"June Weather 1815" Topic

Are there any records of the actual weather day by day in the Brussels area, June 1815?

Other than the heavy rain on the night of June 17th, what do we actually know about the weather/ground conditions on the 18th? I'm trying to rationalize the French in their greatcoats on this June day. Apparently it was dry enough to dry out the ground for artillery by noon.

We don't usually see images (or figures) of Allied troops in greatcoats/capes on the Big Day, though the debate over oilskins covers for the 2nd (Royal North British) is still raging on these boards.

We hear that the rank and file of the French infantry may only have had greatcoats for uniforms issued to them, But aren't greatcoats more expensive to provide that habits veste?

Why is the Guard depicted in their greatcoats towards the close of the day? Surely they would have been well equipped? Wouldn't they be rather warm sitting around in them until they were deployed?

Just want to run down the "evidence" where there is some. Perry's clearly feel greatcoats were very prevalent. Where does this come from?

"On the night before the battle it rained heavily and both the French and Allied forces spent the night in the rain and mud. Because of the heavy rain that night, Napoleon wasn't able to attack immediately as his artillery could not move until the ground dried.This forced him to delay the attack until eleven o'clock the next morning; a delay that cost him the whole battle."
link

The implication of the above is that Sunday 18th June was dry (otherwise the groubd would not have dried out enough for the guns to move).

I was under the impression the French tended to wear their greatcoats wether in Russia, Spain or where ever. It was normal dress for them. The British on the other hand only wore them when necessary, and then usually under orders.

link

lists an average temperature of 15C for Brussels in June, with lows of 11C and highs of 19C.

That is the kind of weather that I would go out in a sweater, or a windbreaker. So, for a soldier who spend a cold night in the rain, it's not like he walked into an oven by noon. He doesn't trust it, is still not warmed through and through, and he keeps on his greatcoat.

At least, that's what this ex-soldier would have done.

There are comments in Siborne's letters that suggest greatcoats were the norm (e.g. Eeles of the Rifle Brigade).

Many French troops had worn greatcoats as a matter of course over the previous years of war, even in the Peninsular. They would even remove the habit and wear the greatcoat instead at times.
I think I remember seeing somewhere that the reason British troops aren't generally shown wearing wet weather gear was that it had been left in Britain.

The weather in the morning was 'dismal'. The ground was still soft during the battle, just not as bad as when it had poured. Perhaps natural drainage made some improvement? Even so, Uxbridge describes the ground "manoeuvring on the plain, which was amazingly deep and heavy from the violent storm of rain, it only uselessly exhausted the horses."
Cathcart calls the ground "wet and slippery".

16th was so hot some British soldiers died from the run to Quatre Bras. British troops had been ordered to leave greatcoats at Antwerp.

17th was weather so foul that many commented on it being the worst they had ever witnesses. Everybody covered in mud, a witness mentions seeing the Life Guards and could not see even a patch of red, they being so plastered in mud, little sleep in the evening from the continuing lightning and thunder.

18th – Sunny, presumably pretty sunny for the haystack next to Hougoumont to catch fire (even after all the rain of the 17th). The desparate need to find water is mentioned by many after the battle (even those who had not been chewing powder all day). One KGL officer describes being so thirsty he drank from a puddle, only to discover it was horse urine!
Tasty.

Adrenalin and exertion will also make you very thirsty! Standing in formation with only a small canteen of water won't help either. It may have been sunny, but…

I've had a trawl through various books. Some refer to sunny weather but with no sources. I can't find any letters which specifically comment on the weather apart from the thunderstorm and the comment about the morning being dismal. Siborne says it was overcast all day, the sun breaking through as it set. I'd take this at face value if he hadn't commented about the sun co-inciding with the victorious advance. It makes it sound too much like a literary fluorish. Uffindell's book says that it was overcast with some breaks for the sun to come through in places. He says that it was the light wind which helped to dry the ground, but there are enough comments by French, British and German participants to make it clear that the drying of the ground was only by comparison to how the rainstorm had left it. It was still very heavy going for horses and slippy for infantry. The Prussians had an especially hard time as they advanced up the various defiles. Seeing what these are like now, I suspect that they would have been virtually streams after that rain fall.

As for clothing:
There is another letter, in Glover's collection of the originally unpublished Siborne letters. "…you must recollect that the French almost invariably fight in greatcoats…"

Wellington is described as wearing his cloak for at least part of the day, so the weather would seem to have looked somewhat uncertain

The Prussian approach was slowed by the need to drag the guns up slippery slopes, and carefully lower them down the other side, indicating that conditions were far from dry again.

The ground "drying enough for artillery" doesn't necessarily mean the local mud is fully dry and rock-hard again, it may merely imply dry enough for
- guns to be moved off-road without getting terminally stuck after a few yards; and/or
- roundshot to ricochet at least a little, instead of disappearing with a sucking sound on first impact.

Finally, with the downpour on the previous day, the men's greatcoats would have been soaked through, and only partly dried if at all by the small campfires. Rolling up a damp coat is inviting mildew in – the easiest thing to do when expecting to move is to keep it on once the sun breaks out.

Lacking facings, many buttonholes and being made to standard size, greatcoats would have been quicker and cheaper to produce than the habit-veste. This applied even more for the "Marie-Louises" of 1813 more than in 1815 I believe.

I have just returned from Waterloo, and stayed at the battle field for a couple of nights. One night there was heavy thunder and rain, not sure as heavy as on the night of the 17th !!! , but it was heavy.
Next morning it was interesting to see how water logged the ground had become in such a short time. In some areas the water was quite deep especially in the dips. The ground is very sandy in the area and was still water logged the next day in the dips. As I understand Waterloo does mean wet meadow.

Welly, "loo" usually means forest or wooded area, so "swampy forest" might be a better interpretation.

I was under the impression that another reason for the wearing of the greatcoats during this time (beyond the French tendency to like to wear them) was a lack of uniforms, and that many marched into Belgium with simply a shako and a greatcoat, more or less.

@Welly 1815: Yes it does get very "waterloo-ged" round here – I live 15 minutes' drive from the battlefield, and summer rains keep ruining my lawn… Pity we missed each other!

Actually, the ground is mostly loam, which will hold rainwater for days and produces the wonderful Flanders mud – even in Brabant. The area around la Haye Sainte has one of the rare deposits of sand, hence the Rifles' Sand Pit.

The greatcoat was not the heavy, lined item of modern wear. It was a loose, light garment, no heavier than the habite and far looser and far more comfortable. The whole idea back then was layering with layers of linen shirts, waistcoats, dress coats and then – in winter – overcoats.

The French (and Russians) simply substituted the overcoat for the tight, ornate habite for campaign dress.

Excellent research. Thanks to all who contributed. I'm convinced. Greatcoats it is.

1) British – a General Order from Wellington led to most, if not all, British infantry sending their greatcoats to Antwerp, or depositing them there en route to Brussels.

2) Dutch/Germans – It is possible some militia units did not have all their uniforms issued by June and were lacking some items.

3) French – A number of obserevers remarked on the line troops wearing greatcoats "as they had in Spain" (to those listed above I would add a staff officer from the 5th Dragoon Guards). The Garde units wearing greatcoats in the final assault on the ridge were from the 3rd/4th Grenadiers and Chasseurs, who were as poorly equipped as the worst of the line units.

Hi Musketier, had a great time in your country, certainly got muddy walking in the fields !