Elessar2590's Grande Armee Project

Bit of a different one today. Today I’m going to present a very interesting story of a man who most people have heard of but who’s very unique story isn’t quite so well known. The Earl of Uxbridge and why Wellington hated him.

First Uxbridge, he’s this guy (the one that isn’t Wellington) from Waterloo.

Actually his name was Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge but Uxbridge is how history remembers him.  

Uxbridge was a swift rising British Officer in the Napoleonic Wars eventually commanding the British Cavalry in Spain under Sir John Moore. Moore was the British Commander in Spain before his death in 1809 after which he was replaced by Sir Arthur Wellesley, future Lord of Wellington. Uxbridge was actually quite a good Cavalry commander, being pretty successful in almost all his Cavalry exploits in Spain. British Cavalry was strange, Wellington once said  

” I considered our cavalry so inferior to the French
from the want of order , that although I considered
one squadron a match for two French,
I didn’t like to see 4 British opposed to 4 French :
and as the numbers increased and order, of course,
became more necessary I was the more unwilling to
risk our men without having a superiority in numbers.”

British Cavalry was notorious for “over charging” beyond their initial target, as they did at Waterloo to disastrous results.  

 So a fine young Cavalry Commander with a pretty successful career, lots of friends and an Earl for a father nowhere to go but up right?  

 Well not so much, by 1809 Wellington wasn’t the only Wellesley in Spain. Wellington’s brother Richard was the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and his other brother was the British Envoy to Spain. Safe to say if you want to get ahead in the Peninsular War you get in good with the Wellesley’s.  

What you don’t do is sleep with Henry’s wife, divorce your own wife then run off with the former Mrs. Wellesley. That would be a huge problem. No one would be that insane right, throw away over two decades of Military service including many years in active combat over a woman? Well Uxbridge did just that.  

Now when you run off with the someone like Henry Wellesley’s wife it tends to have a ripple effect. Uxbridge of banned from operating under Lord Wellington, so the entire Spanish War, he spent the next 5 years sitting on the sidelines before the 100 Days Campaign of 1815. With great apprehension Uxbridge served under Wellington as Commander of the British Cavalry.  

 Wellington despised him and you could say that Wellington had the last laugh as at the end of the battle one of the last cannonballs fired from the French guns hit Uxbridge and took off his right leg prompting the very famous “By god sir I’ve lost my leg” “By god sir so you have”. 

One last thing about Uxbridge. 

Being a professional bridge burner and pisser-offer of important people Uxbridge dove head first into the Queen Caroline infidelity affair he made a very public statement when asked to shout “The Queen” then, being a troll, added “may all your wives be like her”.