James Graham (British Army soldier)
Graham saved the life of an officer, and his own brother, and was among the small group responsible for closing the North Gate at Hougoumont after a French attack – an act which won the Duke of Wellington's encomium.
[3] One of three brothers to serve in the British Army,[4] Graham enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards in 1813,[2] which was then stationed in England.
Almost all soldiers at the time signed on for life in exchange for a "bounty" of £23 17s 6d, a large portion of which was absorbed by the cost of outfitting "necessities".
[4] It was not unusual for Irishmen to join English or Scottish regiments after the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland; as a consequence many battalions during the Napoleonic wars had some Irish soldiers.
On 16 June 1815, Napoleon himself led men against Blücher at Ligny, while Marshall Ney commanded an attack against Wellington's forward army at the Battle of Quatre Bras.
Wellington had received news of Napoleon's position on the night of 15 June, and issued orders to his army to hold the ground at Quatre Bras.
[15] Graham's battalion, along with the rest of the 2nd Brigade, left Enghien, where they were quartered, at 3 a.m. on the morning of the 16th, for a twenty-five-mile march to Quatre Bras.
Hearing of Blücher's defeat on the morning of 17 June, Wellington ordered his army to withdraw level with his ally; they took position near the Belgian village of Waterloo.
[22] The day's battle began on 18 June 1815 at about 11 a.m. with a French attack on Hougoumont from the south-west, led by Napoleon's brother Jerome.
[23] Jerome continued his attempts to take the farmhouse throughout the day, making four or five assaults, most of which were repulsed by the defenders, who fired through loopholes, windows, and doorways.
[24] Graham's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonnell, led his men through the melee in the courtyard to the gates, in an attempt to shut them against the pressing French.
[24] Wellington monitored the action at Hougoumont until about 1 p.m., by which time he was content enough with the position's security to concentrate his own attention on the allied centre.
[14] During the battle, Graham also saved the life of Captain Wyndham – one of those who had shut the gate – by shooting a sniper whose musket was trained on the officer.
In August 1815, John Norcross, the Rector of Framlingham, sought to make over the income from a freehold farm to the "most deserving soldier at Waterloo"; he approached the Duke of Wellington, who nominated Graham.
11) make mention of Graham: [He] assisted Lieutenant-colonel Macdonnell in closing the gates, which had been left open for the purpose of communication, and which the enemy were in the act of forcing.
[2] It was reported in a number of books and newspapers in the years following that Norcross had recovered his fortunes enough to leave £500 in his will to "the bravest man in England" and that, once appealed to, Wellington again turned to the events in Hougoumont, selecting Colonel Macdonnell.
Graham's entry in the Dictionary of National Biography records only the initial annuity, and states that "various apparently incorrect versions of the Norcross gift have been published.
At the Royal Hospital of Kilmainham, Sergeant John Graham, formerly in the light company of the 2nd battalion of Coldstream Guards, the individual selected by the Duke of Wellington as "the bravest of the brave" in the desperate combat at Waterloo, in order to profit by the generous offer of the Rev.
Mr. Norcross, Rector of Framlingham, to confer a pension, during life, upon the soldier most distinguished in the brigade of guards on that glorious day.
[6]James Graham's exploits at Waterloo became much celebrated throughout Great Britain, and many accounts of the battle make reference to his actions, including a biography of Wellington,[41] the memoirs of another sergeant,[42] and Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words.
[47] The "Brick" – a stone from Hougoumont – is paraded through the barracks and hung up in the Sergeants' Mess with all the honour due to regimental colours.
A plaque on the building is inscribed with the words: "In Memory of Sergeant James Graham WM, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, "The Bravest Man in England", Following His Actions in Closing The Gates at Hougoumont Farm, Waterloo, 18 June 1815.
