Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-06-24

lngs on the other side of the ocean
and daily reads the cable dispatches
ana comments on the changes that
have taken place since he shouldered
a musket and marched from Brussels
To take part in the battle of Water
! loo
Having taken part in this battle,
lighting on the side OF the victors, is
OF itself great distinction, but being
among the last survivors of this battle,
in which over $50 900 men took part,
is to have honor thrust upon him,
Mr.. Beard thinks.
That the Englishmen of Massachu-
sets admire the man who fought with
| Wellington is evidenced by the fact
| that he will be present at the an
! niversary ceremonies and be the guest
| of honor Not only this, but monster
petition is being prepared, which will
| be presented to the queen, asking her
to grant a discharge to this former
soldier of Great Britain.
After an honorable service In the
army he left without leave, and. al
though this was so years ago. he de-
sires a discharge, and ambassador
| Pauncefote, the representative Of Eng
| land ut Washington, has taken such
an interest in the old gentleman that
there remains but little doubt in his
mind that an honorable discharge will
be granted him
Few men have lived more dram
attic life than Mr.. Beard. and he de-
lights in telling to the younger gener-
alton of the exciting times when Ma
poleon was spreading CONSERVATION
throughout Europe and England was
almost at his mercy. His ancestors
for several centuries had been In the
army. and his father was colonel OF
tho SiXty-siXth English regiment, sta
toned Mt London, when young Beard
was born. He visited London In 1870
and even then found It impossible to
discover exactly where the old fort
was located
On Nov Is, 1900, he was born, and
for IS years he lived with the sol
diers, saw them drill and was taught
military usage and drills
At the age of Is he joined the
regiment commanded by his father.
and few days after he had celebrated
his birthday he was regular soldier
in the service of England and a mem
Der of the SiXty-sixth regiment
while the regiment remained in
England" Mr., Beard said, "the re-
]
| tasks. | remember that the hls,
] enlisted | was detailed on the guard.
| had seen so many military evolu-
tons and been drilled so hard that
/. was proficient In that branch but
when it came TO walking up and down
| all night | remember | grew very
tired, | had an idea that my father
would be watching me, and, sure
enough, in the early morning / saw a
man approach, He was coming noise
lessly, and | thought that something
was wrong. j halted him, and It
proved to be the colonel of the regl-
ment, my father He had come out
to try me and found that | was doing
my duty That pleased him greatly,
but he did not show it. He only said
| that he was glad | was doing my duty
as n soldier and that ! was no longer
a boy, but was a man"
1t was shortly after this that the
regiment was ordered to the continent
To form part of the allied armies
against Napoleon, Young Beard ac-
companied his fathers commands. On
the marches through France and Del
GUM up TO the time the regiment came
near Brussels there was nothing Of in
cident
For four days before the battle OF
Waterloo he says that his regiment
marched back and forth from one
place to another and were almost al
ways within hearing distance OF the
French guns. They were not called
upon to enter the conflict until the
decisive day, when orders came early
In the morning to march to the
front, Young Beard was in the front
ranks Of his fathers command and
remembers, as If 1t were yesterday.
the squares formed by the English sol
diers whore the French cavalry
'foamed itself away"
Beard was wounded three times in
the hip, being struck by two bullets
at nearly the same instant and being
hit again as he lay wounded on the
ground. He was carried to the rear,
and there saw Napoleon as the latter
was on his retreat toward Paris
Shortly after the battle Of Waterloo
young Boards regiment was ordered
to Quebec, md he accompanied 1t
there 1t was soon after he reached
the age OF n that he secured a leave
Of absence for q few days. ostensibly
10 enjoy hunting in woods. He
had heard stories Of the fabulous
wealth TO be secured in the States"
and resolved that his experience in
the army should cease. With this
intention he left Canada and walked
TO Richmond. Me, where he married