LIEUTENANT-GENERAL THOMAS PICTON & 32nd Regiment of Foot, Waterloo 1815

Lieutenant-General Thomas Picton
The body of Lieutenant-General Thomas Picton being carried from the Battlefield of Waterloo by two grenadiers from 1st Battalion of the 32nd Regiment of Foot.

Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton GCB, a Welsh officer of the British Army, fought in a number of campaigns for Britain in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible temperament". The Duke of Wellington called him "a rough foul-mouthed devil as ever lived", but found him capable. Picton came to public attention initially for his alleged cruelty during his governorship (1797–1803) of Trinidad, as a result of which he was put on trial in England for illegally torturing a woman. Though he was convicted, the conviction was later overturned.

He is chiefly remembered for his exploits under Wellington in the Iberian Peninsular War of 1807–1814, during which he fought in many engagements, displaying great bravery and persistence. He was killed in 1815 fighting at the Battle of Waterloo, during a crucial bayonet charge in which his division stopped d'Erlon's corps' attack against the allied centre left. He was the most senior officer to die at Waterloo. He was a sitting Member of Parliament at the time of his death. (source - wikipedia)

Illustration by David Higham