The man in the photograph is called Louis Victor Baillot.


 Mr. Baillot was born in 1793, and in the photo below, taken in 1897, he is 104 years of age. In 1812, at age age of 19, he was conscripted to serve with Napoleon Bonaparte. His Emperor called on him right as he returned from Russia. And when the Emperor calls, you answer!



So Baillot went and joined the Siege of Hamburg under Marshal Davout, and distinguished himself in battle. Then, a break… Napoleon lost his throne, was sent to Elba. But he came back with a vengeance and Baillot, along with thousands more veterans, joined his Emperor again as they marched to Belgium. He was there, that fateful day on Sunday 18, 1815, at Waterloo. The final battle of Napoleon. As Napoleon reviewed his troops and addressed them before the battle, Baillot saw him ride his horse. Heard his voice. It would be the first and only time he saw and heard Napoleon… A Scottish cavalry man nearly took off Baillot’s head, but the tin lunchbox he kept under his cap protected his skull and saved his life, but not without giving him a scar he was more fond of than any medal he received.

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