Camp Kettle

Hot food and drink as well as the warmth from a camp fire were all important things that kept soldiers going when on an arduous campaign. The night before Waterloo the sky poured down with rain. Many of the soldiers had to spend the night in the open air. The freezing wind and rain left almost every soldier who fought at Waterloo cold, wet, and short of sleep. Bad weather on the eve of the battle was often a feature of the Duke of Wellington’s campaign during the Napoleonic Wars. Some of the British soldiers saw it as an omen that victory would come the following day, as it had at the Battle of Salamanca in 1812.

Having the right equipment to cook with was as important as receiving an adequate supply of food. Ordinary soldiers as well as officers were issued with kettles and mess tins for cooking and eating. The complex design of this kettle, with a built-in spirit lamp, suggests it belonged to an officer.

An important innovation during the Peninsular War (1808-1814) was the introduction of tin kettles rather than iron ones. This eased the burden of carrying them and reduced the amount of time it took to boil and cook the food, a useful factor for soldiers faced with the constraints of campaign life.