This B flat bugle was manufactured by Snow of London and stamped, “Capt Ridge, Inventor.” It is a duty bugle made of copper with a brass rim and appendages. Badly dented, it was recovered in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The duty bugler on the British side was likely to have been around fourteen years old, and his task was to sound strategic calls during the battle. Trumpet or bugle calls were an important tool in the command systems of battles in this era, allowing for coordination among regiments. Whereas most sonic communication would be drowned out under a blanket of firearms, cannon fire, human screams, and the cries of horses— and visual communication could be impeded by the hanging smoke of black powder—bugles cut reliably through the noise. During the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, one of the main factors that resulted in Napoleon’s defeat was the breakdown of communication.