Ensign Ewart fought in the French Revolutionary
Wars and was taken prisoner in Spain, but escaped and rejoined the
Greys, earning the rank of Sergeant by 1815.
June 1815 saw the Battle of Waterloo. Sergeant Ewart, along with
the rest of the 5th Division, moved to the crest of a hill to hold
the line. In the ensuing fight, Sergeant Ewart found a French
officer, whom he was about to cut down when an Ensign, the lowest
ranking officer, stopped him. Ewart turned to continue the fight
elsewhere, and heard a shot ring out. The Ensign was dead. He
charged at the officer, filled with rage, and cut him down. As his
horse continued the charging run, Ewart found himself in the middle
of the French column, close to a French Eagle.
A French Eagle is a staff, about ten feet high, with an eagle
clutching it, made from bronze. The symbol was designed to inspire
men, much like the flags of the British Army. To capture one would
bring the regiment great honour, to lose one, great shame. Sergeant
Ewart fought an intense skirmish with several Frenchmen, as well as
the Eagle Bearer, and eventually grabbed the staff and made off
with his prize.
In his own words: - "One made a thrust at my groin, I parried him
off and cut him down through the head. A lancer came at me - I
threw the lance off by my right side and cut him through the chin
and upwards through the teeth. Next, a foot soldier fired at me and
then charged me with his bayonet, which I also had the good luck to
parry, and then I cut him down through the head". Thus he made his
way to the Eagle, which he grasped firmly and carried off, and
earned himself a name forever as "the greatest and most illustrious
Grey in military history
The Sergeant returned to Britain a hero, and was honoured by being
promoted to Ensign by the Prince Regent, into the 5th Veteran
Battalion. This was rare in British Military History; at this time,
promotion to officer-class through the ranks was near
impossible.
In late 1816, Ewart received the Waterloo medal, the first medal
of its kind, awarded to all combatants at the Battle. This was new
because it was given to Officers and men alike.
Ewart left the army in 1821, when the regiment was disbanded. He
retired with full Ensign's pay. He married Margaret Geddes, from
Stockport, and moved to Hampson Street, Salford. He used his skills
from the battlefield to teach fencing and swordsmanship in
Salford.
He died in 1846 at the age of 77 and was buried beside the New
Jerusalem Church in Salford. The church, located on Bolton Street
near what is now Salford Central Station, was demolished years
later and the graves paved over. His body was then removed to
Edinburgh Castle where it now lies buried beneath a granite
memorial, while the Eagle and Standard are displayed in the Castle
itself.
