Tournai before: The barrel tube reminds the Portuguese, thanks to the Belgians

Regionals exist? Yes, also in Portugal.

The bronze tube, placed on the floor of the Museum of Military History, preserves the memory of a Belgian epic. © EdA

Mess

1830 and the independence of Belgium, is the sacred union, the heroism of volunteers … However, the formation of the Belgian army at the end of 1830 was nothing but a mistake. It took two years to organize because “Our infantry units contain a large number of turbulent, exhausting and unruly elementsWe welcome the volunteer commitment for Dona Maria II, Queen of Portugal.

Colonel Le Charlier lived only for the army and the fighting. He will die from them on the way to Mexico. © EdA

Several campaign teams have been there since 1932. The “Tournai d’avant” will only focus on 1934 with the Portuguese (but Belgian) Tirailleurs from Le Charlier.

A commander appointed by the Ministry of War, Major Pierre-Joseph Le Charlier (1797-1847) has an astonishingly long record of service.

He was in Belgium in 1830, established in 1831, the effective Belgian Legion in London. This does not prevent his captain from calling him “v .”. real adventurer” And the The most gangster man in the armyBut Le Charlier imposing his authority on the world forces who trusted him completely, he died in 1847 in the sinking of his boat, which took him to Mexico, where a revolution was born.

An example of a Coehorn mortar in service in Portugal with its loading box. © EdA

In Hell

On February 29, 1834, 1,100 men, 80 Lancers, two three-pound cannons, and two mule-mounted mortars set out to join General da Bandera’s division. On February 29, 1834, he was on his way to Algarves (south) to fight a complex struggle against the “Caçadores” or revolutionaries and the enemy army. Marches, counter marches, captures of villages, victories and failures, this is the lot of this campaign.

Our opponents behaved wonderfully. Although abandoned by the agency, it is unable to provide them with bread or a uniform (Le Charlier made them at his own expense) and the wages paid months late without matching the ranks.

The bronze tube, placed on the floor of the Museum of Military History, preserves the memory of a Belgian epic. © EdA

On May 31, 1834, after the war ended, Le Charlier requested to return to Belgium and pay the arrears. The unit was exhibited before Queen Maria II on January 5, 35. The 664 passengers willing to return (200 left) were then carried until March 35 and their barracks were stationed at Newport.

And this cannon?

Charlier returns his artillery that was given to him. Cannon and mortar shells (disappeared after 1847) decorate his Espinate Garden. second cannonPresented by Colonel Le Charlier with the approval of King Leopold I to the artillery battery of the Civil Guard in Tournai in order to perpetuate the courage and behavior of the young men of Tournai“.

Which tourneys? Surnames are rare but there are François Bergé (1810-1836), Stanislas Buterin (1809-1839) and Auguste Moll (1808-1874), as well as others who remain unknown.

Here’s the gift. Six men and three horses bring the cannon in Ostend and proudly carry it on June 21, 1935 in front of a huge and enthusiastic crowd. The cannon, equipped with a cart and wheels, fell circa 1936 on the hill of the hotel that the gunners had just bought on St. Martin’s Street. This is where mass celebrations, birthdays and royal visits rain down.

The wagon’s wood and tube incorporation only resisted the Henry VIII Tower and then the Military History Museum.