Enduring Legacy
James Graham's exploits at Waterloo became much celebrated throughout Great Britain, and many accounts of the battle make reference to his actions, including a biography of Wellington, the memoirs of another sergeant, and Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words. The shutting of the gate was portrayed by artist Robert Gibb in 1903; the painting is currently held by the National Museums of Scotland. A watercolour portrait of Sergeant Graham himself is held at the National Gallery of Ireland.
The actions of Graham and Macdonnell continue to be remembered as an iconic moment in the battle of Waterloo. In 1915, cigarette manufacturers W.D. & H.O. Wills portrayed Graham and Macdonnell on one of the cigarette cards printed to commemorate the centenary of Waterloo. Since then, many authors of fiction concerning Waterloo have recreated the events at the gate, and even if they include their own fictional heroes they attribute the closing of the gate to Macdonnell and Graham.
The efforts of the Coldstream Guards at Waterloo, and Graham's gallantry, remain celebrated by the Regiment. Every December the Sergeants' Mess commemorate Graham's bravery with a ceremonial game "Hanging the Brick". The "Brick" – a stone from Hougoumont – is paraded through the barracks and hung up in the Sergeants' Mess with all the honour due to regimental colours. Also retained by the Regiment are Graham's Waterloo Medal and gallantry medal. In 2004 the Regiment named a new sergeants' accommodation block after him, in Lille Barracks, Aldershot. A plaque on the building is inscribed with the words:
"In Memory of Sergeant James Graham WM, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, "The Bravest Man in England", Following His Actions in Closing The Gates at Hougoumont Farm, Waterloo, 18 June 1815."
Read more about this topic: James Graham (British Army Soldier)
Famous quotes containing the words enduring and/or legacy:
“That we can come here today and in the presence of thousands and tens of thousands of the survivors of the gallant army of Northern Virginia and their descendants, establish such an enduring monument by their hospitable welcome and acclaim, is conclusive proof of the uniting of the sections, and a universal confession that all that was done was well done, that the battle had to be fought, that the sections had to be tried, but that in the end, the result has inured to the common benefit of all.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)