June 15th,1815 Waterloo - Brussels and the mythical Grand Ballroom
June 15th,1815 Waterloo - Brussels and the mythical Grand Ballroom
On the evening of June 15th, 1815, the Brussels elite had their own version of a suave, big rooftop party - then confirmed dire news party-crashed the event; Napoleon's army had launched an invasion of Belgium earlier that morning.
In the Spring of 1815, the Anglo-Allied Army - known as 'the Army of the Low Countries', commanded by the British Field Marshal, the Duke of Wellington, was readying for war in the coming mid-summer, at which time the rest of the nations in the gigantic Seventh Coalition would be ready with their armies, to coordinate together, to crush Napoleon and his French army one last time. Wellington's army assembled in Belgium alongside that of the Prussian army under Marshal Blucher, while their forces continued to build their numbers of troops.
In the middle of June, both allied commanders were confident they would not be attacked by Bonaparte. During that Spring, time was made for military reviews and festive parties to entertain the local nobles alongside Wellington and his generals. A grand ball in Brussels was prepared for June 15th, not to be held in a lavish ballroom, but seemingly instead, as muddled historical evidence later yielded, the choice was made to move to party to a spacious venue. Indeed, Wellington had a much bigger party planned for soon after, on June 21st, to celebrate his great victory over the French in 1813 during the Peninsular War, at the Battle of Vittoria.
In the Spring of 1815, the Anglo-Allied Army - known as 'the Army of the Low Countries', commanded by the British Field Marshal, the Duke of Wellington, was readying for war in the coming mid-summer, at which time the rest of the nations in the gigantic Seventh Coalition would be ready with their armies, to coordinate together, to crush Napoleon and his French army one last time. Wellington's army assembled in Belgium alongside that of the Prussian army under Marshal Blucher, while their forces continued to build their numbers of troops.
In the middle of June, both allied commanders were confident they would not be attacked by Bonaparte. During that Spring, time was made for military reviews and festive parties to entertain the local nobles alongside Wellington and his generals. A grand ball in Brussels was prepared for June 15th, not to be held in a lavish ballroom, but seemingly instead, as muddled historical evidence later yielded, the choice was made to move to party to a spacious venue. Indeed, Wellington had a much bigger party planned for soon after, on June 21st, to celebrate his great victory over the French in 1813 during the Peninsular War, at the Battle of Vittoria.
The numbers of invited guests far exceeded what the intended ballroom could accommodate; so
the hosts acted nifty to relocate the party - their version of an impromptu
modern-day rooftop party; but apparently, the new location chosen was not on a roof but a very
large coach-house in an adjoining street.
Contrary to romanticized paintings of the event over the years, depicting grandiose ballroom interiors as the backdrop, the elites had oodles of fun in the revised, very humble and suitably converted venue.
Contrary to romanticized paintings of the event over the years, depicting grandiose ballroom interiors as the backdrop, the elites had oodles of fun in the revised, very humble and suitably converted venue.
The party
was a blast up until close to midnight when the Duke of Wellington finally
received confirmation of foreboding reports of what he'd been receiving
earlier that day, that apparently only peaked his interest, rather than worry him into cautionary immediate readiness for war; Napoleon had launched and invasion of Belgium with his powerful army, catching Wellington and Blucher completely off-guard in
their complacency.
The party was over, and within the next three days one of the most legendary and brutal battles would be fought at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18th, 1815. Napoleon's mission to capture Brussels ended in his final ruin.
The party was over, and within the next three days one of the most legendary and brutal battles would be fought at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18th, 1815. Napoleon's mission to capture Brussels ended in his final ruin.
To see a more detailed overview of the ball of June 15th, visit;
The supposed coach-house where the Brussels Ball took place on June 15th, 1815, is debatable, according to some further research speculation.
Further information on this event, visit these chosen links;
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