Wellington — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Wellington — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Notable quotes

“I believe I forgot to tell you I was made a Duke.”
— Postscript to a letter to his brother Henry Wellesley (22 May 1814), published in Supplementary Despatches and Memoranda of Field Marshal Arthur, Duke of Wellington, K. G.: South of France, embassy to Paris, and Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815. Editors: Arthur Richard Wellesley Duke of Wellington, Arthur Richard Wellesley Wellington (2d Duke of). Editor: J. Murray, 1862. Origin of the original: Universidad de Michigan. Digitized: 28 November 2006. p. 100. Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington
“The history of a battle, is not unlike the history of a ball. Some individuals may recollect all the little events of which the great result is the battle won or lost, but no individual can recollect the order in which, or the exact moment at which, they occurred, which makes all the difference as to their value or importance.”
— Letter to John Wilson Croker (8 August 1815), as quoted in The History of England from the Accession of James II (1848) by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Volume I Chapter 5, p. 180.; and in The Waterloo Letters (1891) edited by H. T. Sibome
“I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.”
— On Napoleon Bonaparte, in notes for 2 November 1831; later, in the notes for 18 September 1836, he is quoted as saying:
“Mistaken for me, is he? That's strange, for no one ever mistakes me for Mr. Jones.”
— In response to being told that the painter George Jones bore a strong resemblance to him, and that he was often mistaken for him, as quoted in My Autobiography and Reminiscences Vol. 1 (1887).
“We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be, detested in France.”
— As quoted in Wellington and His Friends (1965) by Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, p. 138, and in The Economist (16 June 2005)
“At first it was a lie, then a strong delusion, and at last downright madness.”
— Wellington's assessment of George IV's claims that he had been present at the Battle of Waterloo as later recalled by Earl Russell, quoted in Lady John Russell: A Memoir (1910), edited by Desmond McCarthy and Agatha Russell. p. 221

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.