Leighton Library, Dunblane

Scotland's oldest purpose-built independent library founded in 1687

Leighton Library has 1816 edition of “A visit to Flanders, in July, 1815, being chiefly an account of the Field of Waterloo. With a short sketch of Antwerp and Brussels, at that time occupied by the wounded of both armies” by James Simpson

Added at 06:51 on 18 June 2025

It’s #WaterlooDay today, commemorating the Battle of Waterloo fought #OnThisDay 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The Leighton Library has an 1816 eighth edition of “A visit to Flanders, in July, 1815, being chiefly an account of the Field of Waterloo. With a short sketch of Antwerp and Brussels, at that time occupied by the wounded of both armies” by Scottish Advocate and author James Simpson. This depiction of the scene at the battle of Waterloo immediately after the event, includes a folding map. Simpson was a great admirer of the Duke of Wellington and his Army. Soon after the great battle, he visited the field and described what he saw, as well as making a collection of the reminiscences of the battle by "many of its gallant soldiers". Its great value lies in the collected notes being written so soon after the battle "that the marks of artillery wheels are still visible" and the spoils of war were being offered for sale by locals.

< Leighton Library has 1769 edition of “Miscellaneous works in verse and prose, of the late Right Honourable Joseph Addison, esq” by Joseph Addison