Jean-Joseph Charlier (15 April 179430 March 1886) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

artisan and revolutionary who became an iconic figure in the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...

. His participation as an

amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...

in the fighting near

Brussels Park Brussels Park ( ; or ) is the largest urban public park in central Brussels, Belgium. The park was formerly known and is still sometimes colloquially referred to as the Royal Park ( ; ). It was the city's first public park, being originally ...

during the Dutch attack on

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in September 1830 was widely praised, and he gained the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

Wooden Leg ().

Biography

Charlier was born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

on 15 April 1794. He worked as a

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

before enlisting in the French ''

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

'' and served as an artilleryman. He is believed to have been wounded at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in 1815 and had one of his legs was amputated. He subsequently lived with a wooden

pegleg A peg leg is a prosthesis, or artificial limb, fitted to the remaining stump of a human leg, especially a wooden one fitted at the knee. Its use dates to antiquity. History By the late 19th century, prosthetics vendors would offer peg legs as c ...

. After the outbreak of the

on 25 August 1830, Charlier was among the 250 volunteers from Liège who left on 3 September to defend

against an attack by a Dutch Army under Prince Frederick. He participated in fighting during the so-called September Days (''Journées de séptembre'') from 23 to 26 September 1830 near the

at the ''Montagne de la cour'' where he commanded the two

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s available to the revolutionaries. His role in the fighting was widely commemorated by subsequent writers and he became emblematic of the revolutionaries who had participated in the September Days after Belgian independence in 1831. He died at Liège on 31 March 1866.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlier, Jean-Joseph 1794 births 1866 deaths People of the Belgian Revolution People from Liège Belgian amputees French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège