Saint-Amand, Fleurus facts for kids
.svg)
Saint-Amand is a small village in Wallonia, which is a region in Belgium. It's part of the larger town called Fleurus. Saint-Amand is located in the Hainaut Province, near the city of Charleroi.
The village has a postal code of 6221. A long time ago, before 1977, Saint-Amand was its own separate town. But then, many small towns in Belgium joined together to form bigger ones. So, Saint-Amand became part of Fleurus.
You can find Saint-Amand by going north from Fleurus for about 2.5 kilometers. The road to Saint-Amand is called Chemin de Saint-Amand or Rue Emmanuel Dumont de Chassart.
A Famous Battle in Saint-Amand
Saint-Amand was a very important place during a big fight called the Battle of Ligny. This battle happened on June 16, 1815. It was a fierce fight between the French army and the Prussian army.
The town of Ligny is only about 2 kilometers northeast of Saint-Amand. The French army won this battle. However, both sides lost many soldiers. The French had about 12,000 soldiers injured or killed. The Prussian army lost even more, up to 16,000 soldiers.
Just two days after this battle, the French army was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. This loss at Waterloo effectively ended the war.
What a Soldier Said About the Battle
A French soldier named Captain H. de Mauduit, who was part of the Old Guard, wrote about the battle on June 16. He described how terrible it was:
At Ligny, more than 4,000 dead soldiers were piled on an area less in measurement than the Tuileries garden, some 300 or 400 yards square ... The aspect of the cemetery of S. Amand was not a whit less terrible ... The gallant 82nd of the Line (Girard's division), almost to a man lay here.
This quote helps us understand how many lives were lost in such a small area during the battle.
Saint-Amand-la-Haye: A Key Location
Fighting also happened in a small area called La Haye, which is part of Saint-Amand. This area was centered around a farm that had the same name.
The farm, called La Ferme de la Haye, à Saint-Amand, is still there today. On its wall, next to the road, you can see a special plaque. This plaque honors a brave French General named Jean-Baptiste Girard. He was badly wounded while defending Saint-Amand from a Prussian counter-attack.
