The letters provide a highly detailed description of the Battle of Waterloo, and of the Court Martial of Corporal George Cadwallder. In his letter of the 5th November 1834, Douglas Mercer explained to Colonel William Keate: ‘I have had a statement of the facts attending his conduct made out which is somewhat long but I think amounts to this, that, by the testimony of Mr Aston, who was eye-witness to his conduct, he [George Cadwallder], as Corporal at Hougoumont, was the first to advance with his section, & the last to retire before the French – that he and his party were shut out of the Chateau & were nearly surrounded by the enemy. Under these circumstances Cadwallder made the best of his way to the rear, instead of seeking out his Battalion.’ In addition to the letters the file contains extensive genealogical information and details of Douglas Mercer’s military service. It should be noted that the entire contents of this file are also available within the new on-line archive. 

Please note that the file does not contain images of the original documents, as the copyright and ownership of these items is retained by the source.