James Graham (1791–1845) was an Irish non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, recognised as the "bravest man in the army" by the Duke of Wellington. Serving in the Coldstream Guards, he was commended for his gallantry during the defence of Hougoumont, at Waterloo. Graham saved the life of an officer, and his own brother, and was among the small group responsible for closing the North Gate at Hougoumont after a French attack – an act which won the Duke of Wellington's encomium. He was rewarded with a specially cast gallantry medal and an annuity. After later serving in the 12th Royal Lancers, Graham was discharged in 1830 for ill health, and died at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 1845.
Early life and service
James Graham was born in 1791, in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland.
One of three brothers to serve in the British Army, Graham enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards in 1813, which was then stationed in England. Almost all soldiers at the time signed on for life in exchange for a "bounty" of £23 17s 6d, a large portion of which was absorbed by the cost of outfitting "necessities".
Graham was assigned to the battalion's light company, and, by 1815, had been made a corporal. It was not unusual for Irishmen to join English or Scottish regiments after the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland; as a consequence many battalions during the Napoleonic wars had some Irish soldiers.
The Coldstream Guards were a regiment of Foot Guards, a group of elite infantry regiments of the British Army. In background and natural attributes, recruits to the Foot Guards differed little from those recruited into other regiments, but they received superior training and were expected to maintain rigorous discipline. Wellington considered Guards NCOs to be among the best in the army.
The road to Waterloo
The United Kingdom and her Allies had been at war against Napoleon's French Empire since 1803, but by early 1814 Wellington's army had fought its way through the Peninsula to France, and the eastern Allies were threatening France's eastern borders. On 31 March 1814, allied armies entered Paris, and Napoleon abdicated on 6 April. Within a month of Napoleon's abdication, he had been exiled to Elba. It appeared that the war was over, and arrangements for the peace were discussed at the Congress of Vienna. But on 26 February 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France, where he raised an army.
The Allies assembled another army and planned for a summer offensive. The combatant Coldstream companies had been garrisoned in Brussels and Ath, where they were joined by the 2nd Battalion's remaining four companies in early 1815. In preparation for the coming offensive, Graham's battalion joined with the 2nd Battalion of the Scots Guards to form the 1st Division's 2nd Brigade. Basing themselves in Belgium, the Allies formed two armies, with the Duke of Wellington commanding the Anglo-Allies, and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher commanding the Prussians. Napoleon marched swiftly through France to meet them, and split his army to launch a two-pronged attack. On 16 June 1815, Napoleon himself led men against Blücher at Ligny, while Marshall Ney commanded an attack against Wellington's forward army at the Battle of Quatre Bras.
Wellington had received news of Napoleon's position on the night of 15 June, and issued orders to his army to hold the ground at Quatre Bras. Graham's battalion, along with the rest of the 2nd Brigade, left Enghien, where they were quartered, at 3 a.m. on the morning of the 16th, for a twenty-five-mile march to Quatre Bras. They reached Quatre Bras at 4 p.m., by which time the battle had been engaged for two hours. The Coldstream Guards immediately deployed into position to support the 1st Foot Guards, who were engaged with the enemy at Bossu Wood. Once the wood was cleared of French, Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonnell led the 2nd Brigade's light companies (including Graham's) in a counter-attack against Jérôme Bonaparte's Frenchmen, with other Guards companies in support. The various Guards battalions sustained heavy losses, but by 6.30 p.m. Wellington's position had strengthened. By 9 p.m., Ney had withdrawn his men, and Wellington held the field. The French had lost 4,000 men, the Allies 4,800.