Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium

Panorama of the Lion's hamlet looking toward Mont-Saint-Jean and its farm from the Lion's Mound. Postcard stamped on the 14th January 1919 in Waterloo.^[1]

Mont-Saint-Jean is a hamlet located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, south of Waterloo located partly on Waterloo and partly on Braine-l'Alleud where the National road (N5) going from Brussels to Charleroi crosses the National road (N234) going from Nivelles to Leuven.

History

Mont-Saint-Jean is on the reverse slope of the escarpment where the Battle of Waterloo was fought, and is the name Napoleon Bonaparte gave to the battle (la bataille de Mont-Saint-Jean). At the time of the battle there was a farm called Mont-Saint-Jean Farm, on the Charleroi–Brussels road about halfway between the edge of the escarpment and the village.

Les Miserables

In the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Volume II, Book I, Chapter X is called "The Plateau of Mont-Saint-Jean" and it describes the massive French cavalry attacks on the British infantry squares situated on the reverse slope of the escarpment at the height of the battle.

References

• Victor Hugo. Les Miserables, Chapter X: The Plateau of Mont-Saint-Jean
• Napoleon Bonaparte (1820). Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de France en 1815, avec le plan de la bataille de Mont-Saint-Jean
• Staff. Mont-Saint-Jean The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05.
• Staff. Battle of Waterloo: Section V Mont-Saint-Jean (Archived 2009-11-01) Encarta

References and Notes

1. ↑ Picture taken before the erection of the circular Panorama building.