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The Battle of Waterloo, fought on 18 June
1815, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. His defeat put a
final end to his rule as Emperor of France. The Battle of
Waterloo also marked the end of the period known as the Hundred
Days, which began in March 1815 after Napoleon's return from
Elba, where he had been exiled after his defeats at the battle
of Leipzig in 1813 and the campaigns of 1814 in
France.
After Napoleon returned to
power, many countries which had previously resisted his rule
began to assemble armies to oppose him. The principal armies of
Napoleon's opponents were commanded by the
United Kingdom's Duke of Wellington, and Prussia's Gebhard von Blücher. These
armies were close to France's
north east frontier, and Napoleon chose to attack them rather
than wait for them to cross into France.
While the campaign hung in the balance for most of its duration,
the decisive battle became the Battle of Waterloo. Allied
forces, under Wellington, withstood a final French attack,
and counter-attacked while the Prussians, arriving in force,
broke through on Napoleon's right flank.
Hamish Moore
After graduating as a
veterinary surgeon in 1975, Hamish Moore worked as a vet until
1986 when he retired from The Ministry of Agriculture in order
to play music and make bagpipes professionally. Through his
recordings, teaching, and pipe-making he has done much to
promote the bellows blown pipes of Scotland.
Due to the social, political
and religious history of this country much of the rich, colorful
diversity of piping culture has been tragically lost and Hamish
has been at the fore-front of a renaissance promoting a
pre-military style of piping. This has been achieved principally
through his integrated approach to teaching, where the music is
taught through the medium of Gaelic song and as part of the old
step dance rhythms.
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