Saint-Amand ( wa, Sint-Amand) is a village of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and a district of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

, located in the

Arrondissement of Charleroi The Arrondissement of Charleroi (; ) is one of the seven administrative arrondissements in the Walloon province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Charleroi ...

province of Hainaut Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Saint-Amand's postal code is 6221. Saint-Amand was its own municipality before the

fusion of the Belgian municipalities The fusion of the Belgian municipalities (French: ''fusion des communes'', Dutch: ''fusie van Belgische gemeenten'') was a Belgian political process that rationalized and reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium between 1975 and 1983. In 19 ...

in 1977 when it merged with Fleurus. Saint-Amand can be reached by traveling north about 2.5 kilometers from Fleurus on the ''Chemin de Saint-Amand'', which is also known as the ''Rue Emmanuel Dumont de Chassart''.

Battle of Ligny

Saint-Amand was the scene of fierce fighting between the French and Prussian armies during the

Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the Armée du Nord under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a ta ...

on 16 June 1815.

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' ...

is located 2.0 kilometers northeast of Saint-Amand. The French won the engagement but suffered 12,000 casualties. Prussian losses numbered as high as 16,000. The French defeat at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

two days later effectively ended the war. Captain H. de Mauduit of the French Old Guard wrote of the battle on the 16th,

Saint-Amand-la-Haye

Fighting also took place in the hamlet of La Haye centred around the farm of the same name. ''La Ferme de la Haye, à Saint-Amand'' still exists and on its wall next to the road is a plaque to the French General Jean-Baptiste Girard who was mortally wounded defending Saint-Amand against a Prussian counter-attack.

Notes

References

* * * {{Authority control Former municipalities of Hainaut (province) Battle of Ligny locations