text: A gold trinket box presented to an officer famous for losing his leg at the Battle of Waterloo has sold for more than £100,000. The 18-carat gold rectangular piece was a gift to Lord Uxbridge, whose stoic exchange with the Duke of Wellington after losing his leg to a cannonball has become etched in history. In a famous example of the British stiff upper lip, after realising he was gravely wounded Uxbridge turned to the British military commander and said 'by God, sir, I've lost my leg', to which Wellington replied 'by God, sir, so you have!' Auctioned: This gold trinket box, presented to Lord Uxbridge for his heroics in The Battle of Waterloo, was sold to a private collector for more than £100,000 . His leg was buried near the battlefield but later dug up and used as a macabre tourist attraction. The gold Irish Freedom Box was given to the aristocrat, who was by then Marquess of Anglesey, in 1828 by Trinity College Dublin when he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The top has a finely embossed coat of arms with a frame of rocaille shells and foliage around it and the base has another coat of arms with a similar border. The cover coat of arms is Lord Uxbridge's, otherwise known as Field Marshal Henry William Paget. The coat of arms on the base is that of Trinity College Dublin. Famed for losing his leg: Lord Uxbrige commanded 13,000 Allied cavalry and 44 guns of horse artillery at the Battle of Waterloo . Piece of history: The 18-carat gold Irish Freedom Box was given to the aristocrat, who was by then Marquess of Anglesey, in 1828 by Trinity College Dublin when he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . The box is about three-and-a-half inches long and weighs just six ounces. It was sold by Bonhams to a private collector for £100,900. Jon Baddeley, managing director at Bonhams Knightsbridge, said: 'The battle of Waterloo was one of the most significant military encounters of the 19th century and the outcome had a profound effect on the future of Europe so not surprisingly there was a lot of public interest is this sale and the bidding from collectors was fierce.' Lord Uxbrige commanded 13,000 Allied cavalry and 44 guns of horse artillery at the Battle of Waterloo. At around 2:30pm, at a crucial stage in the battle, he led a charge of the 2,000 heavy cavalry of the Household Brigade and the Union Brigade to push back the French. The charge succeeded in sweeping the French infantry away but Lord Uxbridge was unable to rally his troops, who ran on in pursuit and were cut up by counter-attacking French cavalry. First ever prosthetic leg: When Uxbridge lost his leg he is said to have stoically remarked 'by God, sir, I've lost my leg'. This wooden limb, the firtst ever articulated wooden limb, was designed for him and remains in the Cavalry Museum at Plas Newydd, on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales . He spent the rest of the battle leading a series of charges by British light cavalry formations, and had eight or nine horses shot from under him. One of the last cannon shots fired on June 18 1815 hit his right leg - requiring it to be amputated above the knee. After being wounded, Lord Uxbridge was transported to his headquarters in the village of Waterloo. The remains of his leg were removed by surgeons - without antiseptic or anaesthetics. Bloody encounter: A painting of the Battle of Waterloo by William Holmes Sullivan . Another famous anecdote records the officer as saying 'the knives appear somewhat blunt' as he underwent the horrendous procedure. In recognition of his gallantry, the Prince Regent created him Marquess of Anglesey and made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath five days after the battle. On the one day of fighting at the Battle of Waterloo there were close to 55,000 either killed, wounded, or missing in action from both sides. The staggering density of the injured men - around 2,291 per mile on the front line - compared with 234 over the same area on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 - meant that a huge number were left to bleed to death on the battlefield.
target: Rectangular 18-carat piece was gifted to Lord Uxbridge for his heroics .
  After being hit by cannonball he remarked 'by God, sir, I've lost my leg'
  The cover of the three and a half inch box is Lord Uxbridge's coat of arms .
  It was sold by auction house Bonhams to a private collector for £100,900 .