Netherlands Artillery
in the Waterloo Campaign

Part II:
The Netherlands Artillery Officers

Carel Jan Riesz

reviewed by Geert van Uythoven, The Netherlands

Riesz was born in Hertogenbosch (present day Netherlands) on 28 October 1791. On 1 September 1806, he started his military career as an éleve on the artillerie and genieschool. After the Dutch Kingdom had become part of the French Empire, on 31 October 1810 he was appointed 2nd lieutenant in the French army. He was promoted first lieutenant on 21 September 1811, captain on 21 April 1813. He was pensioned out of the army because of sustained wounds on 18 September of that year, and subsequently enlisted in the Netherlands army.

The exploits of Riesz during the Waterloo campaign will be described in part 3 of this series. On 10 July 1815 King William of Orange informed Wellington that he would like to send the Indian Brigade to its original destination, the East and West Indies. This was laid down in a Royal Decree of 9 August 1815. As a result, Wellington fixed the departure date as 16 August. Arriving in the Netherlands the Colonial Brigade, including battery ‘Riesz’ was taken out of the Netherlands Mobile Army officially on 6 September. During October or November of that same year, Captain Riesz and his foot artillery company left for their destination in the East Indies. On 29 July 1831 he was promoted major-general of the artillery. He was pensioned out of the army in 1839, and died in Frankfurt-am-Main on 22 June 1856.

Netherlands Artillery in the Waterloo Campaign 1815 Part II: Artillery Officers

Netherlands Artillery in the Waterloo Campaign 1815 Part I [FE71]

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