars.
Like his eldest brother, Edward also served as an MP for Caernarvon Boroughs, as it was known at the time (later in the 19th century it would become future Prime Minister Lloyd George’s seat).
Major-general Sir Edward Paget served in the British Army during the Peninsular War commanding the reserve at the Battle of Corunna in 1809.
During the advance to Porto, while crossing the river Douro, he lost his right arm.
Despite the serious injury, he was second in command under the Duke of Wellington two years later until he was captured by the French in 1812 and kept a prisoner until the war’s end.
A portrait of Edward stands next to his brother’s at Plas Newydd - the Marquess’ old country house in Llanddaniel Fab, near Llanfairpwllgwyngyll.
While Edward Paget was commended and his brother received a new title, the Napoleonic Wars cost the pair an arm and a leg.