This British 1st Foot Guard's (Grenadiers) was found at the grounds of the farm of Hougoumont on the immortal battlefield of Waterloo fought June 18th, 1815. Here the British Guards held off the French onslaught for hours taking tremendous casualties. "Despite the best efforts of the French troops, Hougoumont remained in Allied hands after nine hours of virtually continuous fighting. As the contest wore on, Napoleon shifted his attention to his main thrust against Wellington’s center. More than 7,500 French soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting. If Hougoumont had fallen, the right flank of the Allied army would have been in great peril. After his victory at Waterloo, Wellington commented, “The success of the battle turned on the closing of the gates at Hougoumont.”

This finely cast brass plate has its origins going back to about 1767 and was design to hold the flap of the cartridge box down in place. It reads in the Garter "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE ("Shame on him who thinks evil of it"). The cypher in the center is that of King George III. This example measures 3 inches by about 2 3/4 inches. Absolutely genuine, it came from a 19th century collection in Philadelphia along with dozens of other dug items from Waterloo. It was subsequently in the famous Daniel Adolphe collection of New Rochelle, NY and later the property of Professor I.K. Hay of Lancaster, PA. Historic.   [pe] [ph:L]

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