Watercolour of wounded soldier, Waterloo, 1815, Charles Bell

Soldier with missing arm, lying on his side, grasping a rope; inscribed "xiii, waterloo. . ". This is one of a series of watercolours by the surgeon charles bell (1774-1842) of wounded soldiers from the battle of waterloo. Bell had hurried from london to brussels in june 1815 to assist in treating the wounded. At the same time he filled a sketchbook with interesting cases which were subsequently worked up as watercolour paintings for teaching purposes. This man's left arm had been torn off by an exploding shell. An army surgeon had tied a ligature round his axillary artery to prevent bleeding, apparently on the battlefield itself. Other casualties were not so fortunate and bled to death before they could be treated. The soldier holds a rope in his right hand to help him manoeuvre his body. We know that this patient made a good recovery from later reports sent to bell by the surgeon left in charge after he returned to london. Archives & manuscripts keywords: waterloo; charles bell. Watercolour of wounded soldier, Waterloo, 1815 Wellcome L0022539