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BATTLE OF WATERLOO,
LIGNY AND QUATRE BRAS,
UESfRlBED BY EYE-WITNESSES AND BY THE t^EBIES OF OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS PUBUSHED BY AUTHORITY.
fHaamri of
F.M. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON,
F.M.. PRINCE BLtjOHER,
THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON,
Bt GEORGK J0XE3. Esg. K.A. ELEVBNTR BDITIOS, ENLARGED AND CORRECTED.
LONDON : L. BOOTH. DUKE STUEET, PORTLAND PLACE.
AND ALL BOOKSBLLRRS.
t '
FACSIMILE NOTE.
The subjoined Facsimile of a Note from His Grace the Duke of Wellington, written to the late Editor and Publisher of this Work, acknowledging the receipt of a copy of a former Edition, will not oidy be of value to the curious in autographs, hut form an interesting introduction to this Edition.
DuKB Street, September 30, 1852.
•^."^ - . y^
I
FACSIMILE NOTE.
The aubjoined Facsimile of a Note from His Grace the Duke of Wellington. written to the late £ditor and Publisher of this Work, acknowledging the receipt of a copy of a former Edition, will not only be of value to the curious in autographs, but form an interesting introduction to this Edition.
DuKS Stbxet, September 30, 185S.
'--^''•"^j^^
^^:^^^^.
FACSIMILE NOTE.
The subjoined Facsimile of a Note from His Grace the Duke of Wellington, written to the late Editor and Publisher of this Work, acknowledging the receipt of a copy of a former Edition, will not only be of value to the curious in autographs, -■at form an interesting introduction to this Edition.
DuKS &rBXEr, September 30, 1852.
1
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FACSIMILE NOTE.
The subjoined Facsimile of a Note from His Grace the Duke of Wellington, written to the late Editor and Publisher of this Work, acknowledging the receipt of I eop7 of a former Edition, will not only be of value to the curious in autographs, liut form an interesting introduction to this Edition.
DuKX Street, September 30, 1662.
TABLE O'F CONTENTS.
A Brief Memoir of F.M. the Duke of Wellington, K.G. &c. <bc.
Memoir of F.M. Prince Bliioher
Count Bulow
Memoir of the Emperor Napoleon
References to and Memoir to explain Crann's Map. Description of the Panoramic Sketches.
P. i-lxxzii
Ixzxiii'^zzxTi
Ixxxvi
Ixxxvii-czxxiii
PART I.
Page
The first intelligence at Brussels of
the commencement of hostilities 1 Ditto in London .... 1 Haste and preparation of the troops
to march to battle ... 2 Unconcerned feeling of the coun- try inhabitants contrasted with the martial bustle ... 2 Excellent order of departure of the
troops 3
Confidence in their General . 8
The quietude of Brussels on the
departure of the troops . 4
Duke of Wellington and Sir Thomas
Picton leare Brussels 4
Various unfounded reports in the
first moments of suspense 4
First correct news of the battle at
Brussels 5
Terror and suspense relieved . 6 Highlanders received the first onset 6 Scared Fille-de-Charabre . . 0 Flight of the Belgians ... 7 Intelligence of the action of Quatre
Bras 6
Ferocious character of the war be- tween the Prussians and French 8 Duke of Brunswick killed, and ar- rival of his corpse at Brussels . 8 Airival of the wounded at.Brussels 8 Retreat of the Duke of Wellington
upon Waterloo .... 8 Bliichex's retreat npon Wavre . 8 Superior generalship of the Duke
of Wellington .... 9 Unpopularity of the French in
Belgium 9
Disappointment of Buonaparte's •efeet friends at Brussels . 9
PSfS
Confusion on the road arising from
panic 10
Consternation at Antwerp for three
days 10
Further flight of the fugitives to
Holland 11
Arrival of the news of the Battle
of Waterloo . . . .11 Exalted feelings on the occasion . 11 Description of the field of battle . 12 Heights occupied by the French . 12 DiUo by the English ... 12 Farm of La Haye Sainte .12
Extent of the field of batde . . 12 French position, superior . 12
Waterloo, situation of . .12
British force, estimate of . .12 French ditto, ditto . . . 18 English commanders of corps, divi- sions, and brigades, cavalry, and infantry . . . . 13, 14 Abstract of the artillery forces . 14 Road from Brussels to Genappe . 14 SoHtary woman in a farm-house
during the battle
Most advanced post of the British
army .....
Situation of Gen. Picton's division
Quarry in front of the British
position 15
Mont St. Jean . .15
La Belle Alliance, where Blucher
and Wellington met, and where
Buonaparte cUrected many of his
operations from .16
La Haye Sainte, slaughter great
near this spot . . . .16 Ch&teau Hougomont, or Gomont . 16 The conunencement of the action 16
14
15 15
J
^
11
TABLE OF CX)NTENTS.
General Byug's Brigade of Guards 16 Napoleon and French Imperial
Guards 16
Destruction of Hougomont and
grounds 16
Appearance of the field of battle . 17 Standards of the Invincibles taken 17 Seij. E wart's, of the Scots Greys,
letter on taking tlie Eagle . .17 French Eagles highly ornamented IK Shaw, of the Horse Guards . . IH The fall of Sir W. Ponsonby . 18
Observator)' . . .19
Endeavour to persuade the Bel- gians to revolt . . . .10 French promise of plunder at
Brussels for three days . .10 The advance of tlie Prussians . 19 Duke of Wellington at the begin- ning of Uie acUon . .10 Duke of Wellington near being taken prisoner . . . .20 > traita of character . 20
. 20
I
21 21
21
21 21
22
23 23 22
23 23
Colonel de Lancy wounded . Farm at La Haye Sainte, the scene
of great contest, given up for
want of ammimition . French reserve . . . • Attempts of the enemy to separate
the British and Prussians . Gallant conduct of the 28th Begi-
ment
French Cuirassiers
Sir Thomas Picton's division and
fall
71st Begiment . . , . 02d Begiment .... Graves, or pits of dead . Bivouac on the 17th and 18ih of
June .....
Policy of the Duke of Wellington . Desperate and final effort of the
enemy 23
Arrival of the Prussians . 23
Impetuous and glorious charge of
tiie English, and rout of the
enemy ..... Bliicher during the battle Meeting of the Duke of Wellington
and Prince Bliicher . Duke of Wellington's emotion in
crossing the field after the battle The day of battle one of sorrow and
of glory
Desolation and distressing scene
of the field and surrounding vil- lages, &c. .... Humanity of the Belgians Merciless barbarity of the French Appearance of the field afl«r the
battle
Boflections upon the rictory
23 24
24
24
2ft
26 26 26
20 17
I^>rd Castlereagh's sentiments, and introduction to the private com- munications . . . .30
Letter from an officer to his friend in Cumberland, from tlie Camp ofClichy 32
Duchess of Bichmond's ball . . 32
The retreat to Waterloo covered by Lord Uxbridge . . .34
Buonapario, ha\ing tried the right, turned to the left, but unsuc- cessful ; retreated with great steadiness .... 34
Buonaparte changed again his plan of battle 3.'V
Three o'clock to eight o'clock the "tug of war" .... 35
Four regiments of the 6th division almost destroyed without firing a shot 45
Letter from an officer in the Guards 36
French Cuirassiers charging two German guns at Quatre Bras 38
Belgian Light Cavaliy stniggle with Cuirassiers . , , SH
Bespect to tlie remains of four officers ..... 39
Brunswickers salamanders . 41
Mfgor Lloyd of the Artilleiy . 42
Guards, Duke of Wellington, and Imperial French Guards . . 42
Steadiness of the British troops . 42
Gallantry and devotion of a French officer 42
English cavalry penetrated the French squares . . .42
liCtter from an officer in the Guards 44
Battle of Quatre Bras . . .44
Handsome affair, General Byng and Guards . . . .40
Letter from an officer in the 2d Life Guards . . .49
Duke of Wellington on the charge of the Household troops . .51
Letter from an officer in the Light Dragoons 51
Cruelty of French to prisoners . 51
Letter from an officer in the 42d Regiment 5:?
Sketch to illustrate the operations of the 92d 63
Letter from an officer in the 92d Regiment 54
Humanity of Scot<*h regiments . 58
Bivouac near Landrecy after the battle 5ft
An officer in the Royals, battle of Quatre Bras .... 5S
Letter written on the field of battle, June 19th 5H
Letter from Charleroi . . . 00
from Brussels . .01
from a German ofticor . Oi
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
m
Page Idgny and Genappe described 63
Science and knowledge at critical moments of little avail, as im- portant results often arise from accidental and trifling causes . 64 Fears of an army its worst opponent 65 Letter from Prince Saxe Weimar,
^e day after the battle . 66
Letter from an officer in the Duke
of Brunswick's army 68
French letter from Fleurus . 60
Duke of Wellington's letter from
the field of battle . . . 70 Prince Bliichei's ditto . .71
— — — to his wife . . .71 Prassian officer's (of high rank)
letter 71
Buonaparte's carriage, equipage,
&c, capture of . .71
Contents of ditto described . .71 Letter attributed to Gentz, from the
Allied Sovereigns' head-quarters 75 Restitution of the works of art .77 Letter by Duke of Wellington to
Lord Castlereagh . . .78 Letter by Prince Bliicher to Mufflin 82 Anecdotes of the Prince of Orange. Of a Cumberland regiment of Hussars. Of the Duke of Bruns- wick's fall. Of a Life Guards- man. Of a private of Scotch Greys. Of Irish regiments. Of Prince Bliicher and the Miller at Ligny. Of Frederica M*Mul* len Waterloo. Seijeant Graham of the Guards. Buonaparte's projects. Characters of French and Hanoverians discovered after the action in field of battle. Eagles deposited at Whitehall 82-88 French officer's interesting account of the last campaign of Buona- parte, who was an eye-witness 89-116 Buonaparte's conduct during the
battle 116
Anecdote of Captain Elphinstone .118 La Coste's narrative . .119
Col. Cheney of the Scotch Greys . 120 Meeting of the Duke of Welling- ton and Lord Uzbridge . .120 Waterloo since the battle . . 120 Earl of Uxbridge's heroic firmness 120 Buonaparte's premature declara- tion, Lacken .... 122
after the battle and at
Paris 122
wishing to go to America 126
letter to the Prince Ke-
gent 127
— on board the Bellerophon 127
Buonaparte and Sir H. Bunbury, Lord Lowther, Mr. Lyttleton, ^tc 100-13(i
protest
Pag«
137
Captain Paget's, and further con- versations and remarks by Buo- naparte 136
Buonapaile's passage and arrival at St. Helena . . .140
Field of Waterioo from Mont St. Jean, &c. already classic ground 141
The Forest of Soignies new Via Sacra 141
Field of battle — one month after the battle . . . .142
Duke of Wellington's Dispatch af- fords a clear idea of the position 142
appointed Commander
on the Continent of Europe . 142
Prince of Orange takes leave of the troops in consequence, by a ge- nend order .... 142
Duke of Wellington assumed the command, 11th April . . 143
■ formed the whole force, British, Hanoverian, and Dutch, into two corps .... 143
' regulations for the same 143
Cavalry and Horse Artillery ad- mired much in passing through the Ketherlands . . .143
— — ^- thought to be too showy to be good .... 143
Opening of the campaign . 144
Station of the French corps . .144
Buonaparte takes Charleroi . .145
Brussels the head-quarters o tlie Duke of Wellington . . . 145
Forces on the Belgic frontier could be collected at any given point in twelve hours . % . . 145
The Prussians occupied the ^- maining frontier . 145
— defended their out-posts
with great bravery, and stopped the enemy's further progress on the 15th 146
Dutch troops in advance on the 15th 146
British 5th Division and Duke of Brunswick leave Brussels, 2 p.m. 16th 147
Bliicher meets the French on the 16th 147
Buonaparte reconnoitred Bliicher's position . . . . . 147
French advance in overpowering masses 147
Bliicher finally supports himself . 147
British arrive at QuatreBras at two in the afternoon on the 16th 147
Guards anivc at four o'clot-k . .148
IV
TABLE OF OONTENTa
Pag«
The French driven in . . 148
Arriyal of the whole British force at dajlight of 17th . .140
News of Bliicber's retiring to Wavre 149
English retrograde movement . 149
Tempestuousda^ and night of 17th 150
Advance upon Hougomont on the 18th 151
Various description of attack dur- ing tlie day at Waterloo . 151-156
Hougomont the material point of attention and operation .159
■ described . .159
J Jerome Buonaparte com- mands the attack .160
— — , General Byng and rein- forcements of Guards . . 162 , loss at . . , 162 , or Gomont, the history of 163
Abtoj^kbt Opebationb.
Commanders of troo^is and brigades 1 65
Rogers's and Lloyd's brigades at Quatre Bras . . .166
Desertion of a French officer . 167
Artillery of much use in covering the retreat on the 17th . . 167
For some hours the action was chiefly with artillery . . 169
Capt. Kamsay buried . . 170
English guns taken and retaken repeatedly . . . .169
Beturas of French artillery taken . 171
Fire of artillery a£fording repose, and confirming the steadiness of infantry .... 171
Every man's a^m raised against that of another .... 172
Ailer tm mingled mass had ebbed and flowed, the enemy began to give way 173
Weak point of Hougomont rein- forced by other artillery . .174
Other artillery ordered to the right of Sir H. Clinton's position . 1 74
Ground gradually declined upon the crest of our position . .175
Attacks of the enemy and recep- tion particularly described . 175
Fatigue of the artillery very preat 176
Rapid advance of the reserve Horse Artillery 176
Brigades under Rogers, Saoilbam, and Lloyd, their position . .176
Capt. Bolton's, afterward Napier's brigade ..... 170
flanking wood at Hou- gomont 176
Pace
Capt. Bolton's great exeootion at Uie dose of the action . . 177
Reports of the officers searching for the enemy's artilleiy veiy in- teresting 179
Discovery and sufferings of the wounded ..... 179
Returns of Artillery killed and wounded, and forces in Belgium 407
Earl of Uxbridge and Cavalry Operations .... 180
Review at Schendelbeke . . 180
Debouche on 17th June at Ge- nappe 181
Marquis of Anglesey's Letter to the 7th Hussars . . 181
received his wound . 183
-^— — happy combinations in this nobleman . . . .183
Sir W. Ponsonby's brigade of ca- valry 184
, fate of . . . . 180
Letter fVom Seijeant Crichley, lat Dragoons 187
Sir Ormsby Vandeleur's and Sir Richard Vivian's brigade of ca- valry 188
Important movement and change at the close of the day . . 188
Letter fVom an officer of 18th Hussars ..... 189
fVom John Marshal, 10th
Hussars 190
from an officer, 13th Light
Dragoons 195
from an officer . . . 196
of high rank . . 197
Infantry 3d Brigade, under M^jor- General Adam, in Sir Heniy Clinton's division . . . 199 Letter from John Lewis, 95th
Regiment . . . .199
Extract of a letter by an officer in
Lord Hill's coi-ps . . .202
Army of Observation . 202
28th Regiment . . . .203
General Lord Hill's order of the
day after the battle . 215
Anecdotes, Tra-ts, Ac
Lieutenant Irwin .... 203 General Picion on 16th . . 204 Private Fry of the 28tl: seizes an
Eagle 204
Lieut. Deare's gallant conduct . 204 Sir J. Kempt, Sir D^nis Packe, Sir P. Belson, and Sir J. Lam- bert 204
TABLE OF C0I7TENTS.
Pac*
Migor (MeDzies) and private 4SSd Higluanders .... 205
Bighland Soldier, 02d . . 205
Hont St. Jean and its peasant . 206
Tcffeigner's testiinony of regard for Highlanders . . .206
Migor Mnttlebuiy and 69th Regi- ment 206
FrsDch exasperation at the good practice of our artillery . . 207
Gapt Thoyts wrests an Eagle from a French officer . . . 207
Betom of an officer alter the battle 207
lieut. Tathwell of the Bines seizes an Eagle 207
Officer of the Inniskillings, perilous situation 207
Lient-CoL Dahymple of the 15th Hnssars 208
Horses wounded, or without riders 208
Oen. Maitland . . . .208
CoL Colquitt of the Onaids . . 208
Rose de Gnerre and Gen. Halket . 209
lient. Morean and La Haye Samte 209
Waterloo a battle of Giants . . 209
Hon. Colonel Ponsonby severely wounded 209
fired over by Tirailleurs,
as their breastwork . . 210
Seijt. Taylor of the I8th Hussars and Cuirassiers . 190
Last gun fired by the English was a French howitzer, by Captain Campbell 218
Duke op Weixdiotok, when he received the first news of the opening of the Campaign by the I^ce of Orange . . 211
The second courier^s arrival ; dis- patches delivered in biJl-room at the Duchess of Bichmond's ; his momentaiy abstraction while making his decision . . . 211
Cordiality of operations between Wellington and Bliicher . .211
Wellington with Bliicher at the win£nill at Ligny, at half-past eight o'clock on the 16th . . 212
WelUng^n's ruse on changing po- sidon on the 17th . . 212
The Duke of Bichmond in the field of action . . . .212
Mr. Whitbread's opinion of the Duke of Wellington . . .218
The Duke of Wellington and God- frey of Bouillon . . . 213
Betreat,— Genappe, — and General Duhesme 214
No water on the field of battle after the action 214
lieutenant-Gen. Lord Hill's ge- neral order after the battle . 215
Anecdotes and particnlars com- municated by French officers .216 Buonaparte on the 17 th at CaiUou 216 His lodging and breakfast . .216 General Yandamme wounded . 21 7 Signs of distress of a brother mason by an English officer, and French kindness . . .217 Buonaparte and Grenadiers, nine
o'clock 217
Seven officers sent to Grouchy, the
last only reached . . 218
Gen. Drouet and Gen. Bourmont . 218 Extract from Warden's Letters on the conversation with Buona- parte and his officers respecting the battle of Waterloo . 219
Becital of details by a Belgio officer 220 Grant to the Prince of Orange . 222 Anecdote of Lord March . 222
Emperor of Russia, &c visit to the
field of Waterloo . .222 General Count Drouet's account of the Campaign, which states a 5th corps. This account drew Marshal Ney's statement for- ward 223
Operations of Grouchy'sooips .228 De Coster's attested Narrative of 'Buonaparte during the action,
&c 280
Field of battle one month after
the battle, described . . . 234 Field of Waterioo in 1850 . . 267 Duke of Wellington's answer to
the thanks in Parliament . . 237 Prince Bliicher's ditto . . .237 The Speaker's Address to Lord Edward Somerset and Sir Henry Clinton, with their Keplies . 239
Fn»T AsinvBBaABT.
Considerations upon the retom of the 18th of June, 1816 . 243
Anniversary of the day at Windsor, Brussels, Ac 246
Appropriate address and grace to Uie soldiers at Windsor .247
SZCOMD Ahhivxbsabt.
Waterloo Fund Subscription . 249 Waterioo Bridge opened . . 251 C^ebration at Vienna, Hanover, Prussia, Brunswick, Ae, . . 255
The last Waterloo Banquet, 1852 259
VI
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
MlIJTARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES
or THE Fallen Heroes.
Duke of Bmnsvick . . . 272 Comet Bernard .... 205 CaptAin W. Buckley . . 2«2
Major Robert Caimes . . 285
Colonel Cameron . . .281
lieat-Colonel Canning . . 288 Captain Caasan . . .202
Captain Chambers . .291
Lieut.>CoIonel Currie . 287
Captain Carzon .... 288 Captain Davidson . . 205
Sir W. Delancy . . . .289 lieut-Colonel SirF. D'Oyly . . 285 Colonel Sir H. Ellis .290
Lieutenant Elwes .... 294 Colonel Ferrior .... 285 LieuL-Colonel Bichard Fitzgarald 286 Lieutenant Foster . .287
Colonel Fuller . . .205
Lieutenant Geale .... 293 Lieut-Colonel Sir A. Gordon . 295 Migor Graham .... 293 Captain Gubbins . . .203
Colonel Hamilton . . .280
Mfyor Hawlyn .... 287 Captain Hobhoose .291
Mi^or Hodge . .282
Mi^or Howard .... 208 Lieutenant E. D. Johnson . 287
Captain J oUifte Captain Lind Mcgor Lloyd Colonel Macara . M%jor Madaine Lieutenant Magniac Lieut* Colonel Miller M^jor Packe Lieut.-General Sir Thomas General Sir W. Ponaonby Lieutenant Pym . Lieutenant Robe . Comet Shuldham Mi^or Smyth Lieutenant Sqnires Lieut-Colonel Stables Lieut-Colonel Thomas Lieutenant Wightwick Captain Windsor .
Page
. 287 . 290 . 294 . 281 . 294 . 290 . 292 . 290 Picton 282 . 289 . 293 . 291 . 292 . 293 . 295 . 293 . 291 . 292 . 293
Monumental inscriptions of the
several Officers—
Buried in the Church at Waterloo 290
in the Wood of Soignies . 297
at Braine-la-Leud . 297
at Brussels . . .297
at Hougomont . 297
at Halle . .298
German Legion at La Haye Sainte 298 Sir A. Gordon at La Haye Sainte 296
PART II. OFFICIAL AND AUTHENTICATED PAPERS.
Introduction .... 801
First news in London of the begin- ning of hostilities, four o'clock, June 20th . . .304
Bulletin giving the first news of * the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo 304
Duke of Wellington's account of the operations, published by the British Government . . . 305
Hanoverian account, and killed and wounded . .310
The Prince Regent's thanks to do. and honours .... 315
Dutch account of the battles and loss 317 I
Prussian account of the battle of i
Charleroi 320 !
Prussian account of the battle of ligny, on the 16th . .321
of Waterloo on the I8th 323
Bliicher's thanks to the Prussian army 326
Russian account of the battle . 327
Austrian ditto .... 329
Spanish ditto .... 334
Order of the day, June 20th, and Duke of Wellington's regulations on the troops entering France .
Prussians and English in their progress to the French capital .
French proposals for commis- sioners to be appointed .
Abdication of Buonaparte
Advance to and capture of Paris .
Convention of Paris
Entering of the French King
Austrian, Russian, &c. proclama- tioDs, &c. .....
Bliicher and Wellington's farewell and address to the Mayor and inhabitants of Brussels, &c.
Humanity of the inhabitants at Brussels 362
Prussian address respecting the delay of payment of the contri- butions 362
French exactions, 1794 and 1705 . 363
341
845
347 S47 349 352 354
355
361
Prince Regent's message on the Duke of Wellington's success . 364
Thanks of Parliament to the Duke ofWelhngton .... :j«4
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
Prince Regent's message and roeech in Parliament on closing the Session, extract . . . 865
Address to and answer of the City of London 366
Buonaparte's ahdication, and decla- ration to the French in favour of his son and to the army . 367
wishes to he received
under conditions on hoard the Bellerophon, Captain Maitland . 860
received on hoard the
Bellerophon, &c. . . . 360
Cessation of hostilities with France hy sea 370
Earl Bathnrst on Buonaparte's fti- tare treatment .... 371
St. Helena, foreign Powers ex- cluded from .... 372
General Buonaparte's arrival at St. Helena . .374
VII Page
Extract from Buonaparte's mili- tary letters, &c. from his leaving Paris to join the army . . 375
Declaration to his soldiers previous to his attacking the Prussians . 376
French position .... 378
■ official accounts of the hattles, &c 370
Ligny .... 370
Mont St. Jean . . 382
General Count Drouet's statement 223
Ney's observations on the cam- paign and on Brouet . . 3H5
Grouchy's official report after the battle of June 18th . .380
Protocol of the conference between the Plenipotentiaries of Austria, Russia, Great Britain, Prussia, and France, as a basis for a ge- neral Peace . 301
Army of Occupation and the com- bined forces of the Allied armies who entered France . . 803
PART III.
Alphabetical List of killed and wounded . . 307-403
British and Hanoverian effective force of each regiment . . 404
British regimental loss . 404
Dutch loss 405
Prussian loss .... 405
Effective strength of the several regiments of the British army on the 18th of June . . .406
Abstract of killed, wounded, and missing of the Royal Artillery June 16-18 . . .407
Waterloo honours, privileges, and with the Brevet . . .411
Extracts from the Journals of Par- liament of the names of officers thanked 400
— for a national monument 410
Officers admitted to the military Orders of the Allied Sovereigns 412
Officers admitted to the most honourable military Order of the Bath 412
Prince's Order for the Waterloo Medal, and for wearing the same 421
Gen. Sir Charies Colville's Divi- sion Order .... 422
Gen. Sir James Kempt's do. . 422
Gen. Bloomfield's Letter to 0 brig. Artillery 423
Forty-fourth Regt. 2d bat. honours conveyed to the 1st bat. . . 423
Pensions for losing an eye or limb, &c. <fcc 424
officers' widows, regi- mental 424
officers' widows, staff . 425
Precedency of Relatives . . 425
Waterloo Prize Money. — Regula- tions for the Waterloo grant . 427
London merchants' letter, June 30, 1815, to the Duke of Wel- lington, with his Grace's reply thereto 427
Reoisteb of the Names of the Officers employed in the Cam- paign.^— Their rank and regi- mental order . 431-450
Alphabetical order, or index to the names . 458—475
DESCRIPTION OF THE MAPS, PLANS, AND
ETCHINGS,
WHICH ILLUSTRATE THIS WORK.
The Dnxx of Wkltjnoton, from a bast by Hopper. Pbdvcb Blucheb, by Ditto.
Waterloo Mtial, TUU.
DetcrifHon. — The medal giyen to the officers and soldiers who were engaged in the batde of Waterloo was executed by Mr. T. Wyon, jun. and is of fine silver, and weighs one ounce. There is no difference between those presented to the officers or to the privates. Around the outer edge is impressed the man's name who receives the medal, his rank, and the regiment or corps to which he belongs. On the obverse of the medal is the bust of H.R.H. the Prince Regent, with the in- scription "George P. Regent." The reverse side bears a figure of Victory, holding in her right hand her proper emblem, the palm-branch ; in her left, the olive- branch, which indicates peace, as the effect of that glorious achievement, which is insciibed on the plinth on which the figure is seated ; and above the figure is inscribed the name of the great Commander under whom this victory was gained.
To the medal is affixed a steel loop and ring, with a short ribbon of crimson edged with blue, by which it is attached to the coat of the wearer, over the left broiRst. Vide Piinoe's order for wearing the medal, p. 421.
Map ob Plan A.
Represents the theatre of war from the north of France to the Straits of Calais, to the Rhine, and from Holland to Paris. The blue or green line marits the frontiers of France, according to the treaty of Paris, 1814. All the strong places of France are distinguished by red, of which there are seventy-six, not comprising Paris, but comprehending Chiteau-Thierry, Rheims, Soissons, Laon, and La Fere (lately fortified).
The strong places possessed by the Allies on the Idth of June, marked by yellow, are situated between the Rhine and the Mouse. The Allies had only the strong fortress of Luxembourg, and from the Meuse to the sea they had three ncwly.fortified places, Mons having 18,000 inhabitants, Toumay 22,000, and Ypres 15,000. Thus the frt>ntiers of the Low Countries, and of Germany to the left bank of the Rhine, a length of 110 leagues, had but four fortresses for its defence, while France in the same ^ace had more than fifty.
Map 6 comprehends the whole space of the operations from the 14th to the 22d of Jane. The blue lines denote the places where the four corps of the army of Prussians collected, and their line of advanced posts are marked by the blue dots towards the^ Sambre, extending as far as Labbas and Binch ; towards the Meuse, to opposite Oivet and Bamain.
a 2
X BESCRIFTION OF MAFB, ETC.
Map G and D represents the position and disposition of the English, Prus- sian, and French, from Quatre Bras and Ligny.
Map D. The battle of Ligny at five o'clock.
Map or Plan E. F. G.
During the nine hours' battle it would be impossible to describe the blind and ferocious courage <rith which the French masses marched upon the English, nor the intrepid courage, the persevering and heroic coolness, with which the latter awaited, sustained, and repulsed, the reiterated attacks of their enemies. The limited space of the combat, the rapidity of the attacks and movements of the dif- ferent corps, could not be described in ten plans : every testimony has, however, been collected by the Editor ; besides which, the thick smoke of the powder, which was prevented from rising above the surface of the earth by a heavy atmosphere, scarcely allowed the field of battle to be seen at once. The obscurity was some- times so great that the French masses got within twenty paces of the English battalions before they were perceived, which rendered their attacks still mora dangerous to the English. The movements at three periods, viz. the beginning, the middle, and the advance, will be found in the map, E. F. G. Connected wiUi the operations at Wavro.
Plan of the Fixld of Watebloo upon the largest scale, being five inches to A KILE. The advantage of this scale must be manifest, as enabling the draftsman to give all the minutiae of the operations, as it regards the AUi^s or the enemy, pointing out every feature of the ground, first and second positions, and tradnga of the movements of the troops, in tlieir several combinations or of retreat.
This map is accompanied by an Historical Memoir and numerous References, that render it the most satisfactory to those who wish every detail.
The large Historical Map and Plan of the Campaign in 1816 next follows ; size twenty-two by twenty-seven inches : and is in itself a complete and detailed repre- sentation of the whole of the operations.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Two large Panoramic Views of the Fteld, drawn immediately after the hatde.
A View of the present State of the Field of Waterloo, with the Monu- ments.
No. Paf«
1. *' The Dnke of Wellington having shown the Puke of Bronswiek a letter
changed his horse, and they set off together" 68
2. Battlb of Liont. ** It was here a contest began, the most obstinate
recoided in History" 321
8. Battle of Lxgnt. ** Marshal Blilcher, stunned by the violent fall, lay entangled under his horse" 922
4. Battle of Quatrb Bbas. ** Sir T. Picton ordering the charge of Sir
James Kempt's Brigade " 59
5. Battle of Quatbe Bbas. Sir T. Belson and 28th Begiment *' The
square remained steady" 203
6. Battle of Quatbs Bbas. Lieut.-Col. Maoara of the 42d Regiment . 52
7. Battle of Quatbe Bbas. 7 1st Regiment. " The piper suddenly struck
up the * Pibroch,' and followed into the thickest of the fight'* . 23
8. Battle of Quatbe Bbas. " Fall of the Duke of Brunswick" . 69
9. GuABDB' Officebs. ** The last tribute to the brave " . ,89
10. '*Mabquis of Akolesey charging on the 17th of June, at the entrance
into Genappe** 50
11. The Duke of Welltngton akb his Staff at the commencement of the
action on the 18th of June 20
12. Defence of Houoomont. ** Who succeeded in gaining great part of
the wood" 16
18. Hougomont. ^ The Artillery officers had the range so accurately, that
every shot and shell fell into the very centre of their masses" . .152
U. ** The Duke led on a Brigade, consisting of the 52d and 95th Regi- ments'* 35
15. La Have Sainte. ** Close by a large building, occupied alternately by
Mend and foe" 178
16. Watebloo, 2 P.M. *' Left of the British line. Charge of the Royals,
Oreys, and Inniakilliugs, conducted by the Marquis of Anglesey and Sir W. Ponsonby. The body of Oen. Picton, who fell leading on the infantiy, is borne from the field. The vUlage of Fricherraont in the distance .... ....... 29
xii ulubtsations.
Mo.
17. PoMioiiBT'i Bbioass. "At tliis critical moment, the MerquiB of An*
gletey galloped up" 185
18. Miyor-OeD. Sir W. Ponsonby's Brigade ehaiging. '* Tke Greya preserred
a beantifiil line at apeed. After considerable reaistanoe, the Eaglea of the i5th and 105th Regiments were seized" 185
10. The fill of M^or.Oen. Sir W. Ponaonby, 1LC.B 186
20. ** French Cuirassiers adTanoed to the month of onr cannon, &c. Three
o'clock- 85
21. Singular gallantly of an Officer of the Imperial Guards .42
22. The Hon. Lient-Col. Ponsonby, 12th Dragoons. ''Ah, Brigand, ta
* n'ea pas moit done!" 210
23. LixuT.-OsHBRAL SiB T. PiCTOH fell in the thickest of the fight . 22
24. The Greys and 92d cheered and huzzaed *" Scotland for ever!" . 57
25. Corporal Shaw of the Life Guards 18
26. Sergeant Taylor, 18th Hussars and French CnirassierB, ** Ha! ha!** fto. . 190
27. Bburswicxxbs Salajiahdsu. OuirassieiB repulsed by a square of
Bnmswickers 41
28. < Up, Guards, and at them !" 43
20. Gbkbbal LoBD Hnx ABD IStr. '^ Drive them back, 13th!" . . .105
SO. Waterloo, 8 p.m. Right of the British line. The Duke of Wellington ordering the general advance, at the time the Enemy's columns were repulsed by the Guards, and taken in flank by Gen. Adam's Brigade. The wood of Hougomont is on the right, and the Observatory in the distance
81. Waterloo, 8 p.k. Centre of the British line. The Marquis of Anglesey,
on the general advance, directing the Brigades of Cavalry on the right of La Haye Sainte. La Belle AlHance, the road to Charieroi, and the spires of Planchenoit in the distance
82. *< Now EVEBT Mak must advabcb !" 188
83. ^ It was at La Belle Alliance, pierced through and through, they acci-
dentally met" 24
84. The retreat at Genappe. - The Duke fell yesterday, and thou shalt also
bite the dust" 65
A BRIEF MEMOIR
OF THB
CHIEF EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF
FJELD MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINaTON,
E.G. ETC. ETC. ETC.
AsTHUB Wellbslet (or, as formerly written, Wesley), the fonrtb son of Gburrett Colley Wellesley, Earl of Momington and Viscount Wellesley in the peerage of Ireland, by his wife Anne Emi, eldest daughter of Arthtu* Viscoiint Dungannon, was bom, according to some accounts, at the seat of his ancestors, Dangan Castle, county Meath, but most probably in Merrion Street, Dublin, on the 1st May, 1769.* His father died in May 1781,
* The qaestiott of the real birth-day of the Duke would appear settled by the testimony of his nrather, as shown by the following letter, communicated to the *' Times " of September 21, 1802 :—
<' Hewrieita Street, Cavendish Square, London^ April 0, 1815. *' SzB<— In answer to your inquiry respecting my son, the Duke of Wellington, I inform you that he was bom on the 1st of May, 1769. I am much flattered by your intention of celebrating his birth-day ; the good- wishes and prayers of worthy, respectable persons, I trust, wiU continue to my son the good fortune and success that it has hitherto pleased the Almighty to grant him in the service of his king and country. * » * »
*' Amux Mormington." " To Mr. Jas. CnthbertBon,
<< Seaton Mains by Tranent"
The place of His Grace's birth may be also ascertained by referring to the fol- lowing paragraph from the ^ Dublin Mercury " of May 2, 1769, among the births : —
** In Merrion Street, the Bight Hon. the Countess of Momington of a son.*'
The only incongruity arises from the fact that in the Registiy of Baptisms in St Peter's Church, Dublin, the entry runs thus: — **^ 1769, April 30, Arthur, son of the Bight Hon. Karl and Countess of Momington. — J. J. M'Solly, Curate of St Peter's.'
This was probably a clerical error ; no doubt the Duke was christened May 30.
b
U LIFE OF WELLINGTON.
leaving a numerous family and an embarrassed estate; but he left also an amiable widow, to whose wise economy and personal instruction her children have been deeply indebted, and who lived long to witness the extraordinary glory which attended them.*
By the death of his father in 1781, the control of his educa- tion was entrusted to his mother, who placed him at Eton. He was afterwards transferred to the Military College of Angiers, in the department of the Maine and Loire, under the direction of the celebrated engineer Pignerol, where he finished his military education in a manner creditable to his perseverance, but ex- hibiting at that time no marked superiority, such as might in after years have been looked back to as indicative of future fame.
On the 7th of March, 1787, he received his first commission as Ensign in the 73d Regiment, and on the 25th of December following he was promoted to a Lieutenancy in the 76th; in January, 1788, he exchanged into the 41st Regiment ; and in 1789, on the 25th of June, was appointed to the 12th Light Dragoons ; he received a company in the 58th Foot on the 20th September^ 1791, but in October, 1792, again exchanged to the 18th Light Dragoons: he obtained his majority in the 33d Regiment in April, 1793, and succeeded to the Lieutenant-colonelcy of that regiment on the 30th of September following. In 1764 he was employed under Lord Moira in Flanders, and was noticed for the coolness with which he, under considerable difficulties, aided in covering the retreat of the army. It was near the village of Schyudel that he for the first time found himself engaged with that army which, in after years, he so successfully and finally discomfited.
In the autumn of 1795 he embarked with the 33d Regiment, under orders for the West Indies ; but after five weeks' ineffectual attempts to get out to sea, the squadron was obliged to return to Portsmouth to refit Meanwhile the destination of the 33d was changed, and in April, 1796, Colonel Wellesley sailed for the East Indies.
The career of Wellington may now be said to have fairly com- menced. Previously, all had been educational He had passed successively Eton, Angiers, and the Dykes of Holland, not as
* The Conntesa died in September 18S1, aged 90.
IN1)U. ill
disjointed or separate efforts of education^ but as a continuous passing forward of life, from the schoolboy to the cadet, and from the cadet, by rapid series of promotions, to a command which enabled him to exhibit his individual merit, and which caused liiin to look to himself only for aid in moments of danger and difficulty, — thus by experience learning that most necessary virtue in a commander, decision of character.
He had passed also unscathed the ordeal of pecuniary difficult ties, having been aide-de-camp in the household of the Earl of Westmoreland, viceroy uf Ireland ; and the appointment necessi- tating a display to which his means were inadequate, he found himself embarrassed with debts, which the kindness of his landlord, a wealthy bootmaker of Dublin, alone enabled him to arrange ; the assistance, timely and generous as it was, did not, as too often unfortunately is the case, remain unnoticed or forgotten. The young aide-de-camp was enabled in a few years, not only to repay the loan, but lived to confer valuable appointments on his humble friend and his family. Thus he had learned worldly wisdom, a lesson he never forgot in after life.
India, at the period Colonel Wellesley first landed on its shores, was but a shadow of that colossal and powerful dependency which now adds its lustre to the British crown ; our empire in the East was held by the sword. French influence, which, although it had diminished, was still powerftil ; and that power was sys- tematically employed against England. The wars from the time of Clive to Comwallis had gloriously upheld the dignity of the English crown, and the prestige of our invincibility was beginning to dawn upon the minds of our Asiatic competitors. Still the fame of Hyder, and the skill and impetuosity of his son Tippoo, had rendered the tenure of our power in the East entirely de- pendent on our maintaining our military supremacy: a single battle lost would have united those semi-barbaric rulers in one vast league against our dominion, and those who now held aloof, or whose mutual jealousies and animosities had been our greatest security, would probably, for the time, have united their efforts to expel the common foe. Colonel Wellesley arrived at Calcutta in February 1797, under the most auspicious aspects. His elder brother, the Earl of Momington, had been appointed Governor- general of India, and arrived at Calcutta on the 17th of May fol-
IT LIFE or mSLUNQlOlf .
lowing. The double-dealiDg and treachery of Tippoo had ren- dered hostilities unavoidable, and, after every endeavour which the Governor-general had made for the continuance of peace, he was compelled to issue a declaration of war in February 1799. Colonel Wellesley had proceeded to Wallajahbad, where he had the superintendence of the troops there collected; and upon General Harris taking the command, Colonel Wellesley was thanked by a general order for the high state of discipline and effectiveness in which he had maintained the troops during his temporary command. On the 1st of April die army halted within four leagues of Seringapatam. One battle only was fought before Tippoo retired within the walls of his capital. It was at the village of Mallavelly : Major-general Floyd commanded ; Colonel Wellesley distinguished himself greatly, as also did Colonel Cotton, who was destined to be his companion in so many fields of glory. At the subsequent siege of Seringapatam, Colonel Wellesley had the difficult service of driving in the enemy from the strong ground which afforded cover for their rocket men ; and upon its capture he was appointed governor, and named as one of the commissioners who were to dispose of the conquered territories. In this and in all the arduous duties of his government. Colonel Wellesley so acted as to justify his brother's choice, and to deserve and obtain the gratitude of the conquered people. During his command at Seringapatam one of those adventurers who have so often sub- verted empires and founded dynasties in the East started up. Dhoondiah Waugh was the name of this freebooter: he soon made himself formidable, and it was necessary to send a force against him under Colonel Wellesley. By a rapid movement he intercepted Dhoondiah on his march with about 5000 horse; Colonel Wellesley had four regiments, which he was obliged to form in one line, in order, as nearly as might be, to equal that of the enemy in length : they charged with complete success, routed, dispersed the enemy, and killed their leader, thus effectually completing the object upon which they had been sent For*this service Colonel Wellesley received the thanks of General Braithwaite, then in command of the forces at Madras, and also of the Governor-general in counciL
On the 29th of April, 1802, he obtained the rank of Major- general; and in 1803 was appointed to command the Mahratta
INDIA. T
expedition^ and opened the campaign by a forced Inarch on Poonaih, where he arrived on the 20th of ApriL He writes to Colonel Close : — ** I marched last night with the cavahy and a battalion, and arrived here this day at about two, and the town b safe." ..•.** We hftvft marrli^ **^^^ ^^^^es Since vester* day morning," — a proof that he had his troops in the highest state of efficiency. On the 11th of August the fort of Ahmednuggur capitulated, after a brisk cannonade.
The history of this memorable campaign, which, in all its paribs, was ably executed as it was wisely planned, belongs to the life of Marquis Wellesley rather than to his brother ; but the Duke of Wellington may look back with pride upon the part which he performed in it G^eral Wellesley had about 9000 men in his division ; Colonel Stevenson about 8000. The com- bined force of Sdndiah and the Rajah of Berar consisted of 10,500 regular infantry, commanded by French officers (besides irr^olar foot), a well-equipped train of artiDery, exceedmg 100 guns, and between 30,000 and 40,000 horse. It was of the utmost importance to bring their main force to action. When, therefore, the two British corps met on the 21st of September, at Badna- poor. General WeUesley determined that they should move separately towards the enemy, and attack them on the morning of the 24tL He took the eastern route, beginning his march on the 22d. On the 23d, when he reached Naulnair, he found that the enemy were about six miles off, upon the very ground on which he himself had intended to encamp. He detenmned to attach them, without waiting for Colonel Stevenson ; it was better, he thought, to bring them to action with half the army, than let them avoid an attack, which they would probably do if he de- layed. Moreover, he could not wait for the junction, without being himself exposed to that mode of harassing war which bar- barous troops are best employed in waging, and which European soldiers can least endure — a warfare which, affording to the de- fensive party little other stimulus than that of perpetual alarm, wears down the spirits as well as the body. In these circumstances the boldest counsel was the best ; and Charles XH. did not act more boldly at Narva, nor with more signal success.
The troops had already marched fourteen miles ; a sufficient body was left for the protection of the baggage and stores, the
VI LIFE OF WELLTNGTON.
rest hastened on^ and came in sight of the enemy at one in tlic afWnoon. The confederate army was encamped between Kaitna and the Juah, two rivers which run nearly parallel toward the point of their junction. Their line extended east and west along the north bank of the Kaitna; the banks of which being high and rocky are not passable for guns^ except at places close to the villages. Their right consisted entirely of cavalry, and extended to the infantry, which were encamped near Assaye, a forti6ed village that has given name to the battla General Wellesley de- termined to attack the left, where the guns and infantry were ])osted, though he had arrived in front of their right ; an attack upon tlie vital part of their force he rightly thought would be decisive. He passed the Kaitna at a ford beyond their left flank, and formed liis infantry in two lines, leaving the cavalry as a reserve in a third, and keeping in check a large body of the enemy's cavalry by the Peishwah's and Mysore horse. The enemy, perceiving his intention, changed the position of their infantry and guns, and brought them to bear upon the assailants with consununate skill and terrible effect Ofiicers who had made several campaigns on the Continent declared that they had never seen cannon better served than at Assaye that day. The British artillery had opened at a distance of four hundred yards ; Greneral Wellesley saw that it could produce little effect against the formidable line opposed to it, and that it could not ad- vance because so many men and bullocks were disabled. Never was promptitude more required, and never w^ it more strikingly displayed than throughout the whole of this day^s work. He gave orders to leave the guns, and for the whole line to move; Lieutenant-colonel Maxwell, with the British horse, being instructed to protect the right The 74th Regiment in this wing had suffered so umch from the enemy's cannon, that a body of Mahratta cavalry ventured to charge it; Colonel Maxwell charged them in return, and drove them with great slaughter into the Juah. The enemy now, dismayed at the steady advance of the British troops, gave way on all sides : they were driven firom their guns ; and the British army, pressing on in pursuit, left the artillery which they had thus bravely taken, behind them. Tljey were not enough in number to secure advantages as they won them ; and perhaps, in the heat and exultation of victory, they did
AfiSATE. VU
not recollect that it is a common practice among Indian troops to feign death in the hope of escaping it : with this hope many of the Mafarattas threw themselves down among the gons, the conquerors passed them by, and they, seeing that another hope flashed upon them, rose, and turned the guns upon the victorious army. The fugitives, perceiving how marvellous a change was thus effected in their &vour, rallied, and the battle was to be fought again. Colonel Marwell charged their infantry, broke them again, but felL Greneral Wellesley with the 7dth, and a regiment of native cavalry, once more attacked the formidable artillery, which had already made such havoc among his men; his horse was shot under him,' but the second attack proved as irresistible* as the first, and the field with all the spoil was again his own— no more to be contested.
The loss of the conquerors was severe beyond aQ former example in India, a ftill third of the victorious army being killed or wounded. Never was any victory gained against so many dis- advantages. Superior arms and discipline Have often prevailed against as great a numerical difference ; but it would be describing the least part of this day's glory to say that the number of the enemy were as ten to one : they had disciplined troops in the field under European officers, who more than doubled the British force ; they had an hundred pieces of cannon, which were served with perfect skill, and which the British, without the aid of artillery, twice won with the bayonet The victory was de- cisive ; about 2000 were left dead upon the field, and twice as many more are supposed to have been wounded. Ninety-three guns, with many colours, were taken, and the remainder of the army fled in dismay. Never had a battle been won against such overwhelming odds ; and many cavilled at General Wellesley for risking an engagement with so many chances of defeat It is, however, doubtftd if he could have avoided an engagement, even had he desired it ; and the moral effect which a retrograde move- ment would have had, not so much upon his own troops as in the ranks of the enemy, renders it obvious that the young general exercised a wise discretion in engaging at once. The result certainly justifies this conclusion. After some other important operations at Asseerghur, Argaum, and Gawilghur, the Rajah of Berar concluded a treaty of peace on the 17th of December,
Vni UFS or IfBUJNOTON.
and Scmdiah submitted; and a similar arrangement was ocxn- duded on the 30th of December. General Wellealejr, for his part in this memorable campaign, received the first-fimits of those honours of which he was one day to reap so abundant a harvest A monument in memory of the battle of Assaye was erected at Calcutta: the inhabitants of that city presented him with a sword; hb own o£5cers with a golden vase:* in ESngland the thanks of Parliament were voted him, and he was made a Knight Companion of the BatL The people of Seringapatam presented to him an address on his return, which, to one who felt himself deserving of the feelings which it expressed, must be as gratifying as the proudest distinctions. ** They had reposed for five years,^ they said, ** under the shadow of his protection : they had felt, during his absence in the midst of battles and victory, that his care for their wel&re had been extended to them as amply as if no other object had occupied his mind ; they were preparing in thdr several castes the duties of thanksgiving and of sacrifices to the preserving (rod who* had brought him back in safety ; and they implored the Grod of all castes and of aQ nations to hear their con- stant prayer, whenever greater affairs should call him from them, for his health, his glory, and his happiness.''
Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to England in 1805, and com- manded a brigade in the army imder Lord Cathcart He was now, upon the death of Marquis Comwallis, made Colonel of the 33d Regiment, in which he had served as lieutenant-colonel thir- teen years. In 1806 he took his seat in the House of Commons, as member for Newport, in the Isle of Wight In the same year he married the Honourable Catherine Pakenham, sister to the Earl of Longford. In 1807 he was appointed chirf Secretary in Ireland under the Duke of Richmond, and Dublin is indebted to him for a police. In the summer of this year the expedition sailed against Copenhagen, and Sir Arthur again accompanied Lord Cathcart Only one action of any importance took place, and in that Sir Arthur commanded* This movement deprived the Governor of Copenhagen of all hope of relief from the army, and accelerated the capitulation. Sir Arthur Wellesley was iqppointed to treat : in diplomacy and in war he pursued the same prompt
* Afterwards changed for a service of plate, embossed with the word " Assaye."
BBTCBV 10 SNOIAKB. iz
system, and the^ terms were discussed^ settled, and signed the same night
He was soon to be tried in more arduous undertakings. By the peace of Tilsit, Buonaparte was left master of the contineDt g! Europe, the greater part being actuaOy in his possession, and the rest under his control He possessed a more real and absolute authority over Germany than the most powerful of her emperors had ever been able to obtain. Switzerland, which had in former times so gloriously asserted her independence, submitted to call him her Protector, received with obedience his oppressive and baiv barising edicts, and supplied men to fill up the enormous con- sumption of his wars. Holding France, Flanders, and Italy him- self, he had established one brother upon the throne of Naples, made a second King of Holland, and erected a kingdom in Grer* many for a third, with territories taken indiscriminately from his foes and his friends.
He b^an his machinations by calling upon Spain to supply him with troops, in virtue of an offensive and defensive alliance which Godoy had concluded with the Directory : by these means he withdrew fix>m the country the flower of her armies imder the Marquis de Romana, and to make sure of them he sent the greater part into Denmark. The political drama, of which the destruction of the Spanish Bourbons and of the house of Braganza was to form the catastrophe, was crowded with intrigues. A secret treaty was made with Charles lY. for partitioning Portugal, which, small as it is, was to be divided into three kingdoms : one for the Prince of the Peace: one for the Queen of Etruria, in exchange for an ^hemeral kingdom which Buonaparte had created and now took to himself; the third was to remain in Ins hands, to be disposed of as might hereafter seem good, or be exchanged with Spain for her Pyrenean provinces. While the treaty for despoiling the Prince of Brazil was negociating, Buona- parte negociated with him also, and required him to renounce his old alliance with Great Britain, seize all the British subjects, and confiscate the British property in Portugal. The Prince, knowing the helpless state of his country, consented to every sacrifice except that of his honour and conscience : he gave the English notice to d^)art and withdraw their property, and then submitted to obey the orders, and be included in the continental system, of
X LIFE OF WELUNaTON.
the universal tyrant Regardless of this, a French army ad- vanced by forced marches to seize him in his capital; being apprised in time of the secret treaty of Fontainbleau, he made his determination known to the British squadron, and embarked with all his fiEmiily from Belem : he removed the seat of the Portuguese government to its rising empire in South America. The French, commanded by Junot, entered Portugal without declaration, cause, pretext, or pretence of war : it was proclaimed that they came as friends and allies, and the last orders of the Prince were that they should be received as such : this he thought the only means of preventing them from treating his kingdom as a conquered coimtry. As such, however, it was treated.
Already, under various pretexts, he had filled the Peninsula with his troops, — it was to take possession of Portugal, to defend the southern coast against the English, to besiege Gibraltar, and to invade Morocco. It would be out of place here to pursue the detail of events so notorious as the treacherous seizure of St. Sebastian, Pampeluna, Figueiras, and Barcelona, the insurrection at Aranjuez, the occupation of Madrid by Murat, and the betrayal of the whole royal family.
An expedition was planned, nominally against some part of Spanish America — troops were collected at Cork, under the command of Sir A* Wellesley, but before they could set sail the events of the 2d of May, 1808, altered their destination, and changed the fate of Europe. On that day tlie people of Madrid, exasperated alike at the treachery by which their prince had been kidnapped, and the insolence with which a foreign tyrant pretended to set a foreigner and an upstart over them, rose against Murat's army. The immediate result was the defeat and massacre of the insurgents ; but the effects were Ailly answerable to the hopes of the most heroic spirits that were stirring in that day's work. Never had the blood of martyrdom been more profusely shed, never did that holy seed produce a more abundant harvest. The people were mown down by grape- shot in the streets; they were bayonetted in their houses, and when the slaughter of the contest and of the pursuit had ceased, a military tribunal was erected to continue £he butchery with the forms of insulted justice. During many succeeding days groups of thirty and forty at a time were led to the Prado, the Puerta del
THE FBIOKSCJLA. XI
Sol, the Paerta de S. Vicente, the Church of N. Sefiora de la Soledad, — all the most public places of Madrid, — and there shot in the presence of their townsmen, their friends, their wives, their parents, and their children.
The impulse of this movement at Madrid was felt like an electric shock throughout the whole Peninsula. The Spaniards and Portuguese rose simultaneously against their oppressors. Without a government, without a leader, without armies, without concert, they rose against the most formidable military power which had ever yet existed — a power perfectly organised, with all its means in readiness, which held the government and the capital of both kingdoms in its hand, occupied their fortresses, and was in actual possession of both countries. There existed but one nation to which they could look for help. Portugal was bound to England by ties of intimate and most friendly intercourse, almost coeval with her existence as a kingdom. The Spaniards were at war with us; but they also knew the English character, and called upon Exigland as the natural and sure ally of men enga^ng in so just and sacred a cause. '^ Never, indeed," says the eloquent Wordsworth, *'was the fellowship of our sentient nature more intimately felt, — never was the irresistible power of justice more gloriously displayed, than when the British and Spanish nations, with an impulse like that of two ancient heroes throwing down their weapons and becoming reconciled in the field, cast off at once their aversions and enmities and mutually embraced each other to solemnise this conversion of love, not by tiie festivities of peace, but by combatting side by side, tiux>ugh danger, and under afflic- tion, in tiie devotedness of perfect brotherhood." The feelings of the British people were forcibly appealed to, and tiiey were uni- versally excited. Even party-spirit, which is the bane of the British councils and the opprobrimn of tiie British name, even that was for a time suspended ; and the general cry was that the most speedy and the most vigorous measures should be taken for assisting tiie Spaniards and Portuguese in tiie struggle which they had so gloriously commenced.
The expedition at Cork being ready. Sir Artiiur Wellesley was ordered to sail for Corunna, to communicate tiiere with tiie junta of Galicia, and act as circumstances might direct him. General Spencer^ from Gibraltar, would be instructed to join him, and
ZU LIFB O? WBUIHCnrON.
further remfbrcemeutB Bmt after him, as fast as they conld be fitted out Accordingly Sir Arthur set sail, and on the 20th July arrived at G>runna9 where he found tidings of the recent defeat which Guesta and Blake had sustained at Medina del Rio Seco. It was such a reverse as was to be expected in the outset of such a war. The French used their victory cruelly, and committed the most atrocious excesses afterwards. This disaster had not in the slightest degree dispirited the Galicians : when the English offered their assistance, they assured Sir Arthur that they were in no need of men, and that his army could nowhere be so useftdly employed as in acting against Junot and clearing Por- tugal of the enemy. They represented the enemy's force as not exceeding 15,000 men, and said that the Portuguese had already assembled an army of 10,000 at Porto.
To Porto the expedition proceeded ; and Sir Arthur, after a conference with the Bishop, leaving the transports, went on to confer with Admiral Cotton off the Tagus. It was impossible to effect a landing there: Mondego Bay, therefore, was chosen, and Sir Arthur, having sent instructions to General Spencer to join him, met his transports on the 30th. There he received dispatches from home, informing him that reinforcements of 5000 men under General Ludlow were on their way, and that 10,000 more would speedily be sent under Sir John Moore. This general was his superior o£Scer ; but the command in chief would be vested in Sir Hew Dalrymple, who was to come from Gibraltar, and Sir Harry Burrard was to be second in command. There was, however, yet time for him to strike the blow before they should arrive to super- sede him, and nothing could be more prosperous than the news from Spain: the French squadron at Cadiz had been taken possession of by the Spaniards, and Dupont, with his whole army, made prisoners in Andalusia. Buonaparte had never before re* ceived such a blow ; the loss of men, indeed, was easily reparable, but the reputation of his armies was wounded, the Invincibles had been put to shame, the spell which palsied the nations was broken : another such catastrophe might stir Up the north of Europe to imitate the glorious example of the Peninsula, and what was to preserve Junot from the fiite of Dupont? With this prospect, Sir Arthur Wellesley, having been joined by Greneral Splicer, began his march from Coimbra towards Lisbon.
THE PENINSULA.. XIU
The disposition of the Portogaese was excellent The events of their insurrection against the French were little known at the time, and have not jet been detailed in any language except their own. It was a general and simultaneous movement of the peo^e, which, under all circumstances, Sir Arthm: Wellesley thought even more extraordinary than that for which the Spaniards de- served and obtained universal sympathy and admiration ; it was made against £ar greater disadvantages; and while the British were on the coast an enemy's detachment was ravaging Alemtejo under General Loison, a man who, in an army infamous for its excesses, was distinguished for his love of plunder and of blood« On the 29th of July he sacked the city of Evora, and in the car- nage which ensued, the clergy were marked out as especial objects of vengeance, and hunted l£ke wild beasts. Wherever he went his soldiers were let loose to bum, to pillage, and to destroy ; but these cmdties served to repress the people only while he was present, and left them more eager and more insatiate for ven^ geance. This spirit was so general, and such precautions were taken by the govenunent of Coimbra and Pombal, that the^French for a long time obtained little information concemiog the British troops. At the first rumour, however, Loison hastened firom Alemtajo, and, crossing the river, took a position between Thomar and Santarem ; and Laborde, who had the reputation of being the best general in that army, with Generals Thomi^res and Brennier under him, entered Aloba^a with a strong detachment, and pushed his advanced posts as far as Aljubarrota. The enemy were per- fectly well acquainted with the country; in these points they were always as well informed, as we tiU of late were ignorant They fell back as the English advanced, and took post upon the heights of BoH^a, a village about two leagues south of Obidos, remarkable as the first ground whereon the British and French were opposed to each other in the Peninsular war. Laborde had about 5000 men ; Loison, with an equal force, was expected to join him on the evening of the 17th. Sir Arthur Wellesley was informed of this, and made Ins attack in the morning. The enemy had chosen his ground well; it consisted of narrow passes and strong heights. Dispositions were made for turning his left by a column of 1200 Portuguese, and his right by Major-general Ferguson, who had also to watdi the motions of Loison ; but the main attack was
XIV LIFE OF WEtUNOTON.
made boldly upon the front and strength of die position, where the principal column, under cover of some olive and cork-trees, was enabled to approach and deploy without much loss. The way was up ravines, made by the rains, in some places overgrown with shrubs, in others impeded with crags, and hitherto only thought practicable for goats. The middle pass appeared the least difficult, and here the assailants suffered their severest loss : for near the top of this pass there was a small opening in the form of a wedge, which at the point nearest the English was overgrown with myrtle, arbutus, and those other shrubs which render the wildernesses of tliis part of Portugal so beautiful. Here the French posted an ambush of riflemen, and here Colonel Lake led his regiment, in* stead of sending forward to explore the ground as the pass opened : the French let half the r^ment enter, and then fired upon them when they were in close column. Colonel Lake fell ; a severe loss was sustained, but the men pushed forward and won the pass. Here the 29th and 9th Regiments found themselves for a considerable time unsupported, and the enemy charged them thrice with great resolution, but were as often repulsed. The skill of the French was indeed as clearly proved that day as their inferiority to the British soldiers in those moments when every thing depends upon native courage. During a contest which began at nine in the morning and was not concluded before five in the aflbemoon, they retreated with admirable order from one diffi- cult position to another, losing none of the advantages which the ground offered, of which it was not the least that the English were never able to avail themselves of their nimierical superiority, the number actually engaged being far less than that of the enemies whom they defeated. They repeatedly attempted to recover what they had lost, and when this hope was abandoned they effected their retreat in good order ; for as Sir Arthur Wellesley wanted cavalry, and troops and cannon could not be brought up the passes with the requisite speed, there was no pursuit Our loss was less than 500 men killed, wounded, and missing ; tliat of the French was supposed to have trebled it, and of their five pieces of cannon three taken. The battle, though neither in its scale nor its conse- quences of much importance, becomes interesting, as the first in this long struggle, and because in this trial the British evinced that superiority in what may be termed national courage, which
THE PENINSULA. XY
they maintained in every engagement from that day till they closed their triumphant career before the walls of Toulouse.
On the same day that the battle of Roli^a was fought, the Portuguese by an enterprise, conducted with equal bravery and good fortune, recovered the important city of Abrantes, where Loison had left a garrison of 200 men. That general, as well as Laborde, now fell back to join the main force of the French, which Junot was collecting about Torres Vedras.
Sir Arthur Wellesley meantime was informed that Generals Ackland and Anstruther, with their brigades, were off the coast ; and he moved to Vimeiro to protect their landing. The larger reinforcements under Sir Harry Burrard and Sir John Moore, having been delayed by contrary winds, were sixteen days from Portsmouth before they made Cape Finisterre : their instructions were, not to go to tlie south of Porto without obtaining informar- tion. Sir Harry, therefore, removed to tlie Brazen sloop, with some of his staff, and leaving the convoy, proceeded first to the Douro, then to the Mondego. Here he found letters from Sir Arthur, recommending that the troops should land here, and march upon Santarem in order to cut off the retreat of the enemy in that direction ; but the letter added that they must carry their own bread, for the resources of the coimtry were not to be relied on. Upon weighing this difficulty, and the possible danger of not being in sufficient strength to resist the enemy if they shoidd retire with their force upon that point. Sir Harry Burrard deter- mined not to follow this advice, and continued his course south* ward. This was on the 18th : the next day he obtained intelligence of the battle of Rob'ga, and then dispatched an officer to Sir John Moore, directing him to land in the Mondego, and proceed accord- ing to circumstances and his own judgment Moore accordingly reached the Mondego on the 20th, began to disembark, but presently he received counter-orders to follow Sir Harry, who had changed his mind, and was proceeding to the Maceira, where he arrived on the evening of the 20th. While the English troops were thus divided, Junot had collected his forces ; he himself, with the advanced guard, took post in fix)nt of Torres Vedras, and the main body, imder Laborde and Loison, were strongly posted behind the town. They covered the country with their cavalry, of which they had about 1300, and Sir Arthur could only learn that their position was
XVI UFB OF WELUNOTOK.
very atrongi and their whole strength aasembled there. His own plans were speedily formed; Sir Charles Stuart (a man whose eminent military talents were never allowed an adequate field wherein to display themselves) had carefully surveyed this part of the country while he commanded the British troops in Por- tngalj for it had not escaped him that upon this ground, in case of serious invasion, the kingdom must be won or lost His maps and topographical accounts were in Sir Arthur Wellesley's pos- session* The French eith» did not understand the advantages which the ground offered them, or they believed that a defensive system was not practicable on their part, because of the disposition of the people. Sir Arthur determined to push his advanced guard to Mafira on the following morning, turning the enemy's position by tlus movement ; and he then hoped to enter Lisbon in pursuit of the retreating enemy. Having laid down this plan, and issued orders for putting it in execution on the morrow, he heard of Sir Harry's arrival, and going immediately on board to communicate with him, he explained his intended measures. But the new commander was more impressed with the diffi- culties to be encountered, than encouraged by the success which had hitherto attended the movements of the army. The strength of the enemy's cavaby, and their own want of that important arm of war, kept the British troops at present close to their encamp- ment ; and the farther they might advance fi:om the ships (upon which they depended for bread), the more severely would this inferiority be felt The artillery-horses were inefficient; they were cast-off cavalry, purchased in Irdand, the old and the blind, and the lame; some of them had already died of age, and others, thou^ carefully fed, had sunk under what would have been easy work for horses in good condition; nearly a sixth part had thus perished upon the way, and of those which were left many were not worth the forage which they consumed. Under these cir- cumstances, the decision which he was now called upon to mske appeared to Sir Harry Burrard most serious in its consequences ; and should the army be checked in advancing, he thought it impossible to calculate the disasters to which it might be exposed. He was of opini<m, therefore, that they ought to wait for Sir John Moore's division. Sir Arthur represented that at least ten days must elapse before these troops could land and become ser-
TDHEBa xvii
ylceable ; and that, in the meantime^ the enemj would gain inform mation and become better acquainted with their position^ or^ seeing their irresolution^ be emboldened to attack. These representations^ however, were unavailing; and the orders which Sir Arthur WeUesIey had given for advancing on the morrow were conse- quent! j countermanded. But a part of his opinion was soon veri- fied; for on the following morning the enemj, allowed to choose the place, the time, and the manner of attack, made full use of the advantage, and brought all their force to bear upon half the British army. To a general of less promptitude, or to troops of less deter^ mined courage, this would have been fatal ; but on this occasion the skill of the general was admirably seconded bj the gallantry of officers and men. The intentions of the enemy were divined at every movement, troops were moved with the utmost celerity just when and where they were needed, and the heart, and the arm, and the bayonet, did the rest Wherever the French made the attack, they were repelled; wherever they were attacked, they gave way. Tet they were brave enemies. One charge which they made upon Major-general Ferguson's brigade will long be remembered by those who witnessed it ; it was made by the flower of the enemy's army with the bayonet: they came resolutely to the point of trial, and in one instant their whole line was cut down, so decisive was the superiority of British courage when brought to this last test Above three hundred of their grenadiers were found dead in the line where they had been drawn up. Before the action began. Sir Harry Burrard and his staff left the ship; the firing was heard as soon as he was on shore, and the armies were hotly engaged when he reached the hdghts and found Sir Arthur, who told him briefly what measures he had taken for defeating the enemy. The *new commander had too just a feeling of honour to interfere, and, approving all the dispositions, he desired him to go on with what he had so weU begun. But when the French were beaten on the left, Sir Arthur went to him, and told him this was the moment to advance — the right wing ought to march upon Torres Vedras, and the left pursue the beaten enemy. By this movement Junot would be cut oflF from the nearest road to Lisbon, and must take a circui- tous route by way of Alenquer, dispirited, defeated, and in con- fusion. There was plenty of ammimition in the camp for another battle, and there were also provisions for twdve days. But neither
Zviii LIFE OF WELLINGTON.
the representatioiis, urged as they were with natural and fitting warmth^ nor the victory which was before his eyes, could induce the commander to deviate from his former opmion ; and he replied that he saw no reason to change his purpose^ the same motives which yesterday induced him to wait for reinforcements had still the same weight At that moment the enemy were retiring in great disorder, and most completely disheartened by their defeat. But the irrevocable opportunity was let pass; and Sir Arthur, whose sense of military obedience would not aUow him to act upon Us own better judgment, concealed the bitterness of his spirit under a semblance of levity, and, turning to one of his officers, said, '' Well, then, we have nothing to do but to go and shoot red- legged partridges r
On the morning after the battle Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived^ The French, perceiving that the British did not profit by the ad- vantage they had gained, supposed it would be ea^y to make good terms with men who seemed so little to feel their own strength ; accordingly they proposed terms, which, perhaps not less to their own astonishment than to the wonder and indignation of Great Britain, were accepted. By these terms they were to evacuate Portugal, and be conveyed to France, with all their arms, artillerj, ba^age, and property, then to be at liberty to serve again ; and the Russian fleet in the Tagus was to be held in deposit by the British till six months after a peace should be concluded between England and Russia, when the ships were to be restored, the crews being iomiediately to be conveyed home in British vessels. It was even agreed that the fleet should leave the Tagus unmolested, bat the Admiral, Sir C. Cotton, reftised to ratify such an agreement. It is easier to account for the terms of this memorable Convention than to justify or excuse them* When the command was in one * general in the morning, in a second at night, and in a third on the morrow, there could be no singleness of view, and, therefore, no steadiness of conduct Sir Hew landed in utter ignorance of die state of the army, the enemy, and the country. Sir Harry had hardly more knowledge than Sir Hew ; and Sir Arthur Wellesley, who alone was acquainted with all circumstances, had seen his opinion rejected and overruled at the moment when the tide of fortune was at its flood. After seeing so fair an opportunity lost, he may easily be supposed to have felt a certain degree of indiffer-
CDSTBA* XIX
eace as to subsequent measures^ over which he had no controli and for which he was not responsible.
" And ever since that martial synod met
Britannia sickens, Cintra ! at thy name ;
And folks in office at the mention fret,
And ftdn would blush, if blush they could, for shame.
How will posterity the deed proclaim !
Will not our own and fellow-nations sneer.
To view these champions cheated of their fame
By foes in fight o'erthrown, yet victors here, Where Seom her finger points through many a coming year f*
Lord Byron, in the above-quoted lines, admirably describes the state of public feeling. Southej says, ^^ An outcry of indigna- tion was set up from every part of the kingdom, such as had seldom been known before." A Court of Inquiry was held, and Sir Arthur WeUesIey returned to England, and furnished to Government many details respecting the part he took in the negotiation. He returned to his post as Secretary for Ireland, and received, in his place in the House of Commons, the thanks of Parliament for his skill and gallantry in the battle of V imiero.
We must take a brief view of the events which occurred in Spain during Sir Arthur Wellesley's absence in England. The capture of Dupont's army was followed by a series of successes. Palafox had driven the French with great loss from Zaragoza, after one of the most glorious struggles which has ever been re- corded in history. Moncey had been defeated in an attempt to seize Yalentia ; and in Catalonia, the French, after vain attempts to extend their usurped authority, were confined to the walls of Barcelona. A central and superior Junta had been formed, with the concurrence of all the local authorities. Joseph Buonaparte^ whom his brother had named King of Spain and the Indies, and who, in that character, had arrived at Madrid, found it necessary to retreat in the course of ten days, taking care in that time to plunder the palace and carry off the crown jewels. The legitimate govamment was now installed at Aranjuez, and preparations were made upon a great scale for completing the work which had been so happily and gloriously began. The French had at this time about 60,000 men in Spain, who occupied a strong country, having the Ebro in their front, the river Aragon on their left, and the Bay of
UFB OF WELUNOTOM.
Biscay on their right Three armies were set on foot bj the Spaniards, in the hope of expelling them ; that on the right, or the Eastern army as it was called, under Palafox, the deliverer of Zaragoza; the central under Castafios, whose deliverance of An- dalnsia had rendered him deservedly popular;* and the left, or Western army, under Blake, who, for the^reputation which he had obtained at the battle of Rio Seco, had been thus promoted. The nominal force of these armies was 130,000 men ; but it is not pro- bable that they amounted at any time to more than half that num- ber. The Spanish army before this revolution had £Edlen into the worst state ; and during revolutions discipline is the last thing which a soldier learns. Blake, indeed, had 10,000 men with him, who with their commander, the Marquis de Romana, had been brought off from Denmark by Admiral Keates, in a manner as weU planned as it was dexterously executed. These were good troops ; but except these, the Spanish armies consisted chiefly of raw levies. The ofBcers were equally inexperienced: in the first ebullition of na- tional feeling, the local authorities assumed the power of granting commissions, and soon abused the power by granting them to their friends and dependants, without any reference to capabilities or miUtary acquirements.
One of the reasons assigned by the British generals for granting such favourable terms to Junot was, that the British army might be able immediately to co-operate witii the Spaniards; one of the effects of that Convention was to delay tiiis co-operation, — the transports which should have carried the British troops to those places where tiiey might have advantageously acted with the Spaniards being employed in transporting the French to their own country, that they might lose no time in marching to act against them I The Convention of Cintra was signed on the 30th August ; in August it had been determined tiiat a British army should be sent to act in the nortii of Spain, but it was not till the 6th October that Sir John Moore received his appointment to the command, and was ordered to form a junction in Galicia or Leon with 15,000 men who were sent to Corufia under Sir David Baird. No time was then lost in making the necessary prepara-
* General Cast4i£os, dnc de Baylen, died at Madrid on the 23d September, ^852, a few dajs after hia illustrious English oontemporaiy, at the advanced age of 00.
coBUfiA. xxi
tions; and seeking for the necessary local information; but so mucli had already been lost, that Sir John Moore, with his advanced guards did not reach Salamanca till the 15 th November. Before he entered that city, he heard that the Estramaduran army, or army of reserve, nnder Count Belvedere, had been routed at Burgos.
Meanwhile the French had not been inactive. Buonaparte had collected an enormous armament, advanced rapidly upon Madrid, and by the celerity of his movements and the confidence his pre- sence inspired, and the unanimity which it imparted to the councils of war, prevented the combination which Sir John Moore had hoped to effect from taking place, and the English army was obliged to make a hasty retreat, abandoning much of its materiel on the road, but effecting the same in presence of a much su- perior force under Soult, in a manner highly creditable to the genius and bravery of its lamented commander. Sir John Moore, whose gallant resistance and unfortunate death at Corufia will always be remembered by his country with gratitude, with admi- ration, and with regret
It is not the province of the Editor of this memoir to enter into the various details of every movement connected with our long and finally glorious struggle in the Peninsula; a brief sketch of each engagement, with an historical commentary to give continuance and connexion to the narrative, must be all that can be attempted : those who would foUow the varied movements of this exciting history are referred to the pages of Napier and Sonihey, whose graphic narratives wiU ftdly repay the time and attention necessarily bestowed by the student who wishes to
..^ . fifc taoW of fl» i.po*„. „».. a„» »™«d.
The earlier portions of this memoir have been devoted to those passages in the history of the Duke of Wellington in which he played a subordinate part Sometimes we find him, as it were by accident, commanding, with the inspiration and confidence of genius, by his wise, or, as some said, hazardous measures, ** chaining Victory to his chariot wheels ;" at others, checked in the moment of success by those superior only in command, who, from an overstrained idea of their vast responsibilities, from want of capacity to comprehend, or perhaps from a lurking feeling of
XXU LIFE OF WELUNGTON.
jealotisy at the rising fame of their jtmior^ interposed dieir sn- perior authority to prevent the execution of those plans which his master-mind only suggested.
We can now view the career of Sir Arthur Wellesley, no longer subject to the influence of inferior minds, and finom this point we shall find nothing but a series of victories following one after the other in progressive importance, until he finally forced the enemy to evacuate the Peninsula at Toulouse. True, at times his movements may appear retrogressive, sometimes discouraging ; but to those capable of rightly judging each movement was but a step towards one fixed object, which, as it became gradually revealed, gave fresh confidence to his army and speedily to the nation at large, — a confidence which the glorious termination of the campaign proved incontestably not to have been misplaced.
On the 22d (^ April, 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to Lisbon as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in Portugal, and on the 6th of July foUowing was made Marshal-general of the combined English and Portuguese forces by a decree of the Prince Regent of Portugal.
On the 12th of May he defeated Soult and delivered Oporto, where he found a large quantity of French ordnance : he con- tinued the pursuit for several days, but foimd it impossible to overtake him. Soult lost at least the fourth part of his army, with all his artillery and equipments. * Sir Arthur effected a junction with the Spanish army under Cuesta, at Oropesa, on the 20tli of July; but the obstkiacy and self-sufficiency of this ge- neral totally prevented the good results which might have re- sulted had the united armies been immediately led to the attack. Several valuable days were spent in useless discussions and di- vided operations; the brilliant opportunity was lost, and the French, under Victor, retired leisurely nito positions firom which they again, on the 27th, moved to attack the Allied armies near Talavera, where Wellesley had strongly posted his troops, with his Spanish allies on the right, supported by two heavy batteries : but, in spite of these precautions, when the enemy advanced they nearly all turned and fled in disorder ; and had not Sir Arthur Wellesley immediately ordered some English squadrons to flank the main road, the position would have been lost We cannot do better than take Sir A. Wellesley's account of this important
talaykbAm xxm
battle, as giiren in his despatch to Lord Castlereagh, dated Tala- Tera de la Reyna, Julj 29, 1809 :—
'^ Greneral Guesta followed the ^lemy's march with his armj from the Alberche, on the moming of the 24th, as far as Sta. Olalla, and pushed forwards his advanced gnard as £Bur as Torrijos. For the reasons stated to jour Lordship in my despatch of the 24th, I moved onlj two divisions of infantry and a brigade of cavahy across the Alberche to Gazalegas, under the command of Lieuto-general Sh^rooke, with a view to keep up the communi- cation between General Guesta and me, and with Sir R. Wilson's corps at Escalona.
*^ It appears that General Venegas had not carried into exe- cution that part of the plan of operations which related to his corps, and that he was still at Dajmiel, in La Mancha ; and die enemy, in the course of the 24th, 25th, and 26th9 collected all his forces in this part of Spain, between Torrijos and Toledo, leaving but a small corps of 2000 men in that place. This united army thus consisted of the corps of Marshal Victor, of that of General Sebestiani, and of 7000 or 8000 men, the guards of Joseph Buonaparte, and the garrison of Madrid; and it was commanded by Joseph Buonaparte, aided by Marshals Jourdan and Victor, and by General SebastianL
^ On the 26th, G-eneral Guesta's advanced guard was at- tacked near Torrijos and obliged to fall back ; and the General retired with his army on that day to the left bank of the Alberche, General Sherbrooke continuing at Gazalegas, and the enemy at Sta. Olalla. It was then obvious that the enemy intended to try the result of a general action, for which the best position appeared to be in the neighbourhood of Talavera; and General Guesta having consulted to take up this position on the moming of the 27th, I ordered General Sherbrooke to retire with his corps to its station in the line, leaving General Mackenzie with a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry as an advanced post in the wood, on the right of the Alberche, which covered our left flank.
^ The position taken up by the troops at Talavera extended rather more than two miles ; the ground was open upon the left, where the British army was stationed; and it was commanded by a height, on which was placed en dehelony as the second line, a division of infantry under the orders of Major-general HilL
Xnr I<m OF WKLUKOTON
*' There was a valley between the height, and a range of monnr tains still further upon the left, which valley was not at first occu- piedf as it was commanded by the height before mentioned ; and the range of mountains appeared too distant to have any influence on the expected action.
" The right, consisting of Spanish troops, extended immediately in finont of the town of Talavera, down to the Tagus. This part of the ground was covered by olive-trees, and much intersected by banks and ditches. The high road leading from the bridge over the Alberche was defended by a heavy battery in front of a church, which was occupied by Spanish infantry.
''All the avenues of the town were defended in a similar manner. The town was occupied, and the remainder of the Spanish in£uitry was formed in two lines behind the banks on the road which led from the town and the right to the left of our position.
" In the centre between the two armies there was a commanding spot of ground, on which we had commenced to construct a re- doubt, with some open ground in its rear. Brigadier-general Alexander Campbell was posted at this spot with a division of in£uitry, supported in its rear by General Cotton's brigade of dragoons and some Spanish cavalry.
'' At about two o'clock on the 27th, the enemy appeared in strength on the left bank of the Alberche, and manifested an inten- tion to attack Greneral Mackenzie's division. The attack was made before they could be withdrawn; but the troops, consisting of General MiKdienzie's and Colonel Donkin's brigades, and (xeneral Anson's brigade of cavalry, and supported by General Payne with the other four regiments of cavalry in the plain between Talavera and the wood, withdrew in good order, but with some loss, particularly by the 2d battalion of the 87th Regiment and the 2d battalion of the 31st Regiment, in the wood.
" Upon this occasion the steadiness and discipline of the 45th Raiment and the 5th battalion of the 60th Regiment were con- spicuous, and I had particular reason for being satisfied with the manner in which Major-general Mackenzie withdrew this advanced guard
^^ As the day advanced, the enemy appeared in larger numbers on the right of the Alberche, and it was obvious that he was ad- vancing to a general attack upon the combined armies. General
Mackenzie continued to &11 back gradoallj upon the left of the position of the combined armies^ where he was placed in the second line in the rear of the Guards, Colonel Donkin being placed in the same situation further upon the left;, in the rear of the King's German Legion.
*' The enemy immediately commenced his attack, in the dusk of the evening, by a cannonade upon the left of our position, and by an attempt with his cavalry to overthrow the Spanish infieuitry, posted, as I have before stated, on the right This attempt entirely foiled.
''Early in the night he pushed a division along the valley on the left of the height occupied by General Hill, of which he gained a momentary possession ; but Major-general Hill attacked it instantly with the bayonet, and regained it This attack was repeated in the night, but failed; and again at daylight on the morning of the 28th, by two divisions of infantry, and was repulsed by Major-general HilL Major-general Hill has reported to me, in a particular manner, the conduct of the 29th Regiment, and of the 1st battalion of the 48th Regiment, in these different affairs, as well as that of Major-general Tilson and Brigadier-general R. Stewart We lost many brave officers and soldiers in the defence of this important point in our position : among others, I cannot avoid mentioning Brigade-major Fordyce and Brigade major Grardner; and Major-general Hill was himself wounded, but, I am happy to say, but sUghtly.
'' The defeat of this attanpt was followed, about noon, by a general attack with the enemy's whole force upon the whole of that part of the position occupied by the British army.
'' In consequence of the repeated attempts upon the height upon our left, by the valley, I had placed two brigades of British cavalry in that valley, supported in the rear by the Duque de Albur^ querque's division of Spanish cavalry.
'' The enemy then placed light infantry in the range of moun- tains on the left of the valley, which were opposed by a division of Spanish infantry, under Lieutenant-general Bassecourt
'' The general attack b^an by the march of several columns of infismtry into the valley, with a view to attack the height occu- pied by Major-general Hill. These columns were immediately charged by the 1st German Hussars and 23d Light Dragocms,
XZn UFB OF WILLDrOTOir.
tmder Brigftdier^eneral Anson, directed bj Lienlenant-general Payne, and supported by Brigadier-general Fane's brigade of heavy cavalry ; and although the 23d Dragoons suffered consider- able loss, the charge had the effect of preyentiDg the executioii of that part of the enemy's plan.
''At the same time he directed an attack upon Brigadier-general Alex. Campbell's position, in the centre of the combined armies and on the right of the British. This attack was most success- fully repulsed by Brigadier-general Campbell, and supported by the King's Regiment of Spanish cavalry, and two battalions of Spanish infantry, and Brigadier-general Campbell took the enemy's cannon. The Brigadier-general m^itions particularly the conduct of the 97th, the 2d battalion of the 7th, and of the 2d battalion <^ the 53d Regiments, and I was highly satisfied with the manner in which this part of the position was defended.
'' An attack was also made at the same time upon Lieutenant- general Sherbrooke's division, which was in the left and centre of the first line of the British army. This attack was most gaUantl j re- pulsed by a charge with bayonets by the whole division; but the brigade of Guards, which were on the right, having advanced too far, they were exposed on their left fiank to the fire of the enemy's batteries, and of their retiring columns, and the division was obliged to retire towards the original position, under cover of the second line of General Cotton's brigade of cavalry, which I moved fix>m the centre, and of the 1st battalion of the 48th Regiment I had moved this last regiment from its position on the height as soon as I observed the advance of the Guards, and it was formed in the plain and advanced upon the enemy, and covered the formation of Lieu- tenant-general Sherbrooke's division.
^^ Shortly afiier the repulse of this general attack, in which ap- parently all the enemy's troops were emjdoyed, he commenced hia retreat across the Alberche, which was conducted in the most wgolar order, and was effected during the night, leaving in our hands 20 pieces of cannon, ammunition, tumbrils, and some pri- soners.
'' Your lordship will observe, by the enclosed return, the great loss which we have sustained of valuable officers and soldiers in this long and hard-fought action with more than double our numbers. That of the enemy has been much greater. I have been informed
TAIiATBRA* XXVli
that entire brigades of infantrj have been destroyed ; and, indeed, the battalions which retreated were much reduced in numbers.
'^I have particularij to lament the loss of Major-general Mackenzie, who had distinguished himself on the 27th, and of Brigadier-general Langworth, of the King's German Legion, and of Brigade-major Beckett, of the Guards.
^ Your Lordship will observe that the attacks of the enemy were principally, if not entirely, directed against the British troops. The Spanish Conunander-in-Chief, his officers and troops, manifested every disposition to render us assistance, and those of them who were engaged did their duty ; but the ground which they occupied was so important, and its fircHit at the same time so difficult, that I did not think it proper to urge them to make any movement on the left; of the enemy while he was engaged with us.
^'I have reason to be satbfied with the conduct of all the officers and troops. I am much indebted to Lieutenant-general Sherbrooke for the assistance I received from him, and for ^ manner in which he led on his division to die charge with bay- onets ; to Lieutenantrgeneral Payne and the cavalry, particularly Brigadier-general Anson's brigade; to Major-generals Hill and lUson, Brigadier-generals Alex. Campbell, R. Stewart, and Ca- meron, and to the divisions and brigades of in&ntry under their command respectively; particularly to the 29th Raiment, com- manded by Cdondl White; to the 1st battalion of the 48th, com- manded by Colonel Donellan, — afterwards, when that officer was wounded, by Major Mid&lemore ; and to the 2d battalion of the 7th, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Sir W. Myers ; and to the 2d battalion of the 53d, commanded by Lieutenanlrcolonel Bing- ham; to the 97th, commanded by Colonel Lyon; to die 1st battalion of detachments, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Bun- bury ; to the 2d battalion of the 30th, commanded by Major Watson ; the 45th, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Guard; and to the 5tfa battalion of the 60th, commanded by Major Davy.
^ The advance of the brigade of Guards was most gallantly conducted by Brigadier-general H. Campbell, and when necessary that brigade retired and formed again in die best order.
'^The artillery under Brigadier-general Howorth was also throughout these days of the greatest service ; and I had every reason to be satisfied with the assistance I received from the chief
XXnU UFB OF WILUNOTOK.
Engineer, Lieutenant-colonel Fletcher; the Adjutant-general, Bri- gadier-general the Hon. C. Stewart; the Quarter-master-general, Colonel Murray; and the officers of those departments respec- tavdy ; and firom Lieutenant-colonel Bathurst and the officers of my personal staff
'' I also received much assistance from Colonel O'Lawlor, of the Spanish service; and from Brigadier-general Wittingham, who was wounded in bringing up the two Spanish battalions to the assistance of Brigadie]^-general Alex. Campbell."
Except at Albuera, the French throughout the whole war never opposed us so welL There were two causes for this : after they had ceased to attack the Spaniards on the right, they brought a force twofold in number to bear upon the British army ; and they had yet not fairly learnt of what materials that army is made. The battle of Coruiia had been represented to them as a victory on their part, and that of V imeiro appeared like one by the cour vention which followed it They were now beaten to their own conviction. The loss on both sides was immense. The English lost two Grenends, Mackenzie and Langworth. The total of killed and wounded on the British side amounted to 5423. The French ore supposed to have lost upwards of 7500. The action was fought on the 27th and 28th, and Soult received orders on the 24th to move upon the rear of the Allies by way of Plasencia. His force amounted to little less than 30,000 men. From the b^inning of the campaign Sir Arthur knew that this force existed in that direction, and was well aware in«what manner it would be directed; but he could not spare a detachment to occupy the passes against them, and Cuesta, though urged in time to take this needful precaution, neglected it till it was too late. Sir Arthur now saw that his only course was to retreat across the Tagus, before that retreat could be cut off; for he was betwe^i two armies each superior to his own, and had seen how little in their present state of discipline was to be expected from his allies. The bridge of Almaraz had been destroyed ; he crossed, therefore, at the Puente del Arzobispo, and took a position which enabled hkn to defend the passage at Almaraz and keep open the defiles of Deleitosa and Xaraicejo. A plan which Ney had formed of occupying those defiles and cutting him off &om Portugal was thus defeated, and the French, not thinking it prudent to make
1809-10.
any farther moyements against such an enemy, turned their efibrts against Van^as, who, after a successful defence at Aranjuez, was defeated at Ahnonacid: but the French purchased the victory with so severe a loss that they were not able to follow up their success. For these services, Sir Arthur was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington, and Baron Douro, of Wellesley, co. Somerset, with a pension of 2000 JL aryear.
The experiment of co-operating with the Spanish army had now been fidrly tried; the want of discipline in the troops, the want of capacity in the leaders, and the want of vigour in the Government, rendered it impossible to rely upon them for effectual assistance. Painful as the determination was to a man like Lord Wellington, there was no alternative but to withdraw his army to the Portuguese frontier, and there await the march of events, while a force was created in Portugal which it was in vain to look for in the sister country. The Spanish army under the Due del Parque, after some temporary successes, were defeated by Keller- man at Alba de Tormes, and Soult obtained a victory at Ocan% over the Spaniards under General Aiisaga.
With these operations ended the year 1809. Preparations were made early in the following January by the French, on the largest scale, for the final subjugation of Spain, and vast bodies of troops were arriving daily at Bayonne on their march to the Peninsula. Meanwhile, Wellington had not been idle; for, al- though his health had given way under the fatigues and responsi- bilities of his position, he, with a foresight never perhaps equalled, employed himself in preparing and establishing a chain of fortified heights, known as ^e lines of Torres Vedras, the retention of which at a later period of the sam^year effectually checked the victorious career of the French army, whose successes had been excited to such a pitch of confidence, that Massena,in the month of June, published at Salamanca a proclamation, in which he promised, in less than three months, to drive the English into the seal
The Government of Spain was at this time in a most wretched condition. The Supreme Junta, driven from Seville, took refuge on the Island of Leon : a popular outbreak took place ; many of the Junta were accused of treason, and some were seized by the populace, and narrowly escaped being put to death. Ciudad Rodrigo was invested in June 1810 by two corps of the French
XXX LIFE OF W£LIJMGKr05.
anny under Massena; on the 25ih the besiegers opened their fire, and on the lOth of July the place surrendered. The defence was honourable to the Spanish arms, it being only a walled town, having no outworks. On the 27th the fortress of Almeida sur- rendered, and the French under Regnier crossed the Tagus with a yiew of turning Wellington's right flank, and occupying the road to Lisbon. General Hill anticipated this movement, and^ crossing the Tagus, possessed himself of that important road.
In the advance of the French army towards Busaco it had several encounters with the Allied forces; on the 27th of Sep- tember they made two desperate attacks on Lord Wellington's position, but they were soon driven back, and the loss they sus- tained in these attacks was very great Massena's army consisted of 68,600 men, in three corps, under Regnier, Ney, and Junot ; besides which, he had one division of 7000 men at Benevente, and another of 8000 at Astorga. {n full expectation of seeing the English fly before him, and perhaps of receiving the crown of Portugal for his reward, he ordered his army to provide itself with food for seventeen days, expecting that, in that time, Lisbon would be their own. This confidence was so strong, that when he perceived the English army had taken post upon the Serra de Busaco, as if they meant to oppose him there, be said to one of his generals, *^ I cannot persuade myself that Lord Wellington wOI risk the loss of his r^utation ; but if he does, / have him I To- morrow we shall complete the conquest of Portugal, and in a few days more I shall drown the Leopard*" The boaster was wofully undeceived ; he left nearly 5000 men killed or woimded upon the mountains, and he took away as many more disabled, whom he left at Coimbra. By an accident, or mistake of counter-orders^ Colonel Trant was prevented from occupying in time a circuitous and difficult road, by which Massena, after his defeat, turned the left of the British position* The error was well redeemed, by the manner in which be entered Coimbra immediately aft;er Massena left it, captured his wounded and his hospital stores, and cut him off from all supplies in that direction. The Allied army, meantime^ retreated before the enemy by easy marches, and in perfect order : instead of spreading panic by the rapidity of their march, their steadiness and admirable discipline inspired the peasantry with courage; under their protection the Portuguese removed their
TOSHES TSDSA& yy^i
praperly^ destroyed their mills^ luroke up the bridges, and laid the country waste. In this manner Lord Wellington retired within the lines of Torres Vedras, and Massena retired towards Alcoentre.
This formidable position of the Allied army was a line of strongly-fortified heights, extending from Altandra on the Tagos to Torres Vedras, about thirty miles from Lisbon, and from thence to the month of the Sipandro ; behind these were other lines, extending £ct>m the[ sea-coast near Mafra to the Tagns. One of these lines nearest to Torres Vedras could be defended with 20,000 men; the other, nearer to Lisbon, by half the number: on these were planted an immense power of heavy artillery ; but, besides a triple line of drfences, redoubts were raised at Penniche, Obidos, &C. on the left of the position. The whole of the coast from Yimiero to the mouth of the Tagus was studded by redoubts on the right ; the banks of the Tagus were flanked by the EngHsb fleet; mines also, ready to be sprung, were formed in yarious places; and within this crescent of impregnable forti- fications was stored the whole produce of those provinces which the Allies had, by their retreat, left open to the enemy, who, ad- vancing with blind confidence, found the army unassailable in any position, and after a sojourn of little more three months, enduring the greatest privati<»is from want of provisions, were finally obliged to retreat towards Santarem in January 1811.
Never was human foresight so successfully exerted; never did the cool and undaunted courage of Wellington shine forth with greater lustre ; and never had a general more necessity for self-reliance and firmness of character than at this eventful period. The retreat, necessary and poUtic as it was, at home was magni- fied and misrepresented as one continued series of defeats ; the Governments with which he was to act thwarted him in every way, and, instead of finding support and encouragement fi:om those whose cause he so successfully was supporting, envy, jealousy, distrust, on every side, surrounded him, and had he not possessed that cool, invulnerable courage, which always supported him, his favourite mode of reasoning, " I am doing the best that can be done under the circumstances,'' would scarcely have enabled him to bear up against the accumulation of annoyances which then suTounded him.
the distresses of the Portuguese nation were
XXXii UFB OF WELUKOtON.
dreadiuL An immense crowd of reAigees were thrown apon the humanity of the army for support; numbers died daily from actual want 100,0002. was Voted by the British Parliament in aid of the distressed Spanish and Portuguese^ and a large sum coUected by private subscription.
The retreat of Massena towards Santarem was so skilfiilly managed, that the Allies had expected, and prepared for, an attack. To deceive our piquets, and to favour his retreat, he had placed figures in uniform, with muskets, in front of his entrenchments. The loss ofhis army since his entrance into Portugal is estimated at40,000 men I On the 5th of March, Grenend Graham defeated the French under Victor at Barossa ; and General Beresford, after a partial engagement with the enemy at Campo Major, pursued them to the gates of Badajos, and took 600 prisoners. In May he formed a junc- tion with Blake and Castanos at Albuera,' where he was attacked on the 16th by the French army under Soult; and aft»r a severe engagement of six hours and a half, in which all the troops con- ducted themselves with the utmost gallantry. Sir W. Beresford gained the victory. The enemy retired in the night of the 17th, leaving 1000 wounded on the field, and two of their generals killed.
Wellington, with the Allied army, now advanced, crossed the CSoa, and undertook the siege of Badajos, but which, from not possessing sufiicient force, he was obliged to raise, as also Ciudad Rodrigo. Soult, and Marmont who had replaced Mas- sena in the command of the French army of Portugal, having effected a junction, Wellington retired from Giudad Rodrigo, and took up a strong position behind the Guadiana, and within the Portuguese frontier defied this united force, which he knew could not long be kept together. While Lord Wel- lington, acting upon this confidence, baffled, with consummate skill, the efforts of an enemy greatly superior in numbers, he was secretly preparing again to besiege Ciudad Rodrigo. The first business was to restore the works at Almeida, so as to make it a secure place of deposit for his artillery and stores. There was a possibility that the place might be reduced by blockade; for, standing in a hostile country, sixty miles firom the nearest French cantonments, supplies could not be thrown in without an escort at least equal in number to the blockading force : but it was not easy for the French to keep together so large an army
I
BABAJOZ. XXXIU
when they had no magazines. With these views^ as soon as Marmont and Soult had separated for want of suppKes, Lord Wellington again returned to the Agueda^ and by the middle of September Ciudad Rodrigo was so much distressed, that Mar- mont, with between 60,000 and 70,000 men, was compelled to come to its relief. The Allies retired behind the Coa, and the French papers boasted that they would have been driven to the lines of Lisbon, if the moment had been come which was fixed for that catastrophe ! When that moment should arrive, Marmont was to be joined by the army of the south, of whose unbroken force he boasted. Lord Wellington had his eye upon that force; and General Hill, being detached against a division of 5000 men under General Girard, who occupied the cormtry about Caceres, surprised them completely, killed above 600, and took above 1400 prisoners, with the whole of their artillery, baggage, stores, &c This was the first act of enterprise that the British had attempted* While the French were astonished at the change of system in their enemies. General Hill continued to alarm them by repeated incursions ; and Lord Wellington, taking advantage of a moment when Marmont had detached part of his troops to assist Sachet in the conquest of Valencia, brought up his batter- ing train against Ciudad Rodrigo, invested it on the 8th January, and carried it by storm on the 19th, four days before Marmont collected an army at Salamanca, to march to its relief. As soon as the place was again rendered tenable, he delivered it to the Spaniards, appeared suddenly before Badajoz, invested it once more on the 16th March, and in twenty days was master also of that strong fortress. Both places were purchased at a heavy expense of life; for, owing to the deficiency of our military establishment in these important branches, that was accomplished by courage which ought to have been effected by art But they were both points of the greatest importance; and admirable indeed was the skill by which a general, with less than 50,000 men, was enabled thus to take two fortresses of such magnitude, in spite of two French armies amounting to more than fourscore thousand men. The tide of fortune had turned ; Buonaparte was at this time preparing for a war in Russia ; another breathing-time was given to Spain; and England now began to feel her own strength, and to glory in her army and her general
d
/
ZXXIV LIFE OF WEJLUNQTOM.
The Spaniards were now so sensible of Lord Wellington's ser- vices that they created him Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo^ and named him Commander-in-chief of their armies. But this appointment added little to his actual means. The character of the Spaniards, such as it appears in history, had been strikingly exemplified during this war ; nothing could subdue the spirit of the people, nothing could teach wisdom to their rulers. The Cortes, from which so much had been hoped, wasted their time in metaphysical discussions. Little or nothing was done to improve their armies, and Lord Wellington had only his own troops and the Portuguese to rely upon ; the latter, indeed, inlly equal to any service which might be required &om them, but both too few in number for the great opportunity which was presented. The first object was to impede the communication between Soult and Marmont, now carried on by a bridge of boats established in place of the fine bridge at Almaraz. This was defended by formidable works on both sides of the river. General Hill, with his usual ability, siurprised and destroyed them in May, and in June Lord Wel- lington advanced from the Agueda to Salamanca, took the forts which the French had constructed at that city, maJcing 800 prisoners, and pursued Marmont to the Doura Marmont con- centrated his force on the right bank between Polios and Torde- sillas, having possession of all the bridges, and here he was joined by Bonnet's army firom Asturias, giving him a considerable supe- riority over Lord Wellington, who then found it necessary to retreat On the 21st of July the whole of the Allied forces were assembled on the Tormes; the evening was overcast, and a thunder-storm began as the enemy took up their position; the whole sky was kindled with almost continuous lightnings, and in spite of heavy rain the enemy's fires were seen along their line. The two armies were now drawn up near Salamanca on opposite rising groimds, the French having their left and the Allies their right, each upon one of two remarkable rocky points called the two Arapiles. Here the French general, who, confiding in his superior numbers, was determined to bring the Allies to action, extended his left, in order to turn the right of their position, and interpose between them and Ciudad Rodriga Lord Wellington was at dinner when he was informed of this movement ; he saw at once the advantage which had been given ; he rose in such haste
SALAMANCA. XXXV
as to overturn die table, exclaimed that ** Marmont's good genius had forsaken him," and in an instant was on horseback, issuing those orders which won the battle of Salamanca. He attacked the French immediately where they had thus weakened them- selves, and overthrew their whole army from their left to their right, taking 7000 prisoners, eleven guns, and two eagles. Mar- mont lost an arm in the action, and nothing but the coming on of m'ght saved his army from total destruction. This was the most severe defeat which they had yet sustained, and the most humili- ating. Hitherto we had been satisfied with repelling their attacks and remaining masters of the field of battle : Lord Wellington now drove them before him; he followed them to Valladolid, then leaving the pursuit, re-crosscd the Douro and moved upon the capital The intruder took flight for the second time from that city, and 1700 men who were leflt in the Redro surrendered to the British arms.
This was a bold movement : the Allied army did not exceed 50,000 men, and the enemy had armies on all sides amounting to more than thrice that number. Against these there was to be taken into the accoimt a hostile population, wh(Hn it was everywhere necessary to keep down by force; and numerous bodies of guerrillas, who waged upon the invaders a consuming and disheart^oing war. Something Lord Wellington calculated upon — a Spanish army in the south under Ballasteros, a man of admirable activity and courage : and he relied still more upon a diversion in Catalonia, where a British army from Sicily was to land to co-operate with the Catalans, whom Great Britain had too long suffered to struggle without support ; they, of all the Spaniards^ having made the greatest efforts, and received the least assistance. But Ballasteros carried with him through all stages of his military progress the habits of insubordination which he had learnt as a smuggler; and being instigated by some of those persons who were blindly and obstinately jealous of the' British influence in Spain, he refused to obey Lord Wellington's orders at the most critical moment, saying, he should not think himself worthy to be called an Arragonese if he could thus consent to tarnish the honour of the Spanish army. The Regency immediately removed him from the command, aiid sent him into exile; but the evil was done: and Soult, who, in consequence of the advance upon
XXXVl UFE OF WELLINGTON.
Madrid, had broken up the long-protracted siege of Cadiz, aban- doned Seville, and evacuated the whole of Andalusia, was thus enabled to make his retreat unmolested, and prepare with a formidaUe force to act against Lford Wellington. The hopes of co-operation from the Sicilian army were not less cruelly dis- appointed ; that army was not strong enough to land in Catalonia, it proceeded therefore to Alicante, and thereby enabling the Spanish army in that quarter again to come forward, prevented Suchet from moving upon Madrid ; this was as much as so weak a force could do, but much more was required at such a crisis. There was yet another point to which Lord Wellington might look for support : the resources of Gralicia had never been called forth since the French were driven out in 1809 ; it was said that an army of 25,000 men was ready to act with him from thence, and able to make a stand if they were put in possession of Burgos. Marmont's army, now refitted under General Clausel, and amount- ing to 25,000 men, was advancing in this direction, and Lord Wellington judged it best to march against this part of the enemy's force, and obtain possession of Burgos, leaving half his army under Sir Rowland Hill, to observe the movements of Soult from the south.
The castle of Burgos is an old building which the French had fitted for defence. These irregular fortifications are sometimes far stronger than they appear, «id besieging armies have often suffered for estimating them too cheaply. Lord Wellington in- vested it on the 19th September; three 18-pounders and five 24- pounder irpn howitzers were the whole of his artillery ; but after what had been done at Rodrigo and at Badajoz it was supposed that nothing could resist the assault of British soldiers. There are situations in which no courage, however enterprising and desperate, can compensate for the want of science ; the siege was undertaken almost without means of any kind, and the men, after failing in their first attempt, lost heart ; they saw that the proper means were wanting, and that they were opposing bayonets and flesh and blood against artillery and stone walls. Anmiunition also failed, and it was necessary to wait for a supply frx>m St Andero : thus operations were protracted till Soult, with a supe- rior force, began to threaten Sir Rowland Hill, and Clausel, having been strongly reinforced, was able to act on the offensive.
BURGOS. XXXVU
The siege was then raised^ after nearly five weeks* perseverance and the loss of 2000 men. It was necessary also to retire from Madrid. Sir Rowland Hill fell back and joined Lord Wellington on the retreat, and the French armies, to the amount of 80,000 foot and 10,000 horse, formed their junction also in pursuit, upon the Tonnes ; the Allies not exceeding 50,000, of which 9000 were cavalry. If a victory had been gained against such odds, it could not be pursued; the retreat was therefore continued to Ciudad Rodrigo, and the campaign of 1812 was thus closed. As far as the ccnmianders were concerned, the retreat was made with excellent skilL "None," said Lord Wellington, **was ever known in which the troops made such short marches; none on which they made such long and repeated halts ; none in which the retreating armies were so little pressed on their rear by the enemy. The army met with no disaster, it suffered no privations but such as might have been prevented by due care on the part of the officers, and no hardships but what unavoidably arose from the inclemency of the weather. ** " For my part," said Marquis Wel- lesley, speaking in Parliament with becoming pride of his brother's conduct, — " for my part, were I called upon to give my impartial testimony of the merits of your great general, I confess before Heaven I would not select his victories, brilliant as they are : — I would go to the moments when difficulties pressed on him, — when he had but the choice of extremities, — when he was overhung by superior strength I It is to his retreats that I would go for the proudest and most undoubted evidence of his ability I" But though this praise (and it is the highest which a general can acquire) was perfectly deserved, the ill effects of the repulse at Burgos were lamentably apparent in the retreat, and the soldiers became so insubordinate as to call forth a severe reprehension from the com- mander.
Mortifying as it was thus to have retreated, and deeply painAil as it was to retire from Madrid, where the people had welcomed their deliverers with such enthusiastic joy, yet the campaign was productive of the most beneficial consequences. The only two fortresses which enabled the enemy to threaten Portugal had been wrested from him, a number of his troops, nearly equal to that of the whole Allied army, had been destroyed, and the whole south of Spain delivered. The honours and rewards which Lord Wei-
ZXXVUl LIFE OF WEIXIKGTON.
lington had so well deserved were now decreed him by lis grateful country. The restrictions upon the R^ency having ex- pired^ the first use which the Prince Regent made of his new power was to create him a Marquis of the United Kingdom, and Parliament unanimously voted a grant of 100,0002. to purchase lands and enable him to support the dignity of the peerage. In Portugal he had already been made Count of Vimiero and Mar- quis of Torres Vedras, and now, by a remarkable coincidence, the Prince of Brazil conferred upon him the additional title of Duke of Vittoria, The winter and early spring were spent in preparing for a campaign which might complete the great work of delivering the Peninsula: for this purpose Marquis Wellington went to Cadiz to communicate in person with the Spanish Government, and the armies of that country were at length brought into a better state of disciplina In England also it was at last acknow- ledged, that the best economy in war is to spare no expense in doing the work speedily. Buonaparte had been driven &om Russia ; and never had any army been overtaken with such tre- mendous vengeance as that which in his wanton and blind ambi- tion he had led to Moscow. Prussia had seized the opportunity to throw off his yoke ; his whole force was now required for the struggle in Germany ; and the British Government, which in the worst times had bravely and wisely persisted in the arduous struggle, made fiill use of the favourable opportunity.
Notwithstanding Soult, with a considerable body of troops, had been called to Germany, there were still above 150,000 French in Spain; but of these a great number were dispersed in garrisons, &nd Catalonia and Valencia required a large proportion. A force, however, of 70,000 was collected to oppose the AlUes ; it consisted of the whole armies of the south and the centre^ with? some divisions of the army of the north, and of the army of Por- tugal, whose name was still retained after its complete expulsion from that country. The puppet King Joseph was at their head, thinking it prudent to leave Madrid before he should be driven from it, that his last retreat might be more decorous than the former; and Marshal Jourdan had the command. Their head- quarters were in Yalladolid when Marquis Wellington, toward the latter end of May, took the field with 80,000 men. The enemy retired from the Tormes as he advanced ; and he moved up the
TTITOBIA. XXXIX
right bank of the Duero, crossed the Esia, and took their hne of defence along the Duero completely in reverse; they therefore necessarily retreated, and onr cavalry, acting to advantage in the flat country, kept them so in check and cramped their movements 8o as to prevent a single reconnoissance on their part to discover the numbers, routes, or intentions of the British army. Bui^os, which had opposed so formidable a resistance the preceding year, was abandoned and blown up; and our great commander, pur- suing the same system, amused the enemy upon their main front, while three or four divisions, hastening forward by lateral roads on their flank, crossed the Ebro also, before they could take possession of its most impregnable positions. These successes, which would have been considered as an ample reward for two or three general actions, were obtained by the skill of the general with scarcely the loss of a single Ufa The French, being de- prived, by these admirable movements, of the advantage which they might have derived from these rivers, and the strength of the country about the Ebro, drew up for battle upon the river Zadora, near Vittoria ; the high road to that city being in their centre, their left extended across the mountains to La Puebla de Arlanzon, and the right of their centre rested on a strong circular hill, which they covered with infantry, and with several brigades of guns to defend the passage of the river. The iK>6ition, though in other respects well chosen, was liable to be taken in flank, and Marquis Wellington saw at a glance where its weakness lay. He began the action on the right, where the Spaniards tmder General Murillo attacked the heights of La Puebla with great gallantry : their leader was wounded, but remained in the field ; the French made great efforts to retain this ground, which they neglected to occupy in sufficient strength, and here the stress of the battle lay, reinforcements coming from both sides : but Sir Rowland Hill remained at last in possession of this important point, and being enabled to pass the river, and a defile which it formed, carried the village of Sabijana de Alara in front of the enemy's position. This being lost, when the French perceived the centre of the Allied anny advancing to attack the hill above the Zadora, while Sir Rowland attacked their centre on the other side, they began to retire toward Vittoria in good order; meantime Sir Thomas Graham^ with the left, cut off theu* retreat on the road to
Xl LIFE OF WELUNOTON.
Bayonne. The contest was now carried close to the walls of Vit- toria, and was soon terminated* As an officer who bore a part in this day's glorious work well expressed it, " the French were beaten before the town, and in the town, and through the town, and out of the town, and behind the town, and all round about the town." Everywhere they were attacked, and everywhere put to utter rout They themselves had in many actions made greater slaughter of a Spanish army, but never in any instance had re- duced even an army of raw volunteers to such a state of total wreck, — stores, baggage, artillery, everything was abandoned, — one gun and one howitzer only were they able to carry off, and even that gun was taken before it could reach Pamplona. King Joseph attempted to escape in his coach, a pistol was discharged into the carriage, and he had just time to leave it, leap on horse- back and gallop off, while a party of dragoons impeded his pur- suers. The number of prisoners was inconsiderable, for the French ran without making an attempt to form and rally, and the pursuit was not directed with the same skill as the attack. The number of killed and wounded was comparatively little, so speedily had the victory been won. The superiority of generalship on the part of the Allies was indeed never more decidedly manifested, and such of the enemy as had been in action with the English before did not fight the better for the recollection.
The blow which was thus struck at Vittoria was felt in Ger- many, and Soult was sent to collect fresh armies and oppose the victorious General, whose name was now become terrible to the French troops. But Marquis Wellington was now master of the field, and Soult could neither recover his footing in Spain nor prevent the Allies from invading Franca We pass rapidly over the brilliant achievements that ensued ; Pamplona was invested by the Spanish under O'Donel. Meanwhile Soult had concentrated his forces, and meditated an attack on the right of the Anglo- Spanish army under Wellington. On the 24th, Soult moved two of the wings of his anny upon St Jean Pied de Port, and on the 25th attacked General Byng's post at Roncesvalles. Wellington, after providing for the continuance of the siege of St Sebastian and the blockade of Pamplona, moved on the 27th. The Battles of the Pyrenees may then be said to have commenced, and notwith- standing the immense superiority of the French force, the com-
FTBENEES, OfiTHEZ, TOULOUSE. xli
bined Elnglish, Spanish, and Portuguese army obtained a brilliant victory. General Sir Rowland Hill and the Earl of Dalbousie rendered eminent services on tliis occasion, and the English army occupied the positions which the French had left on the 25tb. The total loss from the 25th to the 27th of August was upwards of 7500 men. Never during the whole campaign had there been so severely contested and continuous a series of battles as those fought in the Pyrenees. The effect was magical: the French retreated, beaten and discomfited, while the Allied army pressed forward with renewed confidence and enthu-* siasm, both for the justice of their cause, and also in the skill of that General by whose hand alone it appeared the pride of the French army was to be humbled. St Sebastian fell by assault on the 31st of August; the passage of the Bidassoa took place on the 7 th of October, and on the 21st the fortress of Pamplona surrendered. On the 10th of November, Wellington attacked and forced the fortified passes of the Nivelle, after a most obstinate defence. Fifty- one pieces of cannon, quantities of ammunition, and 1400 prisoners, were the result of this operation. On the 27th of February, 1814, after the passage of the Adour, the battle of Orthez, one of tiie most severely contested during the campaign, took place, and Soult was again vanquished, and forced to retire, and had not Lord Wellington been disabled and severely hurt by a blow from a spent shot, the operation against the retreating army might have been still more decisive. After several movements of minor importance, but all bearing upon the plans sketohed out by the skUftd com- mander of the Allied army, they crossed the Garonne, and com- menced operations in the enemy's country, and the final but unnecessary battle of Toulouse was fought on the 10th of April, 1814, Buonaparte having abdicated on the 4th of April ; which event was, however, unknown both to Wellington and Soult until the 12th, although it has been stated frequently that the French commander was in possession of that information. In this san- guinary battle the Allies lost 4600 men, and the French about 4000 ; but the French were obliged to retire from their positions ; and on the 1 1th Soult abandoned Toulouse, making a forced march upon Yillepache, and leaving his wounded, his magazines, and eight pieces of artillery to the conquerors. And yet, after these decisive proofs of their inability to retain that for which they so
zlii uns OP wxllinqton.
bravely fought^ there are many Frenchmen, whose edncation shotild place them above such petty detractions, who now claim the victory for their countrymen I Having beaten the French from the mouth of the Tagus to the Garonne, that war which Wellington had commenced under such disadvantages at the ex- tremity of Portugal he concluded victoriously in the heart of France, after a series of successes which, when all circumstances are considered, may truly be said to be unparalleled in military history. He entered upon that career at a time when the military reputation and the military power of France were at their greatest height ; when a belief that it was impossible to resist the conunand- ing genius and inexhaustible resources of Buonaparte had been inculcated in this country with pestilent activity, and had deeply tainted the public mind.
The battle was fought on Easter Sunday: — ^long will that Easter be remembered by the Toulousans I the wounded French were brought from the field of battle as they fell, to the gates of the town, and thence conveyed by the inhabitants to the hospitals. They are said by the French themselves to have been innume- rable. Marshal Soult talked of defending the town and burying himself and his army under its ruins, and the people had all the horrors of Zaragoza and Tarragona before their eyes, and dreaded those reprisals which might so naturally be expected from the Portuguese and Spaniards. The city and the army were in reality at that time at the conqueror's mercy; but Lord Wel- lington, though he had not been apprised of the deposition of Buonaparte, knew that that event was at hand, and that no cir- cumstances could long delay it Wishing, therefore, to avoid all further efiusion of blood, he suffered Soult and his troops to file ofi* during the night of the 11th under the cannon of the British army without firing a shot; and on the following morning the Allies entered the city as deliverers. The perfect order which they observed, so utterly unlike the rapacious conduct of the French armies, excited the utmost admiration in the inhabitants.
On the evening of the 12th the despatches from Paris arrived ; the restoration of the Bourbons was announced to Marshal Soult, but that general only proposed a suspension of hostilities till he could ascertain the real state of public feeling. Lord Wellington then put his army in motion to pursue him; but on the 17th,
BSTUSN TO SNGtLAlVr. zUli
Marshal Soult informed him that he formally acknowledged the provisional government of France.
It seemed not unreasonable to suppose that the Duke of Wei* lii^ton would, for the remainder of his life, enjoy in peace the honours and rewards which he had so well deserved, and which had been so properly bestowed.* Leaving the army which he had so often conducted to victory, he joined the Allied Sovereigns at the court of Louis XVIII., and there for the first time met General Bliicher, the most glorious of his fellow-labourers in the deliverance of Europe ; little did they foresee in what manner the acquaintance which they had began was to be cemented, and how their names in inseparable union would descend to the latest posterity. From Paris the Duke repaired to Madrid, where Fer- dinand confirmed all the honours which the Cortes had conferred upon him, and created him Captain-general of Spain. Returning to England, on the 23d June, 1814, he was received with every mark of love, gratitude, and honour, which the Prince, the Legis- lature, and the People could bestow. He had never yet taken his seat in the House of Lords, and at his first introduction, on the 28diof June,wa« placed in the highest rank of the peerage, his various patents of Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and Duke being read on the same day« Here he received the thanks and congratula* tions of the House on his return from his command on the Conti- nent, and for the great, signal, and eminent services which he had so repeatedly rendered therein to his Majesty and to the public The House of Commons appointed a deputation to congratulate him on his return, and llie Duke attended the House on the 30th of June to express his thanks. This was a memorable scene ; all the members uncovered, rose, and enthusiastically cheered him as he entered ; the Speaker, in an admirable address, touched upon those parts of his military character for which Wellington is more peculiarly to be praised — the implicit faith which he communi- cated to his soldiers — the confidence which he had ever felt in himself and his cause, and the manner in which he had united armies of such different and discordant materials under his com- mand. " It is not," said the Speaker, " the grandeur of military
• On the 3d of May, 1814, he was created Marquis of Douro and Duke of Wellington ; he had been made a Knight of the Garter the previous year, and a grant of 100,000/., to which Parliament, in Jane, added the sum of 400,000/.
xliv LIFE OF WELUNQTON.
success which has alone fixed our admiration or commanded our applause ; it has been^ that generous and lofty spirit which inspired your troops with unbounded confidence, and taught them to know that the day of battle was always a day of victory : that moral courage and enduring fortitude which in perilous times, when gloom and doubt had beset ordinary minds, stood, nevertheless, unshaken; and that ascendancy of character which, uniting the energies of jealous and rival nations, enabled you to wield at will the fate and fortunes of mighty empires." The Duke on his part ^^ expressed his admiration of the great efforts made by the House and by the country in times of unexampled pressure and difficulty, for supporting on a great scale those operations by which the contest had been brought to so happy a conclusion." The occa- sion, indeed, had called for all the efforts of the country, but the efforts were adequate to the occasion, and success could not be doubtful when those mighty means were entrusted to hands which knew how to direct them so welL
In the summer of 1814 the Duke of Wellingtoo was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of France, and assisted in the autumn of that year and the com- mencement of the next at the Congress of Vienna, whose delibe- rations were so suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted by the return of Napoleon from Elba on the 1st of March, 1815.
The details of the vast military conspiracy, which had its rami- fications in every part of the French army, have never yet trans- pired; some of the Marshals probably were not entrusted with the important secret Still it could not have been but known to many, and suspected by others. In fact, the peculiar and unne- cessary movements of the army, only a few weeks previous to Napoleon's landing, should have roused suspicion in the minds of the King of France's ministers. These details may some day be brought to light, unless the policy of the present ruler of France should be able effectually to destroy all traces, or that those engaged had, in the hour of danger and defeat, after the battle of Waterloo, careftilly destroyed all documents that might criminate themselves or others.
The feeling which prevailed throughout Europe at the re- appearance of Buonaparte was as general as it was just The Plenipotentiaries at Vienna thought it due to their own dignity,
WATEBLOO. xlv
and the interest of social order, to make a solemn declaration of their sentiments.
" By thns breaking the convention," they said, ** which has established him in the Island of Elba, Buonaparte destroys the only legal title on which his existence depended; by appearing again in France with projects of conftision and disorder he has deprived himself of the protection of the law, and has manifested to the universe that there can be neither peace nor truce with hiuL The Powers consequently declare, that Napoleon Buonaparte has ^aced himself without the pale of civil and social relations, and that as an enemy and disturber of the tranquiDity of the world he has rendered himself liable to public vengeanca"
This was the proper language ; it was what the law of nature and the law of nations dictated; it was what common sense prompted and common justice required. The declaration bore the stamp of wisdom and sound policy as well as of manliness ; and it will be recorded by future historians and biographers to the honour of the Duke of Wellington, that he was one of the ministers who acted thus promptly and judiciously for the nations which they repre- sented. He acted as became him in the cabinet; and Great Britain, in perfect approbation of what he had done, and in that full confi- dence which his former services merited, placed him once more at the head of her armies in the field.
On the 11th of April, Wellington arrived at Brussels from Vienna, and took the command of the Allied armies, and put him- self on the 2d of May in communication with Prince Bliicher in command of the Prussian army on the Mouse.
The operations of the decisive and all-important campaign will be found fully described in the pages which follow this memoir. The batde of Waterloo was fought on the memorable 18th of June, and the power of Buonaparte at once and for ever annihilated. The feeling which this battle produced in England will never be forgotten. Accustomed as we were to victory, upon the land as well as upon the seas, since the star of Wel- lington had risen; confident as we were in our general and in our army, even they who were most assured of success, and of speedy success, dreamed not of success so signal, so sudden, so decisive. The glory of all former fields seemed at the time to fade before that of Waterloa At Cressy, at Poictiers, at A^-
xlvi LIFE OF WELLINOTOlf.
ooorty the ease with which victory had been obtained appeared to detract from the merit of the conquerors ; there the moltitade of the enemies had been delivered into our hands by their own inso- lence and presumption. Blenheim had been less stubborn in the conflict, less momentous in the consequences; and all the previous actions of our great commander, from Eastern Assaye to Toulouse, now seemed mere preludes to this last and greatest of his triumph. Heavy as was the weight of private sorrow which it brought with it ; severe as was the public loss in the fall of Picton and Ponsonby, and of so many others, the flower of the British youth, the pride and promise of the British army ; still we were spared that grief, which on a former occasion had abated the joy of the very multitude, and made thoughtftil spirits almost regret the victory of Trafalgar. The Duke's aides-de-camp — men endeared to him by their long services in the career of glory, and by their personal devotion to him — fell, killed or wounded, one after another. Of those who accompanied him during this ^' agony of his fame," his old friend, the Spanish General Alava, was the only one who was untouched either in his person or his horse. At one moment, when the Duke was very far advanced observing the enemy's movements^ one of his aides-de-camp ventured to hint that he was exposing himself too much: the Duke answered with his noble simplicity, *^ I know I am, but I must die or see what they are doing."
The first consideration, when joy and astonishment admitted leisure for it, was how to express our sense of this great exploit, how to manifest our gratitude to the army and its leader, how to discharge our obligation — the mighty debt which was due to the living and the dead. There remained no new title for Wel- lington ; from his knighthood to his dukedom he had won them all; there remained no new distinctions of honour, he had ex- hausted them all : but the Parliament added two hundred thousand pounds to its former munificent grant, with which the nation purchased and presented to the Duke the manor and estate of Strathfieldsaye, the tenure bdng similar to that by which the estate of Blenheim is held by the descendants of the illustrious Marlborough ; namely, the presentation of a tricolored flag to the Sovereign on the anniversary of his last and most glorious battle. The merits of the army also were properly estimated, and the re-
WATERix)a zlvii
wards^ as tbej ought to be^ were extended to every rank and every individaaL Every regiment which had been present was per- mitted firom thenceforth to bear the word " Waterloo" upon its colours : all the privates were to be borne upon the muster^roUs and pay-lists of their respective corps as Waterloo-men^ and every Waterloo-man allowed to reckon that day's work as two years' service in the account of his time for increase of pay, or for a pension when discharged. The subaltern officers were in like manner to reckon two years' service for that victory ; and a benefit not less important was on this occasion extended to the whole Anny, by a regulation enacting that henceforward the pensions granted for wounds should rise with the rank to which the officer attained, so that he who was maimed when an ensign should, when he became a general, receive a general's pension for the injury which he had endured. These were soUd, substantial benefits, such as the army had well deserved, and as it became the Govern- inent to confer.
Lord Wellington described his own feelings after the battle in a letter to the Earl of Aberdeen, to whom he had the painAil task of commimicating a brother's death (Sir Alexander Gordon).
^' I cannot," he said, " express to you the regret and sorrow with which I look round me, and c(»itemplate the loss which I liave sustained, particularly in your brother. The glory resulting from such actions, so dearly bought, is no consolation to me, and I caimot suggest it as any to you and his friends. But I hope that it may be expected that this last one has been so decisive, as that no doubt remains that our exertions and our individual losses will be rewarded by the early attainment of our just object It is then that the glory of the actions in which our friends and relations have fidlen will be some consolation for their loss."*
Language like this is indeed honourable to him from whom it proceeded. Lord Wellington spake from his heart This victory had been too severely purchased to bring with it any of that ex- hilaration with which victory is usually accompanied. But his expectations of the result w^re not fallacious. The Allied armies moved upon Paris, of which they took military possession on the 7 th of July. On the 15 th, Napoleon surrendered himself uncon-
* Gurwood*8 " WeUington Dispatches.'*
Xlviii LIFE OF WELUKGTON.
ditionall J to the English nation, on board H. M. S. Belleiophon ;* meanwhile the Duke, in his hour of victory, exerted himself to prevent the retaliatory measures of his brave companion in arms, Blucher; and Paris was saved the humiliation of seeing the destruction of some of her proudest monuments by the magna- nimity of the conqueror. These acts of retaliation savoured, perha|)s, a Utde of die barbarous, but the outrageous conduct of the French armies in Prussia would have justified any measures, however strong. On the 22d of October the Duke was appointed Com- mander-in-Chief of the Allied Army of Occupation in France, and made Field-marshal in the Austrian, Russian, and Prussian armies, and Prince of Waterloo by the Kmg of the Netherlands. On his return to England, the enthusiasm with which the Duke was received by every class was unbounded. Crowds daily awaited at his gate to see him ; wherever he appeared he was greeted with the shouts and benedictions of the populace; honours, rewards, riches, were showered with lavish hands. Every town voted an address, and Waterloo Testimonials and Monuments rose on every side too numerous to particularize. But with all these popular ovations the head of the Duke was not turned. He held on his way steadily, neither turning to the one side nor to the other, but manAilly fulfilling his duty to his sovereign and his country. Happy was it that he was thus constituted, for, with the charac- teristic fickleness of popular feeling, not many years elapsed before the same man, the same Hero of a Hundred Fights, the same Saviour of Europe, could not show himself without being subject to those insidts and outrages which a London mob can so fearfiilly inflict The iron shutters at Apsley House are a lasting memorial of this period of popidar excitement, and a silent reproach and warning to that unthinking, unwise, and uiireasonable assemblage. However, the people repented of their ingratitude, and his latter days were equally crowned by popularity as at the early period of victory.
The Duke's military career was now ended, but the period of useAilness to his country was but half accomplished, and his poUtical life of thirty^seven years would form as instructive, if not so briUiant a narrative, as the earUer portions of his career ; want of ability and want of space must here be pleaded in excuse for a mere outline of subsequent events.
• Vide p. 127.
ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE. xIlX
Dniing the occupation of Paris^ the life of Wellington had been twice attempted; and, to the eternal disgrace of Buonaparte, he rewarded the miscreant Cantillon, the author of the last attempt, by a legacy. In September, 1818, the Duke assisted at the second Congress at Aix-la-Chapelle, and on the 26th of De- cember was appointed Master-general of the Ordnance. On the 4th of March he was made Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifle Brigade, and assisted as Lord High Constable at the coronation of George lY., and in the autumn of 1821 he visited the Field of Waterloo, in company with his Sovereign. In 1826 he was sent on a special mission to St Petersburg, where he received the highest honours, and was treated by the Emperor of Russia with the greatest respect and consideration. One of the finest regiments in the Russian service was then, in the most graceful maimer, named the *^ Duke of Wellington's Regiment,'' the Emperor notifying the same to his Grace in a flattering letter. On the death of the Duke of York he was appointed, with universal consent and satisfaction, Commander- in-Chief, and Colonel of the Grrenadier Guards; in February,
1828, he accepted office as First Lord of the Treasury, when he resigned the command of the army. On the 20th of January,
1829, was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports ; and in con- junction with the late lamented Sir Robert Peel he carried through Parliament the important measure of Catholic Emancipation, and the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. On the 21st of March, 1829, a hostile meeting took place in Battersea Fields between his Grace and the Earl of Winchilsea, the present Viscount Hardinge acting as second to the Duke ; the bloodless result of the encounter was followed by a retraction on the part of the Earl of the objectionable paragraphs of a speech, which was the origin of the dispute. His Grace afterwards saw reason to condemn so absurd a mode of settling a political quarrel, and by a stringent order on the subject of duelling, which he subsequently issued from the Horse Guards, tacitly admitted his error. In Novem- ber 1830, on the question of Reform, the Government of which he was the chief was forced to resign ; and for honestly stating his opinions (which we beheve he afterwards conscientiously changed) he was treated with that shameful ingratitude we have bad occasion to refer to as a disgrace to the English character. After a temporary retirement he \ras again, in November 1834,
1 LIFE OF WELUKaiON.
called upon by King William IV, to assist him with his counsels. He advised the King to send for Sir Robert Peel^ who was then travelling in Italy, and assumed himself in the interim the duties of Premier, and three of the departments of State, including that of Foreign Affairs, in which he eventually continued ; and we may add^ that during this short monopoly of office never were public affairs carried on in a more systematic or efficient manner.
The University of Oxford the same year elected him, by general acclamation. Chancellor of that ancient and yenerable seat of learning. In April of the following year he retired from office, since which time, excepting the duties connected with the administraticxi of the affairs of the army, he never entered into the active service of a Minister of the Crown, although his advice has often been sought and acted upon by the most illustrious persons of the land.
At the coronation of her present Majesty, the Duke was treated with marked respect by all assembled. His old antagonist. Marshal Soult, had been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary from the King of the French, and the meeting of these old opponents in arms was most cordial and interesting.
The latter days of the protracted life of the illustrious Duke were calm and serene. Courted and flattered by every one, from the highest, to the lowest of that mob who had so fickly bestowed its favour, wherever his well-known figure and face appeal^ every head was respectfoUy uncovered, and his quick military salute in return never failed to send home the recipient with the news that he had seen and been noticed by ^^ the Duke." Courteous and kind to all, he calmly continued his career of honour and usefiilness, pre- paring for that change which^ although long protracted, most eventually come. A few years ago the first warning, that eighty summers cannot be borne along without casting their shadows over even the strongest frame, manifested itsel£ The Duke had an attack which the skill of his medical attendants ultimately reduced, and his Grace was enabled stUl to continue those habits of activity which even his prolonged existence could not checL Increased deafness and difficulty of articulation, with a peculiar unsteadiness of step in walking, and a greater difficulty in mounting his horse — a feat in which to the last he sternly forbade any one to at- tempt to assist him — were the sure but only signs which presented themselves.
HIS LAST MOMENTS. li
His intellect and correct judgment remained clear to the last ; and although the pablic, from the great interest which all felt in the preservation of that honoured life, had naturally yet painfully been prepared for the sad result which his increasing years daily rendered more and more probable, still the news, when at last it came, from the want of the looked*for premonitory symptoms and from the magnitude of the loss, fell on the public ear as some sudden national calamity, the electric shock of which was at once and as suddenly felt from one exti^emity of the kingdom to the other; and notwithstanding the speculations of all on the proximity of so sad an event, these mental preparations, as in the case of the loss of one near and dear to any of us, failed utterly to assuage the public grief. It would be in vain to attempt to describe more minutely the impressions participated in by all, at home and abroad, when it was at last announced that our illustrious Commandeivin-* Chief had ceased to exist ; the sad news is too fresh upon us, and the impression sufficiently vivid to all: we therefore, while his honoured remains await those ceremonials which the attachment of his Sovereign and the gratitude of a nation have unanimously accorded, will briefly endeavour to give a short account of his last moments, gathered from the public press.
As was usual in the autumn of each year, the Duke retired to his marine residence, Walmer Castle, which he held officially as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and was gathering, it was hoped, renewed health and strength from the change of air and from the sea breezes. On the Saturday preceding his death he had ridden over on horseback to Dover, and inspected the works in prepress at the harbour; he lefl for Walmer shortly after four o'clock; on the Simday he attended Divine service in Walmer Church; on the Monday he inspected his stables, and gave several directions respecting a visit to Dover, which he intended for the morrow; his appetite was good, and he dined heartily, and retired at his ordinary hour to rest
On Tuesday, the 14th of September, his valet called him as usual between six and seven o'clock, but his Grace did not rise to dress. After the lapse of about an hour the valet's attention was aroused by a sound resembling faint meanings issuing from his master's chamber. On going into the room, the Duke (who had not risen) desired him to send for Mr. Hulke, of Deal, the family
lii LIFE OF WELUNQTON.
apothecary^ as he wished to see him. This was the first intimation the family received of his illness^ and Liord and Lady Charles Wellesley were summoned, and remained with him till the last The doctor arrived at about eight o'clock. His Grace complained of uneasiness about the chest and stomach, and was then perfectly conscious, and answered the questions put to him with correctness. Some medicines were ordered, and during their preparation the Duke took some tea and toast; shortly afterwards he was seized with fits similar to those he had been subject to some years pre- viously ; his breathing became laborious, and he was removed to an easy chair, which afibrded him for a time some relie£ A mustard plaster was applied to his chest, and an emetic ad- ministered. These remedies, which in the former cases had been productive of relief, were now, alas I inefficient, and after gradually sinking he breathed his last at twenty-five minutes past three, P.M.,* on Tuesday, the I4th of September, 1852. Thus passed away the spirit of England's greatest son^ with as little pain or suffering as it is possible *the great debt of humanity can be acquitted, — so gentle was the transition ftom life to death, that for some moments it was doubtful whether the great change had really taken place; a mirror was^ however, held to his lips, when its unwiUied surface proclaimed to his sorrowing femily and attendants that the last act of that great life had been accomplished.
To sum up the character of this great man is a task of no ordi- nary difficulty; to do it perfectly, the intimate history of more than half a century should be mastered: but certain leading traits are
* <* To the Editor of the ' Medical Timei and Gazetu:
" Sir, — I enclose yoa an account of the death of the Duke of Wellington, for insertion in the JIfedical Timet and OazeUe should you deem it snffidentlj in- teresting to the readers of your widely-circulated journal.
" I am, Sir, Ac. J. W. Huleb.
" 150 Lotper Street, Deal, September 21, 1852.
** Tuesday, Sept. 14. — ^About half-past eight this morning my father received a note firom Walmer Castle, stating that the Duke of Wellington wished to see him. He immediately went to the CasUe. His Grace complained of uneasiness about the chest and stomach ; was then perfectly conscious, and answered questions put to him with correctness. Some medicine was ordered, and during its preparation his Grace took some tea and toast. Shortly after leaving the Castle, my father received another communication, stating that his Grace was much worse. He had had fits similar to those he was subject to. My father and I went directly, and found his Grace in bed, unconscious ; eyes turned a little upwards, fixed ; pupils of medium size ; skin warm and moist; respiration very laborious, firom accumulation
CHA&iLCTEB OF THE DUKE. liii
manifest to all impartial judges. The most prominent feature of his life was indomitable moral courage, and straightforwardness of purpose, which, at all seasons, was the ruling emotion of his mind, and his sure refuge in times of trial or disappointment What was it that supported him during the early periods of the Peninsular War? but his sure reliance on the justice on which his conduct was based, and the conviction which had early imprinted itself on his mind, that truth, like a mathematical axiom, whatever difficulties may appear in the path, or however strong the temptation may be to the contrary, will always rise triumphant I And in this sterling metal of the mind he greatly excelled the Emperor Napoleon, who, brilliant and talented as he was, and whose career soared infinitely higher than that of his contemporary, yet never seemed to com- prehend this homely guide in all Wellington's difficulties ** Honesty is the best policy ;" and it was this unffinching honesty of purpose which caused him to fight to the last in Portugal, or to express his opinion on the Reform question as he did, — ^that " the nation did not want reform, and should not have it;" and by the same honesty of conduct, when the said Reform was the law of the land, he adopted it I and the same honesty of opinion that caused him, in opposition to the traditions of his party, to support his fiiend the late Sir Robert Peel, in the important measures of Commercial Reform. Next to decided principles, decided action is a virtue of uncommon occurrence, simple as it may appear, and startling as
of mucus in air- tabes. Before oar amval his valet had applied a mustard poultice to his chest, as on a former occasion this had given relief.
'* Dr. M' Arthur soon arrived, and Drs. Hume and Ferguson were telegraphed for.
** Dr. M'Arthur advised a mustard emetic to be given, having prescribed one with advantage for the Duke several years ago under similar circumstances. This and other measures were now of no avail. His Grace became very restless, tried to turn on his left side : occasionally there were slight twitchiugs of the left arm. When raised In bed, his breathing was much more free, and this induced us to place him in an easy chair, when his respiration became much less embarrassed ; his pulse sank, and his Grace was now placed more horizontally. The pulse rallied for a little time, and then gradually declined ; the breathing became more feeble ; and, at twenty-flve minutes past three o'clock, p.m., his Grace breathed his last. So easy and gentle was the transition, that for the moment it was doubted. A mirror was held before his Grace's mouth. Its brightness was undimmed, and he was no more.
" John Whitakeb Hulks."
llV UFE OF WEIJJNGTON.
some will pronounce the fket Yet how many men, who might have seen the same necessity for action, wonld not have pat off the execution to a more convenient opportunity ? how many men are there now with great aspirations, and with equal honesty of purpose, who, from inertness of disposition, or waiting vainly for opportunities, dream away their lives in abstract speculations? With Wellington it was otherwise ; when he had well considered his plan, he caitied it into execution with that promptness and perseverance which may mainly be said to be the staple charac- teristic of his Ufa Proceeding from and naturally connected with the ruling power of his mind, was punctuality ; a virtue which his military education no doubt greatly tended to foster, but which greatly conduced to his ease and useftdness as a citizen of the world. Whoever wrote to the Duke, was he not sure of an answer by return of post? And his task in this respect was not a light one. From love-sick young ladies who considered themselves privileged to ask his advice on aBairs most important to them, to the b^ging- letter impostor, who so well knew how to work on the tender feelings of the man; each got his or her response with the best and shortest advice or assistance, as the case might require. And this leads us to another point of his character, in which, until lately, his Grace had been misrepresented, — ^that of his charity. It had been surmised, from not seeing his great name at the head of lists of the multitudinous charities of this great city, that he spared but little of his large income in forwarding objects of charity: this might happen, that his name did not appear, but it was not proof that he was niggardly in disposition, although some over-charitable had so distorted it: but, to his honour be it told — and those deeds that are d(Hie secretly shall one day be made manifest, so may it now be said — after the conviction of that bare- faced impostor who had swindled the Duke of upwards of 4002L by b^ging appeals to his generous aid, as the widow, the daughter, or relative of some of his unfortunate companions in arms. In this one case what a sum had been obtained I and is it fair to believe this a solitary instance? In connexion with this greatest of Christian virtues, charity, may be mentioned his unostentatious piety. When half London had barely quitted their pillows, this good old man was already engaged in the service of his Maker :
CEAULOIKSL OF THE DU££. - Iv
at the early aervioe of the Chapel Royal the Duke was an in- variable and often the only attendant
Comparisons have been attempted to be drawn between Wel- lington and Napoleon, but beyond their coincidence in the year of their birth no likeness can be cited to induce a parallel Napoleon's was a brilliant meteoric career, which by its brilliancy dazzled the nations, and whose short life of triomph only contrasted more fearfully with the obscurity and reverses his own insatiable ambi- tion called down. Wellington, on the other hand, never was intoxicated by success : his greatest victory, Waterloo, he modestly ascribed to the steadiness and invincibility of the troops he com- manded; and after his military career had ended, and the star of Napoleon had for ever sunk, what a career of honourable useiul- ness he saw, and how peaceful and hallowed his end I
No, there is no comparison between these two; both were great men, but essentially antagonistic Had Wellington been a French general, he might have been First Consul — nothing more. Had Napoleon commanded in India, he would probably have ended by turning Brahmin or Mahomedan, or founding a dynasty or religion through a career of blood, like Genghis Khan or Hyder AIL
la the intercourse of private life Wellington was courteous, affable, and conciliating ; his circle was aristocratic by birth, and be seldom moved from it, except upon rare or public occasions. His latter years were crowded with engagements ; never did man of his age make more sacrifices to please and conciliate his Mends, or rather their descendants, for of the friends of his youth but few remained: his kindness to their children, and their children's children, was not limited to few, but bestowed on all who had any pretensions to remembrance or regard.
In fact he was, in all, a good man and a loyal subject, and the nation will long deplore his loss. The news of his lamented death was rapidly circulated. Her Majesty expressed the liveliest concern, and every class did their utmost to show their feelings of regret All the clubs and most of the tradesmen closed their shutters ; from every public office and from all the shipping the flags were hoisted half-mast high ; and through the length and breadth of Britain the solemn peal tolled forth the sad tidings to all. The press united to pay him honour. Four extracts, highly creditable
Ivi UFE OF WELLINOTON.
to the taste and attainments of their various writers, must suffice as specimens. The first, from " The Times,** is a graceful and well-turned tribute to his memory. The second, from " The Observer," elegantly and truly conceived and expressed. The thirds horn " The Dispatch," a paper opposed in politics and feeling to the Duke. And the fourth, fit)m a French paper, an example of moderation and right feeling tmfortunately rare in these days.
[From « The Times,'' Sept 15.]
'^ If aught can lessen this day the grief of England upon the death of her greatest son, it is the recollection that the life which has just closed leaves no duty incomplete and no honour unbe* stowed. The Duke of Wellington had exhausted nature and exhausted glory. His career was one unclouded longest day, filled from dawn to nightfall with renowned actions^ animated by unfailing energy in the public service, guided by unswerving prin- ciples of conduct and of statesmanship. He rose by a rapid series of achievements, which none had surpassed, to a position which no other man in this nation ever enjoyed. The place occupied by the Duke of Wellington in the councils of the country and in the life of England can no more be filled. There is none left in the army or the senate to act and speak with like authority. There is none with whom the valour and the worth of this nation were so incor- porate. Yet, when we consider the Ailness of his years and the abundance of his incessant services, we may learn to say with the Roman orator, ^ Satis diu vixisse didtOy since, being mortal, nothing could be added either to our veneration or to his fame. Nature herself had seemed for a time to expand her inexorable limits, and the infirmities of age to lay a lighter burden on that honoiured head. Generations of men had passed away between the first exploits of his arms and the last counsels of his age, until, by a lot imexampled in history, the man who had played the most conspicuous part in the annals of more than half a century became the last survivor of his contemporaries, and carries with him to the grave all living memory of his own achievements. To what a century, to what a country, to what achievements, was that life successfally dedicated ! For its prodigious duration — ^for the multi- plicity of contemporary changes and events, far outnumbering the course of its days and years — ^for the invariable and unbroken
CHABAGTEB OF THE BUKE. Ivii
Stream of success which attended it from its commencement to its close, from the first Bash of trimnphant valour in Indian war to that senatorial wisdom on which the Sovereign and the nation hung for counsel to its latest hour — for the unbending firmness of character, which bore alike all labour and all prosperity — ^and for unalterable attachment to the same objects, the same principles, the same duties, undisturbed by the passions of jouth and unrelaxed by the honours and enjoyments of peace and of age — the life of the Duke of Wellington stands alone in history. In him, at least, posterity will trace a character superior to the highest and most abundant gifts of fortune. If the word ^ heroism" can be not unfisurly applied to him, it is because he remained greater than his own prosperity, and rose above the temptations by which other men of equal genius, but less self-government, have fallen below their destinies. His life has nothing to gain firom the language of panegyric, which would compare his military exploits or his civil statesmanship with the prowess of an Alexander or a GsBsar, or with the astonishing career of him who saw his empire overthrown by the British General at Waterloa They were the ofispring of passion and of genius, flung from the volcanic depths of revolu- tions and of civil war to sweep with meteoric splendour across the earth, and to coUapse in darkness before half the work of life was done. Their violence, their ambition, their romantic existence, their reverses, and their crimes, will for ever fascinate the interest of mankind, and constitute the secret of their fame, if not of their greatness. To such attractions the life and character of the Duke of Wellington present no analogy. If he rose to scarce inferior renown, it was by none of the passions or the arts which they indulged or employed. Unvanqmshed in the field, his sword was never drawn for territorial conquest, but for the independence of Europe and the salvation of his country. Raised by the universal gratitude of Europe and of this nation to the highest point of rank and power which a subject of the British monarchy could attain, he wore those dignities and he used that influence within the strictest limits of a subject's duty. No law was ever twisted to his will, no right was ever sacrificed by one hair's breadth for his aggrandisement There lived not a man, either among his coun- trymen or his antagonists, who could say that this great Duke had wronged him ; for his entire existence was devoted to the causo
Iviii LIFE OF WELLINOTON.
of legal authority and regulated power. You seek in it in vain for those strokes of audacious enterprise which in other great captains, his rivals in fame, have sometimes won the prize of crowns or turned the fate of nations. But his whole career shines with the steady light of day. It has nothing to conceal, it has nothing to interpret by the flexible organs of history. Everything in it is manly, compact, and clear ; shaped to one rule of public duty, animated by one passion — the love of England and the service of the Crown.
'' The Duke of Wellington lived, commanded, and governed in unconscious indifference or disdainful aversion to those common incentives of human action which are derived &om the powers of imagination and in sentiment He held them cheap, both in their weakness and in their strength. The force and weight of his cha- racter stooped to no such adventitious influences. He might have kindled more enthusiasm, especially in the early and doubtful days of his Peninsular career; but in his successful and tri- mnphant pursuit of Glory her name never passed his lips, even in his addresses to his soldiers. His ^itire nature and character were moulded on reality. He lived to see things as they were. His acute glance and cool judgment jHerced at once through the surface which entangles the imagination or kindles the sympathy of the feelings. Truth, as he loved her, is to be reached by a rougher path and by sterner minds. In war, in politics, and in the common transactions of life, the Duke of Wellington adhered inflexibly to the most precise correctness in word and deed. His temperament abhorred disguises and despised exaggerations. The fearlessness of his actions was never the result of speculative con- fidence or foolhardy presumption, but it lay mainly in a just perception of the true relation in which he stood to his anta- gonists in the field or in the senate. The greatest exploits of his life, such ad the passage of the Douro, followed by the march on Madrid, the battle of Waterloo, and the passing the Catholic Relief Bill, were performed under no circumstances that could inspire enthusiasm. Nothing but the coolness of the player could have won the mighty stakes upon a cast apparently so adverse to his success. Other commanders have attained the highest pitch of glory when they disposed of the colossal resources of empires, and headed armies already flushed with the conquest of tlie world.
CHARACTEB OF THE DUKE. lix
The Duke of Wellington found no such encouragement in any part of his career. At no time were the means at his disposal adequate to the ready and certain execution of his designs. His steady progress in the Peninsular campaigns went on against the current of fortune^ tiU that current was itself turned by perse- verance and resolution. He had a clear and complete perception of the dangers he encountered, but he saw and grasped the latent power which baffled those dangers and surmounted resistances iq)parently invincible. That is precisely the highest degree of courage, for it is courage conscious, enlightened, and determined.
" Clearness of discernment, correctness of judgment, and recti- tude in action were, without doubt, the principal elements of the Duke's briQiant achievements in war, and of his vast authority in the councDs of his country, as well as in the conferences of Europe. They gave to his determinations an originality and vigour a]dn to that of genius, and sometimes imparted to his language in debate a j»th and significance at which more brilliant orators failed to arrive. His mind, equally careless of obstacles and of effect, travelled by the shortest road to its end ; and he retained, even in his latest years, all the precision with which he was wont to handle the subjects that came before him, or had at any time engrossed his attention. This was the secret of that untaught manliness and simplicity of style that pervades the vast collection of his despatches, written as they were amidst the varied cares and emotions of war ; and of that lucid and appropriate mode of exposition which never fafled to leave a clear impression on the minds of those whom he addressed. Other men have enjoyed, even in this age, more vivid faculties of invention and contrivance, a more extended range of foresight, a more subtle compreh^ision of the changing laws of society and the world# But the value of these finer perceptions, and of the policy founded upon them, has never been more assured than when it was tried and admitted by the wisdom and patriotism of that venerable mind. His superiority over other men consisted rather in the perfection of those qualities which he pre-eminently possessed than in the variety or extent of his other faculties.
** These poip^ers, which were unerring when applied to definite and certain facts, sometimes failed in the appreciation of causes which had not hitherto come under their observation. It is, perhaps, less to be wondered at that the soldier and the statesman
Ix Lin OF W£IXIKG1X)K.
of 1815, bom and bred in the highest school of Tory politics, should have miscarried in his opinion of those eventfnl times which followed the accession of William IV., than that the defeated opponent of Reform in 1831 should have risen into the patriot senator of 1846 and 1851. Yet the Administration of 1828, in which the Duke of Wellington occupied the first and most responsible place, passed the Catholic Emancipation Act, and thereby gave the signal of a rupture in the Tory party never afterwards entirely healed, and struck the heaviest blow on a system which the growing energies of the nation resented and condemned. Resolute to oppose what he conceived to be popular clamour, no man ever recognised with more fidelity the claims of a free nation to the gradual developement of its interests and its rights ; nor were his services to the cause of liberty and improve- ment the less great because they usually consisted in bending the will or disarming the prejudices of their fiercest opponents. Attached by birth, by character, and by opinion to the order and the cause of the British aristocracy, the Duke of Wellington knew that the true power of that race of nobles lies, in this age of the world, in their inviolable attachment to constitutional principles, and their honest recognition of popular rights. Although his personal resolution and his military experience qualified him better than other men to be the champion of resistance to popular turbulence and sedition, as he showed by his preparations in May 1832, and in April 1848, yet wisdom and forbearance were ever the handmaidens of his courage, and, while most firmly deter- mined to defend, if necessary, the authority of the State, he was the first to set an example of conciliatory sacrifice to the reason- able claims of the nation. He was the Catullus of our Senate, after having been our Caesar in the field; and if the common- wealth of England had ever saluted one of her citizens with the Roman title of Parens Patrice, that touching honour would have been added to the peerage and the baton of Arthur Wellesley by the respectful gratitude and faith of the people.
** Though singularly free from every trace of cant, his mind was no stranger to the sublime influence of religious truth, and he was assiduous in the observances of the public ritual of the Church of England* At times, even in the extreme period of his age, some accident would betray the deep current of feeUng which he
CHABACTER OF THE BUKF. Ixi
never ceased to entertain towards all that was chivalrons and benevolent. His charities were unostentations but extensive, and he bestowed his interest throughont life upon an incredible number of persons and things which claimed his notice and solicited his aid. Every social duty, every solemnity, every ceremony, every merry-making, fonnd him ready to take his part in it He had a smile tor the yonngest child, a compliment for the prettiest face, an answer to the readiest tongue, and a lively interest in every incident of life, which it seemed beyond the power of age to chilL When time had somewhat relaxed the sterner mould of his manhood, its eflPects were chiefly indicated by an unabated taste for the amusements of fashionable society, incongruous at times with the dignity of extreme old age, and the recollections of so virile a career. But it seemed a part of the Duke's character that everything that presented itself was equally welcome, for he had become a part of everything, and it was foreign to his nature to stand aloof from any occurrence to which his presence could eon- tribute. He seems never to have felt the flagging spirit or the reluctant step of indolence or ennui^ or to have recoiled firom anything that remained to be done; and this complete perform- ance of every duty, however small, as long as life remained, was the same quality which had carried him in triimiph through his campaigns, and raised him to be one of the chief Ministers of England and an arbiter of the fate of Europe. It has been said, that in the most active and illustrious lives there comes at last some inevitable hour of melancholy and of satiety. Upon the Duke of Wellington that hour left no impression, and probably it never shed its influence over him; for he never rested on his former achievements or his length of days, but marched onwards to the end, still heading the youthful generations which had sprang into life around him, and scarcely less intent on their pursuits than they are themselves. It was a finely-balanced mind to have worn so bravely and so well. When men in after times shall look back to the annals of England for examples of energy and public virtue among those who have raised this country to her station on the earth, no name will remain more conspicuous or more unsullied than that of Abthub Welleslet, the oreat Duke OP Wellington. The actions of his life were extraordinary, but his character was equal to his actions. He was the very type and
Ixii LIFE OF WELUNGTON.
model of an Englishmaii ; and though men are prone to invest the worthies of former ages with a dignity and merit thej com- monly withhold from their contemporaries, we can select none from the long array of our captains and our nobles who, taken for all in all, can claim a rivalry with him who is gone from amongst us, an inheritor of imperishable fame."
[From « The Observer,'' Sept 19.]
" * Difficile est communia dicere,* — There is nothing so difficult to treat of as that which fills every mind and influences every heart To dwell upon the character and exploits of the Duke of Wellington seems an easy task, from the simple greatness of that character, and the brilliant light in which these exploits were peiv formed in the face of the world. And yet the subject is not without its embarrassments. The greatest of these is perhaps the over- fruitful and abundant nature of the subject, and the difficulty of choice in the comments, as well as in the text itself. The deatli of the Duke of Wellington, although naturally not an unlooked-for event, has filled the world with awe as well as with surprise. The public appreciation of his services, and the almost unbounded ad- miration to which he had attained in the eyes of the people whom he had saved, and the generations which had profited by his services — and had time to forget his faults — are all easily expressed. There is nothing heard in Great Britain but one unbounded senti- ment of admiration. This unanimity forms in itself not the least difficult portion of the task of any person sitting down to expatiate upon the event, with which all alike, from the peer to the peasant, are full to overflowing. Everybody knows the subject; everybody feels it Everybody expresses his neighbour's thoughts, as well as his own ; and so one must s«em to do no more than iterate, in some difficult form of words, the thoughts, the sentiments, and the impressions of all. It is no wonder then, that the various forms of panegyric that have been exhausted over the great spirit that has departed, should seem somewhat tedious to those who think as one man, and yet each one is naturally anxious to add his mite to the general tribute of sorrow for the loss, which is no less felt for being so long delayed, and to the universal burst of acclamation with which justice is done to the transcendent reputation, which
CHABACTER OF THE BCKE. Ixiii
was alwajTs large, but which onlj appeared to want the sanctity of death to make it immortal
** The time for history is hardly come, at the mom^it of be- reayement. The reverence due to the dead is more than felt in the case of this most illustrious departed. The words of reverential gratitude are at once the most graceful and the most appropriate. It is a scene, and a moment, in which criticism may well be silent; and the bare recapitulation of the actions in peace and war of the statesman and the soldier is the best commentary upon his long and eminently useftil life.
** The Duke of Wellington is obviously viewed in his two capacities, civil and military.
^* The largest share of glory ha$ attended him in his military successes. Yet it might not be too much to say that he scarcely deserved less of his country in the civil service of the Crown and the Parliament, than he did in the well-fought fields of glory where he earned his great renown. Although the army became his pro- fession, it can scarcely be called his first For in early life he was at three different periods employed in the service of the Government in the immediate country of his birth. He was, at intervals, in the household of the Lord Lieutenant of beland when a boy, from which he received his first commission in the army. Secondly, he became Aide-de-camp to another Lord Lieutenant And, thirdly, after the Union, he was for some time Secretary for Ireland; a post which has been filled in succession by some of the most eminent statesmen of our time, including his own brother, Mr. Wellesley Pole (Lord Maryborough), his earliest friend. Lord Castlereagh, Sir R. Peel, Lord Derby, Sir Henry Hardinge, and many others closely connected with him in political life. It is a remarkable incident, that his first appearance in the Irish Par- liament was to move the Address in answer to the Royal Message in 1793, advising the Irish Parliament to relax the more stringent of the Penal Laws among the Roman Catholics. He gave to this measure of concession a most emphatic support Amongst other things, the Electoral Franchise that the Roman Catholics of Ireland obtained, nearly half-a-century later — the full equalisation of Civil Rights ; and again, the Duke of Wellington, Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland, was the most prominent as well as the most powerful instrument to carry out to its full completion, in the
Ixiv UFE OF WEIXDiGTON.
fatness of his own power and glory^ the policy with which he first started as a youth in political life. He had resisted the claims of the Roman Catholics to equal privileges, although often urged by the most eloquent and able men in the British Senate of all political parties in the state. The good sense and the good feeling, too, of the Duke saw that the time was coming for settling this great question, and also saw that the only way was to settle it completely, and at once, and for ever.
** Of his military renown, however, it is more easy to speak, for on this ground, whatever might have been with imperfect know- ledge the small criticisms ancL doubts of his commanding capacity, there is no longer a second opinion in any quarter worthy of notice. With some slight exceptions in France, and, we are sorry to say, in Ireland — the genius and perseverance of the Duke of Welling- ton stamps him as the greatest commander of any age or country. The Mahratta War was all his own in conception, as well as in execution, and has rendered all subsequent operations m India comparatively easy, and almost matter of routine. His first en- gagement, as Ck>mmander at Assaye, is scarcely second in many particulars to the crowning glory at Waterloa But it is the several campaigns in the Peninsula that make and mark the man. Contending against superior force, he was no less great in watching his opportunity for assault, than in the vigour and bravery with which the assault was invariably made. His patience was as re- markable as lus courage in the conduct of that long war. He had, it is true, the confidence of his Government, the advice and assistance of his accomplished brother the Marquis Wellesley. He had the able co-operation of the Foreign Secretary, and the Secretary at War, whose ability he never forgot in all political differences. — He had a friendly population, and a powerful, though not always steady aid, firom the inveterate hostility of the Portu- guese and Spaniards to their invaders. He had the sea open for his supplies. All these aids he undoubtedly had. But where was the man who could make such undeviating and successful use of them? We are sorry, therefore, to see even the slightest shade of envy sought to be thrown over the brilliancy of such a career. He was a good and a great man. He, too, has gone to his long rest, adorned, not with honours, dignities, and renown alone, but covered with the gratitude and love of a bereaved and sorrowing people."
CHABACTEB OF THE DUKE. IxV
[^From the Weekly JDispatclu] " The death of the Duke of Wellington has proved to all the greatness of his life. Nothing could be more quiet — ^let us not be misunderstood in using the word — ^more common-place, than his closing scene: there was no climax, no catastrophe, no heroic sacrifice in battle, like the fall of Nelson ; no exhaustion by stem mental strife, as in the fates of Pitt and Canning ; no sudden stroke of unforeseen accident, as we misterm it, as in the loss of Peel. The Duke died at an age when death must, in ordinary cases, have been long expected— of a disease that often strikes old age fatally— epilepsy ; and this was caused probably by a paroxysm of the morbid appetite for food, which it is especially necessary to guard against at that period of life. His danger, if we may believe the accounts, was apparent to himself, and much under- rated by the apothecary who was summoned, Mr. Hulke, although that person had attended him on the occasion of a previous similar attack. However, the Duke has quitted life, as far as we may pronounce, for another, happily ; in the ftdness of years, and with- out the painftd and humiliating decline of faculties. He has died a natural death, and, we hope, a very easy one. The time of his ceasmg to breathe could not be exactly determined. And so passing away, with as little to startle in the event as death can bring, the event itself causes one deep, strong, unanimous sensa- tion. What may be the efiPect in other lands we know not — ^we almost care not; the great country which he served is enough to estimate his memory and to treasure it He has, as much as one man can embody a common cause, saved Europe; but we do not expect Europe to repay its debt, or even to understand it It was the single misfortune of the Duke's life that he served those who were every way less worthy than himself. In this we do not speak of the nations he so mainly helped to redeem from in- tolerable and disgraceful bondage, but of those who led and represented them. In England he has long been looked upon as a piece of living history. The past had more of him in men's minds than the present, but, had a present arisen that needed his help, the old faith in him would have been shown, as of old. Indeed, in the two latest crises of our policy, both within the period of the shortest memory, he was looked to as the arbiter of all differences. The Russell Ministry could scarcely rule, and
Ixvi LIFE OF WELUNOTON.
none were ready to succeed them; the Duke's moral authority composed the difficulty^ and on the weight of his decision the effete continued in power. The nation was in possible peril from the freaks of irregular and unscrupulous authority in France; all sane men asked^ What insurance against the danger will the Duke think sufficient? He had not outlived his service or his fame; and he dies when neither could have been much increased. Moreover^ he passes from us at a time when all enmity and all envy are disarmed — ^when he is understood as he would desire to be. This is great fortune. The earlier part of his European career was subject to all the spleen of party. The somewhat shallow, and the not-too-honest persons, who then represented the people's cause, never divided or classed the progress of the French Revolution and its consequences. In the origin of the great war, which was only stayed, till 1814, by a hollow truce, the French, maddened and brutalised as they were by the education of serfs, fought for the inherent rights of mankind against the paltriest and most presumptuous usurpers of them. They claimed national existence against the miserable conspirators of Pilnitz. Disgraced as their cause might be, it was, in its main essentials, holy. The disgusting egotism of many individuals polluted it ; the horrible selfishness of one engulfed it Men who are striving against the charlatan tyrannies of Napoleon the Little should begin by rightly estimating him whom, for antithesis sake, they call Napoleon the Great. That Napoleon substituted bloodglory for the defence of patriots and freemen ; he substituted aggression, lust of conquest, brigandage, for republican virtue ; he derided equality, and threw baubles to dupes as badges of slavery ; he, the ancient enemy of France by blood and feeling, the avenger of Paoli — he, the Corsican, the son of a conquered land, whose schoolboy dreams were hatred to his island's oppressors — crushed France and stood upon its ruins, its possessor, its tyrant, governing the estate and the human cattle upon it with skill indeed, but with skill exerted only for his own personal purposes. France was liis, and that was the sum of his regard for it But half-minded men never analyse causes; when party spirit works, they wilfully confase them. When Napoleon reigned, it was England fighting for existence against a tyranny as frightful as that which France had discomfited. France had taken the place of aggression. Our
CHARACTER OF THE DUKE. Ixvii
Liberals could not see this. To them, as to some Frenchmen of the present day, who^ as children, are unable to give up the bauble glories of the Empire, Napoleon was the vindicator of freedom against tyrants, the child of the Republic He hated and despised both. When Wellington entered the field of European contest, it was in opposition to the idol of these twaddling dra- matic romancers, these would-be politicians, who preferred a story- book in weekly or daily parts, in which their favourite might triumph, to the serious justice and the hard practical facts they had no skill to appreciate. They felt for Napoleon as they would feel for Madame Lafiarge or Ainsworth's Jack Sheppard. We are tracing Wellington's career in tracing these contrasts. He and Napoleon were indeed impelled on different courses in widely different spheres of action, but the moral distinction was as great as the material Wellington was no hero for slipslop senti- mentality. The Liberals of England thought that they were doing service to mankind when they were mocking at his plain, patient genius, and thwarting his efforts to arrest a plague that dazzled them by Bashing its influence in lightning meteors. But the English sympathy, the heart of the people, as we remember well, was with the English General. They did more than illuminate for his victories — they rejoiced in the apportionment of the rewards which they were well aware they had to pay. Even after the retreat from Moscow they could hMxily believe Napoleon Buonaparte to be anything less than personally invincible; but they honoured Wellington as the man that could beat all his generals. The cynical Opposition carped and hindered — the paltry Government was afraid of supporting to its utmost, and with frdl avowal, the soldier who did its choice unwonted honour. Wel- lington had to win success, that he might have the power to compel from his employers the means of success afterwards — ^and he did it He conquered reluctance at home as enemies abroad, and forced enthusiasm as well as victory. He has been compared to Napoleon : he should be contrasted with him. For ourselves, we decidedly say that he was the greater man. He undertook his task under all the obligations of morality and honour, and he beat the man who would own none of them. This ought never to be forgotten in the estimation of noted men. It is the first interest of mflnlrip^ to givc the prizc to those who deliberately choose to
Ixviii IIFE OF WELIINQTON.
serve their fellows in compliance with the laws of right, and not to those who make mankind serve them in utter defiance of these laws. If merely to produce a given quantity of change, regardless of the means which bring it about, or the ends for which it is accomplished, be the measure of greatness, the conscienceless must transcend those who have conscience. Good is heavily weighted while evil is free. We are not comparing abilities, but deeds; the men as they stand in history self-sculptured. The use of all qualities is the glory of the possessors. Wel- lington and Buonaparte acted upon opposite principles; they never could have understood one another. Wellington's unselfish devotion was to his country, personified to him, as a soldier, in that country's Sovereign. If we could imagine him at a con- ference in another world, it would be carrying out the Queen's interests to the utmost of his power. Buonaparte so cx>mpletely mistook him, that one of his calculations was that the Wellesley family, after what they had achieved for England, must be ex- pecting to reign in it He could not understand the dignified humility of true glory, the fame that is won by working for a great cause without a second thought, — that imperishable and ever- honoured fame, that comes as an unsought accident to the per- formance of duty. Again, as a soldier, we cannot allow Wel- lington to be less than Napoleon's superior. The successes of Austerlitz and Jena were in a great degree Napoleon's own ; but even there he had no worthy competitors. At Marengo he was beaten. Desaix released him from defeat At Wagram he would have perished, with all his army, had the Archduke Charles trusted in his own victory. What Wellington achieved he owed to himself, even to the formation of his armies out of the most unpromising materials. Lamartine has thoroughly estimated him when^ in his narrative of the battle of Waterloo, he treats him as the most perfect and illustrious impersonation of the English cha- racter. Wellington despaired of nothing. He might be slain with his last follower, as he made up his mind to be at Waterloo, but he would not be beaten. When but one of his stafi^ was left beside him, and he was asked what was to be done in case of anv- thing happening to himself, he had but one order to give, — * to die to the last man.' Napoleon had won many a battle by outdaring his enemies; there was no suci tiling as outdaring Wellington.
CHARACTER OF THE DUKE. L\ix
As be had been obliged to cover with his fame the sins of his patrons at the opening of his career, so he suffered in the disgrace of others when he had helj^ed to win Europe for them. The tyrants of the Holy Alliance made him appear an accomplice in their iniquity, though he was in nowise responsible for the abuse of the power which he had so mainly contributed to recover for them. This is admitted and comprehended now. When we turn to him as a statesman, we have the same character, but employed on a subject respecting which his mind was not specially instructed* There were the same sense of right, the same simple single- mindedness, the same disdain of hollow convention, the same disregard of personal consequences ; but there were, also, the pride of birth and the habit of aristocratic predilection, and the absence of philosophical training which might coimtervail them. What he could discern, he saw rightly ; but he could not see enough. In the case of Catholic emancipation he perceived a coming civil war, and with the courage that would rather bear obloquy than inflict such miseries as civil war entails, he magnanimously yielded his political preferences. Reform he opposed because he ' could not see how the king's government was to be carried on.' He pro- fessed no theoretical distinction of right ; he never said that the aristocracy ought, as a moral choice, to have the government of England : but he had a machine that would work, with which, indeed, he had secured England's safety in the Catholic emancipa- tion against England's will, and he did not wish to see the machine broken tiU he was sure that another could be provided. When the Reform Bill had done that, he accepted it, and, in his way, he did his best with it Never a violent partisan, in the latter years of his life he has been almost released from party altogether. As Commander-in-Chief he has independently pursued the good of the service, and applied the nation's forces to their most effectual pur- pose. He has been an arbiter between factions, with the power of the House of Lords to enforce his decrees. Of that institution he may almost be said to be the saviour, in moderating its opposition when opposition was most dangerous. The Peerage was in- stinctively grateful to him. He held its decisions often and continuously in the proxies he had in his pocket To the last it would have been a desperate attempt to move the Lords to thwart his will or oppose his judgment He had a veto, at leasts upon all
IXX UTE OF WELLraaiON.
that was proposed in the British Legislatare. He is gone. The Northmen's image of death is finer than that of other climes ; no skeleton, bat a gigantic figure that envelopes men within the mas- sive folds of its dark garment Wellington seems so enshrouded from ns, as the last of a mighty series, the greatest closing the procession. The robe draws round him and the era is past His offices and honours lie like a wreck and spoil on his empty path. They must only be taken up by worthy hands. It will be an additional reproach upon all insufficiency, that it struts in the garment of the Duke of Wellington. Royal personages are bruited as his successors in his greatest function, that of Com- mander-in-Chief. Let them shun the comparison. Let them pause before they revive ideas which it is wise in their order to obliterate. It will be difficult enough to arrange for the due per- formance of that anomalous office. We require at once a security that it should not be made an instnmient of party bribery by a Minister of War, and that it shall not be removed from the ani- madversions of public opinion in the House of Commons. There is a Gordian knot to be loosed as intricate as the East Indian government But, in any case, the Commandership must not be the prize of blood, or interest, or connexion. Prince Albert would begin his unpopularity by assuming such a dignity, to the exclu- sion of men who have earned their experience in hard soldierly life. The insult of placing the Duke of Cambridge in such a position is not to be surmised without proof. As to the minor means of patronage, even to the bestowal of the ribbon of the Grarter, we are entitled to demand a strict account There is no irresponsible patronage now. If an institution, even such as an order of chivalry, is to be upheld, it must be by associating to it only such as man- kind will willingly honour. If public assent does not confirm the new knight in his election, his companionship is disgraced. We know the suddenness of selfish action, or we should not advert to such topics in this article. By the memory of the past we charge the dispensers of the future. And here we pause, not from having exhausted our subject, but of necessity, being content, for the moment, to yield our concurrence in many points on which men are agreed, and to propound such differences as we need not fear to maintain. Many among our readers will have to talk of the subject of this article to satisfy the interest of children's
CHARAGTEB OF THE DUKE. Ixxi
children ; the best proof of the sincerity of present praises is our belief that his name will be spoken to children's children with in- creased reverence and affection.''
The following article from the "Assemble Nationale" is in striking and honourable contrast to the remarks which haye been made in some of the Paris journals. The "Assemble" says: —
** Great men disappear, and eyery day witnesses the fall of the last illustrious personages who have been on the stage since the commencement of the present century. By the death of the Duke of Wellington, M. de Mettemich 13 the sole survivor of the political celebrities who remodelled the map of Europe at the Congress of Vienna. We have already spoken of the Duke of Wellington, and have retraced the principal circumstances of his glorious career. If we now return to this subject, it is to protest agsunst the bad taste of some journals, which, in order to flatter the cause which now triumphs, draws comparisons between the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Buonaparte. We know nothing more odious than the judgments passed on illustrious contemporaries from the point of view of a narrow and unjust patriotism. This low rhetoric is of a nature to degrade us in the eyes of foreigners who read our journals, and who take them for the expression of public opinion. Every great nation, we know, is animated with a national spirit, which has its inevitable prejudices. France and England will never agree on the manner of judgmg Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. Is it therefore impossible, by rising above those passions of circumstances, to arrive at the truth with regard to these two illustrious rivals? The year 1769 witnessed several glorious births, but certainly there was nothing more re- markable in that year than the simultaneous appearance on the stage of the world of the two men who were to meet at Waterloo. It appears that Providence proposed to balance one by the other — to oppose to a great genius one of a quite contrary character, and to bring in contact qualities and gifts of the most dissimilar kind. The principal characteristics of the genius of Napoleon were a prodigious and insatiable imagination, aspiring to the impossible, the most vast and flexible faculties, but also a singular mobility
Ixxii LIFE OF WELLINGTON.
of ideas and impressions. A solid judgment, a cool reason, a wonderful justness of perception both on the field of battle and in the cabinet, the most penetrating good sense, amounting to a power which became genius,' a perseverance which nothing could tire or turn aside, and the most unshakeable finnness in great dangers — such are some of the points which give the Duke of Wellington such a prominent figure in the history of the nineteenth century. It was at a giant's pace that Napoleon ran through a career which was to lead him for a moment to the head of human things. By the rapidity of his ascent he dazzled the world, and everything with him took the character of a magic improvisation. His rival, on the contrary, rose with patient and modest slowness by a coura- geous reflection. He never drew back, however ; he always went forward, and his glory followed a progression which escaped all reverses. To speak warmly to the imagination of men, to fascinate them, to excite their enthusiasm, and to labour by every means to inspire them with an admiration, mingled with a little terror, was the constant study of Napoleon, who was far from disdaining artifice to effect his purpose. The Duke of Wellington never thought but of speaking to the reason ; he was never seen to do anything in a theatrical manner. Duty was the only rule which he admitted and which he imposed on others. He had a horror of charla- tanism and falsehood. He never sought to excite his soldiers, but sometimes he reminded them that they had to shed their blood because it was their duty. No astonishment will therefore be felt at the difference in the eloquence and the style of the two Generals. In the proclamations of Napoleon, particularly in those of the campaigns of Italy, is to be found a powerful orator, who, in the manner of the ancients, engraves great images in the minds of those to whom he addresses himself. The orders of the day, the dispatches, and the reports of the Duke of Wellington, were written with a cold and austere simplicity. No scope is given to effect — everything is positive and true. The Emperor Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington were not only great captains, they have also been both called on to play great political parts. History will perhaps decide, that in Buonaparte the organiser was equal to the conqueror. It must not, however, be forgotten, that the possession and the use of sovereign power smoothed down many obstacles. With despotism great things are often easy.
CHABACTEB OF THE DUKE. Ixxiii
It was in a free country that daring thirty-seven years, irom 1815 to 1852, the Duke of Wellington enjoyed an unequalled influence and authority. Placed by his birth, and more particularly by hia glory, at the head of the English aristocracy, he belonged, truly speaking, to no party. It may be said that, in the bosom of the constitutional liberty of his country, the Duke of Wellington exercised a kind of moral dictatorship. The assistance which he was able to give or to withhold from the Goyemment was immense. Although naturally (Conservative by his principles and the nature of his genius, the Duke of Wellington did not, however, hesitate to propose to the Crown and to Parliament the emancipation of the Catholics. In his eyes that reform was politic, just, and necessary. But his opinion was very different with regard to Parliamentary Reform, which appeared to him to change the political constitution of Old England, and to threaten her with serious dangers. Was he mistaken? The future alone can decide. We only now witness the first consequences of Parliamentary Reform, and twenty years have scarcely passed since the Duke of Wellington opposed it in the House of Lords. We must wait for a longer trial, remarking, however, that the symptoms already seen are far from impeaching the foresight of the illustrious statesman. If at any fiiture period England should find herself exposed to any great danger, either at home or abroad, her ideas would certainly revert to the man who, for sixty years, served and defended her. She will appreciate still more that wise, firm, and sober genius, who never allowed himself either to be intimidated or to be excited, and whose moderation was rewarded by such a splendid destiny. The end and fall of the Emperor Napoleon are the last points of contrast which we pointed out at the outset The Emperor fell, the scaffolding crumbled away, and he who raised it with heroic temerity only survived his irreparable shipwreck for a few years in exile. His fortunate rival, after a day by which the face of Europe was changed, saw^ open before him another career, which procured for him a new glory between peace and liberty, and which has only just finished in the midst of the unanimous regret and the gratitude of a great country. Is not such a lesson a striking proof of the final ascendancy of reason and of good sense over all the boldness and the flights of imagination and of genius ? The contrast of these two destinies, and these two great historical
Ixxiy UFB OF WBLLDiaiON.
figures^ has appeared to us too instmctive not to be rapidly sketched, and, in drawing the comparison, we have set passion aside, and have only sought for trutL"
Oor immortal poet, Spenser, in describing his beau idial of an English Gentleman and Warrior, involmitarily, or prophetically it might almost be said, summed up the character of the greatest Warrior of our times:—
" WhoeTer gave more honourable prize
To the sweet muse, than did the martial crew ;
That their brave deeds she might immortalize
In her shrill tromp, and sound their praises due ?
Who then ought more to favour her, than you,
Most Noble Lord, the honour of this age.
And precedent of all that arms ensue ?
Whose warlike prowess and manly courage.
Tempered with reason and advisement sage.
Hath filled sad Belgic with victorious spoil ;
In France and India left a famous gage.
And lately shook the Lusitanian soil." * " « « * « n noble peer,
Great England's glory, and the world's wide wonder,
Whose dreadful name late thro' all Spain did thunder,
And Hercules' two pillars standing near.
Did make to quake and fear :
Fair branch of honour, flower of chivaliy !
That flllest England with thy triumph's fame,
Joy have thou of thy noble victory,
And endless happiness of thy own name
That promiseth the same ;
That through thy prowess and victorious arms
Thy country may be freed from foreign harms.
And BritaifCt great and glorious name may ring
Through all the world, fill'd with thy wide alarms
Which some brave Muse may sing
To ages following." f
The last honours to be paid to his remains and memory are, by her Majesty's desire, left to the gratitude and good feeling of his countiy to declare, and will be loyally and enthusiastically
• Edmund Spenser, author of Faerie Queen : " Lines to Sir John Noma."
f Edmund Spenser: ^ Prothalmion," 145.
LORD BEBBT's LETTEB. IxXV
responded to by Parliament The decision of her Majesty is clearly and forcibly expressed through the following elegantly-expressed letter fix)m Liord Derby : —
[From the Morning HeraldJ]
"' Tothe Eight Hon. Spencer H. Walpole, Secretary of the Home
Department,
"'Balmoraly Sept 20, 1862.
" * Sir, — Her Majesty received with grief, on Thursday last, the aflBicting intelligence of the sudden death of the late Duke of Wellington.
'' ^ Although the Queen could not for a moment doubt that the Toice of the country would be unanimous upon the subject of the honours to be paid to the memory of the greatest man of the age, her Majesty considered it due to the feelings of his Ghrace's sur- viying relatiyes that no steps should be taken, even in his honour, without their approving concurrence; and accordingly, in the same feelings, in obedience to her Majesty's commands, I wrote to Ixnrd Charles WeUesley (the present Duke not having returned to England), to ascertain whether the late Duke had left any direc- tions, or whether his family desired to express any wish on the subject; and suggesting the course which appeared to her Majesty best calculated to give expression to those feelings, in which the nation, as one man, will sympathise with her Majesty.
" ' Having this day received letters from the present Duke and his brother, to the effect that the late Duke had left no direc^ tions on the subject, and placing themselves wholly in her Majesty's hands, I hasten to relieve the public anxiety by signifying to you, for general information, the commands which I have received from her Majesty.
'' ' The great space which the name of the Duke of Wellington has filled in the history of the last fifty years — ^his brilliant achieve- ments in the field — ^his high mental qualities — his long and fidthfrd services to the Crown — his untiring devotion to the interests of his country — constitute claims upon the gratitude of the nation, which a public frmeral, though it cannot satisfy, at least may serve to recognise.
^' ' Her Majesty is well aware that, as in the case of Lord Nelson, she might, of her own authority, have given immediate
Ixxvi LUTE OF WELLINGTON.
orders for this public mark of veueration for the memory of the illustrious Duke, and has no doubt but that Parliament and the country would cordially have approved the step ; but her Majesty, anxious that this tribute of regard and sorrow should be deprived of nothing which could invest it with a thoroughly national cha- racter— anxious that the greatest possible number of her subjects should have an opportunity of joining it — and anxious, above all, that such honours should appear to emanate from the general will, and that the two Houses of Parliament should have an opportunity, by their approving sanction, of stamping the proposed ceremony with increased solemnity, and of associating themselves with her Majesty in paying honour to the memory of one whom tio English- man can name without pride and sorrow.
** * The body of the Duke of Wellington will remain, therefore, with the concurrence of the family, under proper guardianship, at Walmer Castle, until the Queen shall have received the formal approval of Parliament to the course which it will be the duty of her Majesty's servants to submit to both Houses upon their re- assembling. As soon as possible after that approval shall have been obtained, it is her Majesty's wish, should no unforeseen impe- diment arise, that the mortal remains of the late illustrious and venerated Commander-in-Chief should, at the public expense, and with all the solemnity due to the moumiulness of the occasion, be deposited at the Cathedral Church of St Paul's, there to rest by the side of Nelson — the greatest Military by the side of the greatest Naval Chief who ever reflected lustre upon the annals of England* *' * I have the honour to be. Sir,
** * Your most obedient humble servant,
" * Derby.' "
** Mr. Secretary Walpole, we understand, this morning, sent down an express telegraph message to Walmer Castle, that a guard of honour should immediately be placed near the body of the illustrious Duke ; which of course was immediately done, and where it will remain as guardians of the public trust until her Majesty's further commands shall be made known upon the subject."
The fiineral is fixed for Thursday, the 18th of November, and will be conducted with all the splendour and solemnity which the
ORDEB OF PBOCEEDma TO ST. PAUL's CATHEDRAL. Ixxvii
wealth and sorrow of the nation can impart. Generals and other officers from the various Foreign Powers have been deputed to attend, to mark the sympathies of the various Governments by assisting at the mournful ceremony.
The armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, Hanover, Spain, and Portugal, have each already shown their respect to his memory, by ordering their respective armies to wear mourning for three days.
The following order of proceeding in the public funeral of the late Field-marshal Arthur Duke of Wellington, K.G., to be solemnised in St Paul's Cathedral on Thursday, the 18th day of November, 1852, was issued by the authority of the Earl Marshal on November 5th: —
ORDER OF PROCEEDING TO ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.
On the eTening of Wednesday, the 17th of NoTember, the remains of Field- marshal, Arthur, Dnke of Wellington, K.G., will be removed, nnder an escort of cavaliy, from the Hall of Chelsea Hospital to the Andienoe-room of the Horse Guards ; and on the following morning, at half-past seven o'clock, the procession having been formed in St James's Park, will proceed up Constitntion Hill, through Piccadilly, by St. James's Street, along Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, and the Strand, to Temple Bar, and thence to the Cathedral Church of St Paul, in the following order : —
Infamihy — Six Battalions, consisting of
Three Battalions of Her Miyesty's Regiments of Guards.
One Battalion of Her Majesty's S3d Foot
One Battalion of the Royal Marines.
One Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.
Each Battalion of 600 strong, making 8600.
Cavalbt — ^Eight Squadrons, consisting of
Three Squadrons of Her Migesty's Life Guards ;
Five Squadrons of Cavalry, making 640 Swords.
Abtillery — Seventeen Guns of the Royal Artilleiy.
Marshalmen on Foot
Messenger of the College of Arms on Foot
Eight Conductors with Staves on Foot
Chelsea Pensioners in number eighty-three on Foot
Twelve Enrolled Pensioners on Foot
One Soldier from every Regiment in Her Majesty's service.
Three Trumpets and One Kettledrum.
Two Pursuivants-at-Arms in a Mourning Coach.
The STANDARD or PENNON,
Carried by a Lieutenant-Colonel, supported by two Captains in the Army on
Horseback.
In a Mouming Coach.
Ixxyiii ufe of wsllinoion.
Serrants of the Deceased in a Mourning Coach.
Lieutenant and Deputy-Lieutenant of the Tower.
Deputations from Public Bodies in Carriages.
Merchant Taylors' Company.
East India Company.
Corporation of the Trinity House.
Barona and Officers of the Cinque Ports,
With the
lieutenant and Deputy-lieutenant of Dorer Castle.
Captains of Deal, Wahner, Sandgate, and Sandown Castles.
Board of Ordnance and Ordnance Department.
Delegation f^m the University of Oxford, in Two Carriages.
Deputation ftotn. the Common CouncU of the City of London, in Three Carriages.
(Will fall in here after the Procession has passed through Temple Bar.)
Three Trumpets.
Two Pursuivants-at-Arms in a Mouming Coach.
THE GUIDON,
Carried by a lieutenant-Colonel, supported by two Captains in the Army on
Horseback. Controller of the lata Duke's Household in a Mouming Coach. Physicians to the Deceased in a Mouming Coach. Chaplain of the Tower, ^
Chaplain of the Forces in the
London District, Chaplain-General of the Forces,
High Sheriff of the County of Southampton.
Sherifb of London in Two Carriages.
Aldermen and Recorder of London ; a Deputation consisting of Four Carriages.
[Will fall in here alter the Procession has passed through Temple Bar.]
Companions of the Order of the Bath, represented by Four, in One Carriage.
[Members of the House of Commons have Seats reserved
for them in the Cathedral.]
Knights Commanders of the Order of the Bath, represented
by Four, in One Carriage.
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, represented by Four, in One
Caniage, in each Class, one from the Army, one from the Navy, one from
the East India Company's Service, and one from the Civil Service.
Three Trumpets.
Heralds in a Mouming Coach.
BANNER OF WELLESLEY,
Carried by a Lieutenant-Colonel, supported by two Captains
in the Army on Horseback.
The Lords Justices of Appeal.
Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
Master of the Rolls.
Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Chancellor of the Exchequer.
OBDEB OF FBOCEBDINa TO 8T. PAUL'S GATHEDBAIi. Ittix
The Paymaster-General of the Forces.
The Bight Hon. the Secretary-at-War.
The Right Hon. the Jndge-Advocate-General.
Master-General of the Ordnance. First Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. Secretaries of State for the Home and Colonial Departments. [Speaker of the House of Commons, if not with the House.]
Earls,
Marquises,
Dukes,
Barons, Bishops, Viscounts, irill have seats reserved in the Cathedral.
Earl of Malmesbury, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Earl of Derby, First Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.
Earl Marshal of England.
Lord Great Chamberlain.
Lord Privy SeaL
Lord President of the Council.
Lord Archbishop of York.
Lord High Chancellor.
Lord Archbishop of Canterbuzy.
[At Temple Bar, the Lord Mayor, carrying the City Sword, will join in the
Procession.]
Military Secretary.
Assistant Quarter- Assistant
"o master-GeneraL Adjutant-GeneraL §
-g Aide-de-Camp to Aide-de-Camp to ^
§ the Deceased. the Deceased. |
& Deputy Quartermaster- Deputy-Adjutant- c
§ General. General. %
Quarter-master-General. Adjutant-GeneraL
His Boyal Highness Prince Albebt, in a carriage drawn by Six Horses ;
attended by the Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household, and the Groom
of the Stole to his Boyal Highness.
A Second Carriage with other Attendants.
A Third Carriage with other Attendants.
Four Trumpets.
Seijeant Trumpeter.
Herald.
Norroy King of Arms in a Mourning Coach.
The GREAT BANNEB,
Carried by a Colonel, supported by two Lieutenant-Colonels on Horseback.
[Here, on reaching the Cathedral, the Dignitaries of the Church, meeting the
Body at the West Door, full in.]
FOBEIGN BATONS.
The B&ton of the Deceased, as Field-Marshal, borne on a Black Velvet Cushion
in a Mourning Coach, by the Marquis of Anglesey, K.G.
Gentleman '^^® Coronet of the Deceased, borne on a Black Gentleman
^ , Velvet Cushion in a Mourning Coach, by Usher
Clarenceux King- at- Arms.
IXXX LIFE OF WELLINGTON.
The Pallbearen, Eight General Officers, in Two Mooming Coaches.
■? ►. THE BODY, o3'
S ^ J Covered with a rich Black Velvet Pall, S ? »
"^ A) 9 aj|/u«iAi1 until ITaAnfAKAAiika ^u 9 P
» « J adonied vith Escutcheons, U "^ b
|.s§ '^p^^* i a
g B n Fnneral Car, drawn by Twelve Horses, ^ gi"
^ J g decorated with Trophies and • a a
^ O Heraldic Achievements. «< <^
fN *<
Gentleman Garter Principal King of Gentleman
Usher. Arms, in a Mourning Coach. Usher.
THE CHIEF MOURNEB,
In a long Mourning Cloak,
Supporter, his Train borne by Supporter,
the Marquis of the Hon. the Marquis of
Salisbury. William Wellesley. Tweeddale.
Ten Assistants to the Chief Mourner.
Relations and Friends of the Deceased.
The late Duke's Horse, led by the Groom to the Deceased.
Offloers and Men from eveiy Regiment in the Service ; consisting of one Captain,
a Subaltern, a Sergeant, a Corporal, and five men from every Regiment,
with Bands, representing eveiy such Regiment.
Carriages of the Queen and of the Royal Family.
Troops to close the Procession.
At Temple Bar the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of London, attended by the Recorder, and a Deputation from the Aldermen, by the Sheriffs, and a Deputation from the Common Council, will receive the procession.
The three carriages containing the Deputation from the Common Council will fall into the procession immediately after the delegation from the University of Oxford. The six carriages of the Sheriffs and Aldermen will fall into the pro- cession between the carriage of the High Sheriff of the county of Southampton and that containing the Companions of the Bath, which positions will be indicated by a conductor on horseback.
In order to give space for the admission of the carriages of the Common Council, of the Sheri£&, Recorder, and Aldermen, the second Mourning Coach and the carriage of the Companions of the Order of the Bath will respectively halt until those carriages have taken their rank in the procession.
The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, bearing the City Sword, will be placed between the carriage of his Royal Highness Prince Albert and that of the Arch- bishop of Canterbury.
Upon arrival at St. Paul's Cathedral the Marshalmen and conductors will diride and range themselves on each side at the foot of the steps without the great west door : the Chelsea and enrolled Pensioners, together with the soldiers from every regiment in Her Mi^esty's service (two officers from eveiy regiment having been previously provided with seats in the nave behind the place assigned to the soldiers), proceeding into the nave, will file off right and left; the rest of the procession, having alighted, will move forward in order to the west door of
ORDEB OF PROCEEDING TO &X PAUL's CATHEDRAL. Ixxxl
the cburcb, on entering which they will proceed up the nave. The officers of arms, the officers bearing the banners with their supporters, and the officers of the late Duke's household, mil take their places in the area.
The deputations and delegations from public bodies, the officers of the Tower of London and of Dover Castle, the c&stles of Deal, Walmer, Sandgate, and Sandown, the Barons and Officers of the Cinque Ports, tlie Physicians of the deceased, Chaplains, and the High Sheriff of the county of Southampton, will be conducted to their seats. The Common Council, Sheriffis, Recorder, Aldermen, and Lord Mayor, will proceed to their own seats. The Companions, Knights Commanders, and Knights Grand Cross of the Bath, representing the Order of the Bath, will be conducted to the seats appropriated to them ; the Lords Justices, the Master of the Bolls, the Chief Baron and Chief Justices, the other official personages, Ministers, and great officers of State, will also be conducted to the seats appropriated to them respectively.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert will be seated in a chair on the right hand of the chief mourner; the suite of his Royal Highness will take their places near his Royal Highness.
The body, when taken from the car, will be received by the Dean and Preben- daries, attended by the choir, and borne into the church, attended and supported as follows :-..
The Spurs, borne by York Herald.
The Helmet and Crest, borne by Richmond Herald.
The Sword and Target, borne by Lancaster Herald.
The Surooat, borne by Chester Herald.
Foreign Bfttons.
The B&ton of the Deceased, as Field-Marshal, borne by the
Marquis of Anglesey, K.G. The Coronet and Cushion, borne by Clarencenx King-of-Aims.
gee
•gill THE BODY. ^^ta»
.Mi
" §
The remainder of tlie Procession will follow as before marshalled.
The Supporters of the Pall will be seated on stools on each side of the body. The Officers bearing the bannerols will be ranged behind the supporters of the pall.
The Chief Mourner will be seated in a chair at Uie bead of the body, his sup- porters on either side, tlie trainbearer behind, and the assistant-mourners upon stools, also on eitlier side. The relations and friends of the deceased will take their places behind the Chief Mourner.
The body being placed on a bier, and the pall being removed, the coronet and cushion will be placed on the coffin, as also the Field-Marshal's b&ton of the deceased.
The foreign b&tons will be held during the ceremony by military officers of high rank in the respective armies of the different foreign Powers, and they, with the Marquis of Anglesey, will occupy stools at the foot of the coffin.
Ixxxii LIFE OF WELUNOTON.
The pari of the sexriee before the interment and the anthem being performecU the body will be deposited in the vault, and the sernce being ended, Garter irill proclaim the style, and the Controller of the deceaaed, breaking his stafi; will give the pieces to Garter, by whom they will be deposited in the grave.
PALL-BEABERS.
General Viscount Combermere, G.C.B. and G.G.H.
General Marquis of Londonderry, G.C.B. and G.G.H.
General Viscount Hardinge, G.C.B.
lieutenant-General Lord Seaton, G.C.B., G.C., M.G., and G.C.H., Ac.
Lieutenant- General Viscount Gough, G.C.B., &c.
Lieutenant-General Sir Charles J. Napier, G.C.B.
Lieutenant- General Sir J. L. Lushington, G.C.B.
Lieutenant-General Sir G. Pollock, G.C.B.
MiOor-^«Qe"^ Sir Hany G. W. Smith, Bart., G.C.B.
(From the United Service Gazette,)
An order was sent fh>m the Commander-in-Chief *s-office on Thursday, by oom- mand of her Majeuty, that one field-ofiQcer, one captain, one lieutenant or subaltern, one sergeant, one corporal, and six privates, from each regiment or d^p6t in the United Kingdom and Channel Islands, shall attend and take part in the ceremony. But last night the above order was so far changed that, instead of six privates, a squadron of each regiment of cavalry and a company of each regiment of infantry shall attend. The 33d Regiment, the late Duke's favourite, will furnish 540 men, exclusive of the band.
The Duke was married 10th April, 1806, to the Honourable Catherine Pakenham, third daughter of Edward Lord Longford; and by her (who died 24th April, 1831) had two sons : Arthur, the present and second Duke of Wellington, bom 3d Feb. 1807, and married, 18th April, 1839, the Lady Elizabeth Hay, fourth daughter of George, Marquis of Tweeddale.
Charles, bom 16th January, 1808, M.P. for the borough of New Windsor ; married, 9th July, 1844, Augusta Sophia Anne, only child of the Right Hon. Henry Manvers Pierrepoint, and niece of Earl Manvers; and has issue, Arthur, bom May 5, 1845, and other children.
POSTSCBIFT. Ixxxiii*
POSTSCRIPT.
November 19, 1852.
A BBiEF description of the last honours paid to the remains of the illustrious dead may not be now thought inappropriate, written partly firom personal observation, and completed by reference to the published accounts.
On Thursday, Nov. 18, the Amend procession started &om the Horse Guards. The weather, which had for weeks before been unpropitious, on this mormn^ brightened, and the sun's beams shed a brilliancy on the moumfid procession, and, without decreasing from the solemnity of the scene, enabled the countless multitudes assembled on each side of the line of route to view with comfort the splendid pageant — ^vanity of vanities to the chief object con- cerned, but the only means left by survivors to show the respect and attachment of a grateftd people.
The gloom, which threatened in the early morning, had cleared off, as, punctual to the moment appointed, the word of command was shouted from column to column, and the band of the 3d Battalion of the Rifle Brigade struck up the '' Dead March in Saul," and with silent, solemn precision the Brigade filed off, with arms reversed, in slow step, at a rate which, continued throughout the procession, might be calciJated as about one mile an hour. Scarcely had the roll of the muffled drums died away, than the band of the 1st Battalion of Royal Marines took up the strain, and the Marines fell in, and continued the procession at an equal pace. They were followed, as we have stated above, by another band, that of the 38d Regiment, and the Regiment itself, which enjoyed the pririlege of joining entire in the procession, as being that in which the late noble Duke had held his first commission, and from which circumstance they were regarded with unusual interest by the bystanders. When the two united bands of the Scots Fusiliers and Coldstream Guards joined in the ''Dead March," it was remarkable what a different effect they produced to the other bands, and how their precision and tone gave double power to this fine specimen of classic music. It then became noticeable, as regiment after regiment filed off in long order, without a check' or a lapse, what care had been evinced by the Duke of Cambridge in the necessary manoeuvres, and with what sedulous attention he watched the result. The troops for the day had been placed under his grace's command, and he was anxious to acquit himself of so heavy a responsibility with credit to himself and the service. Certainly a finer set of men were never brought together, and never did men acquit themselves so weU as the horse and foot engaged in the soldier triumph of the Wellington funeral. The Horse Guards (Blue), the Life Guards, the 8th Hussars, and the 6th Dragoons con- stituted a cavalry brigade, of which any nation might well be proud ; nor did the soldiers throughout the day belie their character as citizens partaking the triumph of England's greatest warrior.
9*
r
Ixxxiv* LIFE OF WSLUNGTON.
The banners, borne by different distinguished officers, added largely to the splendour of the scene, and many were the sympathies as one after the other of the yeteran companions of the Duke in many a bloody field were announced as taking part in this procession. Another cir- cumstance excited greatly the feelings of the assembled multitudes. This was tiie charger of the late Duke, clothed with his Field-marshal s saddle, and carrying in the stirrups his spurred boots reversed. The noble animal seemed to feel the moumM interest of the scene, and held down his head as if he, too, could lament the loss of so good and noble a master. Nor must we omit to allude to a group which excited more than usual attention. We allude to the Chelsea pensioners, 83 in number, as typical of the years attained by the great general under whom they had served, drawn up between the statues of England s hapless King and the monument of her Naval Hero. It would be dif- ficult to mark amidst such a scene such a body of fine old veterans, who had fought and bled for England's gloiy, and bore on their breasts the well-won tributes of her gratitude, without some feelings of interest. There stood these brave fellows, headed by their captains, Davem and Evans, assembled to pay tbeir last tribute to the Great Departed ! They had as soldiers followed him in the hour of strife to victory, and as mourners did they now, in time of peace, follow him to his grave.
But the object which excited the greatest curiosity was the gigantic car, which now reposed outside the Horse Guards, carefully shdftered from the weather under an awning of vast dimensions. This car was now in readiness for the great procession, the coffin having been raised upon it by an inclined pkme. The twelve black horses, clothed from head to foot in black velvet housings with silver fringe, were put to it, and the body of Wellington was on its last journey to its final home. The car, or catafalque, is a series of repetitions of designs, forming a majestic whole. In shape something like a railway carriage truck, it is a flat surfeu^e upon wheels, upon which is raised a golden dais, elaborately ornamented, and terminating in halberts, which support a rich tissue of woven black and gold, the latter predominating, and producing a lustrous effect over the whole. The wheels of the car are formed by repetition of truncated oaks, the circles of the wheels being formed by double dolphins extended between the points of the cross. These are of solid bronze, and the centre of each wheel is formed by a lion's head, sharply moulded and vigorous in model. These wheels are six in number, and the body of the truck is brought down between each of them, so as to take off that meagreness of outline which would be occasioned by mere straight lines upon wheels. In each department between the wheels is a figure of Victory, or Fame, holding in either hand a laurel and an olive. This figure is repeated in high relief, and larger proportions, upon each comer of the truck, which is also all of bronze. In the centre of the front rises a boldly-conceived design of the arms of the Wellington family, with the supporters. At each side of the dais was constructed a splendid military trophy, formed of two cuirasses, surmounted by a helmet. From these radiated, in the first instance, swords, bayonets, and other small arms ; the effect being com- pleted, on each side, by the flags of an inflEmtry regiment, beyond which
FOSiscBiFr. Ixxxv*
extended a cayalry ensign. The pyramidal foim of these trophies was artisticallj attained hy small drums under the flags, above which were deposited splendid arms, holsters, Ac., of Indian manufacture. At the oomers of the truck were laid, as if without art, heavy pieces of artillery, also of Eastern make. That nothing might be wanted to complete the illustration of the heroic character in this funeral car, the party to whom tins portion of the ornamentation had been entrusted, seized upon, with much elegance of taste, the exquisite allusion made to the laurel and cypress in Mr. Disraeli's late eloquent eulogium upon the Duke of Wellington. Wreaths of laurel and cypress were pendant on the side of the car, whilst garlands of bay were laid on other parts, and on the coflin and by its side were laid the palm, with crowns of immortelle. It may be interesting to note, that in obtaining this palm — the true date-palm that grows about Jerusalem — there was much difficulty, and it was only through the kindness of Sir William Hooker that a supply was obtained from the only available source — the gardens at Eew. At each side of the dais are Ave entablatures, each of them containing the titles of three victories gained by the late Duke.
The funeral proc^sion entered the City at Temple Bar^ which had been draped with black, and hun^ with trophies, immortelles, &C., the whole surmounted by three onerary urns, richly silvered, where it was joined by the Civic authorities, and continued its conrse to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's.
The near approach of the car to the Cathedral having been an- nounced, the clergy and choristers, headed by the Bishop of London and the Dean of St, Paul's, all wearing white surplices, advanced from the choir to meet the coffin at the western entrance of the cathedral.
The car was brought alongside the platform at half-past twelve o'clock ; but, owing to an unhappy hitch in the machinery, a delay of half an hour took place before the procession moved into the cathedraL When this little difficulty was obviated, and the maxshalling of the generals had been completed, the swelling strains of the choir were poured forth in the beautiful service commencing '* I am the resur- rection and the life," &c. The effect was magnificent. At the head of the procession walked the Right Hon. tiie Lord Mayor of the City of London, bearing the city sword, and preceded by the officers of the corporation. His Royal Highness Prince Albert followed, in the uni- form of a Field-marshal, supported by the Marquis of Exeter, as Lord Chamberlain, and the Marquis of Abercom, Groom of the Stole to his Royal Highness. The lords and gentlemen of the royal household were also in attendance on the Prince. H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge and his Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar followed the Prince Consort. Next after the royal mourners came the choristers.
The coffin, resting upon a bier of nearly eight feet high, now came in view, moving almost imperceptibly along the nave. This was a most interesting moment. Upon the lid of the coffin were laid iiie Marshal's sword and hat, and as trifles in such moments, in relation to great events, assume an importance which may not belong to them, tiiere were few among those present who could see unmoved a light breeze
Ixxxvi* UFK OF WELUNOTON.
rising at the moment impart a life-like motion to the plume of the hat resting on the dead warrior's hier. Nor was it the less affecting to see, apart from all consideration of their gallant deeds, the veteran companions in arms of the great captain crowded round, and advancing towards the grave, each with a hand upon his coffin. The names of these brave men — a portion of the history of our country's glory — are :—
General Visoonnt Gombermere, O.C.B. lieat-Gen. Lord Seaton, G.C.B. General Marquis of Londonderry, G.G.B. Lieut- Gen. Sir A. Woodford, G.C.B. General Sir Peregrine Maitland, G.C.B. Lieut-Gen. Viscount Gough, G.C.B. General Visoonnt Hazdinge, G.C.B. Lieut-Gen. Sir Charles Napier, G.C.B.
The ordinary service having been concluded by the Dean, Garter King at Arms came forward and pronounced, in a very effective manner, over the grave, the style and titles of the deceased Duke, as follows : —
'* Thus it has pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life unto His divine meroy the late most high, mighty, and most noble Prince,
Arthur, Duke and Marquess of Wellington,
Marquess Douro, Earl of Wellington, Viscount Wellington, and Baron Douro.
Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter,
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath,
One of Her Majesty's Most Hon. Privy Council, and Field-Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of Her Mfiuestys Forces.
Also,
Field-Marshal in the Austrian Anny,
Field-Marshal of the Hanoverian Army,
Field-Marshal of the Army of the Netherlands,
Marshal-General of the Portuguese Army,
field-Marshal of the Prussian Army,
field-Marshal of the Russian Army, and Captain-General of the Spanish Army.
Prince of Waterloo of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Duke of Ciudad Bodrigo, and Grandee of Spain of the First Class.
Duke of Vittoria, Marquess of Torres Vedras, and Count of Vimiero in Portugal
Knight Grand Cross of the Lnperial Military Order of Maria Teresa of Austria.
Knight Grand Cross of the Boyu Military Order of Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria.
Knight of the Order of the Elephant of Denmark.
Knight of the Order of St. Esprit of France.
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphio Order.
Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of William of the Netherlands.
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Portuguese Military
Order of the Tower and Sw<»d.
Knight Grand Cross of the Orders of the Black Eagle
and of the Red Eagle of Prussia.
Knight of the Imperial Orders of St Andrew,
St Alexander Newski, and St George of Russia.
Knight Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the Annunciation of Sardinia.
Knight of the Royal Order of the Rue Crown of Saxony.
Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Golden Fleece, and of
the Military Orders of St Ferdinand and St. Hermenigilde of Spain.
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of the Sword of Sweden.
Knight of the Order of St Januarius, and of the Military Order dT St Ferdinand
and of Merit of the Two Sicilies.
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit of Wurtemberg.
Knight of the Order of the Golden Lion of Hesse Cassel, and
Knight Grand Cross of the Orders of Fidelity and of the Lion of Baden.
The Bishop of London then pronounced the blessing, and the mourners presently retired.
SKETCH
OV THK
LIFE OF F. M. PBINCE BLUCHER.
Gebhabdt Lbbbecht yon Blucheb^ descendant of a noble SEunily in the Duchy of Mecklenburg Schweriny was bom at Rostock, December 16, 1742, being the youngest of six brothers. His father was a Captain of Dragoons, in the service of the Elector of Hesse Cassel. The events of the Seven Years' War induced his parents to send him to the Isle of Rugen, where he took a liking to the military service; and when young Bliicher was twelve years old, four of his brothers were serving in th€f Prussian, Russian, and Danish armies. At this early period he became a cadet him- self in the Swedish Regiment of Moemer Hussars. He made his first campaign against those very Black Hussars which he was one day to command. Being sent with a detachment of ten men, he was surprised and made prisoner, aflfcer having had a horse shot under him. When he was brought before Colonel Von Belling, that officer asked him many questions, and finally offered him a commission in the Prussian service. This, however, Bliicher refused, unless he could gain his dismission from that to which he owed his all^iance. This the Colonel succeeded in obtaining by an exchange; and immediately appointed his young friend to a lieutenancy, purchased for him the equipage which belonged to his predecessor, and finally made him his Adjutant Under that officer Bliicher acquired a thorough knowledge of military duty; but when the Colonel had incurred the displeasure of his Sove-
kxxiv UFE OK PRINCK BLUCIIER.
reign, and was displaced, his friend experienced some ill-treatment, in consequence of the zeal manifested by him in the defence of one whom he justly regarded as a parent Bliicher was at that time a Captain, and when the Major of his regiment died a jimior officer was placed over his head; on which he remonstrated earnestly with Frederick the Great, but received no redress. He then wrote a letter to the King, requesting permission ** to resign, rather than expose himself to acute sensations during every hour of his life." To this letter Frederick wrote the following note, and addressed it to the Commandant of that regiment:
** Captain Von Bliicher has leave to resign, and may go to the devil as soon as he pleases. Fbedebick.'*
He was at this time about to be married to a lady of great merit, but small fortune; and as his means were also contracted, the disappointment he had sustained in the loss of his majority was severe. However, the union took place, and Bliicher farmed an estate in Pomerania belonging to his father-in-law, where, by his diligence, he in a few years acquired a considerable landed pro- perty. Of this province he was also chosen High Bailiff; and it should be mentioned to the honour of Frederick, that, however harshly he had behaved towards Bliicher in the army, he acted liberally towards him in other respects, particularly by giving him such pecuniary assistance as enabled him to purchase advan- tageously, and to^ improve his estates. On the death of that monarch, fifteen years after the retirement of Bliicher, he was recalled to the service, and appointed Major of tlie second battalion of his former regiment of Black Hussars. At the head of this corps Bliicher distinguished himself near Orchies, Luxemburg, Kierweiller, and Edesham. He soon rose to the rank of Lieu- tenant-colonel, and in 1789, being then full Colonel, he was in- vested with the Order of Merit His career of glory may be said to have commenced in the campaign on the Rhine, in 1793, where he distinguished himself so conspicuously as to receive, the year following, the regiment of Black Hussars, as a reward for his services. The same year he was promoted to the rank of Major- general, and invested with the grand Order of the Red Eagle. At this period he became an author in the line of his profession, by publishing a valuable book on a War of Posts and Skirmishes, with Observations on Ambuscades. In 1801 he was made Lieu-
LIJE OF PRINCE BLUCHER. IxxXT
tenant-general, at which time he took possession of Erfurth and Muhlhaosen, being also appointed Governor of Monster. At the battle of Jena Blucher performed wonders, though some blame has been unjustly cast upon him for his precipitancy, when, in fact, the whole miscarriage of that day was owing to Marshal MoUen* dorf. After that battle Blucher was appointed to the command of the Prince of Wirtemburg's corps, with orders to conduct it across the Oder, and while engaged in this service he fell in with the French light troops under General Klein, when by great presence of mind he completely deceived the enemy, with a decla- ration that peace had been concluded between France and Prussia. Buonaparte particulai'ly noticed this occurrence in one of the bulletins, accompanied by a severe animadversion on the conduct of his officers. After a succession of skirmishes and forced marches, Blucher threw himself into Lubeck, which he defended with obsti- nacy agamst superior numbers under Bemadotte, with whom, at length, the Prussian hero was obliged to capitulate. He was after- wards exchanged for the French General Victor ; and as he passed through Finkerstein, to repair to the head-quarters of his Sove- reign, he was received with particular distinction by Napoleon. After the peace of Tilsit he was made Military Governor of Pomerania, in the campaign of 1813, and the King entrusted him with the command of the Silesian army, with which he per- formed deeds astonishing to all Europe. His victories made him the terror of the Revolutionists, and greatly contributed to the first overthrow of Napoleon. After the memorable battle of Leipsic, in which he bore so distinguished a part, our veteran was made Field-marshal, and General-in-chief of the Prussian Armies. We have just seen that his bravery and promptitude in the short campaign of the Netherlands, 1815, has equally contributed to effect a second overthrow; and a few days before his landing in England he was raised to the dignity of Prince Bllicher of Wahlstadt. A monument is erected to his honour in the market* place of Rostock, his native place.
On the death of his first wife, Bliicher married the daughter of M. Von Colomb, Counsellor of the Finances. By his former lady he had three children: two sons, Francis and Gebhardt, and one daughter, who are all living. Count Francis von Bliicher is Colonel Commandant of the Brown Hussars ; and his second son
bcxxvi aSMERAL COUnr BULOW.
served as Captain in his father's regiment^ bat having resigned, he now lives on the family estates in Fomerania. The daughter married Count von Schillenberg, on whose death she took for second husband, in 1814, Baron von de Afreberg.
Marshal Blucher died at Krieblowitz, on the 12th of September, 1819, and was buried there. A gigantic block of unhewn stone was to have marked the spot, but only since the death of the Duke of Wellington has this incompleted intention been again revived. Colossal statues in bronze have been erected to his memory at Rostock, Berlin, and Breslau: the first, on the 26th of August, 1819, to celebrate the Anniversary of the Battle of Katzbach; the second waa erected in 1826; and that of Breslau, in 1827.
6ei9EBAL Count Bclow, of Dinnewitz, died on the 25th of February, 1816, of an inflammation of the lungs, at Konigsberg, of which city he was Governor.
It was this excellent officer who, on the 18th of June, by a successful movement with a strong Prussian force, assisted much in determining the success of the day; for while Grouchy was supposing he had kept the Prussians separated from the English, he found himself, on the contrary, without communication with the French army. Count Bulow commanded the 3d Prussian corps in France, 1814, as Lieutenant-general. His corps much distinguished itself at Soissons and Laon, against Buonaparte in person ; and the most memorable feat of the campaign was per- formed by him, in taking La F^re and its important arsenal. He possessed distinguished military talents, and performed much service, and he never lost a battle.
On his death the King of Prussia paid the most marked com- pliment of respect, of which there are but two examples since the days of the Great Frederick, by ordering every officer of his army to put on mourning for three days, and declaring at the same time that all Prussia ought to weep for his loss.
A SHORT
HISTORIC MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE.
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH, KING OF ITALY,
k€. iUi, Ac.
To write a life of Napoleon, in conjunction with that of his great rival, Wellington, and to append that life to the account of the most momentous and fearful defeat he ever experienced, might be thought by some to be an act savouring of the vainglorious, or partaking of that semi-barbarous feeling which caused the victorious Koman generals and emperors to heighten the glories of their triumphs, by leading the most illustrious of their captives in pro- cession as they entered the Eternal City: and by exhibiting to public gaze the most conspicuous or celebrated of their opponents, to enhance, or render more palpable the glory of their own deeds. In order to prevent such comparisons, it has been the endeavour to steer clear of controverted points, and this short memoir has been written, not to invite invidious comparisons, but to present an historic portrait necessary to explain or elucidate other por- tions of this work : it would be absurd to attempt to decry the great talents or abilities of Napoleon ; on the other hand, to laud too highly his achievements would only be to build up a great reputation in order to magnify the power of him who overthrew the fabric : either course would be open to objections. The aim has been merely to write a short memoir on a life which has long ago become a matter of history.
IxXXViii ItEKOIB OF NAPOLEON.
Napoleon Baonaparte, the second son of Charles Bnonaparte and Letitia Rainolmi his wife, was bom at Ajaccio, in Corsica, on the 15th of August, 1769: one hundred and six days after Arthur Wellesley first saw the light in the city of Dublin. This same year ushered in many celebrated names in history, but none com- parable with the fame of these two heroes, whose advent, within so short a time of one another, will render the year 1769 famous for centuries to come.
The position of the Buonaparte family was modest and re- spectable, and ranked with the nobility of that small island. To attempt, as some French sycophants of the Imperial Court did, to trace the genealogy of the family from the ancient kings of the north of Italy, and thus invent a princely ancestry for their master, was looked upon, even by Buonaparte, as ridiculous ; who when the pedigree was submitted to him, with his intuitive sagacity perceiving that he derived no real dignity from such attempts, exclaimed, " I am the Rudolph* of my race!" thus protesting against regal consanguinity, and founding his nobility alone on the services he had rendered his country, which was therefore only to be dated from Montenotte.
Napoleon's father was educated at Pisa and Rome. He was a well-informed and eloquent man, who displayed also much energy on various important matters, and especially at the consultation extraordinary of Corsica, relative to the submission of that island to France, Charles Buonaparte afterwards appeared at Versailles at the head of the deputation from his province, on the occasion of the controversy that was raised against the two French generals who commanded in Corsica, M. de Marbeuf and M. de Narbonne Pelery. The reputation of the latter, so powerful at court, was superseded by the testimony of Charles Buonajxarte, who, faithful to truth and justice, pleaded eloquently for M. de Marbeuf. This was the origin of the interest and protection which the Buonaparte family afterwards found in that commander. Placed, in 1777, at the Military School at Briemie, Napoleon applied himself especially to the study of history, geography, and science gene- rally. He succeeded principally in mathematics. His taste for politics was remarkable. Ardent for the independence of his country, he evinced a species of adoration for Paoli, and mainly
• Count Rudolph of Hapslnirg was the fonmler of the Austrian dynasty.
MEMOIR OF NAP0L£ON. Ixxxix
defended him against the opinion even of his father. Some biographers, reviewing his early history at college, describe him there as isolated and taciturn, alike without equal or friend ; his precocious gravity and brusque and rigorous habits proclaiming a misanthropy and want of soul. Others, again, declare him by nature noble, kind, and affectionate, and that it was only at tlie close of his eventful career that disappointed ambition and blasted hopes resolved themselves into a morose and sullen deportment.
It has likewise been said that his taste for retirement, and that pencliant for military art, which was as exclusive as premature, caused him to confine himself to his own garden, which was for- tified against the attacks of his companions: one of the latter, however, denies this, and in contradiction relates the well-known anecdote of the fortress constructed of snow and besie^^ed and defended with snow-balls, in which they all took part, though devised and conducted by Napoleon, who in that simple pastune displayed that military tact and skilful generalship which after- wards so distinguished him; and the willingness with which all submitted to his dictation at that early age, amongst so many varj-ing dispositions as a college of boys presents, ctjjpears on re- viewing it almost predictive of the influence he was one day to possess over the minds and destinies of a whole nation.
Many of the professors, in after years, aifected to have foreseen in part his subsequent great cai'eer; and M. de I'Eguille, the Historical Master, asserted under the Empire that there was to be found amongst the reports of the Military School a note, in which he had foreshadowed the future success of his pupil in these words: " Corsican by birth and character, he will rise high should cir- cumstances favour him." At the Assembly in 1785, he was elected by the Chevalier de Ki^ralio to the Military School in Paris. On his entrance there. Napoleon was not backward in showing surprise and regret at the effeminate and luxurious educa- tion which it gave to young men destined for the hardships of the camp and rigour of military service, and made refonnatiou in diis respect the subject of a memorial to his principal, M; Bertan, putting forth the elements of an institution which he was dastined himself to realise in the fulness of his glory. The brilliant talents he manifested, distinguished him at Paris as they iiad done at Briemie. He left the Military School at Paiis in 1787, and
XC MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
entered as second Lientenant the Artillery regiment De la F^^ then garrisoned at Grenoble.
In 1794^ Buonaparte^ as chief of the battalion, made his first campaign, in which he contributed so powerfully to the recapture of Toulon. From this period the progress of this extraordinary in- dividual was so rapid as to leave him without a parallel in modem history. He was soon raised to the raids of General of Artillery, and in July, 1794, received instructions to repair to Genoa, for the ostensible purpose ^to confer with that Government conjointly with the Ambassador of the French Republic." To these public credentials were added secret directions to examine the state of the works and military stores of the fortresses of Genoa and Lavona, and to unravel, as far as possible, the conduct of the French Minister Tilly, and the intentions of the Grenoese respecting the coalition. The result of the fulfilment of this mission was, that he was arrested and sent back to Paris, where he continued under restraint fifteen days, when a resolution was passed, setting him provisionally at liberty, but directing that he should remain at head- quarters; and subsequently, upon his refusing the post of Brigadier- fireneral of Infantry at La Vend^, he was dismissed the service.
The inactivit/to which his retirement into private life con- demned him suited but little with his restless and sanguine disposition. Delays and disappointments becoming insupportable to him, he at one time contemplated quitting France for ever, and seeking in Eastern climes to realise those projects of ambition which were the dream and aim of his life, when the afikir of the Sections which he so vigorously quelled— one of those inci- dents peculiar to the French nation — gave Buonaparte an oppor- tunity of distinguishing himself apart from the rest, and the services rendered by him on that occasion secured him the com- mand of the capital. His marriage with Josephine, widow of the Count de Beauhamois, took place March 9th, 1796, and was quickly followed by his appointment as General of the Army of the Interior and Commandant of Paris ; and but a few months elapsed before he left Paris on his way to Italy, to assume the command-in-chief of the French army in that quarter ; and the continued success which attended his progress, led to the Treaty of Leoben, the preliminaries of which were signed on the 18th April, 1796. Although the circumscribed limits of this memoir
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. XCl
will not admit of entering into a detailed account of Buonaparte's career throughout his important Italian campaign, it is imperative to make a sketch at least of those great militarj events which resulted in the above-mentioned preliminaries of Leoben^ and finally to the signing of the treaty of Campo Formio. Buonaparte, as we have seen, arrived at the head-quarters of his army early in the spring of 1796, and after some tSe spent by the Austrian in various movements to deceive the French, hostilities conmienced on the 9th of April, on which day General Beaulieu ordered 10,000 men to attack Yoltre. This important post was bravely defended for some time by Greneral Gerboni, at the head of 4000 men ; but he was at length obliged to retreat, and on the following day Beaulieu, with 15,000 men, took up a position before Mon- tenotte. On the morning of the 11th, Buonaparte succeeded in placing himself in the rear of the enemy ; a sharp attack ensued, which ended in the complete rout of the Austrians, 1500 of their men being killed, 2500 made prisoners, and several standards taken. To the battle of Montenotte succeeded that of Millesimo, on the 14th, in which the Austrians were again defeated, with the loss of 3000 men killed and 9000 made prisoners. These suc- cesses on the part of the French were followed by others, with a rapidity almost unequalled in the annals of war. On the 2l8t of April, Buonaparte encountered and defeated the Sardinian army, putting the French in possession of Meudon ; and on the 25th the King of Sardinia, finding himself pressed on every side by the enemy, sent to Buonaparte to propose negociations for peace, which was finally eflected by the relinquishment of Savoy and Nice. Napoleon then marched his army across the Po, feeling convinced that his conquests would not be secure until the Austrians were driven from all their possessions in Italy. The Imperialists waited for the French at the bridge of Lodi, who, upon the 12th of May, made their attack upon this formidable pass, scattering the Austrians, and spreading terror and death in every direction. This battle was followed by the surrender of Pizzi- ghettone, Cremona, Pavia, and Milan, which was entered by the French on the 15 th of May. To these triumphs were added those of Roveredo, Bassano, Arcole, the subsequent capture of Mantua, and surrender of Ancona and other places in the Papal States, when a treaty of peace was effected between the French republic
XCIl MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
and the Pope. This had hardly been concluded when Buonaparte again encountered the Austrians, then under the command of the Archduke Charles, He attacked the village of Cainin, the head- quarters of tlie Archduke, who was forced into a precipitate retreat, leaving the tow^ns of Pahna, Nuova, Udina, and all the Venetian ter- ritory, to tlie mercy of tlie victors. This led to a proposition of peace on the part of Austria, which ended in the pacification of Leoben, and in due time the treaty of Campo Formio. Thus ended the first Italian campaign, which spread tlie name of Na}x>leon like lightning through the civilised world, and, unliappily, emboldened him to those unprincipled and open aggressions, to the indulgence of that lawless and imi)erious spirit, which marked his future course and kept pace with his growing power. Next to Italy, Egypt became the stage for the display of Napoleon, who, on Ids return to Paris, was named Commander-in-Chief of the Army in tlie East The squadron set sail on the 19th of May, 1798, and arrived before Alexandria on the 30th of June, where they learnt that Nelson had been on the coast two days before. On hearing these details. Napoleon overruled the remonstrances of tlie admiral, and disem- barked, amidst many dangers and difficulties, on the 2d of July, at Marobam, about three leagues east of Alexandria. Two hours after, the Commander-in-Chief was in full march upon that capital with the divisions of Kleber, Bon, and Morand. On arriving within gun-shot of Alexandria the attack commenced, the walls were fX!aled, and in a short time French valour had triumphed over all opposition. Buonaparte devoted ten days in organising the city and district of Alexandria, and in preparing for the march of the army across the plains of Bohahireh. On the 10th of July they arrived at Rakenaliairieb, and on the 22d beheld the Pyra- mids : a j)ortion of the army on that day also encountered and defeated a considerable body of Mamelukes. The battle was fought at Embaheh, opposite Boulac, the consequence of which victory was the occupation of Cairo by tie conquerors. In pos- session of the capital, the Commander-in-Chief engaged himself actively in the organisation of his conquests, when he learned that Ibrahim, the most powerful of the beys, was making head in Syria. Upon this, Buonaparte prepared to march in person against this formidable opponent, the results of which campaign and defeat of Ibrahim at El-Arych are well knowTi to every one.
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. XCUl
During the absence of Napoleon, news arrived at Cairo of the overwhelming disaster of the French squadi-on at Aboukir, in the memorable encounter with Nelson on the 1st of August On learning this terrible catastrophe, the Commander-in-Chief seemed completely borne down. To the painful feelings aroused by the ungenerous complaints and the moral discouragements of his companions in arms and glory, was just added a misfortime incal- culable, positive, irreparable — the destruction of the fleet This calamity impressed upon General Buonaparte the necessity of promptly and securely organising Egypt The flights of Ibrahim and Mourad left him an interval of repose. War, fortifications, revenue administration, appointment of divans, commerce, science, the arts, — all engrossed his cares. On the 21st of August the Institute was opened at Cairo, for the propagation and progress of intelligence in Egypt, — for the study and collecting of its natural history, its resources, its monuments, — for every object which promised to be useful to Egypt, to France, to humanity. On the 21st of October an insurrection broke out in Cairo, which, how- ever, lasted only three days. Buonaparte*s next expedition was against the Turks in Syria, though before commencing it he had revolved the scheme of invading British India by way of Persia ; and in pursuit of this design wrote to Tippoo Saib, informing him of his arrival on the shores of the Red Sea, with an army invincible as it was innumerable, and professing the desire of deli- vering him from the iron yoke of England. To this letter Tippoo did not reply, as frequently stated ; there was no time, the empire of Mysore had fallen before the succeeding April. On the 11th of February, 1799, Buonaparte commenced his march for Syria with about 12,000 men, and reached El-Arych on the 17th. The fatigues of the desert, the want of water, and privations of all kinds, had excited discontent among the soldiers ; still their attach- ment to their general remained undiminished. On the 20th, EI- Aiych surrendered, and on the Ist of March the army entered Ramleh, the ancient Arimathea. The siege of Jaffa, a paltry town, dignified as the ancient Joppa, conmicnced on the 4th, and terminated by assault and pillage on the 6th of March. The carnage was horrible.
After the siege of Jaffa the plague began to manifest its approaches with more severity. From first to last, seven or eight
XeiV HEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
hundred men were lost by the contagion during the Sjn-ian ex- pedition. The march upon Acre^ which conmienced upon the 14th March, was by no means a series of triumphs. On the 18th the army arrived before Acre. The siege continued for sixty days, the details of which are suiBciently known, as also the gallantry with which Sir Sidney Smith defended the town during that period. On the 20th •May, after having cost the besiegers in killed, wounded, and those who died of the plague, nearly .3000 men, the siege of Acre was raised. Never was any enterprise undertaken with more precipitation or less discretion. On the army breaking up its encampment before the town, they adopted the cover of night for effecting a march along the shore of the Mediterranean, and passed Mount Carmel uninterrupted. Thus terminated the disastrous expedition. But a fearful journey yet lay before the troops. A devouring thirst, the total want of water, an excessive heat, and fatiguing march among scorching sand-hills, created universal discouragement, and on their arrival at Tentoura the loss among the wounded and sick was already considerable. This place and its moving sands beheld the loss of their last gims of calibra They were buried for the want of means of transportation, and in that moment the soldiers appeared to forget their own sufferings in regret for these, the instruments and witnesses of those triumphs which had shaken Europe. Whilst halting for the night at Cesarea, an attempt was made on the life of Napoleon by a Syrian. Missing his aim, however, he was easily taken and shot The army returned to Jaffa on the 24th May, and this city, so lately the scene of such a horrible massacre, was again to behold the terrible necessity of commanding death. An order was secretly given to blow up the fortifications, which was accordingly done, and those lying sick of the plague were despatched by poison. Napoleon reached Cairo on the 14th June, after a most painful march of twenty-five days, accomplished by the army under every species of privation. He announced his entrance into that city by one of those false bulletins which imposed only on fools. " I bring," said he, " many prisoners and colours. I have razed the palace of the Djezzar, the ramparts of Acre, — ^there stands not one stone above another. All the inhabitants fled by sea." On the 15th July, Napoleon being then on a visit to the Pyramids,
MEHOnt OF NAPOLEON. XCV
•
received dispatches from Alexandria, informing him that the Turks had disembarked on the 1 1th at Abonkir, under the escort and protection of an English fleet The next day the army was in full march, and on the 25th of July ensued that memorable conflict in which the Turks were completely defeated. Buonaparte sent an envoy on board the English Admiral's ship, the intercourse with whom was marked by that urbanity which ought to cha- racterise the relations of civilised nations* The Admiral pre- sented to the French envoy giflts in return for those the French had sent, and the Gaasette of Frankfort of the 28th June, 1799. For ten months they had been without news from France. Buonaparte ran over this journal with an eagerness easy to be conceived. ** Ah," said he, ** my presentiment has not deceived me : Italy is lost ! All the fruit of our victories has disappeared : I must be gone." He instantly sent for Grentheaume, whom he ordered to prepare two frigates and two small brigs, with pro- visions for four or five hundred men, and for two months, con- fiding at tlie same time to him the secret of the armament, recom- mending the closest concealment of its object, and to act with such prudence that the English cruisers might be kept in ignorance of the preparations. Buonaparte left Alexandria on the 6th August, and arrived at Cairo on the 10th. Here he caused to be renewed the report of his intended expedition into Upper Egypt General Kleber, then at Rosetta, and destined successor in the command of the army, was invited to come to Damietta, in order to confer on matters of the utmost importance. In appointing this meeting, well knowing he should not be there, Buonaparte wished to avoid the reproaches and the sturdy frankness of Kleber. Kleber complained loudly in his correspondence of this crafty policy. At the same time the Commander-in-Chief issued a proclamation to his army, in which he said, ** Intelligence from Europe has decided my departure for France : I leave the command of the army to Genersd lOeber. I cannot explain more ftdly ; the General whom I leave you enjoys the confidence of Government, and mine."
On the 23d August, 1799, Buonaparte and his suite embarked in the two frigates, to the number of about 500. Such was the squadron, such the formidable armament with which Buonaparte — so he had written to the divan at Cairo — was to annihilate all his enemies. During tw^ity-one days the wind, blowing from the
XCVI M EMOIU OF NAPOLEON.
west or north-west, was constantly adverse, and they were thus unceasingly driven back towards the coasts of Syria and Alex- andria ; which jx)rt it was even proposed to re-enter, but Buona- parte declared fur running all hazards rather than return; and finally, on the 9th October, he entered the bay of Frfejus, where he first learned the real extent of the reverses in Italy. Decided to hasten with all speed to Paris, he set out the same afternoon, and accounts of his journey and entry in tliat city describe it as resemblmg a triumphal march, and requiring but small gift of prophecy to foresee in it something of the futurity that lay beyond. The state of things in France was indeed fearful. Every pro- vince became a prey to anarchy and the ravages of civil war ; the nation menaced with foreign invasion, and groaning under the load of tyrannic laws; the Government denounced by the uni- versal voice of the people, as without power, without justice, without morality, the mere puppet of the factious and intriguing. All things wore the aspect of dissolution; disorder reigned throughout, but especially in the provinces: any prospect of a change could not fail of being hailed with transport The majority of the French nation longed to emerge from this debase- ment, and was ardently searching for a man capable of restoring tranqiiillity to an exhausted and bleeding country. But the search had as yet been vain. A fortunate soldier presented him- self covered with glory, who had imfurled the banners of the Republic from the Capitol and from the Pyramids. All acknow- ledged his possession of superior talents ; his character, the well- known boldness of his views, joined to his victories, had placed him in the first rank. Thus, without a thought in reserve, expectation fixed upon a General whom past actions designated as the most capable of defending the Republic from foes without, and liberty from false friends within ; and who might be styled " th« hero of liberal principles."
Napoleon reached Paris on the 16th of October : and here, to follow the course of events, it will be necessary to cast a retro- spective glance upon the state of parties during his absence and at the time of his return.
The Army was exclusively Republican, while the Directory and the Government seemed as if constituted expressly for intrigues of all kinds. Si^yes was reported at one time to have entertained
]
MEMOIB OF NAPOLEON. XCVll
thoughts of inviting the Duke of Brunswick to the head of affairs ; and Barras seemed not to have heen far removed from recalling the Bourbons. Moulins^ Roger-Ducos, and Gohier alone main- tained tlie possibility of preserving existing forms. Among the niilitarj, Moreau enjoyed a high reputation, and might be con- sidered as representing the Army of the Rhine. Buonaparte, on the other hand, had for devoted partisans all the companions of his Italian glory, and a little later those whom he termed ^^my Egyptians." Bemadotte, too, though at the head of no party, occupied a conspicuous place in pubhc attention as a stem and inflexible Republican, round whom, in the event of any great political explosion, most probably would rally all those of similar sentiments.
The parts were well cast in the grand drama whose catastrophe approached. The morning of the eventful 18 Brumaire arrived. The limits of this account will not admit of a minute detail of the occurrences of that day, so important in the life o£ the future Emperor and subsequent Exile of St Helena. Every one is conversant with the coup (THat and revolution, wliich ended in the formation of the First Consular ministry under Buonaparte, Sieyes, and Ducos, which continued till the 25th of December, when he got quit of these two colleagues, and assiuned from this date the title of First Consul, uniting in the consular executive Cambac&res and Lebrun. Though Buonaparte, on attaining the Consularship, doubtless in his secret wishes desired war, yet he was not ^orant how much the people longed for repose; and that the appearance at least of seeking peace was the interest of a Government erected on the ruins of one which had provoked an unpopular and disastrous hostility. In this view he hastened to notify to the various foreign powers his new dignity, and caused a letter of Uke tenor to be addressed to the diplomatic agents abroad. On the 26th of December, the day after he had been disencumbered of his first colleagues, Bucmaparte endeavoured to open n^ociations with the Cabinet of London, and proposed terms of peace to the House of Austria. Both attempts were unsuccessful. All seemed averse from recognising the new government of the Consul-chief.
Napoleon was now installed in the palace of the Luxemboiurg, and about this time was acccnnplished the organising of a Council
h
ZCVIU UEVOIR OF NAPOLEON.
of State^ divided into five sections; viz. Home Department, Finances^ Admiralty^ War, Legislation. The costomes of the consuls and different orders of state officers were also appointed. Velvet, proscribed since the Monarchy, now once more came into nae ; and, as if from regard to the mano&ctories of Lyons, it was decreed that this anti-Republican stuff should be employed in the robes of office. Thus the constant aim of Buonaparte was to efiace the remembrance of the Republic, preparing things so artfully for the return of monarchy, that when the time arrived there should remain only a word to be changed. For some time rumours had announced a coldness between Russia and Austria, while an open misunderstanding existed between the Courts of London and St. Petersburgh. From a knowledge of this, the First Consul judged the season propitious for severing Russia from England. It had been refused to include in a cartel of exchange between France and England 7000 Russians taken prisoners in Holland. These Buonaparte ordered to be armed, and clothed anew in the uniforms of the corps to which they had belonged, and sent back without ransom, exchange, or condition whatsoever. This ingenious munificence was not thrown away. Paul, from an ally became the declared enemy of England. Henceforward the Consul and the Czar were on the best of terms. Lord Wentworth was ordered to quit St Petersburgh, and English ships were seized in all the ports of Russia. Through the instigation of the Czar a Prussian army invaded Hanover, and with his support Buonaparte contemplated the march of a French army by land against the British possessions in India. At this time Buonaparte began to find himself straitened in the Luxembourg for room, and prepa- rations were making for removal to the Tuileries. But this grand step towards the re-establishment of monarchy was taken with all prudence. To sleep in die Tuileries, in the bed-chamber of the kings of France, was aU that Buonaparte desired ; the rest would follow. The first preparations were modest enough; for the stanch Republican ought to have no taste for luxury, and the Consul's policy was to conceal as much as possible the importance attached to the translation of the Consular domicile to this, ** The Palace of the Government.*' In viewing his career at the present time, how easy it is to observe the two real passions which he nourished — glory and war. Never was he more gay than in the
UEMOIB OF NAPOLEOX. XCIX
camp— at no time so morose as when inactive. Building, too, gratified his imagination; plans of gigantic construction fiUed, more than any other thought, the void created by repose. He believed, that to remain stationary was to fall ; hence the desire ever to be advancing. Before engaging in battle, Buonaparte made little provision for subsequent events if successful, but oc- cupied himself with much of what ought to be done in the case of defeat He was enabled to accomplish much, because he hazarded all, grasped at all, and was cautious in nothing. His excessive ambition urged him on to power, and power obtained only added to his ambition. We now see him at the Tuileries reviving ancient ceremonials, and receiving the members of foreign diplomacy in public audience.
His next ent^rise was that brilliant campaign which restored to France the ascendancy she had lost during his absence. The invasion of Italy by the pass of the Great St Bernard was a grand conception — altogether the Consul's own — and which has fixed the admiration of the worlds It was in this campaign that he proved himself the worthy rival of Hannibal. The energy which con- ducted an army, with its cavalry, artillery, and supplies, across the Alps, by untried paths, which only the chamois himter, bom and bred amidst glaciers and everlasting snows, had trodden, gave the impression, which of all others he most desired to spread, of his superiority to nature as well as to human opposition. This enters prise was, in one view, a fearful omen to Europe. It showed a power over the minds of his soldiers, the effects of which were not to be calculated. The subsequent conquest of St Bernard by a French army was the boast of the nation ; but a still more wonderful thing was the capacity of that General to inspire into that army the intense force, confidence, resolution, and patience, by which alone the work could be accomplished.
The 8th of May had been fixed for Buonaparte's departure from Paris. At two o'clock in the morning he was on his way to the army.
The Austrian army was numerous, warlike, and victorious. The fate of Buonaparte hung upon the gain or loss of a battle. He saw the danger, but without being daunted, confiding in him- self and the devotion of his soldiers. The army reached Martigny, May 20th, and was now in full march for the Great St Bernard.
C MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
The question was not of single travellers who were to efFect this pass, but of a whole anny: cavalry, baggage, ammunition-waggons, artillery, were to defile along paths so narrow, that the goat-herd there picks his steps with caution. On one side, overhanging snows might every moment overwhelm his squadrons in their avalanches; on the other, a single false step was death. They all passed, men and horse, one by one, along these chamois tracks. The artillery was dismounted ; the guns, enclosed in hollow trunks of trees, were dragged along with ropes. The First Consul climbed St Bernard, not prancing over the Alps as represented in the popular prints of this feat, but safely on the back of a sure- footed mule.
On the 23d the anny arrived within sight of BanL On the left is Mount Albarefio ; on the right, the Doria-Baltea, a moim- tain-stream ; between lay their route, commanded by the fort To avoid the fire the army crossed, or rather escaladed Albaredo; but as the cannon could not thus be carried over an almost inaccessible steep, it was resolved to traverse with the whole train the town of Bard, which is not fortified, and separated from the fort by an inconsiderable torrent. Advantage was taken of the approaching night; the wheels of the carriages, and, in many instances, the feet of the horses even, were bound round with straw smd bouglis of trees : the whole thus passed with noiseless rapidity through the little town, and under the guns of the fortress, which so com- pletely commands the narrow valley, that, but for the negligence and carelessness of tlie Austrians, it might have rendered fruitless the passage of the Great St Bernard. The army arrived at Milan the 2d June, and the citadel was immediately blockaded. How few the events and how brief the period which may some- times reverse the fate of nations! Buonaparte quitted Milan on the 13th June; on the 14th, had conquered at Marengo; on the 15th, was in possession of Italy. A suspension of hostilities between the French and Austrian armies proved the immediate result of a single battle; and, in virtue of a convention, the French obtained entrance into all the fortified places, with the exception of Mantua.
After some days passed at Milan engaged in settling the affairs of Italy, the First Consul set out for France, by way of Turin. Here, at Lyons, Dijon, and indeed at every place through which
HEMOIK OF NAPOLEON. CI
he passed on his way to the capital, his reception was enthusiastic He reached Paris, July 2d. Men looked on in astonishment at the rapidity with which, in a campaign of less than two months, he had brought back victory to the standard of Franca Negociations now engaged all his attention and activity; but, both with England and Austria, great difficulties arose.
The 4th July had been appointed as a festival in honour of the Republic, and upon this day Lucien, Minister of the Interior, had made preparation for solemnising the victory of Marengo, and dis- tributing sabres of honour to the officers and soldiers who had fought in that engagement In the October and December fol- lowing two attempts were made to assassinate the First Consul, when witnessing representations at the Opera. On both occasions the plots were discovered, and, being traced to the Jacobins, the opportunity was made a pretext for transporting all indiscriminately; thus accomplishing a long-cherished wish of Napoleon. At this time, news of the victory of Hohenlinden, by the French army under Moreau, gave a new turn to the negociations for peace, and decided the opening of the Congress of Luneville, which took place on the 1st of January following. In the month of March of the same year, Paul I., in a domestic revolution, fell by the hands of assassins. This overturned all Napoleon's projects of acting in concert with the Czar, and giving a mortal blow to the English power in India. On the death of Paid, the Consul's system in respect to Russia underwent a change. The idea of a war against that empire unceasingly agitated him, and for a certainty the conception of the fatal campaign, wliich dates eleven years later, was first formed.
In April, 1801, the English Gazette announced the successful disembarkation in Egypt of the army commanded by Sir Ralph Abercrombie — the battle which the British had fought and won, with the loss of their General. For some time the First Comml had been under apprehensions that the evacuation of Egypt would speedily take place ; and feigning, therefore, to make a great sacri fice by giving up this conquest, he signed the preliminaries con ducted by M. Otto, on behalf of England, on the 1st October, and only t]^e day before the news of the forced evacuation of the French from Egypt arrived in London.
Prepared to ascend the throne of France, Buonaparte's next step
Cll MEMOIR OF NATOLEON.
was to pave the way for becoming one day king of Italy. Desirous of harmonising the Cisalpine Government with that of France, — chief of one, he judged it requisite to have a suitable president for the otlier ; and who so fitting for that office as himself? Un- willing to be long absent from Paris, and wishing also to avoid the trouble of a long journey to Milan, he arranged that those named for the convocation should meet him half way, at Lyons ; and for this purpose left Paris, January 8th, 1802. On the 26th the title of Presidentwas conferred on him, without difficulty. The journey and the conference were only forms ; but opinion was to be capti- vated by lofty words and solemn proceedings.
On the 25th of March following, England signed a suspension of hostilities for fourteen months, which has been called the Peace of Amiens. The clauses of this treaty were not of a nature to induce the hope of a long peace ; and even in England it was regarded as a truce which coidd only be of short duration. But this peace, truce, or treaty, served to consolidate the power of the Consul. England had treated him as " Chief of France," and he did not dissemble his satisfaction in this particular. Aftier the extension of Buonaparte's consulate for ten years was created the order of the Legion of Honour, — an institution which has wrought prodigies. The idea had been cherished by the Consul from the time he had seen stars and orders glitter on the breast or dangle from the button-hole of foreign ministers. He used frequently to repeat, "That does well. Such things are necessary for the people.'' In April, 1802, the First Consul bent all his efforts towards getting himself declared Consul for life. From the be- ginning of that year the Republic had been but a name ; there remained, indeed, a lying inscription over the gates of the palace, but both the trees of liberty erected in the court Buonaparte had caused to be cast down, even before his instalment at the Tuileries. After the Senatus Conmlta, however, of the 2d and 4th of August, it was apparent to tlie least clear-sighted that there no longer wanted anything to complete the sovereign power of the First Consul save a designation. In his dazzling march. Napoleon neglected none of those means which were adapted at once for the gaze of the multitude, and to conciliate the approbation of men of sense. Thus, he displayed sufficient attachment to the arts, and he had reason to be proud of the exhibition made during this
MEHOIB OF NAPOLEON. ClU
automn of the productLons of national industry, which was held at the Louvre under the direction of M. Chaptal.
With regard to foreign relations, peace everywhere prevailed. The court of Borne, which, since the Concordat, had been, so to speak, at the devotion of the First Consul, exhibited under all circumstances proofs of adherence to the interests of France and compliance with the desires of her ruler. She had been the first to recognise the erection of Tuscany into the new kingdom of Etruria, as also the Helvetic, Cisalpine, and Batavian republics.
Prussia speedily followed this example, and the other powers of Europe in succession. All these new states, whether kingdoms or republics, were under the immediate influence of France. Pied- mont, divided into six departments, was united to that country ; and tlie news of a Te Deum chanted at Turin as a thanksgiving for this union, left Buonaparte in no doubt as to the facility with which Italy would bend beneath his yoke. The island of Elba, which las own banishment was subsequently to render so famous, also formed part of the shade of the French republic One cha- racteristic distinction of Ns^leon's government, even under the denomination of Consular, gave no doubtful evidence of his inten- tion. Had he designed to found a free constitution, it is quite evident he wotdd have assigned to his ministers a personal respon- sibility, while, on the contrary, they were responsible to himself alone ; he beheld in them only instruments, to be thrown aside at pleasure. This one circimastance sufficed to unveil his future intentions, showing that in his exercise of the consular power his constant object was to prepare the way to empire. Buonaparte considered himself as king from the night on which he first slept at the Luxembourg; his reign may, therefore, be said to have extended over a period of fourteen years ; and, taking this view of the subject, we need not hesitate to say, that history furnishes no parallel of an empire founded under such circmnstances as that of France under Napoleon, inasmuch as all its parts were orga- nised under the cloak of repubUcanism. During the whole period of the Consulate he was, in fact, the chief of the state. His two colleagues were so inefficient and so powerless, that Talleyrand, holding office as he did by the will of Buonaparte, was, in reality, the second person in the government
At this time was discussed the grand question of the consulate
CIV MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
for life. The Tribunate had proposed, and in due form trans- mitted the proposition to the Senate, of conferring some mark of public gratitude upon the First Consul. The latter agreed to ex- tend the consulate for ten years longer in favour of Napoleon, commencing from the termination of the ten years already granted by the constitution. Upon this, Buonaparte appealed to the people to elect him Consul for life^ well knowing that the question might be regarded as already decided in his favour from the popu- larity he had secured.
The result justified his anticipations; he was elected on the 2d of August, and in the middle of that month paid his first visit of state to the Legislative Assembly, therein to preside as Consul for life. During the busy year of 1802, the First Consul gave his hours to a subject which engrossed his thoughts from the time when he first entered the Luxembourg. This was the compiling of a new code of laws to replace the collections of revolutionary judicature, and to substitute order for that species of anarchy which still reigned in judicial legislation ; and the result was, Hie Civil Code, afterwards named TTie Code Napoleon,
The conduct of England at this time but too well justified apprehensions that peace would not be of long continuance. Already, in fact, was she preparing the strong arm of her sub- sidies, an arm even then powerful in diplomatic concerns. The King of England had addressed to Parliament a message which spoke of armaments preparing in the ports of France, and pre- cautions necessary to be taken against aggressions. Henceforward communications with England became reserved at first, then hos- tile explanations were reciprocally demanded with equal haughti- ness,— a requisition of passports, — and war quickly followed.
The First Consul having calculated upon a longer continuance of the Peace of Amiens, found himself in rather a doubtful posi- tion on its abrupt termination. The great number of discharges that had been granted, the deplorable state of the cavalry, and the temporary nullity of the artillery, demanded all his energy and promptitude. It is impossible to describe the labours undertaken and executed. The whole extent of the Channel coast presented the aspect of one vast arsenal ; for on this occasion Buonaparte formed his troops on the model of the Roman legions, causing the tools of the artisan to replace, in the hands of his soldiers, tlie weapons of
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. CV
the warrior. They excavated the harbour at Boulogne, re- paired and finished the works at Ambleteuse, commenced under Louis XVI. and interrupted during the Revolution.
The first consequence of the declaration of war by England was the invasion of Hanover by the French troops, under the command of General Mortier. The telegraphic dispateh conveyed the intelligence to Paris that ^^ the French were masters of the Electorate of Hanover, and the enemy remained prisoners of war." Upon this, the First Consul conceived the hope of exchanging the Hanoverian troops for the French prisoners already taken by sea, and made a proposition to that efiect, but the English Cabinet refused.
Nothing could then equal the animosity of the two govern- ments against each other, and Buonaparte, at the moment of declaring war, showed his indignation by arresting every English subject found in France, — a barbarous order ; but, in his passion, he regarded no nice distinctions. Towards the end of June, Napoleon, in company with Josephine, undertook his journey to Belgium and the northern coasts of France, regal pomp every- where attending their progress.
The commencement of the year following was marked by the conspiracy of Pich^ru, Moreau, Georges, Cadoudal and others, to overthrow the Consular government The Duke d'Enghien, from motives of policy, being declared by the First Consul as implicated in the plot, he was illegally arrested, imprisoned, and executed, by order of Buonaparte. The immediate consequences of his death filled the foreign courts with horror and indignation, universally changing the dispositions of the sovereigns towards the First Consul. The real principals and accomplices in the conspiracy of Georges were tried and sentenced to death, with the exception of Moreau, who was condemned to exile.
In these sentences, Buonaparte was less guilty than the judges and accusers ; but the entire odium of the Duke's murder rests on him, and continues an everlasting stain on the name of Napoleon. At this time the First Consul wanted not for causes of irritation against his active enemies. The news which reached Paris from the coasts of the Channel were by no means encouraging; the English fleets not only blockaded the French ports, but had com- menced the offensive by bombarding Granville. It will have been
CVl MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
all along apparent, that the course of events either conduced or became subservient to the elevation of Buonaparte to the Imperial throne. For a long time the agents of Government had been trained throughout France to demand for the First Consul, in the name of the people, that which the people were far firom desiring, but which Buonaparte wished to assume under show of acceding to the general inclination, — the sovereign power, without restrictions^ limits, or subterftige of denomination. A conspiracy against his life was not an opportunity to be omitted, but, on the contrary, was eagerly laid hold of by all the authorities, dvU, military, and ecclesiastical ; a new and abundant shower of addresses, congra- tulations, and rendering of thanks, inundated the Tuileries. These addresses, more or less adroitly, called upon their glorious chief to place himself so high as to be beyond reach of any new attempt ; which, being interpreted, implied that he should assume imperial and hereditary power. The Eknpire was forthwith rehearsed in the Council, in the Tribunate, and completed in the Senate, who saluted Napoleon as Emperor on the 18 th May, 1804. The first act of the new Emperor, on the day of his elevation to the Imperial throne, was to nominate his brother Joseph to the dignity of Grand Elector, and Louis to that of Constable of the Empire, each with the title of Imperial Highness. On the 18th of July the Eknperor set out for the camp at Boulogne, to distribute the deooradon of the Legion of Honour among the members in the grand army there assembled. Davoust had under his orders the camps at Dunkirk and Ostend ; Ney commanded those of Calais and Montreuil ; the general camp at Boulogne was superintended by Soult; Oudinot had replaced Marmont at St Omer; and Marmont commanded the detachment of the army cantoned on the firontiers of Holland, as also the Dutch marine, destined in appearance for the transport of the French troops.
From Boulogne Napoleon set out for Lacken, where the chftteau had been fitted up with great magnificence ; and here the Empress joined him. Thence he continued his progress along the Rhine by Cologne, Coblentz, and Mayence; and in October their m^esties returned to St Cloud. The mission of Caffarelli, who had been despatched to Rome to induce the Holy Father to come to Paris and crown the Emperor, was successfiiL The Pope arrived on the 28th November, and no time was lost in preparing for the
HEMOm OF NAPOLEON. CVU
solemnity which had brought him tliither. Two days after, the Senate presented to the Emperor the result of the votes of the people on the question of hereditary succession ; and next day the consecration took place. It was pretended that the title of Emperor changed nothing of the republic, and that the succession of this dignity in one family was the only innovation introduced under the Empire. On this question, therefore, Napoleon affected to desire the sanction of the people. Throughout France there had voted 3,574,898 individual citizens, of whom only 8,569 had given their voices against hereditary succession. They were not Royalists, bat, for the most part, old and stem Republicans. On the 2d De- cember, 1804, the coronation took place, a detail of which tedious ceremonial is unnecessary here.
The imperial corikge appeared resplendent with gold, plumes, and rich furniture of the horses ; the costumes dazzled the multi- tude, and, for the first time, pages surrounded the Imperial carriage. The vast interior of N6tre Dame was crowded with an audience in fiill dress, and with swords. The Emperor took the crown from the hands of the Pope, and placed it himself on his own head. After- wards he crowned, in like manner, Josephine, the day of whose coronation was one of the most sorrowful of her life. On the morrow, all the troops then in Paris were assembled in the Champ de Mars, and deputations from the different arms of the service attended to assist at the distribution of the eagles, which were to replace the republican colours. An immense platform had been erected in front of the Military School, now transformed into a barrack ; behind was to be seen the double throne of the Ehnperor and Empress. On a signal being given, Napoleon arose, and pro- nounced in a firm voice the following words : '' Soldiers I behold your standards I These eagles will ever prove your rallying point ; they will always be wherever your Emperor may judge their pre- sence necessary for the defence of his throne and of his people. You swear to sacrifice your Kves to defend them, and by your valour to uphold them constantly in the road to victory I" This eventful year terminated with the opening of the Legislative Assembly by the new Emperor in person, an occurrence which produced a powerfiil impression throughout Europe.
We must now revert to another of the most important events which distinguished the life of Napoleon ; we allude to his assump-
CViU MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
tion of the crown of Italy. This step in the ambitious career of the newly-created Emperor did not, it a\rpeaTSy meet with the entire acquiescence of the Poj)e* The Holy Father, or ratlier the cardi- nals who advised him, urged for some reward for the favours already conferred upon Buonaparte by the Sovereign Pontiff's visit to Paris, and the jmrt he had taken in the ceremony of the coro- nation. The restoration of Avignon and Bologna, with some other territories in Italy, were hinted at, but peremptorily refused by the Emperor. This refiisal occasioned extreme coldness between the Poi)e and the Church's eldest son; and the former, after conferring on Napoleon the title of Emperor of the French, refused to sanction his assumption of the title of King of Italy. The opposition of the Pope had, however, become comparatively of little importance to Buonaparte, who, in pursuance of his original intenti<Hi, quitted Paris on the 1st of April for Milan, in order to assume the iron crown, leaving the Sovereign Pontiff still at Paris. Being, however, in no haste to assume a dignity which he knew could not escape him, he remained tlu-ee weeks at Turin, where he inhabited the palace of the King of Sardinia. Here he received the report from the camp of Boulogne, and arranged the embarkation with such minuteness that those who executed his orders were the first dupes. Thence the Emperor set out for Alessandria, where he had already begun those immense works wliich absorbed so much treasura He afterwards repaired to Milan, where, in May 1805> Napoleon was crowned with the iron crown of the ancient kings of Lombardy, which on this occasion was drawn from the dust wherein it had reposed for ages,* and taking it from the hands of the Archbishop of Milan, he placed it upon his own head, calling aloud, " Dieu me Va donnee, gave h qui la touche ;" which remark- able expression afterwards became the legend of the Order of the Iron Crown, founded by the Emperor in commemoration of the event
The enmity of the foreign princes against Napoleon had greatly augmented on the murder of the Duke d'Enghein ; the indignation against that transaction was, in truth, universal The King of Sweden distinguished himself by his violence, and sent back to the
• The iron crown, as it is called, is a plain circlet of gold, covering a ring of iron, said to be composed of tlie nails of the Cross. The Imperial crown was in the form of a garland of leaves, resembling those in the antique busts of the Caesars. Its appearance was light and elegant.
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. ClX
King of Prussia the collar of the Black Eagle, because the order had been conferred upon the First Consul. The Emperor of Austria had not acknowledged Napoleon as King of Italy, though his am- bassador had remained at Paris. From that moment, however, Austria prepared for war. In the beginning of the month of August a treaty was talked of between Russia and England, of which the foUomng is an extract: — 1. The object of the treaty to be the re-establishment of the equilibrium of Europe. 2. The Emperor of Russia shall place 36,000 men at the disposal of Eng- land. 3. Neither of the two powers to lay down arms till the King of Sardinia be restored to his dominions, or have received an equivalent in the north-east of Italy. 4. Malta to be evacuated by the English, and occupied by the Russians. 5. The two con- tracting powers guarantee the independence of the Ionic republic, and England engages to aid Russia in her war with Persia. Had this proposed treaty been realised, it is impossible to calculate what might have been the consequences to Europe. At length the Emperor set out for the army. It was Napoleon's constant policy to represent his enemies as aggressors, — himself as forced to declare war. In this he had two objects in view: to maintain an appearance of sincere love of peace, and to remove the responsi- bility of a contest which he seemed not to have sought His career offers few examples of this policy so striking as the operations pre- vious to the first conquest of Vienna. Nothing could be more evident than that the transformation of the Cisalpine republic into the kingdom of Italy, and the union of Genoa to the empire, were acts contrary to the existing treaties ; yet the Emperor did not the less complain of these treaties being violated by Austria, The fact was, Austria had armed in the most secret manner, and as- sembled her troops on the frontier of Bavaria, — an Austrian corps had even penetrated into some of the provinces of the Electorate. From that moment Napoleon could assume for a pretext the neces- sity of marching to the succour of the allies of France. In this spirit he published a singular manifesto, intended for the Diet then assembled at Ratisbon, in which document he exposed his griev- ances, and threw the odium of all that might follow upon the previous bad faith of Austria. Orders were forwarded for break- ing up the camps at Boulogne; a brief proclamation announced the change in the destination of the troops, and by the morrow's
ex HEMOni OF NAPOLEON.
dawn the vanguard was on the march for Germany. Departing from Strasbourg, the £m{)eror hastened forward and threw himself at the head of the Bavarian trooi)S9 thus holding the enemy at bay till his own army came up.
Hostilities commenced on the 2d of October. On the 6th and 9th the French passed the Danube, and turned the army of the enemy. On the 8th, Murat, in the battle of Wertengen, on that river, made 4000 prisoners. On the morrow the defeated Aus- trians sustained another discomfiture at Gunzbourg. The Arch- duke made a brave attempt to defend this post, but was finally obliged to abandon it, with the loss of nearly 9000 men and the greater part of his cannon. The French, following up their suc- cesses, entered Augsburg on the 10th, and Munich on the 12tli of the same montL Two days after the entry of the French into the Bavarian capital, that is to say on the 14th, an Austrian corps of 6000 laid down their arms to Marshal Soult at Memmingen; while, on the same day, Ney won, by force of arms, his dukedom of Elchingen. Lastly, the 17th October beheld the fisonous capitulation of Ubn. The French troops now penetrated into the Austrian dominions, and immediately occupied Saltzburg and Braunau. Massena also obtained important advantages in Italy, having on the same day that these two fortresses surrendered gained the sanguinary battle of Caldiero, and taken 5000 prisoners from the Austrians. On the 2d November Lintz was captured, and the bold march of Ney upon the Innspruck had rendered himself master of the Tyrol. Several affairs of inferior importance followed between the 2d and 8th November. On the latter day, Davoust's division fell ^ ^ith a corps of Austrians marching for Neustadt, to cover Vienna on that side. The French attacked with great impetuosity, and were received as bravely. After a severe engagement, which lasted several hours, the Austrians were defeated. Davoust par- sued his march on the following day along the great road leading to Vienna, and on the 13th the capital of Austria, — ^that city which from time immemorial had not beheld the face of an armed foe, — ^became the prey of the imperial eagle of France. The Austrians now uniting with the Russians, and Napoleon concen- trating the whole of his army which had been divided between Austria and the Tyrol, on the 2d of December, — the first anni- versary of the Emperor's coronation, — was fought the ever-memo-
mSMOIR OF NAPOLEON. CXI
Table battle of Austerlitz, in which the Austro-Russian army sustained a complete defeat; and the subsequent treaty of Pressburg, effected between the three Emperors, terminated the hostilities of a campaign which elevated the glory of Napoleon to the highest pitch. At this time, as if to temper the pride of these brilliant successes, the Emperor received intelligence of the disaster of Trafalgar, which had been nearly contemporaneous with the sur- render of Ulm to his own arms. Admiral Villeneuve, who with Grabina commanded the combined fleets of France and Spain, sailed from Cadiz with the intention of attacking the English fleet under the orders of Admiral Nelson, on the 2 1st October, 1805. The southern shores of the Peninsula witnessed this naval combat, in which thirty-one French engaged twenty-seven British ships ; eighteen of the French fleet were captured or destroyed. This great battle gave to the world a fresh proof of French inferiority both in matSriel and seamanship, proclaiming anew England as indisputable mistress of the seas. Admiral Sir R. Galder had given them a lesson which Nelson completed, — but at the expense of his life. A bloodier naval engagement had not taken place since the re- nowned Armada. Its issue was equivalent to the destruction of the whole French fleet, since the thirteen ships that escaped to Cadiz were almost wrecks. The day was fatal to three Admirals: Nelson lost his life in the fight, Grabina died of his wounds, and Villeneuve, a prisoner, was carried to England, and (Hi his return to France committed suicide at Rennes, on April 26 following.
Financial difficulties in France brought the Emperor in haste to Paris at the end of January, 1806, where, on arriving, he learned that his troops occupied Malta. At the present time France was at war with Russia and England: the situation of the Continent presented only tmcertainty: the Prussians were arming in silence : the treaty of Vienna had been fulfilled only in part. We now approach the time when war was to ravage Ger- many anew. Prussia all at once assumed a tlireatening tone. The King aspired to the character of liberator of Germany. Prussia, therefore, rejected every offer of compensation for Han- over, and the Cabinet of Berlin sent an ultimatum, replete with expre8si(His in which little measure was observed, and amounting almost to a defiance. After eight months passed in the chances of peace and uncertain negociation, the Empei'or departed on
CXU MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
September the 25th for the Rhine, and on October the 10th hosti- lities commenced between France and Prussia. The Prussian divisions were commanded by the King in person. Prince Hohen- loe. Generals Ruchel and Blucher ; the whole, under the command of the Duke of Brunswick, amounted to 150,000 men. The French marched by three divisions, under Soult and Ney, Murat, Bemadotte, and Davoust, and Lannes and Augereau. The first intimation the King of Prussia received of the presence of Napoleon in his dominions was from the explosion of the magazines of Nanemberg, and the battle of Saalfeld, in which his brother, the Prince Louis of Prussia, fell. On the evening of the 13th, Napoleon with his army pitched his tent on the field of Jena. A thick fog obscured the early part of the day fol- lowing, and when it cleared up the two armies beheld each other within the distance of a cannon-shot In less than an hour the action became general; about 300,000 men, with 700 or 800 pieces of cannon, scattered death in every direction, and exhibited one of the most awful scenes ever beheld*
Buonaparte saw the position of both armies, and ordered a simultaneous charge throughout the lines. The Prussians with- stood the shock, and fought with the heroism of patriotic despair. For a time victory seemed doubtful; when Napoleon, seeing where a bold charge would decide the battle, ordered Miurat to advance with his cavalry, which threw the Prussians into disorder, break- ing their ranks, and putting artillery, cavalry, and infantry all to the route. Thus was defeated an army of 150,000 men, and tlius the Prussian monarch lay "at the feet of the conqueror. The loss of the French was stated at 1 100 kiUed and 3000 wounded ; while 20,000 Prussians were killed or wounded in this disastrous action, and from 30,000 to 40,000 taken prisoners. The Duke of Brunswick died of his wounds a few days after the battle. The King of Prussia retreated to Konigsberg, and did not again join the army.
A division of the French under Marshal Davoust entered Berlin on October the 25th, and on the 27th Buonaparte made his public entry into that city. Several minor actions took place before the final close of the campaign, in all of w^hich the Prus- sians were defeated, and compelled to lay down tlieir arms. Prince Hohenloe yielded at Preuzlon, and even the indomitable Bliicher was finally compelled to surrender.
• ••
KEMOIB or NAFOI^EON. CXIU
In this brief record we cannot trace the pr<^6ss of eyents, wliich for a while promised the independence of Poland^ but left her at last disappointed and deceived. Everything now urged Napoleon to meet the Russians, and he made his entrance into Warsaw January the Ist, 1807. The majority of reports pre- viously received spoke in unison of the discontent of the troops, then suffering from severe weather, bad roads, and privations of all kinds. Upon hearing this. Napoleon had recourse to one of those proclamations, in dictating which he exhibited, for the mo- ment, the air of one inspired. His imagination kindled like the fancy of the Improvisatori of Italy ; he was, so to speak, upon the tripod, and it became necessary to write with incredible rapidity, in order to keep pace with him : for his dictation was then an outpouring. GreneraDy speaking, his proclamations turned upon three points : boasting to the soldiers of what they had performed; showing in perspective what remained to be accomplished ; and blackening his enemies. One of these was now dispersed all over Germany, and it is impossible to imagine the wonderftd impres- sion this produced upon the whole army. They forgot their fatigues, their sorrows, their privations, and desired to be led on to the combat They recalled the battles in which they had been present; marched on gaily, though without shoes; passed the long hours without food, and without complaint Such was the extraordinaiy" enthusiasm, or rather fanaticism, with which Na- poleon could inspire his soldiers ; and this power of spreading through his ranks a confidence and exhilarating courage, which made war a pastime, and seemed to make victory sure, distin- guished Napoleon in an age of uncommon military talent, and was one main instrument of his frequent success. On January the 25th, the Russian general Markow attacked the French at Moh- ringen. After a sharp contest the eagle of the 9th Regiment of In&ntry was taken; but the French receiving reinforcements, renewed the combat, and succeeded in driving the Russians back. The battle of Mohringen was quickly followed by those of Berg- firied, Deppen, and Hoff, all of which contests were doubtful, each party claiming victory, till the morning of February the 8th, when the battle of Eylau, fought near the village of that name, decided in favour of Napoleon.
To enter into a detailed account of all the military move^
CXIV MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON.
ments of this extraordinary and brilliant campaign does not come w'itliiu the present plan ; to the movements of Buonaparte atten- tion principally must be confined. On the 17th he quitted Eylau, and fixing his head-quarters at Osterode, occupied the time till the end of May in re-organising and recruiting his army. Nor was the enemy idle during that period. Military operations had been going on in different quarters with various success; and by the latter end of May the commanders of the grand armies^ having completed dieir arrangements, seemed determined by one great effort to bring the contest to a close, and on June the 14th was fought the battle of Friedland, in which, after a long and obstinate resistance on the part of the Russians, they were at length compelled to give way, and the French were again the victors. Alexander sent his lieutenant to propose an armistice, which was agreed to on June the 23d, and two days after the Eniperors met on a raft in the river Nieman, near Tilsit, the town which gave its name to this celebrated treaty. The King of Prussia was admitted as a party to the treaty ; but on condition that he, with Alexander, should sign such stipu- lations in regard to states and territories, and the continental system, as the victor was inclined to impose. Napoleon con- structed from his conquests the kingdom of Westphalia for his brother Jerome ; and having now wrung from the last of his re- luctant enemies, except England, the recognition of his Imperial power, which already embraced a wider territory and a far greater number of subjects than Charlemagne ruled over as the Emperor of the West a thousand years before. Napoleon hast- ened back to Paris, where the/efe« and celebrations in honour of his achievements dazzled the eyes of the world. But he was no sooner in his capital than new disquietudes arose. Russia had declared open war against Sweden. Finland had been invaded, and Aho, its capital, occupied by the Russian troops. Joseph had been proclaimed King of Spain on June the 8th; the 21st had witnessed his entrance mto Madrid ; but in ten days after, the news of the disasters at Baylen had forced liim to leave the capital England had just dispatched troops into Portugal, under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley. There could thus be no longer any hope of an accommodation with Great Britain. The Emperor Alexander, in terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, had sent
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. CXV
Ck>mit Romanzow to London, charged with mediatorial proposals on the part of Russia, which were not even heard. The media- tion had been rejected after the Treaty of Tilsit, while subsequently Napoleon had dethroned the King of Spain, and got up in the heart of Germany the kingdom of Westphalia for his brother Jerome. Towards the end of September, Napoleon again quitted Paris for his interview with Alexander at Erfiirth, in which matters were to be accommodated and Napoleon make good his point The Emperor Alexander recognised Joseph as King of Spain, and Napoleon, in return, agreed to Alexander's occupation of Finland ; and to Denmark was left — resignation. After the interview Buonaparte returned to Paris, where he presided with great splendour at the opening of the Legislative Assembly, and in November set out for Spain.
The Empire of Napoleon was based only upon his sword ; and it seemed as if all Europe must rise in arms to second his gi^tic ambition. During the heat of the contest in Spain, which he was directing in person, a storm was once more gather- ing along the shores of the Danube, and the Emperor imme- diately confided operations in the Peninsula to his Generals, and set out for Paris. He reached his capital January the 22d, and prepared for another campaign against Austria, whose Emperor had violated the peace of Tilsit and soon after declared war against France.
In the campaign of 1809, Napoleon was even more rapid than in 1805. Setting out from Paris on April the 1st, we find him on the 17th at Donawerth, in active operations, at the head of the barbarians : on the 23d, ho was master of Ratisbon. In the engagement which preceded his entrance into that city Napoleon was wounded in the heel; the hurt, slight indeed, could not induce him to quit for an instant the battle-field. Between Donawerth and Ratisbon also, by a brilliant achievement, as skilful as it was daring, Davoust gained and merited his title of Prince of Eckmiihl, in the battle of that name. In his march upon Vienna, the Emperor used such expedition that his army set down before that place on May the 9th. The town capitulated on the 13th. The Archduke, on hearing of the capture of the capital, collected his forces, and the French army having passed the Danube, were encountered and defeated by the Austrians at
CXVl BfEMOIB OF NAPOLEON.
the battles of Asperne and Essling. For the first time Napoleon had sustained a defeat in Germany, and military operations were for a short time suspended: by skilful manoeuyring he concen- trated a powerful army on July the 8th, near the little town of Wagram, where a long and bloody contest followed. The results of this battle were most humiliating to Austria : Napoleon pushed the advantages he had gained to the utmost ; his nume- rous hosts bore down all before them, and every possible stra- tagem was practised to strike terror into the vanquished. On July the 12th an armistice was solicited by Francis, and agreed to by Napoleon. The Treaty of Raab was signed on October the 14th, by which the German Empire was demolished, and Francis II. emperor of Germany, became Francis L emperor of Austria. Napoleon returned once more to Paris; and the close of the year was marked by that cruel and short-sighted sacrifice to state policy, the divorce of the Empress Josepliine, which utterly failed to connect the dynasty of Napoleon with any of the powers of the Continent, as he had vainly hoped. And it is a singular circumstance, that from that very hour fortune ceased to smile on the efforts of Napoleon ; and the prophecy of the Black SybO was soon after accomplished.* The arrangement of preliminaries for an alliance with Maria Louisa, archduchess of Austria, was one of tiie results of the recent treaty. The pompous marriage ceremony took place April the 2d, 1810, immediately after wWch the Em- peror and Empress proceeded to Holland, that country being united to the empire by the abdication of Napoleon's brother Louis. After visiting various parts of Holland and Belgium, the greatest rejoicings everywhere hailing their approach, the Imperial pair returned by way of Ostend, Lille, and Normandy to St Cloud, on June the 1st. In December, the Hanse towns were united to the empire. This usurpation, so far northward, excited still more strongly the growing displeasure of Russia, which was soon to break into open hostility. At the close of the year negociations were again entered into between France and England for the exchange of prisoners and a general peace, but broken off by the unreasonable demands of Napoleon.
* When Josephine was a girl, an old negress predicted she would one day be greater tban the Queen of France, and afterwards die in an hospital.
MEMOIB OF NAFOLEON. CXYU
At length the long-cherished hopes of Napoleon's ambition were fulfilled — ^he had a son of his own, an heir of his name, his power, and his crown. He was immediatelj proclaimed Eang of Rome ; and the birth of an infant heir to the Imperial throne was hailed with universal enthusiasm. Never had child beheld the light under circumstances promising greater glory. In fact, from the birth of his son to the first of his reverses beyond the Moskwa the Emperor was, to sapeijScial observers, in the zenith of his power. The Empire, embracing under this denomination all the states possessed by the Imperial family, exclusive of the ill-assured throne of Spain, contained 57,000,000 of inhabitants.
Having accompanied Napoleon through his successful and wooderixd career to the height of his empire, travelling, as he had hitherto done, along a sunny and exulting path, he must now be foUowed as he begins to enter the echpse, from which he never ailer emerges. _ His next campaign, the expedition to Rnssia, was one against which his wisest counsellors remonstrated, but which had every recommendation to a man who regarded himself as an exception to his race, and able to triumph over the laws of Nature.
From the month of March, 1811, suspicions of an approaching war with Russia began to be entertained, and in October, on returning from an excursion to Holland, upon which he had set out soon after the birth of the King of Rome, Napoleon perceived that such a rupture had become inevitable. The motives which moved the Russians to war were numerous, but all springing from one grand source, — the ambitious aggressions of Buonaparte, in adding to his empire state after state, to the very borders of Russia. The Hanse Towns and the right bank of the Elbe, formed into Imperial departments, we have seen, awakened into active resolution this slumbering jealousy. The seizure of Olden- burg, belonging to Alexander's uncle, the invasion of Pomerania, and the operations in Poland, foUowed the conviction, or tended to enforce it, that, if Russia wished to prevent the mighty wave thus rolling on northward over Europe from overwhelming her own estates, she must meet and repel it with an armed bulwark. Napoleon on his part prepared for the gigantic entei*prise, on a scale so immense that the conquest of the world might well have seemed in prospective. This vast expedition, the greatest con-
CXYUl ICEMOUt OF NAPOLEON.
ceived by the genius of man since the age of Alexander's conquest of India, fixed all regards, absorbed all ideas, and transcended the calculations of reason.
Towards the Nieman, as if that river had become the sole centre of all action, men, horses, carriages, provisions, baggage of every description, were directed from all points of the £tux>pean continent The army of Napoleon was not composed solely of French, nor of those troops drawn from countries subjected to her iDunediate influence, as Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and the Con- federation. Neither Prussia nor Austria possessed the courage, or, rather, could claim the power of remaining neutral ; the former supplied a contingent of 15,000 men under General Yorck, and Austria an army of 90,000 troops, commanded by Prince Sch^^art^ zenburg, who nevertheless retained his station of ambassador to the French imperial court, or rather head-quarters. From Dresden, whither the Empress had accompanied Napoleon, she returned to Paris, and Buonaparte sjied forward without delay towards Smolensk. On the 24th June he crossed the Nieman, and on the 27th arrived at the advanced posts and put the army in motion for the purj)ose of approaching Wilna ; and, should the Russians be inclined to defend that place, to attack them on the 28th. At daybreak on the 28th the King of Naples (Murat) put himself in motion with the advanced guard of light cavalry. The Prince of Eckmiihl supported him with his corps. The Russians everywhere retired, crossed the Wilna in haste, burnt the bridge, and set fire to the immense magazines collected in the town and valued at several millions of rubles. At mid-day Napoleon entered Wilna; on the 29th, several skirmishes took place between different corps of the two armies. The Russians, however, still continued to retreat, and in doing so set fire to their extensive magazines at Wilkomer. The head-quarters of Napoleon were now in the place where the Emperor Alexander had previously held his court for six weeks. The Russian army was still posted in a most advantageous manner, and consisted of upwards of 140,000 men; but notwithstanding they had this immense force opposed to them, the French army still continued to advance, and the Russians to retreat, destroying all their magazines and everything in their way. Torrents of rain at this time fell for a space of thirty-six hours, and the weather changed
1
MEMOIB OF NAPOLEON. CXIX
from extreme heat to extreme colcL Several thousand horses perished in consequence of this change ; convoys of artillery were stopped by the mud, and the march of the French army was greatly retarded. The battles of Dresse and Riga followed hard on each other ; and each terminated in the continued retreat of the Russians. In the battle of Mohilow, which took place on the 3d of July, the French claimed the victory ; but on a subsequent affair, which occurred on the 25th, they were obliged to retire with the loss of 8000 men. On the same dav the Russian main army was attacked, and its assailants were again obliged to retire with the loss of 6000 killed and wounded. Several other conflicts took place previous to the grand encounter at Smolensk, which point it was obviously Napoleon's object to gain, as appeared by all his movements. The policy of the Russians appeared to be retreat, still contesting every foot of ground, and by these con- tinued skirmishes to weaken the enemy's forces, to draw him further from his resources, and to destroy his confidence in victory. On the 17 th commenced the battle of Smolensk, and after two days' hard fighting the French obtained possession of the place. On the 5th September was fought the great and important battle of Borodino, in which the Russians lost 25,000 men in killed and wounded, and the French loss it was estimated was even still greater. Two days after the Russian general retired, leaving the French at liberty to enter Moscow, which they did on the 14th, The Russians, however, before they withdrew had set fire to the city.
In the possession of Moscow, Napoleon had hoped to secure for his army good winter-quartew and abundant suppUes. For the attainment of the first object enough of the city still remained ; but for the second, the statement in the bulletin, that Moscow con- tained provisions for eight months, was entirely false. Disap- pointed in the hopes which he had formed in this respect. Napoleon soon became fully aware of the difficulties he had to encounter, amongst the most serious of which was the daily diminution of his army by sickness, the effect of a climate to which the troops were wholly unaccustomed; and whilst on the one hand the French army was thus becoming hourly weaker and less efficient, the Russians were daily adding to their strength by the arrival of re-enforcements. Napoleon entered Moscow on the 14th Sep-
cxz MBMont or napoleon.
tember, and by the 30th found himself in so critical a situation that it Ijecame necessary to adopt his old system of *n^gociation, for the purpose of gaining time, if possible, to extricate himself. Accordingly on that day he dispatched Count Lauriston to the Russian head-quarters, with proposals for an armistice preparatory to opening negociations for peaca The Russian general, how- ever, peremptorily refused to listen to any such proposal; no course, therefore, was left for Napoleon but to extricate himself in the best manner he could from his perilous situation by fightmg his way through the enemy, who was now gradually enclosing him oa every side. On the 18th of October a severe engagement took place between the advanced guards of the French and Russian armies near Moscow, in which the French under Murat were defeated with great loss. Moscow was re-occupied by the Russians. The French, in their precipitate retreat, left several thousand sick behind them. On the 24th October the Emperor in person attacked the Russians; the encounter was desperate, but the French were obliged to retreat From this time to the 15th November there followed a continual succession of fighting, the French constantly defeated and retreating, and the Russians closely pursuing them. At length the rear of the French army was completely broken up; upwards of 12,000 men laid down their arms ; the slaughter was dreadful ; and the spoil which fell into the hands of the conquerors immense. Slowly, sadly, de- spairingly, the hitherto invincible legions of Napoleon defiled from the scene of carnage, and once more turned their faces towards Paris. The retreat from Russia needs no lengthened description, it is summed up in a few words. It was a dark and sanguinaxy chain of corpses for a thousand miles. Thousands laid down on the snow at night and never awoke ; those who could bend their stiffened limbs to another day's march had to fight their way through the merciless slaughter of the Cossacks ; the howl of the polar wolf mingled night by night with the dreams of the starving, freezing soldiers ; and as fast as the wounded or the wearied fell they were devoured alive. At last a few stragglers, emaciated, worn and wounded, again stepped upon their native soiL Of the grand army which in all the confidence of victory and all the pride of chivalry and power had crossed the Nieman but a few months before, 125,000 had been skin, 130,000 had died by
MEMQIB OF NAPOLEON. CXXl
famioe or cold, 200,000 had become the prisoners of unrelenting foes ; and among this vast multitude there were 50 generals and 3000 regimental officers. There are but few more victories of Napoleon's to record — his star was sinking for ever.
Buonaparte arrived in Paris on the 17th December; but his return on this occasion in nothing resembled former triumphal entries into his capital All his efforts and exertions were now concentrated to repair his losses; a new artillery was created: men were called forth in masses: the eye of the Emperor was everywhere. Notwithstanding this activity, the disasters of the Russian campaign were daily pressing heavy on his cause. Prussia, constrained to play a part, now went over to the Russians. The moral effect produced by this desertion was far more to be dreaded than its real amount The signal thus given, it was to be feared, would be speedily followed by other allies in Germany; Napoleon foresaw in the event all the misfortune which it foreboded for the future. Assembling a privy council, he demanded whether, in such a conjimcture, he ought to make overtures of peace, or pre- pare anew for war ? Cambac^res and Talleyrand argued in favour of peace; the contrary opinion prevailed generally, and the war proceeded.
All Napoleon's thoughts now lay beyond the Rhine. He was unfortunate, and the powers most nearly allied were falling away; nor was Austria the last to imitate the example of Prussia. Austria withheld her contingent, — a clear proof to Napoleon that she would soon assume more active hostility, and that ere long he would soon have the whole of Europe against him. A few of the princes of the Confederation still remained faithful, and his own prepa- rations being finished, he was about to resume in person the com- mand of the army thus miraculously renewed.
This time Napoleon appointed the Empress Regent, assisted by a Council of Regency ; and convoking a new privy council, he presented Maria Louisa, in her new capacity, with all possible sol^tnnity.
Napoleon quitted Paris on the 15 th April, having under his standard a new army of 180,000 effective men, including guards of honour. With such physical resources, and the aid of his own genius, men rightly foresaw he could yet play a high game, and might perhaps prove the winner. On the SOiti April, information
CXXU MEMOIB OF NAIK)L£ON.
was received at the Russian head-quarters that Napoleon had arrived at the head of the French army. Ui^n the receipt of this intelligence the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia also joined the allies; both armies were now in the vicinity of each other, and the plain of Lutzen was doomed to be the stage of another sanguinary contest for empire. The engagement took place on the 2d May, the French being led on by the Emperor in person. The troops on both sides fought with desperation, each claiming victory, though the advantage was clearly with the French. The result of this battle was the retreat of the Allies, and eight days after tlie Emperor was in Dresden; not, as in the spring of the last year, like the sovereign of Western Europe sur- rounded by his grand vassals, yet still counting on his fortune.
The battle of Lutzen was followed by tliat of Wurtschen, which took place on the 21st May, in which the superiority of the French in number obliged the Russians to give way. In the mean time the conflict in the mountains had commenced with redoubled animosity, but the inflexible spirit and steady Are of the allied battalions, supix)rted by the cavalry under the Prince of Wirtem- berg, prevented the French from making any progress in that quarter. At length a division of the French, under Greneral Ney, persevering in a heavy and destructive fire of musketry and artillery, obliged the Prussians, under Bliicher, to retreat in the rear. The Russian commander-in-chief, finding the battle going against him, determined to decline the contest, and ordered a retreat The loss on both sides equalled 20,000 men. The time had now arrived for Austria to declare herself, which she did by offering to mediate between the belligerent powers. This offer brought on the armistice of Plessnitz, and, subsequently, the Congress of Prague.
Towards the end of July Napoleon made an excursion to Mayence, where the Empress met him for a few days; thence he returned to Dresden, and allowed the armistice to expire on the 17 th of August The Congress at Prague having thus separated without attaining any result, hostilities recommenced on the 17th; and on the same day — a fatal blow for France — Austria declared against her: the Emperor alleging to his son-in-law that the greater the number of his enemies, tlie greater was the chance of bringing him sooner to reasonable terms. This addition of 250,000
MEMOIB OF NAPOLEON. CXXIU
men to the allied ranks, arrayed against Napoleon upwards of a million of combatants. The Emperor of Austria joined the Allied army at Dresden, on the 27th. The result of that day's struggle was, that the Allies retired in the evening with a loss of 6000 or 7000 men. On the 28th the Allies commenced their retreat towards the Bohemian mountains, and were followed on different roads by the FrencL In this pursuit, the division of General Vendamme, with all its baggage and 60 pieces of cannon, were captured. The disaster of Vendamme was followed by the defeat of another corps of the French army, under Macdonald, by Bliicher, in which the French lost 18,000 prisoners and 103 pieces of cannon.
In the meantime Napoleon had quitted Dresden, and was concentrating his army in the neighbourhood of Leipsic The Allied army had also approached the same point, and it was evident that a decisive action must soon take place. On the 18th October the important battle of Leipsic took placa The contest continued throughout the whole of the day, and was maintained with des- perate courage on both sides, until night parted the combatants. Napoleon in person led on his army, animating the troops by his presence and example to the performance of the most extraordinary acts of courage. All his exertipns could not, however, cover defeat The Allies were successful in every quarter ; and though night divided the combatants, on the morning of the 19th, retreat having become indispensable. Napoleon took leave of the King of Saxony, who had accompanied him from Dresden, quitted Leipsic by the outer gate, and took the road towards France. This great battle, in which half-a-million of men engaged together on a surface of three square leagues, decided the fate of Europe. From this bloody field Napoleon retreated to Mayence, which he entered, but not without more conflicts, on the 2d November, and thence to Paris.
After the events of Leipsic, which thus lost to France a second formidable army, all the powers of the Coalition pledged themselves to each other at Frankfort, on the 9th November, never to separate before a general peace had been established, and to renounce all armistice or negociation which had not such peace for its object : they finally resolved to treat with Napoleon only in his capital. On hearing this. Napoleon profited by the occasion to raise once
CXXIV MEMOIB OF NAFOLBON.
more a levy of 300,000 men, to make a last effort to repel the attack against him.
The most critical period in Buonaparte's career was now reached. Fraud was united with force, and both against the Emperor ; while the mighty resources still offered by France were paralysed through the inactivity of many agents of his government. He was betrayed by those who yet professed themselves allies. Murat joined the enemy, and the Swiss voluntarily opened their frontiers, which, as a neutral power, they had promised to see rcsi)octed, or to defend ; and the weakest side of France thus lay exposed to the blow. The treachery of Murat had proved doubly- fatal — ^in itself and in its effects — upon the mighty combinations in which he had been destined to act an important part. In the gigantic scheme of defence now meditated by Buonaparte, his intention had been that Eugene and Murat, uniting their forces, should march upon Vienna through the Tyrol, and thus get to the rear of the Allies, and shake Austria to the centre. Meanwhile he himself, with the soldiers, and on the soil of France, would have multiplied obstacles in the enemy's front, and might have decided the campaign before the AlUed army had reached Paris. In planning that campaign. Napoleon was all himself; agiun he unfolded that fervid mind, which, as in early conquests, annihilated time and space, and seemed omnipresent in its energies. Frustrated in this well-conceived attempt, he sent an ambassador to treat with the Allies ; but the man who had imposed upon all Europe treaties of peace, not less disastrous than war itself, could not now obtain an armistica Affairs were approaching daily to a crisis. In the course of the first fifteen days of 1814, one-third of France was invaded, and a new congress proposed at Ch&tillon-sur-Seine. At this jimcture Napoleon summoned the National Guard, and con- fiding to them the Empress and King of Rome, he set out to join the army on the 25th January. Eastern France was already occupied by 500,000 men, and Napoleon had wherewith to oppose this host only, at most, 100,000 ; but his genius, far firom failing him, seemed to renovate its youthful vigour at this terrible crisis. The same day that he quitted Paris, Alexander, Francis, and the King of Prussia were assembled at Langres. Napoleon rejoined his guard at Vitry, and, two days after quitting his capital, put to rout the Prussian army ; then advancing, in two days more took
UEMOIB OF NAPOLEON. CXXV
place the battle of Brienne^ in which, with 15,000 men, he kept ill check /or twelve hours 80,000 Russians; and on the 1st of February from 70,000 to 80,000 men of the French and Allied armies drew up against each other. In the battle of Champ- Aubert^ which has immortalised the village df that name, the Allies were again beaten ; and the whole of February was a series of combats, a succession of reverses and defeats nearly balanced, in which the activity, the energies, and the resources of the French chief seemed inexhaustible. It is unnecessary to trace minutely the progress of this last struggle. For two months the hunted hero fought inch by inch the irresistible onset of the Allied in- vaders; wherever he met the enemy, he encountered them with the heroism of former days, and his troops fought with the energy of despair. Napoleon never displayed so much true greatness as during this last campaign. His transitions from point to point — the rapidity of his evolutions and marches — his unflagging resolu* tion — his matchless skiQ — unwasting energy, and, above all, the invincibleness of his unbroken and imbending will, place him on an eminence apart fix>m any other of his achievements, and render the last scenes of the dissolving Empire the most remark- able of his wonderful career. Valour at length could not withstand increasing numbers and the constant reinforcements added to the Allies. On the 26th March, Napoleon found himself cut off from Paris ; the Allies gradually fought their way through the various divisions of the French army, defended by their gallant generals, and finally entered the capital on the 30th.
The result is well known ; Napoleon's overthrow was complete. By the force of armed intervention the Bourbons were restored, and Louis XVIIL reascended the throne of France. Buonaparte had retired to Fontainbleau, where, on the 11th April, when he was entirely in the power of his enemies, and'most of his ministers, marshals, and favourites had abandoned him, he signed at their dictation an abdication of the thrones of France and Italy for him- self and his heirs. By a subsequent decree he was sentenced to banishment to the island of Elba, and on the 20th April he left Fontainbleau, after delivering a parting address to the soldiers of his Old Guard, the stranded masts and spars of that Imperial vessel which had braved so many tempests, who were assembled in the courtyard of the palace to take a last farewell of their illustrious
CXXVI MEMOIR OF NATOLBON.
commander. Accompanied, at his own request, by a commissioner from each of the Allied armies, Napoleon proceeded to Fr^jus, the place of embarkation, and, on the 28th April, he set sail for Elba in the English frigate Undaunted.
It is unnecessary to accompany the dethroned Emperor in his temporary exile. He arrived at Elba May 4th, and passed the ten montlis of his sojourn there in planning his liberation, and making a last attempt to regain his empire. The discontents which had manifested themselves under the new monarchy, and his own consciousness of popularity with the French army, un- folded the alluring prospects of ultimate success before the ima- gination of Napoleon as he stood upon the deck of the vessel that bore him from the rocks of Elba to the shores of France. He landed at Frejus March 1st, and on the 20th of that month took up his abode at the Tuileries, where he once more held his Im- perial court It comes not within these limits to detail at length all the transactions of the period distinguished by the appellation of The Hundred DaySy a brief mention of the most important events will suffice for the purpose of this memoir. Early in April, Na- poleon made an appeal for the establishment of peace to each of the Allied Sovereigns, whose only reply was the adoption of measures still more energetic than those which had preceded them for the total annihilation of that authority in France to which Buonaparte had so suddenly and unexpectedly been restored. The Congress, then sitting at Vienna, signed a final treaty, in which they proclaimed Buonaparte an outlaw, and pledged their faith to exterminate him from die face of the earth. Once more every nation on the Continent rang with the clangour of warlike preparation, and the commencement of June witnessed a million of armed men marching to the scene of the final struggle. It is obviously superfluous to enter here into the particulars and result of the glorious contest at Waterloo. In every part of the civi- lised world it is well known, that whiltt they placed the Duke of Wellington on the highest summit of military renown, they were fatal to the fortune of his great rival, whose sun on the evening of that day so glorious to Britain set, never to rise again. Imme- diately after the battle, Buonaparte left to his generals the care of collecting the scattered remains of his army and returned to Paris, where, despairing of further support, he consented to abdicate, and
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. CXXVU
signed a proclamation to that effect, June the 22<L Aflter vainly soliciting passports to America from the Duke of Wellington, he withdrew to Rochefort, where he remained until he learned the dissolution of the two Chambers and the entrance of the King into Paris. Up to this period he entertained an idea that the Cham- bers would recall him, but that hope having now passed away, and finding it impossible to escape the strict surveUlance kept on him by the English ships, he embarked on the 14th of July in a French frigate, and the following day surrendered himself prisoner on board the English ship Bellerophon, and dispatched a communi- cation to the Prince Regent, claiming protection from the British laws. On the 16th, the Bellerophon sailed for England, and arrived at Torbay, July 24th. The time between the arrival of the Bellerophon and the transfer of Buonaparte from that vessel to the Northumberland, was occupied in discussions between the Allied Powers as to the mode of his future disposal. Napoleon declared his object in surrendering himself to be, to obtain from the British Government permission either to reside as a private individual in England, or to be allowed to proceed to America. To neither of these propositions would the Allies accede, and it was finally determined that the man who had at one period had dominion in his own person over more than half Europe, and who had controlled seven-eighths of the remaining half, was to pass the rest of his days a prisoner and an exile, confined within the narrow limits of a barren island, not twenty miles in circumference, and separated from the rest of the habitable world on every side by thousands of leagues of trackless ocean.
On the morning of the 5th of August, Sir Henry Bunbury, accompanied by the Hon. Mr. Bathurst, was conveyed on board the Bellerophon by Lord Keith's yacht On being introduced to the ex-Emperor, Sir Henry read to him the resolution of the Cabinet, by which he was informed of his intended transportation to St Helena. Against this determination of the Allies he pro- tested in the most vehement terms, as contrary to good faith and the law of nations. In surrendering himself to Captain Maitland, he said, he had sought an asylum as a private individual in England, and hoped to have been received under the King's allegiance, and to have been allowed to live under the protection of the laws. In making tliis protest, his manner was temperate
CXXVm IfEMOU OF NAPOLEON.
and his language eloquent Sir Henry, in reply to his argument, merely said that he had no commission but to make known to him the resolution of his Majesty's Government
Previous to his being transferred from the Bellerophon to the Northumberland, his arms and pistols had been taken from him, though not without a strong resistance being made against it, both by himself and his attendants. He was now also informed that he would only be permitted to take with him in his exile four friends and twelve domestics. Those who were not to accompany him were sent on board the Eurotas frigate ; and the parting between the ex-Emperor and his faithful attendants was a most affecting one. On the 7th of August Lord Keith, in his bai^, went on board the Bellerophon to escort Napoleon, and those who were to accompany him, on board the Northumberland, on the deck of which ship the marines were drawn out to receive him, but merely as a General Officer. On the 9th of August the Northumberland commenced her voyage for St Helena. The passage was long, and tedious throughout The ship did not reach her destination until October 16th, and two days more elapsed before Napoleon could land. No residence having been prepared for him, he took up a temporary abode whilst a house at Longwood was getting ready for his reception. It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the island by his unexpected arrival. Of Napoleon's habits and pursuits during his subsequent years of exile it is tmnecessary to speak here. Those of his adherents who accompanied him in his banishment, and who witnessed the final close of his eventful life, have already, by their respective and minute details, gratified the most curious. For six years he continued the occupant of that island prison, living within its proscribed rules, and the monotony of his daily routine alone interrupted by the frequent altercations between himself and Sir Hudson Lowe, the Governor, to whose care was intrusted the illustrious exile. His invectives against those who had decreed his sentence were bitter and continuous, the slightest inconvenience serving as a pretext for a renewal of complaints; and when measures were from time to time taken to rectify these, there still always remained that one pre-eminent and constant source of dis- content— the appellation by which he was designated.
At the conunencement of 1821, Napoleon's health began to
MEMOIR OF NAPOLEON. CXXIX
tail, and after some months of great suffering lie fell the victim of a disease which had been fatal to his father— cancer in the stomach.
On the 5th of Maj, 1821, Buonaparte ended his wonderful life^ his eventful and extraorduiary career having carried him successivelj from the Lieutenant to the General — from the Consul to the Emperor, — and from the Conqueror of the greater part of Europe to the Recluse of Saint Helena.
His remains were interred in the centre of the island^ with all the respect and honour due to his position as a General. It devolved upon English soldiers to consign his body to the grave — the cofBn being borne on the shoulders of the troops from the hearse to the tomb. A square stone, without tablet or inscription, was then sufficient to cover the man for whom Europe was once too small.
For nineteen years the exiled Emperor slept in that lone island, during which period France had undergone many changes. Louis Dix-huit had been succeeded by his brother, Charles X., whose arbitrary and tmconciliating government caused the Revo- lution of July, 1830; and Louis Philippe, duke of Orleans, who had been long watching the course of events, took advantage of this popular outbreak to place himself at the head of aSairs ; and thus for some time a Democratic Monarchy was carried on, under the auspices of the Napoleon of Peace, as Louis Philippe was sometimes called. However, the recollection of the deeds of the Napoleon of War was cherished by the French people, whose love of conquest and display soon made them forget the lesson but partly learnt tmder the iron rule of the Emperor: and that restless and vacillating nation were rapidly forgetting the faults and cherishing only the memory of the glories of their former master.
The desire of possessing and consecrating all that remained of their once great General was becoming daily more manifest ; and in 1840 Louis Philippe^ yielding to the universal wish of the nation, entered into negociations with the British Government for permission to remove the body of Napoleon. These preliminaries being satisfactorily arranged, La Belle Poule frigate, under the command of the Prince de Joinville, sailed for St Helena, to transfer the remains of Napoleon from the desolate spot where they had so long reposed to that city which had witnessed all his
k
CXXX ICEMOIB OF NAP0L1S0N.
former glory; and on the 15th of December, 1840, all that was mortal of the late Emperor was placed with great pomp in the Chapel of the Invalides, and afterwards consigned to a tomb, according to his own expressed desire, on " the banks of the Seine, among that people he had loved so well.'*
A minute review of the character of Napoleon is a task too lengthened and important for present consideration; a slight sketch of the great leading features of his intellectual and moral charac- teristics will suffice a3 a sequel to the foregoing memoir. Power was his supreme object — the love of power and supremacy absorbed, consmned him. No other passion, no domestic attach- ment, no private friendship, no love of pleasure, no relish for letters and the arts, no human sympathy, no human weakness, divided his mind with the passion for dominion, and for dazzling manifestations of liis power. His intellect was distinguished by rapidity of thought. He understood by a glance what most men only learn by study. He darted to a conclusion rather by intui- tion than reasoning. He understood war as a science ; but his mind was too bold, rapid, and irrepressible to hie enslaved by the technics of his profession. He found the old armies fighting by rule, and he discovered the true characteristic of genius, which, without despising rules, knows when and how to break them. He understood thoroughly the immense moral power which is gained by originality and rapidity of operation. He astonished and paralysed his enemies by his unforeseen and impetuous as- saults,— by the suddenness with which the storm of battle burst upon them ; and whilst giving to his soldiers the advantages of modern discipline, breathed into them by his quick and decisive movements the enthusiasm of ruder ages. These stirring influ- ences infused a consciousness of his own might; they gave intensity and audacity to his ambition, form and substance to his indefi- nite visions of glory, and raised his fiery hopes to empire. The Empire of the world seemed to him to be in a measure his due, for nothing short of it corresponded with his conception of him- self: he desired to amaze, to dazzle, to overpower men's souls by striking, bold, magnificent, and imanticipated results. Cahn admiration, though imiversal and enduring, could not satisfy him. He panted to electrify and overwhelm. He lived for effect. The world was his theatre, and he cared little what part
MEUOm OF NAfOLEON. CXXU
he played if he might walk the sole hero on its stage, and call forth bursts of applause which would silence all other fame. In war, the trimnphs which he exacted were those in which he seemed to sweep away his foes like a whirlwind ; and the immense and unparalleled sacrifice of his own soldiers in the rapid marches and daring assaults to which he owed his factories, in no degree diniinished their worth to the victor. His history shows a^ spirit of self-exaggeration unrivalled in enlightened ages ; in his own view he stood apart from other men. He was not, in fact, to be measured by the standard of humanity. He was not to be re- tarded by difficulties to which all others yielded. He was not to be subjected to laws and obligations which all others were expected to obey. Nature and the human will were to bend to his power. He deemed himself the chosen of Fortune, and spoke of his successive conquests but as the " fulfilment of his destiny." This spirit of self-exa^eration brought its own misery, and viti- ated and perverted his high powers. It diseased his intellect, gave imagination the ascendancy over judgment, turned the inventiveness and fruitfulness of his mmd into rash, impatient, restless energies, and thus precipitated him into projects which were fraught with ruin. To a man whose vanity took him out of the rank of human beings, no foundation for reasoning was left; the calmness of wisdom was denied him. He, who was next to omnipotent in his own eyes, and who delighted to strike and astonish by sudden and conspicuous operations, could not brook delay, or wait for the slow operations of time. A work which was to be gradually matured by the joint agency of various causes could not suit a man who wanted to be felt as the great, perhaps .only, cause ; who wished to stamp his own agency in the most glaring characters on whatever he performed; and who hoped to rival by a sudden energy the steady and progressive works of Nature. Hence so many of his projects were never completed, or only announced. They swelled, however, for a time, the tide of flattery, which ascribed to him the completion of what was not yet begun; whilst his restless spirit, rushing to new enterprises, forgot its pledges, and left the promised prodigies of his creative genius to exist only in the records of adulation.
Thus the rapid and inventive intellect of Buonaparte was de- praved, and failed to achieve a growing and durable greatness.
CXXXll MEMOIR or NAFOLKON.
It reared^ indeed, a vast and imposing structure, but a dispro- portioned and disjointed one, Mrithout strength, without foundations. One strong blast was enough to shake and shatter it, nor could all his genius uphold it Another striking property of Napoleon's character was decision; and this, as we have already seen, was perverted by the same spirit of self-exaggeration into an inflexible stubbornness, which counsel could not enlighten nor circumstances bend. Having taken the first step, he pressed onward. His pur- pose he wished others to i-egard as a law of Nature or^a decree of Destiny. It must be accomplished. Resistance but strengthened it; and so often had resistance been overborne, that he felt as if his unconquerable will, joined to his matchless intellect, could vanquish all things. On such a mind, the warnings of human wisdom and of Providence were spent in vain ; but the Man of Destiny lived to teach others, if not himself, the weakness and folly of that all- defying decision which arrays the purposes of the creature with the immutableness of the councils of the Creator.
But in tliis hasty glance at the chief attributes of Napoleon, we must not lose sight of -one especial talent with which he was endowed. To the greatness of actum belongs the greatness of Napoleon; and that he possessed this to an extraordinary extent, none can deny. The man who raised himself from obscurity to a throne — who changed the face of the world — ^who made himself felt through powerful and civilised nations — who sent the terror of his name across seas and oceans — whose will was pronounced and feared as destiny — in whose gifts were crowns — ^who broke down the barriers of the Alps and made them a highway— and whose fame was spread beyond the boundaries of civilisation to the steppes of the Cossack and the deserts of the Arab,— -the man who has left; this record of himself in history, has taken out of all hands the question whether he shall be called great All must concede to him a sublime power of action, an energy equal to great eflFects. But whilst our admuration is fired by the vastness of those cam- paigns of which he was the sole projector, in following him through which the astonishment is excited by his wonderful powers of endurance, which rendered that sturdy form alike inaccessible to the scorching heat of an African sun or the rigour and severity of a polar winter— we cannot shut our eyes to the fact, that Napoleon knew distinctly the price he must pay for the eminence which he
1CEH0IK OF NAFOLEOlf. CXXXUl
coTetecL He knew that the path to it lay over wounded and slaughtered millions — over ravaged fields^ and smoking ruins^ and pillaged cities I In referring, also, to the wrongs which he is sup- posed to have suffered at St Helena, and to the unworthy use which some have alleged the Allied Powers made of their triumph over Napoleon, we see a sympathy created in his behalf which has helped to throw a veil over his crimes. When, however, we would carry those sympathies to that solitary island, and fix them on the supposed victim of British cruelty, they will not remain there, but take flight across the Mediterranean to Jaffa; and across the Atlantic to the grave of the Due d'EInghien; and to fields of battle, where thousands at* his bidding lay weltering in their blood. When we would fix our thoughts upon the sufferings of the injured hero, chained to a rock in a desolate island, and ex- posed to the evils of an uncongenial clime, other and more terrible sufferings, of which he was the cause, rush upon us; and his com- plaints, however loud and angry, are drowned by the remembrance of the little compunction with which he sacrificed millions to the sword for the fiirtherance of his own ambitious ends. He insulted the fallen who had contracted the guilt of opposing his progress ; his allies were his vassals, nor was their vassalage concealed. Too loflby to use the arts of conciliation, preferring command to per- suasion, overbearing and all-grasping, he spread distrust, exaspe- ration, fear, and revenge, through Europe ; and when the day of retribution came, the old antipathies and mutual jealousies of nations were called forth in unison to prostrate the common tyrant, the universal foe!
$tffxmts ta, ait^r Ptmoir of,
THE FIELD OF WATERLOO,
OV THE 8GALB OF riTX INCHES TO A HCLE,
As pMiihed by Jfr, Qsjjsnsiy Engineer to the King of the Nethedande,
ALLIED ARMY,
COMMANDED BY H. G. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
FIRST CORPS, UNDER THE ORDERS OF B. R H. THE
PRINCE OF ORANGE,
CENTRE. Formed itself between the two highways of Charleroi and Nivelles.
A 1 division, M. G. Cooke, on the right front of the centre. This division
of tiie English Gnards was composed as follows: — a 1 brig. M. G. Maitland, the 2 and 3 bat 1 regt Ft Gnards. (Thii
Brig, iuffered much on the Mith of June.) b 2 brig. M. G. Sir J. Byng, the 2 bat of the Coldstream regt and 2 bat of the
3 regt of Ft Guards. Seven comp. of the Coldstream regt. occupied the
chitean and garden, the four light comp. of the div. were placed as Tirailleurs
in the woods and orchards of Gomont See i and h. There was attached to
this div. a batteiy of Br. Roy. Artill. Capt. Sandham, and one bat German
Horse Artill. M. Kuhlman. (1 bat, Capt. Sinclair adj.) B 3 div. inf. L. G. Sir Charles Alten, on the left front of the centre. This div.
was composed as follows : c 2 brig. K. G. L. Col. Ompteda, the 1 and 2 light bat. and the 5 and 8 bat
of the line. The 2 light bat L. C. Baring, occupied the farm of La Haye
Sainte, which it defended with obstinacy, d 1 HanoT. brig. M. G. Count Eielmansegge, the field-batts. of Lunenburg,
1 bat Duke of York, Gftibenhaagen, Yerden, Bremen, and the Chass. of
Sporcken. e 0 Brit brig. M. G. Sir Colin Halket, the 2 batts. of the 80, 60, and 78 regts.
and the 88 regt This 8 div. and the 1 div. of Guards, suffered severely
from the charges of cavalry, all of which they repulsed. There was attached
to the 8 div. a bat Br. R. Artill. M. Lloyd, one bat German Horse Artill.
Capt Cleeve.
FIELD OF WATEBLOO.
f Corps of the Dnke of Bmnswick, G. M. Olfermans, one light inf. brig. L. C. Butler, one brig. inf. of the line, M. de Mnnckhausen, one regt of black hussars, one squadron of lancers. Two bat were placed between the div. of English Guards. Before them, the two bat. artill. M. de Lubeck. One bat. M. Bulow, was detached in the wood of Gomont, where thej fought on both sides with great tttry.
g Contingent of Nassau Usingen, G. Emse, 8 bat. of the 1 regt It was in leading this regt in a chaige of the bayonet against the middle Gd. that the P. of Orange was wounded. (See the last references.)
In the ch&teau and gardens of Gomont, whose walls were crenellated, there was a post of 9 eomp. of the 2 Coldstream regt L. C. Macdonnell^ who was reinforced by four other comps. Col. Woodford, same regt They kept their post, the whole day with bravery. The ch&teau was in flames. The wood and orchard of Gomont were defended by the 4 light comp. of the 1 div. of Gds. the 1 bat. of the 2 regt of Nassau (m the service of the Low Countries) and a bat of Brunswickers, M. Bulow. This part of Gomont was occupied, after two hours' fighting, by Jerome Buonaparte's div. {See Memoir.)
J Battexy which the French brought forward in the afternoon to raze the wall of the garden. It was dislodged.
k 1 brig, heavy cav. M. G. Lord F. Somerset, the 1 and 2 regts. of life Gds. the Horse Gds. Blue, the 1 regt Drag. Gds. This brig, frequently charged the Cuirassiers, and drove them from the eminence upOn the causeway.
1 8 brig. Light Drag. M. G. Sir W. Domberg, the 1 and 2 regt Drag. K. G. L. and the 28 English Drag.
m 7 brig. Light Horse, Col. F. Arendschild. The 8 regt Hus. E. G. L. and the 13 Light English Drag.
n 5 brig. Light Horse, M. G. Sir C. Grant, the 7 and 15 regt English Hus. ( The Regt. of Cumberland JTus. Hanov, was here.)
o Div. of R. Cav. of the Low Countries, L. G. B. Collaert, three brig, who re- pulsed several charges. {See z Memoir.)
p One brig. Heavy Cav. G. M. Trip, the 1, 2, and 8 regts. of Carabineers. {The land^ Dutch, the 2 Belffic.)
q 1 brig. light Horse, G. M. Van Merle, the 6 regt Dutch Hus. and the 5 Bel- gic laght Horse.
r 2 brig. light Horse, G. M. Ghigny, the 4 regt Drag. Dutch, and the 8 Hus. Belgio. Attached to this div. one bat R. Light Artill. of the Netherlands, Capt Fetter, placed nearly before the 1 of Nassau, g.
Artillery attached.
Besides the Artilleiy joined to each div. there was attached to the English cavalry the bat of M. BulL L. Col. Smith, L. Col. Sir Robert Gardner, M. Ramsey, and Capt Mercer. One Rocket brig. M. Whinyates. Three batts. of reserve, Sir H. Ross, M. Bean, and Capt Sinclair. AH these battalions were successively engaged to relieve those dismounted in the centre, and on the left wing. The batt in the centre were placed irregularly, according to the dispoeition of the ground.
8E00ND CORPS OF THE ARMY, UNDER TEE ORDERS OF
LIEUT,-GEN. LORD HILL.
RIGHT WING.
Right Wing, extremity at Braine-la-Leud.
The plateau on which was placed en potence the 2 English div. L. G. Sir H.
Clinton, composed as follows :—
8 British brig. M. G. Adam, the 1 bat of the 52 and 71 regts. of the line, and
nine comp. of the 95 Riflemen.
1 brig. K. G. L. CoL Duplat, the 1, 2, 8, and 4 bat of the line, Bong's Gennan
Legion.
FIELD OF WATERLOa
a 3 Hanoy. brig. Col. Halket, the 2 and 3 bat. Duke of Tork, and the bat. of Militia Saltzgitter and Bremervorde. There was attached to this 2 div. the bat. of Capt Bolton, B. Brit Art., and M. Sympher, Germ. Horse Artill.
T 4 Brit, brig. Col. Mitchell {belonging to, and on the lejl of the 4 div. m observH' tion)y the 3 bat. 14 regt, the 1 bat of the 23 and 51 regts. of the line. It was attached with a bat Capt de Bettberg, Hanov. Art to the 2 div. which about three o'clock came into the line on the right of the centre, the first position having become useless on this point.
D The 3 B. div. of Dutch, L. Gen. B. Chasse, was charged with the defence of Braine-la-Leud, where there were posted the 1 brig. Col. Detmers, the 35 bat Belg. Chass. the 2 bat. of the line (Dutch;, the 4, 6, 17, and 10 bat Dutch Militia. The 17 bat a little advanced, kept up the communication with 3 £ng. div. L. G. Clinton.
E 2 brig. G. M. d'Anbrem^, the 36 bat Chass., and the 3 bat of the line (Belgic), the 12 and 13 bat. of the line, the 3 and 10 bat of the Dutch Militia, occupied an advantageous position on the height of the faim of Vieux Foriea. Attached to this div. was a bat of foot artil. Capt Lux, one light bat M. Yander Smissen.
w Towards two o'clock, the 3 div. advanced towards the centre, the 2 brig, by Merbe-Braine ; the 1 brig, replaced the 2 £ng. div. 4 bat marched in squares. The 3 div. took its second position near the highway to Nivelles.
DIVISIONS DETACHED,
LEFT WINCU •
Left Wing, extremity above La Haye.
F Part of the 2 B. dir. of Dutch, L. G. B. of Perponcher, the 2 brig. Col. Prince
of Saxe Weimar. The 1 and 2 bat reg. Or. Nassau, with the 2 and 3 bat
of the 2 regt. Kassau Usingen. It was at the extreme left, occupying
Papelotte, Smohain, and La Haye. The 1 bat. of the 2 regt. above was
posted at Gomont. (See i.) X 1 brig. G. M. Ct de Byland, same div., the 7 bat. of the line (Belgic),
the 27 Chass., the 5, 7, and 8 bat Dutch Mil. The 5 bat. in reserve having
suffered much on the 16th. Attached to this div. was Capt Byleveld's bat G 5 div. Brit L. G. Sir T. Picton, having 2 bat M. Bogers, B. Brit Artill. and
Capt Braun, Hanov. Artill. y The 5 Hanov. brig. Col. Vincke, 4 bat Militia of Hameln, Grifform, Hil-
desheim, and Peine, z 0 (or Scotch) brig. M. G. Sir Denis Pack, 3 bat. 1 regt (B. Scots), the 1 bat.
of the 42 and 92 regt. Highlanders, and the 2 bat 44 regt It charged with
the bayonet the French column, T. (See m.) aa 8 Brit brig. M. G. Sir J. Kempt the 1 bat 28 and 32 regt the I bat. 70 regt
(Highlanders), the 1 bat 95 regt (Biflemen), and one comp. of 2 bat same
regt (See m below,) bb 10 Brit brig. M. G. Sir J. Lambert (belonging to the 6 div.), the 1 bat of 4,
27, and 40 regt of the line. This brig, was particularly engaged in the
evening, in the retaking of La Haye Sainte. CO 2 brig. Heavy Cav. Brit., M. G. Sir W. Ponsonby, 1 regt. B. Drag., 2 regts.
N, Br. Drag. {Scotch Greys), and the 6 regt Drag. (InnukUling\ This brig.
made one of the boldest charges on the French art. {See m, o.) dd 4 brig. light Horse, M. G. Sir J. Yandeleur, 11, 12, and 16 regt light Drag.
(Brit) charged on T, m. ee 6 brig. light Horse, M. G. Sir H. Vivian, 1 regt Hus. K. G. L. the 10 and
18 Hus. (Brit) In the afternoon, the 6 and 4 brig, moved towards the right
of the centre. {See y.)
nEU) or WATEBLOa
PRUSSIAN ARMY,
COMMANDED BY H. H. PRINCE BLUCHER.
The Prussian Army debouching by Lasne and Ohain.
H The arrival of the I corps of the army, L. O. v. Zeithen, at eight o'clock in
the evening, with 4 brig, of inf. each of 8 regta. The 1 brig. G. Steinmetz,
2 brig. G. Pirch I. 3 brig. G. Jagow, 4 brig. G. Henkel, a corps of caT.
6 regis. G. ▼. Roeder. This 1 corps had suffered much on the Iftth and
16th of June, ff Advanced guard of the 1 corps, which at the period of the general advance
retook Smohain and Papelotte, in concert with the troops of Nassau.
They immediately established a bat. against La Haye, near to ff. gg The three other brig, followed the same movement in advance upon La
Belle Alliance, hh The cav. led by the G. v. Roeder took the lead, and pursued the French,
then in full retreat.
I Arrival of the 4 corps, L. G. Comte de Bulow. The 16 brig. Col. Hiller, the 15 brig. Gen. v. Losthin, 13 brig. L. G. v. Hacke, and the 14 brig. M. G. V. Ryssel, a numerous artill. and a large corps of cav., which with that of the 2 corps^ together l^ regts. were commanded H. R. H. Prince W. of Prussia,
J. The Id and 1 6 brig, arrived at four o'clock, with a corps of cav. in a covered position in the Wood of Paris, near to Frichermont; they debouched soon after, and advanced towards Planchenoit. Prince Bliicher had already pre- ceded them at three o'clock to reconnoitre the field of battle, with two regts. of Drag, who were engaged with the French cav. behind Frichermont.
K Gen. Count Bulow, whilst waiting for his reinforcements, made his dispo- sitions for an attack on Planchenoit.
L The two other brig, of the 4 corps arriving successively, with a part of the 2 corps, under the orders of G. Pirch, formed on the plain Some troops arrived by the Abbey of Aywiers, kk.
ti The cav. protected by the artil. attacked the right of the 1 French corps, and was engaged with the cav. tt. The French immediately turned some bat. against them in N. The grape-shot could reach them.
M The remainder of the 4 corps, with one part of the 2 corps, attacked Plan- chenoit, defended by the 6th French corps in front. Towards six o'clock the engagement became general. They fought with much fury.
II A column, which, after having experienced a sharp resistance, turned the village towards the evening.
mm The attack of the ^lage in front. It was taken and retaken three times. This grotind was disputed with ftury.
FRENCH ARMY,
COMMANDED BY •NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE.
Right Wing extending to Smohain.
N ), ^2, ^8. Three sttUiont on the rtti$ed banks of the highway to Charleroi which Napoleon occupied during the battle^ tuccemvely at 10, at 3, and eU 7 o*clock, (See Memoir following.)
nUiD OF WATERLOO.
N Exiremiiy of the right of ike I eoTf9, L. O. Count d^Erion^ 4. dh, of U\f, and one div. of cav. iX, Having a numerous artillery^ 80 piece*, (Official Bulletin.)
nn 4 div. of the 1 cotft, X. G, DurutU ; four regie, the 29, 85, 95 of the line, and the light It attacked several times the farm of
Papetotte, defended hg the troops of Nassau, F. // was destroyed hg the flfunes. In the evening, the div. was attacked in thejiank hg the Prussians,
oo 8 cff r. L. O, Mareognet ; four regts. the 25, 45, and 105 of the line, and the
light It was at the head of the strong column qf attack,
T, on the left wing of the Allied armg,
pp 2 div. L, G. ; four regts. the 17, 19, and 51 of the line, and the
18 light It was directed against La Hage Sainte, where it met
with great resistance. The 19 regt. was almost entirely destroyed.
qq 1 div. L. G. ; four regts. the of the line, and the
light . It supported the 2 div, in the attack of La Haye Sainte,
which it carried qfter a connderable loss.
rr I div, of Cuiras, G. Delort, 1 brig, Adjt, Com, Calmer, 5 and 10 regt. The 9. iritt. G, 6 and 19 regt,
ss div, of Cuiras. G, Vathier de St. Alphonse, the 1 hrig, G, Dubois, 1 and 2 rtgt,
the 2 brig, G, Travere, 4 and 12 regis. These two div, formed the 8 corps of cav, L, G, MUhaud, which towards three o*clock, after the taking of La Haye Sainte, moved to V at the side.
ti Div. of Light Cav, G, Jacqmnot, the 8 and A of the Lancers, the 8 Chass. and 7 Huss. It was attached to the \ corps of inf., emd was in the evening duarged and harassed m its retreat by the Prussian cav.
Left Wing, extending to Gomont,
O Extremily of the left wing of the 2 corps, L, G, Count Beille, 4 div, if\f, and one div, of cav, zz. His artillery mounted about 60 pieces. It was here that the
1 div, if\f, of Jerome Buonaparte, composed of A regis,, the 1,2, and 8 qf the line, and the 1 light, supported by the 2 div. uu. It made the first attack at ha^-past eleven, on the wood and chdteau of Gomont. After two hours qf a very bloody combat, it succeeded in occupying the wood and orchard, without being able the whole day to dislodge the English post from the chdteau and garden, surrounded by a wall ; the chdteau became the prey of the flames, but was never surrendered, (See A.)
uu 2 div. L. G, Bacheht, 4 regts,, the 12 light, the 72, 108, and of the line,
(See o.) w 8 div. L. G, Foy, four regts. the of the line, the light ;
part directed against i, part against La Haye Sainte. WW 4 div. L. G. Gerard (severely wounded on the I6ih), four regts, the 4 Ught, 12 of the line. {This div. having suffered much at the battle of Ligny, trow not much engaged in this battle.) xsf Div. of Heavy Cav.L. G, L*HMtier,four regU,, the 8 and 11 Ctnras, the 2 and
7 Drag, yy Div. of Heavy Cav. L, G. Roussel d'Urbal, 4 regis., the 1 and 2 Carab., the
2 €tnd 8 Cuirass. (These two div, formed the 4 corps oj cav. L, G. KeUerman, they advanced on r, t, towards the centre of the jUlies,)
22 Div, of Light Cav. L. G. Pir^, attached to the 2 corps ofinf, ; 4 regts, ; the 1 and 8 of Chass., the 5 and 6 of Lancers. This div, the whole day m observance at Mont Plaisir, moved towards evening to the side of Planchenoit.
Beserve between Planchenoit and Mont Plaisir,
P 0 corps m reserve, L. G. Count de Lobau, composed of 2 div, with about 80 pUces of artm. 1 div. G, B. Simmer, the 5, 11, 27 and 84 of the line. The 2 <Uv, ofG. B. Jeannin, the 5 Ug, the 10 and 107 of the line, (The 8 div. of the 6th corps, G. B. Testa, was detached to Wayre, with the 8 corps, G. Vandamme.)
« Div. of cav, G, d*Aumont, attached to the ^th corps, the A, 11, and 12 of Chasseurs.
HELD OF WAXtaOJOO*
« TheQ eorpt defend Piauehenoii uHih ohsUnae^, The Yotmf Chttird cmne to the
support qfUi right, Q. The Young Guard, O. Duheeme, one div. O. Barrou, 4 regts. 1 brig, G, Chartrtm^
the 1 regt, TiraiU. tmd the 1 VoUigeurs. The 2 brig. G. MeUinet, ch^fi^ lAc
Staff, The 3 regU, of TiraiU, and the 3 VoUigeurs, a Young Guard eupporting the right of the 6th cprpe, threatened to be out-^Umked
bg the PrueaioMS. b Head-Quarter$ of Napoleon^ near Le Caillou, where hie baggages were guarded
bg the 2 bat, 1 regt, Chass. of the Old Guard, LL Col, During, Near this the
park of reserve {I ^-pounders) of the Guard, B Old Fool Guard, 0, Drouet, Aide-Mq^.-Gen, At 8 o^dock it advanced towards
La Belle Alliance, c Grenad. OU Guard, L. O. Friant, the 1,2, 8, and 4 regts, G. Petit commandmg
the iUvision. d Chau, Old Guard, L. G, Moraud, the 1, 2, 3, and Uh regU,, G. Michel com- manding the div. The artill. of the Guard, cowmnanded bg G, Doguermu^ was
engaged at Planchenoit, e Horse Grenad, of the Guard, L, G, Gugot, Drag, Col, Hofineger, {Gen. Letori
was kUled on the Uth,) f Lancers of the Guard, G, Colbert. Chass, G, Lefebvre DesnouetUs, {These
four regts, of cav. of the Guard advanced towards the centre of the AlUes, om
which Iheg made numerous charges.) g Bait, of the reserve of the Guard {\2-pounders), who in the evening plaged upon
the Prussians above the village.
Second Positions, principal Attacks, and divers Movements.
8 Second position of the French Foot Quards, formed into squares on the
approach of the PrusBians. h Two bat. of the Old Guard, sent from S to support the 6 corps and the Young
Quard at Planchenoit. i Light Artill. of the Guard, G. Duehaud, who with other bat. of the Guard
supplied the place of the batts. of the 6 corps sent to the right of the 1 corps
N, to relieve the dismounted batts. {See o.) k Two great squares, 1 and 2 of the Old Guaxxl, in the evening at nine o'clock.
They made some vain efforts to cover the retreat ; they were drawn into the
vortex of the runawi^s. Napoleon made his retreat by the side of the square,
2. The 1 forced by the fugitives and charged by the English cav. was broken.
{See Memoir following.) / Squares of the retreat of the 6 corps of the Young Guard, and two bat of the
Old Guard sent to Planchenoit. T Strong column of inf. composed in part of the 3 and 2 div. of the 1 corps,
preparing themselves at two o'clock to attack the left wing of the Allies, and
approaching by favour of a deep ravine, and sheltered fh>m the cannon, m Head of the column T, which, advancing rapidly, succeeded in repulsing the
brig, which was opposed to it. Having attained the height, it was attacked
in flank by the 9 div. of G. Picton, and charged by the Engl. Drag, of G.
Ponsonby, who took two eagles and about 2000 prisoners. {See Memoir.) n Column T cut up in their retreat by the English Drag., supported by the
brig, {q) Dutch, G. Ghigny. • The Brit. Drag, coming from n charged the bat., sabred the cannoneers, and
dismounted thirty pieces on the right of the 1 French coips. {See Memoir.) p These Drag, after this gallant achievement, and much weakened, were
repulsed by the Cuirass, of G. Milhaud, and the 4 of the Lancers. q After the most obstinate resistance, La Haye Sainte was taken at three
o'clock, by a part of the 2 and 1 div. of inf. f>om that time the CuirassierB
formed in a mass at the side of the bottom U, V Bottom where the Cuirass, reunited, and other cav. in great numbers, before
and after the charges on the squares in echelons to the centre behind the
heights of Mont St. Jean, r Mounted Grenadiers and Drag, of the Guard, coming from («), made several
charges on a and b.
raUO OF W ATBBXXX).
9 Lane of the Otuurd ooming from / at five o'clock, by different positions.
They made some bold charges on a, c, d. t I>iv. of Carab. and Cnirass. coming from yy. It was at one of the barriers of
Gomont, near this Rpot, that Marshal Ney on foot, his horse being killed,
with a sword in his hand, excited them to midce tlie last charge. « Squares of the 2 div. L. G. Clinton, coming at two o'clock from Cto support
the right of the centre. {See Memoir.) F Four regts. of the Fr. Guard, the 3 and 4 Chass., the 8 and 4 Grenad. (middle
guard), excited I y Napoleon, prepared themselves to make the last attack on
the centre of the Allies at half-past seven. {See Memoir.) 9 Conducted by M. Ney, they advanced on the height with an intrepid coolness,
and deployed. « The 1 brig. D. of Col. Detmers of the 3 div. of the Netherlands, L. G.
Chass, advanced veiy ^propoa on this side at seven o'clock, with 6 bat. to
check them, in concert with the brave troops who had been engaged ever
since the morning. Arrived from Braine-larLeud, with the light bat. w, M.
Van der Smissen, it vigorously seconded its intrepid neighbours, and repulsed
the Guard, which it put to the rout along the whole line. {See Memoir.) s Bat. of the 2 div. Capt Ni^ier, who with the bat tr, made dreadful slaughter
among the Guard. {See the Account of Capt, Napier's brigade, in "^ArtUlery
€}peratioiu,*' p. 177.) y 2 brig, light cav. dd, ee, arrived from the left wing, charged in concert with
the brig. » m, 1. on the flanks of the Guard, when the general movement in
advance decided the victory ! z Fr. squares, which after a vain resistance were broken, crushed, and mingled
in the general confrision. o r The spot where the Prince of Orange was wounded, at half-past seven in the
evening, as he was leading the 1 regt. of Nassau, with their bayonets fixed,
against the middle guard. H. B. H. had his shoulder pierced through by a
musket-balL
MEMOIR
In reference to the Plan and of the Circumstances which arose during the Battle of the \.%th of June y 1815.
After a most bloody combat the Allied British army, under the command of Field-marshal H. G. the Duke of Wellington, gloriously maintained itself (the 16th of June) on the important position of Quatre Bras. This advantage, which foretold a victory, had an undoubted influence on the great success obtained on the IBth of June. In consequence of the brave defence of this important point, the di£Berent corps had time to arrive frt>m their distant cantonments, and to concentrate and reinforce themselves by a well-ordered retreat. Without this inappreciable advantage, who could venture to calculate the results of the great contest ! It was at Quatre Bras that an army, hastily re-united, for a long time deprived of its artillery and its cavalry (still at a distance), evinced more than ordinary braveiy, to resist the impetuous attack of a well-organised army, provided with a numerous artillery and superb cavalry. It was there that it required all the presence of mind, and all the energy of a great General, to foresee the plans suggested by the opposing foe, and to extricate himself from so critical a situa- tion. The Prince of Orange evinced a zeal and talent on this occasion highly creditable. It was in this glorious combat, that, with so many brave, the valiant Duke of Brunswick terminated his brilliant career.
The reverse experienced on the 16th of June by the Prussian army upon the
nSLD OF WATEBLOO.
plains of Fleurus, after a brave and severe contest, determined Marshal Prince Blucher to concentrate his army toward^^ Wavre, where it would be reinforced by the 4th corps, commanded by L. G. Coant Btilow, who was not able to assist at the bloody battle of ligny. Tim retrograde march required on the part of the Duke of Wellington (notwithstanding the advantage obtained at Quatre Bras, and without being compelled by the enemy), a coiresponding movement towards the fields of Waterloo. This gently undulating plain offered a position, which this mo<iem Fabius had previously noticed as favourable, to defend Brussels against an invasion on this side.
On the morning of the 17th of June, the army having bivouacked before the field of battle of Quatre Bras, the Duke of Wellington deployed the forces which he had reunited, that he might engage the enemy in a fresh battle. But not seeing him make any dispositions for the attack, it was about noon, in the design of co>operating with the Prussian Army, when he ordered the retreat through Genappe, which he effected in the most admirable order. Nevertheless his rear- guard was closely pursued, and often harassed by the French cavaliy, which was vbliantly withstood and repulsed by the English Life Guards. About four o'clock the army arrived in the plain before Waterloo, a village half enclosed by the forest of Soignies, where the English Field-marshal established his head -quarters. The divisions and brigades which had not yet been engaged, had time to rejoin them.
The French army, commanded by Napoleon in person, followed this move- ment ; but the dreadful weather prevented any serious attempt : in the evening the rain fell in torrents. Yet some of the light artil. advanced as far as La Belle Alliance ; but after a cannonade of short duration the army bivouacked, part before Genappe, part on the heights between Planchenoit and the farm of Mont Plaisir. The head-quarters of the French were established at Caillou. The Allied army bivouacked between Smohain and Braine-la-Leud, chiefly on the inclination of the heights which they occupied the day following, and which it was destined to render illustrious by the most splendid victoiy, which will be for ever famous by its importance and by its results.
Tike IStA day o/June.—BAVthE of WATEBiiOO.
What a dreadful night must this have been, in which some ravines only separated about 1 50,000 men, who only waited for the day to decide by the sword so many and such great interests ! The veQ' inclement weather rendered this situation more gloomy still ; it did not cease raining, and the fertile fields of Water- loo offered no shelter to the troops weakened by fatigue. At length the day broke ; the rain fell still, but at intervals, which were made use of on both sides to prepare for combat.
Napoleon and his army did not expect to find the English army in the morning ready to accept the battle. Their only fear was of seeing the English had escaped, by effecting their retreat during the night. The dj^ of Quatre Bras might have undeceived them, if the battles of Talavera, Albuera, Salamanca, Yittoria, and others, had not been sufficient. The French valour needed no apology ; the famous exploits of these able warriors are indelible from the page of history, but also let them render justice to the coiurageous coolness, to the invincible firmness of the most persevering of their enemies. The Duke of Wel- lington, determined not to make another retrograde step, took his position before the hamlet of Mont St Jean, on a line of heights which extend from (a) the plateau commanding the Ch&teau of Gomont, to the inclination of the plateau (f) which crowns the farms of La Haye and Papelotte. A deep ravine, which on this side descends towards Ohain, protected the left wing. In front and in the rear of the line of these heights many deep and shallow ravines occur, which render this position sufficiently good, although the centre presented some weak points. The right was protected by a long ravine, which descends towards Merbe-Braine, a hamlet separated frt)m Braine-Ia-Leud by an extended plateau, wliich, not offering any position in front, rendered necessary the occupation of tliis village. The com- munication was thus kept up with two little corps of observation to defend the
FIELD OF WATEBtXX).
approaches by the road to Mods. One of these corps, oommanded by M. Gen. Sir C harles GolvUle, was posted near to Tubise, the other at Clabbeek and Braine4e- Ch4tean, under the command of H. R. H. Prince Frederick of the Low Countries. The army occupied a very extended line, the principal position crossed in the centre the highways to Charleroi, NiveUes, and Brussels, which join at the hamlet of Mont St. Jean, in the form of a fork, the handle of which points towards Wa- terloo, at the distance of three-quarters of a league, along a part of the forest of Soignies, that the army had its rear to. With respect to the action, the true centre was crossed by the road to Charleroi, where there was (b) a remarkable tree, near to which the Duke of Wellington often stood with his staff. The heights which the French army occupied in front of the position of the Allies are separated at a distance nearly parallel of about 1300 yards, the ground less elevated, but more undulating. In the rear of the position the ground elevates itself in the form of an amphitheatre to the farther side of the wood of Callois and Neuve-Cour ; in the first is a trigonometrical observatory, where Napoleon for a short time ascended to view the pontoons early in the morning of the 18th.
The French army (present at Waterloo) amounted to near 78,000 combatants, which comprised about 15,000 cavalry. It was composed of the 1st and 2d corps of the army, 8 divisions. The 6 corps, deficient 2 div. Two div. more of the Old Guard, and one division of the Yotmg Guard, composed the reserve.
The cavalry consisted of two corps, or 4 div. of heavy cav. ; 2 div. more of the Guards, and 3 div. of the light cav. attached to the different corps of infantry. The 1st corps of infantry (m), commanded by Lieut-Gen. Count D'Erlon, sup- ported its left on La BeUe Alliance ; its right extended towards Smohain. Its artillery mounted about 80 pieces, comprising the reserve. The light cav. (tt) attached to this corps was in the rear on the right. The second corps of inf. (O) commanded by Lieut.-Gen. Count Reille, supported its right at La Belle Alliance ; its left had in fh)nt the wood of the Ch&teau Gomont. Its artillery mounted about 60 pieces. The div. of light cav. (zz) attached to this corps was sent in observation to Mont Plaisir. In the second line were placed at intervals the two corps of heavy cav., two div. of which (ss, rr) commanded by Lieut- Gen. Milhaud, two div. (XX, yy) by lieut-Gen. Kellerman. The 6th corps (P), commanded by lieut-Genend Count de Lobau, with about 30 pieces of artillery, and the div. of light cav. (es) was in reserve behind the right wing, also the Young Guard (Q) under Gen. Duhesme, for the defence of Planchenoit, which, from an intercepted letter, they expected to see attacked by 10,000 Prussians. The Old Guard (R) took position on the heights behind the 2d corps ; the Horse Guards (e,/), part on the right and part on the left of the chaussee. The park of artiUeiy in reserve of the Guard, about forty 12-pounder8, remained near La Maison du Boi, and the baggages of the head-quarters (ft) at Caillou.
The Duke of Wellington had already on the 11th of April organised his army in two grand corps with the artillery attached. Two English div. the 5th and 6th, with the contingent of Brunswick, composed the reserve. The 1st corps was commanded by H. R. H. General the Prince of Orange ; the 2d corps by Lieut- Gen. Lord Hill. All the cavalry of the army was under the orders of Lieut-Gen. the Earl of Uxbridge. But some part of these corps, having received another destination, or being themselves intennixed on the ground, we must confine our- selves to describing the troops as they were respectively placed.
The corps of the different troops reunited on the field of battle made a total of about 51,500 infantry, and 18,000 cav., including the artillery belonging to a train of about 150 pieces of cannon. Among these combatants there were 13,000 infantry and 3000 cavalry, with 4 brigades of artillery of the kingdom of the Netherlands; about 6000 horse and foot, with two batteries of the troops of Brunswick, and 8000 mf. of the contingent of Nassau-Usingen. The British army (including the Hanoverians and the King's German Legion) formed the strongest body.
The following was the position of the corps at noon. In the centre, principally under the orders of the Prince of Orange ; Uie 1st div. (A) English Foot Guards, commanded by M. G. Cooke, leaned with its right on the highway to Nivelles, having the Ch&teau of Gomont a liUle in advance of the right Aront The 3d div. (B) of L. G. Count Alton joined on the left, having the 3 brigades deployed to the highway to Charleroi, and La Haye Sainte in the bottom, a little in advance of the left front. Between the brigades of this 8d div. was placed the contingent (g^ of
IBLD or WAIEBLOO.
NasBan-Usmgen ; G. Kmse, part in reseire, part in the first line between the Ist div. of QuaroH, was placed (f) the finmawick corps, G. M. Olfermans, with the two batteries in advance, and the cav. of this corps on the sides. The different batteries in the centre took their positions according to the sinuosities and undu- lations of tlie ground. For the detaiU of the corps generally ^ cantuit the re/erencet precedina ; tu alto the Circumatamtial Detail*,
Lord Hill, commanding the right wing, had not his % corps of the army com* plete and present {one part wom in observation on the road to Mont) ; consequent!/ the 8rd div. (D) of the K. of the Netherlands, L. G. Baron Chasse (o/ the JirU corps), passed this day under his orders, and toolE their position atBraine-la-Lend, occupying the plateau (E) at the farm of Vieux Foriez. To guard the right flank of the centre, the 2d div. of L. G. Sir H. Clinton with his artillery, and the 4 brig, of the 4 div. f M. G. Colville^ was placed en potenee behind the right on the plateau (C), difficult of access, bemg protected by a ravine, which extends towards Merbe-Braine. This fine position rendered dangerous every attempt of the enemy to outflank the right.
The left wing of the army, deployed along the road towards Chain and Wavre, had two div., viz. the 9 British div. (G), commanded by L. G. Sir T. Picton, having on his right, leaning on the road to Charleroi, the 10 brig, (bb) detached from the 6th div. The 2 R. div. of the Dutch, commanded by L. G. Baron de Perponcher, had its two brig, separated by a part of the 5 div. before mentioned. The 2 brig.. Col. Prince de Saxe Weimar, composed of the troops of Nassau (in the service of the Dutch), was charged with the defence of the hamlet of Smohain, at the extreme left. The artillery was ranged at small intervals along the road bordered with a hedge. The defence of La Haye Sainte, an important post, the key of the centre, was confided to the 2 brig. K. G. L. of Col. Ompteda, who occupied the farm and the orchards, with the 2 bat. of Chasseurs, L. Col. Baring. They loopholed the walls of the garden and chAteau of Gomont ; the raised banks planted with hedges round about the fields and orchards, formed little natural ramparts. The 1 div. of Guards was charged with the defence of tliis very importaot post, which was the key of the right Three comp. under L. Col. Macdonnell of the Coldstream, of the 2 brig., M. G. Sir J. Byng, established themselves at first in the ch&teau and gar- den, and were successively reinforced by 4 comp. of the same regt., and the 4 Ught comp. of all the div. These different detachments were conducted by Cols. Wood- ford and Hepburn, and L. Cols. Home and Lord SaJtoun. These light comp. occupied the wood and the orchards in concert with the 1 bat of the 2 regt. of Nassau, and one light bat of Bmnswickers.
Between nine and ten o'clock, the weather having cleared up a little, Napoleon advanced towards the farm Bossomme, and established himself near to it on a little lull (N), remarkable by its fine raised position on the border of the chaussee. It was there that he directed the battle till about three o'clock, having always near him 4 squadrons of his bodyguard. About half-past eleven, the tirailleurs of the 1 div. (0) of Jerome Buonaparte commenced the attack on the wood of Gomont, whilst at the same period the advanced posts were engaged at the extreme left before Papelotte. The first cannon was then fired from the plateau of Mont St Jean, and the cannonading took place immediately on all sides ; at noon the cannons roared dreadfully. Whilst 200 pieces of artillery on both sides spread death in the immoveable ranks, the whole of Jerome Buona- parte's div. advanced upon Gomont The intrepid Voltigeurs had soon passed the ravine, and penetrated into the wood ; but the defence was as obstinate as the attack was vigorous : nevertheless, the enemy gained ground. After two hours of a bloody combat, the advanced posts in the wood and the a4}acent field were obliged to yield to the French impetuosity, and fell back by degrees, part in the ch&teau, part behind the hedge of the orchard, and at length into the hollow way which goes along the orchard. As every inch of ground had been disputed with fury, the French perceived too late that a well-directed fire, by a handful of brave men, through the loopholed wall of the garden (concealed by a hedge), had doubled their loss : they redoubled their fury to dislodge them and take the ch&teau by force, but in vain ; although they for a moment forced a gate of the yard, they were soon repulsed with the bayonet; and tliis important post^ defended with an heroic bravery, was maintained all the day, although the ch&teau was surrounded on three sides, and became the prey of the flames. A part of the divisions of Generals Bachelu and Foy experienced great loss in
FIELD or WAIBBLOO.
attempting to support Jerome's div. by bis right, on the side of the plain ; i^ deluge of case-shot, from the advanced batteries of the centre, often dispersed them. Napoleon, seeing bis efforts were vain to carry the post of Gomont, whilst his right wing was thundered upon by the opposite batteries, ordered a formidable attack against the left wing, with the double design (without doubt) of throwing the left back on the centre, and preventing the communication with the Prussian army.
Nevertheless, the 2 brig. (F) of the 2 div. Dutch {troops of Nas.)^ though sharply attacked at different times by the 4 div. Durutte, bravely preserved the point of junction by Fricbermont and Smohain. Gen. C. I)'£rlon reunited a strong column (T), composed of a part of the 2 and 3 div. of the 1 corps, and eooducted it in person, protected by 80 pieces of artillery. Favoured by a deep ravine, it rapidly approached at the head of the column {represented by vx on the plan) and soon attained the height. Although battered by the case-shot, the iotrepid enemy charged without hesitation the 1 brig, of the 2 div. Dutch, who, deployed in line to occupy more ground, could not withstand that formidable mass, and was repulsed with loss. It soon rallied with the & bat. of Militia {in reserve, having suffered much and dittinguished itself at Quatre Bras)^ and advanced. In this interval the 8 Brit. brig, (aa) of M. G. Sir J. Kempt made a vigorous resistance, whilst the 9 brig, (z) of M. G. Sir D. Pack rushed with fixed bayonets on the right flank of the column. This bold charge, executed by the valiant Scotch, routed the enemy, who had already penetrated. The brave Gen. Sir T. Picton, so beloved by the English army, was among the number of the killed in this bloody contest. The brig, of heavy cav. (cc) of M. G. Sir W. Ponsonby rushed immediately on the regiments which had advanced so boldly, and cat them in pieees. The Scotch Greys and InniskiUings carried off two eagles belonging to the 45 and 105 reg. The column was repulsed by the infantry, and charged in flank by the brig, of light cav. (dd) of M. G. Sir J. Vandeleur, and that of G. M. Ghigny, of tlie div. (o) of cav. of the Low Countries* About 2000 men remained prisoners. The Roy. Drag., the Scotch Greys, and InniskiUings, G. Ponsonby at their head, dispersed the enemy to a great distance (fi), and precipitated themselves with unexampled boldness on the batteries (o) at the right of the 1 corps, put the cannoneers to the sword (then little supported), and dismounted 30 pieces. But the Cuirassiers of L. Gen. Milhaud, having advanced towards the chaussee to support the attack of inf. which had failed, the brig, of G. M. Travere from one side, and the 4 reg. of Lancers coming from the other, fell at the same time on these brave Drag, (p), who, not being able to resist this terrible shock, were cut to pieces and repulsed with considerable loss. The brave Gen. Ponsonby was killed by the Lancers, boldly attempting to join the greater body of his brig., from which he found himself separated.
While this fine exploit and the reverse experienced by the inf. had disor- ganised a great part of the right wing, a desperate attack was directed against La Haye Sainte. In tliis attempt, for a long time fruitless, one brig, of the 2 div. was almost wholly destroyed, but soon reinforced by a part of the 1 div. sup- ported by the Cuirassiers of L. G. Kellerman ; on this occasion the heavy brig, (k) of Lord E. Somerset made some brilliant charges to maintain this important post, defended vrith obstinacy and protected by the arUlleiy of the centre and of the left. The 2 bat. of Chasseurs, K. G. L., after having exhausted its ammu- oition, defended itsell with the bayonet, but was at length obliged to fall back, and La Haye Sainte fell into the power of the enemy. This advantage procured him the means of re-assembling by degrees his strong masses of cavalry, almost sheltered from the fire of the cannon in the bottom (U).
It was from this period that they commenced those charges so often repeated on the centje. At this period there took place for three dreadftd hours the severest combat of caval^, the most frightful confusion of all arms, of which bistoiy offers example!
Napoleon had caused his Old Guard to advance to (S), and went at three o'clock towards (N 2), on the bank of the chauss^ near to La Belle Alliance. After the disasters experienced by his right, he ran through the ranks, rallied the dispersed brigades, and animated them by his presence. He ordered the artillery of Gen. Nourri, attached to the 6 corps, to replace the dismounted batteries on the right, where the firing began again.
lo this interval they had perceived at a distance some troops debouching
FIELD or WATBBLOO.
fW>in the ride of the Wood of Paris, in the rear of Frichennont, which Ni^K>leoii (returaed to N 2) took at first for the adTanoed guard of Marshal Groucliy. Thin report quickly spread itself through the whole army, and was conununicated by Col. Labedoyore to the left wing, which in vain exhausted its forcea against the GhAteau of (iomont But, far from thence, Marshal Grouchy with 36,000 inf. and 6000 cav. was fighting at Wa^Te with the 3 Prussian corps of Gen. Y. Thiel- man. It was not long before tlieir error was known; they were two regts. of Pruss. Drag, escorting their intrepid Field-marshal: this respected warrior, impatient of waiting the arrival of his corps upon the march, had already advanced to reconnoitre the ground.
It is not explained how Napoleon could neglect to cause the openings of this wood to be occupied! However, he took his measures. The Count de Lobau with the 6 corps, supported by the Young Guard, was to defend Planchenoit to tbe last extremity ; part of the artillery of this corps, of which he had disposed, was replaced by that of his guard. The cav. of G. d'Aumont went into the plain before the village. At three o'clock the Old Foot Guard, 3 regt formed itself into squares ( S ) on both sides of the highway, and the Horse Guards, 4 regt. approached again from the plateau of Mont St Jean with all the heavy cavalry.
It did not escape the penetrating eye of the English General, that Napoleon alone aimed at breaking the centre before the arrival of the Prussians. The noble Duke, seeing his right not in the least threatened, caused to advance at about three o'clock, the 2 div. of G. Sir H. Clinton, with his batteries, and the 4 brig, of the 4 div. from plateau (C), towards the right of the centre (»), to support the Guard and cannon at Gomont ; the brig, of Gen. Adam on the left, and brig, of Colonels Halket and Duplat, more to the right One of the enemy's batteries had advanced upon (j) to raise the wall of the garden of Gomont, hut was dislodged by the 4 brig, of Col. Mitchell, supported by the Brunswick cav. The 3 regts. Dutch, L. G. Chass^, was marched from Braine-la-Leud towards the centre. The 1 brig, of Col. Detmers, having taken the village, proceeded first towards the plateau (C), 4 bat marched in squares, perceiving the enemy's cav., the two others kept their posts and rejoined them afterwards. The 2 brig. G. M. d'Aubrem^, who with the artillery of that div. had occupied the plateau (E), advanced by Merbe-Braine. The whole of the div. towuxls six o'clock took a second position (w) in reserve along the highway to Nivelles.
In the meanwhile one part of the 4 Prussian corps approached by Lasne, under the orders of L. G. Count de Bulow, after having surmounted many obsta- cles to pass the defiles of St Lambert Towards four o'clock advanced through the Wood (called of Paris) the Id brig, of Gen. v. Losthin, with a bat of Im- pounders, and the 2 regt of Huss. of Silesia. The 16 brig, of Col. v. Hiller, fol- lowed close, as well as the artillery of reserve, and all the cav. under the orders of H. R. H. Prince William of Prussia. Without staying for his reinforcements, P. Bliicher resolved to attack, and caused these two brig, to debouch first ; the 15 by the left, tlie 16 by the right
The 18 regt of the line, and the 3 regt. of Militia of Silesia, were detached towards Frichermont, to effect the junction with the left of the army of Wellington. The French turned some batteries (N) against the Prussians: the combat was less serious on this side. P. Bliicher considered at first that it was on the reserve that he ought to strike the grand blow ; in consequence Gen. Bulow proceeded immediately towards (K), before Planchenoit with a great body of his cavalry. Soon after the 13 brig, of L. G. v. Hacke, and the 14 brig, of M. G. v. RysseU^ rejoined the 4 corps, of which they made a part, having at first formed themselves in (L), and advanced afterwards towards (M), to attack the village, which the Gen. Count Loban with the 0 corps, supported by the Young Guard, defended with a bravery the more remarkable, as bis corps was less numerous. At six o'clock the engagement became general. As soon as La Haye Sainte was taken, the Heavy Cav., Cuirassiers, Carabineers, Drag., and the Cav. of the Guard, were thrown into the plateau of the centre, with the design of mutually supporting each other. From that time this intrepid cav. made charges one after another on the numerous squares ranged by echelons on the inclination behind the height. Notwithstanding these squares were often assailed on every side, and harassed without ceasing, they remained unshaken, and resisted with an heroic constancy the violent shock of these impenetrable Cuirassiers. The Allied cav. precipitated itself immediately on their squadrons, dispersed and drove them to a distance :
FIELD OF WATERLOa
bat suddenly nllying, they soon returned to the charge. It was thus that the tffair often became desperate : the artillery having fallen back into the squares, leaving their cannon at intervals in the power of the enemy, who had neither time nor means for carrying them off. At times their squadrons wandered into the spaces between the squares. It was between five and six o'clock that the crisis was at the extreme, and the issue doubtful. In this desperate moment the Duke of Wellington, the Prince of Orange, the Earl of Uxbridge, Lord Hill, &c., vere seen animating and reuniting the weakened squares, and charging with the troops to restore the wavering line.
Lord Somerset's heavy brig, performed many signal feats of valour. In one of these brilliant charges, it overthrew the Ooirassiers from the small rise (B), into the highway near to a pit of sand, where a great many perished. The brig, of Dutch Carabineers, G. Trip at their head, bravely tried their strength wiUi them, and repulsed them twice into the bottom, U. The brig, of light cav. of the centre having had to contend with an 4lUe of heavy cav. gave frequent proofs of good conduct. The brave Gen. Van Merle, returning from a charge at the head of his brig (r) of the K. of the Netherlands, was killed.
The British hero, always present where danger was most imminent, remained unhurt, as by miracle, in the midst of his staff, which was for the most part killed or wounded. The squares of the Engl. Guards, Gens. Maitland snd Byng, in the middle, opposed an impenetrable rampart of bayonets ; their fire spread destruction in the fine squadrons of Horse Grenadiers of the Guard and Cara- bineers, of which they received the principal charges. {Gen. Cooke commanding the div. was aeverely wounded,) By the example of the Guards, all the troops in the centre rivalled each other in courage and constancy. The 3 div. of G. Count Alten {who was also wounded) being much exposed by its position, had to repulse innumerable charges ; let it suffice to cite for example, that the square a little advanced of the 30 and 73 Engl, regt {making part of the brig.j M, G. 8rr Colin Halket cdwayt present) was charged eleven times without the least success, by the Lancers of the Guard and the Cuirassiers. Tlie fury of a combat may be sup- posed, when, after three hours of unspeakable efforts on both sides, a horrible^ / carnage was its only result. In the mean time, the attack on Planchenoi^as v carried on with equal fuiy. The village was taken and retaken twice, and these courageous efforts of the 4th corps were often fruitless. The Count D'Erlon, having rallied one brig, of his 1 corps, sustained the left of the 6 corps, and pushed in advance, to prevent the communication with the left of Wellington, and to separate the two armies. Napoleon had already sent G. Duhesme with the Young Guard, 4 regts. on the right to reinforce the 6 corps, which the 16 Prussian brig, constantly endeavoured to outflank. The Young Guard had again penetrated into the village, sod retook the churchyard, which Uie lA regt. of the line, and the 1 rogt. of Militia of Silesia, had occupied. Two bat of the old Guard {coming from S) were again sent to support it. The formidable battery of 12-pounders of the Guard in reserve, came from the advance, and tlmndered over the village. At this period, the French w^ere successful, and acted for a time on the offensive. The intrepid Prussians were obliged to exert all the energy which characterises them to resist The 2 and 8 regt of Hussars vigorously repulsed the attack of some light cav. of the 1 and 6 corps. In the mean time, the arrival of the 5 brig, and two bat of the 2 corps, commanded by L. G. Pirch, who went to the right (M), restored the equilibrium, and they again assumed the offensive with redoubled fury. The iumy consisted of about 30,000 men. Although his reserve was threatened with . a very probable reverse, and his free retreat very much endangered. Napoleon f P^isted in his bold project of pushing in advance. Marshal Grouchy had not <^yed. So many f^tless efforts could scarcely presage any great success. ^Wlst his most able Generals, and Marshal Ney, considered the battle very hazardous. Napoleon, always immovable, despaired of nothing — not even of victory! He advanced at seven o'clock, with 4 regts. of his Guard, towazds Mont St Jean, and placed at the situation (N 3), where the chaoss^e is increased in the declivity of the height before La Haye Sainte, having on his right and on his left two batteries of his Qxusrd {of which he levelled several pieces himself ), One "A^t^ was already established a good deal in advance on the side of the garden of this farm, and made a murderous Are. Seeing the ilite of his cavalry fatally ^iigaged on the plateau, he ordered a fourth attack on the centre, with which he
yi
I
FIELD OF WAXERLOO.
charged Marshal Key, at the head of the 8 and 4 regt. of Ohass., and the 3 and 4 of the Grenadiers of his Old Guard {the middle Guard), This oolmnn of warriors, whose valour tripled their number, were to protect the Cuirassiers, the broken remains of which went back successively in the bottom (U). The Duke of Wel- lington, informed of the progress of Count Bulow, and of the approach of the 1 corps of G. V. Ziethen, took his measures to repulse this attack, and to assume the offensive on the whole line. All the brig, kept the same positions, but some bat. of Brunswickers advanced from the side of La Haye Sainte ; during the whole day, these brave troops took ample revenge for the loss of their noble Duke. It as half-past seven when the Middle Guard advanced with an imposing coolness with shouldered arms, deplo3ring regularly as they approached {in v, v, v, v), having two pieces loaded wiUi case-shot in every interval The Allied troops maintained themselves perfectly calm to receive them at the points of their bayonets, the firing of muskets became general through the whole line, and the , artillery also spread destruction in the ranks. The Prince of Orange put himself at the head of the 1 regt. of Nassau, to repulse the enemy with the bayonet, when he was struck with a ball, which pierced the left shoulder, and obliged him to quii the field.
At this time L. G. Chass^, who, having arrived from Braine-la-Leud, had been placed in reserve, advanced veiy opportunely from this side with 6 Dutch batta- lions. Col. Detmers, and the light battery (if) of M. Van der Smissen on the right, to oppose the impetuous attack of these old warriors, who sought to penetrate on this side. These brave battalions immediately attacked them, and repulsed them briskly on this point ; the whole line, likewise, was driven beck. The bat. (v) above mentioned, and the bat (x), Capt. Napier, did great execution. Marshal Ney is unhorsed; G. Friant wounded ; G. Michael killed. Astonished at such a resist- ance, and seeing its ranks thin, the paralysed Guard made a stop, but did not recede ; it hesitated. The eagle-eyed and intrepid Wellington seized this moment to assume the offensive, gave orders for a general advance, and marched onward, the whole line charging with the bayonet. The brig, of cav. of M. Gens. Yande- leur and Vivian arrived (from the left) at the extreme right, took the enemy in flank, the other brig, of cav. advanced in fr^nt by intervals. The Guaid being repulsed, fell back at first in order, but the cavalry soon carried conf^on in its outflanked ranks. The orchards of Gomont are regained, the ch&teau freed from
, the assailants, and La Haye Sainte taken. The 1 Prussian corps of L. G. t.
^ Ziethen (H), arrived by Ohain, rejoined at 8 o'clock the extreme left, and, in con- V cert with the Nassaus, drove the enemy from Smohain and Papelotte. The Prussian cav. of G. v. Boeder outflanked its right, and pursued it in its retreat ; the whole advanced towards La Belle Alliance with the rapidity of lightning. The cannonading, which thundered behind ; the cavaliy paralysed or destroy^ ; the Middle Guard defeated, and its broken remains retiring in disorder; everything, in fine contributed to spread terror in the French army. Whilst the victory w«s decided in the centre, the 6 corps, with the Young Guard, and 2 bat. of the Old, again defended itself at Planchenoit, with the sole design of seouYingthe retreat of, the army. Prince Bliicher made a third decisive attack to cut it off, whilst his 1 corps came to rejoin his right The 16 brig, completely turned the village, the others pressed on vigorously, and the enemy is obliged to retreat With a redoubled Airy, all the Prussian army pressed on, and pushed towards the highway to Charieroi, where his left wing had idready arrived in great disorder, which was completed by the vigorous pursuit In the meantime Napoleon had retired towards La Belle Alliance. To cover his retreat, which, had he effected it two hours sooner, might have saved the half of his army, he exposed the four regi- ments of the Old Guard {tphich were yet entire) :* but what could a handfril of brave men do against a victorious army, who had resisted the united efforts of almost the whole of his army ? They gallantly maintained themselves, yielding only foot by foot, until at length overwhelmed by numbers they were almost whoUy destroyed. The broken remains fell back into two squares {k) towards Rossomme. Napoleon was still retiring under the protection of the second, when the first previously broken by the fogitives was routed by the English cavaliy. There was then but one ciy, Save the Ea^le / Retreating at the same
* Vide French officer's anecdote, p. 217.
VBELD OF WAIEBLOO*
time, a group is formed around, and the Eagle is effectually saved by favour of the dusk of the evening ; it was that of the Chasseurs of the Guards. The div. of G. Pire, and other light cav. had been posted behind to restrain the fugitives, but in vain ; it was hurried along by the runaways, and confounded in the general mass. The crisis of the most dreadful defeat was come ; the decline of day increased ; the panic and terror spread itself in every possible direction ; the mai^ritl had disap- peared ; the army was no more !
There was nothing but a conflised mass, which rolled back like a torrent towards the Maison du Roi, to gain Genappe. Two hundred pieces of artilleiy, an immense maUnel^ a great number of prisoners, among whom many Generals, fell into the power of the conquerors. Prince Bliicher caused all his cavalry to advance. Gen. Gneisenau at their head, who closely pursued the enemy from bivouac to bivouac. The darkness and the confusion of this general rout alone prevented their complete destruction; a great number of prisoners, about 60 pieces of artillery, and the equipages of Napoleon {taken on the road and at Genappe,) increased the trophies of that memorable day. Through this pfle- mile Napoleon, followed by a part of his staff, escaped as by miracle I He repassed the Sambre at Gharleroi, 19tli of June, at b o'clock in the morning. Whilst the Prussian army was engaged in the pursuit of the enemy, the Allied British anny kept the field of battle, and fulfilled the noble task of taking care of the wounded; in this number was the Earl of Uxbridge, who had bis leg bhattered by ahnost the last ball which was fired, and unto whom every tribute is dae for his extreme braveiy and the influence of his daring example upon the troops. Such was the BATTTiE of Watertx>o, for ever memorable ! Its results are too generally known to be repeated. The loss of the French army is incalculable. The number of killed and wounded of the Alhed British army is estimated at about ld,000 men ; that of the Prussian army could scarcely amount to more than 8000 men. Honour and glory to the brave who have purchased, irith their life or their blood, the most splendid of victories !
FIKLD OF WATBBLOa
Descbihion of the Panoramic Sketch of the Field of
Waterloo.
These Sketches of the Field on which the glorious hattle of the 18th of June was fought were taken on the spot, from the summit of a peipendicnlar hank, im- medi'itely above the high road from Brussels to Genappe, in the firont of the centre of the British position. The First Plate represents the view as it appeared to the British army, when drawn up in order of battle on the morning of that memorable day, looking directly forward to the hamlet of La Belle Alliance, fig. 1 and 2 ; and the heights occupied by the French, fig. 8, 4, 5, and Plate 2, fig. 6. The Second Plate, taken fW)m the same spot, looking the contrary way, represents the ground occupied by the British, with the farm-house of La Haye Sainte, fig. 7, in front, and backed by the Forest of Soignies, fig. 8 and 9, Plate 2. Each plate form9 a semicircle, comprising the whole view which the eye can take in at once. The two plates join together at each end, as marked (A joining to A, and B join- ing to B), forming a complete circle or panoramic view of the Field of Battle. Every house, eveiy bush, every tree, every undulation, is distinctly copied from nature. There is not a spot on which the eye can rest that was not immortalised by some heroic deed of British valour, and scarcely a clod of earth that was not covered with the wounded and the dead bodies of our countrymen and their van- quished foes.
The ground on which the battle was fought cannot at most exceed two miles fiiom north to south, including the whole from the rear of the British to the rear of the French position. Vide Sketch, fig. 3, 4, 5, and 6 was the height occupied by the French ; and Plate 2, fig. 12, 13, 14, 15, the height occupied by the English. From east to west, from the extremity of the left to that of the right wing of the contending armies, is scarcely a mile and half in extent ; the smallness of the space on which they fought, and the consequent intermixture of the two armies, might have occasioned in some degree the sanguinary result of the battle. The British position crossed the road to Nivelles, which branches off to the right from Mont St. Jean {ue Plan of Ponition) ; and sloping along, passes behind the wood and ch&teau of Hougumont on the height, the most advanced post of the British army, fig. 11, Plate 2. In front, it occupied the farm of La Haye Sainte, fig. 7, Plate 2, extending to the left along the hedge, fig. 12, 13, 14, and 15, Plate 2, and a lane behind it, which was occupied by General Picton's division. Upon this height a considerable part of our artillery was placed ; but it was also dispersed in different parts of the field, and placed upon every little eminence, with great judg- ment and effect The cut eartli-bank, fig. 16, 17, 18, lU, 20, Plates 1 and 2, in front of the British position, represents a quiury on the opposite side of the road to La Haye Sainte, which was surrounded by cannon during the engagement. Fig. 21 and 22, Plate 2, a high perpendicular bank, cut down for the road or chaussee to pass through, along the top of which cannon wero planted. The chaussee or paved road from Brussels to Genappe, fig. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, Plates I and 2, which passes nearly through the centre of the position of both armies, pro- ceeding directiy forward from the village of Mont St. Jean, leaves the farm-house of La Haye Sainte, fig. 7, Plate 2, on the right, nearly in the hollow, and agiun ascends to La Belle Alliance (fig. 1, Plate 1), on the summit of the opposite hill, which, with the heights on each side, were occupied by the French. The French position was decidedly the best ; the eminence they occupied was higher, and the ascent steeper than ours, and better adapted both for attack and defence.
PART I.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAILS
llEUkTIVE TO
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO,
LIGNY, QUATRE BRAS,
4e. Jkc.
PART I.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAILS
RELATIVE TO THE
BATTLE OF WATERLOO,
CONTAININO ALSO
FURTHER PARTICULA.RS COLLECTED FROM THE COMMUNICATION AND CORRESPONDENCE OF SEVERAL OFFICERS OF RANK AND DISTINCTION,
ACTIVELY EMPLOYED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE FIELD OF ACTION ;
INCLUDINO
A FRENCH OFFICER'S DESCRIPTION,
WHO WAS AN EYE-WITNESS, ETC.
On the evening of Thursday, the 15th of June, an officer arrived at Brussels from Marshal Bliicher, to announce that hostilities had commenced. The Duke of Wellington was sitting after dinner, with a party of officers, over the dessert and wine, when he received the dispatches containing this unexpected news. Mar- shal Blucher had been attacked tnat day by the French; but he seemed to consider it as a meye affair of outposts, which was not likely to proceed much further at present, though it might pro- bably prove the prelude to a more important engagement* It was the opinion of most military men in Brussels, that it was the plan of the enemy by a false alann to induce the Allies to con-
• The first intelligence of the commencement of hostilities was known in London, at four o'clock on Tuesday afLemooPi June 20, 1815. {Vide Part II, note to OjjUcial Bulletin,) ' *•
B
2 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
centrate their chief military force in that quarter, in order that he mi^^ht more snccessAilly make a serious attack upon some other ]x>mt, and that it was against Brussels and the English army that the blow would be aimed. The troops were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment's notice : but no immediate movement was expected, and for some hours all was quiet.
It was past midnight, and profound repose seemed to reign over Brussels, when suddenly the arums beat to arms, and the trumpet's loud call was heard from every part of the city. It is impossible to describe the effect of these sounds, heard in the silence of the night We were not long left in doubt of the truth. A second officer had arrived from Bliicher :* the attack had become serious; the enemy were in considerable force ; they had taken Charleroi, and had gained some advantage over the Prussians, and our troops were ordered to march immediately to support them; instantly every place resounded with martial preparations. There was not a house in which military were not quartered, and, consequently, the whole town was one universal scene of bustle: the soldiers were seen assembling from all parts in the Place Royale, with their knapsacks upon their backs; some taking leave of their wives and children ; others sitting down unconcernedly upon the sharp pavement, waiting for their comrades ; others sleeping upon packs of straw, surrounded by all the din of war, wliile 6a^ norses and baggage-waggons were loading; artillery and conmiissariat trains harnessing, officers riding in all directions, carts clattering, chargers neighing, bugles sounding, drums beating, and colours flying.
A most laughable contrast to this martial scene was presented by a long procession of carts coming quietly in, as usual, from the comitry to market, filled with old Fleraisn women, who looked irresistibly comic, seated among their piles of cabbages, baskets of green peas, early potatoes, and strawberries, totally ignorant of the cause of all these warlike preparations, and gazing at the scene around them with many a look of gaping wonder, as they jogged merrily along, one after another, through the Place Royale, amidst the crowds of soldiers, and the confusion of baggage- waggons.
* The second officer arrived from Bliicher before 1 2 o'clock on the night of the 15th, and the dispatches were delivered to the Duke of Wellington in the ball-room of the Duchess of Richmond. While he was reading them, he seemed to be completely absorbed by their contents ; and after he had finished, for some minutes he remained in the same attitude of deep reflection, totally abstracted from every surrounding object, while his countenance was expressive of fixed and intense thought. He was heard to say to himself — *^ Marshal Bliicher thinks" — ^' It is Marshal Bliicher's opinion," — and after remaining thus a few minutes, and having apparently formed his decision, he gave his usual clear and concise orders to one of his staff officers, who instantly left the room, and was again as gay and animated as ever ; he staid supper, and then went home.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAILS. 3
Yet there was order amidst all this apparent confusion. Regi- ment after raiment formed with the utmost regularity^ and marched out of Brussels. About four o'clock in the mornings the 42d and 92d Highland regiments marched through the Place Rojale, and the Pare One could not but admire their fine appearance; their firm^ collected, steady, military demeanour, as they went rejoicing to battle, with tiieir bagpipes playing before them, and the beams of the rising sun shining upon their glitterii^ arms. Before that sun had set in night, how many of that galuuit band were laid low I They fought like heroes, and like heroes they fell — an honour to tneir country. On many a highland hill, and through many a lowland valley, long will the deeds of these brave men be fondly remembered, and their fate deeply deplored. Never did a finer body of men take the field — never did men march to battle that were destined to perform such services to their country, and to obtain such immortal renown I It was impossible to witness such a scene unmoved. Thousands were Darting with their nearest and dearest relations, and to every British heart it was a moment of the deepest interest Our coun- trymen were marching out to battle — they might return victorious —and we proudly indulged the hope of their triumph ; but they were going to meet an enemy formidable bv their nnmbers and their discipline ; commanded by a leader whose mihtary talents had made him the terror and the tyrant of Europe, and whose remorseless crimes and unbomided ambition had so long been its scourge. Not only was the safety of our brave army at stake, but the glory which Britain had so dearly purchased and so nobly won — her prosperity — her greatness — her name among other nations — the security and the fate of Europe, depended upon the issue of that eventftd contest, which was now on the eve of being decided.
Our troops, however, who had never known defeat, were confident of success, under the command of a general who had so lately led a victorious army from the shores of the Tbots, over the mountains of the Pyrenees, and carried conquest ana dismay into the heart of France ; under whom they had never fought but to conquer, and whom they now followed to battle as to certain victory. What could not British soldiers do under such a general ? What could not such a general do with such soldiers ? The Duke of Wellington himself, with a candour and modestv which does him the mghest honour, made an observation which ought never to be forgotten: — ■'^When other generals commit any error, their army is lost by it, and they are sure to be beaten ; when I get into a scrape, my army get me out of it."
Before eight in the morning the streets, which had been filled with busy crowds, were empty and silent ; the great Square of the Place Royale, which had been filled with armed men, and
4 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
with all the appurtenances and paraphernalia of war, was now quite clesertA^cL
The Flemish drivers were sleeping in the tilted carts that were (U»stintMl to convey the wounded — the heavy bagga<:^e-wagfrons, ran^wl in order and ready to move when occasion mi^ht require, were standing; under tlie guard of a few sentinels : some officers were still to he seen riding out of town to join the army. The Duke of Wellington had set otfin great spirits, observing, that as BlUcher had most likely settliHl the business himself by this time, he should ])erha])8 be back to dinner. Sir Thomas Picton mounted u[)on his charger, in soldier-like style, with his recon- noitring-ghuss slung across his shoulder, gaily accosting his friends as he rode through the streets, left Brusvsels in the highest spirits never to return. It was on this very morning that Nai>oleon Buonaparte made the boast, tliat to-morrow night he woula sleep at Lacken.**
After the army was gone, Brussels seemed indeed a perfect desert. Every countenance was marked with anxiety or me- lancholy—every heart filk»d with anxious ex[)ectation. It was not, however, supposed that any action would take place that day. What was then the general consternation, when about three o'clock a furious cannonading began! — It was certainly in the direction our army had taken — it came from Waterloo I Had our troops, then, encomitered the French before they had joined the Prussians? — Were they separately engaged? — Where? — When? — How? — In vain did every one ask questions which none could answer. Numbers of people in carriages and on horse- back set off towards Waterloo, and returned no wiser than they went, each bringing back a different story : a thousand absurd reports, totally devoid of foundation, were circulated ; what you were told one minute, was contradicted the next According to some, Bliicher had been completely beaten ; according to others, he had gained a complete victory; some would have it, that 30,000 French were left dead on the field of battle ; others, that about the same number were advancing to surprise Brussels. It was even said that the English army were retreating in confusion : but the l>earers of this piece of intelligence were received with so much indignation, and w^ith such perfect incredulity, that they were glad to hold their peace. Some said the scene of action was twenty miles off — others that it was only six. At length intelli- gence came from the army, brought by an officer who had left tne field after five o'clock. The British, in their march^ had
* A palace now belonging to the King of the Belgians, about three miles beyond BrusHels, on an elevated situation, surrounded by beautifiil grounds. It was fitted up with great magnificence by Louis Buonaparte, and Napoleon himRelf staid tliere in his progress through the Netherlands.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAILS. 5
encotmtered the enemy on the plains of Fleurus,* about fifteen miles from Brussels. The Highland reghnents received the furious onset of the whole French army, without yielding one inch of ground. With resolute imshaken valour they fought to the last, and fell upon the very spot where they first drew their swords. The combat was terrible; the enemy were in much more formidable force than had been represented, and deriving confidence from their immense superiority of numbers, they fought most furiously, Blucher i»as separately engaged with another division of French at some distance, and coulcl give us no assist- ance. Yet this brave handfal of British had undauntedly stood their ground, repulsed every attack, and were still fighting with the fiillest confidence of success. In the words of this officer, " all was well."
Still the cannonading continued, and apparently approached nearer.t The French were said to be 30,000 or 40,000 strong. Only 10,000 British troops had marched out of Brussels — our army was unconcentrated — it was impossible that the cavalry could have come up — the principal part of the artillery were at a distance. Under such circumstances it was impossible, even with the fullest confidence in British valour, not to feel extreme anxiety for the armv. Unable to rest, we wandered about the Pare the whole evemng, or stood upon the ramparts listening to the heavy cannonade, which towards 10 o'clock became fainter, and soon afterwards entirely died away.
No ftirther intelligence had arrived — the cannonade had con- tinued five hours since the last accounts came away. The anxiety to know the result of the battle may be imagined.
Between twelve and one, we suddenly heard the noise of the rapid rolling of heavy carriages, in long succession, passing through the rlace Royale, mingled with the loud cries and excla- mations of the people below. For some minutes we listened in silence, — faster ancl faster, and louder and louder, the long train of artillery continued to roll through the town ; the cries of the affrighted people increased. In some alarm we hastily ran out to inqinre the cause of this tumult : the first person we encountered was a scared fiUe-de-chambre, who exclaimed in a most piteous
tone — " les Frangois sont touts pres — dans une petite
demi-heure ils seront ici Que ferons-nous, que ferons-
nous ! il faut partir toute de suite." Questions were in
vain — she could only reiterate again and again, — " Les Francois sont touts pr^s," — and then renew her exclamations and lamentar tions. As we flew down stairs, the house seemed deserted, every
• The French were not destined to be a second time victorious on the plains of Fleurus. About the end of the seventeenth century a great battle was fought there, in which they completely defeated, instead of being defeated by, the Allies,
i Probably because in the stillness of evening it was heard more distinctly. There wa«» no real change of position.
6 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
room-door was open — the candles were left burning on the tables — every body had run out into the Place Royale, and the solitude and silence which reigned within formed a fearful contrast to the increasing tumult without At tlie bottom of the stairs a group of affiighted Belgians were assembled — consternation pictured on their faces. They could only tell us that intelligence had been brought of a large body of I* rench having been seen advancing through the woods to take Brussels, that they were within half-an- hour's march of the city f which was yholly undefended), and that the English army was in mil retreat " C'est trop vrai — c'est trop vrai," was repeated on every side ; " and the tram of artillery that was passing through (they said) was retreating!" We had soon, however, the satisfaction of being assured that the artillery were
|>assin^ through to Join the army, that they were not retreating, >ut advancing ; ana finding that the report of the French being within half-an-hour's march of the city rested only on the autho- ritv of some Belgians, our alarm gradually subsided ; some people indeed took their departure, but as the French did not make their appearance, some went to bed, and others lay down in their clothes, by no means assured that their slumbers might not be broken by the entrance of the French.
In fact, between five and six we were roused by a loud knocks ing at the door, and the cries of *' Les Francois sent ici ! Les Francois sont ici I'' Starting up, the first sight we beheld was a troop of Belgic cavalry, covered, not with glory, but with mud,* galloping through the town at full speed, as if the enemy were at their heels ; ana immediately the heavy baggage-waggons, which had been harnessed from the moment of the nrst alarm, set off frdl gallop down La Montague de la Cour, and through every street by which it was possible to effect their escape. In less than two minutes the great square of the Place Royale, which had been crowded with men and horses, carts and baggage-waggons, was completely cleared of every thing, and entirely aesertedi Again were the cries repeated of " Les Fran5ois sont ici I — lis s'empa- rent de la porte de la villel" The doors of all the bed-rooms w^ere thrown open, the people fiew out with their nightcaps on, scarcely half dressed, and looking quite distracted, running about pale and trembling they knew not whither, with packages under their arms — some carrying huge heterogeneous collections of things down to the cellars, and others loaded with their property flying up to the garrets. The poor fiUe-de-chambre, nearly frightened out of her wits, was standing wringing her hands, un- able to articulate any thing but " Les Francois ! les Francois I — while the cuisiniire exclaimed with more dignity, ^* Nous somimes tous perdus I"
* " L'Oracle de BnuLcUes" said, that the Belgic troops had ** covered them- selves with glory."
CIRCUHSTANTIAL DETAILS 7
In the court-yard below, a scene of the most dreadM con- fusion ensued ; description can give but a faint idea of the scuffle that took place to get at the horses and carriages ; the squabbling of masters and servants, ostlers, chambermaids, coachmen, and gentlemen, all scolding at once, and swearing in French, English, and Flemish ; while every opprobrious epithet and figure of speech which the three languages contained were exhausted upon each other, and the confusion of tongues could scarcely have been exceeded by that of the Tower of Babel. Some made use of sup- plication, and others had recourse to force ; words were followed by blows. One half of the Belgic drivers refused either to go tliemselves or let their beasts go, and with many gesticulations called upon all the saints and angels in heaven to witness that they would not set out — no, not to save the Prince of Orange himself; and neither love nor money, nor threats nor entreaties, could induce them to alter this determination. Those who had horses, or means of procuring them, set off with most astonishing expedition, and one English carriage aflter another took the road to Antwerp. *
It was impossible for the people at Brussels, who were wholly mnorant of the event of the oattle, and acquainted only with the disadvantageous circumstances under which it had been fought, not to fear that the enemy might at last have succeeded in break- ing through the British, or at least tlie Prussian lines, or that Buonaparte, ever fertile in expedients, might have contrived to elude their vigilance, and to send a detachment under cover of night, by a circuitous route, to seize the unguarded city, the pos- session of which was to him of the highest importance. The news of the advance of the French — the alarming reports which had been brought in from all quarters during the night — the flight of the Belgic troops, and above all, the railure of any intelligence from our own army, tended to corroborate this last alarm, and it seemed but too certain that the enemy were actually at hand. At length, after a considerable interval of terror and suspense, an sude-de-camp of the Duke of Wellington arrived, who had left the army at four o'clock, and, to our unspeakable joy, this was found to be a false alarm. It had been spread by those dastardly Bel- gians whom we had seen scampering through the town, and who had, it is supposed, met with some straggling party of the enemy. It was also said, that a foraging party oi French had come brava- doing to the gates of the city, summoning it to surrender. A con- siderable number of French, indeed, entered the town soon after ; but they were French prisoners.* The Duke's aide-de-camp
* The French acknowledge their loss was nearly equal to ours, and, heavy as ours was, theirs was much more severe. Colonels Dnmoulin and Cambac^res, aides-de-camp to Buonaparte, arrived at Brussels as prisoners and wounded, on the morning of the 17th.-^J?</t7or.
8 BATTLE OF WATBBIXX).
brouirht the welcome information that the British army, though attacKed by such a tremendous superiority of numbers, and under every possible disadvantage, had completely repulsed the enemy, and remained masters of the field of battle. The cavalry, or at least a considerable part of them, had come up at the close of the action, but too late to take any part in it : thus our infantry had sustained, during the whole of the day, the attack of the enemy's cavalry as well as infantry.
The Duke expected that the attack would be renewed this morning ; but the anny was now collected, and joined both by the cavalry and artillery, and a more decisive engagement might be expected. The loss of tlie enemy in killed, wounded, and .pri- soners had been great The defeat w^hich the Prussians had sus- tained could not, however, be concealed,* and the Belgians were filled with consternation and dismay. The corpse of the Duke of Brmiswick had passed through Brussels during the night, and his fate seemed to make a great impression upon the minds of die people-t Waggons filled with the wounded began to arrive, and the melancholy spectacle of these poor sufferers increased the general despondency. The streets were filled with the most piti- able sights. We saw a Belgic soldier dying at the door of his own home, and surrounded by liis relatives, wno were weeping over him; numerous were the sOrrowfiil groups standing round the dead bodies of those who had died of their wounds in the way home. Numbers of wounded, who were able to walk, were wan- dering upon every road ; their blood-stained clothes and pale, hag- gard countenances, perhaps, giving the idea of sufferings even greater than the reality.
It is well known that on the forenoon of this day (Saturday), the Duke of Wellington fell back about seven miles, upon Waterloo, in order to take up a position more favourable for the cavalry, and from which he could keep up the communication with Marshal Bliicher, who had retreated upon Wavre.
Never was there a more masterly or successful manoeuvre. By superior generalship, every plan of the enemy was baffled;
♦ The war took a most ferocious character between the French and Priifssians from the very beginning. Before the opening of the campaign, the Ist and 2d corps of tlie French had hoisted the black flag. They openly avowed that they would give no quarter to the Prussians, and in general they kept thejr word. The Prussian loss, in all the aiTairs together, is calculated at 33,120 men. — Editor.
+ In the spirit of the days of chivalry, the Duke of Brunswick had taken a soU'mu oath that he would never sheath the sword till he had avenged the insult olfered to the tomb of his father. It is to be lamented that he should have fallen without the satisfaction of knowing how full and glorious was the revenge for which he panted. The sincerity of the sorrow which, even in a moment of such universal consternation, was everywhere testified for his loss, afibrds the highest eulogium on his virtues. Peace to his ashes ! His death has been honored by the l>cst funeral oration — the lamentations of the people. A sketch of his l\fe ti'jil bf/aiind at the end of (his voiume.
CIKCIJMSTANTIAL DETAILS, 9
although constantly on the watch, he never had it in his power to attack our retreating army to the smallest advantage. The con- fession escaped from Napoleon himself, that it was on his part "a day of fahe maruxuvresJ* In the meantime it is impossible to describe the panic that the news of this retreat spread at Brussels. Nobody could convince the Belgians that a retreat and a flight were not one and the same thing ; and, firmly con^-inced that the £nglish had been defeated, they fiilly expected every moment to see them enter Brussels in the utmost confusion, with the French after them : even the English themselves, who had the most un- bounded confidence in the British army and its commanders, and who were certain that if they retreated it would be with good order, steady discipline, and undaunted courage, began to fear that the immense superiority of the enemy had made the Duke judge it prudent to fall back until joined by fresh reinforcements.
There is a mistaken idea in this country, that the French, that even Napoleon Buonaparte himself, was popular in Belgium. This was a moment when Hypocrisy itself would have found it im- ])ossible to dissemble ; and the dismay which reigned upon every tiice, and the terror which filled every town and village, when it was believed that the French were victorious — the execrations with which their very names were uttered — the curses, "not loud but deep,** half repressed by fear, betrayed how rooted and sincere was their hatred of the tyranny from which they had so recently escaped. There may be miscreants* of all ranks in Belgium, as in other countries, whom the hope of plunder and the temptations of ambition wiU bring over to any party, where these can be ob- tained ; but by the great body of the nation, from the highest to the lowest, the French government is abhorred, and Napoleon him- self is r^axded with a detestation, the strength of which we can form no idea of in this country. Their very infants are taught to lisp these sentiments, and to regard him as a monster.
It would be endless to dwell upon every fresh panic. An open town like Brussels, within a few miles of contending armies, is subject to perpetual alarms, and scarcely an hour passed without some false reports occurring to spread general terror and confii- sion. Every hour only served to add to the dismay. So great
* Among his papers taken after the Battle of Waterloo was a list of eighty inliabitants of Brussels, whose persons and property were to he respected by the French amiy on its entrance into that city. Among these was a Flemish Noble- man, wlio had prepared a splendid supper for Buonaparte on the 18th. Of the reutaiuiitir, several of them had also prepared one for his principal officers. Of this junto, the nobleman who was to have been Buonaparte's host has fled. The others remained at Brussels on Saturday, apparently without fear, although it is well known that the King of the Netherlands is in possession of the list. It is (iKo certain, that several Proclamations were found among the papers of Buona- part*^, a(.l(lrcsscd from Brussels, Lacken, &c., all prepared in confident expectation "t* hiN ?;nccc*»s on the 18th, the capture of Brussels, and his irruption into Flanders jnul Holland. — Jitlilor.
10 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
was the alann in Brussels on Saturday evening, that one hundred ni^Ieons were offered in vain for a pair of horses to go to Antwerp, a distance of nearly thirty miles; and numbers set off on foot, and embarked m boats upon the canaL In the afternoon, a violent thunder-storm came on, followed by torrents of rain, which during the whole of the night, when the army were lying unsheltered upon the field of Watenoo, never ceased a single moment On Sunday the terror and confiision reached its highest point News arrived of the French having ^uned a complete victory, and it was universally believed. A dreadful panic had seized the men left in charge of the baggage in the rear of the army, and they ran away with a rapidity that could not have been surpassed even by the French themselves. The road between Waterloo and Brussels, which lies through the Forest of Soignies, is completely confined on either side by trees ; it was soon choked up; those behind attempted to get past those before — officers' servants were struggling to secure theu* masters' baggage — panic- stricken people forcing weir way over every obstacle, with the des- peration of fear, — and a complete scuffle ensued, which might really be called a battle burlesqued, in which numbers of horses were killed, and some lives lost, not to mention the innumerable broken heads and black bruises sustained on the occasion.
The road was covered with broken and overturned waggons — heaps of abandoned baggage — dead horses, and terrified people. In some places, horses, waggons, and all, were driven over lugh banks by the road side, in order to clear a passage. The quantity of rain that had fallen, of itself made the roads nearly impassable, and it was impossible for the wounded to be brought irom the field. Certainly these Waterloo Men who came flying into Brussels on Sunday, did not cut a very glorious figure I
At Antwerp, though more distant from the scene of action, the consternation was nearly as great Long rows of carriages lined the streets, filled with fugitives, who could find no place of shelter; and people of rank and fortune were glad to eat and sleep in one and the same miserable hole, which at any other time they would have disdained to have entered. So great was the imiversal anxiety, that during the whole of SunoEiy, though the rain was almost incessant, the great Place de Maire was crowded with people, who stood from morning until night, under umbrellas, nnpatiently watching the arrivfiJ of news firom the army, and assailing everybody who entered the town with fruitless in- quiries.
Our persons indeed, and our outward senses, might be in Antwerp or Brussels, but our whole hearts and souls were with the army. One common interest bound together all ranks and conditions of men. All other subjects, all other considerations, were forgotten — all distinctions were levelled — all common forms
CmCUMSTANTUL DETAILS. 1 1
thrown aside and neglected, — ladies accosted men they had never seen before with eager questions; no preface — no apology — no ceremony was thought of — strangers conversed together like friends — all ranks of people addressed each other without hesita- tion— everybody seeking — everybody giving information — and English reserve seemed no lon^r to exist.
It is impossible to imagine ike strong overpowering anxiety of being so near such eventful scenes, without being able to learn what is really passing. To know tliat within a few miles such an a¥rful contest is decimng — to hear even the distant voice of war — to think that in the roar of every cannon your brave country- men are fidling, bleeding, and dying — ^to dread that your friends, even those dearest to you, may be me victims — ^to endure the long and protracted suspense — the constant agitation — the varying reports — the incessant alarms — the fluctuatmg hopes, and doubts, and fears — no — none but those who have felt what it is can con- ceive or understand it
This state of susp^ise had lasted three days ; continual vague and contradictory reports, and rumours of evil, were brought in, during the whole of Sunday, which only served to increase the general anxie^. At length, between nine and ten in the evening, some woundea British officers arrived on horseback from the field, bringing the dreadful news that the battle was lost, and that Brussels was actually in the possession of the French I This was corroborated by frigitives from Brussels, who affirmed they had seen the French in the town ; and one gentleman declared he had been pursued by them, half way to Malmes. It was even asserted that the French had entered Malines : later accounts tended to confirm these disastrous tidings, and Antwerp was filled with con- sternation and dismay. Many people set off for Holland, thinking Antwerp no longer safe. I'hrough the whole night, carriages fiUed with the woimded — heavy waggons loaded with military stores — trains of artillery and ammunition — Hanseatic troops to garrison it, in case of a siege, continued to pour into the town. It was th^i, when fear abnost amounted to certainty, when suspense had ended in despair, afler a ni^ht of misery, that the great, the glorious news burst upcHi us — that the Allies had gained a com-
Elete victory; that the French — defeated — routed — dispersed— ad fled from the field of battle — pursued by our conquering troops. No words can describe the feelings of that moment — no eloquence can paint the transport which filled every breast and brought tears into every eye. An express arrived at eight in the morning, bringing a bulletin to Laay Fitzroy Somerset, dated from Waterloo the preceding night, merely containing a brief accoimt of the victory. The tumults, the acclamations, the re- joicings which ensued — the voluble joy of the Belgians, the more silent neartfelt thankMness of the British, the contending feelings
12 BATTLE OF WATEfiLOO.
of triumph, pity, sorrow, anxiety gratitude, and admiration, may be conceived, but cannot be described. A party of wounded Highlanders, who had found their way on foot from the field of battle, no sooner heard the news, than, regardless of their suffer- ings, they began to shout and huzza with the most vociferous demonstrations of joy ; and those who had the use of their arms, threw tiieir Highland bonnets into the air, calling out in broad Scotch, " Boney's beat 1 — Boney's beat 1 — huzza 1 — huzza ! — Bone>''8 beat ! "
The ground on which the battle was fought cannot at most exceed two miles from north to south, including the whole from the rear of the British to the rear of the French ix>siti()n. From east to west, from the extremity of the left to that of the right wing of the contending armies, is scarcely a mile and a half in extent ;* the smallness of the space on which they fought, and the consequent intermixture of tlie two armies, might have occasioned in some degree the sanguinary result of the battle. The French
S>sition was decidedly the best ; the eminence they occupied was igher, and the ascent steeper than ours, and better adapted both for attack and defence. The battle took place at some distance from the \Hillage of Waterloo, which is situated behind the skirts of the Forest of Soignies, and is not seen from the field It was occupied on Saturday, the night preceding the battle, by the Duke of Wellington, the principal officers of his staffs, the Prince of Orange, Lord Uxbridge, Sir Thomas Picton, Sir William DeLan- cey, ana other general officers : their names, written in chalk, were yet visible on the doors of the cottages in which they slept After die battle, those houses were filled with the most severely wounded of the British officers, many of whom died and are buried there.
The following is an accurate statement of the combined British, Hanoverian, Gennan, and Belgic army, under the command of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, K-G. and K.G.C.B., ii])on the authority of returns made from the army serWng in Flanders to the Adjutant-generaFs Office, dated May 25, 1816.
Infantr)', T^ritish 17,^16
Do. Kinjj's German Legion 3,«M)
Do. Hanoverians 9,312
Total Infantry .... 30,S()S
Cavalry, British 5,045
Do. King's German Lopion 2,*274
Do. Hanoverians, Kstorlf's Brigade .... 1,135
Total Cavalry .... 9,354
Artillery and Engineers 5,434
German ditto G25 6,&')a
Total British, Germans, and Hanoverians . . 4(i,-4*^>l
* 'Vhv {^(jund had n(»t been measured; this computAtion is merely intended to give an idi a <»f its ixtent : it d<His not pr«»fess to be conreet.
^w
|
*.' |
1 |
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|
s |
||
|
■K |
vj |
^ |
|
V |
||
|
^ |
I |
1 |
i '^ -^
CIBCVMSTANTUL DSTAILS.
13
Brought over . •iO.Q^l
Bninawicker^, estimatod at 8,()00
Belgian and Nassau Troops, estimated at 14,000
Total of Troops in the line of operation at Qaatre Bras or Waterloo 08,221
In Ohservalion, In Line . . . 46^21 Five British Kegiments 2,554
In Observation . . 5,819 6th Hanoverian Brigade 2,778
2d Hussars, K.G.L. 4H7
Total in British Pay . 62,040 5,819
Total Army opposed to the French
. 74,040
The French Army amounted to 130,000; and after the losses of the 15th and 16th, and tlie detachment of two coqos under Marshal Grouchy, there must have remauied at least 90,000 men, with which Napoleon took the field on the 18th of June; while, after allowing for our own losses on the 16th, which were very serious, it must appear there was a great disparagement in regard to numbers, as it appears from the above statement, which is founded upon the latest returns to the Horse Gruards, previous to the battles of the 16th and 18th, that our extreme force, British and German, was 46,221 men, under the Duke of Wellington, to which add 22,000 for Brunswickers and Dutch, together not ex- ceeding 68,221 ttieiL The English, Germans, and Hanoverians were divided into two corps d'arm^e.
lu Corps — Gen. Prince of Oiunoe, K.O.C B.
Divitions. *
Brigade t.
iBt, Mj^.-Oen. f 1 Br. B. M%j.-0. P. Maitland Qttyrst Cooke. \ % Do. MivJ--Gen. Sir J. Byng
Sd, Lt.-0«n. JSaronSir C. Alim, K.C.B.
2d, Lt.-Gen.
Sir H. Clinton,
K.G.C.B.
5 Br. B. M.-G. Sir C. Halket
1 Br. K.G.L. G. B. Ompteda
, 1 Han. B. Col. Kielmansegge
Regiments.
Gds. l&3Bat. IstHt. Do. 2 Bat 2 (X; 3 Rt.
dOth, d3d, 69th, 73d, b, 8 line, 1, 2, Lt. Inf. Duke of York, &c.
2d Corps, — Lt.-Gen. Lord Hill, K.G.C.B.
I
3 Brit. Brig. M^j. Gen. F. Adam 1 Do. K.G.L. M.-Gen. Du Plat
.3 Hanov. Brig. Col. B. Halket
4 Brit. Brig. Colonel Mitchell
4th, Lt.-Gl. Sir . 6 Do. Major-General Johnston a Colviiu. 1^6 j£an. Brig. M^i..Gen. Lyon
6th, Lt.-Gl. Sir f ^ Brit. Brig. M.-G. Sir J. Kempt ThoM. Picton, • 9 Do. Miy.-Gen. Sir Denis Pack K.G.C.B. ^ 5 Hanoverian Brigade, Col. Vinke
' lOBrit. Br. M.Gen. Sir J.Lambert 4 Hanoterian Brigade, Col. Best
6th,-
In Garrison. )
,7 Bt. Brig. M.-Gen. Mackenzie i
Total Infantry
52d, 71st, 05th, 1st, 2d,3d, <S:4th K.G.L. . . . . . .
14th, 23d, 51st,
d5th||,54th||,59th||,91st|| 11 . . • . • •
28th, 32d, 79th, 9dth, 1st, 42d, 44th, g2d
• • • • • «
4th, 27tli, 40th, 81st||, Jjimelburg,
25th|l, 87th||, 78th||,
Idth V.B.It, l8tF.V3||.
Men,^
2054 2074
2322 1901 2472
2617 1979 2285
1761 2153 2778
2502 2275 2260
2412 2345
36,140
* The 1st, 2d, 8d, and 4th divisions were on the right, the 5th and 6th on the left of the Genappe road.
f The effective force of each regiment will be given in a future part.
\ This division was employed as a corps of observation, and was not therefore in action on the 18th of June, excepting Colonel Mitchell's brip:ade, which was on the left of this division. || Not in the Battle of Waterloo.
14
BATTLE OF WATBBJjOa
Cataijit. CammtMied bp Lt.-Oeh. Earl or Uxbbidob, K.O.C.B.
{
1. M^.-Oeii. Lord Edward Somerset
2. Miu.-Oen. Sir W. Ponsonby .
3. Mig.-06n. Count Sir W. Domberg
4. Mig.-Gen. Sir Ormsby Vandeleur 6. M^.-OeD. Sir Colquhoan Grant
6. Mig.-Gen. Sir R. Hussey Vivian
7. Col. B. SirF. de Arentschildt Col. Estorff, Prince Regent, and Bremen Ver-
dnn, and Cumb. Hus.*
1^2 Life Grds. Hone GdB.Blae, IDrag.Gds. Ist, 2d, 6th Dragoons 23 L. D. 1 & 2 K. G. L. 11,12, 16, Lt Drag. 7,ldHii8.2ijH. K.G.L. 10, ISHos. IH. K.G.L. IdLtDiag.SH. K.G.L.
1 1227
1183 1413 1187 1262 1404 10:)0
}
113d
Total Cavaliy . 9,841
Artilleiy, 5ce. 5,434
0( rman ditto 62A
Infantry, as above enomerated 36,140
Total of British, German, and Hanorerian Army in Flan- )
includes those in Observation, &o f 52,040
The EMoncsBM were under the command of Col. Smyth.
ARTZLLBBY.f — Commanded by Sir G. Wood, consisted of 21 brigades, viz.—
HoBSB Abtillbst, Commanded hp Bir An^ituM Frazer,
With the Earl of Uxbridge British . . 6
With the Infantry in Reserve, under the immediate | British . . 2 direction of the Duke \ German Artil. 2
niFAMTBT BBIOADSS,
With the several Divisions of the Army
Companies,
rBritish . . 7 < German . . 1 (.Hanoverian . 2
Total Field Artillery in Action 18-pounders in Reserve
Brigaiet, . 20 . 1
Pieees,
120 4
On their Passage Arom Ireland 18-pounders, equipping in the Netherlands
Total 21 124
2 12
2 8
Total 25
144
" Never was the overthrow of a great armv so complete. Of 40,000 cavaliy, not 10,000 returned capable of service; and of an immense artillery, only 12 pieces were saved."
The road from Brussels to Genappe passes through the little village of Mont St Jean, firom which tne French h»ve named the battle, and which was occupied by the British during the whole of the day ; and repeatedly and furiously, though ineffectually, at- tacked by the enemy. Coimt D'Erlon headed a desperate attack against it, which was repulsed by the British army; and Napoleon Buonaparte, in his own account of the batde, declares he was on the pomt of leading a general charge of the whole French army
* This regiment ran away.
f The names of eaeh officer of the several arms of service will be found in the Appendix.
CHRCmCSTANTIAL DETAILS. 15
against it in person, at the very moment when the general charge of the British army and their Allies took place, which obliged him to lead it in the opposite direction. All the inhabitants had fled from this village previous to the action, and even Waterloo was deserted ; but in a farm-house, at the end of the village nearest the field, one solitary woman remained during the whole of the day, shut up in a garret from which . she could see nothing, and without any means of gaining information of what was passing, while they were fighting man to man and sword to sword at the verjr doors; while sheUs were bursting in at the windows, and while the cannon-balls were breaking through the wooden gates into the farm-yard, and striking against the walls of the house. This woman was the farmer's wife ; and when asked her motives for this extraordinary conduct, she replied with great simplicity, that she had a great many cows and calves, and poultry, and pigs, — that all she had in the world was there ; and that she thought, if she did not stay to take care of them, they would all be de- stroyed or carried off. The three rooms in tne lower part of the house, nay, even the stables and cow-houses, were filled with wounded British officers, among whom wei*e Major-general Cooke, Lieut-colonel Cameron of the 79th, Major Llewellyn of the 28th Regiment, and many others, who had particularly dis- tinguished themselves by their conduct in the field. The British position crossed the road to Nivelles, which branches off to the right, firom Mont St Jean (see Plan of Position) ; and sloping along, passes behind the wood and chateau of Hougoumont on the height, the most advanced post of the British army. Li firont, it occupied the farm of La Sainte Haye, extending to the left along uie hedge, and a lane behind it, which was occupied by General Picton's division. Upon this height a considerable part of our artillery was placed ; but it was also dispersed in different parts of the field, and placed upon every little eminence, with ^reat judgment and effect The chauss^, or paved road, from Brussels to Genappe, which passes nearly through the centre of the position of both armies, proceeding directly forward from the village of Mont St Jean, leaves the farm-house of La Have Sainte on the right, nearly in the hollow, and again ascends to La Belle Alliance, on the summit of the opposite hDl, which, with the heights on each side, were occupied by the French. This cele- brated spot is a small farm-house on the left side of the road, pierced tnrough in every direction with cannon-ball. The offices behind it are now a heap of ruins, from the fire of the British artillery. Numbers of wounded French officers crawled in here the night after the battle, and on the morning of the 19th. it was filled with the dead and dying. A little cottage on the opposite side of the road is also called La Belle Alliance, and forms a part of the hamlet It was here that Napoleon Buonaparte stood in
16 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
the proud confidence of success, after dispatcliing a courier to Paris with intelligence that the battle was won ; it was here, a few- hours afterwards, when the battle was really won, that Lord Wel- lington and Marshal BlUcher accidentally met, in the very moment when Napoleon, foremost in the flight, and followed by his panic- stricken army, was driven along by their victorious troops.
After some skirmishing between the piquets, the French com- menced the engagement about ten o'clock, wi^ a ftirious attack upon the post at the wood and garden of Chateau Hougoumont, wnich was occupied by General Byng's brigade of Guards. It was a point of particular importance to the enemy to gain this post, as, from its situation, it commanded a considerable |)art of our position ; and accordingly it was furiously and incessantly assailed by large and reinforced bodies of the enemy, and gal- lantly and successfully defended to the last by the British. Napoleon himself directed the charge of the French Imperial Guards against it; but, even though fighting under the imme- diate eye of their leader, they were oroken, repulsed, and finally cut to pieces by the British Guards. Thirty pieces of our artillery played continually over this wood, to assist its defence, while the enemy directed against it their hottest fire. ( Vide letters from Officers in the Guardsy and General AlavcHs Spanish official ac- count)
Every tree in the wood of Hougoumont is pierced with balls ; in one alone I counted the holes where upwards of thirty had lodged : but the strokes which were fatal to human life have scarcely injured them; though their trunks are filled with balls, and their branches broken and destroyed, their verdure is still the same. Wild flowers are still blooming, and wild raspberries ripening beneath their shade ; while huge black piles of human asnes, dreadfullv offensive in smell, are all that now I'emain of the heroes who fought and fell upon this fatal spot Beside some graves, at the outskirts of this wood, the htde wild flower, " Forget-me-not," (Myosoiis arvensis), was blooming, and the flaring red poppy had already sprung up around, and even upon them, as if in mockery of me dead. The chateau itself, upon which the attack was first made by the French, now in ruins, is immediately behind the wood, by the side of the road to Nivelles. It was the beautiful country-seat of a Belgic gentleman, and was actually set on fire by shells during the action, which completed the destruction occasioned by the cannonade. In the ^urden behind the house, the roses, orange-trees, and geraniums, were still flowering in beauty, and the fig-tree ana the pear-tree bearing their fruits — a melancholy contrast to the ruined house, whose mouldering piles were still smoking, and to the scene of desolation around.
The poor countryman, who with his wife and infant family
\
■^
s^
'" l
V
vt
CUtCFHSTAmnAL DETAIia. 17
inhabited a miserable shed amongst the deserted ruins^ pointed out with superstitious reverence the little chapel belonging to the chiteauy wmch alone stood uninjured in the midst of these blackened walls and falling beams. There was something in- expressibly striking in the almost miraculous preservation of this simple sanctuary of piety^ which the flames of war, and the hand of rapine, had alike spared; and it was affecting to see standing on the spot, still reeking with himian blood, and heaped with the dreadful and yet undecayed remains of mortality, the sacred altar of that blessed religion, which proclaimed " Peace on earth," and dispelled the horrors of death by the assurance of inmiortality.
A more moumAil scene than this ruined ch&teau and wood presented, cannot possibly be imagined. Even when the heaps of dead were reduced to ashes, — the broken swords, shattered helmets^ torn epaulets, and sabre-tashes bathed in blood, told too plainly the deadly strife that had taken place ; and the mournful reflection could not be repressed, that the glory which Britain had gained upon this spot was purchased by the blood of some of her noblest sons.
Here the standards of the InvincibleSf inscribed with the names of Jena, AusterUtz, Wagram, and Friedland, were wrested from them. The Scots Greys took one of the French eagles; and Francis Stiles, a corporal in the 1st Royal Dragoons, took an- other.*
* Extract of a Letter from Serjeant Ewart, of the Scots Greys {since appointed to an Ensigncy in the Veteran Battalion) ^ who took a French Eagle, dated Rouenj July 18, 1815: — '* The enemy began forming their line of battle about nine in the morning of the 18th ; we did not commence till ten. I think it was about eleven when we were ready to receive them. They began upon our right with the moBt tremendous firing that ever was heard, and I can assure you, they got it as hot as they gave it ; then it came down to the left, where they were received by our brave Highlanders. No men could ever behave better: our brigade of cavalry covered them. Owing to a column of foreign troops giving way, onr brigade was forced to advance to the support of our brave fellows, and which we certainly did in style ; we charged through two of their columns, each about 9000 ; it was in the first charge I took the eagle from the enemy : he and I had a hard contest for it; he thrust for my groin — I parried it off, and cut him through the head ; after which I was attacked by one of their Lancers, who threw his lance at me, but missed the mark, by my throwing it off with my sword by my right side : then I cut him from the chin upwards, which went through his teeth ; next I was attacked by a foot soldier, who, after firing at me, charged me with his bayonet — but he very soon lost the combat, for I pained it, and cut him down through the head ; so that finished the contest for the eagle. After which I presum^ to follow my comrades, eagle and all, but was stopped by the General saying to me, ' You brave fellow, ti^e that to the rear : you have done enough until you get quit of it;' which I was obliged to do, but with great reluctance. I retired to a height, and stood there for upwards of an hour, which gave a general view of the field ; but I cannot express the horrors I beheld : Uie bodies of my brave comrades were lying so thick upon the field, that it was scarcely possible to pass, and horses innumerable. I took the eagle into Brussels, amidst the acclamations of thousands of the spectators who saw it." — Editor,
The eagles taken belonged to the 4dth and lOt'^th Begiments, and were
0
18 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
Here the brave, the lamented Sir W. Ponsonby fell, leading on his men to victory and glory.
The grief of his country and friends for his loss, will be aggra- vated by the knowledge that it is to be attributed as much to the fault of his horse as to his too ardent courage, which carried Imn, alone and unsupported, into the midst of his enemies ; the acxx>unt that has been given of the death of this pliant oflScer is perfectly correct He led his brigade against the Polish Lancers, checked at once their destructive charges against the British in£EUitry, and took 2000 prisoners ; but havmg pushed on at some distance from his troops, accompanied only by one aide-de-camp, he entered a newly-ploughed field, where the ground was excessively soft. Here his horse stuck, and was utterly incapable of extricating himself. At this instant, a body of Lancers approached him at ftjl speed. Sir William saw that his fate was inevitable. He took out a pictiu*e and his watch, and was in the act of giving them to his aide-de-camp to deliver to his wife and family, when the Lancers came up : they were both killed on the spot* His
superbly gilt and ornamented with gold fringe. That of the 4dth was iaseribed with the names of Jena, Ansterlitz, Wagram, Eylaa, Friedland, &c., being the battles in which this regiment, called the Invincibles, had signalised it«elf. The other was a present froui Louisa to the lOdth Eegiment. One was much defaced with blood and dirt, as if it had been struggled for, and the eagle was also broken oflf from the pole, as if from the cut of a sabre, but it was neverthe- less preserved. It is worthy of obsen'ation, that the eagles taken were only given to their respective regiments at the Champ de Mai, On the 1st of June, Uiey glittered over the heads of the vain Parisians, amid cries of " Vive VEm~ pereur /*' — Editor,
The life Guards, the foremost in this important battle, by their physical power and courage, appalled the veteran enemy, although clad in mail, and in possession of that high mind {ffrande pens^e) which devoted them to honour and the country. OftiBn, in the conflict of " La Belle Alliance" did the Earl of Uxbridge turn his eye towards them, exclaiming, '* Now for the honour of the Household Troops;" and as often was his Lordship solaced by the brightest effects of glory under his eye. {Tide Extract of a Letter from an Officer in the Horse Guards.) — Editor,
Captain Kelly, of the Life Guards, encountered and killed the Colonel of the Ist regiment of French Cuirassiers, in the battle of the I8th : after which he stripped the vanijuished of his epaulets, and carried them as a trophy.
One man is known to have had three horses shot, and taken prisoner; but being rescued by Light Di*agoons, returned and remounted to the charge.
Shaw, in the Horse Guards, of pugilistic fame, was fighting seven or eight hours, dealing destruction to all around him ; at one time he was attacked br six of the French Imperial Guard, four of whom he killed, but at last fell by the remaining two. A comrade, who was by his side a great part of the day, and who is the relater of this anecdote, noticed one particular cut, which drove through. his opponent's helmet, and with it cut nearly the whole of his face at the stroke, — Editor.
* It is not the only instance of the coolness and bravery of that family in the field of battle. The Hon. Me^or- General Ponsonby, who fell in the battle of Fontenoy, in the year 1745, at the head of his regiment, was also in the act of bestowing his ring and watch on his son Brabazon, who was his aide-de-camp, when a cannon-ball struck him dead. We have been favoured with this fact by the great-grandson of the General. The watx'h and ring are still in possession of the family, and preserved with great veneration. — Editor,
CIBCUIISTANTIAL DETAILS. 19
body was found, lying beside his horse, pierced with seven lance wounds ; but he did not fall unrevenged. Before the day was ended, the Polish Lancers were almost entirely cut to pieces by the brigade which this officer had led against them.
There is a considerable space] of ground, and a deep dell, between the observatory and Hougoumont The peasant * who had served Napoleon as a guide the preceding day, was with him during the principal part of the battle ; and from him we learnt that he o^n expressed surprise that the Belgic troops did not come over to him. Wherever the French encountered them, by his orders they called to them to join, and not to fight against dieir Emperor. He had formed the idea of arming the Belgic peasantry, and a considerable d^pot of muskets was at Lisle for that purpose. Before the engagement began he addressed a short speech to the soldiers, whicE was received with enthusiasm, promising them that Brussels and Ghent should be given up to plunder for three hourSf according to some accounts — to others, for three days. He is reported to have said, ** These English fight well, but they must
five way soon ;" and asked Sotdt if he " did not think so ?" oult said, ^^ that he much doubted whether they would ever give way.** ** And why ?" said Kapoleon, with his usual quickness. Soult replied : " he believed they would sooner be cut to pieces.'* Still Napoleon seemed to entertain the fullest confidence of victory, and at six o'clock jocularly observed '^ that they should arrive at Brussels in good time for supper."
Soon after, the Prussians advanced from the wood at the bottom of the ravine, passing the little hamlet in the hollow, and advancing up the heights, to the right flank and rear of the French position. At first he would not credit it ; he angrily exclaimed, « they were his own troops— they were French reinforcements advancing under Grrouchy and Vandamme :" but when the truth was forced upon him, when he perceived that they were really Prussians, his coimtenance changed, he turned pale, and faltered in his speech; and when he saw the impetuous charge of the AUies, and the confusion and discomfiture of his own troops, his alarm became extreme, and exclaiming, **Tout est perdu 1" he precipitately galloped from the field. It is, I believe, bevond a doubt that he was one of the first to set the example of fiightr After relating these particulars, the guide, hearing some person speak of him with contempt, cordiafiy agreed with us that he certainly was a pitifiil scoumrel, (" un vrai sc^lerat,") /or he had onlv mven him a single napoleon for all the trouble he had had with him.
At llie commencement of the action the Duke of Wellington,
* Vide La Co6te*8 (the peasant's name) mterestiog and detailed narratiye in the Additional Particalars.
20 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
on horseback, surrounded by his staff, stxxxl on the high ^ound to the right of the high road from Brussels to Genappe. To say where he afterwards was, is impossible — it would be more diffi- cult to say where he was not ; wherever his presence was most requisite he was to be found ; he seemed to be everywhere pre- sent Exposed to the hottest fire, in the most conspicuous jx)si- tion, he stood reconnoitring witli his glass, watching the enemy's mana»uvres, and issuing orders with tlie most intrepid coolness, while balls and shells sliowerod around him, and his staff-officers fell wounded and dying by his side. Sir William De Lancey received the shot which occasioned his death while the Duke was in close conversation with liim, and many of his escapes seemed almost miraculous,*
He was once on the point of being taken prisoner by a party of cavalry ; and "at one time, perceivmg the 52d and 95th regi- ments waver and give ground under the attack of an overwhelming force, he rallied them, placed himself at their head, chained in person, drove back the enemy, and restored the day. So tre- mendous were the dangers he braved, and so astonishing his escapes, that the hand of a protecting Providence seemed to nave shielded him through the perils of that eventiul day, to be the Saviour of his Country,! and the Conqueror of that inveterate foe, who, during a long succession of years, had turned the whole force of his gigantic power to effect the ruin of England ; but who, in his last attempt once more ** to wade through slaughter to a throne," was destined to meet his final overthrow on that field from which he escaped with life, but with the loss of honour.
The conduct of the Duke of Wellington on this memorable
* At a critical part of the battle he took his stadon on a ridgp>, and declared he would not stir from it ; nor did he stir till he quitted it in triumph. In the whole of the contest he performed all the duties a military man could perform. He UHU General of Division, Commander of Corps, and Colonel of a Regiment ! He at times headed several diiferent regiments, and rallied them to the attack. Towards the close of the day. Napoleon led an attack of the Imperial Guards ; they were met by the British Guards (who did not feel the panic which it was boasted these men had occasioned among the Prussians and Russians), and ov^- thrown in an instant, in the finest style. The position of Waterloo was well known to his Grace : in the summer of the previous year, his Grace went there in his way to Paris, and on that occasion took a military view of it. He then declared, that if ever it should be his fortune to defend Brussels, Waterloo would be the position he would occupy. His conduct on the 18th had thrown all his former actions ioto the ahade : he never moved, but in fire ; and when one of the hottest charges was- made by the enemy, he threw himself into the hollow square that was chazged.— EdiUyr,
•f '* My heart (says the noble Duke) is broken by the terrible loss I have sus- tained of my old friends and companions, and my poor soldiers ; and I shall not be satisfied with this battle, however glorious, if it does not put an end to Buona- parte." In a letter to his mother, Lady Momington, the Duke pays a high com- pliment to Buonaparte : he says that he did his duty — that he fought the battle with infinite skill, perseverance, and bravery ; " and this," adds the noble Duke, '* I do not state from, any personal motive of claiming merit to myselfi for the
r
CmCUMSTAKTIAL BET AlUgi. 2 1
day realised the &bled achievements of the hero whose prowess is celebrated in the strains of an old Italian poet :
** H valoroso Buca d'lDghilteira Fece, quel d) cio che, in molti anni fero Gik mold cavalier* maestri in guerra."
MOROANTK MaOOIOBE PuLCI.
While the battle raged with unceasing and unexampled fiiry in the right wing, it was scarcely less tremendous in other parts of the field. The farm of La Haye Sainte, whose walls and roof are
J)ierced and battered through with cannon-shot, formed a prominent eature in the action. It was long and vainly attackea, until at length the amumnition of the troops who occupied it being ex- hausted, without the possibility of procuring' more, it was conse- quently taken by the enemy ; but its brave defenders only resigned its possession with their lives.
The enemy's reserve were chiefly placed upon the heights on their right, as it was the great object of Napoleon, if possible, to turn the left British flank, and separate us from the Prussians, with whom we maintained a communication through Ohain on our left. To effect this, the most desperate efforts were made, column propelling column, and fresh masses of troops continually pouring down, while their artillery scattered destruction along our line. Major-general Sir Thomas PJcton's division, stationed along the hecme, and in the lane behind it, sustained the chief brunt of this long and tremendous attack, and unshaken main- tained their ground. Upon this spot thousands of our brave sol- diers met a glorious death; their gallant leaders, wounded and dying on the ground, still cheered on their men to the charge. The 28th Regiment, formed into a square, repelled the fiirious attacks of the French Cuirassiers,* whose armour inspired them
victory is to be ascribed to the superior physical force and constancy of British soldiers." To his brother, the Hon. Wellesley Pole, he writes, " Never had he foaghtsohard for victory, and never, firom the gallantry of the enemy, had he been so near beaten." — Editor,
The Dnke of Wellington, in a letter to the Earl of Aberdeen, writes, ** I cannot express to you the regret and sorrow with which I contemplate the losses the country has sustained ; none more severe than that of General Sir A. Gordon. The glory resulting firom such actions so dearly bought is no consolation to me, and I cannot imagine that it is any to you ; but I trust the result has been so decisive, that little doubt will remain that our exertions will be rewarded by the attainment of our first object : then it is that the gloiy of the actions in which our friends have fallen may be some consolation to me." — Editor.
Extract fivm Mr, Vansittart the Chancellor of the Excheqyei*s Speech, — ** The merit of our troops and our officers in this great battle was briefly expressed in the modest simplicity of the Duke of Wellington's dispatch ; but the whole might be seen to more advantage by looking at the accounts of our Allies and of the enemy. It was, indeed, a proud day, when the Conqueror of Europe was destrayed by one batUe." — Editor,
* The Cuirassiers of the French Imperial Guard are all arrayed in armour, the front cuirass is in the form of a pigeon's breast, so as effectually to turn off a musket-shot, unless fired very near, owing to its brightness ; the back cuirass is
22 BATTLE OF WATBBLOa
with confidence and courage ; still thej could not stand the Elng- lish charge with the bayonet^ and again and again thej were re- pulsed by the 28th Regunent, with immense loss : at one time they were almost overpowered by the repeated attacks of a strong column of the enemy; when one of their officers called out to them, — « 28th I Remember Egypt 1" These words had the effect of electricity. The gallant veterans, giving oi^^ load and general cheer, rushed forward to the charge, ana completely routed and dispersed the assailants.
It was in a more advanced part of the field (I believe), near a tree, that the lamented Sir Thomas Picton fell, m the very act of ^^ gloriously leading his division to a charge with bayonets, by which one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy on our position was defeated.'* ( Vide Duke of WeHmatons dispatch.) He was shot through the h^d with a miSu&ket-bali, and never spoke after he received the wound. During the whole day he exposed himself to the severest fire, — not only leading his united division to the charge, but repeatedly placing himself at the head of the columns of the different regiments, as if he had been their commanding officer. Wherever the storm of battle was the most tremendous he invariably chose his station, courting danger in every possible form : it seemed as if be sought to close his career of glory on the field of Waterloa*
Near a hedge completely trodden down, where the fighting was particxilarly severe, and the carnage was dreadful, huge
Saves, or rather pits, are filled with hundreds of dead, w^here e victors and the vanquished are promiscuously laid : so lightly had the clay been tlirown over them, that from one a nand had ^rced its way above the ground, and in another, a human face was distinctly visible. Indescribable was the horror of these objects. Three weeks after the battle, the very gales of heaven
made to fit the back ; they weigh from nine to eleTen pounds each, according to the size of the man» and are staffed inside with a pad : they fit on by a kind of fish-Bcaled clasp, and are put off and on in an instant. They have helmets the same as our Horse Guards, and straight long swords and pistols, but no carbines. All the accounts agree in the great advantage that the French Cuirassiers derived from their annour. Their swords were three inches longer than any used by the Allies, and in close action the cuts of our sabres did no execution, except they fortimately came across the neck of the enemy. The latter also feeling them- selves secure in their armour, advanced deliberately and steadily, until they came within about twenty yards of our ranks, as a musket-ball could not penetrate the cuirasses at a greater distance. The cuirass, however, was attended with one disadvantage : the wearer, in close action, cannot use his arm with perfect facility in all directions ; he chiefly tlirusts, but cannot cut with ease. They are aU chosen men, must be above six feet high, have served in three campaigns, twelve years in the service, and of a good character ; and if there is a good horse to be found, they have it. It is to be observed, that a wound through a cuirass mostly proves fatal.*' — Editor.
* After the 16th, this gallant officer's coat was observed to be most dreaiUully cut. After his lamented fall, it was discovered that he had been wounded in the hip on the 10th by a musket-ball ; a circumstance which he carefully concealed
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CIRCUMSITANTIAL DETAILS. 23
were tainted with the effluvia arising from them: besides these tremendous graves, of which several hundreds might be counted, immense heaps of the dead were burnt in different places, and their ashes, mingled with the dust, are scattered over the field.
In the background is a spot where the British bivouacked on the night of the 17th, beneath a heavy and incessant torrent of rain. On the morning of the 18th they were just preparinjg breakfast, and dressing their beef-steaks, when one of Lord WeC lington's aides-de-camp riding up, called to them, " Stand to your arms ; the French are advancing : " instantly breakfasts and beef- steaks were abandoned; wet, cold, and hungry, but bold and undaunted, our brave soldiers ranged themselves to face their foes, and during nearly twelve hours, without any other aid, maintained the unequal and the glorious contest Let it never be forgotten, that the united Britisli and Belgic army on that day amounted to little more than half the enemy.
It was the policy of the Duke of Wellington, when attacked by such a tremendous superiority of force, to act upon the defen- sive, until joined by the Prussians, whose progress had been im- peded by the dreadful state of the roads. Just before they appeared, the enemy, turning their artillery against the centre of our army near tlie farm of La Haye Sainte, made a desperate effort with the united cavalry and artillery to force that point Our gal- lant troops, unmoved, received the shock, and after a long and dreadful contest the French were compelled to retreat in con- fosion. At that moment, the Prussians were seen advancing up the heights, to charge the enemy in flank. The fire of the Prussian artillery b^an to take effect Bliicher himself appeared on the field. The Duke seizing the critical moment, ordered the whole body of infantry, supported by the cavalry and artillery,* to charge. They rushed impetuously forward with the irresistible
from ereiy one but his servant : the wound had assumed a serious aspect for want of surgical assistance, haying been only bandaged by himself and servant as well as circumstances would admit. — Editor,
** Towaids tfie afternoon, when the 02d were reduced to scarce 200 men, a cohxmn of 2000 of the enemy bore down upon them, when this chosen band charged this overwhelming force with their bayonets, penetrating into the centre of them : the Scots Greys, cheering the brave Highlanders, rushed forward to support them, driving the enemy back with great loss/' {Vide the letter of the 92d Regiment,)
At the battle of Quatre Bras, in a similar manner, the 71st repulsed the Imperial Guard, and when they were repeating, the piper suddenly struck up the pibroch ; at the well-known sounds, the Highlanders charged Uieir astonished enemies, still followed into the thickest of the fight by the piper, who was hurried forward by the impulse of valour, and the French were almost to a man cut to pieces.
• The fire of the artillery had been terrible and destructive all day, but at this moment no idea can be conveyed of the shock and crash that was now felt from it. (Extract fnm a French officer' t Utter, who waa in the baUle.) — Editor,
24 BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
force of valour. The French gave way on every side ; a total rout ensued. They fled in confusion back to their own country, leaving behind them the whole of their baggage, their artiUery, their prisoners, and their wounded. It was then, at half-past nine in the evening, that Marshal Bliicher* and Lord Wel- lington accidentally met at La Belle Alliance. It was in this miserable cottage, pierced through and through vrith cannon- balls, and deserted by all but the dead and dving, that their first interview took place, after four days of battle with the common enemy, and in the moment when victory had crowned their united arms. Both annies being on the same road, they decided that the British troops, who had fought for nearly twelve hours, f should relinquish the pursuit to the Prussians, who had come in at the close of the contest, in time to decide the victory and to share its glory. They parted ; Bliicher proceeded on his way. Lord Wellington returned to Waterloo. As he crossed agam this fatal scene, on which the silence of death liad now succeeded to the storm of the battle, the moon, breaking from dark clouds, shed an uncertain light upon this wide field of carnage, covered with mangled thousands of that gallant army, whose heroic valour had won for him the brightest wreath of victory, and left to ftiture times an imperishable monument of their country's fame. He saw himself surrounded by the bloody corpses of his veteran soldiers, who had followed him through distant lands — of his friends — his associates in arms — ^his companions through many an eventful year of danger and of glory ; in that awml pause which follows the mortal conflict of man with man, emotions unknown or stifled in the heat of battle forced their way, — the feelings of the man triumphed over those of the general, and in the very hour of victory Lord Wellington burst into tears.
* This gallant veteran, the moment he heard of the engagement, got up, monnted his horse, and led his troops to the field. He bad been confined to faia bed, in consequence of the iqjury he sustained on the Idth, when his horse was killed by a shot, and fell upon him. As he lay upon the ground, unable to extricate himself, and covered by his cloak, which fortunately prevented the enemy from recognising him, the French Cuirassiers twice charged dose past him, and he was on the point of being trampled to death by an advancing squadron, when he was rescued by a rej^iment of Prussian Hulans. With some assistance, he instantly remounted another horse, and the first words this brave old officer spoke were : " Now then, my fine fellows, let us charge them again !** " The horse which the Prince Regent presented to Marshal Bliicher, on which he placed so high a value, was killed under him during the late battle." Marshal Bliicher seemed to have been possessed of the spirit of prophecy when he told the British officers after the review at New Grammont, ''that he should soon have the pleasure of meeting them in Paris." Certainly this prediction was verified, even sooner than his most sanguine expectations ooold have anticipated.
•t At the close of the pursuit of the enemy, the Duke of Wellington, ftmiing the troops so exhausted as to be unable to proceed, recommended it to them to give the flying enemy three British cheers before halting^ — EdUor.
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1
CntCUHSTANTIAL DBTAILB. 25
Thus ended a day as glorious in its achievements as important in its results, which at once averted the calamities that threatened the world, and altered the destinies of nations. Thus ended a contest, which has raised the glory of England to its highest pitch, and in which the last and most decisive proof was given, that in every age and every country, under every disadvantage of numbers and situation, firom the days of Cressy and Agincourt to the present times ; on the burning sands of Egypt, and the shel- tered shores of Italy; on the mountains of Portugal, the plains of Spain, amidst the rocks of the Pyrenees, the fielcb of Flanders, and the valleys of France ; in foreign lands, and in their native soil ; by land, and by sea ; Englishmen have ever been victorious over their ancient and presumptuous foes.
The names of Aboukir, Maida, Vimiera, Corunna, Talavera, Barrosa, Busaco, Albuera, Salamanca, and Yittoria, — of Orthes, the Pvrenees, Toulouse, — and, finally, of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, — will proclaim to fiiture times the deeds of British valour — deeds more like the tales of chivalry and romance, than the events of real life and of civilised ages.
If it was a day of glory, it was likewise a day of sorrow for Britain ; if we triumph in it as the proudest, we must also mourn it as the most bloody of all the battles that she has fought or won. Those who witnessed the most sanguinary contests of the Penin- sular war declared they had never seen so terrible a carnage ; and the Prussians acknowledged that even the battle of Leipsic was not to be compared to it The dead could not be numbered ; and by those who visited this dreadful field of glory and of death, the day after the battle, the spectacle of horror that it exhibited can never be forgotten.
The mangled and lifeless bodies were even then stripped of every covermg — every thing of the smallest value was already carried off. The road between Waterloo and Brussels, which passes for nine miles through the thick shades of the Forest of Soignies, was choked up with scattered baggage, broken waggons, and dead horses. The heavy rains and me great passage upon it had ren- dered it almost impassable, so that it was with extreme difiiculty that the carriages containing the wounded could be brought along. The way was nned with mifortunate men who had crept from the field, and many, unable to go farther, lay down and died: — holes dug by the road-side served as their graves, and the road, weeks after the battle, was strewed with the tattered remains of their clothes and accoutrements. In every village and hamlet, — on every road, — in every part of the country, for thirty miles round, wounded soldiers were foimd wandering; die wounded Belgic and Dutch stragglers exerting themselves to the utmost to reach their own homes. So great were the numbers of the woimded, that.
26 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
notwithstanding the most active and unremitting exertions, the last were not removed irom the field of battle into Brussels till the Thursday following.
It is impossible for words to do justice to the generous kind- ness and unwearied care and attention which the inhabitants of Brussels and Antwerp, and the whole of the Belgic people, exerted towards these poor sufferers. Nor should the humanitj shown hy the British soldiers themselves be unnoticed. The wounded of our army who were able to move employed themselves in tying up the wounds and administering to the wants of their suffering ene- mies*— a striking and noble contrast to the brutality with which the French had treated our pri8oners.t
The desolation which reined on the scene of action cannot easily be described. The fields of high standing com were tram- pled down, and so completely beaten into the earth, that ihey had the appearance of stubble. The ground was completely ploughed up in many places with the charge of the cavalry, and the horses' hoofs, deep stamped into the earth, lefit the traces where many a deadly struggle had been. The whole field was strewed with the melancholy vestiges of war and devastation — soldiers' caps pierced with many a ball, and trodden under foot — eagles that had orna- mented them — badges of the legion of honour — cuirasses — frag- ments of broken arms, belts and scabbards innumerable — shrras of tattered cloth, shoes, cartridge-boxes, gloves. Highland bonnets, feathers steeped in mud and gore — French novels, and German Testaments — scattered music belonging to the bands — packs of cards, and innumerable papers of every description, that had been thrown out of the pockets of the dead, by those who had pillaged them. French love-letters, and letters from mothers to their sons, and from children to their parents, were scattered about in every direction. Amongst the thousands that we examined^ it was, how-
* It is pleasing to add the testimony of a foreigner : — ** The British regiments of infantry, which diR played such intrepid vdonrin the battle of the 18th, gave^ after the action, the moHt aflectin^if and sublime example ever offered to nations. They were seen (forgetting their own wounds, and hardly escf^ped from the sword of the enemy )> proceeding to afford all the succour in their power to those who had just endeavoured to cut them down, and who, in their tnm, had fallen on the field of destruction. The conduct of the English army is mentioned with admiration, as uniting the heroism of valour to the heroism of humanity.** ^Editor.
f We forbear to dwell upon the horrid details of the merciless barbarity with which the French treated our prisoners ; besides being stripped and plundered, exposed to tlie severest privations and the grossest insults, many of our bravest officers, whose names respect for the fe^'lings of their snr\'iving friends forbids us to mention, were actually murdered in cold blood, after snirendering up their swords. Such diabolical cruelty would be incredible, and, for the sake of humanity, we would gladly doubt its truth, had we not incontrovertible proofs fh)m many eye-witnesses of these brutal murders. (Tide letters from an Officer of the Lyk Chiards and of Light Dragoons.)
CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAILS. 27
ever, remaricable^ that we found only one English letter. It was from a soldier's wife to her husband.
Upon this field were performed deeds of valour as heroic as any which swell the page of history, which will for ever be buried in obUvion. Of those who performed them, many rest in the bed of honour, and those who survive will never relate the story of their own achievements. Modesty is ever the concomitant of true coura^ ; and thus actions, which, could they have been witnessed, woula have been the theme of an applauding world, are now un- known and unadmired. It is scarcely possible to notice the merits of any individual without injustice to others. It is difficult to say who were bravest, when all were brave; and who were greatest, amoiu^t an arm v of heroes.
Never was there an attack more tremendous, nor a resistance more firm, unshaken, and triumphant. The French army, infu- riated by despair, animated by the promised plunder of Brussels, and fillea witn perjured traitors, who had betrayed their king and country, and who knew that their lives and fortunes depen&d on success^ fought, from first to last, with the desperation of madness. But they could not wrest victory from the hands of the British. In every land and^ every clime, wherever the French have ap- peared as oppressors, the British have sprung forward as deliverers
— they have sought foreign lands, not as enemies, but as friends
— they have fought and conquered, not to destroy, but to save. It is but a few years since the late arrogant Ruler of France made the boast that he would invade this country — scatter its armies— dethrone its monarch — and march his victorious troops into its capital. His threats have recoiled upon himself; England has an- swered him, not by words, but by deeds. — His country is invaded — his armies are scattered — he is himself dethroned, and the vic- torious troops of England are in his capital I It is to them we are indebted that he comes to our shores — not as a tyrant, but as a suppliant, — not as a conqueror, but as a captive. It is to them we owe our preservation — our very existence as a nation— our dearest liberties, and our proudest glories. Wounded thousands of that brave army are now enduring, in lingering pain and confinement, the sufierings they have received in the service of their country. During years of hardships they have braved for her, in foreign lands, the dangers and the horrors of war. They have triumphed in many a well-fought field — they have sought every changing scene where honour was to be gained, or glory to be won. Oh I who, at this triumphant moment, does not feel it his proudest boast to be an Englishman ? Who can refiise a tribute of regret to the brave who have perished ? What heart does not swell with gra- titude to that gallant army, whose heroic valour has raised their country to the highest pitch of glory, and to whom we are indebted.
29 BATIUB OF WATEBLOa
that while other nations sank beneath the yoke of despotism, and basely crouched at the feet of the Tyrant, England alone proudly defended her own rights — singly maintained the loi^ and glo- rious contest — broke the speU which bound the kingdoms of Europe in i^omiuious slavery — and finally restored to ue world, peace, security, and independence I
** England! be still, even to thf lateti times, The nurse of Heroes, and the scouiige of crimes ; Still may thy patriot sons, where'er they roam, DiffVise abroad the rights they boast at home ; StiU nnseduced by glory's vain increase. Make War thy pathwi^ to the shrine of Peace ; Still guard the rights of Freemen against Slaves, And rule, with Heaven's approval — proudly rule the waves !**
T. MOOBE.
Xoffion, Auy, 7, 181d.
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FURTHER PARTICULARS
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THE BATTLE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES,
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'^ It would be confessed, that whatever the fonner fame of the Duke of Wellington might have been, yet, in all the various occurrences of his life, in all those great achievements which he had performed, and which had called for the thanks of the nation, he had never before attained to a height of glory like the present And in all the great events which he had been engaged in, and those scenes that he had witnessed,'it had never before fallen to the lot of this illustrious commander to render so great a service to his coimtry, so extensive a benefit to the world. There was in the present victorv an acknowledged pre-eminence over all those that had preceded it: but when we looked at its influence and combination, in which are bound up all the mterests of the civilised world, it was almost impossible to conceive an idea adequate to its magnitude and importance. The position of the Allied army, previously to the late battle, was a very peculiar one ; and, without meaning to impute blame, or to suppose any neglect of secttrity, he* must say that the circumstance of the armies not being actually engaged in hostilities necessarily led to a distribution of force for we more convenient obtainment of subsistence. The whole line of troops destined to act upon France not being equaUy advanced, it was clearly not the inte- rest of the Allies to become the assailants ; the army, therefore, which was to act upon the offensive, making its point of union the point it chose for an attack, must have a great advan- tage over an army situated as the Allied army wa^: and yet
* Lord Castlereagh.
30 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
it was impossible to alter that position ; for if Marshal Bliicher and the Diike of Wellin^n had concentrated their forces, they must have left oyen a long line of country at the mercy of the enemy, who might have made use of such a lapse for the most important ends : and therefore, not imputing any neglect of pre- paration to the commander, it must be evident, that tne attacking army would have the advantage. With such a force on die frontiers of France, it was with Buonaparte a great object to attack it in some powerful point before the combmed powers were all perfectly ready for operations ; and accordingly he had acted with all the decision of character and energy of mind that he was known to possess, and as soon as he coula leave Paris he joined his army, and dbrecting it to the North, commenced his operations. In considering the nature and extent of the forces engaged, it must be observed, that of the ten corps d*arm^ which France possessed, the five which were complete were united under Buonaparte, together with his guard, and other cavalry. These troops nad certainly maintainea their ancient character; and one feature of the victory was, that it had been gained over the best troops of France, and that, too, at a moment when they displayed cdl their ardour, and wJien their conduct even surpassed all that they had before performed; although this force did not amount to less than one hundred and thirty or forty thousand men, the flower of the FrencJi army I T7iat was a regular and disciplined army, even before the Bourbons quitted France, and for which, since the return of Buonaparte, everything had been done to make it effective ; it toae tJie force which had been selected and combined to act upon the northern frontier. To particularise the conduct of any part of the Allied army would be invidious, where all had acquitted them- selves with nearly equal bravery ; but he might be allowed to say that, except the British part (who themselves were only such as the country could spare at a time when a strong detachment of our veteran troops nad been sent to America), nearly the whole was a green army : the Allies, particularly the Dutcn, Belmans, Hanoverians, and troops of Nassau, were chiefly young soldiers ; and deducting the absent corps, consisting of 25,000 under Prince Frederick, and the other corps distributed along the line to the northward, there was not in action a greater number than 64,000 men, to support the attack of the whole French army. He fiilly felt what we owed to the illustrious Prussians, who were ready to support the British army, and enabled diem to make that move- ment, without which the Duke could not have obtained such an advantage over a superior force. The effort he made was crowned with success, and with his energy of mind and example of person it was certain that much would be effected. But from that example, it was dreadful to reflect on the risks to which his valuable life was exposed In fact, such was his dauntless activity, that he
FUBTHEB PABTIOlJLAlta 31
was much more exposed than any private soldier, who could only bear the hazard of a single svot ; but the Duke was everywhere, at least wherever danger was. Under the circumstances in which the Duke found himself at the end of the day, when the French had been repulsed, and Marshal Bulow advanced, he put himself in motion, and attacked the French : their lines did not resist as ours had done ; he forced the second line, routed their whole army, and took more than half the artillery of their army and its ammuniti&n. It was impossible to attempt to predict what would be the result of this victory; but this much was certain, that the Duke of Wellington haa been enabled to follow the enemv with an army that had been either fighting or marching the whole day before. The French had attacked with their usiml temerity : by this he did not mean to censure them ; Buonaparte was justified in his attempt; he had been driven back; but if he could have suc- ceeded, the effect would have been fiilly equal to the sacrifice made to obtain the object" — Extract from Lord CasUereagKs Speech in the House of Commons, preparatory to his motion for a Vote of ThanJcs, June 23 ; which see, with the Officers included in the Waterloo Honours, at the end of this work.
The whole of the mighty and important operations were car- ried on within a tract of country extending, firom Thuin to Ligny, about 20 miles ; from Ligny to Waterloo, about the same distance ; and from Waterloo to Thum, about 25 miles. There is no doubt that Buonaparte would have been attacked as soon as the Russians had come up; but, in point of fact, he commenced hostilities without any menacing movement on the adverse side. He issued an Order of the Day on the 14th to his soldiers, appealing to their passions, by reminding them that that day was the ^ni- versary of Marengo and of Friedland.* On the following morning, at daylight, he put the whole of his army in motion, and attacked the Prussian posts established on the Sambre ; in the course of the day he succeeded in driving them from that river, making himself master of the groimd from Thuin to Fleurus. According to Buonaparte's account of the result, in the various contests on the 15th, the Prussians lost 2000 men, while the French only experienced a loss of 10 killed, and 80 wounded I Buonaparte also claims a victor v on the 16th. He, however, admits that he lost 3000 men on that day ; but says he took many thousand prisoners, and 40 pieces of cannon! On Sunday the 18th, the grand struggle was made. The whole weight of the French force, with me exception of Vandamme's corps, was thrown upon the army of the Duke of Wellington, whose line was within fifteen miles of Brussels. The battle began about ten o'clock in the morning, with a furious attack on a post occupied
* Vide Documents in the French Official Accounts following.
33 BATTLE OF WAlKBLOa
by hb in front of our right Thifl was supported by a very heavy cannonade upon our whole line, with repeated attacks of infantiy and cavalry, until seven in the evening, when the enemy made a desperate attempt to force our left; in which, after a sev&e contest, he was defeated, and retired in great disorder. This was the happy moment, seized bv the genius and resolution of our unrivalled Hero, to advance his whole line of infantry, supported by cavalry and artilleir, a^inst the enemy, who was unaole to resist the English attack. The first line was driven back on the second, and tne second was almost instantly broken. All was now total rout and conftision ; artillery, baggage, everything was abandoned ; and the true British perseverance of general and soldiers was crowned with a success so much the more precious, as it had remained long in a state of the most awftil suspense. The French fought with greater desperation than ever before wit- nessed ; but it may be added, that after their rout they became more completely broken than ever, threw awav their arms by whole regunents, and were, in short, wholly dispersed and dis- organised. The loss on the part of the British has been severe, but on that of Buonaparte it is almost beyond calculation. On all sides was seen a total disregard of personal danger. The leaders were mingled in the heat of the iray, like the meanest soldier. Marshal Blucher, it is said, was for some moments a prisoner. As to Buonaparte, he was more than once inclosed among the British troops, and disentangled, as it were, by miracle. He led on the (ruards himself to the charge, and seemed to feel that there could be no hope for his power but in the absolute jeopardy of his life.
Letter from an Officer to his Friend in Cumberland.
'' Campof CUchy.
** All the sharers of my tent having gone to raris, and my servant having manufactured a window-shutter into a table, and a pack-saddle into a seat, I will no longer delay answering your two affectionate letters, and endeavour to comply with your demand of an account of the battle such as it offered to my own eyes.
" On the 15th of June everything appeared so perfectly quiet, that the Duchess of Richmond gave a ball and supper, to which all the world was invited ; and it was not till near ten o'clock at night that rumours of an action having taken place between tBe French and Prussians were circulated through the room in whispers. No credit was given to them, however, for some time ; but when the General Cheers, whose corps were in advance, began to move, and when orders were, given for persons to repair
FURTHER PARTICULARS 33
to their remments, matters then began to be considered in a different lignt. At eleven o'clock the drums beat to arms, and the 5th Division, which garrisoned Brussels, after having bivou- acked in the Park until daylight, set forward towards the frontiers. On the road we met baggie and sick coming to the rear; but could only learn that the French and Prussians had been fighting the day before, and that another battle was expected when they left the advanced posts. At two o'clock we arrived at Grenappe, from whence we heard firing very distinctly; half an hour afterwards we saw the French columns advancing, and we had scarcely taken our position when they attacked us. Our ii^nt consisted of the 3d and dth Divisions, with some Nassau people, and a brigade of cavalry, in all about 13,000 men; while the French forces, according to Ney^s account, must have been immense, as his reserve alone consisted of 30,000, which, however, he says, Buonaparte disposed of without having advertised him. The business was begun by the first battalion of the 95th, which was sent to <irive the enemy out of some corn-fields, and a thick wood,. of which they had possession. Aft;er sustaining some loss, we succeeded completely ; and three companies of Brunswickers were left to keep it, while we acted on another part of the line ; they, however, were driven out immediately, and the French also got possession of a village which turned our flanks. We were then obliged to return, and it took us the whole day to retake what had Deen lost. While we were employed here, the remainder of the army were in a much more disagreeable situation ; for, in consequence of our inferiority in cavalry, each regiment was obliged to form a square, in which manner the most desperate attacks of infantry and charges of cavalry were resisted and re- pelled ; and when night put an end to the slaughter, the French not only gave up every attempt on our position, but retired from their own, on which we bivouacked. I will not attempt to de- scribe the sort of night we passed — I will leave you to conceive it. The ffroans of the woundod and dying, to whom no relief could be aiForoed, must not be spoken of liere, because on the 18th it was fifty thousand times worse. But a handfiil of men lying in the face of such superior numbers, and being obliged to sleep in squares for fear the enemy's dragoons, knowing that we were weak in that arm, might make a dash into the camp, was no very pleasant reverie to soothe one to rest Exclusive of this, I was annoyed by a wound I had received in the thigh, and which was become excessively painful, I had no great coat, and small rain continued falling until late the next day, when it was succeeded by torrents. Boney, however, was determined not to give us much respite, for he attacked om* piquets at two in the morning ; some companies of the 95th were sent to their support, and we continued skirmishing until eleven o'clock, when the Dd^e com**
34 BAITLE or WATSBLOO.
menced his retreat, which was covered by Lord Uxbridge. The Blues and Life Ouards behaved extremely welL
'^ The whole of the 17 th, and indeed until late the next morn- ing, the weather continued dreadful; and we were starving with hunger, no provision having been served out since the march firom Brussels. While five officers who composed oar mess were look- ing at each other with the most deplorable &ces imaginable, one of the men brought us a fowl vhe had plundered, and a handfiil of biscuits, which, though but little, added to some tea we boiled in a camp*kettle, made us rather more comfortable ; and we huddled up together, covered ourselves with straw, and were soon as soundly asleep as though reposing on beds of down. I awoke long before dayligot, and found myself in a very bad state altogether, being completely wet through in additi<m to all other ills. For- tunately I soon after this found my way to a shed, of which Sir Andrew Barnard (our commandant) had taken possession, where there was a fire, and in which, with three or four others, I remained until the rain abated. About ten o'clock the sun made his appearance, to view the mighty stru^le which was to deter- mine the fate of Europe; and about an hour afterwards the French made their dispositions for the attack, which commenced on the right The Duke's dispatch will give you a more accurate idea of the ground, and of the grand scale of <^>erations, than I can do ; and I shall therefore confine myself to details of less importance which he has passed ov^r.
^* Afber having tried the right, and found it strong, Buona- parte manoduvred until he got 40 pieces of ardllenr to play on the left, where the 5th Division, a brigade of heavy cu*agoons, and two companies of artillery, were post^ Our lines were formed behind a hedge, with two companies of the 95th extended in firont to annoy the enemy's approacL For some time we saw that Buonaparte intended to attack us; yet as nothing but cavalry was visible, no one could imagine what were his plans. It was generally supposed that he would endeavour to turn our flank. But all on a sudden his cavalry turned to the right and left^ and showed large masses of infantry, who advanced up in the most gallant style to the cries x)f ^ Vive VEmpereurr while a most tremendous cannonade was opened to cover their approach. They had arrived at the very hedge behind which we were — the muskets were almost muzzle to muzzle, and a French mounted officer attempted to seize the colours of the 32d Regiment, when poor Picton ordered the charge of our brigade, commanded by Sir James Kempt When the French saw us rushing through the hedge, and heard the' tremendous huzza which we gave, they turned ; but instead of running, they walked off in close columns with the greatest steadiness, and allowed themselves to be butchered without any material resistanca At this moment^ part of General
'! ■■
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' .\
/
J •
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' »
' I' ♦
"H-."^' ^^^^^^
FURTHER PARTICULAR^?. 35
Ponsonby's brigade of heavy cavalry took them in flank, and, besides killed and womided, nearly 2000 were made prisoners. Now Buonaparte again changed his plan of attack. He sent a great force both on the right and left ; but his chief aim was the centre, through which lay the road to Brussels, and to gain this he appeared determined. What we had hitherto seen was mere * boys' play' in comparison with the * tug of war' which took place from this time (three o'clock) until the day was decided. All our army was formed into solid squares — the French Cuirassiers advanced to the mouth of our camion — rushed on our bayonets : sometimes walked their horses on all sides of a square to look for an opening through which they might penetrate, or dashed madly on, thinku^ to carry everything by desperation. But not a British soldier moved ; all personal feeling was forgotten in the enthusiasm of such a moment Each person seemed to think the day depended on his individual exertions, and both sides vied with each other in acts of ^lantry. Buonaparte charged with his Imperial Guards. The Duke of Wellington led on a brigade con- sisting of the 52d and 95th Regiments. Lord Uxbridge was with every squadron of cavalry which was ordered forward. Poor Picton was killed at the head of our division, while advancing. But in short, look through the list engaged on that day, and it would be difficult to point out one who had not distinguished him- self as much as another. Until eight o'clock the contest raged without intermission, and a feather seemed only wanting in either scale to turn the balance. At this hour, our situation on the left centre was desperate. The 5th Division, having borne the brunt of the battle, was reduced from 6000 to 1800. The 6th Division, at least the British part of it, consisting of four regiments, formed in our rear as a reserve, was almost destroyed, without having fired a shot, by the terrible play of artillery, and the fire of the light troops. The 27th had 400 men, and every officer but one subal- tern, knocked down in square, without moving an inch or dis- chsawng one musket ; and at that time I mention, both divisions could not oppose a sufficient front to the enemy, who was rapidly advancing with crowds of fresh troops. We had not a smgfe company for support, and the men were so completely worn out that it required the greatest exertion on the part of the officers to keep up their spirits. Not a soldier thought of giving groimd ; but victory seemed hopeless, and they gave tnemselves up to death with perfect indifference. A last effort was our only chance. The remains of the regiments were formed as well as the circum- stances allowed, and when the French came vrithin about 40 paces we set up a death-howl, and dashed at them. They fled immediately, not in a regular manner^ as before, but in the greatest confusion.
^* Their animal spirts were exhausted^ the panic spread, and in
36 BATTLE or WATERLOO.
five minutes the army was in complete disorder ; at this critical moment firing was heard on our left, the Prussians were now coming down on the right flank of the French, which increased their flight to such a degree, that no mob was ever a greater scene of confusion ; the road was blocked up by artillery ; the dragoons rode over the infantry; arms, knapsacks, everything was thrown away, and * sauve qui pent ' seemea indeed to be the universal feeling. At eleven o'clock, when we halted, and gave the pursuit to jBliicher's fresh troops, 150 pieces of cannon and nmnbers of prisoners had fallen into our hands. I will not attempt to describe the scene of slaughter which the fields presented, or what any person possessed of the least spark of humanity must have felt, while we viewed the dreadAil situation of some thou* sands of wounded wretches, who remained without assistance through a bitter cold night, succeeded by a day of most scorching heat ; EngUsh and French were dying by the side of each other ; and I have no doubt, hundreds who were not discovered when the dead were buried, and who were unable to crawl to any habitation, must have perished by famine. For my own part, when we halted for the night, I sank down almost insensible from fatigue ; my spirits and strength were completely exhausted. I was so weak, and the wound in my thigh so painful, from want of atten- tion, and in consequence of severe exercise, that afler I got to NiveUes, and secui^ quarters, I did not awake regularly for 36 hours."
* Extract of a Letter from an Ojfficer in the Guards,
« Bavay, June 21, 1815.
" I date my letter from the first town in France; we having this morning, for the second time, violated its boasted frontiers, and that too, in the very teeth of a triple line of fortresses, and on the anniversary of Vittoria, after a battle which, notwithstanding the brilliant and most glorious tale of the 21st of June, 1813, must in every way rank abo^ it in the page of history.
" Assured of my safety, you will doubtless be anxious for an account of the three eventful days I have witnessed ; and therefore I lose no time in gratifying your curiosity, particularly as I am aware of your desire to oe informed of everything relating to your friends the Guards. We were suddenly moved from Enghein, where wo had remained so many weeks in tranquillity, on the night of the 15th instant, or rather the morning of the 16th, at three o'clock. We continued on our march through Braine-le-Comte (which had been the Prince of Orange's head-quarters), and from
* Captain Baity of the Grenadier Guards.
!i^.i^
-m^
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 37
thence on to Nivelles, where we halted, and the men began making jGres and cooking. Daring the whole of this time, and as we approached the town, we heard distinctly a constant roar of cannon; and we had scarcely rested ourselves, and commenced dressing the rations which had been served out at Enghein, when an aide- de-camp from the Duke of Wellington arrived, and ordered us instantly under arms, and to advance with all speed to Lea Quatre BraSf where the action was going on with the greatest fury, and where the French were making rapid strides towards the object they had in view, which was to gain a wood called ^ Bois de Bossu ;' a circumstance calculated to possess them of the road to Nivelles, and to enable them to turn the flank of the British and Brunswickers, and to cut oiF the communication between them and the other forces which were coming up. The order was, of course, instantly obeyed ; the meat which was cooking was thrown away, the kettles, &c packed up, and we proceeded, as fast as our tired legs would carry us, towards a scene of slaughter, which was a prelude well calculated to usher in the bloody tragedy of the 18th.
" We marched up towards the enemy, at each step hearing more clearly the fire of musquetry ; and as we approached tlie field of action we met constantly waggons full of men, of all the various nations under the Duke s command, wounded in the most dreadful manner. The sides of the road had a heap of dying and dead, very many of whom were British : such a scene did, indeed, demand eveiy better feeling of the mind to cope with its horrors ; and too much cannot be said in praise of the division of Guards, the very largest part of whom were young soldiers, and volunteers from the militia, who had never been exposed to the fire of an enemy, or witnessed its effects. During the period of our advance from Nivelles, I suppose nothing could exceed the anxiety of the moment with those on the fiela. The French, who had a large cavalry and artillery (in both of which arms we were quite desti- tute^ excepting some Belgian and German guns), had made dreadful havock in our lines, and had succeeded in pushing an immensely strong column of tirailleurs into the wood I have before mentioned, of which they had possessed themselves, and had just begun to cross the road, having marched through the wood, and placed affairs in a critical situation, when the Guards luckily came in sight The moment we caught a glimpse of them we halted, formed^ and having loaded and fix^ bayonets, advanced, the French immediately retiring; and the very last man who attempted to re-enter the wood was killed by our Grenadiers. At this instant our men gave three glorious cheers, and though we had marched fifteen hours without anything to eat and drink, save the water we procured on the march, we rushed to attack the enemy. This was done by the 1st brigade, consisting of the 2d and 3d battalions
38 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
of the first regiment ; and the 2d brigade^ consisting of the 2d battalion of the Coldstream and third regiment, were formed as a n*serve along the chaussee. As we entered die wood, a few noble fellows, who sunk down ovenwwered with fatigue, lent their voice to cheer their comrades. The trees were so thick, that it was beyond anything difficult to efiect a passage. As we approached, we saw the enemy behind them, takmg aim at us : they contested every bush, and at a small rivulet running through the wood they attempted a stand, but could not resist us, and we at last succeeded in forcing them out of their possessions. The moment we endea- voured to go out of this wood (which had naturally broken us), the French cavalry charged us ; but we at last found the third battalion, who had rather skirted the wood, and formed in front of it, where they afterwards were in hollow square, and repulsed all the attempts of the French cavalry to break them. Our loss was most tremendous, and nothing could exceed the desperate work of the evening; the French infantry and cavalry fought most despe- rately ; and after a conflict of nearly three hours (me obstinacy of whicn could find no parallel, save in the slaughter it occasioned), we had tlie happiness to find ourselves complete masters of the road and wood, and that we had at length defeated all the efibrts of the French to outflank us and turn our right, than which nothing could be of greater moment to both parties. Greneral Picton s superb division had been engaged since two o'clock p.x., and was still fighting with the greatest fury ; no terms can be found sufficient to explain their exertions. The fine brigade of Highlanders suficred most dreadfully, and so did all the raiments engaged. The gallant and noble conduct of the Brunswickers w^as tlie admiration of every one. I myself saw scarcely any of the Dutch troops ; but a regiment of Belgian light cavalry held a long struggle with the famous Cuirassiers, in a way that can never be forgotten : they, poor fellows, were nearly all cut to pieces. These French cuirassiers charged two German guns, with the intent of taking them, to turn them down the road on our Bank. This charge was made along the chaussee running from Charleroi to Brussels ; the guns were placed near the farm-houses of Les Quatre Bras and were loaded, and were kept till their close arrival Two companies (I think, of Highlanders, vicle Letter from the 92d)j posted behind a house and dunghill, who flanked the enemy on their approach, and the artillery, received them with such a dis- charge, and so near, as to lay (with an efiect like magic) the whole head of the column low; causing it to fly, and be nearly all destroyed. We had fought till dark; the French became less impetuous, and after a little cannonade they retired firom the field. Alas I when we met after the action, how many were wantins; among us I how many, who were in the full pnde of youth and manhood, had gone to that bourn from whence they could return
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 39
no more! I shall now close my letter^ and in my next will endeavour to give you some description of the 18th ; for^ to add to this account now, would be but to harrow up your mind with scenes of misery, of which those only who have oeen witnesses can form an adequate idea."
if
Village of Gommignies^ Jwne 22, 1815.
Having completed our day's march, I once more take up my pen, and after giving you some of the leading features of the 17th, shaU do my best to relate to you, as far as lies in my power, the most striking incidents of the glorious day of Waterloo. At daybreak on the 17th we were again under arms, having snatched a hurried repose to our wearied limbs, on the ground near which we fought. Uncertain as to the movements of the enemy, or whether they purposed renewing their attack, we were in a state of anxious suspense ; and the skirmishing at intervals in our front made us expect that something was about to be done. During all this time we were employed, by parties, in bringinff in our wounded companions, whom me darkness had the night before prevented our finding, and in doing our best to be ready for anything that might occur, and in assuaging, as well as we could, the sufferings of those around us. We succeeded in finding the bodies of our four officers. Captains Grose and Brown, Ensigns Lord Hay and Barrington, who were killed ; and had the melancholy satisfaction of paying the last tribute of respect to their remains. They were buried near the wood, and one of our officers read the service over them. Never did I witness a scene more imposing : those breasts which had, a few hours back, boldly encountered the greatest perils, did not now disdain to be subdued by pity and affection ; and if the ceremony wanted the real clerical solemnity due to its sacred character, it received an ample equivalent in this mark of genuine regard, and the sincerity with which we wished them a more immortal halo than that which honour will confer. The whole night was occupied in getting up the cavalry and artillery ; and report said that the Duke of Welhngton had it in contempla- tion to become, in his turn, the assailant. Be that as it may, we were ordered to fall back by the Charleroi road through Genappe, to our position of Waterloo. I will not invite you to accompany ns on our march, which was only marked by fatigue, dust, heat, and thirst After halting for a short time, to ascertain our actual position, we marched to it, and were greeted by one of the very hardest showers of rain I ever remember to have seen, which lasted nearly half an hour; it then ceased. The whole afternoon was taken up by the various divisions getting to their respective posts, and making active preparations for the expected attack on the morrow. Our position was a very compact one } the extreme left resting on Ter la Haye, the left centre on La Haye Sainte, and
40 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
the right centre on Ilougouinont ; and the extreme right was thrown back to a certain degree, in consequence of a ravine, which would otherways have laid it oj)en to the enemy.
" We were ixysttvl near Hougoumont, into which the four light companies of the division of Guards, under Colonel M'Donald and Lora Saltoun, were thrown. The house had a large garden attached to it, laid out in the Dutch fiushion, with parallel walks and high thick hedges, and was surrounded by an orchard. As the army fell back, the enemy's cavalry attacked the rear, and there were constant skirmishes and charges of cavalry during the day. Towanls seven o'clock in the evening the French cannonaded Hougomnont and our position for near an hour and a half, and were answered by the guns on the top of the hill in our front We were moved back a little distance to get out of the exact range of the shot, and after continuing during the time I have above men- tioned, eagerly awaiting a further develojx^ment of their attack, the firing ceased, and we continued till the morning in the situation we now held. The weather, which had hitherto been showery, became settled into a decided and heavy rain, which continued in actual torrents the complete night through, accompanied by a gale of wind and constant thunder and lightning. Such a night few have witnessed ; it was one that imagination would paint as alone fit for the festival of the dejnons of death, and for the Fates to complete the web of those brave souls whose thread of life was so nearly spun. After such a night of horrors and contending expectations, the dawn of any kind of day was welcome ; it seemed, however, with diflSculty to break through the heavy clouds which overhung the earth, and appeared so slowly, that it seemed as if Nature re- luctantly lent her light to assist at the scene of carnage and distress which was to mark tlie history of this eventfiil day. Our artillery, which had the night before so admirably an»wered the fire of the French guns, was all placed on the heights in our front It is here necessary for me to remark, that our position comprehended the two roads from Charleroi and Nivelles to Brussels, which united at the village of Mont St Jean, and formed rather an acute angle ; the Prince of Orange's corps composed the first line, with the whole artillery in its front, and Lord Hill's corps the right flank and second line.
" About a quarter past eleven o'clock A.M. the battle conmienced by the French making a most desperate and impetuous attack upon Hougoumont, against which, as well as La Haye Sainte, tney directed their most furious efforts during the whole day. Hougou- mont, however, appeared to be the principal object they ha3 in view, since its possession would have uncovered our flank, and have afforded them a most fatal advantage over our line: in a word, had it been lost, nothing short of its being re-taken at any rate could have repaired the misfortune. The French opened upon
4 It
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 41
US a dreadful cross-fire from three hundred pieces of artillery, which was answered with a most uncommon practice from our guns ; but to be just, we must own that the French batteries were served in a manner that was terrible. During this period the enemy pushed his troops into the orchard, &c. &c. ; and after its being contested for some hours, he succeeded in reducing our men to nothing but the house itself. Every tree, every walk, every hedge, every avenue had been fought for with an obstinacy almost unparallelea ; and the French were killed all round, and at the very door of the house, to which, as well as a hay-stack, they suc- ceeded in setting fire ; and though all in flames over their heads, our brave fellows never suffered them to penetrate beyond the threshold. The greatest part of the woiuided on both sides were, alas ! here burned to death. In consequence of this success on the part of the French, the Coldstream and 3d Regiment were ordered into the wood, from whence they drove the enemy ; and every subsequent struggle they made to re-possess themselves of it proved abortive. The places of these two battalions of Guards were supplied by two of our gallant friends, the Black Bnmswick- ers, who seemed, like salamanders, to revel in the smoke and flames. The 2d and 3d battalions of the 1st Regiment were formed with the two battalions of Brunswickers into hollow squares, on the slope and summit of the hill, so as to support each other ; and in this situation we all lay down, till between three and four o'clock p.m., in order to avoid the storm of death, which was flying close over our heads, and at almost every moment carrying destruction among us; and it is, you will allow, a circumstance highly creditable to those men to have lain so many hours under a fire which, for intensity and precision, was never, I believe, equalled; with nothing else to occupy their attention save watching then: companions falling around them, and listening to their moumfrd cries. It was about the time I have just named that the enemy, having gained the orchard, commenced their desperate charges of cavalry, under cover of the smoke which the burning houses, &c. had caused ; the whole of which the wind drifted towards us, and thus prevented our observing their approach. At this period the battle assumed a character beyond description interesting, and anxiously awfrd. Buonaparte was about to use against us an arm which he had never yet wielded but with success. Confidently relying upon the issue of this attack, he charged our artillery and infantry, hoping to capture the one and break the other, and, by instantly establish* iDg his own infantry on the heights, to carry the Brussels road, and throw our line into confrision. These cavalry, selected for their tried gallantiT and skill (not their height or mustachios), who were the terror of Northern Europe, and had never yet been foiled, were first brought up by the 3d battalion of the 1st Regiment. Never was British valour and discipline so pre-eminent as on this
42 EATTLE OF WATEBLOa
occasion ; the steady appearance of this battalion caused the famous Cuirassiers to pull up ; and a few of them, with a courage worthj a better cause, rode out of the ranks, and fired at our people and mounted officers with their pistols, hoping to make the face of the square throw its fire upon them, and thus become an easy prey ; but our men, with a steadiness no language can dojustice to, defied their efforts, and did not pull a single trigger. The French then made a sudden rush, but were received in such a manner, and with a volley so well directed, as at once to turn them. They then made an attempt on the 2d battalion, and the Brunswickers, with similar success ; and, astonished at their own failure, the cool intrepidity of their opponents, and the British cheers, they £Eiced about This same game was played in succession by the Imperial Horse Guards and Polish Lancers, none of whom could at all suc- ceed in breaking our squares, or making the least impression upon them whatever. During their attacks, our cavalry rushed out from between the squares, and carried havoc through the enemy's ranks, which were nearly all destroyed. I cannot here resist relating an anecdote of Major Lloyd, of the Artilleiy, who, with another officer (whose name I could not learn), was obliged to take refuge in our square at the time these charges were made, being unable to continue longer at their posts. There was a gun be- tween our battalion and the Brunswickers, which had been drawn back; this. Major Lloyd with his friend discharged five or six times at the French cavalry, alternately loading it and retiring to the square, as circumstances required. We could see the French knocked off their horses as fast as they came up, and one cannot refuse to call them men of singular gallantry. One of than, indeed, an officer of the Imperial Guards, seeing a gun about to be dis- charged at his companions, rode at it and never suffered its fire to be repeated while he hved. He was at length kiUed by a Bruns- wick rifleman, and certainly saved a large part of his raiment by this act of self-devotion. Thus discomfited, Buonaparte renewed his cannonade, which was destructive to a degree, preparatory to an attack of his whole infantry. I constantly saw the noble Ihike of Wellington riding backwards and forwards, like the Grenius of the storm, who, borne upon its wings, directed its thunder where to burst He was everywhere to be found, encouraging, directing, animating. He was in a blue short cloak and a plain cocked hat, his telescope in his hand; there was nothing that escaped him, nothing that he did not take advantage of, and his lynx eyes seemed to penetrate the smoke, and forestall the movements of the foe. How he escaped, that merciful Power alone can tell who vouchsafed to the aliied arms the issue of this pre-eminent contest ; for such it is, whether considered as an action by itself, or with regard to the results which it has brought about Upon the cavalry being repulsed, the Duke himself ordered our second bat-
^
,1^, ^
f'
I •
FUBTHER PARTICULARS. 43
talion to form line with the third battalion, and, after advancing to the brow of the hill, to He down and shelter ourselves from the fire. Here we remained, I imagine, near an hour. It was now about seven o'clock. The Frencn infantry had in vain been brought up against our line, and, as a last resource, Buonaparte resolved upon attacking our part of the position with his veteran Imperial Guard, promising them the pluncfer of Brussels, Their artulery covered them, and they advanced in solid column to where we lay. The Duke, who was riding behind us, watched their approach,' and at length, when within a hundred yards of us, exclaimed, ' Up, Guards, and at them again ? Never was there a prouder moment than this for our country or ourselves. The household troops of both nations were now, for the first time, brought in contact, and on the issue of their struggle the greatest of stakes was placed. The enemy did not expect to meet us so soon ; we suffered them to approach still nearer, and then delivered a fire into them which made them halt ; a second, like the first, carried hundreds of deaths into their mass ; and, without suifering them to deploy, we gave them three British cheers, and a British charge of the bayonet This was too much for their nerves, and they fl^ in disorder. The shape of their column was tracked by their dying and dead, and not less than three hundred of them had fallen in two minutes to rise no more. Seeing the fate of their companions, a regiment of tirailleurs of the Guard attempted to attack our flank ; we instantly charged them, and our cheers rendered anythingfurther unneces- sary, for they never awaited our approacL The French now formed solid squares in their rear, to resist our advance, which, however, our cavalry cut to pieces. The Duke now ordered the whole line to move forward; nothing could be more beautifuL The sun, which had hitherto been veiled, at this instant shed upon us in departing rays, as if to smile upon the efforts we were makmg, and bless them with success. As we proceeded in line down the slope, the regiments on the high ground on our flanks were formed into hollow squares, in which manner they accompanied us, in o]:der to protect us from cavalry. The blow was now struck, the victory was complete, and the enemy fled in every direction : his ddrauie was the most perfect ever known ; in the space of a mile and a half along the road we found more than thirty guns, besides ammuni- tion-waggons, &c &C. Our noble and brave coadjutors, the Prus- sians, who had some time since been dealing out havoc in the rear of the enemy, now falling in with our line of march, we halted, and let them continue the pursuit. Buonaparte fled the field on the advance of the Prussians, and the annihilation of his Imperial Guard, with whose overthrow all his hopes perished. Thus ended the day of Waterloa The skill and courage of our artillery could not be exceeded. The brigade of Guaros, in Hougoumont, suflEered nothing to rob them off their post: every regiment eclipsed
44 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
its f(»rnier de(*ds by the glories of to-day ; and I cannot better close tills than by informing you, tliat when we halted for the night, which we did close to where Buonaparte had been during a great ])ortion of the battle, and were preparing our bivouac by the road- side, a regiment of Prussian Lancers coming by, halted, and played * (i()d save the King,' than which nothing could be more appro- priate or grateful to our feelings ; and I am sure I need scarcely add, diat we gave them three heartfelt cheers, as the only return we could then offer."
Extract from a letter by an Officer in tlie Guards.
" On the evening of the 15th we heard that the French were passing the frontiers, and we received orders to hold ourselves in readiness to march; at two o'clock we received our orders to march, and were off at three. We passed through Braine-le- Comte, and proceeded to a bivouac near Nivelles. While we were setting ourselves down, an order came to move immediately to the left, through Nivelles; having passed it, we heard the firing very close, and soon met many wounded Belgians coming in. At five o'clock. General Maitland galloped up, and ordered the Grenadiers to drive the Fi^nch out of a wood, and in about half an hour we perfectly cleared it When we opened at the end of the wood, the enemy threw in a most tremendous fire of round and grape shot, from which we found it necessary to retire. We got out of the wood in another part, and they unmediately advanced columns to attack us, whicn deployed very regularly, and drove us a short way back. However, we advanced again, and they gave way and retired to their guns. They then ad- vanced upon us, and having driven as back a second time, their cavalry attempted to charge ; but a square of Black JBrunswickers bropgnt them up, while we were nimbly slipt into the wood on our right, lined the ditches, and paid them handsomely. Our loss was very severe, and we found great difficulty in forming our line again. At last we effected it with the third battalion of our regiment, and then we drove every thing before us. We kept possession of the wood all night The Prussians and French had been engaged from two o'clock in the morning, in the position of Fleurus; and the former had been driven back. The French then tried to get possession of the road to Brussels. They had a severe contest with the Dutch and one of our divisions, and had succeeded in driving the Dutch out of a wood (Bossu, I think it is called). We arrived at the very moment the French skir- mishers were appearing. We dashed in and cut them up pro- perly, though our loss was severe. Out of 84, I had only 43
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 45
left in my company.* At night the remains of the battalion bivouacked at the head of the road, and during the night we received a strong reinforcement They call this the action of Quatre Bras (where two high-roads cross). In the morning of the ITthy the enemy made no further attempt against us ; and as the Prussians had retired during the night, we did the same very leisurely, about eleven o'clock taking up a position in front of a village called Waterloo, at a point where the high-road or chauss^ to Brussels crosses that from Nivelles to Namur. Here we remained quiet through the ni^ht, except that it rained more ftiriously than ever I experienced, even in Spain. We were quite wet through^ and literally up to the ankles in mud. The cavalry were considerably engaged during the day of the 17th, but the Hussars could not make much impression against their heavy-armed opponents. The Life Guards behaved most nobly, and carried every thing before them. The morning of the 18 th dawned full of expectation of something decisive being done.
*' But, first, I must give you some idea of our position. It ran from the Brussels chaussee to the right, about a mile and a half in length, and then turned very sharply to the right and crossed the chaussee ft^m Nivelles to Namur, which two chauss^es cross each other, so that we were nearly in a quarter-circle (like an open fan, the two outside sticks being the chauss^).
^' At the turn and at the bottom of a slope was a farm and orchards, called Hougoumont This was the key of our posi- tions, and in front of our centre. On this point the most serious attack was made.
** At twelve o'clock the columns of the enemy moved down from the heights which they had occupied during the night, and our artillery began to cannonade them most rariously, which their artillery returned; and it is said that 300 pieces were in use that day. The British infantry were drawn up in columns imder the ridge of the position. We were at the turn or knuckle with two battalions of Brunswickers. The 3d Regiment of Guards were in columns in front of the turn, and the Coldstream at the farm-house. The light infantry of the division were to defend the orchard and smaU wood next to it The 3d Division were in squares to the left of our squares, and under cover of the ridge.
** Unfortunately for us, during the cannonade the shot and shells which passed over the artillery fell into our squares, and I assure you I never was in a more awful situation. Col. Cooke (who commanded the battalion) was struck with a grape-shot as he sat on the ground next to me. The enemy now made an attack
* It appears by the " Gazette/' that the Ist Regiment of Gaards lost, in this affair, five officers killed and eight woundeA : no official return has yet been made of the men ; bat report states that regiment to have lost dOO killed and wounded in this battle, exclusively of the action on the 18th.
46 BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
with infantry and cavalrv on the left, in hopes of carrying the chaussee to BrussiOd ; hut the artillery guns cut them to pieces every time they advanced. They tlien attempted to charge the guns with cavalry ; hut the squared of infantry kept up so smart a fire tliat tliey could never reach our gmis, though the artillerymen were obliged to leave them to get out of our fire. When the enemy foimd the attempt fail on this point, he ordered an attaufk on the farm-house, which it was necessary for him to )X)ssess in order to turn the right of ourjx)sition. There it was that the serious struggle conmienced« Two companies of light infantry, under Lord Saltoun, disputed tlie wood and orchard most gid- lantly, but were at last obliged to retire under cover of the house, when the enemy were charged by the light infantry of the 2d brigade (the Coldstream and the 3d), and driven back with great loss. At this period the Coldstream entered the house, which the enemy set on fire by shells, but did not entirely consume it. The enemy were foiled in two repeated attempts, and were each time severely cut up by the artillery. When they faQed in their attacks upon our squares, the cavalry rushed out from between our squares, and cut them up most desperately. When he found these efforts vain, he began his attack upon the centre. He first endeavoured to carry the guns with his cavalry, which came up most gallantly ; but our squares sent them to the right-about three times in great style. I never saw any thing so fine, the cavalry rusliing out and picking up the deserted cannon. After these failures he brought up his Garde Imp^riale^ just opposite to our brigade, which had formed in line on their advancing. We were all lying under shelter of a small bank, as they covered their ad- vance with a most terrible fire of grape and musketry. Buona- parte led them himself to the rise ot the hill, and told them, ^ that was the way to Brussels:' we allowed them to approach very near,* when we opened so destructive a fire, that tliere were soon above 300 of them upon the groimd, and they began to waver. We instantly charged, but they ran as fast as possible. The Duke of Welluigton, observing this crisis, brought up the 42d and 95th, taking the enemy in flank, and leading them himself quite close up. The enemy s column was entirely dispersed. After this, we were again annoyed with grape and musketry, which obliged us to retire. On fronting, we saw another heavy column of the Chasseurs de la Garde Impiriale. We immediately started at
* Those who witnessed this, speak of it as a most handsome affair. The Imperial Gaards' charge was most furious ; General Bjng, from circumstances, oould only receive them in line ; the volley was destructive, literally knocking the mass hack ; nothing could exceed the effect, or he superior to this determined eoolness. General Byng, in the course of the day, had many narrow escapes ; in one instance, a cannon-ball forced itself between his arm and side, rending a hole in his cloak, but did no other mischief than leaving a slight contusion in the hip. — Editor.
FUBTHEB PABTICULABS. 47
donble-quiek time to meet them ; but they had had such a proper reception just before, that thej never let us come near them, and when they turned the rout beicame general We ran on as fast as we could, and the cavalry started after them. We got about two miles that evening, taking ourselves 30 pieces of cannon. No- thing could be more complete and decisive. Most fortunately the I^ussians came on the field at this moment, and pursued the enemy through the night"
Extract of a Letter from an Officer of the Gnardsyfrom the Bivouac
near Lanarecy.
** After our bivouac of the 18th after the battle, we marched to NiveUes, over the terrible field; so horrible a scene scarcely any man ever witnessed ; the ground, for the space of a league, was covered with bodies, absolutely lying in ranks, and horses grouped in heaps, with their riders. Towards our right was a ch&teau, which auring the battle took fire from the enemy's shells ; and in that state was heroically defended by Saltoun, and after- wards by the 2d brigade of Guards. The appearance brought to my mind St Sebastian; it was equally horrid, though on a smaller scale. — I did not mention to you, in my last, that towards the close of the action we were encaged with tne Imperial Guard. After seven hoon.' dreadAal cannr^ and daring ^ch we sof- fered very much from grape and shells, the French cavalry ad- vanced in a saUop, in masses, up the slope of a gentle hill ; they were arrested oy a continual echelon of squares, whose cross-fire cut them to pieces, our men standing like statues. After this suc- ceeded a tiraillade (sharp-shooting) of about half an hour, when we all imagined the fight was over, and that it would die away with the night ; but to our surprise, the head of an immense column of the Old Guard appeared trampling down the corn-fields in our firont: they advanced to within one hundred and fifty yards of our brigade without attempting to deploy or fire a shot Our wings threw themselves immediateiy forward, and kept up such a murderous fire, that the enemy retired, losing half their numbers, who, without any exaggeration, literally lay m sections. Their loss in cannon is estimatcoat 160 pieces, and we Prussians take more every step they advance. I have now to tell vou the lamentable loss of 32 officers of our regiment, which has left the command of the 2d battalion under Saltoun, and the third under Seeve, the two youngest captains. Maitland conunands the di- vision, and Fered the brigade, in consequence of General Cooke's wounds. Colonel Cooke was struck by a cannon-shot on the shoulder, about a foot above my head ; but I bdieve his case \& not hopeless. Those who were at Vittoria, Albuera, and Leipsic say their fire was not to be mentioned, or the carnage to be compared.
48 BATTLE or WATERLOO.
to that of Waterloo. — ^The 73d Ke^ment is commanded by Lieut RoWrt Stewart, and the 1st li£;ht German battalion has only one cap- tain left. — Milnes not being likely to recover, or Luttrell command for some time, I have this mommg accepted the command of the regular light infantry company, instead of the supplementary one, which I commanded in the action. Greville is in company with me. We marched on the 19th to Nivelles, 20th to Binch, 21st to Bavay, and to-day to this place, 15 miles from Cambray, 5 miles from Quesnoy, and 10 from Landrecy. The Hussar Brigade, and some light troops, with a corps of Prussians, observe Mau- beuge, and some Hanoverian cavalry are stationed round Quesnoy. The Prussians advance by Charleroi, Maubeuge, and Lsmdrecy, and Givet I hope soon to date from Paris."
From an Officer to his Father (written on the Jield of battle)^ dated
Lee Quatre Bras, I9th June^ 1815.
^' England has to thank the talents of her consummate General and the oravery of the allied troops under his command, their steadiness, and great endurance of privation ; for yesterday's vic- tory is equalled by none of modem aays, except Leipsig.
'^ On the 14th, the French army transferred the seat of war from its own territory to that of the Allies, by crossing the fron- tier in the direction of Fontaine St Ev^que, and moving in large masses on Charleroi and Fleurus. During the 16th they suc- ceeded in getting possession of these places, and in moving their whole army on tne road from Charleroi to Brussels, with the intention of separating the English from the Prussian right, and carrying consternation to that city. The Guards moved fitnn Enghien at three o'clock in the morning of the 16th, to Brain-le- Comte, then to Nivelles, and from thence (making all together 27 miles' march), to* Les Quatre Bras — a point where four cross- roads meet, one leading from Charleroi to Brussels, immediately on our march. We found that we had come at the critical moment, when the enemy were actually in possession of a large wood, commanding all four roads, and cutting off our communi- cation with Marahal Bliicher. The 3d Division had been driven from the wood, and the Guards were* ordered to retake it The enemy's tirailleurs retired as we advanced, till at length we passed the wood, and found ourselves in the presence of an immense body of French cavalry ready to charge. From the difficulties of the ground we could not manoeuvre, and retired into the wood ; the cavalry charged in after us, did us no harm, and were all cut to pieces; but their light troops advanced in such numbers as to oblige us to evacuate the wood at ten o'clock, after four hours' hard fighting, till night closed the business. We lost here in the first brigade. Lord Hay, Barrington, Brown, and Cross, killed ;
FUBTHEB FABTICULABfi. 49
Askew, Adair, Miller, Streatfield, Townsend, Stuart, Croft, Fludyer, and Lathel, wounded. I received a contusion in my right instep from a musket-shot, and a bayonet scratch over the eye ; but neither of any consequence. At night we bivouacked on the road; and in the morning of the 17th retired on the Brussels road, to preserve our communication with the Prussians, who had been separately attacked, and had retired on the 16th in the same direction. Lord Wellington took up a position with his whole army near Braine-larLeud, his right resting on the village of Waterloo, covering the approach from Charleroi; his left extending beyond, anacovering the approach from Nivelles — the whole position 12 miles from Brussek, and covering it in those directions. The night of the 17th was a miserably wet piquet bivouac for me, the rain falling in torrents. At noon on the 18th, the French made the most desperate attack with artillery, cavalry, and tirailleurs, ever witnessed. Our defence was equally terrible. The whole line was formed in squares and battalions ; not one man fell back ; the whole stood firm. The French cavalry repeatedly attacked 6chelon of squares after Echelon, and were repulsed ten or eleven times with immense loss. Our squares stood in the face of shot, shells, and everything else ; which caused great destruc- tion, without our being able to return a shot At eight o'clock, the enemy moved forward his old Guard, who were received by the first brigade of Ghiards, and a Dutch brigade, with Saltoun at their head, with such a fire, that they took to their heels ; their whole army fled in the greatest disorder, and was followed in sweeping lines, as fast as the lines could move. Our cavalry cut them to pieces. The abandoned guns, carriages, knapsacks, and muskets, choked up the ground ; and for five miles, in which we followed them last night, the field was covered with the bodies of Frenchmen only. Ine Prussians beat them in another attack of the same sort the same day, and took Napoleon's carriage and baggage. Napoleon commanded the army opposed to the Duke of \^^ington, and both were in the field together. We are just going to move ofi^ in pursuit I have not taken my clothes ofi^, or changed, siuce I left Enghien ; and don't know when I shall. I never was better in my life. On the 18th we lost Doyley and Pardee, killed ; Gen. Cooke, Lieut-col. Cooke, Stables, Lutterell, Batty, and Ellis, wounded."
Extract of a Letter from an Ofjicer in the 2d Life Guards^
dated 20ili June^ 1815.
** On the morning of the 16th inst about two o'clock, an order came for the cavalry to move from their cantonments, and we marched from Meerbeke about seven. We passed Enghien, Braine-le-Copte, and on approaching Nivelles about seven m the
E
50 BATTLE or WATBBLOa
eveningy we first heud the cannonadingy which had oonunenced about three F.1L After passing through Nivelles, we proceeded at a trot for several miles along me chaius^ leading from diat town to Namur; and, on the approach of night, faivooacked in a wheat- field, between that road and the one leading firom Charleroi to Brussels, and in front of the village of Genappe.
''Next morning (the 17th) our brigade, with the rest of the cavalry, was drawn up in line of battle, fincnting the wood where the French had retired during the night; but thej declinBd attack- ing us. Our in&ntry continued^ during the morning, to retire towards Brussels; it being Lord Wellington's intention to draw the French, bj a ruse ds ffnerre, to a spot of ground which he had fixed on, between Genappe and Brussels, as me most advantamous for giving them battle. After all the infimtry had retire^ the cavsSrj began to retire also, and were soon followed by that of the enemy. During this movement a violent thunder-storm came on, accompanied witn torrents of rain. The 1st Life Guards, with Lord UxDridge at their head, had an opportunity of chamng some French Lancers at the entrance into Genappe, which uiey did most gallantly, and almost cut them to pieces. We were to have given them another charge of the same sort, but they thought it prudent not to expose themselves to om* weight a second time. In the evening we bivouacked on a piece of marshy ground, near the village of Mont St. Jean, where, from the quantity of rain that had fallen, we were almost knee-deep in mua and water. It continued to rain in torrents the whole of the night, but cleared up about nine o'clock in the morning of the 18th. About eleven a«m. the action commenced, and the Household Brigade of cavalry was soon ordered forward to charge the Cuirassiers of the Imperial Gxtard, which they did with great success. A second charge left but few of them ; but we in our turn have suffered much, for the heaviest fire, which was truly tremendous^ was directed against the Household Brigade during the whole of the day, and it is astonishing how any of us escaped. Towards the evening, the fate of the day seemed doubtful, but the timely arrival of the Prussians turned the scale in our favour, and the French army was completdy routed, and retreated in the utmost confiudon^ leaving us masters of the field.
'^The 1st Life Guards have lost CcIL Ferrior and Captain Lind, and several of the officers have been wounded. We nave lost Lieut-col. Fits^erald^ who was kiUed by a cannon-shot soon aft;er the first charge. Captain Irby was taken prisoner, his horse having fallen with him in returning from the charge. He has since made his escape and joined us ; but they have stripped him of his sword and money, and threatened to take his life. Lieut Wajououth is missing, but supposed to be taken prisoner. CoL Lygon and most of me officers had their hones wofinded during
-,V
•^■■!.
FUBTHBB PABncnULBS. 51
the action. Abont 10 p.u. the army biyouacked for the ni^tt there was then only one subaltern with two corporals and six pri-* vates of the 2d Life GKiards remauiing, and about double the number of the Ist Life Guards, but no officer, all or most of them having been dismounted. The command of the remains of the two regiments, for the night, was given by Lord Edward Somerset to the remaining officer of the 2d Regiment
** Several of our men, who had their horses shot dtuing the battle, have joined us, mounted upon horses which had lost their rid^s, some belonging to our regiment, others to the 1st Life Guards, &c &c., and many French. The stragglers ct the other raiments are similarly mounted* We have at present about 40 men with us ; we know of about 49 wounded, and the names of about 16 kiD^: but our loss has been much greater, as I imagine most of those returned missing are killed, as the French did not take many of our men prisoners.*
*^ Lord Wellington was near our brigade several times in the course of the day. He appeared much pleased with the conduct of the troops, and is said to have observed to the General Officer near him, mat it was the hardest battle he ever fought, and that he had seen many charges of cavalry, but never any to equal those made by the heavy brigades, particularly the Household. We made in all four changes, viz. two against the Cuirassiers, and two against infimtry."
Eastrad of a Letter by an OjffUer in the Light Dragoom.
€(
That previous to the Horse Guards' charge, on the IStli, this raiment was ordered to attack a body of Lancers and Cuiras- siers, on whom they could make no impression : that numbers of their men having fallen, they were forced to retreat, when the French were ordered to charge in their turn, and from the supe- rior weight of the horses and men, and theur species of armour and weapons, he had the mortification to see them cut down numbers of his regiment : that being in tiie rear, he soon received 80 desperate a shock himself from one of the lancers as to plui^ himself and horse into a deep ditch, with such violence that l£e horse never got out alive; while he, being thrown, fortunately escaped with ufe, though immersed in, and covered with mud and water : that in his fall the lancer attempted to run him through, luckily missed his aim, and only tore away part of the flesh of the arm : that finding himself in the midst of the enemy, he had offered an officer to surrender, but who declined taking charge of
• The 2d Life Giurds, on the morning of the 18th, were not much above ISO strong, a part of the regiment having been detached. But of this number, it has been since ascertained, that the loss on that day was 152 horses and 86 men, which includes those who were killed and those who died of their wounds.
62 BATTLE or WATBBLOO.
faim theoy and ordered him to an adjacent field, where were several others under similar circmnstanoea: that he had the mortification to witness from thence the overthrow of numbers of the men dur- ing their retreat, but at last, to his great satisfaction, saw the heavy brigade advance to the chai^, who, in their torn, overthrew every tiling in their way, literally rolling both men and horses of the French over to a considerable distance, by the tremendous force of their charge, and cutting down all before them. Seeing the face of affairs to be changed, he c<xitemplated upon an escape; and having communicated his idea to a brother officer near hun, they together made for another part of the field, and had hardly gained tlie summit of a steep bank when, looking back, they observed a small French detachment enter the field, and cut down in cold blood all the prisoners there waiting for the orders of their captors, to the number of thirty or forty, while only himself and companion escaped."
A2d Highland Regiment*
" The 42d Regiment was ordered to advance along with a Belgian corps, to support the Prussians, who were under fire. In the march, owing either to their own superior quickness or to, the want of ardour in the Belgians, the latter were le& behind ; and in a field of high standing com a column of French Lancers ad- vanced upon them. Col. Macara ordered the regiment to form a square, in doing which two companies were left out, or were rather in the act of falling in, when they were pierced by the Lan- cers, and in one moment overwhelmed, and hterally annihilated. The Lancers then attacked the square, and repeated the charge several times. One half of them were also mowed down, together with the brave Colonel; upon which Lieut-coL Dick toc^ the command, though wounded oy a musket-ball ; he succeeded in ral- lying and fonmng them into a diminished square, and thus pre- sented an undaunted resistance to the enemy. The Lieutenant- colonel was at length, from the loss of blood, carried from the field; wh^i he was succeeded by Captain Davidson, who had been previously twice wounded, but remained in the field till near the close of the 16th, when he received his death wound: but the gal- lant remnant of the men succeeded in putting the Lancers to flight
• StOrad of a Letter from a Private in the 4Sld Regimemt to his Faiher.
« General HotpUalj Antwerp^ Jwne 24, 1815.
" On the Idih, about twelve o'clock at night, we tomed oat, and at two in the morning marched from the city of Bnissels to meet the enemy, who were advancing in great force on that city. About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 16th we came up with them. Our whole force did not exceed 12,000 men, who were fatigued with a long march of upwards of twenty miles, encumbered with
FDBTHBR PASTICULABS.
On t^e 16th, this r^ment had killed and wounded 284, on the 18th, 49."
Plan or thx Battle of the 16th Jumb.
Mi
KxpUmMtMt. The pUn is moetl; intended to illustrate the foUowl]^ letter, which relates chiefl; to the glorious part which the 9Sd took in the contest ;
knapsacka and other luggage. Th« da; *»s nncomiDOii]; warm, and no water to be had on the road ; however, we were brought up in order of battle. The Ft'eneh being strongl; posted in a thick wood, to ue nnmber of 40,000 men, iaclnding eavKtrj- and lanaerg, gare na tbt; little tima to look MOund as ere the
54 BATTUI or WAlBBLOa
it however gives detail, and will serre to explain the movements of other Highland regiments, who came thus earlv into the contest. Ttie 03d Regiment is designated by its number, in three different positions. The dotted line indicates the course of its advance against the enemy. The horizontal road is that leading from Brussels, by which our troops came up. The small circle in front of the second position of the 92d in the ditch, is the spot where the Duke of Wellington was so exposed. The road from the house, No. 2, to the village of Quatre Bras, No. 6, is that by which the French cavalry made the desperato charges re- counted below. No. 6 is the garden referred to in the letter as the scene of a dreadful resistance. No. 7 is the Brunswick cavalry, which were routed. The third position of the 02d, in the right-hand comer, close to the wood, is the spot to which their gallant remnant had reached, when they were relieved by the Guards. Here they were exposed to a flank fire from a column and a battery, besides a fire torn the body which they had so nobly driven back. The cavalry columns are indicated, on both sides, by a half circle extending from the paral- lelogram. The guns will be easily distinguished.
92d Regimenty vmUen 2\8t of Jvneyfrcm Brussels, by a
wounded Ojfflcer.
<' The 9th Brigade consisted of 1st, or Royal Scots, 42d, 44th, and 92d regiments. The 8th brigade, the 32d, 28th, 79th, and 95th. We marched 30 miles that night, and came up with the
fight commenced on both sides, in an awful and destroctiye manner, they having every advantage of as, both as to position and numbers, paiticalariy in cavalry, and the British dragoons had not yet come up. The French cavvlry charged the British line of infantry three different times, and did much ezeeotioa, until we were obliged to form squarea of battalions, in order to torn them, whi<^ was executed in a most gallant maimer, and many hundreds of them never returned. Still they sent up fresh forces, and as often we beat Uiem back. The battle laaied imtil it was quite dark, when the enemy began to give way ; our poor feUewB who were left alive following them as long as they could see, when nig^t put an end to the fatigues of a well-fought day. Thousands on both sides ligr killed and wounded on the field of battle : and as the greater part of the action lay in eoni-fields along a vast tract of country, many himdreds must have died for want of assistance through the night, who were not able of themselves to crawl away. I was wounded by a musket-ball, which passed through my right arm and breast, and lodged in my back, from whence it was extracted by a surgeon in the hospital cmF this place. Captain M. is most severely wounded, having several shots through his body, and the regiment, in general, aie mostly cut off. We have heard, since we came here, that our fine brigade, which entered the field on that eventful day, consisting of the Sd battalion Royal Scots, 42d, 44th, and 02d regiments, are now formed into one battahon, not exceeding in the whole 400 men. Lord Wellington retired in the night to wait for rein- forcements, and next day our cavalry and the rest of the army anived. Thus I have given you as full an account of affairs, principally what I witnessed on the 10th. NoUiing can exceed the kindness and attention of the inhabitants of this dty to our wounded men ; the hospital is constantly filled with ladies and gentlemen, who, although speaking a different language, personally administer to our wants with the kindest attention, distributing clean shirts, bread, wine, coffee, tea, milk, and fhiit of all sorts, with every requisite for our comfort and accommodation."
ITTRTEEB PABnCULASfl. 55
enemy aboat 2 or 3 o'clock next daj, tul the 16th. We were mimediately marched into the field, as there were only one British division and some Bronswickers there before we came up. The 92d took the position in a ditch to cover the gons and the cavalry, being the jmuor regiment,'^-while the rest of the division went a little to the left to check the French infantry that were passing on thera We lay in a most disagreeable situation for upwards of an honr^ having an excellent view, however, of the nght, but exposed to a most tremendous fire, from their great ^uns, of shot, shells, grape, &c., which we found great difficulty in keeping clear of. I say keeping dear of^ because you can very oft^ see the round shot coming. This heavy fire was maintamed against us in oonsequmce ofthe Duke and his staff being only two or three
J aids in front of the 92d {vide small circle in ]^an), perfectly seen y the French, and because all the reinforcements which ,were coming up passed along the road in which we were. Here I had a remarxable opportunity of witnesung the sana-fraid of the Duke, who, unconcerned at the showers of shot faUing on evei^ side of him, and killing and wounding a number of his staff, stood watching the enemy and giving orders with as much com- posed calmness as if he were at a review. The French cavalry were now beginning to advance in front of the 92d, to take the village, and ue Brunswick caval^ that were also in our front went on to meet them; but the French putting spurs to their horses to charge, the Brunswickers wheeled about and galloped upon the 92d in the greatest confrision. The French were soon up with their rear men, cutting them down most hcMrribly. The enemy also dismoimted the two guns I have marked. We did not allow the flying Brunswickers to break through our regiment, but they passed round our right fiacnk, close to the men's bayonets, having the French mingled with them, cutting away. We, of course, could not fire to nelp them till they haa cleared us. At the same instant, the road from the French lines towards the village was covered with cavaby at full speed charging* When the Brunswickers deared our right, we wheeled our grenadiers back on the road, the ditch of which we lined, that iSey might fire when the first of the French should pass No. 2 ; the rest were to fire obliqudy on the road and on the remains of those that followed the Brunswickers. The volley was decisive. The front of ihe French charge was completely separated from the rear by the gap which we made, and nothing was seen but men and horses tmnUixig on each other* Their rear retreated^ and the front dashed throu^ the village, cutting down all stragglers. Our assistant-sorgeon dresring a man behind a house. No. 4, had his bonnet cut in two, and a lance run into his side. Three of them came down the load through the grenadiers at frill speed, brand* isfai]^ their swords^ and our rear rank firing at them all ihe way. ^
56 BATTLE OF WAXKBLOa
Two were brought down, but the third (his hone gashing blood from all parts) had just cleared the regiment, when Colond Mitchell made a cut at him with his sabre, which he dexterously parried, but an officer of the staff cut with his sword the ham- strings of the fellow's horse, and he was taken. The rest were likewise taken, and they tell me that eight pursued the Duke a good way. I wonder how he got off, for I saw him in front not hve minutes before the charge. The enemy's charge being re- pelled, it was now our turn to have oiu* share of chai^ging. The French formed their cavalry again to charge, supported by infantry, and advanced past house No. 2, when Adjutant-general Barnes, our old brigadier in Spain and France, who is dotingly fond of the regiment, came down to the front, and calling out, * Come on, my old 92d,' the men jumped from the ditch and charged in the finest style, up to the house Na 2. He was then obliged to leave us, as it was not his duty to chai^, although he could not resist the impulse. We were then moved forward from behind the house, with our brave Colonel Cameron at our head. When we jumped from the ditch, the officer with the regimental colour was shot through the heart The staff of the colour was shattered in six pieces with three balls, and the staff of the King's colour with one. I got the remains of the regimentaL When we moved from behind the house, and had passed the comer of the garden parallel to the road, Na 5, w^e received a volley from a column on the right, which was retreatii^ towards the wood. This fire killed Colonel Cameron and Mr. Becher, and woimded a great many. This column of the enemy kept us five minutes before we could clear the garden in advance to the wood. The fire here was dreadful. There was an immense slaughter among us at this time, but the French began at last to give way, and retreated up the side of the wood, keeping up, however, a tremendous fire, and killing a great many of our regiment We had advanced so far that we were now completely separated from the rest of the line, and scarcely fiffy men of those of us who went into action were remaining. A regiment of Guards was afterwards sent up to relieve us, but not before thirty of that fifty were hit
** We formed behind the houses after we left the field, with the loss, which you will see by the Gazette, of 23 officers and 270 men.
*^ Our regiment has again attracted the notice of all the staff. On the 18th, when the cavalry charged in such desperation, and the line formed squares, none stood but the 92d, and they charged with the Scots Greys at the time they took the eagles.
^' In the afternoon of the 18th, the regiment, which was then reduced to about 200 men, found it necessary to charge a column of the enemy which came down on them, from two to three thousand men : they broke into the centre oi the column with the
/■^
FUBTHEB PAimCULABS. 57
bajonet ; and the instant they pierced it^ the Scots (rreys dashed in to their support^ when thej and the 92d cheered and huzzaed * Scotland for ever I ' By the eflFort which followed, the enemy to a man were put to the sword or taken prisoners ; after which the Greys charged through the enemy's second line, and took the eagles.
" It was perhaps the most destructive battle ever fought The loss fell almost entirely on our division, which, along with the Brunswick troops and some Prussians, was the only one up for the first two hours. The three Scotch regiments are nearly an- nihilated ! I — Ours had only six officers who escaped, and some are so dangerously wounded as to give little hopes of their recovery. We were amply revenged, however; and gave the French a lesson which they will not soon forget ; but they were so strong on this point, tliat, notwithstanding our giving them such a drub- bing, his Grace found it necessary to occupy a better position, by retiring about a league and a half in the rear. He expected another attack, but it did not take place ; and this gave time to Lord Hill and BlUcher to operate upon the enemy's flanks, which obliged him to retrograde. His Grace was strong enough to repel any attack that might be made upon him.
" You womd be astonished how we could have borne the fa- tigue which we sufiered. We marched from Brussels at one in the morning, and arrived at three o'clock in the afternoon at the place of action, having marched nine leases. We were engaged in five minutes aflier, and continued so tul night. I was wounded about half-past eight, when I was obliged to walk six miles to the nearest village, where I lay in pam and sleepless till day- light I was again obliged to walk to Brussels, seven leagues; not being able to bear the motion of a waggon. The exertion has done me no good ; I am indeed surprised that I was able to stand it out The poor fellows who had escaped, bivouacked in the field, without tents or baggage— last night the same — and it has rained incessantly. I am unable to give you the particulars of the action — it was altogether brilliant and decisive. The High- landers and Royals, in particular, behaved admirably. Our regiment was charged by a body of Cuirassiers of the Guard, and we gave them a noble peppering. We also charged a column of infantry, which we dispersed; on getting behind some hedges they rallied, and gave us a terrible fire. It was here that our raiment suffered most Cameron, our gallant colonel {vide MUtary Notices of Fallen Heroes), and four other officers, fell almost at the same instant — this was about six o'clock. We drove them, however, firom all the hedges, and advanced upon two guns, which began to open upon us with grape. These we also drove from two different positions. The French suffered pro-
58 BATIU Of WATBILCX).
digiotifily ; but our cavaliy and artillery not being ap» we could do no more than repel their attacks.
** The courier arrived ui the Duke of Bassano's carriage^ Our regiment was again engaged, and suffered seyerely. There ia scarcely one officer left, rf ever was there sight so touchiE^ so extraordinary^ as this town presents, — ^the people in crowds goinz out to meet the wounded with refreshments, bandages, &c., — afi the women employed in the kindest offices. I returned to the house of my former landlord, where I am treated as if I were his own brother* The French prisoners are treated by the populace in the most violent manner ; the escort can with difficulty protect them from being attacked*'*
The Scotch regiments, who had during the battle of the 18th given such proofs of heroic intrepidity, offered a most sympathetical example in appearing to forget their wounds, to render services to their wounded iron foe» who, but the minute before, had been attempting with ail their might to destroy them. We know from respectable persons, that upwards of 500 of the French owe their lives to their generous enemies. ** Among these respectable warriors, the Scotch deserve to be particu- larly commemorated ; and this honourable mention is due to their dis- cipline, their mildness, their patience, their humanity, and their braveiy without example."
" On the 16th and 18th of June, 1815, their valour was displayed in a manner the most heroic. Multiplied, constant, and almost un- heard-of proofs were given, I do not merely say of courage, but of devotion to their country, quite extraordinaiy and sublime ; nor must we forget that these men, so terrible in the field of battle, were mild and tranquil out of it** — Viscount VAia>EBF0S9E.
Extracts Jwm Letters relative to Ae Conduct oftheSd Battalion of
the Royals.
Batik of Ae 16i/u
'* I have great pleasure in detailing the conduct of the gaUant dd battalion of the Koyal Scots ; and uiough I have been present with the reoiment at the battles of Busaco, Salamanca, V ittoiia, Fuentes d'Honor, both stormingg of San Sebastian, the passage of the Bidassoa, &c. (in all of which they bore a most conspicuous part, and su£Pered moet severely), I can assure you they never evinced more steadiness and determined bravery than at the late battle. About half-past one o'clock on the 16u>i the battaMon was taken from its place in the centre oi the 6th Divisiim, by a movonent to its own left» by order of Sfar Thomas Picton, and instantly by com-
jTvirriuut PABnccLA]i& 69
mand of that lamented ofScer brought into action by a charge upon a column of the enemy ; it succeeded beyond oiu* most sanguine expectations in routing this column, which afterwards formed under the protection of their cay airy, and then commenced a most gallii^ fire upon us, which we returned with the utmost steadiness and precision. The battalion was brought into action under the most trying circumstances imaginable, and continued so for a long time; but they never for one moment lost si^t of that character which upon former triaJs they had so well earned and maintainecL The sround through which they moved was planted with com that tooK the tallest men up to the shoulders; and the enemy by this, and the adyantage of the risii^ ground, threw in yoUey aner yolley of grape and musketry, which did astonishing execution.
^ After being engaged for some time in a Une, the battalion was fi>rmed into a square to resist the enemy's cayalry, who were then adyancii^ in sreat force ; and I haye the pride of stating, that though chained six or seyen times by an urnnite superiority of numbers, the French cavalry never for an instant made ttie slightest impression upon the square of the Royal Scots.
*' The hi^ enoomiums given to this battalion on the morning of the 17th, by the geoeral officers both of brigade and division, for its condbct on the 16th, haye made me yery proud of being a Royal Scot. The Cuirassiers neyer were able to make uie smallest impression upon our squares, nor did we lose one single man by the cavalry. We were at the yery commencement of Uie action sent with Sir James Kempt's brigade, by order of Sir T. Picton, and remained apart from our own brigade the whole day. The 4:2d and 92d were chiefiy engaged near a village, in which the Commander of ihe Forces remamed with the head-quarters for a great part of the afternoon. Our battalion and the 28 th formed one square, and it so happened that the Cuirassiers chained that part of the square in which the Royals were posted.
^' On the afUasioon of the 17th, the battalion, in concert with the rest of the army, retired through the village of Genanpe, and took up the position of Waterloo, which was destined to add fresh glory to the British arms. About nine o'clock in the morning of me IBtb, the battalion was attacked by the enemy, and with yery little interruption the entire day, they formed a line of skirmishing in front of the brigade. I have often seen the battalion en- gaged, but I must confess, on this trying day, they ftr excdled any thing I eyer vritnessed ; and, indeed, so pleasea was the late General ricton with their gallantry and good conduct, that he several times eiqpressed it mmself to them in the most flattering teKmaw"
60 BATTLE or WARBLOa
Extract of a Letter fr(mt Charleroif June 20th, in the morning.
[The well-known sentiments of the functionary who is the author of this letter, guarantees the authenticity of the details which he gives.]
** The 14th in the evening, the Prussians were informed that a movement was executing along the whole French line; and, in fact, at 7 A.K. on the 15th, the tirailleurs were upon Mar- chiennes-sur-Pont and Couillet There were several affidrs of out-posts, and the firing of musketry took place as far the entrance of the wood of Gilly. The French remamed masters of the town at eleven a.il
** Buonaparte^s army defiled during two days ; he was himself at the head of the first column ; he passed through here at three o'clock, as far as the wood of Gilly, where he took a position.
*^ About 6 or 7 p.m. he returned to lodge at Puissants, and set oiF again the next morning at 10, to direct the battle which took
{Jace from Ligny to Quatre Bras. I never in my life saw a finer ■"rench army than that which he had this time.*
'* It was wholly composed of veteran troops, and had a consi- derable maiidrieL W ell, m twice twenty-four hours he has lost alL His soldiers began to arrive here on the 18th, at 7 p.m., in the most terrible (usorder. Three quarters of those who returned were wounded. The generals and officers were in the most cruel despair, and vented a £ousand imprecations against this man, who cannot satiate himself with blood: they will not serve him any longer. Almost all the colonels, majors, and generals are either killed or wounded. In a word, of 40,000 cavalry who passed through here, not 10,000 capable of service have returned ; they all tb^w away their arms, and every soldier said he was going home, and that nobody should ever bring him into the fire again.
*^ Officers have told me, that the retreat from Moscow was not near so terrible as this, because the generals and chiefe of corps had abandoned every thing, and saved themselves as they could.
'* Of the immense artillery which Buonaparte had, only twelve pieces of cannon have returned.
'^ From Quatre Bras to Beaumont you cannot take four steps without finding effects that have been abandoned* More than 100 caissons, loaded with ammunition, provisions, and money, were abandoned in the streets of Charleroi, which, in three hours, were all pillaged by the populace.
** I nave just learned, that almost all the villages through which the French passed in their retreat have been plundered. Marshal Blucher's corps is here, and the heads of his columns are
* N3.— The writer has served several campaigns as a conscript.
FDKTHEB PABTICDLAIUS. 61
advancing to Beamnont The French prisoners taken by the Prussians are sent to Tirlemont, Louvainy Liege, &c« Their number is immense ; the artillery taken is sent to the rear of the army."
From a Correspondent at Brusseb, June 22.
" After the action of the 16th, which was uncommonly obsti- nate and bloody, both armies retired a few miles. The French occupied a large wood near Genappe; the English took up a strong position, with a village called Waterloo in their centre (which was head-quarters), about thirteen miles from Brussels, having the fine forest of Soign^, which extends from thence to the very gates of Brussels, in their rear. The Prussians, under Ge- neral ^ulow, were posted on the left of the Anglo-Belgic army, having the small town of Wavre for their head-quarters. All Saturday, the 17th, both sides were busy preparing for the ter- rible contest A cannonade was kept up at intervals. The weather was sultry, with heavy showers and much thunder and lightning. The British artillery and cavalry (the want of which was severely felt on the 16th, had now come up, with the 27th, and some other fresh regiments. The ground being unequal, the little hills and swells were ftimished with cannon. These preparations continued till about noon of Sunday the 18th, when the French debouched from their coverts, and were astonished, but not daimted, to find us so well prepared to receive them. They made their attack with more than then* usual impetuosi^, attempting to cut our line and turn our left wing ; in which, if they had succeeded, they would have separated us from the Prussians. To efiect this, they made the most astonishing and reiterated efibrts, cplumn propelling column, whilst their artillery and mortars scattered destruction along our whole line. They, in fact, did succeed in breaking up some of our squares of infantry, notwithstanding the most heroic acts of courage that ever were displayed in any battle. But the enemy's columns were shaken ; his men could no longer be made to stand ; and his officers fought, unsupported by their soldiers, like men in despair. At this critical moment the grand and general charge was made. Our brave fellows poured down on me enemy with irresistible force ; and about nine o'clock the French gave up the well-fought field, and retreated about six miles, leaving the ground uickly strewed with killed and wounded, arms, cannon, and baggage. How our great Hero of the battle escaped being killed or twen is wonderfrd, as he was never exposed so much before. He was seen with his spy-glass viewing the manoeuvres of the field, with the same sang-froid and self-possession that an astronomer might be supposed to view the satelutes of Jupiter : whilst showers of balls and shells fiew about him, with evident direction, and which killed and wounded
62 BATTUE or WATERLOO.
fleveral of his sta£ A select party of French cavahy cut thdr passage throu£^h our line of infantry, and were near succeeding in taking him prisoner. At one critical time, when our lines and squares were wavering, Lord Wellington himself, at the head of the 95th^ charged and drove back the most advanced of the enemy.— ( Vide Etching.)
''The feats of particular regiments were also remarkable. The 28thy formed into a square^ repulsed the repeated efforts of the Cuirassiers to break through them. The 73d did the same ; it repulsed every thing until its flanks were opened by showers of grape.— ^Fufe Etching.)
''The three Highland regiments, the 42d, 79th, and 92d, already thinned in the action of the 16th, and of which they bore Uie brunt, were now reduced to compete skeletons. Such was also the state of the 44th after the acti(»i* Nor were the acts of the cavalry less meritorious, particularly the Heavy Brigade. The charge was led by the 6th, or EnniAilling Dragoons, ¥dth Sir William Ponsonby at their head. They cut down everything before them, and overturned the French Chasseurs like nin&-
f>ins. It is said they actually made 3000 prisoners. They were bllowed up with equal intrepidity by the Guards, the Scotch Greys, and the 1st Dragoon Guards : but to enumerate the par- ticular deeds of each, would require the historic page to contain them. Su£Sce it to say, that all the British did theur duty in the most exemplary manner, as they never fSul to do: nor shall I tarnish so brilliant a battle by making any remarks on corps who might not have been so stea^. As to the enemy, it is but justice to say, his courage and conduct equalled, if not surpassed, the finest of his former exploits. It would be unworthy in us to wish to elevate our own character by traducing our enemies. For by how much his valour shall have been conspicuous, by so mucn the more glory will they have acquired who have beat him. History will have a fine and just subject of jnraise in that of his Royal Highness the Hereditary Prince of Belgium. Towards the close of the day, when our lines were bending, he was at the head of his people, cheering and exciting th^n, amidst the hottest fire ; in doing which, his Royal Highness received a musket-ball in his left arm, which ultimately locked in the shoulder."
Extract of a Letter from a German Officer^ July 16.
^' I have visited the field of battle.* The sleep of the dead is sound. On the spot where this day month thousands thronged and fought, where thousands sank ai^ bled, and groaned and died,
* Those who witnessed the field two days after the battle, state that the spec- tad o was most honible; the contortion of the fallen was inconceivable, and this horrur was increased l^ the large masses of horssB that UXlr^EdUor,
FUBIHEB PABnOULABS. 63
there is now not a liying soul, and oyer all hovers the stillness of the grave.
^' In Limy 2000 dead were buried. Here fought the West- phalian ana Berg regiments. Limy is a village built of stone and thatched with straw, on a smdl stzeam which flows through flat meadows. In the village are several farm-houses, inclosed with walls and S^teA, Every farm-house the Prussians had cour verted into a fortress. The French endeavoured to penetrate through the village by means of superior numbers. Four times were they driven out. At last they set on fire the farm-houses in the upper end of the village with their howitzers ; but the Prus- sians still kept their ground at the lower end. A whole company of Westphalum troops fell in the court-yard at the church ; on the terrace before the church lay 60 dead.
"In the evemng the French surromided the village. The Prussians retired half a league ; the position was lost ; and it is imcomprehensible why the French did not follow up the advan-
night.
^* This was on the 16th. The same day a French column marched by the high road of Charleroi to Brussels.
^* At Quatre Bras they found the Duke of Brunswick and the Prince of Orange. Here the battle was as hot as at Ligny. The Duke let himsdf be carried away by his ardour into the fire of small arms; a musket-ball went through his bridle-hand, and entered the belly : the liver was penetrated; he fell^ and breathed his last in ten minutes. His sufierings were short
^^ At the inn by the cross-roads at Quatre Bras the contest was the hottest Here are the most craves. The wounded reeled into the inn-yard, leaned against l£e walls, and then sank down. There are still the traces of the blood on the walls, as it spouted forth from the wounds with departing life.
'^ Where the battle was, the fields are -completelv trodden down for a circuit of about a league. On both sides of the high* road, ways are made about 100 feet broad, and you can still follow the march of the battalions in all directions through the fine fields of maize.
^^ On the 18th, the battle was renewed four leagues nearer Brussels, on both sides of the high-road. The spot is a plain, sprinkled with hillocks. The diameter of the field of battle may be about aleaffue and ahal£ Buonaparte placed himself near the farm-house ofMont St Jean, on a rismg ground, whence he could overlook the whole. Beside him was one Lacoste, a Walloon, who now lives near the hamlet of Belle Alliance, and who was employed as a guide. This man told me as follows: 'When the Prussians came out of the wood of Fritschermont, Buonaparte observed them with his glass, and asked one of his adjutants who
64 BATTLE or WATBRLOa
they were. The latter, upon looking through his ghiss, replied, ' They are the Prussian coloars.' That moment his face assomed a chalkj whiteness, as if the ghost of the samted Queen of Prussia had appeared to him, whom he persecuted to death. He said nothing, but merely once shook his head.'
" When he saw that the battle was lost, he rode off with his general staff and the above guide. He had told Lacoste that he wished to be conducted by a by-road to CharleroL
" Genap{)e is an open market-town, a league and a half from the field of battle, through which runs the Dyle, a small stream. At the lower end of Genappe lies an iron forge, which it drives. A quarter of a mile lower lies the village of W ays, at which there is a bridge. An officer had arrived at Genappe about five in the afternoon, with orders to withdraw the baggage. He had already considered the battle as lost, because the reserves had been brought into the fire. When the flight became almost universal, the military waggons were driven sixteen a-breast on the cause- way. In tiie narrow Genappe they were wedged in together, and Lacoste relates that it took an hour and a half to get through them. It was half-past twelve at night before they got out of £e town, with 150 horses of the staff. I asked him why he did not take Buonaparte by the bridge of Ways, where nobody passed; he replied, * I was not aware of this road.'
'^ Thus with all the maps of the war d6p6t, with all the engineer geographers, who with their repeating circles can set off the geo- graphical position of places even to a second, Buonaparte, with a large staff, here depended on the ignorance of a peasant, who did not know that there was a bridge over the Dyle at Ways. People talk a great deal of military skill and nulitary science, while often in decisive moments tne whole depends upon the knowledge of a very common man.
*^ In the village of Planchenoit, the fourth of a league firom Belle Alliance, the Gnards were posted. The principal house in the village is nearly burnt down. It is inhabited by a very in- telligent farmer of the name of BemhanL He, like the ouiers, had fled on the day of battle; but witnessed, on an opposite height, the combat between Bulow and the French reserve, and comd give a very good description of it. He carried me to the key of the position opposite Fritschermont He told me that the peasant who guided Bulow's army resolved not to come out of the wood at Fritschermont, but to <fescend into the valley lower down, and to penetrate by Planchenoit, nearly in the rear of the French reserves. ^Then,' said he, 'we shall take them all.' The period was truly most critical when the Prussians came to the attack. Wellington was hard pressed, all his reserves were already in action, he was already compeUed to withdraw some of his artillery^ and a countryman from the vicinity of Braine-la-
FUBTHER PABnCULABS. 65
Leud told me that he saw some of the army (as he expressed it) en dibandage, Buonaparte was probably only waiting for the moment when, with his Guards, he could decide the iiy. We shudder w^hen we reflect, that at this important moment all de- pended on the local knowledge of a single peasant Had he guided wrong, had he led them into the hollow way throufrh which the cannon could not pass, had Bulow's army come up;m hour later, the scale had probably descended on the other side. Had Buonaparte been victorious, and advanced to the Rhine, the French nation would have been intoxicated with victory, and with what they call the national glory, and a levy en masse would have been effected throughout allFrance.
" How great soever the number of killed and wounded in a battle may be, yet, as compared with the amount of the armies engaged, it may generally be pronounced moderate However murderous our artillery are, yet their operation is inconsiderable, as relative to the great number of rounds. At the battle of Leipsic, probably only about one in the hundred of cannon and cartridge balls fired took effect The battle of Waterloo was more sanguinary from the smallness of the field of battle ; pro- bably every sixth man fell in it
" The disorder of a battle generally first originates with the runaways, who fly from an impression that all is lost, and who bawl this out to others, in order to exeuse their own flight. Al- though the Prussian army, on the 16th, retreated omy half a league from Ligny, yet shoals of fugitives passed through Liege and Aix-la-Chapelle, spreading universal alarm. I fell in with some of them twenty-five leagues from the field of battle ; they asserted that the French were within a mile of Brussels, and their light troops already in the -suburbs. On the 18th, so early as five in the afternoon, French ruilaways came to the inn at Quatre Bras, who had fled from the field, even at the time when circum- stances seemed very favourable to them.
" The- idea of being cut off operates very strongly upon men ; should it get possession of the mass, then all order is lost, and the army destroys itself. Hence may be explained the great defeat of the French on the 18th. In Genappe there was nothing but pell- mell confrision, and they suffered themselves to be cut down like cattle. In Genappe, 800 lay on the spot General Duhesme, who commanded the rear guard, was cut down by a Brunswick hussar at the gate of an inn. * The Duke fell yesterday, and thou shalt also bite the dust:' so saying, the black hussar cut him down. The fury of the Brunswickers no longer knew any bounds.
" Wellington's army consisted cliiefly of young regiments, and very many of whofti were quite youths. What supported them, was the confidence which they had in the talents of their General.
66 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
" The Ik»l^ans and DuU^li, by the common victory in which they participattHl, have been pretty well amalgamated and fira- temised. Besides, the nation feels itself honoured by its brave Prince."
IjetJttT from Prince Bemhard of Saxe Weimar, to his Father.
" Bivouac near Waterloo^ in the Wood between Brussels and Genappe, June 19rt, 1815.
" Dear Father, — ^Thank God I am still alive, and have escaped nnhurt from two bloody battles. The first was on the 16th of June, the second was yesterday. I beg you, when you read this, to take Ferrari's map in your hand, il^or four weeks I was in cantonments in Genapf)e, with the regiment of Orange Nassau, of which I am Colonel. On the 15th 1 was api)ointed Brigadier of the second brigade of the division Perponcher ; my predecessor had had the misfortune to break his 1^. Besides my two bat- talions of Orange Nassau, I now had under my command three battalions of the Duchy of Nassau, when my brigade was 4000 strong: to-day I have not 1200 left! On the 15th, the French fell uix)n the Prussian army, and pressed it very much. My brigade continued on the left wing of the Dutch army, the heacl- quarters of which were at Braine-le-Comte — my division lay in Nivelles. A battalion of Nassau were at Frasne, and also a bat^ tery of Dutch horse -artillery. When the Prussians retreated towards Fleurus, the post at Frasne was attacked and driven back. The infantry threw itself into a wood on the right, and the artillery retired fighting to Quatre Bras. At this important post I had drawn my bri£:ade together, and cannonaded the enemy, whom I succeeded in keeping off. I maintained this post throngh the whole night Towards morning, on the 16th, I was reinforced by a battalion of Dutch yagers, and a battalion of militia. Soon after arrived my General of Division and the Prince of Omnge. With the latter I went to tlie out-posts, and by his order imder- took a reconnoissance, with a battalion and two cannon. Towards noon the enemy showed strong columns, and began to cannonade us. It is said he had three corps of his army engaged against us on this day. We had only five battalions to oppose to him, and the skirts of a wood to defend to the utmost
" The Duke of Wellington himself was present at the begin- ning of the action: I kept my gtound a long time against an enemy thrice my number, and had only two Belgic cannons to protect myself with. The enemy took the point of a wood oppo- site me, and incommoded my left flank. I, without loss of time, took some volunteers and two companies of Dutch militia, and
FURTEBB PAKTICULASS. 67
recovered my wood at the point of the bayonet : I was at the head of the storming parties, and had the honour to be one of the first in the wood. In cutting away some branches I womided myself with my sabre very slightly in the right leg, but was not a moment out of battle. It is, m fact, not worth while to mention this wound ; I write to you about it, only that you and my good mother may not be alarmed by exaggerated and foolish reports. While I manfully defended my wood/the enemy drove back our left wing as far as Quatre Bras. It was on this occasion that the brave Duke of Brunswick was killed by a ball, which entered his breast. Strong columns of infantry turned my right flank; I asked for orders how to act, but received none. When I saw myself surrounded on all sides, and my people had expended all their ammunition, I retreated in good order through the wood to the neighbourhood of Hautain-le-VaL The Hanoverian division Alten supported me, and recovered the wood, but lost it again ; at last it was forced by the English with great loss, and main- tained through the night I bivouacked for tne ni^^ht in the wood. The Prussians retreated this day to Wavre, an^ on account of this retreat we were obliged to retire to the position near Mont St. Jean, between Genappe and Brussels; this was done on the 17th. We were obliged to bivouac for the night upon a very muddy soil, in the most dreadful rain. Yesterday about ten o'clocK began the decisive battle, which was completely gained towards evening by Wellington over Napoleon in person. A hundred and sixty cannon are the fruit of this bloody victory. I commanded on the left wing, and was charged to maintain a village and a position. With a great loss of men I succeeded. The victory was still doubtful, when, about four o'clock, the Prussians, under Generals Bulow and Ziethen, arrived upon our left flank, and decided the battle. Unhappily the Prussians, who were to support me in my village, mistook my Nassauers, whose uniform is still very French, though their hearts are true Grerman, for Frenchmen, and made dreadful fire upon thenL They were driven from their post, and I rallied them a quarter of a league from the field of battle. My General of Division, whose first bri- gade was wholly destroyed, is now with me. I must conclude, because I have just received orders to proceed to Nivelles in piup- suit of the enemy. Farewell, dear father ; salute my mother, my sister-in-law, my brother, and all my friends; and be assured that I will do everything to be worthy of you.
" The Colonel and Brigadier,
" Beknhard of Saxe Weimar. "
68 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
Extract of a letter from an Ojjicer in the Army of the late
Duke of JJrumwicL
" Brunsunck, June 29, 1815.
** — On the 15th, in. the evening, about ten o'clock, a letter was brought from the Duke of Wellington's office, which con- tained an order tliat all the trooi)s might be concentrated at the Allee Verte, near Brussels, on the following morning at day-break. Orders were accordingly given, and sent off* as fast as possible: but the dislocations being rather at a great distance, the troops could not arrive before five o'clock ; when our lamented Duke, on the instant, marched through Brussels, and so on to the road to Waterloa Directly afterwards the Duke of Wellington followed, and, after showing a letter to the Duke, changed his horse ; they then set off together, and were as fast as possible followed by their suites. About ten o'clock we arrived at Quatre Bras, where we found part of the Na^^sau troops engaged, and heard itiBt the French advanced very fast, and were exceedingly strong. We then went on a hill to observe their approach; but hardly had they perceived the number of officers, but the rascals fired at us with grenades: so we were obliged to leave the spot, and I nar- rowly escaped being killed. About twelve o'cIock we returned; and the Duke strongly expressed his wish of having an oppor- tunity of meeting the French in equal force with his troops. To his great satisfaction, the Royal Scotch, the Hanoverians, and his own corps, arrived betwixt one and two o'clock. Tired and hun- gry as they were, they sang as they passed the Duke, abusing and swearing against Buonaparte, wishing that they might soon meet him, and have an opportunity of setting the soldiers of the Grande Nation to rights. Hardly had we marched half-an-hour when we saw the French expecting us on a hill. The Duke of Wellington then ordered to collect the troops as quick as possible, and to pre- pare for battle. At two o'clock all was ready, and the attack began. The battle was very bloody, but we compelled the enemy to retreat About half-past four the French advanced again, and appeared double the number of the AlUed army; but no fear was shown. The cannonade began most horribly, which in some respects put the train and ba^age in concision; however, the troops stood, and fought h'ke lions: so the French were again obliged to retreat, and were driven back to their position. Here they had a great advantage, being covered by a little wood, where they had placed all their ardll&ry and riflemen. The Duke of Wellington most likely knew this, and ordered a fresh attack, to get the French out of the wood. The troops advanced, the Brunswick division on tlie left wing. When they came near the wood the French commenced a horrible fire with artillery and
« k
\
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 69
case-shot, which occasioned a great loss to our corps. In this attack, which was about seven o'clock in the evening, the Duke was unfortunately killed on the spot by a case-shot* At this moment I was not far from his Highness, and ordered our small carriage, thinking that he was only wounded — when, alas I to my inexpressible sorrow, I found he was dead. My feelings I cannot describe, but you wiU be able to form to yourself an idea."
Letters written from Fleurus. — Juiie 17, 1815.
^^ The French armies have again immortalised themselves on the plains of Fleurus.
" We entered Belgium on the 15th. The enemy was over- thrown in a first affair upon every point where he attempted to resist us.
" Before Charleroi several of his squares were broken and taken by some squadrons only: 1700 prisoners only could be saved out of 5000 or 6000 men, who composed those squares. Yesterday (the 16th) we encountered the whole of the enemy's army, in its position near Fleurus ; its right, composed of English, under the command of Wellington, was in front of Meller; its centre at St Amand, and its left at Sombref — a formidable posi- tion, covered by the little river Ligny.
" The enemy occupied also the little village of Ligny, in front of this river. Our army debouched in the plain, its left mider Marshal Ney, by Gosselies ; the centre, where the Emperor was, by Fleurus ; and the right under General Girard, upon Sombref. The action began at two o'clock upon the left and centre. Both sides fought with inconceivable fury. The villages of St Amand and Ligny were taken and re-taten four times. Our soldiers have all covered themselves with glory. At eight o'clock the Emperor, with his whole guard, had Ligny attacked and carried. Our brave fellows advanced at the first discharge upon the prin- cipal position of the enemy. His army was forced in the centre, and obliged to retreat in the greatest oisorder ; Bliicher, with the Prussians, upon Namur, and Wellington upon Brussels.
"Several pieces of cannon were taken by the Guard, who bore down all before them. All marched i^ith cries a thousand times repeated oi^Vive VEmpereur!^ These were also the last words of the brave men who fell. Never was such enthusiasm ; a British division of 5000 or 6000 Scottish was cut to pieces ; we have not seen any of them prisoners. The Noble Lord must be confounded. There were upon the field of battle eight enemies to one Frenchman. Their loss is said to be 50,000 men. The cannonade was like that at the battle of Moskwa.
• Vide etching.
70 BATTLE OF WATBBLOO.
"This morning, the 17th, the cavahrj of Greneral Pajol is gone in pursuit of the Prussians upon the road to Namur. It is ahpeady t^'o leagues and a half in advance ; whole bands of pri- soners are taken. They do not know what is become of their commanders. The rout is complete on this side, and I hope we shall not so soon hear again of the Prussians, if they should ever be able to rally at all.
" As for the English, we shall now see what will become of them. The Emperor is here.**
Some private letters from the army give the following par- ticulars:—
" The English are retiring upon Brussels by the forest of Soignies ; the Prussians are falling back upon the Meuse in great disorder.
"The 17th, at 11 p.m., the Emperor had his head-quarters at Planchenoit, a village only five leagues from Brussels. The rain fell in torrents. His Majesty was fatigued, but he was very well
" Count Lobau, who was marching with the 6th corps upon Namur, was, with his vanguard, only half a league from the town. Five battalions are gone from Lille to escort tne prisoners taken on the 15th and 16th."
Telegraphic Bulletins from Paris, dated tlie 17</t, ai two o^clock, and transmitted to Lille and Boulogne the 18iA, at four in the Morning,
" On the 15th, the French army forced the Sambre and en- tered Charleroi, made 1500 prisoners, took six pieces of cannon, and destroyed four Prussian regiments. We have lost very few men.
"On the 16th, his Majesty the Emperor gained a complete victory over the English and Prussians united, commanded by Lord Wellington and Prince Bliicher."
Letter from the Duke of Wellington to Sir Cliarles FUnL
" Would you credit it. Napoleon overthrown by the gallantry of a British army 1 — But I am quite heart-broken by tne loss I have sustained ; my friends, my poor soldiers — how many of them have I to regret! — I shall follow up this tide of success, and I shall not be satisfied even with this victory, if it be not foDo\red by the total overthrow of Buonaparte." — June ISth,
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 7 1
Prince Blucher's Letters.
To his Excellency the General Count KdUcreiiihy Governor of
Berlin,
Head Quarters at Genappe, June 19, 1815, J past Jive A.M.
I hereby acquaint your Excellency, that in conjunction with the English army, under the Duke of Wellington, I obtained the completest victory that it is possible to gain over Napoleon Buonaparte. The battle was fought in the neighbourhood of a few insulated houses, lying on the road from this place to Brussels, and called La Belle Alliance ; and I think there cannot be a better name for this important day. The French army is in a state of entire disorganization, and a prodigious quantity of artillery is taken. Time does not allow me to give your Excellency any further particulars at this moment I reserve to myself the com- munication of the details, and beg your Excellency to publish this joyful news to the good people of Berlin.
" Blucher.**
To the Princess BlilcJier, written immediately after the Battle.
** My dear Wife, — You well remember what I promised you, and I have kept my word. The enemy's superiority of numbers obliged me to give way on the 17th ; but on the 18 th, in con- junction with my friend Wellington, I put an end at once to Buonaparte's dancing. His army is completely routed, and the whole of his artillery, baggage, caissons, and equipages, are in my hands ; the insignia of aUthe various orders he had worn are just brought me, having been found in his carriage, in a casket I had two horses killed under me yesterday. It will soon be over with Buonaparte. " Bluchbr."
" P. S. (Written by the Prince's son on the road to Grenappe.) Father Blucher embraced Wellington in such a hearty manner, that every body who was present said it was the most affecting scene that could be imagined."
From anoHier official Letter.
" Gosselies, June 20.
** I have recovered from my fall, but I have had again a horse wounded. I believe now that we shall not so soon have any con- siderable battles, perhaps not at all. The victory is the most complete that ever was gained. Napoleon escaped in the ni^ht, without either hat or sword. I send both sword and hat to-day to the King. His most maCTificently embroidered state mantle and his carriage are in my nands, as also his perspective glass.
72 BATTLE OF WATERLOa
with which he observed us during the battle. His jewels and all his valuables are the booty of our troops. Of his equipage he has nothing left.
" Many a private soldier has got 500 or 600 dollars in booty. Buonaparte escaped under favour of the night The consequences of this victory are incalculable, and Napoleon's ruin will be the result of it ** Blucheb."
To Majar^eneral Von DobschutZf MiKtary Governor of the
Pruman Provinces on the Rhine.
Head-Quarters at Merbes-U'Chateau^ June 21.
Sir, — It is with great pleasure I inform you, that the conse- quences of the victory of the 18th continue to prove more and more brilliant The enemy's army is entirely broken up, and has lost, as near as we can calculate, 300 cannon ; not a regiment of the enemy's is together, and subordination has ceased among them. During the battle of the 18th, a French corps had penetrated to Wavre, to operate on our line of communication, and hinder us from supporting the Duke of Wellington; this corps of the enemy's was yesterday forced back by Lieutenant-general Von Thiehnann, who was opposed to it at Wavre, as far as Namur, and Lieutenant-general Fhielmann probably occupied that place vesterday evening. Maubeuge was surrounded yesterday, and Landrecies and Avesnes will be so to-morrow. Blucheb."
Letter from an Officer of high Rank in the Prussian Army, " Genappe-sur-Oise, near Guise, June 24, 1815.
**The army has behaved gloriously. The 3d corps had to cover our rear while we were engaged: it had some severe attacks to support, and fought without interruption on the 18th, 19th, and 20tb; it was at nrst in a critical situation, but extri- cated itself very well ; if we had lost the battle, this was our only dependence.
** Never was any battle so fine as ours at La Belle Alliance, never batde so decisive, and never was an enemy so completely destroyed. With some corps of the army we had got unperceived into the rear of the enemy, who with great superiority of numbers, and still greater impetuosity, had attacked the Duke of Wellington, and kept ourselves concealed in a wood.
^^ Just as the fate of the day was dubious, the British army had lost considerable ground, and the enemy was ready to strike another blow against it, we resolved, though our columns were for the most part not come up, to make the attack with two bri- gades only : we therefore burst out of the wood, exactly in the
FUBTHER PAimCULABS. 73
rear of the enem j, and opened our fire. The enemy was now in a desperate situation, but fought, however, with a desperation suitable to it, and turned all his reserve against us. We main- tained our position. The enemy brought up fresh troops against us ; but we also became stronger every quarter of an hour : tlie firing became so violent, that the enemy's cannon-balls flew by us without ceasing, not to mention our own fire ; I could scarcely hear the notices that were brought, and give the necessary orders ; and though my voice is very powerful, I was obliged to exert it to the utmost in order to be heard. As our troops continued to be reinforced, we advanced cautiously, but incessantly : it was a grand sight to see our battalions, formed into square masses, descend from the heights, which rise like terraces, preceded by their batteries and sharpshooters. After an obstinate resistance the enemy's army was oroken, and fled in the utmost disorder. Gene- ral Gneisenau, resolved to leave him not a moment's repose, put himself at the head of the troops, encouraged the tired men to follow him, and so with only a few cannon, which we fired from time to time, we drove him from all his bivouacs, an^ continually firing and cutting him down, we pursued till we at last reached the Guards. Buonaparte had intended to stop at Genappe ; but when he heard our cannon, and our cavalry and infantry, though few in number, come up, he escaped from his carriage, defending himself with his pistols. Besides nis hat and sword, his seal-ring was also taken, and now blazes on the hand of the hero Gneisenau. We have got all his ba^ige, even his diamonds. The Fusiliers sold four or five diamonds as large as a pea, or even larger, for a few francs. We have a large quantity of diamonds* of a middle size, and one of the size of a pigeon's egg ; the Fusiliers have chosen out the finest as a present to the king. The subaltern officers of this battalion dine now upon silver. We did not halt till daybreak. It was the finest ni^ht of my life : the moon beautifully illuminated the scene, and the weather was mild. General Gneisenau had again a horse killed by a cannon-ball in the last battle, another twice wounded by musket-balls, his sabre once beat out of the scabbard, and once shot to pieces."
Letter from Dusaeldorf, — June 26.
"Buonaparte's costly travelling carriage, which is provided with every convenience, and which was taken by the 15th Prus- sian regiment of infantry of the line, arrived here yesterday after- noon. What various thoughts and feelings must the sight of this carriage inspire I It was naturally an object of general curiosity. Upon being examined, it was found to contain several private
* The diamonds, to an immense amount, were chiefly found in powder- waggons.
74 BATTLE OF WATBBLOa
drawers, filled with various articles of value ; among other things, some articles belonging to Buonaparte's toilet ; various articles for the table, mostly massy gold : besides this carriage, it seems diat seven other state carriages were taken, among which is the magni- ficent state coach, in wliich he intended to make his entry mto Brussels, drawn by ein^ht cream-coloured stallions; they were taken, besides eighty Arabian horses, all his ba^age, diamonds, treasures, &c &c«
^' The travelling Ubrary taken consisted of near 800 volumes."
Narrative of the particular Circumfttances under which Major to5 Keller captured the Carriage, JEquipage, and Baggage-waggon of Napoleon Buonaparte, on t/ie 18tA June, 1815, after the battle of Waterloo.
The fourth corps of the Prussian army, commanded by the General of Infantry, Count Bulow von Donnewitz, proceeded by forced marches from tlie environs of Luttwick, and arrived at Zabeme at four o'clock in the afternoon of the 18th of June. General von Hillier received orders to form the advanced guard with the 16th Brigade ; and Major von Keller received orders to form the head of the advanced guard, with two battalions of Fusiliers, and to proceed to Planchenoit, in the direction along the heights ; and to clirect his particular care to the left wing.
The Major, in obedience, executed this order with the utmost promptitude, and met the enemy before Planchenoit, whom, by means of the Tyrolese, led on by Captain von Humbracht, he repulsed* The conflict soon became general, but the French b^»me considerably reinforced at this period. General von HilUer with the 16th Brigade, after having twice attacked Planchenoit, at length stormed it with the 16th Brigade, and took it
During the time of this attack. Major von Keller went round the village, and by this movement came on the right flank of the flying enemy, and pursued them along the road which leads to Charleroi : here he fell in with some other Prussian light infantry, whom he attached to his own corps.
The General of Infantry, Count Gneisenau, gave personal orders to Major von Keller to pursue the flying enemy without intermission. The hero Gneisenau remained constantly at the head of the pursuers. At eleven o'clock at night, the troops arrived at the barricaded town of Genappe. At uie entrance of Genappe, Major von Keller met the travelling carriage of Buona- parte, with six horses. The postillion and the two leaders were killed by the bayonets of the Fusiliers. The Major then cut dowD the coachman, and forced opened the doors of the carriage : the Major then took possession of the carriage, and afterwards brought
FUBTHER PARTICULARS. 75
it to England himself,* All the houses in Oenappe were filled with the enemy, and those who were found with arms in their hands were bayoneted on the spot After this destruction of the enemy at Genappe, the pursuit was continued over Milet as far as Goslie : and in the former of the two towns, the Fusilier regiment, under Major von Keller, captured the most valuable baggage of the whole French head-quarters, and took more than 3000 pri- soners.
The captured carriage contained a-gold and silver n&essairey including above seventy pieces; a large silver chronometer; a steel bedstead with merino mattresses ; a pair of pistols ; a green velvet cap ; a pair of spurs ; linen, and many other things for the convenience of travelling. There were also a diamond head-dress (tiara), hat, sword, uniform, and an imperial mantle. The booty made was equally considerable and remarkable ; several boxes of mounted and unmounted diamonds, large silver services with the arms of Napoleon, and gold pieces, with his name and portrait, filled tlie haversacks of the soldiers of that battalion.
** Head-quarters of iJie Allied Sovereigns, Saarbrucky^ July 3d, 1815.
" It is seldom that a grand pohtical plan has been executed with such an active and successful co-operation of all^the parties as the present No greater importance was for a moment attached to Buonaparte's enterprise tlian it deserved. The declaration of die 13th of March and the 12th of May, equally show the immu- table sentiments of the High Allies, and the just appreciation of what the Disturber of the peace of die world, returned from Elba, could effect It occurred to nobody to believe any lasting effects of his appearance. The peace of Europe was established ; the invasion of Buonaparte was rather a breaking of the peace, in the light of an offence gainst the police, than a political breach of the repose of Europe ; the first great occasion on which all the Euro- pean states had to show that they formed one and the same re- united ^hole. Too weak to destroy a work which rested on such firm foundations, the enemy was powerful enough to cause to the world incalculable, though transitory evils. It was, therefore, to be proved by the energy of the great penal measures against the last attempt to involve Europe in fiames by unworthy means, whether the union of its princes would be durable, whether amidst the difficult negociations concerning the meum and tuuniy and the
• This carriage, from circnmstances, is an object of curiosity ; it was built by Symouds at Brussels, according to Buonaparte's order, for the campaign in Hussia, in which he travelled and returned, the body being placed on a sledge : it is replete with personal conveniences, and is still exhibiting in London.
* This letter is attributed to Gentz.
76 BATTLE OF WATKBLOO.
particalar pretensions of each in<lividual, the great pubKc spirit of the years 1813 and 1814 had really maintain^ itself unimpaired.
** Every possible doubt of tliis nature is for ever and irrevo- cably silencea by the events themselves.
** The political and military tactics of Jfapoleon were well known: to divide in order to command^ politically by separate nefi^ociations, militarily bv partial attacks on his adversaries, exe- cuted with an immense display of force : to divide and cut them off from each other was more especially the line he had to follow in this new enterprise; as he could depend on finding in his own party the unity of milt and desperation, and as the union of the princes opjiosed to nim seemed, from the diversity of the several mterests, to become more intricate and artificial with the accessicm of every new member.
*' His political attacks were directed, as had been foreseen, first acainst Austria; in such a critical situation as his was, nothing short of the defection of so great a power as Austria could throw a weight into his scale. He has brought into play the most sacred private feelings, which, in the great mind oi him who was to be rained by them, had been long since repressed within their due limits ; he gave clearly to understand the inmiense present advan- tages which a union with him would have placed in the hands of the House of Austria. All was in vain : posterity will judge whether Austria has worthily terminated a twenty-years' struggle, whether the ancient pillars of her throne, juslice and an innate conscientiousness in her policy, have been forgotten by her, at a moment when an indubitable preponderance (the highest aim of short-sighted cabinets) was offered to her; posterity will only doubt wnether Austria has shown more magnanimity in prosperity or adversity.
** In a military point of view, it was with certainty to be fore- seen that he would make a concentrated attack upon one of the wings of the great theatre of war, which extended from the Apen- nines and the Alps along the Rhine ; Italy and the Netherlands were the first and most natural objects of his operations. Now, by a rare union of political and military activity, the first of these objects, Italy, was wrenched firom his hands ; so that the Alps, whose summits, supported by his only ally, he fancied he could threaten, became his most vulnerable fix)ntier, is evident to the whole world.
" The more difficult it was for him to separate himself irom Paris, as it was decided that he must renoimce Italy for ever, and that he could find only in France a place for his usurped throne, the more unalterably was the plan of operations prescribed to him, which he had to adopt, and by which lie was to meet his ruin. It was necessary that the Power which the most nearly threatened Paris should be first, if not annihilated, at least shaken.
FURTHER PARnCOLARS. 77
** According to the first plan of the Allies, three armies were to penetrate into France at once, independent of each other, but tending to a common centre. That of the Upper Rhine, under Field-marshal Prince Schwartzenberg ; that of the Lower Rhine, under Field-marshal Prince Blucher ; and that of the Netherlands, under Field -marshal the Duke of Wellington. ' The Russian armies, which, according to the usual calculations, could not come up till a later period, were to form the reserve, as the Austrian * army in Italy was to come to support the South of France imme- diately after the completion of the conquest of Italy.
^* The turn that affairs took in Italy induced the great British Conunander strenuously to urge the union of the two armies of the Lower Rhine and the Netherlands. With what reciprocal regard this union, this belle alliance^ was accomplished, neither of the two conmianders becoming subordinate to the other, and how just was the military conception in which this union originated, has been proved by the most brilliant result : the heroism and the energy of the execution were no more than Europe justly expected from the two generals and their armies.
** But that the Lower Rhine could be uncovered without causing a break in the whole undertaking, and that the urgent re- presentations of the Duke of Wellington could be attended to, for this Europe is indebted to the unparalleled exertions of the Prussian Government, which had assembled upon the Rhine, before the end of June, a force that, according to the most favourable calculations, would have achieved the utmost that could be expected, had it arrived by the same time upon the Elbe; so that it was able immediately to enter into the great line, and to fill up the interval between the army of the Upper Rhine and that of the Nether- lands.
" Thus, by a perfectly united exertion of all the great powers of Europe, was Buonaparte defeated, both in the cabinet and the field. The remembrance of this great moment, so truly glo- rious for all the leading sovereigns, w^ill never be extinguished. Posterity, in complete possession of all the details of these events, will acknowledge how much it owes, in particular, to his Majesty the Emperor of Austria." — From the " Austrian Observer."
RESTrrunoN op Works of Art carried off by the French,
" Aix'la-CIiapelle, July 25th.
> ^^
" By an official letter from the Councillor of State, M. Ribben- trop, Intendant-general of the army of the Lower Rhine, dated Paris, July 15, I have received information that his Excellency Fieldrmarshal Prince Blucher of Wahlstadt, immediately after the taking of Paris, ordered that all the works of art and literature
78 BATTLB OF WATEBLOO.
which are there, and which had been previously carried off by the French from the states of his Prussian Majesty, should be seized and restored to the places from which they were taken. For the execution of this order a s|)ecial conunittee has been appointed at Paris, under the direction of an intendant-general, and at the same time a line of conveyances from Paris to the Rhine. The first convoy left Paris on the 16th ; among the articles which it brings is the invaluable picture of St Peter, which Rubens presented to Cologne, his native city, and which the audacious hands of our enemies ravished from the sacred and classic soil. Orders have also been given, that the beautiful colunms of granite and porphyry, carried off by tiie same sacrilegious hands irom the sanctuary of our Cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle, and placed afterwards to support the arched roof of the Hall of Antiquities at Paris, shall be pmled down, and brought back to Aix-la-Chapelle. I bad particularly requested our illustrious Field-marshal, immediately upon the taking of Pafis, to cause these two articles to be restored ; he has immediately complied with this desire, and has thus acquired a particular right to the gratitude of the cities of Cologne and Aix- la-Chapelle. You see, Prussians of the Rhine, that the state, of which you are the youngest children, has not forgotten to seize the first opportunity to make you participate in the fruits of its victories, i our cities will celebrate with grateful joy the day on which the property plundered firom your ancestors, re-taken from a rapacious enemy by the powerful hand of your king and his warriors, shall re-enter your walls, &c,
(Signed) " Sack,
" President of the Prussian Provinces of the RkineJ*
Tlie Duke of Wellington to Lord Castlereagh,
''Paris, Sept 23d, 1815.
" There has been a good deal of discussion lately, respecting the measures which I have been under the necessity of aaopting in order to get for the King of the Netherlands his pictures, &c. from the Museum ; and lest these reports should reach the Prince Regent, I wish to trouble your Lordship with the following state- ment of what has passed, for his Royal Highness's information.
" Shortly after the arrival of the Sovereigns at Paris, the mi- nister of the King of tlie Netherlands claimed the pictures, &c. belonging to his sovereign, equally with those of other powers ; for, as I learn, he never could get any satisfactory reply from the French Government After several conversations with me, he addressed to your Lordship an ofiicial note, which was laid before the ministers of the Allied Sovereigns assembled in conference ; and the subject was taken into consideration, repeatedly, with a view to discover a mode of doing justice to the claimants of the
FUBTHEB FABTKniLABS. 79
specimens of the arts in the Museum^ without injuring the feelings of the King of France.
^^ In the meantime the Prussians had obtained from his Majesty^ not only all the pictures really Prussian, but those belonging to the Prussian territories on the leh of the Rhine, and the pictures, &c^ belonging to all the allies of his Prussian Majesty ; and the subject pressed for an early decision, when your Loidship wrote your note of the , on which it was fully discussed*
" The ministers of the King of the Netherlands, still ha^dng no satisfactory answer from the French Government, applied to me as the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the King of the Netherlands, to know whether I had any objection to employ his Majesty's troops to obtain possession of what was his undoubted property ? I referred this application again to the ministers of the Allied Courts, and no objection having been stated, I considered it my duty to take the necessary measures to obtain what was his right.
"I accordingly spoke to the Prince de Talleyrand upon the subject, explained to him what had passed in conference, and the grounds I had for thinkii^ that the King of the Netherlands had a right to the pictures, and begged him to state the case to the King, and to ask his Majesty to do me the favour to point out the mode of effecting the object of the King of the Netherlands, which should be the least offensive to his Majesty. The Prince de Talleyrand promised me an answer the following evening, which, not having received, I called upon him at night, and had another discussion with him on the subject ; in which he informed me that the King could give no orders upon it, that I might act as I thought proper, and that I might communicate with M. Denon. I sent my aide-de-camp, Colonel Fremantle, to M. Denon in the morning, who informed him that he had no orders to give any pictures out of the gallery, and that he could give none without the use of force.
•
" I then sent Colonel Fremantle to the Prince de Talleyrand, to inform him of this answer, and to acquaint him that the troops would go the next morning, at twelve o'clock, to take possession of the King of the Netherlands' pictures, and to point out, if any dis- turbance resulted from this measure, the Eang's ministers, and not I, were responsible. Colonel Fremantle also informed M. Denon that the same measure would be adopted.
" It was not necessary, however, to send the troops, as a Prussian guard had always remained in possession of the gallery, and the pictures were taken without the necessity of calling for those of the army under my command, excepting as a working party to assist in taking them down and packing them.
" It has been stated, that in being the instrument in removing the pictures belonging to the King of the Netherlands from the
80 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
galleiy of the Tnilleries, I bad been gtultr of a breach of a treaty which 1 had myself made : and as there is no mention of the Museum in the treaty of the 25th of March, and it now appears that the treaty meant is the Military* Convention of Paris, it is necessary I should show bow that convention affects the Museom.
^' It is not now necessary to discuss the question, whether the Allies were or not at war with France : there is no doubt whatever that their armies entered Paris under a roilitaiy convention, con- cluded with an officer of the Goyemment; me Prefect of the Department, as an army officer, being the representative of each of the authorities existing at Paris at the moment, and authorised by those authorities to treat and conclude for them.
" The article of the Convention which it is supposed has been broken is the 11th, which relates to public property. I positively deny that this article refers at all to the Museum, or Gallary of Pictures.
" The French Commissioners, in the original projet, proposed an article to provide for the security of this description of property : Prince Bliicner would not consent ; as he said there were pictures in the gallery which had been taken from Prussia, which his Majesty Louis the XVIIL had promised to restore, but which had never been restored. I stated this circumstance to the French Commissioners, and they then offered to adopt the article, with an exception of the Prussian pictures. To this offer I answered, that I stood there as the ally of all the nations in Europe ; and any- thing that was granted to Prussia I must claim for other nations. I added, that I had no instructions regarding the Museum, or any grounds on which to form a judgment how the Sovereigns would act ; that tliey certainly would insist upon the King's performing lus engagement, and that I recommended that the article should be omitted altogether, and the question should be reserved for the decision of the Sovereigns, when they should arriye.
" Thus the question regarding the Museum stands, and the Treaty or Convention of Paris is silent upon it : but there was a communication upon the subject, which reserved it for the decision of the Sovereigns.
" Supposing the silence of the Treaty of Paris of May 1814, regarding the Museum, gave the French Goyemment an undis-
Euted claim to its contents upon all future occasions, it will not e found that this claim was broken by this transaction. Thus I acted for the French Government at the time I considered that the successful army had a right, and would touch the contents of the Museum ; and they made an attempt to save them by an article in the Military Convention. This article was rejected, and the claim of the Allies to their pictures was broadly advanced by the negotiators on their part, and tliis was stated as the ground for rejecting the article. Not only, then, the Military Conyention did
FUBTHER PABTICTJLAfia 81
not itself guarantee the possession; but the transaction above recited tended to weaken the claim of possession by the French Government, which is founded upon the silence of the Treaty of Paris of May 1814.
" The Allies, having the contents of the Museum justly in their power, cannot do otherwise than restore them to the countries from which, contrary to the practice of civilised warfare, they had been torn during the disasti*ous periods of the French Revolution, and the tyranny of Buonaparte,
" The conduct of the Allies regarding the Museum, at the period of the Treaty of Paris, might be fairly attributed to their desire to conciliate tne French army, and to consolidate the recon- ciliation with Europe, which the army at that period manifested a disposition to effect
" But the circumstances are now entirely different : the army disappointed the reasonable expectations of the world, and seized the earliest opportunity of rebelling against their sovereign ; and of giving their services to the common enemy of mankind, with a view to the revival of the disastrous period which had passed, and of the scenes of plunder which the world had made such gigantic efforts to get rid of.
** The army having been defeated by the armies of Europe, they have been disbanded by the united councils of the sovereigns, ana no reasons can exist why the Powers of Europe should not do justice to their own subjects, from any view to conciliate that army again ; neither has it once appeared to me to be necessary that the Allied Sovereigns should omit this opportunity to do justice, and to gratify their own subjects, in order to gratify the people of France.
" The feeling of the people of France upon this subject must be founded on national vanity only. It must be a desire to retain these specimens of the arts, not because Paris is the fittest deposi- tory for them (as on that subject artists, cdhnoisseurs, and all who have written upon it, admit that the whole ought to be removed to their ancient seats), and because they .were obtained by military success, of which they are the trophies.
" The same feelii^ which induces the people of France to wish to retain the pictures and statues of other nations, would naturally induce other nations to wish, now that success is on their side, that the property should be returned to its rightful owners, and the Allied Sovereigns must feel a desire to gratify them.
. ** It is, besides, on many accounts desirable, as well for their own happiness as that of the world, that the people of France, if they do not already see that Europe is too strong for them, should be made sensible of it ; and that, whatever may be the extent, at any time, of their momentary and partial success against any one, or any number of the indiviaual powers in Europe, that the day of
G
82 BATTtB OF WATIBLOOl
retribution most come. Not only then wonld it, in my ojMnion, be unjust in the sovereigns to gratify the people of France on the subject, at the expense of their own people, but the sacrifice they would make would be impolitic, as it would depriye them of the opportunity of giving the people of France a great moral lesscxi.
" I am, &C. ** Wellihgtoh."
** Paris, Sept 23, 1815^
**Fari8, Oct 19, 1815-
*^ Sir, — As my conduct has been publicly animadverted ujpon, for not having allowed the property plundered firom Prussia by a banditti to remain in the Museum of the Louvre, I have only to remark, that, ably supported by the illustrious Wellington, I pur- sued the thieves who had despoiled many of the nations of Europe of their inestimable monuments of the Fine Arts : I attacked and dispersed them, and restored to my country the plunder they had unjustly taken, spiuning the idea of negotiating with the French commissioners on the subject : and they may now thank Provi- dence for our not following their base example.
** Blucheb." *' To General Count Muffin, Governor of ParisJ"
ANECDOTES,
*' His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange,* hurried by ardour into the midst of the battle, was surrounded and taken by the French. The 7th Battalion perceived the Prince's danger, hastened to his assistance, and succeeded in delivering him ; liis Royal Highness took off the insignia of his order, and threw it into the midst of the battalion, exclaiming, * Children, you have all deserved it T It was fastened to their colours on the field of battle, amid cries of * Long live the Hereditary Prince !' All the Belgians swore to defend, even to death, this mark of honour: and at this sublime moment, many of these brave men fell whilst pronouncing this patriotic oath.
** Towards the close of the day, when he saw the lines w^ere bending, he was at the head of his people, cheering and exciting them, amidst the hottest fire, when nis Royal Highness received a musket-ball in his left arm, which lodged in his shoulder.'* — Vide Dutch Account
*^ Brussels, July 26. — The French cannon brought from La
* An eye-witoess, who was travelling on the French fi!t>ntier8, Januarj 16th, personally witnessed the active exertions of the Prince of Orange in collecting the forces, and giving notice to the distant corps of the commencement of hosti- lities, and from H. B. H. in person at Bmssels the Duke of Wellington first leamed that hoetilitiaa had oommesoed. — Editor,
ANECDOTES'. 83
Belle Alliance are placed here upon the Esplanade, without tlie gate Du Rivage, till they shall he embarked for England. They are 87 in number, as well cannon as howitzers. Some have the ciphers of * Louis XIV.,' others have the words, * Liberty, Equa* lity,' and the greater number the cipher of Napoleon ; fifty others are expected in a short time. We have received from the head- quarters of Prince Augustus of Prussia, an account of the sur- render of Landrecies to the arms of his august sovereign. The capitulation, in nine articles, was annexed to the dispatch. The place is given up to the Prussian troops; the garrison to march out with the honours of war, and repair either to the French army, or disperse and go home. They kept two caunon, drawn by four horses. The French troops lay down their arms on the glacis, except fifty men per battalion, and the company of Veterans, whom his Koyal Highness permits to retain their arms, on accoimt of the honourable, brave, and distinguished conduct of the garrison. The officers keep their swords; the subalterns and members of the Legion of Honour, their side-arms and all their private pro- perty. The property of the inhabitants to be respected, and no one to be molested for his political opinions, or for his conduct previous to the capitulation."
A foreign regiment (Cumberland Hussars), extremely well horsed and appointed, and soldier-like in appearance, were ordered by the Commander-in-Chief of the cavalrjr to place themselves under line on the brow of a hill ; and, from being raw soldiers, he would not put them to any difficult service, but gave the condi- tional orders, that if the charge he was about to make with an English brigade succeeded, they were then to ride in and cut away : — ^for the performance of this, the most earnest entreaty was made, and the strongest promise given, that every attention should be paid to the direction — thai charge was made, and completely succeeded, and the enemy were in the greatest confusion. The noble Earl then looked round for his gallant supporters — but they had tamed their horses' heads, and were trotting away towards Brussels; an aide-de-camp was immediately dispatched, and, notwithstanding every possible remonstrance, and even contemptuous language addressed to the Colonel, to stop them was impossible ; and it was then b^ged as a favour, and entreated of them, not to go further than Ws^loo — it was all useless; to Brussels he would go, and to Brussels he went* This, although a great disappointment, was attended with such cutri (and it may be said, comic) effect, that every one who noticed it, notwithstanding their serious occu- pation, were convulsed with excessive laughter, and among them the noble Duke himself. The men, however, to do them credit. It is understood, have brought their Colonel to an account
* This event contributed much to the panic at this place. — Vide " Circimi' •twitwl Detafle," p. 6.
^4 BATILB OF WATEBLOa
The gallant Duke of Brunswick met his fate in a farm-yard, which he had just entered, when the enemy's light troops, who were stationed about the out-houses, fired, and brought down this hero with ten others.
A letter from a Life-guardsman, speaking of the havoc made among the Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard at the hattle of Waterloo, contains the following homely, but emphatic descrip- tion:— ^' Until we came up witli our heavy horses, and our supeKor weight of metal, nothing was done with the Cuirassiers; unless one got now and then a cut at their fieures, not one of them
Save way ; we therefore galloped at them, and fairly rode them own: when they were unhorsed, toe cracked them like lobeters m their thellsj and by the coming up of the cannon afterwards, thousands of diem were squeezed as flat as pancakes."
A Life-guardsman, who, from being bald, was known amons his comrades by the appellation of the Marquis of Grranby, had his horse shot under him; in the charge his helmet fell off, and on foot he attacked, and had a contest with a Cuirassier, whom he killed, and mounted his horse, his comrades in the meanwhile cheering him with — " Well done, Marquis of Granby I"
One man of the Scots Greys, from Ayrshire, has ei^teen sword and sabre wounds, the greater number of which were in- flicted by those savages after he was on the ground, dismounted. His name is Laurie, and a few days previous to the battle he had accounts of his father's death, by which this gallant private soldier became possessed of 12,000^ He says, that he saved his life in the end only by calling out in French, as the enemy were charging over mm — Oh! man Dieu! nwn Dieu! mes amis I mes amiel" by which contrivance he was taken for one of their own men.
'^ The Irish howl set up by the Lmiskilling, and other Irish regiments, is reported to have carried almost as much dismay into the ranks of the enemy as their swords. The stubborn braveiy and conduct of these raiments contributed much to the success of the day ; it having been their lot to find themselves in the hottest part of the action, innumerable opportunities were afforded them of showing their devotion to their country's honour, and exalted sense of gallantry and duty." An officer of the Inniskil- ling Dracoons, says, ** Our brigade charged, upset, and completely destroyed three large columns of infantry ; at least 9000. The old Inniskillings behaved most gallantly ; they went into the field 1050, afler the action they mustered about 100 : some, however, were sent to escort prisoners."
" A decree of his Majesty of the 29th of September, annexes to the title of Prince of Waterloo a dotation producing an annual revenue of 20,000 Dutch florins, to be possessed irrevo- cably and for ever by the Prince of Waterloo and his legitimate
AlfECDOTES. 85
descendants. The preamble of this decree is in the following terms : — * Desiring to give to the Duke of Wellington, prince of Waterloo, a pledge of the national gratitude for the splendid services which he did our kingdom on the ever-memorable days of the 16th, 17th, and 18th of June last, when, with the aid of Divine Providence, he so powerfully contributed, by the wisdom of his dispositions and bv his calm and intrepid courage, to repulse the common enemy, and to consolidate this mfant kingdom . . . .'
** The second article indicates the lands of which me said dota- tion is composed, which consists of the three portions of the domanial wood situated between Nivelles and Quatre Bras, and containing altogether about 1083 hectres, or 1270 acres.
'^ By the third article the property of the said woods shall be conferred on the Prince of Waterloo, free from all enrolment, under the obligation of submittim; to the regulations which his Majesty may make in the sequel^ concerning the enrolment of the dotation."
A Prussian hussar made a capture at the battle of Waterloo of 5000 napoleons, which he has sent to his family by the Inten- dant-general and Councillor of State Ribbentrop: a soldier of the Landwehr also obtained possession of 500 napoleons.
Nov. 24. — Prince Bliicher, on his wiy to the Prussian domi- nions, gave occasion to several fUtes. In passing through Bel- gium, he desired to see again, at Ligny, the place where, thrown irom his horse, he lay upon the ground during the pursuit and hasty return of a part of the French army. After remaining there some time conversing with his aide-de-camp, he generously recompensed a miller who had assisted him in his criticiJ situation.
The miller at Ligny, recompensed by Prince Blucher on his return from France, addressed tne following letter to the editor of the " Brussels Oracle :" —
^' Prince Bliicher, on his return, called at my house with his aide-de-camp; his modesty concealed his illustrious name, and I did not recollect him. He asked me many questions concerning my losses, and my melancholy situation. Alas I it was easy for me to answer that I had saved nothing, either in my house or on the lands which I farm, and that me war had reduced niy family to misery, so that I could not pav my contributions, lid asked me the amount of them ; I told nim 80 francs, which he immediately gave me. He departed : and when he got to Namur, he sent me four pieces of 40 francs each, and one of 20 francs. It was from this messenger that I learnt the name of this great prince; his generosity honours him; his modesty ennobles him; and my heart thanks him.
« P. M. Cabpene."
Five hundred cart-loads of wounded entered Paris, June 23d.
86 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
A private of the 27th, woonded very severely, was carried off the field of battle by his wife, then far advanced in pregnancy; she, too, was severelV wounded by a shell, and both of them lay a long while in one of'^ the hospitals at Antwerp in a hopeless state. The poor man has lost both his arms ; the woman extremely lame, and given birth to a daughter, to which the Duke of York, it is said, has stood godfather, by the name of Frederica M'Mullen Waterloa
The Rector of Framlingham, in Suffolk,* soon afW the battle, wrote to the Duke of Wellin^n, stating that, in his opinion, the non-commissioned officers of the British army had, by their valo- rous conduct on that day, entitled themselves to some distinct marks of their country's approbation, and therefore he felt dis- posed, for one, to offer his humble tribute to their merit In order that diis might be properly applied, he requested the favour of his Grace to point out to hun the non-commissione^l officer whose heroic conduct, from the representations which his Grace had received, appeared the most prominent ; to whom he, the Rector, meant to convey, in perpetuity, a freehold farm, value 102. per annum. The Duke set the inquiry immediately on foot, through all the commanding officers of the line, and, m consequence, learnt that a Serjeant of the Coldstream, and a corporal of the 1st Regiment of Guards, had so distinguished themselves, that it was felt dif- ficult to point out the most meritorious ; but that there had been displayed by the serjeant an exploit arising out of fraternal affec- tion, which he felt it a duty on this occasion to represent, viz. That near the close of the dreadful conflict, this distinguished Serjeant impatiently solicited the officer commanding his company for permission to retire from the ranks for a few minutes ; the latter havmg expressed some surprise at this request, the other said,
* *^ Some thoit time since the Rev. Mr. Noreross, of Framlingham, villed the nun of 000/. to the bnvest man in England. The Duke of WeUington was applied to upon the subject by the executors : be at first declined to answer their question, from delicacy ; but in a few days sent for them, when he stated that, upon considering their request, he had determined to afford them all the assist^ anoe in his power. The Duke then said, *■ It is generally thought that the battle of Waterloo was one of the greatest battles ever fought : such is not my opinion, but I «ay nothing upon that head. The success of the battle orWaterloo, how- «Ter, turned upon the closing of the gates of Hougoumont. These gates were closed in the most courageous manner, at the veiy nick of time, by the effort of Sir James Macdonnel. I cannot help thinking, therefore, that Sir James is the man to whom you should give the 500/.'
^ Sir James Maedonnel was applied to : he listened to the story of the executors, expressed his thanks to the great hero for his award, bat said, ' I can- not claim all the merit due to the dosing of the gates of Hougoumont; for Servant John Graham, who saw with me the importance of the step, rushed forward, and together wb shut the gates. What I should therefore propose is, that the seijeant and myself divide the legacy between us.' The executors, delighted with the proposal, adopted it at once, and Seijeant Graham was rewarded with hifl share of the 500/.
^ The brave seijeant died April 28d, 1845."
ANECDOTES. 87
** Your honour need not doubt of my immediate return." Pei> mission being given him, he flew to an adjoining bam, to which the enemy, in their retreat, had set fire, and from thence bore on his shoulders his wounded brother, who, he knew, lay helpless in the midst of the flames. Having deposited him steely for the moment, imder a hedge, he returned to his post in time to share in the victorious pursuit of the routed enemy : we need scarcely add, that the superior merit of this gallant non-commissioned ofiicer was thus established.
About two years since, Buonaparte gave an Italian nobleman a list of his intended exploits: tne first was the subjugation of all the northern powers ; the invasion of Britain was to follow ; his intention was then to bring under his power the dominions of the Grrand Signior ; after which he would proceed to the con- quest of Africa, and 4it last of the Chinese empire. He had already employed an architect to draw the plans of two new cities, one to be built in Asia, the other in Africa, and both to be called Napoleon,
A very sensible writer has remarked, who was in the field of Waterloo just after the battle, how much the varied character of the men was distinguished by their amusements ; that on the part of the French, playine cards, the most trifling letters, verses, &c. &C., with books of the worst tendency. But not so with the English whose pockets were ransacked, or with the Hanoverians ; with the latter, it was observable the quantity of books of devo- tion in German that were found. A correspondent found in the field an unfinished letter of an Elnglish soldier to a female friend^ dated 17th June, in which he gives her an account of the battle of the 16th, and that he had escaped, evidently leaving it open to send when the day was over. The direction being written, it was taken up and forwarded, with a note in explanation of its being fonnd.
Thursday, January 18, 1816, being the appointed day for a general thanksgiving, on the re-establishment of peace in Europe, the day was setectedin London for the ceremony of lodging the eagles, taken fix>m the enemy at' the battle of W aterloo, in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall. The ceremony was conducted with perfect order ; and associated as it was with the duties of reli- gious worship, the memory of the contest in which the trophies were won, and the sight of the brave veterans who had survived its carnage, the influence it produced was not of an ordinary nature. A brigade of the Guards formed aa the parade, in St. James's Park, at nine o'clock, of which, one company, consisting of a captain, three subalterns, two Serjeants, and eighty-four privates, all of whom were at Waterloo, were appointed an escort to the eagles, and took post opposite to Melbourne House. A detachment oS the Royal Artillery was also on the ground^ and
88 BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
two bands attended in their state clothing. Soon after ten the Duke of York proceeded to the parade, and a very large assem- blage of officers, decorated with the several insignia they had been invested with* The usual duty of the day proceeded, and after the trooping of the colours had taken place, the detachment, that had been selected was escorted to the tdt-yaxd by the two bands, and received the eagles ; the detachment then presented arms, the bands playing the ** Grenadiers' March," and proceeded round the square in ordinary time. The eagles appeared somewhat of a larger size than those captured in the Peninsula; they were richly gilt, and bore the number of die battalions to which they were attache(L The silk colours appended to them were about the size of our cavalry standards, and splendidly embroidered with a profusion of gold fringe, and a number of inserted bees, stars, &c. But the most interesting part of the ornaments was the laurel wreath, enclosing, in letters of gold, the inscriptions emblematic of French renown — Austerlitz, Essling, Eylauy Jena^ and FrUdUmd* These names, still memorable, once to us the subjects of mournful reflection, now seemed to mock the ambition they formerly flat- tered. They ^ve to the conquerors an impressive lesson on the inconstancy of Fortune, when the register ot the successes of those who triumphed at Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland, served to sig- nalize their defeat, displayed as the prize of the heroes of Water- loo. The trophies were carried by Serjeants of the 1st and 3d Regiments, and, on reaching the colours of the Grenadier r^ment, were lowered to the ground, while the former, with " Lincelles, Corunna, Barossa, and Waterloo," emblazoned in gold, majestically waved ; and die troops, with the spectators, instan- taneously mve three loud huzzas, with the most enthusiastic feeling. The detachment still continued to proceed with the trophies, and on reaching the centre of the parade facing the Horse Guards, wheeled on their right, and marched to Whitdiall ChapeL The Serjeants with the eagles entered the body of the chapel as soon as the first lesson was read by Archdeacon Owen, the chaplain-generaL Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York and Gloucester were in the royal pew, and the chapel was extremely crowded. The escort entered by the two doors, in eaual divisions, the band playing, and marching up to the steps of the communion-table, when they filed off to the right and Im. As soon as the band had ceased, the two Serjeants bearing the eagles approached the altar, and fixed upon it their consecrated banners. After the Litany, a voluntary was played ; and at the conclusion of the Communion-service, which was read by the chaplains of the chapel, the Rev. Mr. Jones and the Rev. Mr. Hewlett, the 100th Fsalm was sung by die whole congregation. After the customary blessing, the band played "God save the King," the whole congregation standing. The ceremony was wit-
FRENCH officer's ACCOUNT. 89
nessed by a great multitude of people, among whom was a con- siderable number of persons of distinction and fasliion.
FRENCH OFFICER'S ACCOUNT.
A faithful and detailed Relation of the final Campaign of Buona- parte^ terminated by the Battle of Mount St John^ otherwise called of WaterloOy or of La BeUe Alliance, By an Eye-^untness,^
" Fas mihi quod vidi referre.**
The landing of Buonaparte at Cannes opei^ted as a thunder- bolt upon every honest and truly patriotic Frenclunan ; upon all, in a word, who sincerely wished the repose and welfare of their country. Li fact, they could expect from this event nothing but disastrous results, alreiady announced by a civil war which ap- peared inevitable.
Nevertheless, by a concurrence of circumstances as extraor- dinary as unforeseen, the imminent danger towards which we were precipitated was for a while lulled. Who could credit it ? — this man, pursued by the general hatred of a nation, on which he had drawn every scourge, found in its bosom a mass of people disposed to assist his most culpable projects.
The whole army scandalously broke their oaths of allemance to the best of kmgs, even turned their arms against him, and forced him ere long to abandon his capital. The well-disposed part of the kingdom haa the mortification of seeing Buonaparte arrive even at Paris, and arrive too in some d^ee triumphantly. No sooner did he re-appear than he employed every means to deceive those people whom he had already pressed under his iron yoke, for the purpose of extorting from them yet greater sacrifices, and plunging them into an abyss of misery from which they could only rise with himself.
Meanwhile, through his myrmidons, he caused the most inju- rious and absurd reports to be circulated against the king, while he kept in alarm the holders of national lands ; and, to attach to his cause a numerous class of citizens he had so long oppressed, afiected to follow their principles. He proclaimed with loud effrontery that he was in perfect understanding with Austria, of which the speedy arrival of Maria Louisa would ftimish the hap- piest proof.
Shaken by such positive assurances, France resigned herself, for some time, to the nattering hope of avoiding that war she had
* Relation fiddle et detailUe de la derni^re Cainpagne de Buonaparte, ter- TDinee par la Bataille de Mont Saint-Jean, dite de Waterloo, ou de La Belle- Alliance. Par un T^moin ocnlaire. Revue et corrigee. Paris, J. G. Dentu, Iraprimeur-Libraire, Rue du Pont de Lodi, No. 5, pr^ le Pont-Neuf. 1815.
90 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
herself declared against all Europe, bj once more receiving, and in despite of treaties, the man she had for ever proscribed. Even those thinking Frenchmen whose ideas had not been misled either by self-interest or false notions of independence, still sought to create to themselves illusion, and wishea to believe Buonaparte incapable of such atrocious deceit Restrained by an ignorant and enthusiastic multitude, diey could only offer their silent tows for the salvation of their country.
Thus, by perfidious insinuations, by lies artfully fabricated and more impudently. supported, Buonaparte succeeded in restor- ing to France the confidence he stood m need of, to engage her in the contest he was preparing. Thus, to the eternal sname of the nation, the constant Disturber of its repose, the Devastator of Europe, the Monster to whom France owes all its misfortunes, at the moment when he resigned the people to a host of new enemies his very name had rousecl to vengeance, even at that moment he was in some measure hailc<l as their Deliverer.
He declares his wish for peace! He invokes the treaty of Paris — not to legitimate his rights to supreme power, which were alreadv sufiiciently consecrated by his bayonets — but he calls an assembly of the people, of whom be exacts no other services, nor imposes other obligations, than to proclaim the war he brings a national one. Thirsting for vengeance, and a slave to the same ambition by wliich he had already fallen, he dreams but of victory and conquests ; and if he succeeds so far as to persuade the nation he still respects her, he only manccuvres to render her the instru- ment of his mad projects. Impatient to figure once more on the horrid scene of battle, anticipa^ng the moment when, restored to power, he mav command even over death itself, he urges with in- credible activity the formation of his armies.
At every quarter troops were embodied, organised, and dis- patched to the frontiers. In a few days France is transformed in£o a vast camp. While a first and numerous army moves towards Belgium, others are collected in Alsace, in Lorraine, Franche-Comt6, at the foot of the Alps, and under the Pyrenean mountains.
The powers of Europe knew too well the character o( this perfidious man to deliberate one moment on the part they had to take. Declarations issued from the Congress of Vienna to an- nounce their determination. The intercourse from France was most carefully intercepted, while innumerable armies were ap- proaching its frontiers.
There was nothing to be hoped from the mediation of Austria; and all Europe rose up to hurl from his throne, a second time, the man whom rebellion and perjury had just placed there, and who dared again brave it by threats of fi^esh aggression to force its acknowledgment of him.
FRENCH OFnCEIl's ACCOUNT. 91
During these movements, the deputies of the departments as- sembled at Paris to assist at the Champ de Mai, where the vain and absurd formality of examining the votes on his Additional Act of the Constitutions of the Empire was to be performed. There, among a great number of upright and learned men, were found many names the Revolution had stamped with an infamous celebrity ; and a crowd of military men without resources, and in- capable of other political views than an exclusive preponderance founded on their sabres. Into such hands were conunitted the destinies of France ; and tlie Acte Additionel, that audacious system of despotism, was ratified by men who, with the words of freedom in their mouths, were only the interpreters of their master's wilL The undigested opinions of a few thousand indi- viduals from that class of people, the least qualified to be invested with deliberative power, and tne greatest proportion from an igno- rant, undisoeming soldiery, was impudently adopted as the ex- pression of the national wuL France, compressed by terror, and treated by its own army as a conquered country, was compelled to receive those laws which consecrated its servitude.
Meanwhile the French armies concentrated on the frontiers ; that of the North, the most numerous of them all, occupied at the beginning of June extensive cantonments, par icheUms, in the de- partments of the North and the Aisne. Its head-quarters were at Laon. It occupied Valenciennes and Maubeuge. Its right communicated with the army of the Moselle, and its left was covered by Lisle. Chiefly composed of old soldiers, the enthu- siastic spirit of this army was intense in favour of Buonaparte. This army lived on the best possible terms with the people about the Aisne, who, beholding in this war a national one, sought only to preserve their country from fresh invasions, and set themselves with avidity to the construction of such fortifications as were con- ceived necessary for their defence.
The National Guards were armed at a moment; and the whole populace testified their intention of rising in mass on the approach of the enemy. The same spirit was manifested in all those departments of France which had been invaded in 1814, with the exception of that of the North, who openly avowed con- trary sentiments, and did not dissemble their dislike to the pre- sence of these troops. They could not draw from thence a single military resource, and the National Guards peremptorily refused to march. The army counted on the effective co-operation, at the moment of hostilities, of all the inhabitants generally ; and the latter, persunded that die Allies had only been able to enter France thro::gh a succession of treasons, had an entire confidence in the army. The latter, therefore, awaited in self-security the commencement of the campaign ; but, impatient for battle, vented their spleen against the tardiness of the Allies.
92 lUTTLX OF WATEBLOO.
Such was the state of afiain when they learned that the Guardsy who had qiiitted Paris after the Champ de Mai, were directed hy forced marches on Laon; that Buonaparte followed them some days after^ and had suddenly appeared on the frontiers. He arrived, in fact, as soon as they at Vervins, where he put him- self at the head of the army, which drew round him finom all its quarters.
It is still to be asked, by what enchantment Buonaparte suc- ceeded in so fascinating the eyes of an immense population, and of an army, that the one saw without fear all the calamities of war burst on them, and the other audaciously braved all the powers of Europe leagued against them ? Certain it is, however, that he was received everywhere with loud and unanimous shouts of acclamation.
It did not generally appear he had any idea of attacking ; but rather that he nad drawn thither his troops to form a line of de- fence. He, however, showed in his movements his usual activity, and lost no opportunity of presenting himself before his soldiers.
On arrivmg at Beaumont, the army of the North joined that of the Ardennes, mider the command of Vandamme, and esta- blished its head-quarters at Fumay. That of the MoseUe, under General Gerard, departed by forced marches for Metz. The army of the North thus was composed of five bodies of infantzy, commanded by Lieutenant-generals d'Erlon, Reille, Vandamme, Gerard, and (Jount de Liobau. The cavalry, under Grouchy, was formed into four divisions under the orders of Generals Pajol, Excelmans, Milhaud, and Kellerman.
The Imperial Guard of 20,000 men, formed the kernel of this splendid army, which was strengthened by a body of artilleiy, well disciplined, provided with an excellent train, and pontoon corps. Besides the batteries attached to each division, eacn corps had its park of reserve. The Guard, particularly, had a magnifi- cent train of artillery, almost wholly composed of pieces new cast The whole might be estimated at 150,000 effective men, of whom 20,000 were cavalry ; and 300 pieces of cannon*
Still, in the very bosom of^ their own country, those troops failed in that discipline which forms the strength of armies. With- out feeling for their unfortunate compatriots, who showed eveiy degree of zeal in furnishing them subsistence, the French soldiers treated them with the utmost cruelly ; and, conceiving they had an imquestionable right to plunder, abandoned themselves to every species of excess.
In every place they ransacked the houses, broke open coffers, ill-treated the peasants, and took everything at discretion. ^^ There is war,'' said they ; '' it cannot be earned on without us, and there- fore we have free play." And, pursuant to this kind of r^isoning, they gave entire scope to that thirst for plunder, improved by ten
FRENCH officer's ACCOUNT. 93
years' warfare, and outra^ only to be paralleled bj the exter- minatiiig incursions of the barbarians of old. Roving from house to house^ from granary to granary, from cellar to cellar, they did not return till loaded with spoil, after destroying everything they left behind. Too happy that cottager who, accused but of having too well concealed his cash, escaped their vengeance by leaving his all to destruction.
Dreadful to be credited, their officers, for the most part, toler- ated these infamous proceedings I " Why," said they, with a sort of satisfaction, ^^ is there not a magazine ? the soldiery must live." And the soldiers not only lived; but the officer, it will be believed, lived in abundance, and did not much trouble himself upon whom. Is this the loyal, disinterested, ^nerous, and delicate character, that distinguished the French dnScer? No, surely! But other times, other manners; and it was reserved to the officers of Buonaparte to exhibit to history a physiognomy novel and strange.
Doubtless there were many men of honour and morality at^ tached to this army, who lamented such disorders, and served with regret amidst these rebellious troops, whose atrocities enhanced their crime ; but, hurried on by the force of circumstances, they sought apology for the violation of their oaths in the need to pre- vent, at all events, the invasion of their native frontiers. More- over, it was impossible to restrain these excesses; the soldiers could no longer be controlled; and the superior officers were aware that such devastations had been constantly practised by the troops under Buonaparte's immediate command ; and that it was one of his most powerfrd engines to conciliate their devotion and stimulate their courage.
The country was covered with rich crops, that promised the most abundant of harvests ; but ill betide the lands that lay in their way ; still more unhappy the neighbourhood of the camps. It seemed as though, by a determinate motive of studied destruc- tion, they sought out for that purpose the richest fields. In an instant sJl disappeared under the scythe and sword, to be made forage for the cavalry and thatch for the canteens.
The interior administration of the army was deranged by acts of equal anarchy. An implacable hatred seemed to animate the different corps against each other, and displayed itself in acts of open hostility. No mutual confidence, no fraternity of arms, no interchange of generous feelings ; pride, selfishness, and thirst of
Srey, reigned tnroughout Often, when the conmiandant of a ivision, or regiment, arrived at die spot it was destined to oc- cupy, he seized everything without consideration for those who were to follow. Guards were placed in every house that pre- sented any resource, and by the mere right of pre-occupation op- |»osed all division of the spoiL The sentries were often attacked.
94 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
and real warfare ensned Many were thus wounded^ and not a few lulled on the spot
Guar
The Imperial Guard, as being the tmnwxliai« Janissaries of the despot, comported itself with extreme arrogance towards the other troops, and was detested throughout ; wnile repulsiTe and disdainful towards the other corps within its contact, it was not less tormented bj them, whenever its numbers were too few to dictate tlie law. Tlie different denominations of cavaliy not only were at open war among themselves, but insulted the foot by every means and on every occasion, and the infantry in turn threatened tliem with its bayonets.
Actuated by such a spirit, the troops approached the frontiers as the defenders of the State I Their marches were rapid and long, and the weather, though stormy, tolerably fine ; nor were tlie roads so cut up as to retard the artillery, or camp equipages. Their movements, therefore, almost partook of precipitation. It was evidently the intention to surprise the enemy by a sadden approach ; and these forced inarches gave rise to the reports of a sudden irruption into Belgium. On the 14th this whole army had joined and formed in line on the extreme frontiers.
It was then that the uncertainty in which they had remained respecting these manoeuvres was done away, by a proclamation, which was read at the head of every division : —
" Soldiers !
** This day is the anniversary of Marengo and of Friedland, which twice decided the fate of Europe. Then, as after the battles of Austerlitz and Wagram, we were too generous. We trusted to the oaths and protestations of princes, whom we left upon their thrones. Now, however, coalesced among themselves, they conspire against our independence, and the most sacred rights of France. They have begun the most unjust of aggressions ; are not they and we the same men still ?
'* Soldiers I At Jena, against these same Prussians now so arro- gant, you were as one to three, and at Montmirail, one to six !
** Let those among you that have been prisoners in England, de- scribe their pontoons (the prison-ships), and tell the miseries ^ey there endured.
" The Saxons, the Belgians, Hanoverians, soldiers of the Rhine, all groan at being compelled to lend their arms to princes, enemies of justice and the rights of nations. They know the Coalition is insatiable. After having devoured twelve millions of Poles, twelve millions of Italians, a million of Saxons, six millions of Belgians, it seeks to devour the whole second order of States in Germany.
" A moment of prosperity has blinded these senseless princes. The oppression and humiliation of France are beyond their power. If they enter France, they will there find a grave.
" Soldiers ! We have forced marches to make, battles to offei^
FRENCH OFHCEB's ACOOIINT. 95
perils to encounter ; but with constancy, Tictoiy will remain ours. The rights, the honour, and the weal of France, shall be re-conquered.
*' To every Frenchman who has a heart, the hour is come to conquer or die/*
It is scarcely necessary to say, that this proclamation was received with transports of joy and loud acclamations by a multi- tude of ignorant soldiers, to whom a few high-sounding words they do not comprehend seem the very acme of eloquence.
Nor need we mention that ridiculously pompous proclamation. It wears the same stamp with all his other productions, and only differs from them in greater extravagance and absurdity. Who- ever weighed the incoherent declamation of that vam-glorious prophet, looked on it with pity. Meanwhile it augmented the public inquietude, by laying open the whole extent of the dangers Buonaparte meant to brave.
The chiefs, however, were enraptured with the precision of their routes, and recognised, they said, the presence of the great man in those scientific combinations, by which all the masses of the army, after encumbering each other's march, seemed all at once to rise from the ground, and find themselves ranged in line by the effect of magic. So great is the power of prepossession.
The 15th, at break of day, this army broke up tor the Belgic territory. The 2d Division attacked the Prussian outposts, and pursued them with vigour as far as Marchienne-au-Pont ; the cavalry of this body had to charge several corps of infantry dif- ferent times, whicn they drove back, took some hundreds of prisoners, and the Prussians hastened to recross the Sambre.
The light cavalry of the centre followed the 2d Division on the road to Charleroi, and, brushing away in different charges such of the enemy as they met, drove the whole to the other side. While numerous sharpshooters defended the approach to the bridge, the Prussians were employed in rendering it impassable, in order to retard our march, and afford them time to evacuate the city ; but being too closely pushed, they were not able to destroy it effect- ually, and our men soon removed all difficulties to their passage over it About noon their work was finished, and the lignt cavalry took possession of CharleroL
On the omer hand, the 2d body, which had effected its march to Marchienne, advanced on Gosselies, a large town situated on the road to Brussels, with the intention of intercepting at that quarter the troops driven out of CharleroL The Prussians, sur- prised at so sudden an attack, and pursued by the light troops, retired in great disorder to Fleurus, where their main body was concentrated. They were attacked several times by our advanced guard, who afforded them no time to take up any positions. The presence of Buonaparte so electrified the French troops, there was no possibility of restraining them. They rushed on the enemy
96 BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
without firing a shot; charging them so furiously with tlie bayonet, that nothing could resist their shock.
The squadrons doing duty under Buonaparte charged the infantry several times, and it was in one of those charges that General Letort, colonel of the Dragoons of the Guard, received a mortal wotmd.
The French, in a word, after the most obstinate and san- guinary encounters, carried all the positions opposed by the enemy to their advance. Towards night they ceased the pur- suit ; and Buonaparte, leaving the 3d corps on me road to Namur, and the 2d at Gosselies on that to Brussels, returned with his head-quarters to CharleroL
The result of these engagements was, a thousand prisoners, the passage of the Sambre, and the possession of Charleroi ; but the principal advantage derived from it was, to sustain the confi- dence of toe army by gaining an early success ; and, according to Buonaparte's general method of actmg, everything w^as put in effort to make the most of it The prisoners were divided into parties, and passed before the troops in the rear. The soldiers cried out, ^^ Long live the Emperor !" It was what was expected, and the aim was answered.
The whole French army encamped on the Belgic territories, surrounded by the new subjects of the kingdom of the Low Countries, who hailed us as their liberators! Yet some of the villagers, who drew near at the cry of " Long live the Emperor I" did not appear very enthusiastic in the cause. They received us rather as conauerors, whose good-will it was requisite to conciliate, and their acclamations evidently expressed — " We are willing to become Frenchmen, if your bayonets carry law with them ; but in mercy do not pillage us, do not lay waste our lands, treat us as your countrymen." These supplications were unheeded; though our soldiers placed unlimited confidence in their ami- cably demonstrations, they conducted themselves towards them as avowed enemies. Plunder and devastation marked their way ; and wherever they pitched at night, that place was a desert in uie morning I
No sooner had our troops taken a momentary position near some village, than they spread like a torrent througn the unfoi> tunate habitations ; liquors, provisions, moveables, unen, clothes, everything disappearea in an instant Each village where we had encamped was left next day a heap of ruins, or rather of rubbish, scattered with the broken fragments of household ftumi- ture. Its environs, generally covered with rich crops, appeared destroyed by some dreadful haU-storm'; while the places where our bivouacs had lighted up their watch-fires, black and scat- tered, seemed to point out tne spots where the tibunderbolta had fallen*
FBENCH OFUCEB's ACCOUNT. 97
Tlie instant we quitted, the inhabitants, plunged in silent de- spair, rufihed from tiieir hiding-places in hsdf-naked swaims to search for the dispersed relics of their fdmiture or utensils, and collected what could be found.*
It appeared from information obtained, that the Prussian ad- vanced posts, although on their guard, had been surprised ; and, far from expectini? so serious and lively an attack, the Allies were preparbg tolter in a few days ap6n the French territoiy. The mhabitants, too, were astonished at our appearance, when they thought us anxiously employed in securing our own frontiers* They gave a very bad account of the misconduct and exactions of the Jrrussians.
Each one speculated for himself on theprobable result of the campaign, according to his information. Tne enemy's army not being collected, was not prepared to concentrate itself. If pursued with vivacity, the different corps would be »^arately turned on all points, and would make little defence. W ellington was not prepared ; discontented by so unexpected a movement, his whole plan was frustrated, since he had lost the initiative, and could not resume his ground. In short, their confidence in Buonaparte knew no bounds; his combinations, as sure in their results as admirable in their conception, were either to annihilate the Eng- lish, or drive them to their ships. A speedy arrival on the Rhhie was to take place amidst the universal acclamation of the inhabitants of Belgium, risen in mass for their deliverance, and the whole rushing with transport into the ranks of their old companions in arms.
The 16th, at 3 A.M., the columns which remained on the right bank of the Sambre put themselves in march and passed the river, when the whole army advanced forward.
The command of the left wing, consisting of the 1st and 2d Divisions of infantry, and four corps of cavalry, was giveii to Ney, who arrived the evening before at head-quarters, and re- ceived orders to march by Gosselies and Frasnes on the road to Brussels.
* Ought we, as many well-inteotioned persons pretend, to shun disclosure, under the pretext that it is needful to spare the honour of France, and not justify the future reprisals of hostile armies on its territory ? Should we with this intent refuse to trace the picture of excesses committed hy our troops, and sUde the reproach due to their misdeeds ? Did we even suppress the mention of such deplorable acts of revolting Vandalism, they would not he the less notorious ; and our silence might draw down on France the injurious surmise that she owns and approves them. We ought not, then, to hesitate in denouncing them before the face of day, as atrocious abuses of force and confidence, which she most formally disavows, and so, by holding them up to public indignation, do away the stain that otherwise would fall on herself. Thus will a threefold duty he performed— to efface national dishonour, to convey shame to the breasts of the culpable, and to testify the horror which aJU must feel for the deeds of violence, that invariably call down on their perpetrators scorn and hatred implacable, and the whole weight of a terrible, though haply a protracted vengeance.
98 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
The centre, composed of the 3d, 4th, and 6th Divisions, the reserve, and a numerous body of cavalry, forming the mass of the army, directed itself upon Oleums. IVf arshal Groochy, with the cavalry of Pajol and some battalions of 'foot, manoeuvred towards the village of Sombref on the Namur road.
In forming out of Fleurus, they presently descried the Prus- sian army ; the chief masses of which appeared in close columns, crowning the upland levels that surrouna the mill of Bussi, and stretching in amplutheatre through the whole length of a sloping hill, in front of which was a deep ravine, tufted with thickets, that extended in front of the entire line. Its right rested on the village of St Amand, its centre at Ligny, and its left stretched beyond the reach of sight towards Sombref, Gembloux, and the road to Namur. All these villages, which are large, and built on uneven and broken ground, are in front of the ravine, and were lined with infantry.
Having reconnoitred them, Buonaparte took his measures for the attack. The 1st corps, forming fart of the left, were placed with the divisions of heavy cavalry behind the village of Frasnes on the right, and near the Brussels road, in order to direct itsdf on such points where its presence should be necessary. The 3d advanced in columns of attack on St Amand, the 4th on Ligny, supi)ortcd by the Guard ; the 6th corps, and a numerous reserve of cavalry, under Marshal Greuchy, with the right divisions, marched on Sombref.
The 3d corps began the attack on the village of St Amand, and, after meetmg a very obstinate resistance, carried it by the bayonet, but was driven out again after being in possession of a part of it The 4th corps threw itself, in its turn, upon Ligny ; and the two wings successively became engaged, the lett at Frasnes, and the right at Sombref. In a few moments the affair was general, and a neavy cannonade, which perpetually increased, was heard alo^g the whole line.
The combat was maintained on both sides with equal obstinacy; each soldier seemed to meet his adversary with personal rancour, and each had resolved, it is evident, to give no quarter. The villages which were the scenes of action were taken and retaken over and over, with dreadful carnage $ and a defence made by the Prussians in the church of St Amand, rendered the result of the day so dubious that Buonaparte sent, with great haste, the 1st Division to save that point
By this movement the left, which had obtained considerable advantage over the English line, and driven it from the heights of Frasnes back to the farm of Quatre Bras, and taken position there, became materially weakened; and the total loss of the battle was risked through the imprudence of Buoniqxarte in not advising Marshal Ney that he had drawn off a part of hia fonoas.
FRENCH 0»TICER's ACCOUNT. 99
The 1st corps had parted about an hour to make towards St Amand; when the English army, strengthened with numerous reinforcements under the Prince of Orange, resumed the oflFensive, and vigorously repulsed our light troops, and the columns they preceded. Their cavahry were ranged upon the high road to lirussels, while the infentry occupied the entire skirts of an exten- sive wood, which stretched along the left of that road. From the whole outline of this forest ran a hollow way, resemblii^ a ravina In front of the road were fields of rye of Considerable extent The French line were in possession of the right side of the road to a certain height
All on a sudden, the fields were covered with numerous batta- lions in solid columns, supported by a formidable cavalry, which, boldly advancing, threatened to break our line. Our troops ap- pearol intimidated, and fell back in a kind of panic The mo- ment was urgent, and it was necessary to bring up at the instant our reserve. Marshal Ney, little alarmed by this circumstance, as he relied on the arrival of the 1st corps, sent orders for them to charge the enemy. But what was his surprise and embarrassment on learning that Buonaparte had disposed of them elsewhere I
He immediately ordered the 8th and 11th Cuirassiers, who were at hand, to charge the first battalions. The charge was made with tlie greatest bravery ; but these battalions, covered by a wood filled with infantry, opened conjointly so terrible a fire, that the Cuirassiers, unable to penetrate further, were compelled to make a short turn and retreat in disorder. It was in this charge, which, however unfortunate, was executed with daring valour, that a cuirassier of the 1 1th Regiment took a standard from an English regiment
This repute, with the crowds of wounded soldiery and cuiras- siers who fell back, or were conveyed to the rear of the army, spread dismay. Equipages, hospital-wa^rgons, cantiheers, servants, the swarm of non-combatants that follow an army, and who, according to the orders given, all made a precipitate escape, drawing with them everything they met in me way along the road to Charleroi ; which was presently choked. The rout was . complete, and spread with rapidity. Every one fied in confusion, crying, " The enemy ! the enemy 1**
The evil, however, was reparable. The Cuirassiers of General Roussel advanced at full trot towards ih^ Eagli^h^ but had not occasion to charge. Our infantry fell Back in good and close order, opposing a vigorous resistance, and checked the enemy. Led off at length to the heights of Frasnes, it formed again, but had little ftuther share in the affw of the day. In a short time order was restored in the rear^ and the fugitives halted the moment they were assinred of not being pursued.
Meanwhile, the 1st corjNS, d^ts^hed &om the left wing, had
100 BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
romained useless ; and when it came up, the 3d had taken the viUage of St Amand It was ordered, therefore, to return to its former position ; thus marching and countermarching, it was not brought mto action on any one point
The fire still continued verv briskly along the line, particulariy towards Ligny, the point of the greatest strength, and of course most directed against The cannonading did not cease an instant ; and, by what we could judge, our artillery did considerable mis- chief among the great body of Prussian troops that were posted in mass on the heights and slopes, which formed an open amphi- theatre to us. Our troops, almost hid behind the uneven grounds, were less exposed to the enemy^s artillery ; who, however unsuc- cessful, did not relax their fire.
Towards 7 p. il we were masters of the villages, but the Prussians still kept their positions behind the ravine ; at this mo- ment it was that Buonaparte, who from the conmiencement had manoeuvred so as, at a proper time, to have the power of trans- porting a great force beyond the ravine, directed his gnard and the whole of his reserve on the village of Ligny. This bold movement, the execution of which what had passed on the left wing had retarded, was intended to cut off from the main body the right of the Prussian army behind St Amand, and intercept their retreat upon Namur. Instantly the Guards, supported by a strong cavalry and powerful artillery, pressed forward to the ra- vine, which they cleared amidst a shower of baUs, and the combat became dreadful. But nothing could withstand the impetuosity of the French Grenadiers, who cut their way with the most horrible carnage, our cavalry charging at the same time on every side. At length, after the most obstinate defence, the Prussians were driven back, and left us masters of the field of battle, covered with dead, the dying, the wounded, some prisonen., and a few field-pieces. The Guards immediately possessed themselves of the Slopes and uplands which were evacuated, and our cavalry pursuea the fugitives.
During this decisive operation at Ligny, the 3d corps w^e endeavouring to employ tne Prussian right wing, in order to divert their attention from what had passed. But they readily saw through our design, and made good their retreat to (jembloux and Namur.
The French army prepared to push their success ; but the approach of night, and the fatigues of the day, prevented it They contented themselves with taking possession of all the Prus- sian posts, and at ten o'clock the fire had ceased along the whole line.
Various extravagant reports circulated in our army respecting this battle. Marshal Bliicner had, in fact, a horse killed under him; he was stunned by the fall, and surrounded by Froich
^CjC.*r*-\ • "-^
FRENCH officer's ACCOUNT. 101
Cuurassiers ; it was to the darkness of the night alone he owed his safety. But notwithstanding the Prussians must have severely suffered, their loss was never known, nor ever attended to in our orders.
On the left, where the English were engaged, both parties maintained their ground and their positions.
The death of the Duke of Brunswick was announced, killed ^^^^ v JL from the fire of the division commanded by Jerome Buonaparte£> and also the death of General Hill. The first Inten^ence was confirmed the following day, and urged our French Generals to interweave, for the purpose of currying favour with the ex-King of Westphalia, some unbecoming pleasantries on the fatality that seemed to pursue the unfortunate Duke, who, placed in constant opposition with the conqueror of his states, was condemned to die by his hand And the fatter, they argued hence, was again called to be his successor. It was addeid, tnat Jerome himself had been struck by a spent bullet We will not stop to examine the truth of a fact of so trivial importance ; but it is to be observed, this sort of shots never reach any but great personages, whose valour it is interesting to enhance.
But every one agreed that Buonaparte had obtained Us end in separating the Prussians and the English, and that, having so much weakened the former, he had now only the latter to encounter.
It was to realize the hope of exterminating the English that on the 17 th, at day-break, Buonaparte, leaving behind him the 3d and 4th corps, together with the cavalry of General Pajol, under command ot Marshal Grouchy, to watch the Prussians, marched with his reserve, and the 6th corps, towards Quatre Bras.
The English appeared to occupy the same positions as on the day preceding; and the French army remained till 11 o'clock A. M. observing them, and waiting for the troops on the right, whose arrival was delayed by heavy rains and cross-roads almost impracticable.
Arrangements were made for the attack, and the united corps advanced m front of battle, along the heights of Frasnes, when it was perceived that the English had manoeuvred so as to mask their retreat The troops we saw on the plain, at the entrance of the wood, and on the road, were only a strong rear-guard to cover the same. Buonaparte set out in pursuit of them with his cavalry, and all the army urged its march to Brussels.
The ardour of the soldiers during this rapid pursuit was incre- dible. In the dexterous and adnurablv-executed retreat of the English, they chose only to see their total defeat, the abandonment of Brussels, and their refuge on board their ships.
We again crossed the plains of Quatre Bras, strewed with dead, among whom were vast numbers of wounded Frenchmen,
102 BATTLE or WATCKUXX
who had not been renK)vc<L We had time to ascertain how murderons the affair had been on both sides ; bat, from all ap- pearancey the English \os» was the greatest The plains which lav between the road and the wood, where they were in positioR, but particularly the skirt of the wood, and the hc^ow way behind it, was buried beneath hills of slain, of whcMn the greatest portion were Scotchmen.
Their costume, composed of a kind of folded jacket, of brown stuffs chequered with blue stripes, which not descending so low as the knees, leaves the leg nearly bare, singularly attracted the attention of our French soldiery, who gave them the a{^llation of Sana-culottes,
Buonaparte, with his advance, followed the English till night, and only stoppc^l at the entrance of the forest of Soignies, when he met a de^nree of resistance not to be surmounted on tliat dav. After having cannonaded them as long as the light permitted, he took up his head-quarters at the farm of Caillou, near Plan- chenoit The different corps of this army encamped at G^iappe and its neighbourhood
The night was dreadful, the wind blew a tempest, and the rain fell in unceasing torrents ; the troops slept on the mud and dripping com, and so did the inhabitants of the farms and vil- lages around, driven naked from their burning cottages by these more than Tartarian Frenchmen, whom pretended deserters, sent purposely by the English staff, made to believe the latter were abandoned by the Belgians, and in full retreat towards their vessels.
However, at break of day, how great was their astonishment to find the English had not only maintained their evening position, but were prepared to defend it 1 Buonaparte, who dreamaed they had escaped, exclaimed in a transport of joy : " I have them at last, these English I**
With his characteristic impatience, and without ascertaining whether Grouchy had or not succeeded in keeping the Prussians in check ; without inquiring either the force or the position of his enemy, he urged on the columns which were in his rear, and re- solved to attack them immediately.
The French army, presenting an effective force of 120,000 men, was ranged by ten o'clock on the heights, opposite to ^ose the English were seen to occupy, in front of the forest of Soignies, which they held.
In the centre were perceived, behind the village of Mount St John, strong bodies of infantry that covered a vast plain, in front of which redoubts* were distinctly seen, of differently-coloured earth rfewly thrown up, extending beyond the whole line along the
♦ No redoubts have been heard of. — EdUor.
rilENCH OFnCfiB's ACC0U17T. lOS
skirts of the forest, diminiahing as they extended, and covered with batteries. Its right rested on the village of Merke-Braine, having in front the farm of Hougoumont, surrounded by a wood inter- sected with numerous ravines or deep sinuosities ; its left stretched far towards Wavres, also covered by a ravine, and the farm of La Haye Sainte : it was impossible to ascertain its dispositions farther than Smouhen, where the Brunswick troops were placed, and where it was presumed the line terminated. In general, except on the great plain, which was considered to be the centre of the English army, few troops were to be seen ; but was it not to be conjectured, as it was afterwards ascertained during the business, that they were concealed in the hollows which separated the plains ftom the forest, and in the forest itself? Except on the great plain, few troops appeared in view. The head-quarters of Lord Wellington were at Waterloo, in the rear of his lines, which it will be seen crossed the two high roads of Brussels and of Nivelles.
The instant the French troops were come up, Buonaparte, who had placed himself on a mound, at a small distance from the farm where he had slept, on the right of the road, ordered the cannonade to b^n. He walked to and fro alone, with folded arms, a little in front of his staff. The weather was stormy; there fell, at intervals, some short showers.
The 2d corps was on the left, and marched against the farm of Hougoomont The 1st had its left on the road, and advanced upon the centre of the line. The 6th occupied the right. The Guard was in reserve upon the height The cavalry was distri- buted upon different points ; but its strongest columns were dis- posed on the wings, and particularly the rignt (me.
About noon the first discharge of cannon was heard from the French lines, and numerous light troops in front opened their fires. The left made a vigorous attack on the farm of Hougou- mont, the buildings of which had been crenellated for defence by the infantry, who maintained the combat with great obstinacy. Horse and foot advanced together against the corps placed in the rear of that farm, and who were wrowing into it a continual reinforcement After an hour's contest, the English appeared to retire a little, and the ]^rench army closed its advance. The artillery was in front of the whole Une, and the infantry foUowed up in columns.
Our troops became thus engaged by degrees, not without sus- taining great losses under the cumculties arising from uneven hilly ground, deep ditches, and ravines, where they were! checked at every step by fresh columns, concealed till the moment we came ^p to them. £very inch of ground was disputed on both sides, and neither gave way till every means of resistance was exhausted. The smallest hillock, the most trivial embankment, was frequently
104 BATTU or WATBBLOa
taken and re-taken several times. Repealed chaises of cavalnr took place; the field of battle was hei4)ed with dead, and the firing, instead of slackenings became more and more violent Both sides contended with eqtuu fury, and the defence was as obstinate as the attack was impetnoos.
It was immediatelj reported that very strong oolomns were marching, with fixed bayonets, upon Mount St John, at the same time that the cavalry of the wings were to charge the batteries, which appeared to be very little j^otected. This grand move- ment, from the result of which so much might be expected, was impatiently waited for; bat the obstinate perseverance of the English, in maintaining their position in the villages which flanked their wings, retarded it They successively sent battalicHis to- wards the farms of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, which our cavalry as frequently drove back ; yet those villages, though pressed with unparalleled vigour, still aefended themsdives. Elager to drive the enemy from Hougoumont, who appeared deter- mined not to retire, we decided to set fire to it, at the same time sending a reinforcement against La Haye Sainte, which we carried afrer a most sanguinary contest
The English artillery made dreadfrd havoc in our ranks : we were so completely exposed, that their ricochets passed easily through all the lines, and fell in the midst of our equipage, which was placed behind on the road, and its environs. A number of shells, too, burst amongst them, and rendered it indisp^isable for the train to retire to a greater distance. This was not done with- out considerable disorder, which the English clearly perceived. Our artillery re-opened their fire with equal vivacity ; but pro- bably with much less efiect, as their masses could only be levelled against by approximation, being almost entirely masked by the in- equalities of the ground. The continued detonation of more than 600 pieces of artillery ; the fire of the battalions and light troops ; the fr^uent explosion of caissons, blown up by shells which reached them ; the hissing of balls and grape-shot ; the clash of arms ; the impetuous noise of the charges, and shouts of the sol- diery— all created an effect of sound the pen is unable to describe ; and all this within a narrow space, the two armies being close to each other, and their respective lines contracted into the shortest length possible.
However, in spite of obstacles and dangers, the French army was sensibly gaining ground.
The support of the two British wings being carried, we passed the ravine, and made our advances amidst a deluge of balls and grape-shot A strong column approached Mount St John, whence a terrific fire was pouring. The French cavalry at the same time rushed to carry the rnrns on the plains, but was charged in its turn by the enemy's horse, who issued in a body from the
FRENCH OFFICEB's AOOODNT. 105
hollows where they had laui in ambuscade^ and the slaughter became horrible. Neither side gave way one step ; fresh columns reinforce them; the charge is repeated. Three times the French are on the point of forcing the positions, and three times they are driven back I
These three assaults, made without interruption, and with all the characteristic impetuosity of the French, caused considerable . loss to the enemy, and called for the most vigorous resistance on their part Lord Wellington exposed himself very much; and, in order to direct in person the efforts of his troops, several times threw himself into the midst of the medley to animate them by his presence. The Prince of Orange, who was with the right wing, was woimded at the head of his troops.
The English, however, if the reports are to be credited, were very near being broken ; it is strongly af&rmed, that, for a consi- derable time, great disorder prevailed in their rear, and they caused their equipages to retrograde with precipitancy, and file off towards Brussels m much confusion.
But however that may have been, it is not less true that they repulsed with insurmoiuitable firmness all our efforts, and knew how to frustrate them, by concealing from omr observation what- ever trouble or apprehensions might have been produced from such fiirious attacks, so often repeated and so obstinately upheld. A general uneasiness now prevailed through our army. Se- veral dismounted batteries were withdrawing; numbers of the wounded, detached from the columns, bv their reports spread an alarm, and universal silence succeeded tlie shouts of victory with which the day had hegan. All the troops (with the single excep- tion of the infantry of the Guard) were engaged, and expo^ to the deadliest fire ; the action still continuing with the same fury, yet presenting nothing decisive.
It was near seven o'clock. Buonaparte, still pacing the ground he had from the first placed himself on, contemplated with a iaro- cious eve this horrid butchery. The more the difiicultlea multi--
J)li€d, the more determined was his obstinacy. And, far from earing to drive to madness an army who placed their jonboumiled confidence in him, he pressed on fresh troops without <>eaaiDg^; ordering them to advance, charge with the bayonet, and carry everything before them I In vain was he repeatedly told that- tbd affair was bad on many points, that the troops were shaken — "Forwards!" he cried; "forwardsl"
A general officer had informed him how impossible it was to sustain the position he was in, as one of the batteries was anni- hilatmg him ; and requested to know what he should do to elude its destructive fire. "Carry it!" was the reply ; and he turned his back on the aide-de-camp.
A wounded English officer was brought before him. He
106 BAITXX OF WATtBLOO.
made some inquiries of him, and amongst others, ** What was the strength of their army ?" The officer replied, " Very consider- able ; and had just been reinforced by 60,000 Pmssians.'' — ** So much the better,** he answered ; ^ the more there are, the longer we shall fight** He sent off several expresses towards France, and repeatedly exclaimed, in a tone of distraction, to his secre- tary, ** Above all, fiul not to say the victory is mine I**
At this juncture, and at the moment when all his attonpts proved abortive, it was announced to him that powerful bocUes of Prussians were opening on our right flank, and threatening our rear : but he treated the news as an idle tale, and then answered, that they had kept a bad look-out, for those pretended Prussians were nothing but Grouchy's corps. Several of the aidesnle-camp who came to report this news he even abused, and dismissed them widi ill-humour. — ** Be off!** said he, ** you are frightened ; ride up to the columns that are defdoying, and you will fmd thev are Grouchy's.**
After so peremptory an answer, many of them, ashamed to have been mistaken, advanced heedlessly towards the Prussian jagers, and, notwithstanding the lively fire directed against them, got near enough to be either killed or taken. He was, however, obliged to yield to evidence, when these columns commenced a serious attack on our right winff. A part of the 6th Division was sent to sustain this new shock, till those of Marshal Grroochy, on whom the greatest dependence was placed, should arrive; and it was even announced through the army that they were absolutely in line.
It appears from the reports, that a part of Marshal Bliicher's BTtnfy which from the 16th concentrated itself in the ^ivirons of Wavre, had eluded the vigilance of Marshal Grouchy, and being joined by the 4th Prussian corps, under Greneral Bulow, had rapidly joined the English line, to co<K)perate with Lord Wellington.
Marshal Grouchy had, in reality, briskly pursued the Prus- sians during their retreat to Wavre, and attacked in that place the portion of the enemy which remained there. He was, there- fore, engaged, at the same moment we were, against a small divi- sion, whicn he mistook for the whole of the Prussian army, and over which he continued to obtain signal advantages; but, fa- voured as they were by the difficulties of a hilly country, inter- sected with woods and ravines, these coips made a sufficiently obstinate resistance, if not to stop his march, at least to impede it very considerably. Thus they succeeded in holding him in play at a distance from the principal seat of action.
He could not, therefore, be of any assistance to us ; and hence it was that the English received a considerable reinforcement, whose concerted intervention put them in a situation no longer
FBENCH officer's ACCOUNT. 107
to fear our most vigorous attacks; but, on the other hand, to resume the offensive, and presentiv to overpower us. Confidence was restored amongst them, and, calculating their manoeuvres by the favourable circumstances diat occurred, they resisted our efforts ^ith all their force, and with an ardour that seemed to redouble itself.
It ia evident that this operation had been preconcerted by the two Grenerals-in-Chief, and that the English defended their posi- tions with such invincible tenacity, only to give the Prussians tiine to effect that combined movement, on which the success of the battle depended, and the signal of which was waited for from one moment to the other.
Buonaparte, whose resolutions nothing could change, thought the moment was arrived to determine the day: he formed a fourth column of attack, almost entirely composed of his Guard, and led on the charge upon Mount St John, after directing his orders on every point to second this movement, on which fate seemed to hang. Those old warriors entered the plain with their accustomed intrepidity, and courage was restored through the whole line. The Guard made several charges, but was con- stantly regulsed, crushed by a terrible artillery that each minute seemed to multiply. These invincible grenadiers beheld the grapes-shot make day through their ranks ; they closed promptly ana coolly their shattered files; nothing intimidates them ; nothing stops them but death or mortal wound ; but the hour of defeat . had sounded ! Enormous masses of British infantry, supported by an immense cavalry we had nothing to oppose to (for our own had already met its destruction), descend m fury, surround, and cry out to them to surrender 1 " The Guard never surrenders I If called on, it dies I" was the reply. No more quarter is given, almost the whole fall fighting in desperation.
This tremendous massacre continues as long as their resist- ance. At length the fragment that remained quit their ranks, and rush in utter confusion towards their first positions, doubtless in hopes to rally there.
Meanwhile the Prussians, arrived on our right, advance, and charge what troops remain on that point. The cannonade and a brisk fire of musketry were heard in the rear of that line ; as it approached, louder and louder. Our troops endeavoured to main- tain the combat, but gradually lost grormd. At last our right wing evidently fell back, and the Prussians, who out-flanked it, were on the point of opening on the road, when the report ran that the Guard was repulsed ; and when its scattered and maimed battalions were seen to rush back in confusion, an universal panic seized the army, which disbanded itself on every point, and sought safety in instant flight In vain Buonaparte, for a last effort, collected some batt^ons of the old ana young Guard,
108 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
which had heen least engaged, and led them on. All in vain ! Intimidated by the scene, and pulveruBed by the canncm, this feeble reserve was presently overthrown.
The army th^i spontaneously, and all at the same time, leh its posts, ana spread like a torrent in all directions. The can- noneers abandon their guns. The waggon-train cut their traces ; infantry, cavalry, all arms mingled in utter confusion, fly alon^ the road and through the fields. Equipages of all sorts, that had been arranged in park along the highway, and withdrawn in dis- order, choke the road, and render it impassable.
However, the cry of ** Sauve qui pevi^ was nowhere heard ; and this general rout was the consequence of a spontaneous move^ ment, whose causes remain to this moment unknown, or for which it would be very difficult to assign any other than die knowledge the soldiery had acquired of the perils of our situation ; for the French soldier is never, like those of almost all other naticHis, wholly passive. He observes, he reasons, and never under any circumstances places in his chiefs so blind a confidence as may prevent him from submitting their operations to his own judgment.
No order nor route had been given. The commanders, swept along by the flying torrent, were separated from their, corps ; not a single file of men to rally to ; no arrangements dreamt o^ fbr an orderly retreat The Guard, heretofore Irmndblesy fled foremost of the multitude. Night came on, and added to the confusion.
The enemy detached a numerous cavalry in pursuit of the fugitives. A part of them took possession of the whole hospital- train on the road, while formidable columns advanced on each flank. All the household carriages of Buonaparte fell first to the Prussians, with mountains of other baggage. All the cannons were taken in the batteries where they had served, along with the caissons and trains. In a word, the whole matSriel of our army disappeared in less than one half hour.
The English and Prussian commanders, having completely effected their junction, met at the farm of La Bdle AOianca The British cavalry being greatly fatigued, that of the Prussians was sent forward, and did not give us a moment's repose.
Arrived at Genappe, they barricaded the entrance and threw up all possible obstacles, in hopes to pass there the night. Pre- sently a few shots fired by the Prussian cavalry, who were by this time close at their heels, spread the alarm ; the bivouac is raised, and all in a flight again, more confused than before.
No one knew what was become of Buonaparte, who had dis- appeared. According to some he had perished in the strife ; and this account being brought to a well-known general officer, he exclaimed, as Megret did after the death of Charles XIL at Frederickstadt, ** VoUh la pikce jwkP Others reported he had been unhorsed and made prisoner. The same incertitude pre-
FRENCH OFnCEB's A(XX)DNT. 109
vailed respecting the fate of Marshal Nej, of the Major-general, and of the principal number of the generd staff.
The former, who was Comman£int-m-Chief of the 1st and 2d corps, had directed in person the different attacks made on the centre, and was constantly seen in the tliickest of the action. It ap- pears that, until t;he moment there was a certainty of its not being Ghrouchy's division which approached from the right, but a body of Prussian troops, he had considered that affairs were in a good ^w^ay, and conceived the liveliest hopes of a fortunate issue; but inrhen he saw Buonaparte maintain against demonstration that Cxrouchy was forming into line, and ostentatiously circulate this falsehood through the ranks, he supposed it was his purpose to de- ceive the whole army in order to inspire it with a fatal confidence. From that time his opinion changed, and he no longer acted with the same coolness and self-collection ; but it must be avowed that not one reproach was made against him by the army on his chan^ of conduct, and his bravery was never suspected; he merely partook the general anxiety and discouragement It was indeed obvious, that from the opening of the campaign he ap- peared profoundly dissatisfied, but dissimulated his feelings in pre- sence of the public. There subsisted between him and Buonaparte a certain misunderstanding, and a kind of reciprocal distrust, very difficult to fathom, but not the less evident Tnere is every reason to believe, too, that he entertained a jealousy of Marshal Grouchy, which Buonaparte himself seemed manifestly to adopt Such dissensions between the principal chiefs, must necessarily have cramped the course of their operations, and disturbed the unity of their plans.
A great number of persons affirmed they had seen Buonaparte in the midst of the crowd, and perfectly distinguished him by his short grey cloak and dappled horse.
This last story was the true one. When the last battalions of tiie Guard were overthrown, Buonaparte was hurried away with them, surrounded on all sides by the enemy, into a cider-orchard, belonging to the farm of La Belle Alliance. There he was met bv two cavwiers of the Guard, who conducted him cautiously through the Prussian parties tiiat were scouring the country, but who, fortunately for him, were aU employed in stopping and plundering the equipages. He was known and recognised in many places, and often heard the whisper run: "The Emperor! — the Em- peror!"— words of alarm which caused his instant removal from the spot wherever heard.
After a flight harassed by the enemy through the whole night, the sad relics of our army reached at the pomt of day, part of them Charleroi, and the rest Marchienne, where they hastened to repass the Sambre. The remaining equipages, meanwhile, im- peded by their gradual accumulation on the two roads which lead
1 10 BATTLE or WATJBPJiOa
to the bridges of Charleroi and Marchienne, were overtaken by the Prussians, abandoned by their train and drivers, and thus the last cannon and military carriage fell into the power of the enemy , who made at the same time a £rreat number of prisoners.
The Sambre once crossed by the remnant of onr army, we ho{)ed to be able to halt, and bivouacs were established in the orciiards and meadows on its right bank ; but an alarm was given tliat the Prussians were nigli. Without waiting orders ; withoat attempting to destroy, or even turn adrift the bridges; withoat making a single reconnaissance, the flight recommenced with all its disorder; the whole started at once, and each ccmsulting his own safetv, iiirects his steps he knows not whither.
At a little distance from Charleroi are two roads, one leading to Avesnes, the other to Philippeville. Having received no direc- tions, and seeing none of the superior officers, they divided into two parties ; the most numerous one taking that of Avesnes, by whicn they had marched before, and the other towards the left to Pliilipi)eville. A ^reat number of scattered men threw th^nselves into tlie surrounding woods to avoid the enemy's cavalry; and thus this brilliant army gradually dispersed and disappeared. It was the latter road that Buonaparte chose for his retreat Once more a fugitive from his own army, he abandons it without fur- ther effort in the midst of dangers he seems to take pleasure in aggravating, by delivering it up to anarchy and disorganisation.
Wandering and deserted, tnousands of insulated soldiers run about the country, spreading alarm as they pass. The wretched inhabitants hear almost at the same moment the success of the French army and its annihilation, and find themselves the prey of an enemy whom victory, won with its blood, must render more ferocious. Every strong place shuts its gates against the fugitives, and driving away by force those who flee thither for scuety, oblige them to seek shelter in the neighbouring hamlets, where they practise every sort of excess.
It was in his character of a runaway that Bucmaparte, in the moment of general dismay, sought safety, and presented himself, begging entrance, at the gates of Philippevilla He was urged to solicit the protection of their ramparts, to secure himself from the close pursuit of the Prussians, who traced him in all direc- tions. He underwent the humiliation of being refused admittance till the Governor came out and recognised nim, when the gates were opened.
Numbers of soldiers dispersing that way, to whom it was soon known their illustrious Emperor was in tliis place, conceived it their duty to encamp around him. Buonaparte, however, pru* dently judged that such an assemblage miffht make his asylum known to tne enemy ; he therefore sent orders for them to con- tinue their route : but having, like a wise general, analysed the
FRENCH OFFICEB'8 ACOOITNT. Ill
means of acting on the sentiments of an army after such a defeat, he insured the prompt execution of his orders by sending emissar lies finom the town, who called out : ** The Cossacks I — Save your- selves ! — the Cossacks ! — Hftte ! "
It Mras these unfortunates who, in accents of despair and grief, spread^ as they journeyed, the dreadful news that the Emperor was blocking at Philippevilla This was looked on as a certainty, but conceived to be only a measure forming one part of his grand preconceptions. However, after passing a few hours at Philipp&« ville, his majesty withdrew firom thence, and departed for MeziSres. Night came on as he passed under the walls of Rocroi, where it was supposed he would have stopped: a number of people appeared on the ramparts, crying, ** Long live the Em- peror!" wnile he remained in sight; but he probably found the night more convenient for continuing his route. There entered the town a few of his officers and attendants, with only a few horses. AU his carriages and equipages had been seized by the enemy.
The great portion of the shattered army, which had withdrawn to Avesnes and Laon, experienced the deepest anxiety as to the fate of Buonaparte. They were ignorant of what had befallen him ; but persuaded that, not being amongst them, he had foimd a ffrave in the same field of honour with the brave fellows he had lea to death, they lamented the fate reserved for a chief so dear. When they leam he is arrived at Paris, full of life and good health I — oh I shame eternal! — how paint the indignation they must have felt?
Since the affair of Ligny there had been no communication from the right of the army, under Marshal Grouchy. The people, therdbre, remained in ignorance of what was become of them ; and reports were circulated that, for want of knowing the issue of the battle of Motmt St John, they had been surrounded by the AUies at Wavre, and, unable* to eroct a retreat, had laid down th^r arms ; Vandamme being in the number of the killed.
This fine French army, then, sacrificed with its predecessors, had ceased to exist ! It seemed as though Buonaparte, become furious at having seen some thousands of brave men escape his rage, the monster had stalked from his den in Elba solely to devour the remainder. And if, in fact, he might have the credit of such intention, his every action during this short and unlucky campaign would be in consonance therewith. But let us rather ascribe these enormous errors to his unskilful and presumptuous rashness, and to his well-known and incorrigible mania of ad- vancing always in blind confidence, without plan or any calcu- lation of the chances of war. It is evident that that system, so uni- formly adopted and persevered in by Buonaparte, being become known to the Allied generals, had opened the pit-faiU in which his
1 12 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
own pitiable solf-secority precipitated him; for, whatever their foreign bulletins may aflvance, with the intention, no doubt, of enhancing the glory of their generals and the bravery of the men, it is clear that the position of MoiAt St John had been reccm- noitred, designed, and marked out, with the fiill purpose to draw him thither with his army, and there give him battle : for only a Buonaparte, infallible in his own opinion, could have failed to see through it The calculated retreat of the English on so strong a position, the obstinacy with which they maintamed it, the laciljtT they had for masking their troops and artillery in an immense forest, and beyond all that, the redoubts and open batteries they had raised, would have awakened mistrust in almost any odier general What further strengthens the supposition is, the erec- tion of a wooden observatory, which had been raised on a knoll in front of the forest, where with a good telescope every movement as far as the Sambre might be distinguished. It was certainly erected to watch us, and could not have been the work of twenty- four hours.
In every hypothesis, prudence called on him to reconnoitre the ground, and ascertain the dispositions of the enemy ; and could the most unexperienced general commit the error of making an attack without first placmg himself in communication with his right wing, or at least being fully aware of its operations? Besides, supposing that we had forced the English line, which could not have been done without very considerable loss, what had been our advantage ? Behind them was a forest of 15 leagues long by 5 broad ; the road through it was but a narrow defile, where 10,000 men and a few pieces of artillery would have stopped the progress of the greatest army.
Great fault was found with the chaige of our officers, to whose ill-success they ascribed all the mischief that ensued. They were accused of not having boldly met the enemy's battalions, though they had brought away one standard ; and some went so far as to surmise treason. Rumours like these spread presently through the whole army ; and to counteract the bad impressicni, it was studiously propagated that several generals who had become traitors, among the rest General Bourmont, had been delivered to a military commission, and shot
Everything, however, was lost ; and the destruction of the French army was the more inevitable from its right being turned and no provision made for a retreat Yet (who will credit it ?) Buonaparte alone appeared to make light of the dangers which threatened him. Yet will he advance again ; and flatters hunself, with a few battalions, to overturn a force that had resisted his whole army I
And this is the man who passes for *• the first captain of the age I'* Yet it will not be doubted, that at Mount St John
FRENCH OFflCEB's ACCOUlTr. 113
Buonaparte displayed the whole measure of his faculties ; he had too much need of victory not to put forth all his energies to obtain it. Sither^ then, it must be admitted all his former victories were due to chance^ or that his intellects were deranged on the 18th of June; for his combinations of that day could not other- wise be termed judicious^ than insomuch as we pre-suppose his former determination to cause the assassination of his whole army. Such, at least, was the opinion of his most consummate generals on this day, who exclaimed in the violence of despair, *^ The man is not himself I What would he have ? He loses his understanding I "
It is, however, pretended by some that, setting aside all disad-* vantages of ground, the manner in which he directed his attacks, and the evolutions he commanded, bore a strong resemblance to those of Marengo ; insomuch, that if on a sudden, at the moment when the victorious English army broke from their positions to rush upon us, a formidable column had issued from the ground, commanded by a Desaix, it is more than probable the chances had turned to our advantage.
If, then. Marshal Grouchy had appeared at the instant, he would have played most truly the part of Desaix, and it is beyond a doubt the victory had been ours. But he was too distant from the theatre of action to figure there so effectually. That consider- ation a^ravates the inconceivable errors committed at Mount St John by Buonaparte, whom nothing compeUed to hazard so abruptly a decisive battle, and who, instead of reducing his right wing to an absolute nullity by neglecting to secure his communica- tions with it, mi^ht, without inconvenience, have waited till it had rejoined. One day — a few hours even — would have sufficed to accomplish this most essential point, which would have placed every probability of a successfrd termination on our side : nor can the disasters that ensued from that circumstance be ascribed to unforeseen misfortune ; for it is clear, that no measures had been taken to acquire any certain knowledge of the march of Grouchy's corps, or of the difficulties it might have encountered. And ar- rangements were made, which implied a full certainty that that body, having perfectly repulsed the Prussians, its prompt co- operation might be implicitly relied on.
It is generally believed, that when Buonaparte saw the affidr turning so badly, he charged with the greatest bravery at the head of his uuard ; that he had two horses killed under him, and courted death in the midst of the English several times. This desperation was proof of a disturbed mind. We must, therefore, deeply deplore the fate of an army committed to the hands of a man marked by such invincible obstinacy — with whom there can be no alternative but to conquer or die !
The battle of Mount St John was, assuredly, one of the most
I
114 BiLTfLI OP WAIKHLOO.
murderons that ever has been recorded. The French army, oon- sisdng of 120,000 meiiy after certainly displaying prodigioiis valoiir, was umost totally destroyed ; 300 fieces of canncm, all the cai^ sons and eqaipages, fell into the power of the enemy, as well as an inimmerable mass of prisoners ; and the bodies of more than 20y000 Frenchmen, mangled with grape-shot, strewed the field. The English, likewise, suffered great losses ; bat not comparable to those of the French, from the superior adyantage afforded bj their position. Nevertheless, it is prestmied the Allied armies had at least as many as 20,000 killed. There is reas<m to believe, that at the commencement of the action their forces were nearly equal ; but the English army was, in fact, much stronger throu^ its CTtrenchments, and beoune oxisiderably augmented by me effective co-operation of the Prussians.
It was easy to predict the consequences of this fight. The scattered fragments of the French army rallied in the environs of Laon and of Kheims ; but, weak and discouraged, were incapable of opposing the immediate entrance of the AUies into the cMitaL They presently made their appearance before the barriers of Paris, when some resistance was first presented on the arrival of those corps which had composed the right wing of the army.
This right wing, which was supposed to have been destroyed, had with singular good fortune retreated b^ Namur, and, after marching ei^t days in the midst of the Alhes, and parallel with them, jomed at length the remainder of our army, without having met any considerable loss.
Thus 70,000 men were concentrated before Paris, and threat- ened to defend that capital. But what could so small a force effect against the united arms of all Europe, which were approach- ing, with rapid strides, towards their central point? After some dajrs spent in a resistance extremely alarming to the inhabitants, whose safety was thereby endangered to an indefinite ext^it, they succeeded m overcoming the obstinacy of the troops, who had determined to hold out to the last extremity, and were resolved to exact for that purpose the greatest sacrifices. In thus gradually disposing them to accept a capitulation, and extorting, it may be saia, in this manner, their consent to evacuate Paris, France, in reality, gained a signal victory; the results of which are incalcul- able, and perhaps saved the capital fix>m entire destructiiHi.
The battle of Mount St John, therefore, by the occupation of Paris, and re-establishment of the Intimate Government, termi- nated the frightful strife in which Buonaparte had engaged us. No doubt the momentary destruction of so many thousands of men was a dreadful catastrophe ; but it was the prompt and un- expected issue of a fiightful war, which might probably have ravaged France for an mdefinite period. Even had their efforts been unanimous, yet must she have yielded finally to all the
FRENCH OFFIGEB's AOGOIWT. 1 15
united energies of Europe put forth against her ; and meanwhile^ a prey to wild devastation, trampled under foot by numerous enemies, her soil would only have Been ceded when covered with dead^ and, encumbered with the sad ruins of burning villages, her inhabitants had abandoned them in despair to the discretion of soldiers whose need is destruction.
History has diown, by frequent and terrible examples, that men whom the power of arms has raised above all law, no longer recognise the ties of patriotism. They form a corps apart, and treat with undistinguisoing friry their own or fore^ lanos. And what protection could be sought from an army, whose whole alle- giance and devotion were centred in the individual Buonaparte, and who avowed themselves, in the &ce of the world, to be the blind instruments of his will ? Accustomed to a wandering life of
Jdunder, and embued with the sole genius of destruction, it per- ected a system of military cosmopolitism. It breathed only war, for war and unchecked rapine were the objects of its vows. After havir^ ravaged the rest (k Europe, France was still a virgin land, that presented to them a wide and fertile field of depredation. The spirit of disorder and indiscipline this army carried along with it everywhere, victorious or fugitive, had become contagious, and spread not only among the foreign troops who served in its ranks, but among those they opposed. France could not, therefore, have expected a better lot than those unhappy lands which their armies had successively desolated.
Though unhappily it is too notorious, that the French in their incursions into ihe neighbouring states set an example of rapine and exaction, it is no less certain they have been well imitated, if not excelled, by those of the foreign troops, who seem to have made it a point of honour to resemble them in this jparticular. And there is one nation to whom, perhaps, it belongs of right to exercise the most cruel reprisals, tbat they may well serve as a model thereof. But whatever be the inducements to such a scandalous abuse of nulitary power, its perpetrators blindly light up a volcano that assuredly will one di^ explode under their own feet : for it cannot be demed, it is the afflicting excesses with which the French armies are reproached, that have drawn down on their native land the resentment of all Europe, and provoked that terrible re-active visitation under which we now groan. In every point of view, therefore, they have been the heralds of greater evils to France tiian to the countries that have had to undergo them. May, then, this tremendous lesson not pass unheeded by the nations, but en- lighten their views of policy and public interest for the common good of them all I
Necessarily subversive of every principle and of morality — the destroyer of law and justice — the sworn enemy to civilisation — there can exist neither govenmient nor society where military
116 BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
despodfln reigns. Peace is imposBflble, becanse man is goyenei by nis interest, and the thirst of power is interwoven in Im natnm Soldiers, therefore, called at first to the hcnoorable task of main- taining the rights of their fellow-citizens, soon foi]get their manda- tory characters, and, aspiring to engross the wealth, honours, and offices of state, do not hesitate in the choice of means. War, above all, is the element they breathe, and hence a miKtary goTemment finds occasion to be for ever at war.
An exclusive preponderance, therefore, of the military |MX>f»- sion is the greatest evil which can befall a state. Crashed beneadi the weight of their own power, all conquering nati<His have been OMiquered in their turn. And what country bas had to feel more than France the weight of this austere truth? That militaiy government for which she has made such fiT^at sacrifioeSy these splendid conquests, this glory of arms, have led her firom victory to victory, to the ver^ of destruction.
The same deplorable system has made us retrograde with npd strides towards the ages of barbarism. Factious lemons, as in the periods of anarchy of the Roman Republic, acknowledging no otha' law than their own will, called to reign over the nations they oppressed the General who had captivated thm choice, or, like the janissaries of the East, raised and deposed their own deqKyt at their pleasure.
It is highly essential, therefore, that all efforts be ccHubined against this Vandalism, which threatens to replunge us in the gidf of barbarian darkness. It is now time that order should succeed to anarchy, and the authority of laws to the sway of violence.
Buonapabte's Conduct ditbino aiA> afteb the Battle,
WtTH HIS OPINIONS, CONVERSATIONS, KTO. COIJiBCTSD FROM yABIOUB 80UBCES.
The following details will give a correct idea of the dangers which Buonaparte personally underwent on the memorable day of Waterloa These details were fiimished by an eye-witness of the whole, and may be relied on: —
*^ From two o'clock until a quarter before seven Buonaparte commanded all the operations and movements from a position, where he remained without any danger whatever to his own per- son : he was at least a cannon-shot and a half off. Nothing, in short, could reach him.
" When he was at length convinced that the corps d'armee which he had so lone and so obstinately taken for that of Marshal Qrouchy was in reahty a Prussian corps, he seemed to think that
BUONAPABTE's OFINIOKSy ETC. 117
the af&ir was desperate, and that he had no other resource than to make a great em>rt with the reserve of his Guard, composed of 1 5,000 men. This part he accordingly took.
^^ At this moment he assmned an appearance of. resolution, -which reanimated a little those who surrounded him.
^^ He advanced, saving, * Let every one follow me,' (Toitt le monde en arrihe /) which evidently signified that he wished to be in front. In fact he made this movement at first, and headed, for about ten minutes, the formidable column which remained to him as his forlorn hope; but when he arrived within 200 toises (1200 feet) from three solid squares of Allied troops which occupied a ridge, with a formidable artillery (and which ridge it was necessarv to carry), he suddenlv stopped under the broken ground of a sand- pit, or ravine, and a little on one side, out of the direction of the cannon-balls.
^' This fine and terrible column, which he had sometime headed, found him here as it passed and defiled before him in order to advance, taking a demi-tour to the bottom of the hillock, and directly in &ont of the enemy's squares, which Buonaparte himself could not see from the lateral point which he occupied, although it is very true that he was dose enough to the enemy's batteries.. As the corps passed him, he smiled, and addressed to tibem expres* sions of confidence and encouragement. The march of these old warriors was very firm, and there was something solemn in it Their appearance was very fierce. A kind of savage silence reigned among theuL There was in their looks a mixture of sur- prise and discontent, occasioned by their unexpected meeting with Buonaparte, who, as they thought, was at their head.
^' In proportion as tney ranged up the eminence, and darted forward on the squares which occupied its summit, the artillery vomited death upon them and killed them in masses. This part of the scene came directly under Buonaparte's eyes, without his being able to see what passed on the height itself, as he still kept himself, as it were, enveloped in the comer of the ravine. It was then precisely a quarter of an hour from seven o'clock, and it was at this very moment that the decisive crisis of the battle commenced.
^'Buonaparte had then six persons close to him — these were, his brother Jeroine, and Generals Bertrand, Drouet, Bernard, Douhers, and Labedoyire. At every step which he took, or seemed to take, to put his own person in front, Generals Bertrand and Drouet threw themselves before his horse's head, and ex- claimed in a pathetic accent, — 'Ah I Sire, what are you going to do ? Consider that the safety of France and the army depends entirely upon you. All is lost, if any accident should nappen to you.'
'^ Buonaparte yielded to thdr entreaties with a zeal or apparent
118 BARU or wAniLoa
effort, which he seemed to cain over himaelE Bat one tiui^ ^>petfed very singalary namely^ that the two men who knefw so wdl how to moderate his ardour and to restrain him, were the only persons whom he never sent to reconnoitre the state of the battle, while he sent the rest twenty times into the midst of the fire to carry orders or Inin^; him information. One of them having told him that the Duke m Wellington had been for a long time in mmt, and at the head of one of his squares, he exhibited a sort of a grin, which showed evidently that this part of the narrative vexed him much.
** Jerome having thooght proper to take aside and wbisper with one of his brother^s aides-de-camp, to whom he spoke his mind very freely, Buoni^Mirte sent him (Jerome) sevend times into the middle of the fire, as if to get rid of such an importanate critic. Jerome, in fact, took it ffreatly to heart that hu brotho* did not profit of this occasion to die in a glorious manner; and I distinctly heard him say to Greneral Bertrund, ' Can it be possible that he will not seek death here? Never will he find a more glorious gravel'
^ At night-fall Buonaparte disappeared firom us, und^ pretext of going himself to ascertain the state of things, and put himself at the head of the Guards to animate them. Before I conclude, there is a peculiarity which deserves to be noticed, namely, that before effecting his personal retreat, in order to get rid of ixnperd- nent witnesses, he directed all those around him to carry diffio^nt orders at once, the result of which could not concern mm in the least
^ Captain Elphinstone, who was made prisoner in the batde of
the 16 th, was brought before Buonaparte for examination. Being
asked bv Buonaparte, 'Who commands the cavahy?' he was
answered, *Lord Uxbridge.' *No, Paget,' replied Buonaparte.
The officer then explained that they meant the same person, and
Buonaparte nodded assent He was then asked, ' Who conunanded
in chief?' and was answered, *The Duke of Wellington;' upon
which he observed, * No, that cannot be, for he is sick.' It seems
that his Ghrace had received a fall from his horse on the 14th, and
was reported to be indisposed in consequence, and Buonaparte had
received intelligence to that efiect The conversation continued
thus for a considerable time, during which Buonaparte showed
himself perfectly acauainted with the strength and position of llie
several divisions ot the Allied armies, and the names of their
several commanders. As they were successively m^itioned,
Buonaparte occasionallv remarked, * Oh, yes, this division cannot
be up in time ; — this division cannot be up in a day ;' and so oa
Upon some difficulty in the conversation, one of his aides-de-camp,
who spoke English weU, interpreted siter, and he, it appeared,
had been in London about ten chys before. On the conversation
buonapabte's opinions^ etc. 119
being ended, a surgeon was ordered to sive his attention, and he was placed, with another officer, xmder three guards. On retiring^, they -were put to quarters, which happened to be the cock-l<m of ahouse ; firom hence, on the following morning, they looked secretly, and saw the whole of the French army march to their positions. Ejiowing the disparity of force, he trembled to think of the result ; and noticed particularly the enthusiasm and devo- tion of the troops. In this state of anxiety they silently waited some hours, fearing every moment to hear the crisis. At length they heard a great Dustle of men and horses ; upon coming nearer they discovered them to be French. All is now lost ; victory is gained ; and these are the messengers. On coming to the town^ fliey, however, found them flying French. Then was their joy superior to their former dejection ; but in their helpless situation they dare not show themsdves, as they certainly would have been shot ; but after an hour the black Brunswickers came riding through; then they came out of their lurking-places, and joined their conorades. It is to be observed that theur guards had long left them.*'
La Coste's Nabkauvb.*
** Three officers, early in the mormng of Sunday, the 18th June, inquired for him, and asked him how long he had lived in the country, and upon hearing his reply wrote three lines upon a piece of paper, and sent an officer with him to Buonaparte at six. He asked him if he knew the different roads. C. answered. Yes, and explained them upon a chart, which was lying before B. Goste said, mat from eight to one B. was forming his troops for the general engagement, which began at one. From one to four, B. was dismounted, and remained in the same position (viz. a little above Hougoumont, towards the left). From four to seven, he was upon the roof of Coste's house, one-eighth of a mile be- yond Belle Alliance. At seven, he moved in the high road be- tween Belle Alliance and Mont St. Jean, three-quarlers of a imle ftom Coste's house. That B. remained there till half-past eight, when, finding that the Prussians were coming upon his flank, and that the English, by their desperate attack, nad thrown his troops into utter confusion, said to Bertrand, ^ Sauvone^ nous:* he then immediately galloped off; and that he never spoke for four hours. B. was not seen either to eat or drink during the day, and, in Coste's opinion, he considered victory as certain till seven in the evening, when he was cheered with victory by his troops."
* "Vide the attested declaration of this person of all he saw of Buonaparte, before and during the battle, in a subsequent part of this work.
120 BATTLE or WATBBLOO.
^ Waterloo, Augugt 15.
*' Oppoflite the inn, at a cottage, where the E^I of Uxlnid^ was earned, you are shown a neat garden ; in the centre of Ibar paths, a little hillock, with a weeping-willow and shrubs planted near the spot, show the sepulchre of his lordship^s leg: * in an inclosure, turUier behind this cottage, are interred several EngUsh officers ; one only, Colonel Fitzgerald of the Life Guards, has a st(»ie with an inscription over him ; many have been taken up azKi transmitted to England. You then proceed to Waterloo, the house of Jean Bapdste Xa Coste, called Belle Alliance, from whom I obtained the following particulars: —
'^ About five in the morning he was taken prisoner to serve as guide, and conducted with his bauds tied behmd him (that he might not escape, as a former man had done), to another house bebnging to him, opposite to which Buonaparte had slept. Ob- serving we French soldiers plundering and destroying this house, he cried. Buonaparte asked what he cried for ? * Because jrour soldiers are destroying all my property, and my family have no- where to put their heads.' Buonaparte said, * Do you not know that I am Emperor, and can recompense you a hundred times as much ? ' He was placed on a horse immediately between Buona- parte and his first aide-de-camp, his saddle being tied to the saddle of a trooper behind him, that he might not escape. They proceeded a little beyond Belle Alliance, and Buonaparte took the ground on a small eminence on the opposite side ; a sort of body- guard of twelve pieces of artillery, very light, surrounding theoL From this spot he could command both lines. He first observed : 'How steaoily those troops take the ground I how beautiiully those cavalry form! Megardez ces chevaux gria!^ Qui sorU ces beaux cavaliers f Ce eont des braves troupes, mats dans tme denrd- heure je les couperai en piices.^ Observing how the chasms in the British squaorons were filled up the instant they were made by his artillery, he exclaimed, ' QueUes braves troupes I comme ils u travaUlentl ils travaillent trh-^neuy tris-bienl^ He asked La Coste the particulars of every house, tree, wood, rising ground,
• YoQ are also shown the chair on which his lordship sat daring the operation, exactly as it remained ; and they still remember the gallant Earl's heroic sen- timents at the moment of this severe trial : but he was not seen to wince in the least, not even by contortion of features, consoling those about him in saying, ** Who would not lose a leg for such a victory ? It is true, I have a limb less ; but I have a higher name in the eyes of my country." The interview between the noble Duke and his lordship, upon his visit to Brussels after the battle, on the Sunday, is described as the most feeling that can be imagined. The Duke, in displaying the purest sympathetic affection, had a fine contrast in the heroic firmness of the noble Earl. — Editor.
f Meaning the Scots Greys. N.B. — CoL Cheney of the Ghreys, on whom Uie command of that regiment devolved on the 18th of June, in consequence of the death of Col. Hamilton and the wounds of other officers, had five horses killed nnder him, yet, almost by miracle, himself escaped without a wound.
buonapabtb's opinions, etc. 121
&C., with which he seeme4 well informed, holding a map in his left hand, and intent upon the action all the day, incessantly taking snuff from his waistcoat pocket, in large pinches, of which he violently snuffed up about half, throwing the other from him, with a violent exertion of the arm, and thumb and finger, as if from vexation : this was all the refreshment he took for fourteen hours : he frequently placed his left hand upon the back of La Cioate's horse to speak to the aide-de-camp on the other side of him. Seeing La Coste flinch at the shower of shot, he replied : * Do not stir^ my friend; a shot will kill you equally in the back as in the front, or wound you more disgracefrdly.' About eight, hear- ing the fire of the Prussians on the right of his rear flank, leanini his hand on the neck of La Goste's horse, and seeing the Britisl cavalry, from their right and left flanks, making a tremendous charge that would have encircled hi^ pergonal position, he ex- claimed, addressing himself to Bertrand, * Ilfaitt que nous nous sauvons,* retreating, with all lus staff, about forty yards along the road; and within about twenty yards of the house Belle Alliance he halted, and putting the glass to his eye, saw the British cavalry, intermingled j[>e^m62^, and furiously cutting the French troops to pieces. He exclaimed, * QuHls sont terribles ces chevaua griaT nneaning the Scots Ghreys, which had parti- cularly daring the oay, and at that moment, attracted his atten- tion). * Ufaut nous dip&cher; nous dSpecherJ They, and all the cavalry, commenced a gallop, till they got about three leagues beyond Charleroi, where they halted, and pitched a tent upon a grass-plot, about nine at night A fire was kindled, and renresh- ments placed upon a chair, which Buonaparte took the first for fourteen hours, standing with Ins back to the fire, with his hands
generally behind him, conversing with a circle of nine, whose orses La Coste had been ordered to hold, till the party, about two in the morning, broke up, when, each taking his horse, Ber- trand gave La Coste a napoleon-d'or, which he exchanged, after a twenty-four hours' fast, to refresh himself and family.
^^This statement of La Coste contradicts the account of the new Ghiard crying to the old, * Se sauve qui peut;^ that expression might easily Imve changed, in running through the army, from the first text, ^ Ufatd que nous nous sauvons,^ About an hour before the rout Buonaparte exclaimed, * I shall cut them to pieces, yet it is a pity to destroy such brave troops.'
" The latter part corresponds much with an account I had by an officer, that accompanied me in this inspection. About an hour before the finish, he said, an aide-de-camp came to the Duke of Wellington, telling him that the 5th Division was reduced from 4000 to 400, and that their keeping their post was wholly ineffec- tual. * I cannot help it,' said the Chief; ' they must keep the ground with mysetf to the last man. Would to God the night
128 BAmi or WAimxxk
or Blficher woald oome V Near an hour after, the fire was heard by the British in the rear of Booni^Mute^s right flank : * We wiD Mat them jet,' cried he. The charge was sonnded, the most dreadful havoc commenced, and a victory closed the 18th daj of June, which established a British generalship^ and the Britiah annj as the first in Eurme*
** On the left ot all^^the Bronswickers, in a firm sqnarey made a breastwork of carnage : the Soots brigade next A brigade <^ Hanoverian Landwehr on their right, forming their square awkwardlv. Colonel Cameron of the 92d, who was killed after- wards, called to them to form as t/^y did ; which thej obeyed, and stood : the next, a Datch brigade, by not forming alertly, were cut to pieces. TUs battle proved the met of what we vulgariy call boUom*
Premature ProclamaUon, daied I^acken, June 17, 1815.
So confident was Buonaparte of getting to Brussds, that several bales of Proclamations were found arnon^ his baggi^ dated from ** Our Palace of Lacken,** a royal residence near that city.
ProdamaHan to the Belgians and Inhabitant of the left Bank
oftheBhine.
" The ephemeral success of my enemies detached you for a moment from my empire ; in my exile, upon a rock in the sea, I heard your complaint ; the God of Battles has decided the fate of your beautiful provinces; Napoleon is among you; you are worthy to be Frenchmen ; rise in mass, join my invincible pha- lanxes to exterminate the remainder of these barbarians, who are your enemies and mine : they fly, with rage and despair in their hearts.
'* At the Imperial Palace of Lacken, June 17, 1815.
(Signed) '' Nafolbon."
** By the Emperor. ** The Major-Genenu of the Army,
" Corar Bestiuiq)."
Buonaparte after the Batde of Waterloo*
It was on the 20th of June, at nine at night, that the fugitive ftom Waterloo arrived at Paris. He first saw Madame de St Leu (Louis Buonaparte's wife), then Maret and Regnault de St
buonafabtb's ofimioks, btc« 123
Jean d'Aimely. The following are the details of this interview. M. St. Dicuer was present
The night was far advanced. Maret sat in a comer of the room^ with an alarmed countenance — Renault stood before a table making pencil-marks on a piece of paper before him— Buonaparte walked up and down> biting his nails and taking snuj£ He stopped all at once — " Where is the bulletin?" RegnauU. — There it is, corrected. JBuonaparie. — Let us see. (Renault began reading it) Buonaparte. — (During two-thirds of it) It was gained. When Regnault nad finished, he said, with a si^h — It is lost I BucTiaparte. — It is lost, and — my ^ory with it RegnaulL — You have fifty victories to oppose to one defeat Maret — The defeat is decisive ; the Emperor is in the ri^t Suonaparte. — They are not accustomed to conquer. They will abuse the victory.
Maret — Those whose cowardice Wellington's bravery has made triumphant are more dangerous, and more yoiur enemies, than the English and Prussians.
jReanaidt — The Republicans will grieve; but they will try to profit by the circumstance.
Btumaparte. — They will do well; at least, the glory and liberie of the country will remain untouched. K the Royalists succeed, it will be by the support of foreigners.
Maret — The courage of the RoyaUsts is in the head of Wel- limrton and the arm of Bliicher.
Regnault — What most presses is, to stop Bliicher and Wel- lington.
Maret — How ? The army exists no more, and the frontier is uncovered.
ifegrwawtt,— The frontier is uncovered, but the army exists: it requires only being rallied.
Buonaparte. — It will rally itself; we must reorganize and repair its losses.
Maret — Are you sure of Soult and Grouchv? Buonaparte. — Grouchy is an honest man, but feeble. Soult has ^ven pledges.
Regnault — The army will reorganize itself, but the corps are incomplete.
Biumaparte. — Assemble the ministers. I will have the Chambers know all to-night
Maret —Parties will be agitating.
BegnauU. — The parties, agitat^ for a loi^ time, will know each other, measure tneir strength, and make efforts.
Buonaparte. — So much the better. The masks will fall off. For the public, I mean. As for me, a long time has —— Sum- mon the ministers. We will make a report — tell the truth. If
124 Bimi or WAiSRLoa
all patriotism and honour are not dead, the Chambers will not refuse men and money.
Maret — They wiU speak of sparing water and engines, when the house is on fire,
RegnaulL — Thej have stupidlj reproached Dictatorahipu It is now that it will save all I
Buonaparte. — I have recommenced a constitutional m<»iarchj — convoke the Ministers.
Maret — No Dictatorship; but, also, no indignities. If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves.
Buonaparte. — Ah I mj Old Gruardl will they defend them- selves like thee ?
They separated. Maret remained with the Emperor, who, in spite of^ his fatigue, received several visits, at which I was not present From my window, I saw among the carriages those of Cambaceres, Decres, Caulaincourt, and the two Camots.
For two days and nights meeting and committees succeed each other in toe £lys6e Palace, wiwout producing any result The Emperor's anxiety seemed to increase. Much business seemed to be doing, and yet nothing was determined. The time was, however, pressing. The Chamoers had assembled, and from the violence or the £scussions it was plain the parties stood opposed to each other ; the necessity of an abdication was already spoken of with much freedom.
I heard the noise of a carriage, which suddenly stopped at the palace: it was Prince Lucien's. Napoleon turned pale on seeing nim ; he went down, however, and met his brother m the garden. The Prince drew the Emperor aside into the closest walk in the garden. I followed at a distance by turnings which I knew, and I arrived behind a thicket of verdure which concealed me from them. It is probable I heard only the last part of their con- versation.
Prince Lucieru — Where is your firmness now ? Abandon this irresolution. You know the consequence of not having the courage to dare.
Tne Emperor. — I have dared too much.
The Prince. — Yes, too much and too little. Dare once again. You deliberate when it is proper you should act Others are acting and not deliberating ; they will pronounce your forfeiture.
The Emperor. — ^Forfeiture 1 Let us see Davoust
They returned into the palace, and the Prince of Eckmuhl was sent for. I am not certain what was proposed to him, nor what he replied ; but it appeared that he would attempt nothing against the independence of the national representation.
Prince Lucien, much agitated, soon drove off in his carriage. I heard him say to his secretary, ^ What can I say to you ? 'Die smoke of Mont St Jean has turned his head."
buonapabte's ofimions, etc. 125
The Emperor shut himself hermetically in a retired cabinet^ and did not come out for an hour. He had asked for a jelly and cofiee^ and a valet-de-chambre sent it into him by a bojr^ who durLo^ his seryice in the palace had been particularly noticed by Napoleon, and of whom he seemed yery K>nd. The boy looked seriously at the Emperor, who was sitting motionless, with his hands oyer his eyes. — " Eat some," said the boy, " it will do you good.'* The Emperor asked — ^** Are you not from Gonesse?"— *' No, Sire, I come from Pierre Fite. " And your parents haye a cotta^ and some acres there ?" — " Yes, sire.** " That is a happy life I" His head, which he had for a moment raised, he then sunk again upon his hands.
Napoleon soon after returned to his great cabinet, where he found me opening a dispatch. '^ Is there any thing new there ?" said the Emperor. ^^ It contains a letter addressed to his Majesty himself." Buonaparte read what follows : —
^^ The chastisement of a hero consists in his fall. Yours is resolyed on ; and in order that history may consider it as legal as your contemporaries will belieye it just, the public authority is about to pronounce it Your accompUces will not then haye it in their power to describe it as the work of the bayonets of Kalmucks. You may, howeyer, preyent this. Take to yourself the honour of descendu^ from a throne fit)m which you may be dragged. This is the adyice of a candid enemy, who nas often admired you, who neyer feared you ; and who, at the price of his blood, would haye wished to haye had to reyere in you the sayiour of that world of which you had been the scourge. That enemy cannot leaye him whom nis genius and the national will haye raised to soyereimity, without saying to him what his friends, if any yet remain to mm, ought to say — Abdicate.^
** That I should abdicate!" biting his lips and crushing the letter in his hand. ** What think you of it?** said he, to two of the ministers, the Duke of Bassano and Regnault St Jean d'Angely, who had just entered. The former was silent " I imderstand you," said Napoleon, affecting ^ety; "you agree with the anonymous writer. Well, Count Kegnault, what is your opinion?* — "With men and money you might still repel the attacks of your assailants ; but without them, wnat can you do but yield?" — " I am able to resist" — " Public opinion is with the Chambers, and it is the opinion of the Chambers that a sacrifice is required."
Here Greneral Solignac, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, was announced.
" Solignac I" exclaimed the Emperor — " he has not spok^i to me these fiye years; what can he want?" The ministers with- drew, and Solignac was immediately admitted.
136 BARLB or WATEBLOa
I was not present at the conversation, I shall therefore quote the words in which the Greneral has stated it himself: —
*' It was settled ; the Chamber had detemined to exclude Napoleon from the throne ; bat it was wished to show r^o-d for the army in proceedings concerning the person of its Chi^, whose power and glory the troops had so long he&a. accostomed to respect There was also reason to fear that the decree of its fin^ feiture might be made the pretext of an insorrection. The oqatal might become the scene of serious troubles, and the country be involved in a civil war. It appeared necessary, therefore, in cRraer to avoid these evils, that the abdicaticm of Napoleon should proceed from himself, and be considered as a voluntary act of devotedness for the countiy.
*' To obtain this object, I employed the means of persnasioD which appeared to me blest calculated for success. After an hour and a half's conversation. Napoleon at last yielded to my urgent recommendations. He appeared touched with the frankness and the energy with which I spoke, while at the same time I preserved the respect which was due to his rank, and stiU more to his mis- fortunes. In a word, I left the Emperor with the assurance that he would transmit his act of abdication, and I arrived at the Chamber of Representatives before the forfeiture (which was then under consideration) became the subject of positive decree."
JRespecting a Protection far Buonaparte,
** Head-Quarters, June 28.
" Monsieur le Comte, — I have had the honour to receive your Excellency's letter of the 25th. I have already written to the Commissioners named to treat with the Allied Powers for peace, upon the proposition for a suspension of hostilities: a reply which your Excellency has seen, ana to which I have nothing to add. As to what regards a passport and protection for Ni^leon Buonar parte to go to the United States of America, I must inform your Excellency that I have no authority firom my Government to give any sort of answer whatever to that demaJDucL I have the honour to be, Mons. le Comte, with the highest consideration, your obedient servant,
(Signed) ** Welungton."
« To Count Bignon.''
Napoleon arrived at Rochefort, July 3, and resided at the Pre- fect's house until the 8th, when he embarked in a boat ; on the 9th he landed on the Isle of Aix ; 10th, he was fearful, from the
buonapabib's ovanomf sxa 127
E^xiglish crnusersy to pat to sea; on the fbllowinff day lie sent a flaff of trace to the Bellerophon; Uth, he heard of the dissolution of the Chambers at Pans, and entrance of the King ; 12th, landed his suite and baggage at the Isle of Aix ; 13th and 14th, went on board the Epervier, thinking an escape hazardoos, and oa the other hand faring arrest On July 15th, at daybreak, Buona- MTte came on board the Bellerophon at Rochefort; Captain ^aitland dispatched a frigate to England with die inteUigence of his surr^ider ; and the officer who brought this news was also the hearer of the following letter, written by Napoleon to the Prince Regent:-^
Oopy of Buonaparte^s Letter to hie Royal Bighneas the Prince Be- gent; forwarded to England hy General Gourgaud, in the Slaney, on the I4th of July.
'' Rochefort, 13 Jmllety 1815. '^ Altesse Royale,
** En butte aux factions qui divisent mon pays, et k Pinimita^ des plus grandes Puissances de I'Europe, j'ai termini ma carri^re politique ; et je viens, comme Th^mistocle, m'asseoir sur les foyers an peuple Bntannique. Je me mets sous la protection de ses lois ; que je r&;lame de V . A.R. comme le plus puissant, le plus constant, et le plus g^6reux de mes ennemis.
** Napoleok.'*
'' Your Royal Highness,
'* Exposed to the factions which divide my country, and to the enmity of the greatest Powers of Europe, I nave terminated my politick career, and I come, like Themistocles, to throw myself upon the hospitality {nCaeseoir mir lee foyers) of the British nation. I place myself imder the protection of its laws, which (protection) I claim m>m your Royal Highness, as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies.
« Rochef(yrt, 13t4 Jt%, ISIS.** ** Natoleon."
When Napoleon first boarded the Bellerophon, he said to Captain Maitland, *' I am come to claim the protection of your Pnnce and Goimtry;" and shortly after said wilii his usual quick- ness, '^ Come, Captain Maitland, suppose we walk oyer your ship.^ To this the Captam replied by saying, that the decks were then washing, and that the ship was consequently not in a state to be inspected ; that he had better wait an hour or so, &c. To this Buonaparte rejoined, ^' No, no. Captain Maitland, let us go now ; I haye been accustomed to wet and dry, and confusion, &c. for upwards of tw^ity years, and I must see her in her present state."
128 BATTLE OF WATRBIXX).
He did 80y and inspected her with all the alacrity^ mmtiteiiess, and curiosity so characteristic of him, walking several times over the ship; after this, he expressed himself highly delighted with the admirable economy of a British man-of-war. One day, addressing an old marine, he asked him *^ how long he had served?" The reply was, " Sixteen years," " Where are your marks of dis- tinction, then?" '* I have none," answered the marine. Buona- parte shrugced up his shoulders, and retired.
The Bellerophon arrived in Torbay on the 24th of July, with Buonaparte ana his suite, consisting of fiftv persons, on board. On the 26th, she arrived in PlymouUi Sound, and cast anchor.
On the voyage from Rochefort, the officers and crew of the Bellerophon seem to have treated Buonaparte, who was at times unwell and in bad spirits, with all the respect they would have shown to a reigning sovereign: and although, on his arrival at PI vmouth, orders were issued by the British (Government to con- sider and treat him merely as a General — [f^ By your King, I have been acknowledged First Consul of France, and by all others as Emperor"] — it api)ears these orders were but indifferently attended to, so much had he ingratiated himself with all on board during his short vovage. The following letters will give an idea of the curiosity and bustle excited at Plymouth by me presence of this man : —
« Plymouth, July 29tk, 1815.
''Yesterday the curiosity of thousands was gratified by the most ample view of the ex-Emperor. There were at 4 p.il upwards of 1000 boats in the Sound. The scene at this time beggared all description. The guard-boats, strongly iuanned, d&nhed through the water, running against every boat that hap- pened to be too near. The sentinels of the Bellerophon, and of the guard-frigates, the Eurotas and Liffey, were every moment presenting their pieces to intimidate the curious multitude. At last a movement was observed on board the Bellerophon — the seamen were seen pressing to the forecastle, the booms became covered, and, with unsatiated curiosity, they pressed so closely on the sentinels, that they were obliged to clear the gangways. The marines were now also noticed on the poop, and me officers and seamen, by a simultaneous movement, uncovered widiout orders. A moment after, to gratify the people in the boats, as well as to view the sublune spectacle before him, the object of boundless curiosity advanced to the starboard gangway: the mass of boats endeavoured to precipitate themselves on the ship— the guard-boats dashed fririouslv through the water — some boats were struck — persons overturned into the sea — the sentinels presented their pieces : — all in vain : the force was overwhelming — screams and curses were alternately heard — the next moment all was calm — the Emperor was bowing to the multitude — he stood before
buonapaste's opinions, etc. 129
them six or seven minutes, and retired for a short time. In this manner was the time spent during the whole of Friday, till eight in the evening. Buonaparte certainly is endeavouring to gratify the spectators as much as possible. Hitherto none have boarded the snip but Lord Keith, and Mr. Penn the pilot, of Cawsand. The time when Buonaparte is most seen, is from three o'clock until e%ht p.bl The boats get near enough to view his features distinctly, and even to hear him speak. On Friday, General Brown was alongside, and was pointed out to him by an officer. Buonaparte instantly addressed him in a complimentary maimer, in French, which was answered by the General On Thursday, Sir R. Strachan was pointed out to him, and he bowed to Sir Richard most courteously, which was returned."
'' Plymouth, July 31.
'* The boats get within thirty yards of the Bellerophon, and Buonaparte is seen at the gangway for twenty minutes at a time. He BlwsLys leaves the cabm, and walks to the quarter-deck and gangway, while the cloth is laying for dinner.
" I observed his person particularly, and can describe him thus : — He is about five feet seven inches in height, very strongly made, and well proportioned ; very broad and deeo chest ; legs and thighs proportioned with great symmetry and strength; a small, round, and handsome foot His countenance is sallow, and, as it were, deeply tinged by hot climates; but the most com- manding air I ever saw. His eyes grey, and the most piercing that you can imagine. His glance, you fancy, searches into your inmost thoughts. His hair dark brown, and no appearance of grey. His features are handsome now, and when younger, he must have been a very handsome man. He is rather fat, and his belly protuberant; but he appears active notwithstanding. His step and demeanour altogether commanding. He looks about forty-five or forty-six years of age. In fact, he is very like the picture exhibited of him. He is extremely curious, and never passes anything remarkable in the ship, without inquiring mi- nutely about it He also stops and asks the officers cQvers ques- tions relative to the time they have been in the service, what actions, &c. : and he caused all of us to be introduced to him the first day he came on board. He has asked several questions about the marines, particularly those who appeared to have been some time in the service, and about the warrant-officers, midsliipmen, seamen, &c He was but a very short time on board when he asked tfiat the boatswain might be introduced, in order that he naight look at him, and was very inquisitive as to the nature of his duty. He dresses in green uniform, with red facings, and ®<lged with red, two plain gold epaulets, the lappels of the coat cut round and turned back, white waistcoat and breeches, with mili-
K
1
130 BATTU or WATBftliOa
tary bootB and Bpurs, the Grand Cross of the hepon of Honour on his left breast He professi^ his intention (if he is allowed to reside in England) to adopt the English customs and maimers, and declares that he will never meddle with politics any more. The army which left Paris, and united with others on the Loire, wanted him to join them and resume his title, which he relused tu d(K He declares that not another *goutU de sang^ shall be shed 410 his account Fortunate indeed it would have been, if he reallv had been of this opinion some years back I**
Buonaparte continued in the Bellerophon till Monday the 7th of August, when he was transferred to the Northumberland man- of-war, which, under the command of Admiral Sir Greorge Cock- bum, was appointed to convey him to St Helena.
Sir Henry Bunbury, accompanied by the Hon. Mr. Bathurst, charged with the communication of the determination of Grovem- ment to Buonaparte, were conveyed on board the Bellerophon by Lord Keith's yacht Sir Henry was introduced to the ex-Em- peror ; and, mer mutual salutations, he read to him the resolu- tion of the Cabinet, by which he was informed of his intended transportation to the Island of St Helena, with four of his frienos, to be chosen by himself, and twelve domestics. He received this intimation without any mark of surprise, as he said he had been apprised of the determination: but he protested against it in the most emphatic manner ; and in a speech of three quarters of an hour, delivered with great coolness, self-possesaon, and ability, reasoned against the outrageous proceeding. He recapitulated the circumstances under which he had been forced, he said, by the breach of the treaty made with him by the Sove- reigns of Europe, to quit the Islana of Elba — that he had exerted himself to prevent the renewal of hostilities — but that when they became unavoidable, and that the fortune of war had decided against him, he yielded to the voice of his enemies ; and as they had declared in the face of the world that it was against him only that they had taken up arms, he abdicated the Imperial Crown of France, in the ftill confidence that the Allies would be faithful to their solemn declaration, and leave his country to the settlement of their own afiairs ; then, unarmed, and with the view of sedcing an asylum as a private individual in England, he had first sought to be received under the King's allegiance, and under the pro- tection of our laws, and had finaUy voluntarily put himself into the British power. In this predicament, he felt nimself entitled to protest against the measure now announced to him, and in a long argument, in which he showed himself to be well versed in our laws, he reasoned against the act
Sir H. Bunbury and Mr. Bathurst say, that his manner was temperate, his language eloquent, and that he conducted himself tliroughout in the most prepossessing way. The account they
buonapabtb's ofh^ions, etc. 131
give of his persuasive maimer is, we miderstand, highly inter- esting. Sir Hemry answered to his discourse, that he had no commission but to make known to him the resolution of his Ma- jesty's Mmisters, but said that he should faithfully report the reasons that he had stated against the proceeding.
Before the Northumberland sailed^ a yacht or large boat, with
several gentlemen of the Pay-office, had arrived to pay the ship,
who, availing themselves of the opportunity presented by the
folding-doors of the cabin being open, beheld, to their surprise,
Buonaparte playing at vingt-un with his companions as cheerfully
as if nothing had happened to him. When Sir G. Cockbum saw
Buonaparte for the first time, he simply pulled off his hat, in the
same manner as he would have done to another General, and said,
— ** How do you do. General Buonaparte?" which was returned
by him in a manner equally laconic, but with his head uncovered.
Everything was so well conducted in this removal, that the greatest
order prevafled, and so little was it known at Torbay, off which
place it occurred, that very few boats were present to witness it.
rhe Northiunberland has part of the military on board, and is fiill
of stores and baggage. The cabin is neatly fitted up, and the
after-part dividedm the centre for sleeping, one side of which is
occupied by Buonaparte, and the other oy Sir George Cockbum.
Liberty having been afforded to Buonaparte and his compa- nions to procure from England any articles of luxury or accommo- dation they may desire, they have sent frequently ashore, and having purchased a billiard-table, wines of the most costly descrip- tion, an immense quantity of playing-cards, chessmen, &c., and the best books procurable in the English language (the ex- Emperor having suddenly grown exceeding fond of that lan- guage !), Buonaparte solicited Mr. O'Meara, surgeon of the Belle- rophon, to attend him in the same capacity, which Lord Keith has consented to, and an exchange between the Bellerophon and the Northumberland was in consequence speedily effected. Buo- naparte endeavoured to make him forget his cfuty, even at the commencement, by offering a salary of 500L per annum ; but this gentleman rejected the overture, and said that the pay of his king was enough to satisfy him.
The Northumberland sailed from Portsmouth on Friday, Aug. 4, and on nearing Torbay on Sunday, Aug. 6, perceived two line- of-batde ships approaching her, wmch proved to be the Bellero-
?hon, with Buonaparte on board, and the Toimant with Lord feith. In a few hours the Northumberland hailed them, and asked after Buonaparte, who, she was informed, had not come out of his cabin for some days. The ship came to anchor in Torbay. General Bertrand went first on board the Tonnant, where ne dined with Lord Keith and Sir G. Cockburn. He is a man of about fifty years of age, and extremely well iJdiaved. At dinner.
132 BATTLB OP WAXBBLOa
Sir George gave him a general explanation of his instmctions respect to Buonaparte; one of which was, that his baggage must be inspected before it was received on board the Northomberland. Bertrand expressed his opinion strongly against the measure of sending the Emperor (ss he and all the suite constantly styled him) to St Helena, wnen ius wish and expectation was to live Quietly in England, under the protection of the English laws. Lord "keith and Sir George CockDum did not enter into any dis- cussion on the subject After dinner, Lord Keith and Sir G. Cockbum, accompanied by Bertrand, went in the admiral*s yacht towards the Bellerophon. Previously to their arrival, Buona- parte's arms and pistols were taken front him — not without con^- dcrable altercation and objections on the part of the French officers.
Those who were not to accompany him, were sent on board the Eurotas frigate. They expressed great reluctance at the sepa- ration, particularly the Polish officers. Buonaparte took leave of them individually. A Colonel Pistowski, a Pole, was peculiarly desirous of accompanying him. He had received seventeen woun<& in the service of Buonaparte, and said he would serve him in any capacity, however menial, if he could be allowed to go with him to St Helena. The orders for sending off the Polish Lancers were
C^remptorv, and he was removed to tlie Eurotas. Savazy and alleman J, however, were not among those s^it on board the frigate — they were left in the Bellerophon.
When Lord Keith and Sir George Cockbum went on board the Bellerophon, on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 6, Buonaparte was upon deck to receive them, dressed in a green coat with red facings, two epaulets, white waistcoat and breeches, silk stockings, the star of the Legion of Honour, and chapeau bras, with the three- coloured cockade. His {ace is remarkably plump, and his head rather bald on the top. After the usual salutations. Lord Keith, addressing himself to Buonaparte, acquainted him with his in- tended transfer from the Bellerophon to the Northumberland. Buonaparte immediately protested with great vehemence against this act of the British Government — he (fid not expect it — he did not conceive that any objection could be made to his residing in England quietly, for the remainder of his life. No answer was returned by either Lord Keith or Sir G. Cockbum. A British officer, who stood near, observed to him, that if he had not been sent to St Helena, he would have been delivered up to the Emperor of Russia.
Buonaparte* — " Dieu me aarde dea Russes!^ (God keep me from the Kussians.) In making this reply, he looked at General Bertrand, and shrugged up his shoulders.
Sir G* Cockburru — " At what hour to-morrow morning shall I come. General, and receive you on board the Northumbenand ?"
buonapabte's opinions, etc. 133
BuonaparUy with some surprise at being styled merely General — " At ten o'clock."
Bertrand, Madame Bertrand, Savary, Lallemand, Count and Countess Montholon, were standing near Buonaparte. Sir G. Cockbum asked him if he wanted anything before they put to sea ? Bertrand replied, '^ Fifty packs of cards, a backgammon and domino table ;'^ and Madame Bertrand desired to have some arti- cles of furniture; which, it was said, should be furnished forthwith.
An officer who stood near him said, '' You would have been taken, if you had remained at Rochefort another hour, and sent off to Paris." Buonaparte turned his eye upon the speaker, but did not speal^ a wonL He next addressed Sir G. Cockbum, and asked several questions about St Helena. ^' Is there any himting or shooting there? — where am I to reside?" He then abruptly changed the subject, and burst into more invectives against the Government, to which no answer was returned. He then ex-
Eressed some indignation at being styled General, saying, ^^ You ave sent ambassadors to me as a Sovereign Potentate — you have acknowledged me as First Consul" He took a great deal of snuff whilst speaking. After reminding him that the Nortiium- berland's barge womd come for him at ten on Monday morning, Lord Keith and Sir G. Cockbum retired.
Early on Monday morning. Sir George Cockbum went on board the Bellerophon, to superintend the inspection of Buona- parte's baggage : it consisted of two services of plate, several articles in gold, a superb toilet of plate, books, beds, &c. They found bnt 4000 gold napoleons, and these were sealed up and detained. They were all sent on board the Northumberland about eleven o'clock. At half-past eleven o'clock. Lord Keith, in the bai^e of the Tonnant, went on board the Bellerophon, to receive Buonaparte and those who were to accompany him. Buonaparte, before their arrival and afterwards, addressed himself to Captain Maitiand and the officers of the Bellerophon. After descending the ladder into the barge, he pulled off his hat to them again* Lord Keith received in the barse the following personages :— Buonaparte, General Bertrand and Madame Ber&and, with their children; Count and Countess Montholon and child; Count Las Cassas,* General Gourgaud ; nine men and three women servants. Buonaparte's surgeon refused to accompany him; upon which the surgeon of the Bellerophon offered to supplv his place. Buonaparte was this day dressed in a cocked hat much worn, with a tricolored cockade; his coat was buttoned close round him — a plain green one with a red collar; he had three orders — two crosses, and a large silver star, with tile inscription Bonneur et Pci^rU; white breeches, silk stockings, and gold buckles.
* This person^ stated to have been long resident in England.
134 BATILE OF WATEBLOO.
About twelve oVIock the Tonnant's barge reached the Nortk- umlKTland. I^rtrand steinied first upon deck, BacMiaparte next mountiiig the side of the ship with the activity of a seaman. The marines were drawn out and received him, but merelj as a General, presenting arms to him* He puUed off his hat As soon as he was upon deck, he said to Sir Geoi^ Cockbum, *^Ji mds h vos ordresJ" He bowed to Lord Lowther and &fr. Lytdeton, who were near the Admiral, and spoke to them a few words, to which they replied. To an oflBcer he said, ** Dansqud cerff servez'vausf" (In what corps do you serve?) — The officer replied, *' In the Artillery.'' Buoni^Nirte immediately rejoined, " Je 9or$ de ce service mcirmemeJ" (I was originally in that servjoe mysel£) After taking leave of the officers who had accompanied him from the Bellerophon, and embracing the nephew of Jose- phine, who was not going to St Helena, he went into the after- cabin, where, besides his principal companions, were assembled Lord Keith, Sir G. Cockbum, Lord Lowther, the Honourable Mr. Lyttletcm, &c.
Bertrand asked what we should have done, had we taken Buonaparte at sea ? — " As we are doing now," was the reply.
Lord Lowther and the Honourable Mr. Lyttleton now entered into very earnest conversation with him, which continued for two hours. As he was very communicative, and seemed desirous of a very free conversation with these two young gentlemen, they availed themselves of the opportunity, and entered into a review of much of his conduct We understand that they asked him how he came to commit the impolicy of attacking Spain — the motives for the Berlin and Milan aecrees — the war against Russia — the reAisal of the terms of peace offered him before the first capture of Paris, &c To all these questions, we hear, he gave full answers, not avoiding, but rather encouraging the discussion.
His cabin in the Northumberland is fitted up with the greatest elegance. His bed is peculiarly handsome, and the linen upon it very fine. His toilet is of silver. Among other artides npon it is a magnificent snuff-box, upon which is embossed in gold an eagle with a crown flying from Elba to the coast of France — the Eagle just seeing the coast of France, and the respective distances, are admirably executed.
The following are a few passages of the conversation whicli Lord Lowther and Mr. lyttleton had with Buonaparte when he was transhipped from the Bellerophon to the Northumberhod.
Buonaparte, whilst remonstrating against his detention, said, ** You do not know my character, iovl ought to have placed confidence in my word of honour,''
Chieof thegendemen said-" ShaU I speak the plain truth to you?"
Buonaparte, — *^ Speak it"
BUO^AFABTE's 0FDa01^3 ETC. 135
*^ I must then tell you, that since your invasion of Spain
no Englishman could put trust even in your most solemn engage- ments.
B. — ** I was called to Spain by Charles IV. to assist him against his son."
" No : according to my opinion, to place King Joseph
on the throne."
B. — *^ I had a grand political system. It was necessary to establish a counterpoise to your enormous power on the sea; and, besides, that was only what had been done by the Bourbons," or words to that effect
" It must be confessed, however, General, that France
under your sceptre was much more to be feared than during the latter years of Louis XIY.'s reign. She was also aggran- dised," &c
B» — *^ England on her part had become more powerful" Here he referred to our Colonies, and particularly to our acquisitions in India.
— ** Many well-informed men are of opinion that England loses more than she gains by the possession of that overgrown and remote empire."
-B. — " I wished to revive Spain ; to do much of that which the Cortes afterwards attempted to do."
He was then recalled to the main point, and reminded of the character of the transaction by which he obtained possession of the Spanish crown ; to which he made no answer, but took a new line oi argument on the subject of his detention, and after much dis* cussion concluded by saying, " Well, I have been deceived in relying upon your generosity. Replace me in the position from wmch you took me (or words to that effect).
Speaking of his invasion of France, he said, with great vehe- mence— '^ I was then a Sovereign. I had a right to make war. The King of France had not kept his promises."
He afterwards said, exultingly, and laughifag and shaking his head — " I made war on the King of France with 600 men."
He said that, in confining him as we did, we were ** acting like a little aristocratic power, and not a great free people."
Of Mr. Fox he saia, he knew him, and had seen mm at the TuiUeries. " He had not your prejudices."
" Mr. Fox, General, was a zealous patriot with regard to
his own country, and, besides, a citizen of the world."
B, — '* He sincerdy wished for peace, and I wished for it also. / His death prevented the conclusion of peace. The others were not ^ ^ ^^^^* sincere."
At one time he observed — " I do not say that I have not for twenty years endeavoured to ruin England ; and then, as if cor- recting himself for having inadvertently said more than waa
136 BATTLB or WATEBLOa
prudent—'' that is to sa^, to lower jovl I wished to force yoa to be just — at least, less unjust'*
He was asked his opinion of the British infantry.
B, — " Long wars make good soldiers ; the cavalry of both nations,'' he said, " was excellent : our artillery had derived much improvement from the French."
Of the Duke of Wellington he seemed at this time to ayoid giving any opinion.
To a question about Louis XVIIE
/^.— '' He b a good sort of man, too fond of the table and pretty sayings. He is not calculated for the French* The Duchess of Angoulcme is the only man in the family. The French must have such a man as mysel£''
He broke out into some invectives against the conduct of the Allies ; called it perfidious, treacherous.
Touching upon St. Helena, he seemed not only indignant, bat surpriserl at oeing sent there.
B. — ** I would have given my word of honour to have remained quiet, and to have held no political correspondence in England I would have pledged myself not to quit the place assigned me, but to live as a simple individual."
*' That seems to be next to impossible ; for though you
have had great reverses, you could never so fiar forget what you had been as to conceive yourself to be, or conduct yourself as, a simple individual"
B. — ^^ But why not let me remain in England upon my parole of honour?"
" You forget that some hundred of French officers vio- lated their parole of honour, and that not only you did not expre^ any indignation against them, but received them with particular distinction ; Lefebvre Desnouettes, for instance."
Buonaparte made no remark upon this.
Of the Prince Regent he spoke in the highest terms, adding that he was the only sovereign in Europe that had been consistent, constant, and vigorous ; that it was he who had been the red cause of defeating all his designs, and destroying his power.
Letter from Captain Paget
** I have been some hours in Buonaparte's company, and have had conversation with him. He says never was a battle so severely contested as that of Waterloo. Uis troops knew and felt that they never had more to gain, or more to lose, than at that time; ana never had they fought harder, and they were only overcome by the superiority of British intrepidity. He was astonished at the firmness with which his charges were received and repulsed by our troops: he spoke highly ^ our cavalry, and acknowledged
Buonaparte's opinions^ £Ta 137
that if the Earl of Uxbridge had not been wounded, he would ) Q^ ^^-^ have been the Earl's prisoner in two minutes; and he feels no f p>^^^^\ t\ hesitation in saying that the Duke of Wellington was a better > general than himself. I mention this circumstance, because in his \ ^ voyage to Elba, when it was remarked that the Duke was the best j general of the age, he answered : ** We have never met yet"
Translation of the Protest presented by Buonaparte to Lord Keith,
against his transportation to Su Ilelena,
** I protest solemnly, in the &ce of Heaven and of men, against the violation of my most sacred rights, by the forcible disposal of my person and of my liberty. I came freely on board the BeUerophon ; I am not the prisoner, I am the guest of EIngland.
" Once seated on board the BeUerophon, I was immediately entitled to the hospitality (Jefus sur le foyer) of the British people. If the Government, by giving orders to tne captain of the BeUero- phon to receive me and my suite, intended merely to lay a snare ior me, it has forfeited its honour and snUied its flag.
" If this act be consummated, it wiU be in vain that the Eng- lish wiU talk to Europe of their integrity, of their laws, of theur liberty. The British faith will be lost m the hospitaUty of the BeUerophon.
** I appeal, therefore, to history ; it will say that an enemy who made war for twenty years on the people of England, came freely, in his misfortune, to seek an asylum under its laws. What more striking proof could he give of his esteem and of his confidence ? But how did they answer it in England ? They pretended to hold out an hospitable hand to this enemy, and wnen he surrendered himself to them in good faith, they sacnficed him.
" On board the BeUerophon, at Sea.*' " Napoleon."
His Majesty's Ship Northumberland, lat 34® 53', long. 13° 45'.
'' August the 22d, 1815.
"Conversing one day about the siege of St Jean d'Acre, Buonaparte observed, * that when Sir Sidney Smith was there he distributed several proclamations among the French troops, which inade them waver a little*' In order to obviate this, he published &n order, in which he ^ asserted that the English Commodore was nuid,' and it concluded with prohibiting aU communication with ^^hiu ^ This,' he added, ' had the desired effect, and so enraged Sir Sidney, that he sent him a challenge to single combat, which 'Was declined,' and Napoleon returning at the same time for answer, ^^ *when he brought the Duke of Marlborough to meet him he
v> «.-
138 BATTLE OF WATKBLOa
would accept it' He stated meet positivelj, * that he would tkm have taken Acre if the English had not taken his battering train ; and added, in finglish and French, ' Had it not been for jon English I would have been Emperor of the East ; but wherever a ship could get I was always sure to find some o[ the English to oppose me.'
** He spoke of the invasion of England as his first determina- tion, and said that he intended to have landed as near Chatham as iwssible, and to have dashed at once for London. He admitted the great probability of his not succeeding, and that he might have been killed in the attempt That this scheme was not put into effect, he says, was owing to Admiral Villeneuve not obeying the orders he received. He was particularly inquisitive as to the climate of England, and said that the cause of so many suicides was the humidness of the atmosphere.
** The anxiety of the English to see him when on board the Bdlerophon, flattered his vanity in the extreme ; and he woold frequently stand at the gangway purposely to afibrd the ga{nng and wonaering multitude an opportunity of beholding his persoa At tliis time he had invariably a spy-glass in his hand, which he frequently used in observing the spectators.
" He appeared greatly pleased with the beauty of our &ir countrywomen, and was always wishing to know their names, families, and any circumstance that could be communicated to him concerning them.
" Buonaparte gives great credit to our in&ntry and our artil- lery. He said, * the British infantry is now what the French was ten years back, and that the cavalry is greatly inferior to the in- fantry in everything but appearance.' He found great fault with the construction of the bits, which, he says, ' are so bad that the men cannot manage their horses.' Bertrand and the others assented to the truth of this observation.
" One day Buonaparte was speaking of the Duke of Wdlington, and observed, ' he did not expect he would have riven him battle, but that he would have retreated, and waited for the Russians sod other reinforcements ; in which case, he says, he must have been finally beaten: but that he was extremely happy to find Lord Wellington did not decline the combat,' adding, ths^ * be made quite ceriain of obtaining the victory^ He also said, ' that he knew of the advance of the Prussians, but that he did not regard it of much consequence ; and that he was betrayed by some of his generals.' He nirther said, 'that the universal consternation among his troops taking place at a time of darknessy he was not able to rally the fugitives by showing his person to theniy tohich fe ^ convinced would liave effectually restored order had it been dca/Ugf^i but that, in consequence of its being dark, he vxis borne away by ^ crowd, and obliged to fly himself.^
buonafabte's opinions, ETa 139
** On being asked why he had not given himself np to Austria ? He replied, * What, give myself up to a nation without laws, honour, or faith I No: the moment I had got there, I should have been put into a dungeon, and never heard of more. In giving myself up to the Engush, I have given myself up to a nation with honourable and just laws, which afford protection to every person.'
** One day he observed, he * ought to have died the day he entered Moscow, as ever since he had experienced a continual series of disasters.' He further observed, he ' would have made peace at Dresden, and also afterwards, if it had not been for the advice of the Djgke of Bagsano, who persuaded him against it' * ' '^
" The invasion of Spain, Buonaparte says, he undertook at the special desire of Talleyrand, who was continually urging him to that measure, invariably pointing out the absolute necessity of its being undertaken, and, if possible, accomplished at all hazards.
*^ It is astonishing the detestation in which Fouch^ is held by Buonaparte and all ms followers, who never mention his name but with the greatest contempt ; and they say, ' it was entirely owing to this creature that Buonaparte abdicated in favour of his son ; and that he was continually carrying on a clandestine correspond- ence with the Allies.'
'^ The respect that is still paid to Buonaparte by his suite is very great ; as an instance, I shall mention that he was one day playing at chess with Montholon, who is by far the best player of the two. Buonaparte had evidently the worst of the game, when Montholon made purposely an improper movement, which was speedily observed by the former, and he ultimately was the victor. Montholon praised the superior skill of his master (as he termed him), and declared himself ^not competent to encounter such a player again;' at which Buonaparte was highly pleased. At this game, or tmn^Mxn, Buonaparte generally passes his time ; but was much hurt when the Admiral insisted that neither of these ^imes, nor any other, should be played on Sundays.
** He has been very inquisitive as to me climate, &c. of St Helena, and declares that he shall be more comfortable there than in Austria. Temperance, he says, is the only means of preserving health ; and adds, that he never was ill but twice in his life, and on one of those occasions only applied a blister. Montholon's wife had been unwell, and he inquiml of the surgeon how she was. He said. Rather better ; but that he thought the fear of the tropical climates preyed on her mind. Buonaparte replied, nearly in the words of Shakspeare, ^ Doctor, thou canst not administer to a mind diseased.' The force with which this remark was made was
* This strongly confirms the statement in the pabUcation of M. Pradt, archbishop of Ms^es, and Ambassador at Warsaw.
-%
140 BATILE OF WATEBLOa
observed by eveiy one near, and apparently related to his own feelings.
** Bertrand and his wife are continually with Buonaparte, and the whole are more reconciled to their future destiny.
** Sir George Cockbum and Buonaparte are cm exc^ent terms, as he is, indeed, with all the officers of die ship ; they fre- quently play at cards, &c., in which, occasionally, they have the advantage of each other.
** Hitherto our passage has been very favourable, and no pai^ ticular occurrence has tuen place since we sailed from Torbaj.'*
By dispatches which arrived in London, December 4, leaving St Iklena October 23, we learn that Buonaparte landed there on the 17th of October, 1815.
■• f
7.1V invmetiicai Facrs.
o Jthlfntrn .
141
ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS TO THE BATTLE OF
WATERLOO,
WITH CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAILS BY A NEAR OBSERVER;
dUXFLY COXVUNICATED BY STAFF AND RBOIMENTAL OFPICERB
PBB8SMT AT THE BATTLE.
Thb Battle of Waterloo has formed one of the greatest epochs in history and politics. Everything which relates to the immortal day of the 18th of Jime, 1815, is secure of fixing our attention* The histories of the campaign of four days, which has put an end to the power of the modem Gtengis Khan, may well be multiplied, for all are insufficient to satisfy the public curiosity as they have appeared ; and new works are offering themselves on all sides, ana in every form. The fields of Waterloo, the farms of Mont St. Jean, La Have Sainte, and La Belle Alliance, and the ruins of the chliteau of Hougomont (more properly Gomont), have already become classic soil. They are visited at this day by all travellers, as the world went formerly to visit holy places. People set out from Brossels, and the three leagues wnich are to be passed through the forest of Soignies, like a new Via Sacra, by inspiring a sel^recoUection, prepare the minds of those who p^orm this species of pilgrimage lor the strong emotions which they are in- voluntarily to experience when they arrive, on quitting the forest, at the branching of the roads which lead on the right to Nivelles and Braine-la-Leude, and on the left to Ohain and Wavre. Every step which they make beyond this spot, as far as Charleroi, pro- duces some grand recollection. Here, say they, it was fought — under the auspices of England and her Allies, against the infernal Genius of Evil and his horrible satellites I Her^ the monster was thrown down for ever by the heroes in whom England has gloried through all ages I It may one day be written on the monuments which shall rise at Waterloo (what Quinaut has said of the Titans) : —
*^ Les superbes grants, arm^s contrc les cienx,
Ne nous donnent plus d'^pouvante ; Nous avons yu tomber leur chef andacieux :
Wellington I'a contraint de Yomir k nos yeux Les Testes enflamm^ de sa rage mourante ;
Wellington est Yictorieox ; £t tout c^e k reffort de sa main foadroyante."
142 BA1TLK or WAmULOO.
One month after the battle of the 18th of June, I vished the iield of battle. At the distance of a mile and half from Bmaseb the road ascends a considerable eminence, which commands a fine view of the city and smrrounding country. The fields exhibited a
C^osion of Divine bomity. We soon after entered an immose h-forest, called Soignies. The road through it is a drarr vista of more than seven miles in length, very roughW paved, and barely wide enough for two carriages to pass with safety. Twelve or thirteen miles nrom Brussels is W aterloo, standing low and fiat Advancing a mile and a half on the same rc^ are some small cot- tages, which resemble an E^lish hamlet, called Mont St. Jean, and which stands on the northern boundary of the field of batde. From an adjoining eminence the view resembles that of several large English fields uninclosed, and separated from each odier bj stout he^es, which mark the boundaries of respective parishes Their prepuce had been chiefly rye and barley. From east and west the eye ranges about twelve to fourteen miles, and five to six north and south.
The Duke of Wellington's dispatch affords at once a clear idea of the position which the contending armies occupied. That of the British consisted of a range of gently-rising groimds, rather than hills, while that of the army opposed to them was consider- ably more elevated. *' So important a battle, perhaps, was never before fought within so small an extent of ground. I computed the distance between Hougomont and Papelot at three miles ; in a straight line it may probably not exceed two and a half.
*< * Small theatre for such a tragedy.'" — Southct.
TTie Duke of Wellington appointed to command His Majesty s Forces — ffe arrives at BrvsseU — Organisation of the Anglo- ffanoverian Army commanded by his Grace,*
On the 28th of March, the Prince Regent was pleased to ap- point Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington tJommander of Ifis Majesty's forces on the continent of Europe; His Grrace left Vienna immediately afterwards, and arrived at Brussels on the 5th of April. On the 10th, His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange took leave of the troops, as their Commander-in-Chief, in a general order; in which he states, that in delivering over the command of the British and Hanoverians, he desired to congra- tulate them on that command being placed in the more able hands of Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington. His Roy alx Highness took that opportunity of returning his thanks to Lieutenant-gene- ral Sir Henry Clinton, the General Officers, and heads of depart-
* Vide Dr. Halliday's account. Paris, 1815.
ADDITIONAL PA&nCULABP. 143
xnents^ for the cordial support which thej had on all occasions afforcled him^ and begged to express his approbation of the troops in quarters^ adding, that he considered their strict preservation of discipline as the best pledge of their conduct in the field, should they be called into action. " His Royal Highness reflects with 'eat pride and satisfaction," continues the general order, ''that le is to continue to serve with the British army, under a chief yviih 'whoin he has been so long associated."
The Duke of Wellington assumed the command on the 11th,* and bis first care was to organise the army entrusted to his com- mand. The King of the Netherlands was pleased to entrust his Grace i^th the command of his troops also ; so that he became Generalissimo of the Allied army.
The Duke formed the whole of the force under his command, consisting of British, Dutch, and Hanoverian troops, with the con- tingents of Nassau and Brunswick-Oels, into two great corps. He gave the command of the first corps to His Royal Highness the ]Prince of Orange, and that of the second to Lieutenant-general Ix>rd HilL T^ was done, as his Grace stated in his general order, with the view of amalgamating the whole ; and to enable them to move together, and act in concert But though the whole were thus united, and each corps subjected in everything to the command of its respective chief, it was expressly declared, that everjrthing which related to the discipline of the officers and sol- diers of each nation, the provisioning, clothing, and equipment, and means of transport, was to remain under the direction of the officers^ civil and military, of the respective nations. Each grand corps consisted of so many divisions of cavalry and infantry, and each division of so many brigades-f
Our cavalry and horse-artillery, in passing through the Nether- lands, excited universal admiration. The fineness of our horses, and their equipments, were far superior to anything they had ever seen ; and the Jacobins were quite delighted to think that Buona- parte would soon be able to mount his dragoons with such fine horses, bideed they did not hesitate to say, that the English might fight by sea, because it was our element, but that our troops would not stand one hour before Buonaparte. Our army was too showy to be good, and our soldiers too civil to be brave I Such was the language of the discontented in Belgium, of whom there were a few ; but the event has proved how much they were mistaken.
• General Order, dated 11th of April, 1815, Head-quarters, Bniasels : — " His l^oyal Highness the Prince Regent having appointed Field-marshal the Dnke of Wellington to he Commander of his Majesty's forces on Uie Continent of Europe, all reports in ftiture are to be made to his Grace."
< Vide p. 13.
144 BATTLE OF WATBBLOa
Opening of the Campaign — Btumaparte takes Charteroi, and vances into Belgium — Battle of St Amand and lAffny^ in ydtiA the Prussian Army is defeated — British defeat Marshal Xeyt corps at Quatre Bras*
What was properly called the French Army of the North nsted only of two corps ; but these corps were composed eotireiT of old soldiers, the dite of the whole empire^ and such as vere most attached to the person of Buonaparte. About the begumiK of June, the head-ouarters of this army were at LaoQ ; the 1^ corps occupied Valenciennes, and tlie 2d Maubeuge. On its right it communicated with the army of the Ardennes and thst of the Moselle, while its left rested on the strong garrison of Lflie. The whole of these armies, however, had been put in motion some days previous to Buonaparte's quitting the capital. The army d the North and that of me Ardennes effected a junction at Beau- mont on the 13 th ; and the army of the Moselle, whose head- quarters were at Metz, quitted its cantonments on the 5th and 6th, and came into the grand line by Pliilippeville on the same day. All these movements were effected with the usual precision and alacritT of the French armies ; and when Buonaparte arrived at Avesnes he found his whole force in line, and reaay to move on any pcHSt. As yet his intentions were unknown, even to his own generals; but on the morning of the 14th he put an end to their suspense by a general order, which was the first and last he had occasioa to issue during the campaign.
The force which Buonaparte had with him consisted of five corps of infantry and four corps of cavalry.
The Allied army under the Duke of Wellin^n, after its or- nization, was cantoned along the frontiers of Belmum, from ieuport to CharleroL The head-quarters of the Du^e of Wei- ll remained at Brussels with the reserve of the army ; and although the troops were so placed that they could be collected on any pomt in the space of twelve hours, yet no order could be given for tneir moving until the direction in which Buonaparte intended to advance was perfectly ascertained.
On the 15th of June the campaign commenced with the dawn of day, by an attack upon the outposts of the Prussian army. This army was commanded by Field-marshal Prince Bliicher of Wahl- stadt, consisted of four corps, and occupied the remainder of the Belgic frontier. The points of concentration of the several corps were Fleurus, Namur, Aney, and Hannut Buonaparte advanced the 2d corps of his army by Thuin, along the banks of the Sambre (a part of it having crossed that river at Solre-suivSambre), upon the town of Charleroi, and drove the advanced posts of General Ziethen's corps back upon the bridge of Marchienne. After a very smart action, the Prussian general was obliged to retire
ea
Si
ADDITIONAL PAimCULARS. 145
behind the river, and collect his corps near Fleurus : and as he considered Charleroi untenable^ the troops stationed in that town were withdrawn, and tlie French cavaby entered it about midday. The Prussians defended their advanced posts on the 15th witli great bravery, and it was only the overwhehning force which was brought against Ziethen's corps that induced that general to with- draw his advance, in order tnat he might concentrate his whole force near Flemnis, which he did so effectually as to put a stop to the enemy*s progress for that day.
There was now no longer any doubt as to the direction by which Buonaparte intended to penetrate into Belgiimi ; and the Duke of Wellington immediately gave orders for the army under his command to concentrate on the extreme of its position, near the great road from Brussels to Charleroi, and in a line between Nivelles and Namur. The 5th Division of the British army, with tlie corps of the Duke of Brunswick-Oels, left Brussels about 2 a.m. on the 16th, and advanced towards the position where the whole army was ordered to assemble.
One brigade of the Dutch troops, which was in advance towards Charleroi, had been attacked when the Prussians fell back on the 15th, and driven from its advanced position near Frasnes ; but the Prince of Orange having moved up another brigade of the same army, they were able to repulse uie enemy, and in the evening they regained the greater part of the ground which had been lost throughout the day. On the morning of the 16th, Prince Blucher, who was determined to meet Buonaparte with all his strength, had ]X)sted the army under his command on the heights between the villages of Brie and Sombref, and to some distance beyond Som- bref. In front of this line he occupied the villages of St Amand and Ligny with a very considerable force.
The enemy was delayed in his advance for some hours, on the morning of the 16th, in passing the Sambre with the remainder of his troops. But as soon as Uiat was Accomplished, Buonaparte made his dispositions for attack, while he carried the great body of his force against the Prussian line. Marshal Ney, who had joined the army on the evening of the 15th, and who had been appointed to command the left wing, was directed to advance by Gosselies and Frasnes, and attack the British position. The force iinder Marshal Ney consisted of the 1st and 2d corps of infantry, and four divisions of cavalry.
The 3d, 4th, and 6th corps, with the Guard in reserve, were ordered to attack the Prussian position in front, while the 5th corps under Grouchy, and a division of cavalry, were detached towards Sombref, on the Namur road, with the view of manoeu- vring on that flank.
On debouching from Fleurus, Buonaparte had an opportunity of reconnoitering flie position of Marshal Bliicher with more pre-
146 BAITLB or WATKSLOa
ciftioiL He immediately placed the Ist corps belonmng to tbe k wing, mider Ney, with two divisions of heavy cava&y, behind*^ village of Frasnes, on the right, and at a little distance from i* Brusseb road, where it was to form & reserve that could be bTt<^* up to support either his attack upon the Prussians or Ney^s szckt upon the British. The 3d corps was ordered to advance in colics to carry the village of St Ainand, whilst the 4th corps, $a}^)oiv. by the Guard and the cavalry, was ordered to attack Xignj.
The enemy advanced in overpowering masses upon St AsdssL where the action first commenced, on the morning of the 16^ The brave Prussians defended this part of their advanced po^it>^ with great firmness, and it was not till after a long and sangaberj conflict that they were obliged to yield for a time to superior dgid- bers. The 4th corps commenced its attack upon tbe viU^ige '^ Ligny about mid-day, and by one o'clock p.m. the action may '"^ said to have become general diroughout the whole of the extant''' line of the Allied Bntish and Prussian armies. Grouchv bv tia^ time had attacked the extreme left beyond Sombref, and hey d*^ come in contact with the advance of the army under the Dake*< Wellington, near Frasnes. But it was in the villages of St Amau- and Ligny that the greatest struggle for victory took place betvtt* tlie contending armies. There tlie battle continued tor five honrs. it may be said, almost in the villa£res themselves, as tbe mori'- ments forwards and backwards dunng that period were ctffliW 10 a very narrow space. Fresh troops were constantly moved up on both sides ; and as each army had immense masses of infantry behind that part of the village which it occupied, these served to maintain the combat, as they were continually receiving reinfon^ ments from the rear. Upwards of 200 pieces of cannon were directed affiiinst the villages, and they were firequendy on ^ in many {naces. .
About four o'clock Prince Bliicher placed himself at the bead ot a battalion of| infantry, and charged with them into the villac^ ^^ St Amand After a dreadftd struggle he gained possession o^ "le greater part of it The enemy were panic-struck, and the victory seemed so doubtful, that Buonaparte was obliged to send ffl ^ haste for the 1st corps, which he had left in reserve near Frasnc"' at the very moment, too, that it had become equally necessary Marshal Ney, whose columns, ha\ing been repulsed by tbe o Division of British infantry, were retiring in great confusion.
The advantage which Blucher had so nobly gained, ^^ ^ little importance to the general action in which ms troops ^^ engaged. At Ligny the battle stiU raged with unabated vigoi^? and though the evening was far advanced, the victory remaj^ undecided. The badness of the roads, and the difficiSties ^n*^ Gen. Bulow had to encounter in his march, prevented tis c^^r from getting up on tlie 16th; so that Blucher had only three corp
ADDITIONAL PARTIC17LABS. 147
of his army in position; and though they had repulsed every attack which had been made upon them, the danger was becoming urgent, as all the divisions were engaged, or had abready been so, and there was no reserve at hand.
As the night advanced, the enemy, favoured by the darkness, made a circuit round the village of Ligny, with a division of infantry on one side ; and, without being observed, got into the rear of the main body of the Prussian army, at the same moment that some regiments of Cuirassiers forced their passage on the other side of the village. This movement decided the day, and Field-marshal Bliicher was obliged to commence his retreat; yet his brave colmnns, though surprised, were not dismayed. They formed themselves into solid masses, and repulsing every attack which the enemy made upon them, retired in perfect good order to their original ground, upon the heights above the village, and from thence contmued, immolested, meir retrograde movement upon Tilly.
The badness of the roads obliged the Field-marshal to aban- don some of his artillery during this retreat; but, except the badly wounded, the enemy made very few prisoners. At oni time the veteran warrior had a very narrow escape from being taken prisoner himself. Wherever the battle was hottest, there Bliicher was to be found ; and wherever it was of importance to carry a point, he led his troops to the charge in person. During his retreat, a charge of cavalry which he had led, having &iled, the enemy were vigorously pursuing his broken squadrons, when a musket-baU having struck his horse, it bounded forward with increased velocity for a moment, then suddenly dropped dead. The Field-marshal, stunned with the fall, lay entangled under his horse, and a whole regiment of Cuirassiers galloped past him. Inmiediately afterwards, the Prussian cavalry having formed, charged the enemy, and were in tuni victorious ; and the same K^giment of Cuirassiers, in their flight, again galloped past the Eield-marshal, who then, and not till then, was relieved from his perilous situation, and enabled to mount a horse belonging to one of his own dragoons.
The Duke of Wellington, having given orders for the army lender his command to cx)ncentrate on the left, proceeded widi the 5th Division and the Duke of Brunswick-Oels' corps, in the direction of CharleroL About two o'clock on the afternoon of the 16th, the head of the British column reached the ferm of Quatre Bras, so namfed from its standing near where the roads from Brus- sels to Charleroi, and from Nivelles to Namur, cross each other. TOie advance of the enemy under Ney, who had again driven the I^^itch troops from their position near Frasnes, had nearly reached the same spot ; and General Kempt's brigade had scarcely time to deploy from the great road, before it was attacked by the
148 BATTLK OF WATBBLOa
enemy's cavalry, sunported by heavy masses of his infantry. Nothing could excised the daring intrepidity of the French tnn*:* at this moment; their success on the 15th, and confidence in tbeL* leader, added to the natural bravery of the troops^ made tbs advance with almost a certainty of victory. The sudden i^ipea:* ance of overwhelming masses of cavalxy, and the rapidity viti which they charged our infantry, before they had time to thiuv themselves into squares, createa some little confusion in cme ^e two regiments. Indeed, so daring were the French Gnirassier', that a regiment actually cut into the square of the 42d Hi^- landers; but they paid aear for their temerity, as few ever re- turned to their lines ; and the Highlanders haa ample revei^ U the loss of their brave Cdonel, Sir Robert Macara. The 3d ba:- talion of the Royal Scots, 28th, and Ist battalion of the 9otb. were warmly engaged for several hours on the left of the Bross^ road : while General Pack^s brigade, consisting of the 44th9 79du and 92d regiments, with the 42d, already mentioned, snoceedal completely in repelling the enemy on the right, after an equallr arduous contest
About four o'clock, the 1st Division under Major-genenl Cooke, and 3d under Lieutenant-general Sir Charles Altoi, came up, and were also immediately engaged* The enemy was now driven from his ground, and obliged to retire to the position whicli he had occupied the night before, and where he had some dif- ficulty in maintaining hunself, until the darkness put an end to the combat. The troops of the Duke of Brunswick distinguisht^ themselves vexy much on the afternoon of the 16th ; and His Serene Highness was unfortunately killed at the h^ui of his brave hussars.
The enemy had many advantages over the handful of British troops that were in the field this day. Few of our guns, and none of our cavalry, came up till late in the evening ; and^ inde- pendent of the four divisions of cavalry which Ney had under Lis command, his infantry more than outnumbered the British. Ney has stated that the removal of the 1st corps fix>m under his command by Buonaparte was the cause of his want of success; and certainly had he been able to bring his two corps, and all his cavalry, against the 5th Division, which was engaged singly for nearly two hours, he would, in aU probability, have over- whelmed that division. But after the 1st and 3d Divisions had come up, I am inclined to think that his success would have been doubtful^ even with his whole force.
ADDITIONAL PAKHCULARS. 149
Jvne \%ih, 1815.
At daylight on the morning of the ITth, the armj having come up, the Doke of Wellington showed his whole force, and in a manner challenged the enemy to %ht; but as they did not seem inclined to accept the challenge, and as he had learned in the course of the morning that Marshal Bliicher had continued his retrograde movement upon Gembloux, where the 4th corps of his army, under General Bulow, had joined him, and that he had decided on concentrating his whole force in the environs of Wavre, still more in the rear ; the Duke determined also to retire upon the position in fix)nt of the village of Waterloa The move- ments intended by the two commanders were mutually commu- nicated to each other; and the Duke, in stating his arrangements to the Field-marshal, added that it was his intention to defend the position which he had chosen, and requested, if the enemy should attack next day, that he (Field-marshal Bliicher) would support him with two divisions of his army. Bliicher replied, that he was ready to support the British army with his whole force; stating at the same time, that it was his opinion, should Buonaparte not attack, that they ought to attack him next day with their united armies. ,
About eleven o'clock on the forenoon of the 17th, orders were given for the infantry to move to the rear, while the cavalry and some light troops took up a position in front The enemy remained quietly on the groimd he had occupied the preceding night, in front of the British lina Buonaparte, who had left about 20,000 Jbafantry, and General Pajol's division of cavalry, under the orders of Marshal Grouchy, to watch the motions of the Prussian army, proceeded with the remainder of his force to the position which the troops under Marshal Ney occupied ; but before his arrangements were completed, and his orders given for his army to advance, our in&ntry had nearly finished their march, and were about to take up their ground in the new position. His troops advanced in strong columns of attack ; but when they reached the heights above the village of Frasnes, Buonaparte found, to his great surprise, that the British army had retreated, ^d that the troops against which his columns were advancing were nothing more than a strong rear-guard, which fell back as his troops advanced. He ordered his cavalry immediately to advance in pursuit, and his columns of infantry continued tiheir niarch in the direction of Brussels. Buonaparte, who was with his advance, kept his cavalry up with our rear-guard during the whole of the day. The French army, when it found no enemy to oppose its progress during the day, is said to have believed, with Its usual levity, that the greater part of the British force was
150 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
destroyed, and that the remainder were flying to the ship £ Antwerp and Ostend
The position which the British army now took up had be£ chosen with great judcrment, <Tom its proximity to the exteibir. forest of Soignies. 1 ne village of Waterloo lies upon the gio? i road from Unissi^s to Cliarleroi, embosomed in the forest; asu a few scattered houses extend to another small village caU*^: Mount St John ; about a quarter of a mile in front of this kt^ village there is a rising grounrl, which crosses the great r^ai already mentioned, and extends from a larm-house, called Ter-b- Have, on the left, to tlie village of Merbe-le-Braine on the mbt, crossing also the road from Brussels to Nivelles, uvhich diver.v: from the road to Charleroi at the vilWe of Mount St. John, k was on this rising ground that the Allied army, commanded k Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington, or, more properlv, the Is corps of that army, took up its position on the evening of the 17i of June. The 2a corjw, imder the command of Lord Hill (with the exception of the 4th Division and the troops of the Nethff- lands, under Prince Frederick of Orange, who were left to guani an imjMirtant position at HaUe), was placed in reserve on the ri^ of the {X)sition, and in front of the village of Merbe-le-Braine,witfc its right resting on Braine-la-Leud. The infantry bivouacked * little under the ridge of the rising ground, and the cavalry in tke hollow ground in rear of the infantry. Excepting a few round shot, which the enemy occasionally fired while our troops wei? deploying into their position, nothing of any moment occurred during tliat afternoon or the whole of the night.
It had rained almost incessantly during the greater part of the 17 til, and the weather was very tempestuous during the nig'**' The ground afforded no cover for the troops ; so that generals, officers, and men, were equally ex|)osed to the rain, which fell m torrents. Buonaparte slept at the fjBirm-house of Caillou, near l*lanchenoit ; and his army halted in the neighbourhood of Gf napiKj. The Duke of Wellington slept at a small public-house id tlie village of Waterloo.
This night, which was dreadful to the soldier, must have been still more so to the wretched inhabitants of the country which the armies occupied; obliged to abandon their humble dwellings i*^ despair, they had fled to the deep recesses of the forest for secun^Ji and in the hope of saving their lives. The rich crops of gr*^* which were fast hastening to maturity, were trodden under tooU ^ eaten up by the cavalry, and the helpless, farmer saw the lawQf of a whole year destroyed in a single day; houses of all ki^^ were destroyed or burnt to ashes ; and the inhabitants, herding J^ the forest, must have felt imcertain even of their own fate, shoui chance have conducted any of the plundering banditti to v^ lonely retreat
ADDITIONAL PARHCULABS. 151
The French officers who have written the account of the »a.ttle of Waterloo assure us that Buonaparte, as well as his army^ relieved that the Duke of Wellington had continued his retreat Lirring the night, and it is said he expressed himself as quite lelighted when he found, on the morning of the 18th, that our Droops still occupied the ground they had ta&en up the night before. A^fraid^ as it would seem, that we might still steal away, the most preasing orders were sent to hasten up his columns from the rear, that he might commence the attack wnich was to annihilate us.
As soon as daylight appeared on the morning of the 18th, the British army could perceive, from its position, immense masses of the enemy moving in every dii*ection, and by two o'clock the whole of nis force appeared to be collected on the heights and in the ravines which ran parallel with the British position.
The French army, when concentrated in front of our position, consisted of four corps of infantry, including the Guard, and three corps of cavalry ; and if the report of a staff-officer of that army is to he credited, it presented an effective grand total of one hundred and twenty thousand men,
A httle to the left of the road from Brussels to Nivelles, and in the hollow ground in front of the British line, there is a gentle- man's country-house with its appendages, called Houm>mont [/or a more detailed account of the splendid achievement which the British infantry performed in the defence of this never^to-be'forgotten spoty vide article fouawing thisy p. 159.] A walled garden, with a considerable orchard, and several acres of wood, surround the house, and extend for a considerable way into the plain. The Duke of Wellington had occupied this house, as also the garden and wood, with a part of Major-general Cooke's division of the Guards, and a regiment of the troo^)S of Nassau. It was a post of the utmost importance ; for while it was held, the enemy could not approach our right. Buonaparte also saw the importance of that position, and me necessity which there was for his getting possession of it ; he sent orders to Marshal Ney^ who commanded the left wing of his army, to direct such a force upon 'Hougomont as should at once take possession of it
It was now eleven o'clock, and everything seemed to indicate that the awfiil contest was about to commence. The weather had cleared up, and the sun shone a little as the battle begun ; and the armies b^ng within 800 yards of each other, the Duke of Welling- ton, with his usual quickness, had soon perceived the nature of the attacks that would be made upon his line ; and when the troops stood to their arms in the mommg, he gave orders that they should be formed into squares of half-battalions, and in that state to await the enernVs attack.
Marshal Ney, as soon as Buonaparte's order was communicated to him, directed the division of infantry commanded by Jerome
152 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
Buonaparte to advance U|ion Hoiigomont; and aboat half-pas; eleven <)V*l(x*k tlic first columns of this division made their appear- ance U|K)n the ravine, or rather hollow groimd, which leads down from the ]>ublic-hou8C of La Belle Alliance to the chateau. The two brigades of artillery belonging to General Cooke's diviadn had taken up a position on the ridge of the hill, in front of the line of infantiT, and tlie moment the enemy made his appearance, our nine-])oun(lers opened upon his columns. The artillery-officei^ had got the range so accurately^ that almost every shot and shell fell in the very centre of his masses ; so great was the efiect pn>- duced by these few guns, that all Jerome's bravery oonid mi make his fellows advance, and in a moment they were a^ain hid by the rising ground, from under cover of which they had out just emerged. This, which was the commencement of the action, was considered a very favourable omen by our brave fellows who wit- nessed it ; and for a short time they were much amused with the manoeuvres of Jerome's division, and the cautious manner in which it seemed to emerge from its hiding-place.
This state of tilings, however, did not continue long^ as other great movements were observed to be prejMiring throughout the enemy's line. A jx)werful artillery was Drought to bear upon our guns that had so annoyed his first advance, and General Jerome's troops gained the outskirts of the wood, where they became en- gaged with our light troops. By mid-day the cannonade was generaL
The great road from Brussels to Charleroi ran through the centre of the British i)osition. Upon the right of this road, and upon the declivity of what is properly called the height or Mount of Saint John, there is a large farm-house with offices, called La Hayte Sainte, which are surrounded by a high wall. The garden attached to this house, which has only a brush-wood fence, runs for about fifly yards into the plain* This formed another covering point of im])ortance, wluch the Duke had taken care to occupy with a considerable force of tlie light troops of the King's German Legion.
The great object of Buonaparte in this important battle was evidently to force our centre, and at the same time turn our light flank ; so that by surrounding and taking prisoners, as it were, one half of our h'ne, he might completely paralyse and destroy the effect of the other half. Unfortunately, our centre was the w^est part of our position, and upon that part he directed his first grand attack to be made about noon.
An immense mass of infantry, followed by a column of upwards of twelve thousand cavalry, advanced upon the points occupied by the 3d and 5th Divisions, and the lefl of the GuanU, covered by a fire from upwai'ds of one hundred pieces of artillery* These columns, which seemed to advance with a certainty of sue-
■*>;
4h
^Ni
ADDITIONAL PARTIC17LAS& 153
::ess, ^were led by Count d'Erlon in person. They advanced almost to tlie muzzles of our muskets ; but here they soon found they had Hritons to contend with: our fellows gave them a volley, and, cheering, rushed on to the charge, which they did not stand to receive, and our cavalry, emerging from the hollow ground where^ they had hitherto been concealed from the envy's view, passed tlirough the openings between the squares, and charging the enemy's cavalry, succeeded completely in dispersing them, and driving them back upon their own Ime.
In this conflict, which was dreadAil while it lasted, the enemy was baffled in all his attempts, and, besides the killed and wounded, lost several thousand prisoners and an eagle ; but the British army had also to lament th^ loss of its brightest ornaments, and his ma- jesty one of his best officers. The gallant Sir Thomas Picton fell, mortally wounded, in leading on the 5th Division. He had only joined the army on the 15th. His exertions contributed greatly to tlie success of the 16th, when his division was engaged singly for several hours with the troops imder Ney. Though severely vroimded, he concealed it from every one but his servant, and went through all the fatigues of the 17th. On the 18th, as the Duke of Wellington has feelingly expressed it in the public dispatch, " he fell gloriously leading his (uvision to a charge with bayonets, by which one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy upon our position was defeated."
From the commencement of the action, little manoeuvring was necessary in either army. The points which Buonaparte had first attacked were again and again assailed with fresh troops, which obliged the Duke to move up reinforcements to Hougomont and to the centre. So overwhelming were the masses that were brought to bear upon these points, that victory sometimes seemed to hover over the imperial eagles ; but the consummate judgment of Wel- lington and the bravery of the British troops overcame all the efforts of the enemy.
About three o'clock, when Buonaparte found that Jerome's divi- sion could not drive the Gruards from Hougomont, he ordered the chateau to be set on fire. The shells from several mortars which were brought to bear upon the houses, soon had the desired effect: but our troops retiring into the garden, did not yield one inch of their ground ; and the only thing which the enemy gsdned by this cruel measure was the destruction of a few of our wounded, who were too ill to be removed, and who fell sC prey to the flames. The troops in La Haye Sainte, having expended their ammunition, were obliged to retire for a moment from that point, and the enemv got possession of the house and garden ; but as soon as a reinK>rce- ment of our troops could be moved up, he was driven from that as well as from every other point which he had attacked : and at no period during the day, notwithstanding the heavy masses of
154 BATTLB OF WATSRLOa
infantrj and cavalry which were advanced against onr centre, time after time, was he ever able to force our position; and the
sion of the advanced post of La Haje Sainte for a few nimntes may be said to have been the greatest advantage he ever gained. The battle continued to rage with unabated fury, and the number of brave men who were continually falling on both sides was verr great, whOe the rapidity with which the columns of attack suc- ceeded each other, seemed to indicate for a time that the resooroes of the enemy were inexhaustible. The artillery on both ades were well served: but Buonaparte had upwards of two hundred and fiity ])ieces in the field ; while the train of the Allied army under the Duke of Wellington did not exceed one hundred £^uns, nine- }X)under8 and six-pounders. Notwithstanding our imerioritj in this arm, which was still more apparent from the size of the enemv^s guns (being 12-pounders^ than from their numbers, ours w^^ so well fought, that I beheve it is allowed by all they did equal execution.
About two o'clock the Duke of Wellington dispatched an officer of his staff to the head-ouarters of Field-marshal Bliicher, to ascer^ tain his movements, and to know when it was probable his advance would come in contact with the enemy. This officer found the Prussian General at the village of Lasnes, where he gained die information required.
I must now beg leave to direct the attention of the reader to the extraordinary movements of the gallant Prussian army ; move- ments that have never been surpassed in the history of any war, and which clearly proved that the spirit of the great Frederick has not yet departed from them. On the 16th three corps of this army fought, and for a whole day defied the efibrts of the enemy to drive tliem from their position. At night they were surprised, and obliged to retreat On the evening of the 17 th, the broken columns, whose loss had been immense, after having retired upwards of thirty miles, were completely re-organised ; and at break of day on the morning of the 18th the whole advanced from Wavre to join the British army at Waterloa
The 2d and 4th corps were directed by Blucher to proceed by Saint Lambert, and to attack the enemy in the rear of ms ri^t flank near Frichermont The first corps, with theCommanderHn- Chief, moved by Ohain so as to unite with the left of the British line at Ter-la-Haye ; while the 3d corps, which formed the reserve, was directed to foUow in the rear of the first Gen^^ Bulow, who commanded the 4th corps, found great difficulty in passing the defile of Saint Lambert, and his advance was considerably retarded ; yet, true to the promise of his Commander-in-Chief, two of his brigades were in the position assigned them on the enemy's right flank by four o'clock in the afternoon. Bulow commenced his attack almost immediately, but his numbers were too few to
ADDITIONAL PARHCUIABS. 155
xiiake any serious impression. About six o'clock, when Bliicher was nearly in sight of the field of battle, he received intelligence that his reserve had been attacked by Marshal Grouchy, and was driven from its position near Wavre ; this information made no alteration m .the Field-marshal's arrangements, as he well knew that the fate of Europe would be decided on the field to which he \sras advancing.
It was now half-past seven o'clock, and the issue of the battle was still doubtful. The greater part of Lord Hill's corps of the liritish army had been moved up at different periods to the support of the 1st corps. The whole of Bulow's corps, and part of the 2d corps of the rrussian army, had arrived at their position near Fiichermont, and their attack in that direction was sufficiently YK>werfiilto oblige the enemy to give way on his right; which Buona- parte having observed, conceived that the moment was now arrived when he must put an end to the engagement He informed his generals that the firingon the right was occasioned by the arrival of Gronchy's corps. This gave fresh hopes to his troops, already beginning to despair, and immediately he gave orders to form the last column of attack. This column was composed principally of the Ghiard, which had hitherto suffered but little; he cave directions for the whole of the line to second this effort, upon which he said the victory depended, and placing himself at their head, they advanced in double-quick time.
These veteran warriors, so long esteemed the first troops in Europe, advanced across the plain which divided the two armies, with a fimmess which nothing could exceed ; and though our grape and canister-shot made dreadful havock in their ranks, they were never disconcerted for a single moment Our infantry remained firm in their position, imtil the enemy's front line was nearly in contact with them, when, with the usual salute of a well-directed voUey, and a British cheer, they rushed on to the charge with bay- onets. This charge even the Imperial Guard could not stand against, and those undaunted troops, who atone time considered themselves the conquerors of the world, were obliged to give way. In this attack tfie British and French Guards were, ror the first time, I believe, fairly opposed to each other. The shock for a moment was dreadfdi. The enemy refused to take or give quarter, and the carnage was horrible. At last the whole of their ranks were broken, afl discipline was at an end, and they began to give way in the utmost confusion. The Duke of Wellington, who was on the spot, was not inattentive to the manner in which the enemy retired from this attack, and, though his left was still pressed, he ordered the whole line of infantry, supported by the cavalry and artillery, to advance. This order was no sooner given, than our brave fellows rushed forward firom every point In a moment they carried the enemy's position^ and obligea him to retire in great
156 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
disorder, leaving in our possession a number of priscmerBy and uf^ wanls of one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, with their ais- munition. Before the disorganised masses of die French had cleared the ravine by which they retired, the right and left of the British line were nearly in contact, and the enemy in a nuumer surrounded. What added greatly to the confusion of the betten foe, was a gallant charge oy G^eral Ziethen's corps apon Us right flank, at the moment the British advanced in front. BIucIkt, who had joineil with his first corps at the time this decisive chai^ was going on, advanced with his gallant troops ; and about nine o'clock the two Field-marshals met at the small publk>4ioase called La Belle AUiance, and mutually saluted each other as victors.
The British army, which ha^l been so warmly engaged for up wards of nine hours, was now halted, and the pursuit left to the brave Prussians. Though they had already marcned many leagnes, all fatigue was forgotten when in the presence of their eoesnj. About half-past nine Field-marshal Bliicher assembled the whcJe of his sui)erior officers, and gave orders for them to send eveir man and horse in pursuit
The transactions of this eventful day, so glorious to Britam, cannot be concluded without recalling to the recollection of the reader s«»me of those heroes whose exertions and example were, in some measure, conducive to this great victory. Their gallantry, indeed, calls for a much larger share of notice than it is possible to bestow here; yet, brief as the remarks must be, the task that was undertaken would be inadequately performed if they were omitted.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange proved himself m this day, as well as on the 16th, not unworthy of the great master under whom he had studied the art of war, and, until he rec^ved a severe wound in the right shoulder, he was never absent fi!Dm the post of danger. His Royal Highness showed a great deal of good generalship in the manner in which he supported the brigade of his father's troops, that were attacked on the 15th, as well as in collecting his corps on the afternoon of that day. To him, how- ever, the issue of the campaign was certainly of importaiK^ as nothing less than a kinadam was at stake : but it was far dif- ferent with Henry Earl of Uxbridge. Already in possession of every blessing which wealth can give, or domestic happmess bestow, war, at best, was a losing game to him ; vet^he did not hesitate for a moment when his country called for his services, and, forgetting every claim but that which his Sovereign had upon him, ne ex- chai^ed his peaceful retirement for the command of the British cavalry in Belgium. On the 16th he inarched with the troops under his command upwaixk of forty miles, and got to the grotmd just as the enemy had retired &om the action. On the 17th he
ADDITIONAL PABnCULAR& 157
vf as appointed to protect the retreat of the infantry, and on more than one occasion he made the ex-£mperor pay dearly for the keenness of his pursuit On the 18th his exertions were great and unremitting, while his example was m«>st animating : scarce a squadron charged but he was at their head; and wherever the cavalry could Be of service, there he led them. Throughout the ^whole of the day, though exiK»sed to the hottest of the fire, he escaped unhurt; but alm<»st tne last shot which the enemy fired shattered his right knee, and dei>rived the gallant Paget ot a leg. 1 liave already relateil the fall of Sir Th'>mas Picton. England has also to r^ret the loss of Maior-general Sir William Ponsonby, an officer not less distinguished than respectecL Colonel De Lancey felly tooy by the side of the Comraander-m-Chief, as also Lieutenant- colonels Gordon and Canning, who hail Ijecn long in his Grace's family as aides-de-camp. Every officer on the personal staff of the JJuke of Wellington was either killed or wounded. Few general ofiScers escaped untouched, and many commanding officers ML Lord Hill's coolness and determined bravery never shone more conspicuous than on the 18th of June ; though^ from com- manding the reserve, his exertions were not so much called for on this as on many former days.
The enemy continued to retreat during the night. Ids cavalry and infantry mrming one conftised mass. The Marshals, Generals, and Officers of all ranks, were mingled with the mob, and pressed forward by the torrent; no one mought of giving orders, and every one seemed to act only from the impulse or terror of the moment. The Prussian cavalry did not allow them one moment's repose.
Advance of the AUiee into France — Reduction of Cambray and Peronne — Capitulation of Paris — Treaty of Peace.
After a few hours ^▼^i to repose, among the dying and the dead, on the field of Waterloo, the British army moved forward at daylight on the morning of the 19tL On the 20th, it entered the French territory. There was no force to oppose their pro- gress, and their advance upon the capital was as rapid as if uiey Had been marching through a friendly country. It was not con- sidered necessary, in the first instance, to halt before any of the frontier garrisons, though a sufficient force was left to observe them; and only those towns which could be reduced without difficulty, and which lay directly in the route, were attacked.
General Sir C. Cofville's division appeared before Cambray on the 24th; and the garrison having refused to surrender, it was attacked on the 25th. The light companies of Major-general Johnstone's brigade, led on by Colonel Su: Neil Campbell of the
158 lunu OP WATEBLoa
64th B^j^iment, escaladed the works at the angle formed by tbp Valenciennes gateway, and the curtain of the Ixxly of the yj^f^'^ while a second column, commanded by Colonel Sir l^illxaiL Donglas of the 9l8t R<^^ent, entered \>y the rayelin near tik Amiens road. The Valenciennes gate was broken open by Sir Neil Campbell, at the same moment that Colonel MitcheU's br^:ade forced open the Paris gate. The enemj, finding the town in oar possession, surrendered, after a feeble resistance, and the chr w«> gained with yery Uttle loss.
Oil the 26tli, the Duke of Wellington attacked Peronne. The 1st brigade of Guards, under Major-general Maitland, were onlered to storm the horn-work which coyers the suburb on the left of the Somme river, which they carried in their usual gallaot manner with yery little loss ; and the town immediately surrvn- dered, upon the condition that tlie garrison should lay down their arms, and be allowed to return to their homes. The nece^sitj which the Duke of Wellington was under of halting at Catean, to allow the jwntoons and certain stores to come. up with the annv, allowed the Prussians to get a day in advance of the British ; but neither army ran any risk from this separation, as the enemy had no force out of l*aris, except the few troops under Marshal Grouchy, who were hastening towards that capital, and who were too much alarmed for their own safety to think of fighting.
On the 28th, the advance of Field-marshal Bliicher^s armv came in contact with the enemy, for the first time. It was attacked at Villers-Coterets ; but his main body coming up, they were repulsed with a loss of six pieces of cannon and about a thousand pnsoners. General Bulow pursued this column, which was on its march from Soissons to Paris, and took about five hundred more prisoners. The advance of the British army crossed the Oise on the 29th, and the main body on the 30th of June, and on the 1st of July took up a position, with their right upon the height of Rochebourg, and their left upon the forest of Bondy. Bliicher, having taken the village of Vertus on the 30th of Jime, moved to his right, as the British army advanced on the 1st of July, and crossed the Seine at Saint-Germain. On the 2d, he had his right at Plessis-Pique, his left at Saint-Cloud, and the reserve of liis army at Versailles.
On the 28th of June, Paris was declared, by the Provisional Government, in a state of siege, and Marchal Davoust appcnnted to command the army. Saint-Denis as well as Montmartre were strongly fortified. The ground to the north of that town was inunaated, by means of the small rivers Bouillon and Lavielle- mar. Water was also introduced into the canal de I'Ourcq, and batteries with a strong parapet established on its banks : Paris was, therefore, well defended on that side. The heights of Belleville were likewise strongly fortified ; but the left of the Seine had been
ADDITIONAL PARUCDLABS. 159
«
exvtirely neglected, and was quite defenceless. The troops coUected in Pans consisted of aJl that remained fix)m the battle of Waterloo, V5rith the dep6ts of the whole army, which might amount to from forty to fifty thousand troops of the line, besides the National Griiards, the tirailleurs of the Guard, and the corp ofFedires. The advanced posts of this army defended itself with great bravery, p>articiilarly the heights of Saint-Cloud and Meudon ; and it was not till aftier a very severe action that Marshal Bliicher succeeded in carrying these points. General Ziethen's corps distmmuahed itself once more, in carrying the heights of Meudon, and in driving the enemy also from the village of Issy on the evening of the 1st The troops in this position having b^n strongly reinforced, the Prussians were attacked at Issy on the morning of the 3d ; but this attack was repulsed with considerable loss on the part of the enemy. At last, finding that Paris was open on its vulnerable side, and that a communication had been established between the Bri- tish and Prussian armies, by a bridge of boats at Argenteuil, and that a British corps was moving upon Neuilly, the enemy sent to "beg that the firing might cease on both sides, with a view to the negociation of a military convention between the armies, under which the French army should evacuate Paris. On the night of the Sd, the following convention was agreed to, which put an end to all military questions at the moment, but touched upon nothing political : —
** This day, the 3d of July, 1815, the Commissioners named
by the Commanders-in-Chief of the respective armies; that is to
say, the Baron Bignon, holding the portefeuille of Foreign Affairs;
the Count Guilleminot, Chief of the General Staff of me French
army; the Coimt de Bondy, Prefect of the department of the
Seine, being furnished with the full powers of his Excellency the
Marshal Prince of Ek^kmuhl, Commander-in-Chief of the French
army on one side ; and Major-general Baron Muffling, fiimished
with the full powers of his Highness the Field-marshal Prince
Bliicher, Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian army; Colonel
Hervey, furnished with the full powers of his Excellency the
Duke of Wellington, Commander-in-Chief of the English army, on
the other side ; have agreed to a convention."
HOUGOMONT.
The Duke of Wellington having determined on the ground where he would wait tlie attack of the French army, observed, on the right of his position, an old Flemish chateau, properly called Gomont, by defending which, he judged tliat much advan- tage might be derived. It comprised an old tower, and chapel.
160 BATTLB OV WATEBLOa
and a number of officii, |«artly surrounded by a farm-yanL It had ako a ganlen, inoloscnl by a high, strong, brick wall, and raoiiti die earden a wood of beech,* an orchard, and a hedge, bv wliicn the wall was concealed ; in another part there was a pond, serving as a moat Steps were taken to strengthen these means; of defence, by loopholing, or perforating the walls, for the fire i»f musquetry, and erecting scaflolding, to give tlie troops within an opiM>rtunity of firing from tlie top of die wall : and these judicious measures greatly assisted that successful resistance that w^as after- wards made against so many reiterated and desperate attacbv The enemy's cannon could only be brought to Dear upon die up[)er part of the walls and buildings ; ana the great damage it received was by shells.
On the eveningof the 17th, die following troops were allotted for the defence: The 2d Brigade of Guards, commanded by Major-general Sir J. Byng^ and two light companies of the Isc Brigade. The force was disposed as follows ; The Ught companies of die Coldstream, and Third Guards, under Lieut.-coL Mac- donnell, occupied the house and garden: those of the 1st Regi- ment occupied the wood to the left ; these were under the command of Lieut -coL Lord Saltoun : the rest of the brigade was placed about 200 yards in the rear, in a commanding situation, and in readiness to 8up]x)rt the garrison if necessary. Tne whole amounted to from 1400 to 1500 men. To tliis force was added, imme- diately previous to the action, about 300 of the Nassau troops : some of them, however, did not remain long ; owing, it is said, to their not having been sufficiently supplied with ammunition.
The action commenced at thirty-five minutes past eleven o'clock. The force of the enemy employed in making this attack was very great : it consisted of the whole of the 2d corps, under Comte de Reille. This corps, which amounted to 30,000 men, was formed into three divisions : the division commanded by Jerome Buona- parte commenced the attack, but was soon driven back (about half.past twelve) with §Peat loss. A most desperate attack was next made by the division of General Foy, who succeeded in gaining great part of the wood, and had nearly surrounded the house ; but four companies of the Coldstream and two of the 3d Regiment, moving promptly down, and attacking them, they were driven back with immense slaughter, and some prisoners were taken from them. Several other attempts w^ere made by the enemy against this post during the course of the day, until their general retreat ;t but they did not obtain any advantage. In a
• In this -wood of beech, probably 2000 trees were nearly aU in a wounded state ; 40 to 100 wounds were found in single trees.
+ Late in the evening, when the 2d corp» had been so completely beaten as the ist corps had been on the left, Buonaparte ordered forward Uie Impe- rial Guards, and part of that fine body of men were directed against Hougomoot
ADDITIONAL PABIIC1XLAB8. 161
most detenmned and gallant attack, made between twelve and one, an officer and a few men got inside of the gate of the farm-yard ; but thej were all killed, and at no period of the day was the com* munication cut off. Reinforcements of men and ammunition were sent in whenever thev were requisite. The attack against the position of Hougomont lasted, on the M^hole, from twenty-five minutes before twelve, until a little past eight at night
At several periods during the day, reinforcements from the Coldstream ana the 3d Regunent of Ghiards were sent down to support the light companies, employed in the defence of the house,
ten, and wood.* The latter was repeatedly occupied by the enemy, who were as often driven from it again, until at last these po«te were occuW by the whole brigade, with the exception of two compames. About six in the ev^iing, when the second line was broudit forward, some Hanoverian oattalions occupied the ground where the 2d brigade of Guards had been placed at the commencement ; and a Brunswick regiment was sent down to the wood, more to the left than where the Gxiards held it
The Hon. CoL Acheson, of the Coldstream, was ordered to defend a certain part of the wood at Hougomont The enemv made a tremendous attack, and at the first charge the Colonel s horse was shot dead and feU, with his rider under him, consi- derably stunned by tlie fall ; in which situation he must have lain some time, as the enemy had passed and repassed, regarding himasdead. men he hii^ reco W; he fou^d^ soner by the dead weiirht of the horse: after a time, by great exertion;he released Saelf unhurt, by drawing his leg L^is boot, which remamed under the horse.
The loss of the Guards, in killed and wounded, in the deface of Hougomont, amounted to 28 officers and about 800 rank and file, "nie foreign corps (Nassau and Brunswickers) lost about 100.
The troops occupying the fan^-house of Hougomont being hard pressed oy the enemy, were in dai^er, though most gallantly defended by Lieut-coL Macdonnell, oi falling into their hands ; when a detachment of the Coldstream (xuards was ordered down to rdnforce him. Before they reached the house the enemy had succeeded in gaining possession of the outer court, stabling, &c., and also of some neighbouring banks, from which they kept up a very destructive fire, and coiud only be dislodged by the resolute advance of the reinforcing party. Major Dumaresque, aide-de- camp to Sir John Byng, who had accompanied the detachment,
^ When part of the 8d Begiment of Guards was sent into the wood before one, Colonel Hepburn, of that oorps, superseded Lord Saltoon, who, having but few men left, obtained pennission to join his battalion, where he again distinguished himsell Colonel Woodford of the Coldstream, who went with the reinforce- ment into the house, was senior to Colonel Macdonnell ; but in consideration of that gallant officer's conduct, Colonel Woodford refused talcing the command, and each undertook the defence of a particular portion of the post they occupied.
H
16S BATTU or WAlSBLOa
findliiig at the entnmce of the wood, firom die curcumstenoe of the troope having to pass through a very narrow lane, in dose parsnit of the enem J, ana under a most flalux^ fire, from which they had goffered extremely, that it would be miposaible to get them suffi- ciently formed to resist the attack it was natural to sappoee the enemy would immediacy make with fresh troops, retomed to the Duke, and acquainted hmi with the situation of the detacbnent His Ghraoe desued him to order CoL Woodford to more forward to their assistance, with the remainder of the Coldstream. Sir Joho Byng had anticipated the necessity of this movement, and had already given a sunilar order. Before Colonel Woodford reached the spot, however, the enemy had again possessed themsdves of the wood and adjoining banks, from which they were immediately driven*
Major Dumaresque, in advancing a second time, with this de- tachment, was shot tnrough the body, when close to the house, by one of the enemy's infontry, many of whom he had passed while moving forward. But knowing the Duke's anxiety mat this post should be maintained (as the enemy were now making a vigoroos attack on the left), he galloped up to Us Grace, regfudless of hk wound, and having communicatea the welcome inteUigence, tiiat the French had been driven out of the wood, and the house secured, fainting from loss of blood, and overcome by his great exertioiis, he was removed from hb horse, and conveyed to ue rear by the assistance of a friend.
It is said the enemy wero ignorant of the strength of the posir tion, the garden-wall being concealed by the wood and hedge: but the wall was so protected by trees, that it would not have been easy to have brought cannon to play against it; and, besides, it was of creat thickness. The enemv brought guns to a height on the rigat of the position, which enfiladed it, ana caused great loss; and they succeeded m setting fire to a hay-stack, and part of the txiild- ings,* by means of shells : but that did not prevent the garrison from occupying the remaining part
It has been said that the inhalntants of the place were not friendly to the English, but this is quite a mistake. They 1^ it with much trepidation when the cavahy of the enemy appeared in the evening of the 17th : they returned, however, for a short time, very early on the 18th, to ti^e some things away; and their con- duct generally implied friendship for the English and terror of tfae FrencL
Within half an hour, 1500 men were killed in the small orchard at Hougomont, not exceeding four acres.
The loss of the enemy was enormous. The division of Gr^eral Foy alone lost about 3000, and the total loss of the ^lemy in
* It was the Tower that was burnt
ADDITIONAL PARnODLABS. 163
the attack of this poaition is estimated at 10,000 in killed and i^oimded.
Above 6000 men of both armies perished in the farm of Hou- gomont ; 600 French fell in the attack on the ch&teau and the mnn; 200 English were killed in the wood, 25 in the garden, llOO in the ordiard and meadow, 400 near the farmer's garden; 2000 of both parties behind the great orchard. The bodies of 300 £Dglish are buried opposite the gate of the chateau; those of 600 French have been burnt at the same place. On a square stone in the garden, above the spot where Capt Blackman of the Guards is buried, who was killed in this place at the age of 21, there is the following inscription sent by his father: — '' Jonn Lucie Blackman, Waterloo, 18th June, 1816."
Another inscription to the memory of the same John Blackman will be mentioned among those which are in the cemetery of the Reformed Church at Brussels.
Among the brave men who perished in defending Hougomont was Thomas Crawford, aged 21, captain in the 3d Regiment of Gnards, and son of Sir James CrawfonL He was first interred in the rarden of the ch&teau, near to the place where death had struck hinL His body was removed some days afterwards by his respectable father and Mr. Tomaux, who lives in one of the suburbs of Brussels, and who had been formerly attached to the family. The body was conveyed to England in a leaden coffin, to be d^DOsited in the £Eunily vault on one of the estates. ' Tne true name of the ch&teau is Gomont The public prints call it erraneouslv Hougoumont Its name, according to ancient tradition^ comes m>m the circumstance, that the hill on which is at present the neighbouring plantation, was covered with large pines, the rosin of which was in great request The place was nence called Gomont, for Gomme Mont, or Mont de Gomme. This ch&teau has existed for ages. It has long belonged to the family of Arrazola Deonate. Its possessor took the tiue of Go- mont. One of the Deonates distinguished himself at the battle of Lepante : another, or perhaps the same, was Viceroy of Naples. The illustrious author of ** Don Quixote," Miguel Cm^antes, who lost a hand at this battle, highly praises this viceroy.
M. de Lonville Gomont, resi^mg at Nivelles, formerly a major in the Austrian service, but now retired on a pension, who is descended on the mother's side firom the family of Arrazola Deo- nate, is the present owner of this ch&teau, and has just put it up to sale. We have these particulars firom him.
An article of intelligence firom BnvselB, under date the 29th of March, 1816, says that the winds have thrown down the observa- tory, which commanded a view of all the eminences and hollows of Waterloa On the other hand, the proprietor of the ruins of the ch&teau of Hougomont has caused all the woods to be felled.
■ /
164 1UTII.S OF WAmiLoa
for ever I
od tluit obeervatorj, rafieringy have vazii
ARTILLERY OPERATIONS.
The Editor of this Work liad, when he first undertook it, everr confidence in the liberality of thoee gentlemen to whom he lookcii for commonications — that is, to those who witnessed the mightr events, the details of which are here collected. He has been sap* plied with sach conmimiications with a liberality greater than, with every reasonable confidence, he could have ventored to hope ; and his chief difficulty has been that of selection: with all his attention, frequent repetitions have been unavoidable ; but to most reacfers sucn repetitions are not, perhaps, objectionable, as every recital places the fact in a difierent point of view, yet tending to corrobo- rate the general eventual result. He has lately been fitvoured with access to a collection of letters written finom the theatre of those great events, that would, if published separately and entire, be high^ interesting and valuable, as they were written by gentle- men who witnessed all of them. On looking over the preceding parts of his work, he finds the operations of the Artillery less de- tailed than those of most other corps; and he is glad, in the se- lection from the letters in question, to have an opportunity of re- medying, in some degree, the deficiency of former accounts, and of doing justice, as far as lies in his humble ability, to the great exertions of that powerful arm.
'' Bfwaek, ISth June, 1815.
. . It seems that Buonaparte is at Maubeuge ; that he has about 120,000 men there ; that he has advanced in the di- rection of Binch, leaving Mons to his lefl and rear ; that Bliicher, with 82,000 Prussians, nss moved from Namur to Sombref (4m the road from Namur to Nivelles); that we shall concentrate our force in front of Braine-larLeud, near HaL Admitting all this to be true, we may the day after to-mcmrow have a battla The Duke has gone to a ball at the Duchess of Richmond's, but all is ready to move at dav-bpeak ; of^ course all depends on the news that may arrive in the night: by way of being ready, I shall go to bed, ana get a few hours' sleef). It is now hau-past eleven ; I hope you and • • • • are enjoying peacefrd slumbers in our happy Eli^^and, safe from all the alarms wiiioh to-morrow may see here."
ABULLBBT OFEIULHONS.
165
** BrusaelSf I6th June, 6 A. M.
^* I have been sleeping very soundly. The morning is beau- tifxd. Sir Thomaa Picton is arrived. I have now learned that the Duke moves in half an hour ; some say to Waterloo, which y^G do not find in our map. The whole place is in a bustle — such jostling of baggage, of guns, and waggons I It is very useftd to acquire a quietness and composure about all these matters. One does not mend thiogs by being in a hurry. Adieu ! I almost ^wonder that I can wnte so quietly. But nothing can be done to- day. My horse is ready, when the signal for mounting shall be given.**
[^Here /ollotes a disposition of the army, which unU be fovnd in cmother part of this Work That of the Artillery only is extractecL]
^* CoL Sir (jeorge Wood, commanding in general
^^ Lft.-coL Sir A« Frazer, commanding British Horse ArtiUery.
^^ Lt.-coL A. Macdonald, Six Troops of Horse Artillery, attached to Cavalry, commanded by (viz.) Major Sir Robert Gardiner, L.C. ; Major W. Smith, JLu. ; Capt A. C. Mercer ; Capt. N. W. Ramsay, M. h. ; Maj. Bull, L.C. w.\ Capt E. C. Wninyates, M. w.
** Lieut-coL Sir Julius Hartsmann, commanding Song's Ger- man and Hanoverian Artillery.
lient-ooL Adye. lieuU-col. Gold. Lt.-ooL Williamson.
Lieat.-ool. Hawker.
Major Heisse, Han. Artilleiy.
Lt.-c61. Bnickman, Hanoverian ArtiL
Msgor Dnunmond.
t I I I
!
Migor Kuhlman'a Troop. Captain Sandham's Brigade
Mivjor Sympher'a Troop, Captain Bolton's Brigade.
M^jor Lloyd's Brigade. Ci^t. Cleevea* do. (German.)
Migor Brome's Brigade. Capt Bitbeig'a do. (Hanov.)
Mi^or Rogers's Brigade. Capt Braun's do. (Hanov.)
I } } I
{
I Mijor UneU's Brigade. I
Mig. Sir H. Boss, L. C. H. A. Migor Bean, H. A. Captain Sinclair, F. A.
aUaehedto
1st Division of In&ntry.
3d Division of
Infanto'*
8d Division of
Infantry.
4th Division of Infantiy.
5th Division of Infantiy.
6th Division of Infantry.
Reserve."
^^ Quabre Bras, VJih June, 1815, hcdf-past Seven A.M.
** We have had a sanguinary contest Buonaparte partially attacked Bliicher's corps the day befiore yesterday ; and yesterday the affidr was general, both with the rrussians and ourselves. Quatre Bras is a little to the south of Grenappe, at the point where the road from Genappe to Charleroi intersects* that m>m Namu^
* Se^ engrfived plan, B and C.
166 BAITLB OF WATKBLOa
to Nivelles. The aeverity of our stnicgle was between Quatre Bns and Frasnefl. The affair ended oiuy with the day : there was indeed a good deal of firing by moonli^t The enemy, who be- haved with admirable gallantry, were repulBed' in all attacks. We had no British cavalry in the field Y andelenr^s brigade of cavalrr came up at dusk, but too late to be employed. No British Horse Artillery, and odhr one Grerman troop, wmch did great execatioo
in the field. Tne enemy's Lancers and Cuirassiers are the finest
fellows I ever saw. They made several bold charges, and re- peatedly advanced in the very teeth and in the rear of our in- rantrv. They have severely paid for their spirit — ^most of them are now lying before me. Had we but had a coume of brigades of Britisii cavalry, we should have gained a derided advantage. We had but one Belgic regiment of Hussars and some Brunswick Hussars, and both felt thS- inferiority, and made weak efforte ag»nst tk enemy's cavalry, who, pursuing them amongst our very m£uitzT; made a mingled mass of the wnole. I have never seen a hotter fire than at some times of yesterday, n<»r seen more of what is called a mSlie of troops. Our wounded at the close of last night was said by the Adjutantr^eral to be 5000. Of the killed I hsTe heard no estimate, but it must be severe. Qreat part of the actioD having been fought in standing com, the dead are not easily <&- cemibTe, and many of the wounded may never be found. Tbe Duke of Brunswick, I believe, is killed. I saw and spoke to him in the course of the day, but did not see him fiJL Of me Artilleij I hear of no officers killed. Ro^rs's and Lloyd's brigades have suffered much, especially Lloyas, which was attacked h^ two brigades of French Artulery, concealed in a wood. A r rench column came out of the wood on their right fiank, and attempted to get in their rear, but soon retired from a sharp fire with grest loss. The Duke of Wellington ordered some Bel^c cavalry to their support Our in&ntiy behaved most adnurably, setting good examples to our Belmc and Grerman Allies. Poor GameroB of the 92a is dangerously, but I hope not mortally womided. Blucher fought obstinately, but lost ground ; we, in consequ^ce, retrograde a little. The ammunition-carriages of the*Horse Ar- tillery are sent off to the firont of Soignies, near Waterloa R<^ and Bean* are known to be near Brussels, and coming up 'The British cavalry have made also very forced marches, and are ^^ this moment in the field. Sir Henry Hardinge has lost his left hand by a cannon-shot The brunt of the Prussian action was in the road £rom Namur to Nivelles. The action seems now wo^ mendng — ^we shall retire to make our communication with Bliicber
closer. I sleut last night at Grenappe, , &c. ; the hons^^
and indeed all others, is full of dymg and dead. Henry Macleod
^ Of the Royal Horse Artiller}-.
ABTILLEBT OFBBATION& 167
is wounded ; he has three stahs from the Lancers ; he is at Oe-
nappe ; we hare sent to him^ and trust he will do welL
'^ The conntiy hereabout is open — rich in com^ and haying occasionally large and rather thick woods ; it is undulating ana deep, but without hedges or obstacles of any kind to the movement
of all arms. and pointed out yesterday to the
Duke the bold advance of a French column, but it was seen too late to frxistrate all its efforts : it was repulsed after severe loss on both sides. Tempted by the partial success of this bold manoeuvre, the enemy repeated it without effect a little before dusk. Adieu. I am well and in cood spirits. Half-past nine: preparations making for withdrawmg to tne other side of Genappe. The artil- lery, srare carriaf^es, &c. are moving^off.
** The Chef aEtat-Major of a French division deserted to us last night,* with returns of the French force, which amounts to 130,000, of which an immense body are cavahy; artiUery not specified. Ney was our opponent yesterday, with the 1st and 2d corps under Reille and D'Erlon (Drouet, count d'Erlon). Buonaparte was opposed to Bliicher, but is believed to have beeoi opposite us about 4 p. m. when loud and continued cheering among the French troops preceded one of their boldest attadks. An officer is just come £rom Bliicher to the Duke. Bliicher's centre was pierced by the French cavalry, who took 16 pieces of cannon. The Frussians are retiring — so must we."
**BrumU, HA June, 1815, 11 p.m.
'^ Just arrived from the frt)nt, jaded and dirty, and goin^ to bed. I wrote this morning from Quatre Bras, just to say I am safe and well ; to morrow i shall start before day-break. Adieu I"
'' ISA June, Z A. u.
** Quite refreshed aftier a comfortable night's rest The British a^air of yesterday was merelj the common skirmishing which na> turally tekes place on retirmg in the face of the enemy. The French behave very well, and push us as much as they can. Our Horse Artillery yesterday were of much use. There were some trifling charges of cavalry on the chauss^, but nothing happened of any consequence. We retired to a position previously selected, and we shall now make a stand. Our right is toward Braine-lar Lend, our left toward Limalle. Head-quarters at Waterloo ; and Genappe (in the enemy's possession) in our front In this position, the forest of Soignies you will observe to be in our rear — four
Svis run through it The wood is open, and practicable for in- itrv or cavalry. The trees are high, tibe roads and the whole wood very dark ; and, except in the paved part of the road, the rest is very deep When I came this way last night, it was crowded
* Vide anecdote conuDmucated by Fteach officers, p. 318.
168 BATIU or WATIBLOO.
and choked with carriages of every kind, many of them oTC^ tamed. People get alanned and confosed, and lose their senseB, and all about nothing. Of Blticher's army I know nothing certun, except that he was to retire on Wavre, and I have no cumbt bat our two armies are in perfect communication and well placed : onr retiring at all was merely because Bliicher had lost ground in die aiair of the dav before yesterday ; in which, as I stated yest^nlaj, he is said to nave lost 14,000 men killed and wounded, and 16 pieces of artilleiy. The enemy seems to have perced his oraitre just about dusk, and to have taken all his reserve ammunition. These things will happen, and there will be jumblings just at first; but all wilTbe very well The enemy, taught by uie day befiire, were very shy of attacking us yestercuiy.
** Lloyd's two guns, which were oiBabled on the 16th, were soon after again ready for action, and with the other jguns of the brigade assisted yesterday in covering the retreat We left the enemy nothing but our killed -^our wounded we brought off on cavalry horses, except such as could not be found in the standing com. Poor fellowsJ in these scenes, not in the actual rencxmtre,. are seen the miseries of war. I saw Henry Macleod last night, free from fever and pain, and doing welL lie has three pike-stabs in the side, a graze in the head, and contusion in the should^. Poor Cameron, I hear, is dead ; but I am unwilling to believe it In all these strange scenes my mind is at home, but is tranquil and composed* All will be very welL God bless you.**
'' Waterloo, i past 9 A«|L ISth June.
*^ All quiet on both sides — all getting into order. Ammunition on ours, and undoubtedly on the enemy's, coming up. The road from Brussels through the wood cleared. Findmg it blocked up last night, .... begged . . . . , who was coming up, to report to De JLancey the necessily of the road being cleared. In conse- quence, baggage has been removed, and the waggons which had broken down nave been burned by Qeneral Lamrort's brigade f 4 battalions of infantry, and 6 Hanoverian field-pieces) from Ghent, which wanted friel to cook their rations. Blticher's head-quarters are at Wavre, and our left division (the 3d) in ftdl communication with us. The Russians will reach Metz in six days: so says General Pozzo di Borgo,* the Russian general officer with the Duke. The Austrians are expected to be at Metz at the same time. Admitdng this, Buonaparte cannot afford to remain long in our front : he must take care that the Russians and Austrians do not get into his rear. I expect that we shall have some can-r nonading this afternoon. Adieu for the present^
^ Vide this officer'tt excellent account of the battle. — Editor,
ARTHXERT OFEIUTIONS. 169
" Waterlooy 11 P. M. ISih June.
*^ How shall I describe the scenes through which I have passed
since morning I I am so tired that I can hardly hold my pen.
W^e have gained a glorious victory* and against Napoleon hunself.
I know not yet the amount of kiUed* wounded, or prisoners ; but
all must be great Never was there a more bloody affair — never
so hot a fire. Buonaparte put in practice every device of war : he
tried us with artillery, with cavalry, and last of all with iilfantry.
The efforts of each were gigantic ; but the admirable talents of our
Duke, seconded by such troops as he commands, baffled evcary
attempt For some hours the action was chiefly of Artillery. We
had 114 British and some 16 Belgic guns, six and nine pounders.
The enemy near 300, eight and twelve pounders. Never were
guns better served on both aides. After seven hours' cannonading,
uie French cavaLy made some of the boldest charges I ever saw ;
they bounded the whole ext^it of our Une, which was thrown into
squares. Never did cavalry behave so nobly, or was received by
imantry so firmly. Our guns were taken and retaken repeatedly.
They were in masses, especially the Horse ArtQlery. Failing m
his repeated efforts of cannonading and movements of cavwy.
Napoleon at length pierced the left of our centre with the infantry
of me Imperial Guard. The contest was severe, beyond what I
have ever seen, or could have fancied. [HerefoUowa a long list of
officers kiUed and toounded^ friends^ apparently^ of the corresponding
parties, from the manner in which they are mentioned.!
** Several of the troons of Horse Artillery are almost without officers, and almost all ue guns were repeatedly in the enemy's hands : the officers and men retiring from them on the near ap- proach of the enemy's cavaby, to shdter themselves in our squares of m&ntiy, and resuming tneir posts and guns the moment the cavalry were repulsed.* I have escaped very welL In a mo- mentary lull of ue fire, the men of poor Ramsay'sf troop dug a
* The Editor is infonned, that it is part of the regular drill of the Horse Artil- leiy (as if in yiew to snch events as are here descrihed) to dismount their gtms, take off a wheel, or all the wheels, and leave and scatter them ahont, so as to render them useless to an enemy, the men retiring each with an allotted portable article essential to their utility. On a given signal by bugle, each man instantly rushes to his assigned post and part, and the gun is remounted and fired, in less time than it has required to write, or peihaps to read this note. On some occasions, in anticipation of an abandonment of position, the gun itself is moved off by the men without the carriage, the latter bmng supposed to be disabled ; or, supposing a wheel to be disabled, or any other part of the gun, such part is replaced at 5ie drill, from the spare stores in reserve, with a rapidity and facility not easily ima- gined by those who have not witnessed it Thus all the contingent casualties of actual service, such as those which called for this note, are anticipated at drill, and when th^ really oocur scarcely interrupt the executive operation of the gon.
f This lamented officer commanded a troop of Horse Artillery ; he fell covered with wounds, at the moment when nearly all the officers of his troop were hit by mounted riflemen, idio advanced behind the Cuirassiers. Captain E. held a like
170 Biinu OF wAimxxi.
Eave, and buried his wann bodj in the spot where it fell, and fore their tears were dried, were recaUed to a renewal of the struggle. AU with me now is a confused recollection of scenes that seem still present : — the noise, the groans of the djii^ and all the horrid realities of the field, seem yet before me. m this very honse are poor • • . ., 1^ shot off, out not jet amputated ;
• • . • shot through the lungs, .... and • • • • and . . . . ; &C. &C. &C., are wounded; . • • • of ours, and • • . . and
• • • ., &C. &C. &C., are killecL So many are killed and wounded, that I scarcely dare attempt to name them* What a strange letter is this ! what a strange day has occasioned iti To-day is Sunday. How often have I observed that battles are fought on Sandap ! Alas I what three days have I passed I What days of glory — ^et what days of misery to thousands ! The field of battle tonlaT IS strewed with dead. But let me turn awhile firom scenes so distressing, even in description, and lay me down with a grateful sense of mercies Touchsafed* I might have got a decoration for yon ; but the officer of the Imperial Guard who wore it, and who offered it as a prisoner, looked so wishfully at the reward of many a gallant day, that I could not think of taking it I made an acquaintance in the field with a French lieutenant-colonel^ poor fellow, badly wounded and prisoner. How misery makes friends of all I Acueu. I will sena you a more correct account of the battle when able."
^NiveOuy 20e& JtmBy 1815.
*' AJl welL The victory was more complete than we at first imagined. I will give you, in this letter, some account of the fruits of this sanguinary contest of the day before yesterday, but I cannot yet give a corrected account of we struggle. I wrote a few lines after tlie close of the day, and hope my letter was re- ceived before the public reports of the battle. I would &in write
to ... . and . . • ., but am interrupted In trudi,
now that the stem feeling of the day have given way to the return of better, I think, with a bitterness of anguish not to be described,
on the loss of my friend And not ofthis friend alone,
but of many others, though less dear than poor .... De Lancej is said to be dead. This is our greatest loss ; none can be greater, public or private.
^* The troops are moving ; the Duke is still at Brussels. Orders are justcomeror .... and • • • • The Duke's/orto is in pursuit
oommaad in the PeninBular war. It is no disparagement to any offioer who acted in either of these brilliant campaigns to say, Uiat his Mfuesl^ had not a more zealous offioer in the field. His Boyal Highness the Prince Begent, vith feelings and liberality that must endear him to all hearts, caused the most consol- atory communications to be conveyed firom himself to the afflicted parent and relatiTes of this excellent soldier and man, together with a handsome proriaioD for several who looked more immediately to him for support.— i?ditor.
ABTHiLEBT OFERATION& 171
of the beaten enemy. Where, indeed, and what is not his fcrU t Cold and indifferent — nay, appar^itly careless in the beginning of battles — when the moment oi difficmty comes, intelligence flashes froni the eyes of this w<xiderfal man, and he rises superior to aU that can be imagined. The following is a list of some of our trophies : —
'' Taken at Waterloo, I8ih June, 1815.
12-poiinder guns. . . .85 12-poiinder waggons .74
6 07 6-poimder do. . .71
6-mch howitzdra . . . .18 Howitzer do. ... 00
24-poiiiider do 17
Total 195
Total cannon 122
Spare Gnn Carriaget, Forage waggons .... 20
12-pomid6r 6 Waggons of Imperial Goard . 52
Howitzer 0 —
fi-pounders . .8 Total 72
20 Grand Total, 409.
*• Adieu ! for the present"
'^ Nivettes, 20th Jvme, 9 A.1L
'* I leave off but to begin again, as moments of occupation and leisure require and allow. I have just sent to Brussels a letter for you, enclosing a rou^h sketch of our losses:* that is, of part; you shall have all when me returns arrive. There are several of our men's wives in your neighbourhood — happy will they be not to find their husbands' names in the £Atal list I find • • • . troop lost 90 horses ; but it behaved so well, so steadily, that it was gratifying to aU who witnessed it The English Horse Artillery did great execution. Their ordnance has been recently f changed a few days, and it is the opinion of some Artillery officers, that had the troops continued with light guns, the ^reat oay had been lost The earlier hours of the battle were chiefly affairs of artillery: but, kept down by the admirable and steady fire of our guns, me enemy's infantry could not come on en masse; and his cavalry, though bold, impetuous, and daring was forced to try the flanks, rather than the firont of our position.^ The steacuness of our
« Begimental losses, perhaps. — EdUor.
t The exchange from 6 to 9>poimderB and one hrigade of howitzers, was only made a few days before.— £4ilor.
} No acoonnt jet pablished of the hatde, seen by the Editor, has mentioned in adequate tenns the effect of our aMilleiy at Waterioo : no Enalith account, at least The «fMfiiy feU ii, and in their manner of expressing themsehres, have passed the greatest compliment. A French aoconnt) given in onr preceding pages, says, ** The English artflleiy made drm^fiU havoc m onr ranks."— See p. 104. "The Imperial Guard made several charges, but was constantly repulsed, enuked fry a UffihU aiiUltrjf, thai each mwmlc aemed to mmlHplff. These invincible greiui-
172 BATTLE OF WATIBLOO.
infantry, too, became confirmed by the comparative repose aff<ffdal by the fire of the artillery. NotwithntaiKting, had Napoleon sup- ported his first cavalry attacks on both flanks c^ masses of infimtry, ne had gained the day. His last attack^ which was so supported, we were aware of. An officer of the Imperial Coirassi^rs, whether a deserter or not we could not determine, apprised ns of this^ pointing to the side on which he said the attack would be made in a quarter of an hour. It was necessary to find the Duke, and • • • • reported the important information^ so that the necessaij dispositions were made. With aU these, this last strucele wis nearly fatal to our hopes. But our itifantry remaining mrm, not only recdving the cavalry in squares, but, on their retiring, dart- ing into line, and charging the Imperial Infimtry Grnards, and anin resuming their squares, the enemvwas forced to give waj. I liave seen nothing like this moment The sky lit^rall v daikened with smoke — the sun iust eoing down, and which, till then, had not for some hours broken urough the gloom of a dull day — tk indescribable shouts of thousands — ^it was impossible to disongaisk between friend and foe. Every man's arm was raised s^iinst
dien beheld the grajpe-thU wnake dojf tkromok their ramka : ihey closed pitunptljr tn^ oooUy their shattered files."— P. 107 . ** Enonnoos masses d British infantiy, rap- ported by an immense eavalxy we had nothing to oppose to {/or <mr own W ulrtad^ met iU dettntctum),**m^Ib. This confirms the d««cripUoQ of our detttruedn fire ; but in all the accounts of the battle, firom the Jir$t to the iatt, the impcrtist effects of this rufht turn of war sppears to be forgotten. Baonapazte, on making his last effort at Waterioo, says a foreign aocoont, headed the advanoe, having oo other resource, of his forlorn hope ; ^ but when he arrived within 900 toiMS (1200 feet) firom three solid squares of Allied troops, which occupied a ridge vith formidable srtilleiy (and which ridge it was neoessaiy to cany), he suddmlj stopped under the broken ground of a sand-pit or ravine, and a little on one nde, out of the direction of the cannon 5a^."— See p. 117. Buoni^arte himseU; we thus see, was stopned by ^e fire of our artilleiy ; and the account referred to, I7 tf eye-witness, describes the formidable column as ** surprised and discooteoted,' when they found Buonaparte was not, as th^ expected, at their head. Tbey did not, however, slop, but pushed on ; and we shall see the result ** In propartioo as Uiey ranged up the eminence,** the account continues, '* end darted tomnxd on the squares which occupied its summit, the artiUery vomiied death upon Aem^ «»i hUied them in maseet." — See p. 117. In an account given by an office of the Nartb- umberland, of Napoleon's conversations on board that ship, he says, ** Bnonaptfta gives great credit to our infantiy and our artiUery.** —See p. L38. A Hanorerian account, first published in this work, says : '* The fire of the enemy's artiUeiy nor became brisker, end it was kept up on both sides with a vehemence such ss fev « the oldest soldiers, perhi^, ever witnessed.** The French official account says-' ** For three hours numerous chsrges were made, which enabled us to peoatntt several squares, and to take six standsrds of the light infantry ; an advantige oot of proportion with the loss which our cavaliy experienced by Uie grape-shot aw musket-firing." Again : ^ As the Cuirassiers suffered from the grape-sboi, «« sent four battalions of the middle guard to protect the Cuirassiers, keep the po^' tion, and, if possible, draw back into the plain a part of our cavalry." ** At hm- past one o*clook, the four battalions of the middle guard, who had been sent iojoe ridge to support the Cuirassiers, being greatly annoyed by the grspe-shotf eodea^ voured to cany the batteries with the bayonet** Thus we see that the sitiUfT continued till the veiy dose of the action, as at the beginning, its deetrae^ effects. In p. 152 the following passage occurs : ^ The two l»igades of ArtiU^ belonging to General Cooke's division had taken up a position on the lidge of tfl«
ARTHJJBBT OFEBATIONS. 173
that of every other* Suddenlj^ after the mingled mass had ehhed and flowed, the enemy began to give way, and dieering and Ekiglish huzzas announced that the day must be ours.
'^ Are you not tired of battles? — sick of the sanguinary de- scription ? — What must have been the reality ? The Duke hunself Qsia, in tiie evening, that he had never seen such a battle, and hoped he never should again* To this hope we will all say. Amen.
^^ Before the affiur be^an, the Duke hail a copy of a report from • • . • of • . . , wno was on piquet at St Lambert, that Bulow with 25,000 Prussians were arrived at Ohain, three quarters of a league from hispost; — that Bulow had sent an officer to say so, and wished the Duke to be acquainted with it Meeting Sir Thomas Picton, I communicated it to him* He told me the line was ordered under arms, and that we were to be attacked. Passing Sir Thomas, and riding to the left of the position, whither I understood the Duke to have gone, the enemy's Lancers were observed gaily stretching to their right ; and the heads of their infantry columns were just appearing* This was about 10 A.1C Sir Thomas Picton, with whose division we were also, came to the
hill, in front of the line of infantry, and the moment the enemy made his appear- ance, our nine-pounders opened upon his columns. The Artilleiy officers had got the range so accurately, that almost erery shot and shell fell in &e very centre of his masses. So great was the effect produced by these few guns, that aU Jerome's bravely could not make his fellows advance. This was the commencement of the action." Again : '* The Artilleiy on both sides was well served ; but Buonaparte had upwards of 250 pieces in the field. Notwithstanding our inferiority in this arm, which was still more apparent from the size of the enemy's guns (being 12-pounders, ours only 0 and 6), than from their numbers, ours were so weU fought, that I believe it is allowed by all they did equal execution." — P. 104. Again. Describing Buonaparte's last effort at half-past seven o'clock, when '* he gave orders to form the last column of attack, formed principally of the Guard, which had hitherto suffered but little, he gave directions for the whole of the line to second this effort, upon which he said the victory depended ; and, placing himself at their head, they advanced in double-quick tmie. These veteran war- riors, so long esteemed the first troops in Europe, advanced across the plain, which divided the two armies, with a &inness which nothing could exceed ; and though our grape and canister made dreadftil havoc in their ranks, they were never disconcerted.** — P. 1 95. See, also, the account of Captains Bolton and Napier's brigade of foot artillery, from which it appears the Artillery had turned the enemy previous to the advance of the Guards. — P. 176. The French displayed the greatest rage and ftuy ; ** they cursed the English while they were fightmg, and cursed the precision wiUi which the English grape-shot was fired, 'which,' said the man, * was neither too high nor too low, but struck right in the midcUe.' "—P. 207. Many other testimonials might be added to these of the excellent practice made by our artillery in this short campaign, shortened, probably, thereby. A statement of the loss bttfore us ^ves 82 officers, SQO men killed and wounded, and 529 horses kUled of the Artilleiy, in the actions of t^ 16th and 18th. This statement may be relied on. And it may serve to mark the comparative severity of this short campaign when we state, that the total field casualties of the corps of Artillery in the whole Peninsular worfare^ wherein their zeal and execution have been highly and justly praised, did not half equid this amount. We may further be allowed to remark, thbugh, perhaps, irrelevant, that in Ihe whole of the campaigns of Portngid, Spain, the Pyrenees, and their vicinity, we did not lose a single gun. In one action, some of the field-pieces fell into the enemy's hands for a whUe, but were retaken.— ffifi^or.
174 BAITLI OT WAinUX).
gpot, and whilst speakinff to our party, rode up to a Bdgic bat- talion to correct flometmng giving way. He has since &Uen. Not finding the Duke, we rode toward the centre, where we found him. On telling • • • . what we had learned, he said his Grace was aware of it.
** His Grace had determined not to lose a wood* 300 yaids in firont of that part of the line that ¥nis in reality the weakest This wood is close to where the extension of our line touched Aejxnt leading fiom Nivelles to Waterloa From this pave there is an avoiae of 200 yards, leading to (Hie large and two smaller houses enclosed, together with a large carden, within a walL Beycmd the wall, ana embracing the whole front of the buildings, and an orchard, and perhaps idtogether three or four acres, is the thick wood To the right, as yiewed from our position, die wood was high; to the left, less high; and toward omr position, thick, bat low.
'^ Whilst looking about, it was again remarked, that the weak point of our line was on our right; and it was imagined that the enemy, "lAlring a demonstration on our left, would forcibly seize the wood, and mterposinff between us and Braine-larLeud, endea- your to turn the right mmk of our second lin& To prevent this, the Howitzer troop (Major Bull's) was ordered up, and came in yery handsome style. By this time, the enemy had forced a Belgic battalion out of the orchwi to the left of the wood, and there was a hot fire on a battalion (or four companies, I forget which) of the Guards stationed in the buildings, ana behind the walled garden.
*' The imposii^ approach of the Howitzer troop encouraged the remainder of the division of the Guards, who were lying down to be sheltered from the fire. The Duke, observing what was in- tended, made some remarks upon the delicacy of the service, as it r^arded the correctness of the howitzers, part of the wood being held by our troops, and part by the enemy ; his Grrace explaining at the same time in the clearest and most calm manner the situation of afiairs. The Duke being satisfied that every dependence might be placed upon the men and guns, orders were given, the troop commenced its fire, and in ten minutes the enemy were driven frt)m the wood. Major Ramsay's and Captain Mercer's troops of Horse Artillery were now ordered to the right of Sir H»n:y Clin- ton's division, in the second line, and Captain Webber Smith's troop fired down the pav6 leading fix)m Nivelles to Waterloa By this time the enemy, stretching to his left, showed some squadrons of Lancers and Cuirassiers towacds our ri^ht There were several undulations and one hollow road, by which he might advance rapidly to the attack ; and we remained some time, expecting to observe some indication of his approach: but the. enemy not
* It is repoited that Lord Uxbridge, wfaen askiiig the Duke for the material points of his operation should any accident arise, received for reply, " Keep Hougomont." — Editor,
ABTHIiEHT OFBBATIOlia 175
pressing part of the 5l8t Light Battalion was pushed on beyond where the road in jour map leads from the j>at?e to Braine-larLend* ^' The action becoming more general, the fire hotter, and nothing pressing particularly on our ri^t wing, we returned to the first line. Kunsay's troop was ordered to the centre of the second line, whither also it became necessary, at one time, to send Bull's troop to refit and repair carriages. The wood, from the front of which it went, was taken and retaken three times. At a quarter before three the large building burst out in a volume of fiame, and formed a striking feature in the murderous scena Imagining that this fire might ohlige our troops to quit a post most material, and that it would have an effect, and probably a great one, on the results of the day^ I remarked the time by my watcL The Guards, how- ever, held the post, and maintained tnemselyes in the lesser build- ing, firom which the enemy could not dislodge them. To our ri^t of the burning buildings, a troop of Horse Artillery, galled by the superior fire of the enemy's artillery, could not keep its ground. But the post being essential, it was ordered up agam at all hazards; and its loss was not so great as might have been reasonably expected. True is the observation, thiot boldness is generally safety*
<< By this time the in£uitry were entirely formed into squares ; the cavahy generally in solid columns; the crest of our position crowned witn artillery. It was now that the French cavalry, advancing with an unparalleled intrepidity, attacked at once the right ana centre of our position, their advance protected by a can- nonade more violent than ever. Behind the crest of the position, the ground declined gradually to the easy valley in which the pav4 runs ; by an equally gentle swell, the ground rose beyond the pavS to the position of the second line, perbtps a quarter of a mile nrom the first, but receding more toward the left. This declination of ground was most favourable to the infimtry, who, under a tre- mendous cannonade, were thus in a great measure sheltered, by their lying down by order. On the approach,— the majestic ap- proach,— of the French column, the squares rose, and with a steadiness almost inconceivable, awaited, without firing, the rush of the cavalry; who, after making some fruitless efforts, sweeping the whole artillery of the line, and receiving the fire of the squares as they passed, retired, followed by, and pell-mell with, our own cavabiy, who, formed behind our squares, advanced on the first appearance (which was unexpected) of the enemy's squadrons. The enemy rushed down the nill, forming again under its shelter, and in a great measure covered from the fire of our guns, which by recoiling had retired so as to lose their origiaal and nrst position. But in a deep stiff soil the fatigue of the artillerymen was great, and their best exertions were unable to remove the guns again to the crest without horses, and to employ the horses was certain loss
176 BATTLE OP WAXEBtJOO.
of the ttiimalfl. The repeated charges of tlie enemy's noUecaTiliT were similar to the first — each was firaitless ; not an m£uitrTiitts moTed; and on each charge, abandoning their gnns» our ardl- lerymen sheltered themselyes between the flanks of thear squares. Twice, however, the enemy tried to charge in finont; these attempts were entirely firnstrated by the fire of our gons, wisely reserrBJ till the hostile squadrons were within twenty yards of tlie mnzxks. In this the cool and a uiet steadiness of the troops of Horse Artil- lery was very creditaole. The obstinacy of these attacks made our situation critical; though never forced, our ranks were be- coming thin. The second Ime was therefore chiefly ordered acros the vidley, and formed in masses behind the first; the boroken intervals of which, where necessary, it filled up. Some time before this the Duke ordered up all the reserve Horse Ardllerv, which at that time were but two troops (Bull's and MercerV); they advanced with an alacrity and rapidity most admirable
'' The brigades behaved admirably, and were of most essential service. Rogers's was Mrith Picton's division, near La Have Sainte ; Sandham's near the centre of the line; Lloyd's on the left of the right centre, a little to the left of the wood of Houcomont, where they maintained a tremendous fire throughout the whole of the day. Lloyd was mortally wounded towards the dose of the acticMi, while
S'vmg directions to Lieutenants Wells and Phelps, commandiog e two only mms of his brigade remaining at that pericxl service- able, and wmch were drawn immediately in front of Greneral Byng's squiiure of Ghiards, and fired with very great efiect on the Cuirassiers and Lancers, when they repeatedly charged and paired from them.*
** The Artillery fired on the 18th, 200 rounds a-gun.
'^Capt Bolton's brigade of nine-pounders, afterwards CapL Napier's, were importantly posted in the operations of the IStL In the early part dP the day this brigade, when in position on an extreme height which was thrown back, two batteries of eight- pounders and heavy howitzers were brought to bear on two guns which were detached from the brigade, under Capt N^er, for the purpose of flanking the wood of Hougomont, to prevent the enempr nrom attacking the right side of the same. The heavy loss sustamed by these guns inmiced the General to order the other guns of the brigade to assist them, together with Lieut.-coL Webber Smith's troop of Horse Artillery and Major Sympher's, which opened such a fire of Shrapnell shells and round shot on than, that in less than a quarter of an hour they had not a gun to bear on us, and a great number of the enemy with the cannon were destroyed*
* Paitieolarly noticed by & Gnards' officer in his letter, date Bavay, June 21, 1819. Vide p. S6.
AJBTILLEKT OPERATIONS. 177
"This brigade, about the close of the day, was stationed on the right of our Guards, commanded by Capt Napier after Capt Bolton's fall, when the Imperial Guards, led on by Marshal Ney, about half-past seven o'clock, made their appearance from a corn- field, in close columns of grand divisions, nearly opposite, and within a distance of fifty yards from the muzzles of the guns.* Orders were given to load with canister-shot, and litersSy five rounds from each gun were fired with this destructive species of shot before they ^owed the least symptom of giving way. At the 29th round their left gave way, and they were then attacked by the Guards, who were at this period lying down in line, when they made a most gallant charge with the 95th and 2d Division, and 13th Light Dragoons, which decided the fate of that glorious day, by forcing them to fall back. Previous to this attack the Duke came up to the brigade, and asked ^ What they were firing at ?' One of the officers (Lieut Sharpin) told his Grace, ^ At a French column approaching.' He then asked Lieut S. ' Who ordered the guns there ?' His Grace was answered, * Captain N.' This reply was scarcely finished when the Duke, who discovered the French column in the com, said, ^Look out' His Grace immediately ordered the Guards to rise ; and he stationed himself on the left of the guns close to their right, and was very intent watching the Prassians through his glass, until the enemy gave way. Unfortu- nately, Capt Napier, after the day was won, received eight wounds ; his thigh frtu;tured in two places, and right hand disabled. His wounds were received while in the act of stopping a brigade of Grerman artillery from endangering the lives of our brave country- men who were mixed with the enemy."
t
" It were tiresome to describe further. Somewhere or other I have already mentioned the concluding struggle of the gigantic contest The horror of the scene strikes me now — at the moment its magnificence alone filled my mind. Several times were critical ; but confidence in the Duke, I have no doubt, animated every breast His Grrace exposed his person, not unnecessarily, but nobly; — without his personal exertions, his continual presence wherever and whenever more than usual exertions were required, the day had been lost ^ Twice have I saved this day by perse- verance,' said his Grace before the last great struggle, and said so most justly.
"Another saying that evening to Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
* Vide X for the position in the map of the field of Waterloo on the scale of five inches to a mile, drawn by Mr. Crann, engineer to the King of the Nether- lands, who, in speaking of this brigade, states, '* it did great execution.**
t In Older to excuse himself from the charge of unnecessary repetition, the Editor begs to observe that the lines between the rules are from another source, which if he were to curtail would lessen the interest
N
178 B4TTLB OF WATIBLOa
deserves to be recorded, — '^ I have never fooght such a batde, ai! I trust I shall never fight such another./ This was after the daj was our own.
** The Life Ghiards made some good chaiges* and overset the Cuirassiers, searching with the cook^ of experienced soldiers the unprotected parts of their opponents, and stabbing where the opo- ings of the cuirass would aomit the points of their swords. Tbe Rocket troop, under Major Whinyates, was two hnndred Taiu5 more to the left of this post, and has suffered severely ; it had ali<> to wield the lights <»rdnance. The rockets were used, aud ven? useful ; circumstances, however, did not arise to afford numj opportunities of applying thenu The Duke never was moie u* the left than the intersection of our centre by the pav^y whicli was in a ravine, and close by a large building (ua, Haye Sainte) occu- pied alternately by friend and foe, and a pomt more than commooir murderous.
** The Belgic troops, though they yielded, yet returned to tb^ posts. One corps of them, probably stragglers finom all, gallopAi all the way to Brussels, spreading terror and dismay^ breal^ open and plundering our spare carnages and store-waggcms, which £rom prudence were sent to the rear.
'^ I may seem to have forgotten the Prussians in this bottle. I saw none ; but I believe that to our left they really did advaoce; and the knowledge of their position might certainly have indiic^ Napoleon to withdraw when his efforts against us wore unavailifig- We expected their oo-operation early in the day, and earnesdv looked for it ; but it was not visible from any point wh^re the Duke was till dusk, when we had swept the eiaemy from the fisin in our front
" Equipments of all kinds are collecting. I have had, you see, some leisure to-day. To-morrow must bring its occupatioB witn it — and soon, how soon I will all that the day before vesterdaf presented be forgotten, unless arrested while yet fresh in tw recollection. Might not one wish that it was forgotten ? — that the bitter pangs whicn recollection cannot but cause in so msnj hearts imahioe spared ? or may we say, with the poet of an action less bruliant than the one just gained, —
" Weep fondly, bat exnltiiig weep ? *
" 8 A.M. 22d JuTiBy Traismere sur Fl^
" Near Malplaquet, which I reached last night at twelve, h&^ ridden from Nivelles, by the scene of the 18th to Gfenappe, back to Waterloo, ^ain to Nivelles, and hither by Binch ; to-oay f^ ^ moving on Gateau (by CambrayV the scene of a glprioos ^^^ 1794. . . . / . We have passed the frontiers, and shall soon be nearer to Pi^ris than to Brussels.
' v^
• » *
jiB
^
1^
AXmXSN OVBRknOBA. 179
** On the evening of the 20th, the Duke desired that the cap- tured guns might be parked ; several axtQlery-officers volunteered to collect them during the night It was feared whilst our chief attention had, been paid to re-equipping our force, and sending forwajd everything necessary for the probable work in our front, that the Prussians had appropriated the trophies of our victory. The report of the proceedings of the officers on this service is very interesting. All the scattered artillerymen and horses were col- lected, and the party proceeded by Lillois toward the burnt house, and rode carefully over the ground of the action. Before they reached it they perceived the air tainted from the effluvia of the dead. It was a moonlight night, frequently dull, with repeated flashes of lightning. But few guns were found, though the field was carefully examined ; it was known, indeed, that most of them had been blocked up in the road leading to Genappe, having been merely thrown aside to clear the road. But supposing that many sufferers might be still living on the field, all the spare horse- artillerymen that were found at Lillois (whither all the broken parts of troops had been sent to refit), were taken to assist in this laoour of humanity. Full occupation was soon found for aH On every side poor fellows were seen dying and suffering, in every variety of wretchedness ; and it was necessary to enjoin strict silence in the searching party, that the scarcely audible groans of some of the sufferers might not escape notice. Before morning several wag- gon-loads of these brave fellows were collected. It is scarcely necessary to add, that no one then knew anv distinction of friend and foe. When all was done on this point, tne search for the guns was resumed and extended ; but, except a few here and there, none were found in places where they were known to have been in abundance the ni^ht before, and the party began to fear that the major part would altogether escape their search. At last, how- ever, near Genappe, they found 161 gnns, with some hundreds of ammunition and o^er carriages. Thet were r^ularly parked with Prussian sentries. With some diinculty the Prussian officer was foimd He was asleep under some straw, and evidently did not wish to be seen ; after bearing the errand of our party, and seeing the return of the guns taken by the British on the 18th, he readuy assented to their delivery, and they were accordingly drawn off and parked near Waterloo.
^^ It was particularly remarked, that most of the sufferers thus rescued from their impending fate complained that they had been five days in misery and want Poor souls I-rthe action was on the ISflj, they were brought off before daylight on the 21st How misery prolongs time I — now rapidity of idea and occupation pro- loi^, too, its recollection 1 — It seems already an age since we were at Brussels — the day of the 18th seems an age ago."
180 BITTLB OF WATEBLOa
** 22d JunSf 6 P.1L Caleau, ** The bells here are ringing merril y, and the white flag is dis^ played from the steeple. Nothing but ' Vive Ixnas XVIlItk,^ is neardy shouted with as much energy as ' Vive VEmpereur^ would have been, had he got to Brussels. I trust we shall march rapidlT on. I fully anticipate another battle ; but that our cause will pre- vaily I most confidently hope and believe : still we must neglect no precaution to insure it
CAVALRY MOVEMENTS.
Eabl of Uxbbidge.
The pre&ce to further details of the cavalry operations cannot be better commenced than by a short recapitulation of the share taken by that distinguished officer, the Earl of Uxbridge, in the operations of the army.
On the 29th of May, 1815, the whole of the British Cavalry and Horse Artillery, together with the Rocket corps, were reviewed on an extensive plam, at Schendelbeke, a village between Ninove and Grramont, but nearest to the latter. The whole of the troops, amounting to about 8000 men, were formed on the ground in three lines, about half-past nine o'clock A.M. The Duke of Wel- lington arrived about half-past twelve, accompanied by Field- marshal Blucher, the Prince of Orange, the Duke de Berri, the Earl of IJxbridge, and a long list of distinguished foreigners. Some idea may oe formed of the extent of the lines, when it is stated that it occupied an hour and a half to ride along them. After the Duke of Wellington had performed this part of the duties of the day, and taken his station, the whole of the troo[» marched past in columns of half squadrons, at quarter distance; It was the finest sight that perhaps was ever seen in any country ; the crowd of spectators from all parts of the vicinity was immense, and there were several EInglish equipages from Brussels on the ground. The cavalry, which was commanded by the Earl of Uxbridge, chiimed particular notice. His Lordship's great exer- tions, and happy arrangements, had the efPect of giving a more than ordinary combination to t^e whole body ; ana his personal devotion upon all occasions of service inspired confidence and alacrity in every individual, which insured success in the hour of conflict The Duke of Wellington was pleased to express his ap- probation of the appearance of the troops in a general order on the loUowing day. After the review, the Earl of Uxbridge entertained the Duke of Wellington and his party with a most splendid dinner at Ninove, the cavalry head-quarters. Covers were laid fi>r one
GAYALBT MOYEMElfT& 181
l[i\xndred persons, and none under the rank of field-officer were invited, unless belonging to the staff.
On the opening of the campaign on the 16th of June, the cavalry had scarcelj reached the scene of action, being to be drawn from very distant cantonments. (Fife p. 61.)
On the 17th, large bodies of the enemy's cavalry, brought from the right, press^ hard upon the retreat of the British ; but tlie £arl of Uxbridge, equally jalert with the Usurper, never suf- fered the squadrons of the latter to derange his movements for an instant ; and the enemy, in several exam^es, had good reason to regret the keenness of his pursuit, which he at length gave up, towards five o'clock in the evening. *'He displayed," says an eye-witness of his Lordship's conduct in the field on this occasion, '^ consummate valour, in the sight of the admiring men. As it was the greatest object at the moment to kindle the spirit of our troops, wnat could more effectually do this than the display, gal- lantry, and dash of their superior? This was the more important, as it is also a certain fact, that not having as yet made an essay on the Cuirassiers, they entertained the i(^ that all attack upon them was ineffectual."* At the entrance into Genappe, the £arl intrepidly led on the 1st Life Guards against the Lancers, and enabled the former fuUy to establish, then* superiority. The 2d Life Guards were about making a similar charge, when the enemy prudentlv retired.
Much having been said respecting the first attack of the Hussars, it perhaps will afford the best explanation in giving Lord Uxbridge's Letter to his regiment : —
** BruMeUy June 28, 1815. *• My dear Brother Officers, " It has been stated to me, that a report injurious to the repu- tation of our regiment has gone abroad ; and I do not, therefore, lose an instant in addressing you on the subject The report must take its origin firom the affiur that took place with the advanced guard of the French cavalry near Genappe, on the 17th instant, when I ordered the 7th to cover the retreat As I was with you, and saw the conduct of every individual, there is no one more capable of speaking to the fact than I am. As the Lancers pressed us hard, I ordered you (upon a principle I ever did, and shall act upon) not to wait to be attacked, but to fall upon them. The attack was most gallantly led by the officers ; but it failed : it failed, because the Lancers stooa firm, had their fianks secured, and were backed by a large mass of cavalry. The regiment was repulsed, but did not run away. No — it rallied immediately; I renewed the attack. It again failed firom the same cause. It re- tired in perfect order, although it had sustained so severe a loss ;
* rUe Officer's Letter, 2d Life Guards, dated June 20, 1810, p. 49.
IM siTtui or WATmax
but you had thrown the Lancers into disorder, who, being id motion, I then made an attack upon with the Life Guards, irho certainly made a very handsome chai^, and oompletdy so(y ceedtxL This is the plain honest truth. However ligndy I thiidc of Lancers under oroinary circumstances, I am of opinicHi ttuu,
fi>sted as they were, they had a most decided advanta^ over ib& [ussars. The impetuosity, however, and weight of the life Guards, carried ail before them. And while I exculpate my ovn repmcnt, I am delighted in being able to bear testinKxny to the gallant conduct of the former.
'' Be not uneasy, my brother o£Bcers, you had ample oppoi^ tunity, of which you gallantly availed yourselves, of reveogii^ yourselves on the 18th for the failure on the 17th ; and atter all, what regiment, and which of us individuaUy, is certain of success? Be assured that I am proud of being your colonel, and that ycm possess my utmost conndence.
** Your sincere friend, (Signed) *• Angleset, lAeut-general"
On the the 18th, about noon,* upon an attack of our caitre by the enemy, *^ the Duke of Wellington led some battafaons of infantry, and Lord Uxbridge led the cavalry,*' when the life Guards received his Lordship's orders to charge the enemy; Bod it being their first charge, excepting the trivial affair in the retreat of the preceding day, every expectation was alive : — ^its result Tv-as glorious ! and his llfordship declared himself *' perfectly satisfied."
At about half-past eleven, three heavy masses of the enem/s infantry advanced, supported by artillery and a nmnerous bodrof Cuirassiers. This formidable body drove in the Belgians, leaving the Highland brigade to receive the shock, and which, tfaougfa it had been weakened the preceding day, received them in line, and gave them a formidable check. " At this critical and awiul mo- ment, Lord Uxbridge galloped up to the 2d Heavy Brigade (Pon- sonby's), when the three regiments were wheeled up in the most masterly style, presenting a beautiful front of about thirteen hun- dred men ; and as his Lordship rode down the line, he was received by a general shout and cheer from the brigade. After having taken a short survey of the troops, and the threatening attitude of the enemy, his Lordship determined upon a charge, which, for the wonderful intrepidity of its execution, and its complete success, h^
rarely been equallea."t
About seven o'clock, his Lordship, noticing the great pressure upon the infantry, at the time when it was necessary, from the slaughter committed by the enemy's fire, to take one or two remams of regiments to form a square, and when the heavy cavalry were
* Account of General Pozzo di Borgo, the Rnssian General.
t Vide Officer's account of Sir W. Ponsonby'B brigade, p. 1S4 fdUnriog*
1
I
G^YALBX MOTBKBSmB. 18S
nxtcli reduced, ordered the two brigades commanded by Major- Tenerais Sir Ormsby Vandeleur and Sir Richard Hussey Vivian trom the left to the main point of attack. These troops being ii%sh axid entile, revived the spirits of the oppressed in£uitry ; and it was apoa this change of corps, removed so opportunely bv his Lordship, that the most important services were rendered, such as materially hastened the trirunfliant finctle.
His Lordship had previously, at six o'clock, '^ led the household troops in some brilliant attacks, cutting in pieces some battalions of the Old Guards into whose masses they penetrated." *
Upon the general advance of the une, and *^ after having sxjKr- cessfuily got through this arduous day, his Lordship received a. wound by almost the last shot fired," f in the joint q£ his right knee^ from the bad state of which it was found necessary to amputate the le^ just above the joint* hi contemplating this misfortone, incal- culable to the coimtiTy as it may rob her of his Lordship's ftiture services, it should still be reflected on with gratitude, that the aecir dent did not occur at an early period of the day, so as to have prevented the exertion of his active and animating efforts ; for (though it should be said without designing to take m>m the ffreat merits of the officers beneath him in command) it is bujt seMom that there can be in one and the same iadividaal so happy an unity of qualities fitted to form an officer of the highest preten- sions ; and probably, under similar circumstances, " it would be diffictdt to find another chief to lead the cavabry with the same courage and skilL'':( hi the Earl of Uxbridge were combined the possession of exalted rank and fortune in the country, an established character of the highest class as an officer, vigour of mind, great personal activity, and a dash and spirit proper to excite the admirar tion and emulation of all around him, and fix his well-earned repu- tation of being '^ the first cavalry officer in the world I"
The materials of this work consisting of the communications,
or extracts fi*om the correspondence, of officers who were actually
on the field of battle, it becomes the Editor's duty not to pass over
without remark those variations which may from time to time
present themselves between the accounts here given and those
which are to be met with in other books. In a popular and valuable
publication of the day, § we find it is stated, in relation to the charge
of the 2d Heavy Brigade on the 18th, that " Sir John Elley,
Quarter-master-generd, requested and obtained permission to
bring up that brigade, consisting of the Life Guards, Oxford Blues,
and Scotch Greys, and made a charge, the effect of which was
• Vidi Anslarian Accoant. t Duke of Wellingtoii's Dispatch.
t Vuie Spanish Genena's Acoount i '< Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk."
184 BAITLE or WAIKKLOO.
treinendoas.'' In this instance, the great celebrity of the aothorii the Ri'ntence quoted may have the effect of perpetuatED^ aa emf . if not corrected, and it is to be lamented that such a writer shooM have been misinformed upon the subject, exceptiii^oinly as to the effect of the charge of the Heavy Brigade. Sir John EDej vas wounded early in the day: all the cavidry movemoits weie directed and led by Lord Uxbridge m person. It mav be allowed, perhaps, to add, from this example, with olhen vhkk might be adduced, that all hearsay accounts of the memorilJe battle of Waterloo ought to be cautiously received ; many erro!^ being unintentionally committed, from the want of ocular infinntt- tion;"* while, as above remarked, the resources of the peseot volume consist in the actual recitals of gentlemen who saw the coh flict, and who describe what fell under their observation.
We now proceed to offer further particulars in detafl </ ofor Cavalry operations. For the movement of the 1st, or what i? generally termed the Household Bri^uie, the reader is referred to Uie letter of an officer of the 2d Life Guards, p. 49.
Major^eneral Sir WilUam Ponsanbt^s Brigade of Cavahy, consisting of Isty 2(2, and 6th Dragoons,
(bt an officer m the brioadb.)
The conspicuous feature which the 2d Heavy Br^ade or Cavalry formed in the operations of the memorable day ofWaterloo, with the esteem and regret that we feel for its gallant leader, Sir William Ponsonby, cannot fail in giving an interest to every pffth cular that can be gathered as to the considerable share they took in the glory of that day. The brigade consisted of the Ist, or Royals, which, from its long services in Spain, was the weakest of the three in point of numbers; the 2d, or Scotch Greys; anfl the 6th, or Lmiskillin^ This brigade was formed in position the night before, in a wet oarley-field on the left of the line, in the rear of the Highland brigade and a corps of Belgic troops.
On the morning of the 18th, the brigade was formed into a dose column of half sqt^drons, a little in advance of the field they occu- pied the preceding night, in order to be in momentary readiness, as also to relieve the men and horses from the de^ swamp ^^^ the incessant raining the night before had occasioned : the brigade remained in that position dismounted.
♦ A« we have mentioned one error, it will be the best opportunity to t&o^ respecting the infantry movements, that the 92d Regiment never had their colonrs seized by a French mounted officer, but attempted ; the French were entirely beat and driven off the ground ; and in Simpson's account ^^J^f batae, respecting th6 82d, it should be that they wen on the right of tlie 79tii and 28th.
^^
'¥^-
%''■.:
N> ,»
"^^\-«
':^>.-:
til
5 ^)
CAVALRY MOT£MElfT& 185
About half-past eleven o'clock, three heavy masses of infantry, supported by artillery and a numerous body of Cuirassiera, were formed, and appearea to threaten the left of the British line* The Belgic light infantry were almost immediately driven in upon their support ; and as these heavy columns of infantry advanced, the greater part of the Belgic infantry, after a short opposition, rave way, ana, although in good order, retreated, leaving the Highland brigade, which was about four hundred yards in rront of me 2d Heavy Brirade of Cavalry, to evince a glorious and very different example. These fine fellows, although they had suffered so severely on the 16th, with the most undaunted courage received the enemy's columns in line, taking up their, line in rear of a cross'-road some- what protected by a small bank of earth, which formed a sort of hedge to the road, and with a most steady and well-directed fire presented a decided check to the enemy.
At this critical and awftd moment* Lord Uxbridge galloped up ; the three regiments of cavalry were in the most masterly style iimeeled into line, and presented a most beautiftd front of about thirteen hundred men : as his Lordship rode down the line, he was received by a general shout and cheer from the brigade. Aft;er having taken a short survey of the force and threatening attitude of the enemy, and finding the Highland brigade, although still pre- senting an unbroken front, upon the point of bein^ on both sides outflamced by an immense superiority of numbers, his Lordship de- termined upon a charge, which, for uie wonderful intrepidity of its execution, and its complete success, has rarely been eaualled, and certainly never surpassed. The Royals appeared to take the lead, while the Greys preserved a beautiml line at speed, more to the left, over the cross-road, near which spot their brave chief. Colonel Hamilton, fell, together with his horse, pierced with wounds.t After considerable resistance, the eagle of the 45th Regiment was seized by a serjeant of the Grreys, of the name of Ewart,J a man of most gigantic stature, whose right ann well did its duty on that day. The Royals on the right appeared not to be outdone by the Greys, and amidst the loud and hearty cheers of the Highlanders, two squadrons under Lieut-col. Clift»n and Major Dorvule rushed into the second column of the enemy, consisting of about 4000 men, which had kept in reserve, when, after the most desperate individual exertion, the eagle of the 105th Regiment was seized by a Serjeant of the name of Styles. The best part of this column threw down their arms, and were immediately swept off to the rear
* A subject to one of the etchings, by Capt. Jones, to illustrate this Work.
f Lieut.-col. Clarke, who succeeded to the command of the regiment, was afterwards severely wounded, and had four horses shot under him.
{ Viile his letter stating Uie particulars of the conflict to obtain this, in p. 17 of this Work, and which is introduced towards the bAck-ground, in the etching of the charge of Ponsonby's brigade.
186 batuji Of WAZisiioa
by the Iimiskilliii^ The greater part €( the Rojab fell in this attack. This division of the enemy consisted of upwards of 9000 men, under Count d^Erlon. Independently of 3000 prisoners^ the few that escaped firom the rude grasp of this heavy brigade formed themselves under cover of their Cuirassiers, and hardly amounted to a thousand men : which loss taking place so early in the day, most materially cramped the operations of the enemy on the left of the British line.
This terrible carnage of iniantry and cavalry, where almost everything was left to mdividual courage, and where every officer and man exerted every nerve to deserve well of his country, lasted about three-quarters of an . hour ; and after the comjrfete destruction of this formidable mass of infantry, every endeavour was made to collect the fortunate remains of the brigade, under cover of a small wood to the left, which was speedily eflfected. If anything could have damped the ardour of the officers and men after Uiey were collected, it was to find that thdbr gallant leader, to whom so much of the success was due, was no more ! Sir William, just before the charge, had mounted a fresh horse : after heading the brigade with the most conspicuous valour, and having cut tnrough the first column, he passed on to where Major Dorvule was so thickly engaged ; he here found himself outflanked by a regiment of Polish Lancers, who had come forward to the support of the infantry : finding his fate inevitable, he rushed upon the enemy's infantry to endeavour to join the Royals, and tell, together with his horse, pierced with wounds. iThns died Sir William Ponsonby ! Perhaps no cavalry officer ever fell so per- sonally beloved as himself. His services in Spain had brought him into the notice of every individual in the army ; and it is impossible to say which is the most deserving of admiration, whether his character as an individual or as a soldier. The officers of his own regiment, the 5th Dragoon Guards, upon the news of his death, immediately put on mouming; and as soon as the perish- able remains of this exceUent man had been brought to Ei^land, evenr officer that could be permitted attended them to the grave.*
The command of the teigade, aft«r Sir W. Ponsonby's fall, de- volved upon CoL Muter of the Inniskillings ; upon his being wounded, the command was taken by Lieut-coL Clifton of the Roysris— the command of this regiment, such as remained^ was with Major Dorville.
From the testimony of La Coste, it appears that the appear- ance and conduct of the Greys was a subject of Buonaparte's comm^it
* The death of this officer is made the subject of a very spirited etching, drawn hy Captain Jones.
GATALBT MOYEMXMTS. 187
^Elxtract of a Letter from Serjeant CriMey of the \8t DragoonSi forming part of tlie preceding Brigade.
Nanterre, 24iih of July ^ 1815.
The action fought on the 18th of Jane, at Waterloo, was dreadful, and difficmt to gain, I can assure you, although we made a complete victory of it, with hard fighting, by the aouble courage of our British heroes. The British CavSiy exerted and displayed themselves gallantly. Our brigade was the first that charged, and great havoc we made: broke their lines and columns : took two stands of colours, two eagles, and made them fly before us a mile or more : but the loss of the brigade wa^ severe. Tet it surprised me that so many escaped as did, for their guns and small arms were playing upon us on every side, pouring like hail, and men falling, and horses, as thick as possible. Dear Tom, I came off pretty safe, my horse shot through the leg, and myself slightly wounded with a bayonet, but nothing to signify of any consequence; in short, there were but few escaped wounds or scars. The French had the better of the day about twelve o'clock at noon, when the Belgians turned their backs to them, and left the British infantry to the mercy of the world : and the French advanced upon that part of the line, and would have had posses- sion of it in a few minutes, had it not been for our brigade making a rapid charge, which took such effect, and repulsed them, and drove them to confusion, which lightened the hearts of our in- fantry, and encouraged them to rally together, which was of great service at that point The enemy kept up a continual firing, and the battle was equally as good upon their side as it was with us, till between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, when the victc^ turned glorious on our side — ^they began to retreat ; when the Irussians, with their brave Commander, Von Bliicher, was close after them, who never let them have any rest until they came to Paris. The day after the battle we buried our dead, and rested the following night, and then commenced our march, and got to Paris gates; and shortly the rebels yielded their capital, and evacuated, and suffered two armies to invest it On the 24th instant, we had our British army reviewed by the Emperors of Russia, Austria, and King of Prussia, Duke Wellington, Prince Bliicher^ and all the noted warriors in Europe, at the entrance of Paris gates. Dear Tom, you hear more news in England than we do here ; only what we see is the real thing, which must be
§ referable to hearsay accounts. The Prussian army plays the evil with the country wherever they go ; they made destruction in all the villages on tne road from Waterloo to Paris, and beyond. I am not in the least sorry for them, for it just serves them right, and not half bad enough, for the usage they gave the Portu-
188 BJLTILB OP WATERLOO.
gnene and Spaniards : it makes them feel a little ct the sett d war as well as the rest of their neighbours.*^
MajoT^eneraU Sir Omuby Vandeleur and Sir Richard JSysaey
Vvoiain!$ Bnffade$ of Cavalry.
Before seven oVlock, many of the raiments of infimtry were so much reduced, that two or three r^ments were necessary in some instances to form a square; and the heavy cavahy were much reduced in numbers, when Lord Uxbri<^ commanded tliese two brigades to move from the left to the main point of attack. The ai)pearance of these six regiments, viz. 1st, lOtlu 11th, 12th, 16tn, and 18th, (^ fredi cavalrv, which had not jet been in action, greatly revived the spirits of the harassed troops. About this time also, two brigades of Prussian infantry and a brigade of cavalry, part of General Bulow's troops, had arrived at their intended position, in a wood on the right fliuik of the enemy. At half-past seven Buonaparte had, instead of endeavouring to secure a retreat while it was possible, made a tremendous charge, with four regiments of his middle guard and a large body of cavalry, endeavotuing to penetrate our centre, and had actually forced some of our regiments to fall back : the action was now> if possible, more tremendous than ever; the French troops, in- spired to the pitch of desperation, could only have their repulse from the cool and determined confidence of the English. At this moment General Yandeleur's brigade, with the assistance of Sir William Ponsonby's, made a charge which eifectually changed the face of things, by putting the infantry and cavalry mto confusion. From this tune, and at the advance of the British line, these two brigades, removed so opportunely from the left by Lord Uxbridge, were of most important service ; all the other brigades of cavaliy, heavy and li^ht, having been engaged nearly all the day, and had suffered much.
The Duke of Wellington, who had been for some time atten- tively observing what was passing in the French and Prussian armies, in an exposed situation, and apparently regardless of what was passing near him, suddenly shut his telescope, and exclaimed to those who were near him, " Now evebt man must AnvAyc&'f
* A Pmssian officer of rank had his quarters upon a French family, and pro- ceeded to exert some species of tyranny and oppression, which at last drew foiih an expostulation from the mistress of the house ; when he assured her, that treble the oppression, wanton distress, and inconvenience he occasioned, vbs not equal to half that which her son had made him and his family experieoc^ ^ Berlin, when the French were masten ; but told her, as he hoped the lesson he had given would have its full effect, he should then leave her quiet possession of the hotel. — Editor,
t This forms a subject for one of the etchings, by Captain Jones, to ill^* trate this work.
1
I
CAYALRT MOTEMENTS. 189
Tlie Duke had obBerved both cannon and in&ntry endeavour- ing to retire from the rear of the French position, and resolved to allo'w^ them as little time as possible to recover from the confusion in which thej retired irom the last attack. The orders flew like lightning along the line, and the whole army was instantly in motion, with as much alacrity as if the action was just beginning. Prince Bliicher had joined the left wii^ of the army, and nearly the ^wliole of the Prussian force had by this time arrived : the right -wing of the French gave wav before them, and was soon in great confiision. There were still some large squares of the old Impe- rial Ghiard opposed to the English, to cover the retreat As soon as the advance was ordered. Sir Hussey Vivian's brigade charged the squares, broke into one of them, passed the others, and drove away the cavalry and the artillerymen from the gims, leaving the squares exposed to the whole force of the British army then bear- ing down on them.
The cavalry having put to flight the artillerymen, those de- structive engines, the cannon, were silenced, and our infantry soon came in contact with the last-mentioned squares of the Imperial Guard, who, notwithstanding their hopeless situation, seemed still to consider themselves invincible, and scorned to tarnish the repu- tation they had held so long in ihe estimation of Europe : but the British troops were not then to be checked ; after a short conflict, in which many fell on both sides, the squares broke, and the rout was the most complete ever known. The brigades of light cavalry continued the pursuit nearly to Genappe, when it was relinquished to our brave allies the Prussians.
JE^tract of a Letter from an Officer of the ISih Hussars.
** On the morning of the 18th, Major-general Vivian, who com- manded the 6th Cavalry Brigade, composed of the 1st Hanoverian Hussars, the 10th Royal, and the 18m Hussars, made us take a few hours' rest in a Little copse on the borders of the forest of Soignies, and close to a village forming the left of the British line, and in correspondence with General Bulow. At four o'clock in the morning a Prussian officer arrived, who informed Major- general Vivian that he left Ohain at 12 o'clock, and came with the utmost speed possible, with orders to inform the Duke of Wellington that Marshal Blucher had commenced his march at 12, and that he hoped to be up by one, p.m. (but the roads were so bad, that he did not open fire until four o'clock) ; and that General Bulow was marching firom Ohain on our left, to operate agreeably to the promise made to Lord Wellington bv Marshal Bliicher: however, from the badness of the roads, he did not come
190 MTTLi OV WATSBLOa
up till eight oVlock in the evening; but, even at that late hour, be was of the greatest use, as we were .much harassed by the artilleiT and musketry of the Frrach.
** At 3 o'clock P.M.^ Major Percy was sent by the Duke of Wellinirton to General Bulow, to inquire how long it woold be before ne could come up : he returned in a short tunes, saying, that he would arrive in an hour ; but, as I before observed, tbe roads proliibited the possibility of his doing sa
** The Duke of Wellington dispatched Xieut-coL Stavdy, si a
auarter before seven o'clock, to see if the Prussians were coming; ley had made a halt to rest themselves near the field, before they came into action ; very few of the officers, and none of the soldien of the British army, knew that the Prussians were expected.
*^ The enemy pressed the centre of the British line so heavily, that we were obliged to leave the left, and form in line in the rear, and almost on the heels of the pressed infantry : and remained in that position for about a quarter of an liour, when tbe Frendi gave way, and we charged, first the Cuirassien, then the Lancers, and ultimatdy became so mixed with the enemy, then the con* fusion exceeded all descriptiou ; but terminated in the &atiTe defeat of the FrencL
" I must name to yo« an individual occurrence which happened in our regiment Serjeant Taylor, on coming up with the Guiras- siers, made a cut at the head of one of them, which had no other eifect on the Frenchman than to induce him to cry out in derision, * Ha I ha I' and to return a severe blow at the Serjeant, wkicii was admirably parried, aud Taylor then thrust his sabre into tbe mouth of the Cuirassier, who instantly fell, and the conqueror cried, ^ Ha ! ha !' in his turn ; which circumstance much increased the ardour of the other men."*
Extract of a Letter from John Marshtdl, private lOtJi Hussarh
part of the preceding Bngade,
Pidlute, near Paris, July lltA, 1815.
I have availed myself of this opp(»tunity to give you as much information as comes within my knowledge, though you no doubt are well acquainted with what has transpired during that short, but ever-glorious campaign: but as the scribbler of a news- paper can say what he pleases, I shall take the liber^ of saying what I know to be true — and so to the subject On the l6th (w June, our troops were in motion. At day-break in the moroing;
* This fomu a subject for one of the etohiDgs to i&nslMte this fioAt ^ CapUin Jones.
CAYALBT MOYElfENTB. 101
the British were advancing with all possible speed towards the
eixeaxy, who was waiting our approach, and had akeady made
an attack upon some Hanoverian troops, and on that account we
laad a forced march. Tlie brigade to which I belong marched a
distance of about fifty miles, tiding their posts the same evening
alioixt seven o'clock; and being the first cavalry that arrived,
^nre remained under arms all night, during which time several
brigades of cavalry, and most of our infantry, arrived But
the enemy was so strongly posted, that it was thought prudent
not to attack them in their works, but to Ml back, lae infantry,
therefore, about ten in the morning of the 17 th, began to withdraw,
leaving us to cover their retreat The French, perceiving this,
did not remain long inactive, but soon brought up their Lancers to
attack us ; but we were not to bring them to action, but retreat,
which was accordingly done. General Vivian, who commands
our brigade, conducted the retreat ; in a most able and skiliul
manner did he complete it, covering the retreat with our brigade
of the whole army, that fell back on tliis rioint. The enemy,
seeing us retreat, were quite delighted, and followed us with all
speed^ cheering and halloaing at us, thinking to alarm and
frighten : but m this they were disappointed, for we did not lose a
man, although they attempted to charge us several times ; but our
skirmishers Kept them back, in spite of all their boasted bravery.
Thus was our retreat completed, afi:er having fallen back about
eight miles: thus far then they were to come, but no further.
But we were much hurt by a thunder-storm, which brought with
it the most heavy torrents of rain that I ever beheld ; nor did it
abate during the night, nor till about nine the next morning ; and
we were exposed to it all the time, for we 1 ook up our abode in a wood
allnight, so that we were like drowned men more than soldiers: but
as many of us have long been inured to hardships and privations
of all descriptioDs, it went off cheerftdly, and none seemed to
repine ; for when the motives of the mind are strong for exertion,
all things are set aside to gain the wished-for purpose. This it is
that m^es us think light of misfortunes, and bear deprivations
beyond conception to those who never trod this thorny path; yet,
with us, thev are borne without a murmur. But I am wandering
from my subject About nine on the morning of the 18th the
clouds oispersed, and it gave over raining, and the enemy drew up
in order of battle, and our line had been formed all night, so we
were quite ready for them. Our troops were posted upon a chain
of rismg heights, which commands the plain before it, whilst
those of the French were posted upon a rising ground, in a parallel
line with ours ; and their position was covered by a long chain
of woods, which favoured and hid many of their movements, so
that we had no advantage of them, for we had the plain before us,
and they the same. Thus all were ready, and about twelve the
19S BATTLE OP WATBBLOa
onset commenced, by a brisk fire from the sharpshooters, and soon after a very heavy cannonading ensued ; and oy tifro the action became general, and most desperate did it rage ; for both sides seemed determined to keep their ground : but the enemy showed us that they did not only mean to have their own ground^ bm ours alsa With this seeming determination did they bring iip a strong force of cavalry and mfantry, and pushed w^ith all their might upon the centre of our line, thinking to break it ; but in this they were disappointed, for our cavalry met them, and droTe them back, as fast as they advanced. Finding, therefore, that ther could not move our centre, thev then endeavoured to turn our left flank, by pressing upon it in tfie same manner. Upon this pobt our brigaae was posted ; but they met with the same reception as before : so, finding that we stood firm at this place also, they took up their own ground, and soon after endeavoured to advance at all points ; but their attention was then arrested by a large bodv of Prussians, who came point blank upon their right flank, and opened a very heavy fire of artillery upon thenu This for a little time put them in a consternation ; but even this they recovered, and, altering their lines, seemed to suffer but little firom this our new reinforcement This was about five in the evening, and vic- tory was still doubtful The enemy then made one more attempt to vanquish us, by bringing the most of his force at our rignt flank, trying to force it, and to gain the hi^h road for Brussels, in which if he had succeeded, our defeat would have been complete. And here it was that our commander the Duke of Wellington was put to the test ; for they advanced with a vast and numerous body of cavalry, supported by infantry and covered by artillery, and seemed determined to have this road. The chief of our ardllery was then brought to this point, and theirs parallel with onrs ; sucli a tremendous peal of thunder did they ring one against the other, as I never knew since my name was MarshalL The whole of the cavalry belonging to the British was also brought to the right of our line, and charged them in brigades ; and oiirs also left its post, where it had been all day on the left, and came to the right, and, having the greatest distance to come, we, of course, were the last, and the whole of our cavalry nearly had charged them. This stopped their progress in advancing in a great measure. O^ brigade was tnen formed into line, and then we stood showii^ them that we would have the ground, or perish in the attempt: but they did not much like our sturdy m>nt. They had some brigades of Imperial Gruards to confix)nt us, and at a snudl distance off, but would not charge us ; but we stood under a most ^ing and destructive fire ftom infantry and artillery for near an hour: but this could not move us ; but firm as a rock we stood, except those poor fellows who fell victims to their bravery. It was now" eight in the evening, and still the batde raged with redoubled foxT)
CAYALRT MOTEMEMTS. 1 93
and still was much to be done, and but little time to do it in, for night was fast approaching; therefore, no time was to be lost. Our brigade was then formed into three lines, each regiment com- prising its own line, which was the 10th, 18th, and a regiment of the German Legion Hussars, my own regiment forming the first line. The General then came in front of the line, and spoke in the following manner : — * Tenth,' he said, * you know what you are going to do, and you also know what is expected of you, and I am well assured it will be done ; I therefore shall say no more, only wish you success ; ' and with that he gave orders for us to ad- vance. I am not ashamed to say, that, well knowing what we were going to do, I offered up a prayer to the Almighty, that for the sake of my children and the partner of my bosom he would pro- tect me, and give me strength and couraee to overcome all that might oppose me, and with a firm mind I went, leaving all that was dear to me to the mercy of that great Ruler, who has so often in the midst of peril and danger protected me. AjBter advancing about one hmuued yards we struck into a charge, as hst as our horses could go, keeping up a loud and continual cheering, and soon we were amongst the Imperial Guards of France. The 18th Hussars also charging, as soon as we got amongst them ; which so galled them, that we slew and overthrew them Hke so many child- ren, although thev rode in' armour, and carried lances ten feet long : but so brisklv did our lads lay the English steel about them, that they threw ofir their armour and pikes, and those that could get away flew in all directions. But still we had not done, for there were two great solid squares of infantry, who had hurt us much, whilst we were advancing, with their nre, and still conti- nued to do so, whilst we were formii^ again : in short, they were all around us. We therefore formea as well as we could, and at them we went, in spite of their fixed bayonets. We got into their columns, and, like oirds, they fell to the ground. Thus they were thrown into confusion, for it seemed like wild-fire amongst their troops that the Guards were beaten, and, panic-struck, they flew in ail directions. But we had done our part, and left those to pursue who had seen the onset We took sixteen guns at our charge, and many prisoners: but it was so dark, we could not see anv longer, and at length we assembled what few men we had got left of the regiment, and the General of Brigade formed us in close columns, so mat we mi^ht all hear him, ana he addressed us in the following manner: *Now, Tenth,' he said, *you have not disap- pointed me ; you were just what I thought you were. You was the first regiment that brdse their lines, and to you it is that we are indebted for turning the fate of the day ; and depend upon it that your Prince shall know it ; for nothing but the bravery and good discipline of the regiment could have completed such a work.' We then gave him three cheers, and since that he has given us at
o
1 94 B ATTLB OF WATBBUX).
great length, in our orderly books, his thanks and pmiae for aas conduct You may, perhaps, think, because I have spoke of this. that it shows my vanity ; out my motive for having done so is, because I saw in an English newspaper that die Life Gusnk were the only cavalry that had been of any service. It, therefore, did not much please me nor my regiment, that we ahould not hx^ a little of the credit The Guards, certainly, made a very briliijiit charge : it ought to be spoken o£ You will, however^ see, by wbat I have here stated, that the regiment did its duty, and that is all we wish to be understood of us. I am sorry that we have tn lament the loss of a most brave and gallant office*. Major Howard. who led on the squadron that I belong to ; and most nobly did he show himself formed to let them know that he was an Englisb- man ; but when we charged the infantry, one of them shot hioi dead, just as we got wiuiin bayonet length of them* We had two omcers killed, wounded three captains, and two lieuteoaots wounded. But how many privates we have lost, I do not know; but not so many as might be expected: for the French fired so h^^ that when we were at close quarters with them half their ahois did not tell, or they might have killed eveiy man of as. But Pro- vidence is ever on the watch, and orders every thing as it pleases; and I can never return too many thanks to the Afanighly, for pre- serving me through that day's peril and danger : for never did 1 behold such a day^s slaughter as that Never did British troops try more for victory, and never were they nearer being beat But, thanks be to Heaven, the work was at last completed, for the Prussian troops finished what we had begun, pursuing and dnvin^ them all night, the darkness of which helped to add to their hor- ror-struck minds. Thus was the proud and destroying tyrant once more beaten and compelled to fly to his capital for slmlter, | leaving his troops to their destructive fate. This proves him to be a coward, for he abandoned them in the hour of danger: and he. like the fretful porcupine, can nowhere find rest: his ititc, anJ that of all Europe, depended upon that day; but the evening's clouds saw him a wretched fiigitive, not darmg to stop, nor yet to go on. We took from them two hundred and tesa pieces oi can- non, and stores of all descriptions, and many prisoners. He bad during the action, in several places of his lin^ the black fla^ fly- ing, which signifies ' no quarter.' No, if he had beat us, Idars say they would have showed us none ; and myself am eye-witness to it, that many of them were laid to the ground, which would not have been, but for tliat he had covered his cavahy with armonr to secure them: but we wanted no steel covering, for our hearts proved to be already steeled, and we let them know it We have followed them to the gates of Paris, which place gave up to us on the 6tli of this month.
H ■
■'^-l
^ w
CATALRT MOYEHEMTSU 195
Extract of a Letter from an Officer of the Hth Light Dragoons.
*' After nearly six years' service in the Peninsula and France, we returned to England in 1814, and were almost immediately marched for Plymouth, and embarked for Ireland, from whence we again took shipping the following May for Ostend ; in due time we arrived at our cantonments, under the orders of the Duke of Wellington. The action which shortly after took place, on the plain before Mont St Jean, must ever be remembered by those present from the severity of the conflict ; and on those not present, its result must fix an mdelible stamp. In an afiair so waniily contested, it must occur that cavalry is opposed to almost every description of forces ; this general observation was never more completely illustrated than on the 18th of June, 1815. On that memorable day, our gallant regiment was alternately engaged with every arm of the enemy's service ; and out of the twelve principal charges made by this raiment on that day, but one was incom- plete, and even m this instance (thou^ much outnumbered) our retreat was effected without loss. Our momentary check was, however, shortly after avenged by the regiment to its complete satis&ction, and, I trust, has fixed its reputation on the highest pinnacle; I can only say that we each strained every nerve to aj)i)al our enemy. As I know you will expect all I can tell you, I will go a little more into particulars, by informing you that our position during the action was so varied, that I hardly know how to define the exact one : the principal charges, however, took place in the firont of the centre of the British hne. Our brigade con- sisted of the 15th and 7th Hussars, and 13th, under M^or-general Sir Colquhoun Grant Our loss, as may be expected^ was con- siderable. The only officer that escaped, either personally or by horse, was Captain iBowers ; from this you can give a clear esti- mate of the sharp work we had. Our opponents were infantry and cuirassiers, which made our exposure more extreme. Our last and most^ brilliant charge was at the moment that Lord Hill, perceiving the movement of the Prussian army, and finding the r rench Imperial Guard on the point of forcing a part of the British position, cried out, — * Drive tnem back, Tlurteenthl'* Such an order, from such a man, could not be misconstrued, and it was punctually obeyed. The 16th was not calculated for cavalry operations, nor even the 17th, when we covered the retreat of the army to its position."
* This spirited charge affords a subject for an etching, which is published to illustrate this work.
196 BATTLft or WARftLOa
Extract of a Letter from on Offijcer.
<* On April the 26th we landed at Ostesid, from whence we proceeded ti) Brussels, which was then the head-quarters of the British forces, where we lay till the battle took place, which I tliink was the most dreadfiil that ever was witnessed bj Briti^ troo|)s. I have been in four engagements and two sieges, but thb 8ur]iassed all that I have ever seen. On the I3th and Uth ^ June, a considerable movement was observed in the French lines; but we had no idea that they were drawing so strong a force against our front as it afterwards turned out We thought thev were observing the Prussians; but we soon found out their meaning, and well they let us know it On the I6th they advanceil down against our front like motes in the sun : the advanced po^ began the fray— a firay that deprived many a mother of her son, a wife of her husband, and children of their father. Our victorr has, indeed, cost us dear ; but, thank God ! I have escaped from harm in this as well as all others. Our front, at the commence- ment of the action, was very weak, as we had no expectation at the time of advancing; and wnen the infantry engaged^ our cavalry was not up, which gave them no chance. The French made dreadful havoc amongst the first brigade, which was al/no^t entirely cut off; our cavalry then came up, but too late to afford any essential relief, and the advantage rested with the French icit first day. On the following day (the 17th), the action recom- menced at daylight with great spirit, as we had received, duriiu! the night, a reinforcement of inrantry and artillery, the latter of which was very needful. We opened a brisk fire upon the enemy, but apparently with little effect, until our cavalry began to charge amongst them, when they did great execution, and the itifantry again advanced ; but we were almost worn out by^ the fatigues of the day, and the heavy rain which fell during the time. All the fields where the action took place were covered with stana- ing com ; and as we had lain on the wet ground, in the open air, all night, our spirits were completely spent The combat, how- ever, served to reanimate our men: and as the action grew warm, their bosoms became fired with impatience for revenge. For a long time our troops could make no impression on the enemv (the odds against them, in point of numbers, being as 8 to 1) till at length we got amongst them two or three times, and then we lessened them, I assure you, for we cut them down literally m sections. Never was skill and courage of Britons so tried before, and never was their resolution more determined against the rebels. To their cries we paid no regard, but followed the example they had set (numbers of our men having been cut down by the enemy with their own swords, after they had surrendered themselves
CAVALRY MOVEMENTS. 197
prisoners) : when this was discovered, it exasperated the British
to that degree, that they spared neither men nor ofRcers, old nor
young, but sent them alter the many hundreds that had been slain
^without the least chance for their lives. Thus the natural hu«
manity of British hearts became steeled to every generous feeling.
However, we successAilly made our retreat, and we kept our
ground the second ni^ht, but with some difficulty, on account of
tne unmense superionty of the French. The third day, however,
brought the business to a final issua As soon as daylight
appeared we &ced the enemv again, and Wellington b^an to
manoeuvre, by retreating a little with a view of drawing them
out of a wood : the enemy followed, and were in hopes of getting
to Brussels; but John Bull's sons soon made the ground too hot
for them. For a long time our cause hung on a single thread,
and I am sure the oldest soldiers in his Majesty's service never, saw
Frenchmen stand so before. At length, to our great joy, we learnt
that the Prussians were coming up ; we gave the French a charge;
the Prussians fianked them at all points, and a most drea(Sul
slaughter ensued. The French fell into concision and fled in all
directions, leaving their bagsage, artillery, and everything behind
them; and we pursued them mto their own country. The wounded
that fell into our hands are in the most shocking state I ever saw,
from the cuts of our cavalry. Thus have we gained anotlier
victory for Old England, and remain firm and unconquered."
Letter from an Officer of high rank,
" Waterloo^ three leaaues in front of " BrueeeUy June 19.
" We have gained a great and most glorious victory yesterday evening, and totallv defeated Buonapartes army, and taken all his cannon, ba^a^, &c. &c. I ! I
^^ The Duke has done all this; it was the severest and most bloody action ever fought, and the conduct of the British infantry has even surpassed its rormer fame.
'^ The contest began about eleven o'clock, and lasted till nearly the same hour at night, when the British troops were halted, and the Prussians, who had come up, were sent forward in pursuit, and Marshal Blucher has followed them to the Sambre. Our head- quarters will be to-day at Nivdles.
" This victory has saved Europe : it was frequently very doubtful ; but the Duke, by his extraordinary perseverance and example, saved the day. We have already taken upwards of one hundred pieces of cannon, and immense numbers of ammunition-
1 98 BATTLE OF WATBRLOU
wai^i^ifl, and Bliicher has jnst sent in word that hiii road is «> tuflHy choked up with the ardllery, haggage^ &c., and which we have taken* The rout of the French hasbeen complete, and there are several thousand prisoners, and many generals killed and taken of tlie enemy.
** Our loss is, alas I most severe ; it grieves me to the heart to enumerate the names of the heroes wlio have fallen: — Pictoo killed, a great loss I Gordon and Canning, the Dake's aides-de- camp, killed ; Delancey killed ; Lord Uxbridge has lost a leg: Fitzroy Somerset an arm ; and CoL Ponsonby is, I fear, in aesi danger, as both arms are broken ; Barnes is severely woondeo. I cannot go on with this melancholy part of the subject, but most refer you to the Duke's public dispatches, which of cooiae will be more accurate than the rumours that reach me in snch a momeDt of grief and joy, and agitation of spirits.
** Some runaways from the early skirmishea spread, I ksr, some alarm at Brussels ; thank Gtody not one man of the Britisii infantry was found in the rear.
^ Our cavalry made several most brilliant chaises, and the Household Brigade have particularly distinguished themadves.-* Lord Uxbrid(];e^ conduct tnroughout the day was moat animaring; and he unfortunately received a wound nearly at the conclusioD* when the enemy were in foil retreat
" No language can do justice to the extraordinary merit and talents which the Duke displayed during the whole of the actioa Our infantry were mostly formed in squares, and the enemy's cavalry were five or six, or even ten times during the day upon our ground, and round our squares, not one of which they ever })enctrated. I never have seen or heard of a field of battle so covered with dead and wounded. The Duke was all day everr- where in the thickest of it, and his place of refage was in one of the squares the enemy's cavalry chai^ged. At six in the evening the Duke ordered the attack. We had till then been on the de- fensive, and in less than half an hour we routed the first line, and threw them on their second, and then the rout was general The Guards (Adam's, Pack's, and Kempt's brigades) and the Old German Legion behaved nobly. The Duke, I pray God, may be spared to us, as without him we can do nothing.
** Our loss since the 16th must have exceeded 5000. I ^^^^ never seen so many British killed and wounded.
*' The fire of artillery and musketry was terribla
** The Duke intends moving immediately, and to ^^ France. The French officers say that Buonaparte put W"^^^^ the head of the Imperial Guards during the cnai^, and chaigea with thorn up the hill.
*' How truly fortimate I have been in escaping this day-
VXTAJmUBY MOTEUENTS. 199
h.eud my horse killed, and several shots tlirough my clothes. I ivisli you may be able to read this, as I have written hi the greatest haste.
*' Sir W. Delancey is found, and I am informed by an officer w^ho has seen him that there is every probability of his recovery."
jf%€ 3d British Brigade of Infantry, in Sir Henry Clinton^ s Divisiony imder Major^eneral Adam,
Consisting of the 52d, 7l8t, and 95th (3d battalion), were at no time disimited, but firmly resisted the impetuous attacks of the enemy's cavaliy ; the squares affording mutual support for a great part of the day, and contributing much in giving the final seal of victory, by a spirited and admirably executed advance in line, at the close, before which large masses of the enemy's infantry fled in disorder and dismay. The spirit, ability, and coolness of the gal- lant Conunander of the Brigade had infused itself into every officer and man of these excellent corps.
Extract of a Letter from John Lewts, private 95th Rijle Regiment,
to his Friends at Axminster,
''JulyS, 1815.
** I make no doubt but you have heard of the glorious news, and I suppose you thought I was killed or wounded ; but yester- day is the first day we have halted since the beginning of the battle on the 18th of June, and my hands are swelled so with walking day and night, that I scarce can hold my pen. I do not know w^hat the English newspapers say about the battle; but, thank God, I am living, and was an eye-witness to the beginning of the battle — to the ending of it; but my pen cannot explain to you, nor twenty sheets of paper would not contain, what I could say about it ; for, thank God, I had my strength and health more on the days we was engaged than I had in my life : so what I am going to tell you is the real tmtL But I think my brother Tom, as he is such a scholar, if he was to look in the newspapers, he might see what officers was killed and wounded of the 95ln Re^- ment : we have but six companies in the country, and after the battle we were only 255 private ; 2 colonels, 1 major, 15 officers, 11 Serjeants, and 1 bugler, were killed: my first^rank man was wounded by part of a ^ell through his foot, and he dropt as we was advancing; I covered the next man I saw, and had not walked twenty steps before a muj^et-shot came sideways and took his nose clean off; and then I covered another man, which was the
200 BATTLC OF WATBRtXX).
third ; just after that, the man that stood next to me on mr left hand had his left arm shot oiF by a nine-pound shot, just above his elbow, and he turned round and caught liold of me with his right hand, and the blood run all over my trousers ; we was advancing, and he dropt directly. After this, was ordered to extend in front of all our large guns, and small arms was firing at the Britbfa lines in our rear, and I declare to God, with our guns and the French guns firing over our heads, my pen cannot explain any thing like it ; it was not 400 yards from the French lines to onr British lines, and we was about 150 yards in front of ours, so we was about 250 yards from the French, and sometimes not 100
irards ; so I leave you to judge if I had not a narrow esca]je of mv ife. As I just said, we now extended in front; Boney's Imperial Horse Guards, all clothed in armour, made a charge at us ; we saw them coming, and we all closed in and formed a square just as they came witliin ten yards of us, and they found they coidd do no good with us ; they fired with their carbines on us, and came to the right about directly, and at tliat moment the man on my right hand was shot through the body, and the blood run out at nis belly and back like a pig stuck in the throat ; he dn^t on his side ; I spoke to him ; he just said, * Lewis, Fm done I' and died directly. All this time we kept up a constant fire at the Imperial Guanib as they retreated, but they often came to the right-about and fired ; and as I was loading my rifle, one of their shots came and struck my rifle, not two inches above my left hand, as I was ramming down the ball with my right hand, and broke the stock, and bent the barrel in such a manner that I could not get the ball down ; just at that time we extended again, and my nfle was no use to me ; a nine-pound shot came and cut the s^eant of onr company right in two : he was not above three file from me, so I threw down iny rifle and went and took his rifle, as it was not hurt at Uie time. We had lost both our colonels, major, and two eldest captains, and only a young captain to take command of us ; as for Colonel Wade, he went to England about three weeks beibre the battle. Seeing we had lost so many men and all our commanding officers, my heart began to fail, and Honey's Guards made another charge on us ; but we made tiiem retreat as before, and while we was in square the second time, the Duke of Wellington and his stafl* came up to us in all the fire, and saw we had lost all our commanding officers : he, himself, gave the word of command ; the words he said to our regiment were this, — ' 95th, unfix your swords, left face, and extend yourselves once more ; we shall soon have them over the other hill ;' and then he rode away on our right, and how he escaped being shot God only knows, for all that time the shot was flying like hailstones. This was about four o'clock oil the 18th «fune, when Lord Wellington rode away from our regiment; and then' we advanced like Britons, but we could
INKAJ«TKY*MOVBMBNTS. 20 1
not go five steps without walking over dead and wounded ; and Boney's horses of the Imperial Guards, of the men that was killed, >vas running loose about in all directions. If our Tom had been a little behind in the rear, he might have catched horses enough to had a troop or two like Sir John Delapole. Lord Wellington declared to us this morning, that it was the hardest battle that he had ever seen fought in his life ; but now, thank God, all is over, and we are very comfortable in Paris, and hope we shall remain here and have our Christmas dinner in Paris, for London cannot compare to it I hardly know how to spare time to write this, for I want to go out about the city : it is four o'clock, and the let- ters go gS at five ; but I must say a little more on the other side: — We was all very quiet in quarters till the 16th June, when the orders came all at once, at twelve o'clock at night, for every man to be readv in one hour, and march at one o'clock : there we was all m a bustle, and ofi^ we goes, and it was not light, there was no moon: the orders was, that the French was making difieient movements on our left, about twenty- two leagues from us ; mind the days of the month. — I say this day, the 16tn, we marched tOl eleven o'clock that night, which was twenty-two hours' march for us the first day, and we walked thirteen leagues in that time, or thirty-nine English miles ; bemg dark, General Clinton ordered us to he down on the road-side for two hours : so we halted, and every man got half a pint of real mm to keep up his spirits. We set ofi^ agam at ten o'clock in the morning on the 17th June, and marched nine leagues, about four o'clock m the afternoon ; then we were in front of the enemy, but the rain fell so hard that the oldest soldiers there never saw the like in their lifa I really tliought that heaven and earth were coming together. There were a few shots fired on both sides that night, out the guns would not go off. We were on one long high hiH, and the French on another, facing us ; there was a large wood behind us, and Lord Wellington told us to get wood, and make us large fires and dry oturselves, and get our guns fit by day, as the enemy could not hurt us. So we made lai^ fires, and they were about four miles in length ; and when the French saw it, they did the same, and it was one of the most beautiftil sights I ever saw ; and the next morning, as soon as it was light, we went at it ding- dong, and drove all before us, till yesterday, the 7th July, that we entered Paris : but ever since the 15th June, till 7th July, we have only laid down on the ground with our clothes on ; so leave you to judge if I am not fatigued out
" Bliicher rode by the side of Lord Wellington yesterday, when we entered Paris. As we was on the advance after the French army, every town we came to the people was all fled to Paris, and had taken away what they could; the British, Prussian, and Russian army, broke their houses open, and plundered what was most good.
202 BATTLB OP WARBUXX
and set lire to some. Wine was more plentifbl than water, for ail their ceihirs was ftill of wine, the same as Tucker's is full of dder, and that was the first place the soldiers broke open. I have oftai been in celhirs, and what wine we could not drink and carrjr away, broke in the heads of the caaka and let it run about We marclied through towns as large as Exeter, and not a person to be seen, bat all locked up and window-shutters fastened.**
AbMT op OBSEBTATIOlf .
Respecdng this corps it ought to be known, as it was then of the utmost importance, and now words a proof of more premetUiaium and cJnlitv than most writers have allowed to Buonaparte on that memorable occasion, and produces a notable addition to the num- berless instances of admirable foresight of our consummate Cchh- mander, that on the evening of the 17th of June, Buonaparte having determined upon the attack of the position of Waterloo, sent a column of five thousand cavalry to make a ddtaur, and if possible to gain, unseen, either the Eq^en or Braine-^le-Comte roads to Bruasels ; that, during the atta^ of the 18th, they might get in our rear, and surprise Brussels. This able manoaa^Te, which might have been attended with the worst of consequences to our cause, considering the state of the country, the position of our army, and the composition of our good friends who fought by our sides — ^this able manoeuvre was frustrated as follows : — The 6th British (consistin^^ of the 35th, 54th, 59th, and 91st Regiments) and 6th Hanoverian Brigades arrived at Braine-lo-Comte on ^e evening of the 17 th. Part of the above-mentioned cavalry were discovered hovering about, and on the morning of the I8th, at four o'clock, these two brigades received orders to make a rapid move- ment to the rear, and take up a position so as to cover Brussels on the side above-mentioned. Accordingly, a position was taken up about an English mile S«S*W. of QEule, commanding both the Enghien and Braine-le-Comte roads to Brussels, which met nearly at that point So sreat was the importance attached by the Duke of Wellington to this position, that tnough the brigades near it were several times hard pressed, he would not allow the two brigades to quit that position during the day. The cavalry, although they endeavoured to get to Bruasels by the Halle road, did not attack at that point ; but they were of no use to Buonaparte on the IStk The position of the two brigades above mentioned may be traced (on a good mi^) running from the forest of Soignies, ahnost parallel to a small rivulet which passes through a straggling village o£ the name of Tubize, and ought to be shown on we extreme right of our lines in the plan of Waterloo. These brigades, joined by the 4th British brigaide, consisting of the 14th, 23d, and 51st Regiments,
N
^/ '^^
:' .J i 1
ANECDOTES, TRAITS, ETC. 203
commenced the pursuit of the enemy very early on the morning of the 19th, and continued forming the right of the line (taking Cambray by assault), on the route to Paris, before which they arrived on the 30th of June.
The following miscellaneous Anecdotes, Tkaits, &c of the Battle, or of Persona connected wUJi Hie Operations, are mostly of little importance in themselves, yet in some cases they wiU tend to eklcidatey and increase the detail, of the great work then going forward*
28th Regiment.
On the 16th June, Lieut Irwin, of the 28th Regiment, was in front of the square fonned by the 28th Regiment at Quatre Bras, skirmishing with his company. The Lancers were in small bodies, concealed m the standing com, which was extremely high, so that they could scarcely be seen on horseback. He receiv^ a wound in his 1^ ; at the same moment the Cuirassiers advanced to charge the square of the 28th Regiment, and the Lancers also advanced upon the otlier flank; another body of cavalry also advanced upon the third face of the square. The regiment re- mained perfectly Arm and steady, the faces firing vollevs as the cavalry approached. Only one of these bodies of cavalry came to the charge; the others faced about when within five or six yards of the square. Those that did charge were repulsed im- mediately: but the square remained steady, although not in a condition to pursue them, for they would not have known to which (ace to go, as the attack was on three sides.* Col. Sir C. Philip Belson exerted himself for his men to be steady, and not a man to stir until ordered : his horse was wounded in two places. The artillery was playing on the square for above an hour; and as it made openings by wounding or killing men, the regiment was very alert in closing in, for the Lancers were very active, and waiting in the standing com to penetrate into these openings. Lieut Lrwin, when wounded, was obliged to crawl into the square upon his hands and knees, to avoid being charged over by the Lancers. One of the officers (Capt L) was standing upon a sort of steep stony bank, when a party of French were rapidlv advancing towarcls him : with a great presence of mind he rolled a large loose piece of stone down upon them, which had the effect of divertmg their attention firom him. After standing the fire of artillery, and repeated attacks of Cuirassiers and Lancers, for above an hour and a half, the 28th Regiment was
• A subject for one of the etchings to illustrate tliis work, drawn by Capt. Jones.
204 BATTLB OP WATSBLOa
80 much redncedy that Major-geoeral Sir J. Kempt was obliged to send the Royals to join them, their numbers were so miich diminished.
Another general attack was now made opon the square, and Sir J. Kempt took reiiige in the square. Tne enemy were n>- pulsed as bravely as before; and Major-general Sir Thomas ricton came up and ordered Sir Philip B^son to advance the square^ for the enemy were giving way. Three cheers were then given, and Gen. Picton and the souare advanced in quick time. The regiment deployed in double-quick time upcn the march y as regularly as at a field-day , advanced to the charge, and drove the enemy over the hedge-row and adjoining road, and killed great numbers of them.
On the 1 8th of June, when the general attack of stinong columns was made upon Sir Thomas Picton's corps, it waited in positi<Mi, and at length reached across the road, the Greys ana Innis- kiliings coming up to their support A regimental colour be- longing to the 25th French R^;iment was uien seized upon by private Fry of the 28th Regiment, and the whole were repulsed; the cavalry pursued and took the eagles. Lieut Deares be- haved in the bravest manner, advancing to the chai^ with his companv ; but when the cavalry continued the pursuit, that officer was led on in the moment of enthusiasm, ana accompacied the cavalry on foot, attackii^ sword in hand every Frenchman that came in his wsy. He had already cut down two and wounded three others, wnen, being overpowered by a body of infantr)', he was seized and made prisoner. In a short time he was stripped of all his appointments, his coat, and shoes: nothing was left him but his shirt and pantaloons, and they were nearly torn off. In this state he made nis escape to his raiment during the n^ht
The artillery attached to Major^neral Sir J. Kempt's (late Picton's^ division, were most distinguished upon this occasion, although at one time the men were entirely routed from their battery. CoL Sir Philip Belson, of the 28th Regiment, who commanded the brigade that was Sir James Kempt's, had his horse shot under hun, when he was leading up tne 32d Re- giment to the support of this battery of artdlery. Major- general Sir J. Lambert brought up his brigade to this part of the line, and contributed to the success of the day. Sir Denis Pack's brigade was to the left; of Sir Philip's Belson's; that officer had two horses shot when he was with the 28th Regiment, who were posted along La Haye Sainte, where the French made the most desperate attacks during the day. Capt Kelly, of the 28th Regiment, seized the Frenchman who carried the colour of the 25th Regiment, and private Fry coming up to his assistance, they carried it off, and Fry shot him dead.
ANECDOTES, TRAITS, ETC. 205
^ Qtiis talia fando teroperet a gavdiii f "
At the battle on the 16th of Jane, a brave Major of the 42d Highlanders, preferring to fight on foot in front of his men, had given his horse to Kola to a little drummer-boy of the regiment. After some severe fighting with the French Horse Cuirassiers and Lancers, and after receiving several severe wounds, he fell from loss of blood near a brave private, Donald Mackintosh, of bis corps, who was mortally wounaed at the same instant The little drummer-lad had len the horse to assist poor Donald : a Liancer seeing the horse, thought him a fair prize, and made a dash at him. This did not escape the watchful and keen eye of the dying Highlander, who, with all the provident spirit of his country ** mbng strong even in death," groaned out, " Hoot man, ye manna tak that beast, 't belangs to oor Captain here." The Lancer, understanding little of his brogue, and respecting less his writhing gestures, seized on the horsa Donald loaded his musket once more, shot him dead I and the next moment fell back, and expired content An officer of the Cuirassiers, at this time ob- serving our poor Major still bestirring himself, rode up, and stooping frt>m his charger, aimed to dispatch him with his sword ; our resolute Major seized his W, and still grappled with him so stoutly, that he pulled him off his horse upon him. Another Lancer, observing this struggle, galloped up, and, to relieve his officer, attempted to spear the Major, who, by a sudden Jerk and desperate exertion, placed the Frenchman, in the nick of the necessity, in his arms before him, who received the mortal thrust below ms cuirass, and in this condition continued lyingupon him, with his sword in his hand, for near ten minutes. The Major, unconscious that he had received a death-wound, expected all this time to receive his own at his hand. At last the French officer raised himself, ran or staggered a few yards, and then fell to struggle or to rise no more. Another private of his regiment now came up, and asked his Major what ne could do to assist him ? *' Nothing, my good friend, but load your piece and finish me." — *'But your eye still looks lively," said the poor fellow ; "if I could move you to the 92d, fi^htii^ hard by, 1 think you would yet do well. With the aid ot a fellow-soldier, he was moved as the man proposed, and soon seen by an intimate friend. Colonel Cameron, commanding the 92d, who instantly ordered him every succour possible. A blanket and four men carried him a little in the rear. While they were raising him. Colonel Cameron ex- claimed, " God bless you ; I must be off — the devils (meaning the Lancers) are at us again : I must stand up to them.'' He did so, and in a few minutes, stretched dead on the bed of honour, finished his mortal career of glory in the bold defence oi' his country. It is a pleasure to add, diat the brave Major is still alive.
206 B4nu or waxssuwl
wearing the honounUe decoratkiii and marks of titieen sevens wounds received in this uneaoal and arduous amflicty and lame too, from a severe wound received at the storming of Radajnau
A Highland soldier of the 92dy who had been wounded in two places at Quatre Bras, was lyinc on the fayemesst^ under the shade of a house, in the streets of Antwerp, pad^itlj waitii^ till he could be attended to. An English gentleman spcdLe to ham, and praised his gallant conduct and that of his fellow-soldim^ ** Hoot, maun T said the Scotchman; ^^ what did we gang theane to do, but to fight? what for wad ye mak sic a din about the like o'that?"
** The peasant who led us over tlie field of battle," says Mr. Southey, in the notes to his '' Pilmmage,'* ** resided at lAoat St Jean. Mont St Jean was everyuiing to him ; and his frequent exclamations of admirati<Mi for the courage of the Hi^ilanders in particular, and indeed of the whole armj, always ended with a reference to his own dwelling-house : ' If they had not fought so well, 0 mon Dieu ! Mont St Jean would have been burnt* "
^ People, qn'Tuie receote iTraise Egwm jnaqu'i lOcean, Hononms Tantiqae sagesse Dans lea desceDdant d'Ossian ; A 8« Terta pers^T^natei Pr^ de cette roche aanglante, Rendons noire hommage k genoax ; Qa'on y Use : * SnfoMi d'une plage Que NOMf cHbiut dend-9ativage^ H(la$ ! iu valaiM muux que notu.**
These are the efiusions of a foreign poet, in contradistinction to his country's popular opinion of the Highlanders, in« return for the experience of tneir real character, which was truly exemplaiy, not only for their good manners, their bravery, and prodiganly of their blood, on the 16th and 18di of June, but for tfadr humanity towards the very enemy who had lately wished only to destroy them. The ^* A^ercure de France," in recording homage to the virtues of the Highlanders, endeavours to find an attributable cause for the prevalence of these estimable qualities among them, determine that it is formed in the elementajry principles of their education, which they strongly recommend to the consideration of those whose province it is to improve the morals of the state.
On the 16th, as the regiments came up, the enemy instantly assailed them with cavalry and artillery, preventing their forma- tion in line or square ; among these were the 69th, who suffered very much ; in their discomfiture, they had no other resource than to join the regiment they could first reach* As on these occasions the first object of attack being the commanding officers. Colonel Muttlebury was closely pursued by two Lancers towards two
ANECDOTES, TRAITS^ ETC. ' 207
Hanoyerian guns, the only artilleiy then present : the Colonel, by a sudden jerk of his horse, let the Lancers pass him; at that moment some grape-shot from the Hanoverian guns laid his pur- suers on the ground, and the gallant officer escaped unhurt
A Belgian peasant, who mhabited a comer house, ate his dinner in peace at twelve o'clock on the 16th, and was driven out by the balls flvii^ about his ears at four ^e same day. This man described that part of the action which took place in his sight with great animation. He was particularly impressed by the rage — the absolute fury, which the French displayed ; they cursed the English while they were fighting, and ciurscd the precision with which the English grape-shot was fired ; " which," said the man, ^' was neither too high nor too low, but struck right in the middle."
Captain Thoyts, of the Horse Quards Blue, in the first charge of his regiment on the 18th, had a strong contest with a French officer, and succeeded in wresting an ea^e from the hands of the enemy: on his return towards the line his horse was unfortu- nately shot, when, not being able to make way, and perceiving a column of cavalry that must inevitably come up with him, he threw his prize into the hands of a dragoon who was passing ; in two minutes after the column came up, and took him prisoner, he remained in their hands two days^ when he returned on his parole to the English army.
Mr. W , an officer of the 2d Life Guards, was amon^t
tlie number of missing after the battle. More than three wedks passed away without oringing any tidings of him, and he was supposed to be dead ; but, to the astoni£ment of everybody, he walked one day into Brussels in a most deplorable condition. His beard, the growth of a month, swept his breast: his face was burnt a bright mahogany colour ; he had never been washed, and he was clothed in the most miserable rags. He had been taken prisoner by the French, and had been hurried away with them in their flight For three or four days they had compelled him to accompany them, when he had fortunately made his escape in some lonely part of Franoe, he did not know where ; and bad literally begged his way back to Brussels.
During the charge made by the Royal Horse Guards Blue against the French Cuirassiers on the 18th, Lieut Tathwell of that regiment rushed on the eagle-bearer, and in a most gallant style tore the eagle from his grasp, and was bearing it away in triumph, when, unfortunately, his horse received a snot, and his rider, in consequence, fell into the hands of the enemy; from whom, however, he effected his escape, and rejoined liis corps the following morning.
An officer of the Inniskilling Dragoons, who had fallen from his horse in consequence of a severe wound, found himself, on
206 BATTLI OF WATIRLOa
recovering his senses, placed between the wheels of a Frencb gun which was blazing away over his head.
Lieut-col. Uairymple, of the 15th HussarSy had three horses killed under him ; but towards tlie close of the 18th had his foot and ankle carried off by a cannon-balL
War Hobses.
During the battle of Waterloo, some of the horses, as ther lav on the ground, liaving recovered from the first agony of theff wounds, fell to eating the grass about them ; thus surronndiog themselves with a circle of bare ground, the limited extent of wtucb showed their weakness : others of these interesting: animals, to whom man so strongly attaches himself, were observed quietly grazing in the middle of th^ field, between the two hostile lines, Uieir riders having been shot off their backs, and the baUs that flew over their heads, and the roaring behind and before and about them, caused no respite of the usual instincts of their nature. When a charge of cavalry went past, near to any of the stray horses already mentioned, the trained animals would set ofi^ form themselves in the rear of their mounted companions, and though without riders, gallop strenuously along wdth the rest, not stoppiii^ or flincliing when the £Eital shock with the enemy took place. The wonderhil exertion of these noble and generous animals, from the state of the ground, can be imagined when it is stated, that so long as a month after the battle the depth of the holes in which their feet had sunk was in many places from twelve to eighteen inches, which was ascertained by a friend of the Ekiitor's.
General Maitland, with the 1st R^ment of Guards, was directed by the Duke of Wellington to drive the enemy from a strong position in a wood, being occupied by a very superior force. The General, conceiving he should find more (ufiicnity in executing his orders by fighting than huzzaing them out, gave orders for the men's nq:)id advance, huzzaing with their caps in hand. The enemy, not understanding what all this could mean, were panic-struck, and left the English in possession of what his Grace thought of sufficient consequence to be forced. The gal- lantry and steadiness of this ruse de guerre does equal crec&t to the officer who su^ested, and the intrepidity of the men who executed it.
Ck>Ionel Colquitt, of the Guards, having taken refuge in a square, took up a shell that had just fallen witliin it, and with the utmost sangfroid threw it over the men's heads, down a kind of bank ; by which the effect of the explosion was saved.
ANECDOTES, TRAITS, ETC. 209
jRuse de Guerre. — A commanding officer of the Cuirassiers lowered his sword to General Halket Several officers cried out, ** They surrender P — ^* Be firm and fire 1" was the instantaneous reply of the G^ieral, who immediately saw the trick. The volley sent the Colonel and his Cuirassiers, as usual, to the right-about, with a laugh of derision fix»m the men he had meant first to deceive, and then to cut to pieces.
A captain of the Light Infantry of the 1st r^gimCTit of Gnards being shot near to a private of me name of William Napier, a native of Longtown, a French soldier rode up to the captain with the intention of plundering him, when Napier interfenng to save his officer's property, the Frenchman snapped his pistol at him, which missed fire ; upon which Napier, tummg quickly round, shot hini» Napier then rined the officer's pockets, and ha^'ing possessed himself of his watch, money, and what other property he had about him, with the true spirit of a British soldier went and delivered them up to the commanding officer ; which good conduct did not fail making a due impression upon him.
The attack upon La Haye Sainte, whose entrance unfortunately lay in the very fine of the enemy's guns, by which the supply of ammunition was prevented, began about noon by the enemy's battering the walls with artillery, also attacking several times with two massy colimuis, and with such gallantry, that they came directly against the garden wall, and laid hold of the rifles as they appeared through the apertures which had been made for the pur- pose. They were beaten off several times ; but a more determmed and stronger assault succeeded, and at a moment when our cannon were not playing in the rear of this position ; and at this time they were haroly heard to fire irom a scarcity of ammunition. But nothing could surpass the steadiness of officers and men on this trying occasion. Among the many signal acts of heroism, we cannot omit to record Lieutenant Moreau, of the 8th battalion King's German Legion, who with the greatest address and coolness advanced with the colours in order to animate the men to secure the passage of a small ravine, which the enemy were wishing to possess themselves of; he was, however, pierced with three shots, out we are happy to add that he recoverea from his wounds.
The Duke of Wellington on some occasion, speaking of the battle of Waterloo, dignified it by terming it a battle of giants, from the incessant and loud roar of the united artillery.
CoL Hon. F. C. Ponsonby, in gallantly heading the first charge of the I2th Dragoons, about eleven on the 18th, was disabled successively in both arms by sabre wounds. The reins dropped from one hand, and his sword from the other. While in this situation he was Imocked off his horse, by a violent blow on the head, which stunned him. He then lay for some time on the ground in a state of insensibility. On recovering his senses, he
p
210 BATTtB OF WATBBLOa
found himself with his face to the stovaaA, literally biting the dust Raising himself to look about nim, he was observed hj a French Lancer, who exclaimed : " Ah ! brigand ; tu n'es ms mort done 1" and, thrusting his lance twice through his body, Wft him for deacL Tlie weapon having passed through his lux^, he was immediately deprived of speech; so that, on two foreign soldiers coming in succession to plunder him, he could only make a feint noise, to prove that he was still alive. They, however,
Eursued their objei*t, and took even his cigars, and left him to his ite. A French officer of Tirailleurs with his men halting where he lay, stooped down, and addressed him feelingly on the state of his wounds. The Colonel expressing a wish in the best manner he could to be removed to the rear, said he could not then, but that he should soon be back, when he would assist him, as the Duke of Wellington was dead, and that six of the English batta- lions had surrendered. The Colonel complaining of thirst, he pot a bottle of brandy to his mouth : to this act of humanity he attri- butes his strength to go through his sufferings. A Tirailleor, however, made a breastwork of his body, and fired over him several times, eaily speaking to him all uie while. ABer some time, he said he would be very glad to find they (the French) were goin^ to retreat The advance of the Prussian cavaby was distinctly neard and seen by the Colonel, but without the power of avoiding them ; he was it)de over by two squadrons in full trot, and found himself repeatedly tossed from the ground. In this state he remained, with seven severe wounds, am suffering gxBat agony, particularly from thirst, tall late in ihe evening, when a private soldier of the 40th British Raiment came up to him. By this time he had sufficiently recovered his voice to entreat the soldier to remain with him till the morning, being apprehensive that if he once left him he would not be able to &id him out again in the dark. The man begged leave to l6ok out for a sword : " And then, your honou^ said he, *' I '11 engage the devil himself won't come near you." He soon racked up a French sabre, and then sat quietly down by the Colonel till daylight, when he went in search of some men of the 12 th Dragoons, who hastened to carry their gallant Commander to a place of greater comfort and security.*
The helpless wounded on the left of the British line have de- scribed the distant fire of the Prussians, with their every moment nearer approach, and then uniting, and increased with tne general clash of the British and French artillery, as having the grandest, most sublime, and solemn effect ; and beyond any adequate de- scription, from the want of a parity of ideas.
* The situation of this officer is made the subject of one of the sketches to illustrate this work.
t-^J
ANECJXymSf TRAITSj ETC. 21 1
DcKR OF Wbllinqton/
On TharBday the Idth June, about five o'clock, the Prince of Orange arrived at Brussels, and was the first to inibrm the Duke of Wellington of the enemy's movement At the moment of his Royal Hi^hness's arrival, the Duke was sittingafter dinner with Sir T. Picton and other officers. Upon the Duke's seeing the Prince ride into the court-yard, he rose, and went to give him the meeting; and, afl;er a few minutes' conversation, returned and finished his glass of wine, observing that ^' the French had now fired a shot." A short while after, ueneral Muffling, the Prussian General attached to the British army, came into me room, with evident marks of having proceeded hastily, when a chair was reached, and he was placed next to his (jrace, with whom he entered into close conversation, and delivered some official dis- patches. The Duke occasionally addressed himself to Sir T. I^icton. The movements of the enemy created no surprise, all was quiet and regular, the decisive moment for action was not yet
come.t
The second courier arrived £rom Bliicher before twelve o'clock on the ni^t of the 15th, and the dispatches were delivered to the Duke of Wellington in ^e ball-room of the Duchess of Richmond. While he was reading them, he seemed to be completely absorbed by thdr contents ; and after he had finished, for some minutes he remained in the same attitude of deep reflection, totally abstracted firom every surrounding object, while his countenance was expres- sive of fixed and intense thought He was heard to say to himself — ** Marshal Bliicher thinks" — "It is Marshal Bliicher's opi- nion,"— and after remaining thus abstracted a few minutes, and having apparently formed his decision, he gave his usual clear and concise oixlers to one of his staff-officers, who instantly left the room, and was again as gay and animated as ever: ne stayed supper, and then went home.}
The English general having agreed to assist Prince Bliicher to the utmost, commanded his army upon Nivelles and Quatre Bras ; but perceiving it could not obtain the point before four o'clock, repaired in person to the Field-marshal, whom he found in the wmdmill between Ligny and Bry, just as the enemy developed his mode of attack.
The enemy's attention appearing to be entirely against Prince Bliicher, the question was — 'how the Duke could most efiectualiy support him. He offered to force what the enemy had opposed to
* Anecdotes and tndts of this illustrious conunander are here introduced, in continuation of those in the Circumstantial Details.
t This, it may be depended upon, was the first Gommxudc9Jdori,'^Editor, I This is also to be depended upon.— •^^^ttor.
212 BATTU or WAIULOa
him at Frasnes, and to march apon Gosseliefl. This moyement, however decisive its result must have been, it was not likdy that the Duke should be able to effect in the course of the day, nu Prince Bltichery it was dreaded, might run the risk of being crushed by Buonaparte's whole force, before the flanking more ment could be accomplished. It was therefore deemed more expedient, that the Duke should direct his arm j by the high-rotd of Quatre Bras, to support the Prince, ^ui an intenti(m of executing this measure, the Duke of Wellington a^iin proceeded to Quatre Bras about three, where an action took ]^ace.
The Duke of Wellington brought more troops about eight o'clock in the evening, aiKi as they graduaUy came up into action repulsed the enemy, on which they retirea to their position at Frasnes.
During the battle,* Prince Blgcher transmitted and received firesh reports from hour to hour. The last reached the Duke of Wellington about half-past eight o'clock, stating the Prince to be still at the windmill between Ligny and Bry, and in hopes of maintaining the viUage of Ligny, notwithstanding the enemy's superiority and exertion.
The Duke of Wellington, on his part, was obliged to defer the attack until the next morning, as the right wing under Lord Hill, together with the cavalry, only arrivrf in the night Ammge- ments were made accordingly, and all the troops actually aid arrive in the night and on the following morning.
On the change of position on the 17th, the noble Duke most completely disguised his intention from the enemy for a lon^ time, by wheehng his troops round a wood, a part of which oouid onij be seen by the French, thus giving to them the idea of the arrival of large bodies of cavalry, &c. He also caused dismounted cavaby and horse artillery to take up ground on the heights, at a wide distance. In the mean time, his troops were making a most orderly retreat to their position.
About two o'clock, the Duke of Wellington told the D. of R., who was in the field with him tmtil near four o'clock, to go to Picton's line, and he would see the Prussians in advance of a wood (the wood of Paris). There was Blucher himself, hat he did not iiirther advance at this time. Upon his return, he told the Duke he had seen them. — " Ah ! they will all be up bjr and by." At another time, just after the third attack upon Hoo^o- mont, it was observed to the Duke, that the com in a particular direction was in great motion, there was another attack going to be made. The Duke took out his glass, and only said, " That's
* In a cavaliy attack. Prince Bliicher had his hone killed under him. The Field- marshal, in danger of heing taken prisoner, was sared by his aide-de-«aiDpi Lieut. -col. Count NosUa. This forms a nuhject of one of the sketches by OsptAUi Jones.
AinBCDOTES, TRAITS, ETC 213
nothing; there is not enough of them; jou will find they will soon be at something on the left." It turned out to be the case in a few minutes after.
In a severe part of tho contest, as some of the cavalry were preparing to charge the artillery, the Duke was asked what should be done f—^* Bring the horses away, and never mind the guns," 'was his Grrace's answer. The enemy quickly after drove the men firom their guns, but were in their turn charged by the English cavaliy, when the Duke said : '^ Now take to your guns again, and fire away at them." The Duke's commands were obeyed ; a com- pletely destructive fire was the efiect, into large masses of the enemy.
The Duke of Wellington, in riding up to a regiment which was hard pressed, called to them — ^^ Soldiers, we must never be beat; what will they say in England?" How this appeal was answered, it is needless to recapitulate.
Some ofiicers expressed some alarm to the noble Duke, wishing the Prussians had come up. — ^^ The roads are heavy," replied the General; ^'they cannot be here before two or three o'clock, but my brave countrymen will keep double the enemy's force employed until then." Upon our soldiers seeming impatient to follow their enemy, whom they had so repeatedly oriven oS — " Not yet, my brave fellows," said the Duke : ^' be urm a little longer ; you shall have at them by and by."
Several remonstrances from general officers were sent in to the Duke of WelUngton to retreat His question was, " Will they stand ?"— « Till they perish," was the reply. « Then I wUl stand with them to the last man."
Mr. Whitbread, ui the House of Commons, termed the con* fidence of Wellington and his troops sublime ; and in particular, alluding to the General throwing himself into the squares of in* fantry, said that, had this taken place in the days of Athens or oE Rome, it would not have failed of reaching through every suc- ceeding age.
It 18 remarkable that the Conqueror of Waterloo, whose mili- tary virtues so much resemble those of Godfrey of Bouillon (an iUu8iriou$ chieftain during the Crusades)^ possesses also a part of his domains. The endowment of his principality of Waterloo is wholly composed of lands situated in the ancient Duchv of Lothier, or Lower Lorraine, which Godfrey possessed ; and what is more, the wood of Bossu, which is a part of his dotation, is on the terri- tory of Baisy itself, the patrimonial and natal estate of the Belgic hero, in which is situatea also the field of battle at Les Quatre Bras. The last gun fired was a French howitzer, which was turned upon the retreating army, and was discharged by Captain Camp- bell, aide-de-camp to General Adam, who thus had the honour of concluding the battle of Waterloo.
2 14 BATVu or WAttawo.
IBth June.— Butcher's ActivUjf.
At daj-break on the ISth, the 4th Pnusiin corps, that had not been engaged at Ligny, began to move from Dion^e-Monty hj Wavre, npon Chapelle St Lambert But varioas obstacles, in particolar a fire that had broken oat in Wavre, and raged wiik snch violence as to prevent marching thiongh the principal sCzeet, did not allow the head of the column to arrive before eleven.
In an interval of firing, about two o'clock, the French had perceived at the distance of the Wood of Paris, in the rear of Frichermont, some troops debouching, and conceived them to be the advanced guard of Grouchy. The report quickly spread through the whole army, and was communicated bv Colonel Labedoyere to the left wing, which in vain exhausted itsen against Gomont But, far from thence. Marshal Orouchy was busily employed at Wavre with three Prussian corps. It was not long^before their error was known. They were two regiments of J^russian Dragoons, escorting their intrepid Blucher. This respected warrior, im- patient of waitixig the arrival of his corps upon the march, had already advancea to reconnoitre the groimd.
Retreat — Gertoppe — and General Duhetme.^
In Genappe there was a complete pUe-mUey the retreating enemy were cut down like sheep. In Gr^iappe, where 800 lay on the spot, fell General Duhesme, the commander of the rear-guard, by the hands of a Brunswicker : — ** The Duke fell yesterday, and you shall also bite the dust" He lay severely wounded, and was taken to a small village. The Prussians, in thdr advance, finding a French General was there, entered the room of the (j^oeral and sabred him. His servant was witness to his master's fate, dis- guised as a peasant This anecdote serves to illustrate the degree of asperity with which the Prussians regarded their enemy. Had not some of our Allies been a little desirous for plunder, it is pro- bable a few less would have returned to have told their tale of woe.
The retreat, or rather complete defeat of the French, reminds us of the disastrous discomfiture of the Israelites, whom the French seem to resemble in their infidelity, as well as their disasters :
" And apon them that are left alive of yon, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies ; and the soand of a shaken leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as fleeing from a sword ( and they shaft lall wiMn none pnrsueth." — Xmf. zzii. 8S.
At the conclusion of the battle there was not a drop of water to be had upon the field, and the poor wounded men were dread- fully tormented with thirst. Fatigued as our ofiicers must have
* This subject is taken from one of the etchings hy Captain Jonea.
ASBGD0TB8, IBAITB^ EXa 215
l[>een ipnth the incessant toil of this glorious day, numbers of those -who ^wrere wounded mounted their horses, galloped to Waterloo, a distance of at least two miles, and returned to the field with as many canteens as they could carry Ml of water for the relief of the ^w^ounded.
^^ The French make a great clamour in action — the English shout — horses imwilling to go to battle, hanging down their heads imtil spurred on ; but when over, they seem to like it"
The description in " Count Fathom" is stated by several of the \infortunate wounded, who lay on the ground helpless, and at the mercy of every one, to be a true picture of the field after the hattle.
At the sign of the King of Spain, at Genappe, Wellington had his head-quarters on the 17th; Buonaparte on the 18th; and Blucher on the 19th.
Advices from Hanover state, that the Court-Martial ordered to inquire into the conduct of Colonel Hake, formerly commanding the Cumberland Hussars, as well as of the reG:iment accused m having failed in its duty in leaving the field of battle at Waterloo on the 18 th of June, has condemned Colonel Hake to be cashiered and d^raded ; but acouitted the remment of the charge of having disordered the ranks ot the army. Major Mellzing, the second in conunand, is severely reprimanded for not haviog opposed the retreat of his corps.
Lieut.-Gen. Lobd Hnx. General Order after the Battle of Waterloo*
2d Corps, "INiveUes, June 20, 1815.
Lieut-Gen. Lord Hill has great satbfaction in congratulating the troops in their brilliant success attending their gallant exer- tions in the action with the enemy on the ISui inst The highly- distinguished conduct of the 2d Division, and Colonel Mitchell's brigade of the 4th Division, who had the good fortune to be emjdoyed in the memorable action, merit his lordship's highest approbation. And he begs, that Lieut-general Sir Henry Clmton, commanding 2d Division ; Colonel Oold, conunauding Koyal Ar- tillery of the 2d corps ; Maj.-gen. Adams, Colonel Dujuat, Mitchell, and Halket, commanding brigades ; Major Sympher, commanding a troop of Horse Artillery, King's German Legion; Captain Napier (to whose lot it fell to command the 9-pounder brigade of the 2d Division on the death of Captain Bolton), will accept his best thanks for their exemplary conduct, and they will be pleased to convey his sentiments to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, under their respective conunands.
216 BATtUB OP WATKBLOa
^ AmongBt the deaths, his Lordship has severely to laraeot that of Ldeat-^ Currie, Am. Adj.-geiL, and Captain Bolton, Royal Artillery ; and he hopes that the woonds received by Maj.-geiL Adams, Colonel Dafdat, Sir H. Ellis, and the other officers who were wounded, will not long deprive him of their services.
(Signed) « W. Hnx,
Assis. Adj.-^en. 2d Corps.**
Communicated by JFrench Ojfficers.
After the battle of Ligny, Buonaparte, intending to lead his army asainst the English, arrived at the fiarm of CaiUou, and fixed his heaid-quarters there on the 17 th of June, at nine*o'clock in the evening. The rain fell in torrents. The fSarm-house was aban- doned Dv the farmer, named Boucqueau, an old man of eighty, who haa retired to Planchenoit It is situated on the high road from Charleroi to Brussels, It is half a league from the ch&tean of Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, and a quarter of a league from La Belle Alliance and Planchenoit Supper was hastOy served up, in part of the utensils of the farmer that remained. Buonaparte slept in the first chamber of this house : a bed was put up for him m the middle of this room, with blue silk hangings and gold fringe. His brother Jerome, the Duke of Bassano, and several G^erals, lodged in the other chambers. All the adjaoent buildings, gardens, meadows, and enclosures, were crowded with military ara horses. On the 18th, from a very early hour in the morning, there were several visits and confisrences. About nine o'clocky a breakfiut was set before Buonaparte in his own plate. Before he left the £Euin to go forward, he aesired the fiirmer to be sent for. The latter, who is the proprietor of the farm, found, when he came, all his effects broken or piUaged. He desired to speak to Napoleon, who was at a small distance reconnoitring the enemy's army : af^r much entreaty he was permitted to approach him; he found him surrounded by his stm, dressed in a grey frock, and wearing a two-cornered hat {chapeau h dsux comes\ Napoleon asked him why he had gone away — whence he came — if Irlanchenoit was fiur off: — he pitied him with an appearance of interest, and ended by ordering a safeguard to be given, which availed him nothing.
The eminence on which Buonaparte was while he gave his orders during the battle, is part of the territory of Planchoooit ; is called the Field of Trimotio, and is the property of several individuals: it is not hx from the &rm of Caillou. Buonaparte returned to this house for a moment during the battle. After he had lost it, endeavouring to avoid the crowd in the great road, he
T
i
FRENCH OFinCBBS' ANECDOTES, TKAITS, ETC. 217
threvr himself into the orchard opposite this farm-house, to get the start of the mass of fomtives : a part of these being closely pursued, sought reftme in the building of the farm : thej were set on fire, and severalof them reduced to ashes. These details come from the farmer himself.
General Vandamme haying been obliged to have Wavre evacnated, after being informed of the loss of the battle of l^aterloo, remained constantly with the rear-guard ; it was under these circumstances that he was severely wounded in the belly, by a ball ; notwithstanding his pain and loss of blood, he still remainea on horseback. When ne reached the village where the army had jast halted, he dismounted from his horse; his breeches were full of blood. A surgeon offered to dress his wound : *^ Let me atone," said he ; ''I have something else to do." He immediately began to examine the map, and to write his orders. The surgeon re- marked to him, that he was losing much blood, and uat in a quarter of an hour he might not even be able to continue his march, if he would not suffer himself to be dressed, and that he would do his duty without disturbing him. *^ Well, then," replied he, *' on that condition only."
An orderly officer of Napoleon's, engaged in a charge of cavalry against an English square, before the village of Melles. The square was broken ; an English officer was thrown down and severeW^ wounded. He makes the sign of distress of a BROTHER MASONy at the moment when the orderly officer was passing by him, who gives him his hand, and orders one of his horsemen to take the greatest care of him. The English officer was imme- diately raised, and taken care of, at the particular recommendation of this French officer.
As much as the English distinguished themselves by their hu- manity, so much in the reverse was the conduct of the Prussians, who betrayed a determined rancour against the French, during this short campaign of 1815 I
The Emperor, seeing the rout of the French army, and the impossibility of resisting the continually increasing forces of the enemy, arrived at eight o'clock in the evening, atteimed by a single officer, at the square formed by the 1st Regiment of the Guard. It was the last regiment which still kept a good countenance, and the Emperor hoped by its means to preserve and establish an order of retreat ** Grenadiers," said he, ** we are going to re- unite the army." It was near nine o'clock : — the Emperor was constantly in the square. The regiment was always surrounded by the light cavalry, who dare not approach : at length, on arriving at a large rivulet, the r^ment was obliged to derange the order of its square in order to surmount this obstacle. The night, and a charjee of cavalry made at the moment, at last threw the r^ment into disorder ; and in spite of the most vigorous resistance, and the
218 BATTLB or wiLmuxx
coodnci and ooorage of Napoleon, the reguoent wis flepanted and obliged to retreat in the greatest diflorder. The Ekiipecor iieniaiiied a part of the night with acompany of these faraTemen, and arrived in the morning at CharleroL
At the moment when the ront of the French army commenced, two ffrenadiers of the Gnard, seeing the sreat pan of artillery abandoned^ with tears in their eyes onittea the ranks, and bade adiea to their comrades, crying — ** We conhl not die in Egyi^t, or at Marengo, we most perish here;" they threw themselves upon one cannon, the park being already in the hands of the enemy : these nnhappy mnadiers were sabred*
A cdnmn <h prisoners passed on the 17th before the Emperor, who would not sofier the officers to be deprived of their swords. One of these <^cers comdaining of the bad weather, expressed his surprise at seeing the Emperor covered with mod. The Em- peror, nearing what he said, replied — ** You must not wonder at that; I have resumed my old trade of a soldier."
Of seven officers sent by the Emperor to Marshal Grouchy, to give him orders to join the right of the French army, the four first went over to the enemy, the two next were taken prisoners, the seventh and last, not having left the Emperor^ quarters till four o'clock, did not reach Marshal Grouchy till half-^past seven. The Marshal, hearing the sound of the camion become more distant, and apparently withdrawn in the direction of CharlGrm, had no longer any doubt but that the French army had lost the battle.
It was General Drouet (Count d'Erlon) who had solicited the Emperor to employ General Bourmont, and, assuring Napoleon of the fidelity of that General, he said, *^ Sire, I answer for him with my head.
On the 16th, in the morning. General Drouet was greatly at a loss how he should appear before the Emperor, after me conduct of Greneral Bourmont, who had just gone over to the enemy, car- rying with him all the plans, notices, and memoirs relative to the opemng of this campaign, which he had in his care as Chief of the StafiT of Marshal Ney.
The Emperor taking Greneral Droaet bv the head, in his two hands, and shaking it, smiling, said, *^ Well, my dear Greneral, this head belongs to me." '^ xes. Sire!" replied the Greneral, ^'that base De Bourmont has deceived me; he has betrayed your Majesty.''
Extract of a Letter fivm an Officer in the C&mmieeariat
^* We have picked up several wounded. I cannot omit a cir- cumstance that occurred yesterday : while on the field among the wounded, we discovered a French soldier, most dreadfully cut
M
LB1TBB8 FBOU ST. HELBNA." 219
doi^ra the fiioe, and one of his legs brok«ii by a mnsket-ball :
common humanity induced me to offer him assistance : he eitterly
requested some drink ; having a flask of weak gin-and-water I had
taken purposely for the wounded, I gave it him, and could not
help remarking how many thousand had suffered for the ambition
of one man. He retnmea me the flask, and looking with a savage
pride on the dead bodies that lay in heaps around him, he cricS,
as strong as his weakness would allow him, ^ Vive NapolAm I la
qloire de la France 1 1 /' Such an instance will give you a strong
idea of the infisitnation of these people. Brussels presented a melan-
choly scene : each side of a great number of the streets was laid
with straw, on which the wounded were placed till proper places
could be obtained for them. The inhabitants certamly benaved
very well to them.''
Kxtrojct from Mr* WarderCe (Surgeon of the Norihumberland) ** Let- ters FSOM St. Hslkna, lately pubUehed by Mr. Ackermann, as the Substance of hie Convereatiotis toith Buonaparte and his immediate Attendants. Page 201.
** Napoleon, it seems, was completely imorant of the move- ment made from Frasnes, by Coimt Erlon (Drouet), on the 16th : for when he appeared near Ligny, Napoleon actually deployed a column of French to him, mistaking his force at the time for a division of the Prussian army. Erlon was now made acquainted with the defeat of the Prussians, and, without thinking it necessary to have any communication with Napoleon as to future operations, returned to his original position. That division of the army, there- fore, became totally useless for the day, both to the Emperor and Marshal Ney. Grouchy, losing sight of Bliicher, and taking the circuitous route which he pursued, was represented as having com- mitted a most fatal error. Whilst the nght wing of the French, in the battle of the 18 th, was engaged in defeating the flank move- ments of Bulow, of which they were perfectly apprised. Marshal Ney had orders to engage the attention of the English during this part of the action ; but by no means to hazard the loss of his troops, or to exhaust their strength. Ney, it appears, did not obey the order, or met with circumstances that rendered it im- practicable for him to adhere to it* He was stated to have con- tended for the occupation of a he^ht, and thus weakened his corps: so that when the Imperial Guards were brought to the charge, he was unable to assist them. I understand that Napoleon
* The Editor is more wilUng to believe it arose from this esuse than apy dere- liction of orders ; it is supposed, that the extraordinary exertion of a brigade of artillery advantageously posted contributed no little to the disappointment Buona- parte met with, as it regards this affair of these gallant troops. — Vide " French Offioef 8 Aceount,** p. 09.
220 BAITLB or WAfULOa
had crossed the Sambrewith 110^000 men. In the battle of LignT and Quatre Bras he lost 10,000 ; Giouchy's division was 30^, in order to follow Bliicher; leaving an effective foroe^ on the morning of the battle, of 71,000."
The following Details have been given by superior Officers in Belgic Army, and offer some particulars not otherways known.
The 5th Bel^c Regiment of Light Dragoons and the 6tli Hussars distingoished uemselves in the battle of the 16th at Quatre Bras. Colonel Edward Merex commanded the first of these regiments, and ordered Major Count Looz to disengage the above-mentioned Hussars, who were vigorously puimieJ into the plain beyond our cannon, on which our cannone^s had been sabied, while he himself charged upon the road to Gharleroi, where the enemy's cavalry was advancing in a mass. This brave Colonel succeeded in breaking it, and pursued it beyond the French lines. This success seems to have decided the victoij, and to have hindered the enemy from getting to Brussels the same day. It is probable that he would have been able to get there bat for this resistance ; 20,000 of his troops were between Nivelles and the position of Quatre Bras, while the road to Brussels was un- covered. Colonel Merex received four wounds, and had a hor% killed under him. Captain Von Remoorter had also a horse killed under him, and received a wound through the bodhr. The 7th battalion of Belgic infantry likewise signalised itself on that day (the 16th^ It lost several brave officers. The same 5th Regiment of Light Dragoons, in the battle of the 18th, charged and ma- noeuvred the united cavalry in a mass. It was while fighting at the head of it that the brave Lieutenant-general Van Merlen was struck by a cannon-balL He died two hours after his wound, in a cottage of Mont St Jean, near the barrier. This regiment lost 150 men, and as many horses. The brigade of Belgian Cara- bineers, composed of the Ist, 2d, and 3d Regiments, covered them- selves with glory on the 18th of June. It was placed on a plateau opposite the farm of La Belle Alliance ; an advantageous positioD, which Napoleon desired to carry, because it £Eiyoured the opera- tions of tne whole line of the army, by covering the roaos of Namur and Nivelles. The brigade had on its left an Hanoverian battalion in square, and on ue right an English battalion in square. Three French regiments of Uuirassiers and a r^im^it of Lancers made several charges to break this brigade, but in vain. Napoleon made a division of infantry of the Guard advance, with a great number of pieces of artillery of large calibre ; the brigade was exposed to a terrible fire of grape-shot At the same time there was a brisk fire of musketry ; but our square battalions ran>- tected our brigade of Carabineers, who remained immovable. Tbe attempts of the enemy's cavalry, in several successive charges, not
BBLeiC AUSODOTBS, TRAITS, BTa 221
liaving snooeeded in carrying this position. Napoleon made his Orenadiers advance at the pas de dutrge towards the division of fielgic infimtry and National Militia, commanded by Lieutenant-
general Chasse, and placed in the ri^ht of our line. The £nglish atteries being in want of ammunition, our fire suddenly ceased. At this moment, the Imperial Gnard advanced to charge with the bayonet, thinking our artillery abandoned*
It was there that Lieutenant-general Chass^ ordered a most admirable manoBuvre : he made the licht battery, under the orders of Major Yandermissen, advance, whidd poured a most terrible fire of grape into the ranks of the enemy's Grenadiers. These latter di<r not give ground, but they were stopped. It is impossible to describe with what Airy the battle raged along the whole line. The enemy had above 100 pieces of artdlery of large caHbre, and his field-pieces spread death on all sides. At six o'clock, the battle was still undecided* At half-past six, the enemy's cavalry having obtained a slight advantage over the English Dragoons, who were placed on oiu* left, made an attempt to break our rai- ments. Tne square battalions of infantry remaining firm, me brigade of Carabineers immediately charged the French Cuiras- siers, and made a dreadiul carnage of them. The brave Belgians being minglei pSle-mele with then: enemies, did not cease to cut them down, till they met with no more resistance. The operations on our right wing not going on so well, it was necessary to rally again upon the same position. The enemy's grape-«bot again rained upon our ranks. They remained firm. Our right wing soon r^ulsed the obstinate enorts of the enemy to carry its posi- tion. The Carabineers made a second charge, which succeeded very well ; but the French luiving masked batteries, within reach of which they thought to draw our Belgians ; the latter, being aware of the snare, pushed forward their squadrons only till the enemy^s cavalry retreated, but, instead of pursuing them, returned to their position in the line. At seven o'clock, the Prince of Orange, our hero, who had made this charge with our Belgians, crossed his sabre on the breast of Colonel de Bruyn, commanding the 2d Raiment of Carabineers, crying : ^^ Resume your positions, brape Carabineers; you have done enou^for to-day J^ The Prince seized the Colonel's hand, and pressed it in so a£[ectionate a man- ner, that this officer with difficulty suppressed his emotion. All the Carabineers eagerly cried : *^ Long live the King I long live our good Prince I" at tne same time clashing their sabres together in the air.
Scarcely were our Belgians formed again in the line, when the Prince having repaired to the division of Lieutenant-general Chass^, which was posted at the extremity of our right, made it advance, waving his hat. At this moment he was shot through the shoulder by a Biscayen : he did not perceive his wound till he
MS BATTLB OF WATEBUN).
fiuntedy and almost fell from hb hone. He was hdd, and coo- yqred to the rear. Rage seemed then to take possessiain of our army ; all swore to conquer or die. Half an hour after, l5fiO0 Pkmssians under C^eneral Bolow dihouched on the extreme i^ht of the French. These Prussians had not time to reconnoitre all the positions. They only repulsed some squadrons of Frmch Light Horse, which went to meet them in order to stop them.
A general hurza was ordered by the General-in-Chief wksag the whole line; carabineers, light cavalryi all advanced. Th^ third charge was terrible and decisive.
Lieutenant-colonel Coenegracht, commandant of the 1st B^ ment, and Lientenant-cdond Lightleiler, commandant of the 3d Regiment of Carabineers, were nmtally wounded at half-past five. They died two days after.
Lieutenant-general Colcaert, who commanded the division, was severely wounded at the fiivt charge.
It was Lord March, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington in Spain, and afterwards aide-de-camp to his Royal Highness the Hereditary Prince of Orange, who principally contributed to save his life at the battle of WiS^oa Seeing the hero wounded, he jdaced him on his own horse, conducted lum out of the battle, and, as the French were advancing, txxk the phune out of the Prince's hat to prevent his being recc^nised. Ue conducted him to the house of the widow Bodaughwien at Waterloo. The august war- rior remained there some hours before he proceeded to Brussels. The house of this widow shows, by a sign given by the Duchess of Richmond, that this babitatkm served as an asylum to the young hero.
The States-general, desiring to give to his Royal Highness die Prince of Orange a testimony of the national gratitude for the bravery which he employed, as well in the defence of die position of Quatre Bras as at the battle of Waterloo, have proposed to his Majesty to purchase at the expense of the State a palace, situated in tlie dty <^ Brussels, which, afl^r being properly furnished, may be given in full property to his Royal lligliness the Hereditaiy Prince, as well as the park of Toweuren, in the forest of Soignies, with a hunting-seat ; and that these estates be transferred to ^e Prince of Orange, firee of all charges and expense. His Majesty approved of this proposal
Waterloo, OcL 1, 1816.
When the Emperor of Russia, the King of the Netherlands, the Prince of Orange, the Princes of Russia, &c visited the field of Waterloo, their Miuesties alighting at Mont St Jean, mounted their horses to go to tnefiurmsof La Haye Sainteand Hougomont, where they examined the different positions, particulany that which was occupied by the valiant Hereditary Prince, where he
GEKEBAL oomiT bboubt's nabbatiye. 223
received his glorious wound on the 18th June. On arriving
above La Belle Alliance, they halted on the eminence, to examine
the line bj which the brave General Bulow debouched beyond
Frichermont, and the junction of General Ziethen with the Allies.
When they arrived at Belle Alliance, his Majesty the Emperor of
Russia accepted a ^lass of wine, as weU as his suite; llien observ--
ing the inscription m lai^ characters, ^* h la Belle AlUcmce^ and
tami]^ to the King of the Netherlands and his Royal Highness
the Hereditary Prince, he said to them with great cordiality:
^^ Yes, it is really the fedr alliance, both in respect to the states and
the fiunilies ; God grant that it may be of long duration I ^ Our
Prince received with pleasure and giatitade this testimonv of
friendship and esteem from a magnanimous sovei^eign. Their
Majesties returned to their carriages at Mont St Jean, and
drove back to Brussels.
Accoiii!rr or the Campaign nc tub Netheblahds,
Given by General Count Drouetj Aid0ji£a}or^eneral of the Imperial Guard on June 18, 1815, in the Chamber of PeerSf 24th ofJwMy 1815.*
Now first translated from " the MoniteurJ*
The French army crossed the frontier on the 16th of June. It was composed of several corps of cavalry, of six of infimtry, and of the Imperial Guard* The six corps ot in&ntry were com* manded: —
The Ist by Count Erlon,
2d by Count Reilla
3d by Count Vandamme,
4th by Count Gerard,
5th by Count Le Marroi8,t
6th by Count Loban.
It met with some light troops on this side of the Sambre, overthrew them, and took 400 or 600 men ; it then passed the river;
* General Count Drouet, in the sittings of the Chamber of Peers, produced this speech, in order to combat some opinions that had been given, tending to diminish the gloiy, to exaggerate the disasters, and diminish the treasons of France ; and this account of the battle appears to have occasioned Marshal Key's, which is to be found in this work, in which he states the narration to be accurate ; but that some important facts are, either from ignorance or intention, passed over. This variation of opinion in these important officers necessarily connects the accounts to each other.—- £(2itor.
t This &th corps is not mentioned in any other account; yet it is again ex- pressly mentioned farther as engaged.— Editor.
224 BATTLE OF WATBBUKX
The Ist and 2d corps at Marchiomea-an-Pont ;
The rest of the anny at CharieroL The 6th coips, which had remained behind, did not eflect itapaaaage till the foUowii^day.
The army adyanced beyond Charleroi on the road to Fkaros. The corps of Vandanune attacked, aboat four in the afternoon, i diyiaion of the enemy's, which seemed to consist of about 8000 or 10,000 moi, both imantry and cayalry, supported by some |Heces of cannon, and which was stationed on both sides of the road to Fleams.
This diyisi^m was broken; the squares of infimtry woe oyer- thrown by our cayalry : one of them was entirely cut to pieoea.
In one of the cayalry charges France lost my braye and esti- mable comrade. General Letort, aide-de-camp to the Emperor.
Our adyaaeed posts moyed towards Fleams. The next morning the French army entered the plain of Fleams, which we had rot- dered iUustrioos twenty-one years before by the most brilliant deeds of arms. The enemy's army appeared c£rawn up in amphitheatre upon an eminence, behind the yillafles of St Amand and Lignj. The riirbt seemed to extend but little b^rond St Amand ; ihe left w», B^iblv prolonged beyond Lignv.
About noon, the 5th corpe of infantry, supported by its artillery, attacked the yillage [the Oeneral does not name the yiUa^, but it seems from the sequel to haye been St Amand], took tke wood before it, and penetrated to the first houses.
Soon it is yigorously repulsed (rameni). Supported by fresh batteries it recommences the attack, and, after seyeral yery obsti- nate attempts, it finally makes itself master of the yillage, which is found full of Prussians killed and wounded.
During this time the 4th corps attacked the yillage of Ligny ; it met with ereat resistance there: but the attack was directed and supported with the greatest obstinacy.
batteries occupied the whole interyal of the two yillages, to act against the artillery which the enemy had placed opposite on the decliyity of the hilL
I saw with pleasure this cannonade prolonged to our adyantage. The troops destined to protect our batteries being at a distance, and masked by the sinuosities of the ground, expmenced no injury. Those of the enemy, on the contrary, being placed in masses, in the form of an amphitheatre, behind uiese batteries, suffered yery great losses. It seems that it was the intention of the Eknperor to push a reserve beyond the rayine, and on the position of the enany, as soon as we should be entirely masters of the yillage of Ligny.
This manoeuyre entirely cut off the left of the Prussians, and put it at our mercy. The moment to execute it did not arriye till between four and fiye o'clock, when the Emperor was infonned that Marshal Ney, who was far from our left, at the head of the Ist and 2d corps, had a very considerable English force opposed to
QENBRAL OOUNT DBOTJET'S NARRA.TIYE. 226
IiiiQ, and was in need of support His Majesty ordered that eight l^attalions of Chasseurs of the Old Guard, and a great part of the reserves of the artillery, should proceed to the left of the village of St. Amand, to the assistance of tlie two first corps.* But it was soon found that this reinforcement was not necessary, and it was called back towards the village of Ligny, by which the army was to d^bouche. The Grenadiers of the Guard traversed the villages^ overthrew the enemy ; and the army, singing the hymn of victory, took up a position beyond the ravine, on the field which it had just illustrated by the most brilliant exploits.
I do not know what other trophies distinguished this great day; but those which I saw were several colours, and 24 pieces of cannon, collected on the same spot
On no occasion have I seen the French troops combat with a more noble enthusiasm; their spirit, their valour, excited the greatest hopes. The next morning I traversed the field of battle ; I saw it covered with the enemy's dead and wounded. The Emperor caused assistance and consolation to be given to the latter ; he left upon the ground officers and troops specially charged to take care of them.
Thepeasants carried off the wounded French with the greatest care. Tney were eager to assist them ; but it was necessary to employ menaces to obuge them to carry away the Prussians, towards whom they seemed to entertain great hatred.
From the reports of those sent to reconnoitre, we learned that after the battle the enemy's army had divided into two parts ; that the English were taking the road towards Brussels, and that the Prussians directed their march towards the Meuse. Marshal Grouchy, at the head of a large corps of cavalry, and of the 3d and 4th corps of infantry, was ordered to pursue the latter. The Emperor followed the English with the 1st, 2d, and 6th corps, and the Imperial Guard.
The 1st corps, which was in the van, attacked, and several times overthrew, the enemy's rear, and followed it till night, when it took up a position on the plateau behind the village of Mont St Jean ; its right extending towards the village of Braine, and its left stretch- ing indefinitely in the direction of Wavre. The weather was dreadftil. Everybody was persuaded that the enemy was taking a position merely to give time for his parks of artillery and baggage to tra- verse the forest of Soignies, and that he would himseffexecute the same movement at daybreak.
At break of day the enemy was perceived in the same position. The weather was horrible, which had so ruined the roads that it
* The official account in the " Moniteur" mentions a movement of this kind, but says not a word of Ney's being pressed, or of any assistance intended him ; while Ney on his side says, the Emperor being himself pressed, took away five divisions from him, though he did not employ them.
1
226 BATTUE OF WATKBUX).
was impossible to maiKBuvre with the artilleiy in the field. X- wards day, nine o'clock, the weather cleared up, the wind diy?: the land a little, and tlie order of attack at noon was given bj xL" Emneror.
Was it right to attack the enemy in his position, with truofe fatigued by several days' long marches, a great battle, and Tarioc2« actions ; or ought they to have been allowed time to reoover thdr fatigues, and tlie enemy permitted to retreat quietly to Brussels?*
If we had been fortunate, all military men would have declared that it would have been an unpardonable fault not to pursue s retreating army, when it was but a few leagues firom its capital, whither we were invited by numerous partisans.
Fortune has betrayed our efforts, and now it is considered as a great act of imprudence to have given battle. Posterity, more jnsi, will decide.
The 2d corps began the attack at noon. The division com- manded by Pnnce Jerome attacked the wood which was before the enemy's right He advanced at first and was repulsed, sni did not remain wholly master of it till after an obstinate combat of many hours.
The 1st corp, whose left leaned on the high road, attacked at the same time tne houses of Mont St Jean,t established itself Uiere, and advanced as far as the enemy's position. Marshal Ney, who commanded the two corps, was himself on the high road, to direct the movements according to circumstances.
The Marshal told me, during the battle, that he was going to make a great effort against the centre of the enemy, while the cavalry should pick up the cannon, which did not seem to be much supported. He told me several times, when I brought him orders, that we were going to gain a great victory.
Meantime the Prussian corps, which had joined the left of the English, placed itself en potence upon our right flank, and began
* Dronet might ask this question ; but we know that this was not the altema- tive, the Duke of Wellington's intention not having been to retreat to Brassels, but to attack Napoleon the following day in conjanction with Bliicher. It is pro- bable that Napoleon, whatever he might have thought before, was persuaded that Wellington, not having retreated in the night, did not intend to do so, and that he saw the real alternative, which was either to attack the English immediatelj, or wait till they were reinforced by the I^ssians. It would be dcnng him ii^usdoB to suppose that he did not see this would most probably be the case. He koev that only three corpR of the Prussian army were engaged at Ligny ; he himself estimated their loss at Ligny aft 10,000 men, and therefore must have supposed their army to be as strong as before the battle. Though he might think Grraehy strong enough to employ the Prussians for one day after such a battle, he knew Bliicher too well to think he would remain long on the defensive against an inferior force. He, therefore, seems to have done well in attacking the Rnglish, who were as much fatigued by marching and fighting as his own army troops ; so that, in this respect, they were equal. — Editor .
t It is evident that here, as in other French accounts, Mont St. Jean is pat for La Haye Sainte. Mont St. Jean was in the rear of the British position, and no French soldier came within half a mUe of it — Ediior.
GENEBAL OOUmr DBOUET's NABlUTiyE. 227
bo Attack about half-past five in the afternoon. The 6th corps^
which had taken no part in the battle of the IGth, was placed to
oppose them, and was supported by a division of the Young Guard
and. some battalions of the Guard. Towards seven o'c£)ck we
perceived in the distance^ towards our right, a fire of artilleiy and
musketry. It was not doubted but that Marshal Grouchy* had
followed the movement of the Prussians, and was come to take
part in the victory. Cries of joy were heard along our whole line.
The troops, fatigued by eight combats (Jivit combats t perhaps it
should be huit neures i combaia — eight hours of fighting), recover
their vigour and make new efforts. The Emperor regards this
moment as decisive. He brings forward all his Guard; orders
four battalions to pass near the village of Mont St Jean, to advance
upon the enemy's position, and to carry with the bayonet whatever
should resist tnem. The cavalry of the Guard, and all the other
cavalry that remained at hand, seconded this movement The
four battalions, when they arrived upon the plateau, were received
by the most terrible fire of musketry and grapcf The great nmn-
ber of wounded who separate from the columns make it believed
that the Guard is routed; a panic terror communicates itself to
the neighbouring corps, which precipitately take flight The
enemy's cavalry, which perceives this disorder, is let loose into the
plain ; it is checked for some time by the twelve battalions of the
Old Guard who had not yet charged: but even these troops were
carried away by this inexplicable movement, and follow the steps
of the fugitives, but with more order.
All the carriages of the artillery hurry towards the sreat road ; soon they are so thronged together that it is impossible to make them proceed ; they are mostly abandoned in the road and unyoked by the soldiers, who carry away the horses. All hasten towards the bridge of Charleroi, and meet at Marchiennes, whence the wrecks were directed upon Avesnes and Philippeville.
Such is the account of this fatal day. It was to crown the glory of the French army, to destroy all the vain hopes of the enemy, and perhaps soon to give to France the peace so much desired ; but Heaven has decided otherwise : it is tnought fit, that after so many catastrophes oiur unhappy country should be once more exposed to the ravages of foreimiers.
Though our losses are considerable, our situation is, however, not desperate. The resources which we have left are very greats if we determine to employ them with energy.
The corps commanded by Marshal Grouchy, and composed of the 3d and 4th corps of infantry, and a large corps of cavalry,
* Marshal Key, in his account of the battle, observes, with evident indignation, that it was LabedoyCre who was sent by the Emperor along the lines to spirit his men with this falsification.
t Vide "" Additional Pardctdars," p. 155.
1
228 BATTLB or WATEBLOa
has just effected its retreat by Namur, and has le-entefed Fnm by Givet and Ilocroy: its materiel is nntoached; other wrecbot the corus beaten at Mont St Jean form already a respectable mas&t which increases daily. The Minister of War has annoonoed to the Chambers that 20,000 men are disposable, taken from the dep6&
The measures taken by the Chambers to call to the defence of the country all men capable of bearing arms, will soon fnnusii i ffreat number of battahons, if the levy, the brigading, and tbe formation of these battalions, be forwarded with 2l possible activity.
The rest of the nialeriel may be easQy repaired ; we have at Paris 300 pieces of artillery propar for the field, with all the necessaries belonging to them. The half of these pieces is enough to replace those we have lost It will be suSSBcient for tbe Chambers to take measures to have horses and drivers, which in a city like Paris may be effected in twenty-four hours.
I cannot sui&ciently repeat to the Chambers, that the late catastrophe ought not to discourage a great and noble naticHi like ours ; if we display on this occasion aU the necessary energy, this last misfortune will but enhance our glory. What sacrifice would be regarded by tlie true friends of their country, at a moment when the Sovereign whom we have but lately proclaimed, whom we have invested with our whole confidence, has just made the greatest and most noble of all sacrifices ?
After the battle of Canuse, the Roman Senators voted thanks to the vanquished General because he had not despaired of the safety of the republic, and employed itself without remission in furnishing him with the means to repair the disasters which he had occasioned by his obstinacy and his bad dispositions.
In a situation infinitely less critical, will the Representatives of the Nation suffer themselves to be dismayed, and will they foi^t the dangers of the country to employ themselves in unseasonable discussions, instead of having recourse to the remedy which insures the safety of France ?
This speech was ordered to be printed to the number of six copies for each member ; but the General, having spoken extem- pore, was requested unmediately to put his discourse in writing.
Oroucky^s 8q[>arati(m from the Grand French Army, as related by a French uficer in this Division of the Army,
Marshal Grouchy's corps separated from the Grand Army on the morning of the 17th of June. His force consisted in all of 45,000 men; of whom 39,000 were infantry, and 6,000 cavalry: other accounts say 30,000 altogether. The principal officers under him were Generals Vandamme, Grerard, and Excelmans.
oboucht's sepabation. 229
The orders of the Marshal were to march upon the army of the enemy, so as to prevent the junction between Wellington and Bliicher. He arrived, to carry that object into effect, at Gem- bloux on the 17th, which the Prussian army had quitted about twelve at noon for Wavre. The Marshal left Grembloux with his army on the morning of the 18 th, to find out the Prussians, and to fight them. The second corps of cavalry, consisting of 4,000 men, commanded by General Excelmans, discovered the rear- guard of the Prussians, near a place called Baraque, about ten o'clock in the morning. General Excelmans brought his cavalry to the Dyle, ready to pass that river, when about twelve the Marshal arrived with General Yandamme's coi*ps, and gave orders to march upon Wavre ; this he did, afler Excelmans had defeated the rear-guard of the Prussian army, which were from 8000 to 10,000 men.
About mid-day, the cannonade was heard of the battle of Waterloo, and it was then that General Gerard, and several other officers, insisted strongly with the Marshal to cross the Dyle, and to approach nearer to Buonaparte, and to leave a small corps of observation before the Prussians, who had been beat, and had re- tired to Wavre.* General Excelmans commanded the advanced guard, and would not have quitted the Dyle, had it not been in consequence of express orders given by the Marshal in person, which he was compelled to obey.
The Marshal committed the fault of employing his whole army; whereas, at the utmost, 10,000 men would have been suffi- cient to have kept the rear-guard of the Prussians in check. Several officers were sent before mid-day by Napoleon to search for Marshal Grouchy; but only one of them. Colonel Zenovitz, arrived at Wavre, and not till about six o'clock in the evening. The Marshal then resolved to pass the Dyle at Limale with a part of his army, but was then too late.
It was about eleven o'clock in the morning of the 19th that the Marshal learnt that Napoleon had been beaten. The attack which he intended to make on the road from Brussels to Louvain was therefore given up, and the army passed the Dyle at four points ; Wavre, Limale, Limilet, and Oittigny. General Excelmans, with his corps, pushed on to Namur, where he arrived in the evening, and where the Marshal arrived ^e next day. The Allies attacked the rear-guard, commanded by Vandamme ; the conffict was very obstinate, but the Alh'es suffered so much, that the retreat of the French was afterwards unmolested.
* The Marshal's determination is attributed to the earnest persuasion of Vandamme, who, blinded by his hopes of plunder on getting first to Brussels, would listen to nothing but pushing the whole of their force, and that promptly, on Wavre. Vandamme, however, appeard to have been wounded. — Vide anecdote in p. 217 preceding.
230 BATTtB OP WATBULOO.
Narratice of all that Napoleon Buonaparte said and did cm. Af l%th of JuM^ 1815, dunn^ and afUr the Battle of Waterio^x taken and corrected from the Deposition of John Baptigte dc Coster, who served as his Guide on that day.
Translated from an attested Copy. Brussels, Jan. l^th, 1816L
J. B. de Coster is aged aboat 53 ; he was bom in the viDae^ of Corbeek-loy near Louvaine, and has inhabited WaUon for thirty* three years ; be is five feet ten inches high, and of a robust floriii complexion. He is intelli^ient, and there is great appearance of trutn in the answers he makes to questions put to him ; he under- stands French very well, and expresses his ideas with greax fiurility.
Before the invasion of Na^Mleon, De Coster occupied a small alehouse (cabaret), with about six acres of land. U{)on the approach of the French army on the 17th of June he retired with his famiij^ consisting of his wife and seven children, into the wood of the Abbey d* Awyiers, where he passe<l the night (Saturday) ; at six o'clock on Sunday morning he went to church, and from thence to his brother's, who lived at Planchenoit He met there three French generals, who inquired of him if he had lived in the country a long time, and if he was well acquainted with the environs. Upon \ns answering in the afSrmative, one of them sent him to Buonaparte with a letter, and accompanied by a servant
Buonaparte slept on the 17 th of June at a ikrm called the CaiUou, and left it at six next morning. De Coster found him at a farm called Rossum, where he (Buonaparte) arrived at eight ▲•M., and was immediately presented to Buonaparte, who was standing in a room about 20 feet by 16, in the midst of a great number of officers of his staff. Buonaparte asked him if he was well acquainted with the local situation of the country, and if he would be his guide ? De Coster having answered him satisfactorily, Buonaparte told him he should accompany him, adding, ^ Speak frankly vnth me, my friend, cu if you were with your children/*
Rossum farm is near La &elle Allianca The Emperor re- mained there till near mid-day. During this time De Cost^ was closely watched in the iarm-vard by one of the garde, who, whilst walking with him, informed him of the force of the army (French), and told him, that upon passing the frontiers they had an army of 150,000 men, of which 40,000 were cavalry, among which vrere 9000 Cuirassiers, 7000 of the new, and 8000 or 9000 of the old Guard. This soldier praised much the bravery displayed by the English at Qnatre Bras. He particularly admired the sangfroid of the Scotch Highlanders, who (says he, in his military style) ** ne houaeoient que hrsmjUon leur mettait la baionette au demheJ*
Durmg this time Buonaparte had De Coster called three dif- ferent times, to obtain information as to the maps of the countir.
DE CX)8T!EK'S NABRATIYE. 231
vliicli lie constantly consulted* He questioned him cbiefly upon he distance of several towns of Brabant from the field of batitle^ LXid made him explain those he had seen in his youth. De Coster lamed f burteen, which appeared to please Buonaparte : he seemed irery much satisfied to find that De Coster was Flemish, and that he spoke the same language ; he advised him^ above all, to give only ^well-authenticated information, and not to answer for thmgs of Tv^bich he was uncertain, shrugging his shoulders at the same time. He repeated often these instructions, adding, " that if he (^fiuonaparte) succeeded, his recompense should be a hundred times l^eater than he could imagine." He dispensed with every par- ticwlar mark of respect, telhng him, that mstead of taking oft' his cap^ he need only put his hand to his forehead.
At midnlay Buonaparte went out with his staft; and placed himself upon a bank on the side of the road, which commanded a view of the field of battle. Shortly afterward, news arrived that the attaxsk upon the fturm and chateau of Hougomont, which he had commenced at eleven o'clock, was unsuccessfiiL
At one, the battle became general. Buonaparte remained in his first station with his stafi^ until five ; he was on foot, and con- stantly walked backwards and forwards, sometimes with his arms crossed, but chiefly behind his back, with his thumbs in the pockets of a dark-coloured great coat; he had his eyes fixed upon the battle, and pulled out his watch and snufi-box alternately. De Coster, who was on horseback near him, observed frequently his watch Buonaparte perceiving that De Coster took snuff, and that he had none, gave him several pinches.
When he found that his attempts to force the position of the
ch&teau of Hougomont had been made in vain, he took a horse,
left the farm of Rossum at five p.m., and, riding foremost, halted
opposite De Coster's house, about a hundred yards from La Belle
Alliance. He remained there until seven. At this moment, he,
by means of a telescope, perceived the Prussian advance, and com-
mimicated it to an aide-de-camp, who upon turning his spying-
glass saw them also. Some moments sdler, an ofiicer came to
announce that Bulow's corps approached. Buonaparte replied
that he knew it well, and gave orders for his Guard to attacK the
centre of the English army; and riding^at full gallop in advance,
he placed himself, with his staff, in a hollow made by the road
halfway between La Belle Alliance and Haye Sainte. This was
his third and last position.
Buonaparte am his suite ran great risks to reach this hollow.
A bullet struck the pommel of we saddle of one of his officers,
without touching him or his horse. Buonaparte contented himself
by cooDy observing, ** Tfiat they must remain in this hollow,^
Here there was on each side of the road a battery, and per-
232 BATTLE OF WATSSLOa
ceiving that one of the cannons of the left battery did not ^ ^ he dismounted, ascended the height of the road, advanced to tbr third piece and rectified the error, whilst the bullets were hissKi:^ around him.
Whilst in this situation he saw eight battalicms o£ his 0»i Guard, to whom he had given orders to force the centre of t^ English army, advancing upon Have Sainte. Three of d£^ battalions were annihilated in his sight, whilst crossing the roftd. bv the firing from the farm and batteries. Nevertheless, tbe French made themselves masters of the fium ; and the Hano- verians who occupied it were obliged to surrender for want o£ ammunition.
To support the Foot Guards (gardes a pied) Buonaparte made his Horse Guards, composed of eight or nine regiments, advance : he waited the result of this charge with the greatest anxiety ; bm he saw the flower of his army destroyed m an instant, whibt ascending the rise upon which Have Sainte is situate. This wa? his last trial ; for, on seeing his Ofd Guard destroyed, he lost all hope, and on turning tow^ards his officers, said, ^' A present ce^ . Jinx: sauvana tumsJ* (It is now finished, let us save ourselves.) I
It was half-past eight o'clock, and without pursuing any steps or giving any orders, and taking all possible care to avoid the Prussians, he, accompanied by his stafi*, rode off at full gallop to Genappe. In passing a battery of fourteen guns, that was near the Observatory, he ordered that, before they abandoned it to the enemy, thev should fire fourteen rounds.
W hen he arrived at Genappe it was half-past nine o'clock p.m. The only street which forms this village was so encumbered with caissons and cannon, that it required an entire hour to pass them, alongside the houses ; aU the inhabitants had forsaken their dwell- ings. There was no other road to take, because the Prussians occupied the left, and there was no other bridge but that of Genappe by which to pass the river that flowed there.
From Genappe he advanced towards Quatre Bras, hastening his pace, always afi^d the Prussians would arrive before him ; he was more tranquil when he had passed this last place, and when arrived at Gosselies he even dismounted and walked the re- mainder of the road to Charleroi (about one league). He tra- versed Gharleroi on horseback for two hours and a half, and stopped in a meadow caUed Marcenelle, at the other end of the town. There they made a large fire, and brought two glasses and two bottles of wine, which he drank with his officers. He took no other nourishment They spread upon the ground a sack of oats, which his horses ate in their bridles. At a quarter before five o'clock, after having taken another guide (to whom he gave the horse that had server De Coster), he remounted, made a slight bow
BE coster's nabrahye. 233
to T>e Coster, and rode off. Bertrand save De Coster for his ser- vices a single Napoleon/ and disappearea, as did also the whole staff, leaving De Coster alone, who was obliged to return home on foot. During the whole time he was with Buonaparte he was not ill-treated, except whilst they were retreating, on their arrival at Quatre Bras, when one of the officers, finding that a second guide ivhich they had with them had escaped, tied the bridle of De Coster's horse to his own saddle as a precautionary measure.
Froni the moment tliat Buonaparte began to retreat, tmtil his arrival in the meadow of Marcenelle, he did not stop, nor did he speak to any one. He had taken no nourishment from the time he left the farm Rossum, and De Coster even thinks he had taken nothing from six in the morning.
The dangers of the battle did not seem to affect him. De Coster, who was greatlv agitated through fear, lowered his head frequently on the neck of his horse, to avoid the balls which liissed over his head. Buonaparte appeared displeased at it, and told him that those motions made his officers believe that he was wounded ; and also added, that he would not escape the balls more by stooping than by holding himself upright
During the battle he often rendered justice to the opj army: he principallv praised the Scotch Greys, and expi much regret to see them suffer so severely, when they manoeuvred so well, and wielded the sword so dexterously. He also noticed the hlack squares (the Brunswickers).
Until half-past five p. m. he had the greatest hope of success, and repeated every moment, " All goes well." His generals en- tertained the same hope. He was perfectly calm, and showed much 8ang froid during the action, without appearing out of hu- mour, and always spoke very mildly to his officers. ^ He was never in danger of being taken prisoner, being always surrounded; even in his third station, where he was nearest to the enemy, he had with him twelve pieces of cannon, and 3000 grena- diers of his guanL
He maoe no use of the Observatory, which had been con- structed six weeks before by the engineers of Holland. [Previous to De Coster^ 8 coming to Biumaparte, Buonaparte had mounted Uie Observatory y and was therefor an hour^ bid never after: this the Editor is assured is the facty fro^n undoubted atUhority.']
In his flight he frequently received news from the army, by officers who came up with him in their escape from the pursuit of the Allies.
The house of De Coster having served as a bivouac for the French, they burnt all the doors, windows, and wood that they could find. The rent that he paid was 100 firancs. The pro-
* Mr. Warden, in his ** Letters from St. Helena," states that Buonaparte says '* De Coster might have said five hundred." — Qiunv f Editor,
234 Binu or watibloo.
prietor, after having repaired it, has let it to another person ix 125 franca. De Coster lives at present in a hamlet, called M Boisy sitnale upon the causewaj between Waterloo and 3ioDt St Jean.
This narradre was given at Waterloo, in the cabaret calkd Jean de Nivelles.*
Extracts from the Journal of a Gentleman^ 1815.
July 16. — Dined at the farm of La Belle Alliance^ the owner of which and his family tarried eight days and nights in the wood Visited the well, wherein we saw the bodies of ei^ht men of the Imperial Guard of Napoleon ; they had jumped (fovm with their arms. Went to the Observatory; it is thuty-six feet high: I nailed on the pinnacle the royal amis of Great Britain. Johi Baptiste Decoster was guide to Napoleon^ in consequence of liis knowing the country, and remained with him from Sunday ai eight o'clock till Monday at five. First went to Pont Marcenelle, a league beyond Charleroi ; both were on horseback ; gave him a Napoleon at parting. An aide-de-camp, three gendarmes, and 154 of the staff, all on horseback, follow^ed. The French formed s battery by making holes in the garden-wall. Here is another well, in which were found 73 men ; the trees in the orchard were pep- pered very much : the ditch around this orchanl was used as s battery, and hundreds killed. Saw 84 other pieces of cannon taken from the enemy; they took home only 12 guns : counted 40 graves containing English officers, in one acre of ground, re- sembling dung-heaps. The proprietor of La Belle Alliance is 'Antoine Herbert
July 19. — Went to the hospitals, and saw at the doors pro- digious crowds of females, waiting to administer succour to the wounded : officers and privates were found lying indiscriminately together, but very clean ; females of rank attending them w/m surprising zeal. Saw soldiera slightly wounded in the field, using the French cuirasses as frying-pans, to dress their victuals. In one
1)lace, saw thirty-six, out of seventy-three, who had lost either a eg or an arm, besides flesh wounds.
July 20. — Visited another hospital, containing 420 wounded, half English and half French, all well taken care of, and very clean. They had all port wine and strong soups ; but many were in a dying state, others the sight quite gona Returning, wit-
♦ The etymology of this sign is, from the anthority of an intelligent french- man, aa follows: — ^* Jean de Niyellea" and ''a simpleton** an synonymous; vf^ hence, putting them on a level with even the dog of a fool, is frequently appli^ to a stupid and inattentive waiter. — Extracted from HiWs interesting TVitr in FUn- der» and Hoiland^ Mkorily tfier the. BaUU of Waterloo, with Sketches, 1 rol. 4to.p.^-
JOURNAL OF A GENTLEICAN. 235
nessed a shocking sight, Le, the dead drawn along by fish-hooks : they were going to be buried in the fields by the peasants.
July 21. — Visited the field of battle, and saw scattered about prodigious quantities of broken swords, spears, saddles, bridles, caps, all cut in pieces. Picked up two crosses of the Lemon of Honour and an iron cross of Prussia. Saw vast numbers of cuuasses taken out of the water, into which they were thrown by the pea- sants for concealment, and afterwards sold for two francs each. Met waggons fall of wounded, cryingout from extreme suffering. The water everywhere' quite red. There were 20,000 wounded at one time in Brussels. All the wells at Waterloo spoiled, by throwing men into them. Churches still fall of wounded. No inhabitants around Waterloa We took a large quantity of cam- phor with us, as a preventive against infection. Were much an- noyed by the incalculable swarms of carrion flies, preying on the carcasses of the horses which still lie imburied. Owing to the dry weather, the gromid cracks or opens, and as the bodies of the men buried are not above a foot below the surface, they may still be seen in many places. The Prussians obliged the peasants to buiy the dead at the point of the bayonet ; many were put to death for refasing. Since, horses and men have been burnt together.
Juh/ 25. — Dined at Quatre Bras. The orchard of this house has four acres, and hundreds of fruit-trees ; each of the latter had from 80 to 100 shot in them. Coming from Waterloo, passed 40 waggons of wounded crying out; the men had been in cottages, ananot able to be moved before: many died instantaneously; others were in a putrid state — a kind of living death I The road from Brussels to Genappe, 16 miles, covered with horse-shoes, parts of cloaks, broken muskets, drum-heads, broken banners. Bought of a peasant the silver crown taken off the pouch of Capt Latour of the Imperial Guard. The Foot Ghiards, I learnt, stood the charge well ; and at the time of the Imperial charge ^e en- sigos were killed, when the grenadiers received the colours, and amxed them on the top of their arms, and after an huzza charged, and drove the enemy back. The French Order of Louis was found in the pocket of General Beaumont, who commanded Buona- pu^'s advanced guard ; he had eleven spears run through him. The French had by far the best ground. The Cuirassiers charged our cavalry down the hill, and cut up the light cavalry ; but when they got to the bottom of the hill, the Life Guards and Blues al- most annihilated them : not 50 were left, and they threw off their armour, and galloped away.
Jultj 26.— -Again dined at Quatre Bras. The landlord said, that only 157 Bdgic troops were left alive out of a corps of 1800. Quatre Bras is a mile from Genappe.
At Place Ney, where we next day took refreshment, saw 300 holes in the house and roof; one ball passed through the two
236 BATTtB OF WATEBLOa
wallfl of the hotue. The water at this place was sCill quite red, and in paddles, and smelt abominabljr ofiensive.
We went next to Le Caillon. In this house Baonapaite suppedy and afterwards set it on fire; it is a large mansion, wnidL, together with the farm, bams, &c., were all consumed : it is a mue from La Belle Alliance. At Place Nejr we were shown a cellar, wherein lay five of the Imperial GxuunL The 79th dis^ patched them. Whilst we staid thejr were buried in the garden: the well contained 20 Frenchmen, and they had spoiled the water. The extent of the plain at Waterloo is three miles and a half broad ; length, six miles.
The decisive issue of the Battle of Waterloo, like those of Poictiers, Cressy, and Agincourt, gained by the English over the same people,* has delivered Europe from the disastrous revolu- tion : It was the English alone who saw the monster, and dared first to hold out its hand to arrest him. Electrified Europe already holds out its due reward of praise and glory to the Kin^ an^ Prince, who with the wisdom of their cabinets nave thus weamered the storm, and who have thus made the sacred principles of justice and virtue to triumph.
It is very satisfactory to find that nothing could surpa^ the high ideas entertained on the Continent of the steadi- ness, valour, energy, and discipline of the British army. It was remarked, that scarcely any other troops possessed that finnness and discipline, joined to what we call Dottom, or a happy union of strength of body and resolution or firmness of mind, sufficient to have resisted, for so many hours, the violent, desperate, and reiterated attacks of the French at the battle of Waterloo ; where the force of an immense artillery, of numerous bodies of cavalry, variously armed, and many of them protected by defensive armour, and fit>m 50 to 60,000 infantry, the 6lUe of the French army, were all combined for the destruction of an enemy numerically much inferior. It was observed, however, diat the discipline of the French had been too loose, whilst that of the Germans remained too mechanical ; but that the British army w^ distinguished by a happy medium, which, when joined to that military skiU and coolness by which the Hero of Waterloo is so eminently distinguished, and the great cx>nfidence, from tried ex- perience, which the soldiers had in their officers, almost insured
* The maritime power of England has more than once proved its salnttfj effect on Europe; and it may not be generdly known that an English writer, near four ages ago {Haklujftf Vol, /. 1488, new edtiion, London) ^ states, that if his countrymen remain the guardian of the seas, the world must be at peaee with them, and seek their friendship : the prophetic opinion has most gloriously mani- fested itself in the present age ; and we will seize with pleasure the opportanity of connecting the triimiphs of Trafalgar with those of Waterloo.
PABLIAMENTABT RECORDS. 237
a. -vilctory. Southe^^ in his " Pilgrimage to Waterloo,** beautifully expresses himself, in alluding to this great triumph of England,
»
** Peace she hath won .... with her irictorioas hand Hath won thro' rightful war auspicious peace ; Nor this alone, but that in eveiy land
The withering rule of Violence may cease. Was ever War with such blest victory crown'd ? Did ever Victory with such fruits abound ?
Rightly for this shall all good men rejoice,
They most who most abhor all deeds of blood ;
Rightly for this with reverential voice
Exalt to Heaven their hymns of gratitude;
For ne'er till now did Heaven thy country bless
With such transcendent cause for joy and thankfulness.
If they in heart all tyranny abhor,
This was the fall of Freedom's direst foe ; If they detest the impious lust of war,
Here hath that passion had its overthrow : As the best prospects of mankind are dear, Their joy should be complete, their prayers of praise sincere."
The following Memoriala are taken Jrom t/ie Parliamentary
Itecords.
** Mr. Speaker acquainted the House, upon the opening of the Session (Feb. 1, 1816), that he had received from Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington the following letters, in return to the Thanks of this House, simufied by Mr. Speaker, in obedience to their commands of the 23a day of June last : —
** ' Sir, * Parisy July 9rt, 1815.
*' ' I have had the honour of receiving your Letter of the 23d of June, with which you have enclosed the unanimous Resolutions of the House of Commons of the same day, bv which the House have expressed their approbation of the conduct of the General Officers, Officers, and Troops, composing the Army under my command, and of myself, and of Field-marshal Prince Bliicher, and of the Prussian Army, in the battle of the 18th of June.
*' ' I beg that vou will assure the House, that I entertain a high and just sense of the honour which they have conferred on me, and that I b^ them to accept my best thanks for this fresh mark of the favour with which they receive my services, and those of the Troops under my command*
'^ ' Accordii^ to the orders of the House, I communicated to Field-marshal Prince Bliicher the Resolution of the House regarding his conduct, and that of the Prussian Army; and I
2S8 ^ BAITLB or WARILOa
hare the honour to enclose the copy of his letter to me apon dm occasion, which will best ex]>lain his Highness's seotiiiietits.
** * I cannot conclude without requeuing you, Sir> to aooepi mv thanks for the handsome terms in which you have ooQTeyed me the sense of the House.
** * I have the honour to be, with the highest respect.
Your most obedient and faithful humble Servant,
« * Wejjlengtos-'
" ' The Right Honourable Charles Abbot, Speaker of the House of Commons, ^c ^c ^c
• 99
(Traduction.)
** * Les deux Chambres du Parlement Britannioue ayant domie leur remercimens k moi, et k Tarmee sous mes orores, poor notre assistance k la Bataille de La Belle Alliance, c'est un honneiir doDt nous sommes profond^ment p^n^tr^ : nous nous sentons extreme- ment recompenses pour nos efforts par I'approbation d*uzie natioa vaillant et cclairee : et nous esp^rous avec confiance que la victoire commune de ces deux nations contribuera bien puissamment k cob- solider encore de plus, d'une mani^re nullement troublee k Favenir les liens entre elles.
" ' Nous n'ignorons pas. My lord, que la relation de votre Altesse, sur notre conduite du 18, a etc la cause que les deux Chambres du Parlement ont pris la r^lution si honorable pour moi et pour I'armee sous, mes ordres, et c'est moi qui vous prie d'agr^r nos remercimens pour cela.
*' * Ce sent avec les sentimens du respect le plus fonde et d'une fiddle fraternity d'armes, que j'ai Thonneur d'etre,
<< < De Totre Altesse le tres-humble Ami et Servieur,
(Sign^) « * Blucheb.'
**'A Saint Cloud, 9 JuUlet, 1815.'"
»»
€i
House of Commons, April 29, 1816.
*' ' Major-general Lord Edward Somerset, K.C.B., being come to the House, Mr. Speaker acquainted him that the House had, upon the 23d day of June, in the last Session of Parliament^ resolved. That the Thanks of this House be given to him for his indefatigable zeal and exertions upon the 18th of June, when the French army, commanded by Buonaparte, received a signal and
VASUAMSStTARY BECOBDS. 239
complete defeat; and Mr. Speaker gave him the Thanks of the House accordingly, as foUoweth: —
** * Major-general Lord Edward Somerset,
^^ ^ At length we are gratified by seeing amongst us one of those distingnished officers to whom this House has voted its Thanks for their eminent services in the battle of Waterloo; a victory eclipsing the fame of all other battles fought in those celebratea Fields of War, and consummating the glory of the Duke of Wel- lington, with whose great name the gratitude of this House has justly associated that of Field-marshal Bliicher.
*^ * In the narratives of that gigantic conffict, our historians will
always relate that Major-general JLord Edward Somerset, already
known bv his brilliant services in the Southern Provinces of
France, held a high and forward command in those gallant
charges by the British cavalry, which defeated and destroyed the
boasted squadrons of Cuirassiers. They will relate also that
Lieutenant-general Sir Henry Clinton, who had in five former
battles conmianded divisions of that heroic army which rescued
Portugal and Spain, maintained a conspicuous post in the support
of that embattled line, where the British Guards repulsed and put
to flight the Imperial Guards of France. Nor will those other
illustnous men be forgotten, who might now have been standing
up amongst us to receive our Thanks, if the fate of war had not
laid them low in their grave of glory : soldiers long dear to the
affection and remembrance of their country, which will never
cease to revere and regret the veteran but ardent valour of Picton,
or the bright and rising honours of Ponsonby.
** * The days inde^ of these our mingled triumphs and griefit are now concluded. Other scenes have opened, and other cares have arisen to demand our vigilance, r rom the long contest, however, now hapmly closed, this durable advantage has resulted to our country. We have proved to ourselves the value of those manly habits and institutions, which have established the supe- riority of our national character ; and such splendid examples of skill, valour, and constancy, as we have had this day to com- memorate, will deeply impress upon our enemies, and upon our Allies, in all ages, a just respect ror the councils and arms of this empire.
" * The special duty which I have this day to discharge, is to deliver to you the Thanks of this House for your last great ser- vices. And I do therefore now, in the name and by the command of the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled, deliver to you their unanimous Thanks for your inde- fatigable zeal and exertions upon the 18th of Jime, 1815, when the r rench army, commanded by Buonaparte, received the most signal and complete defeat'
240 BATTtB OP WATBBLOa
<* Upon which Lord Edward Somerset said :
« * Mr. Speaker,
^ * I b^ to express to the House the high sense I entertain of so distinguished a mark of its approbation, conferred apon xne for my conduct in the memorable battle of Waterloo: deeplj impressed with the importance of such an honour, I am consciois that I want words to convey, in adequate terms, my sentiments on this occasion. Sir, whatever ment my humble exertions in this great conflict may be entitled to, I cannot but attribute to the fortunate circumstance of my being placed in command of a brigade whose persevering i^antry, discipline, and intrepidity, contributed so largely to the success of this important day. Am- mated by the example of that great man under whose conmiaiid we had the honour to serve, and who had so often led us to victory and to honour, every individual of the British army was naturally inspired with but one fueling : that feeling, and a well- grounded confidence in their Commander, enabled them to sur- mount the most formidable obstacles, and to bring the contest to a final issua That it was my lot to form a part of the army on that day, and that my conduct should be deemed worthy of receiving the Thanks of this House, will be ever to me a source of the utmost satisfaction, and will be remembered with pride and gratitude to the latest period of my existence.
'' * I cannot conclude without expressing to you. Sir, how sen- sible I am of the flattering terms in which you have been pleased to communicate to me tne resolutions of the House on this oc-
casion.'
** Ordered, NenUne Cantradieente, That what has been now said by Mr. Speaker, in giving the Thanks of this House to Major- general LK>rd Edward Somerset, together with his Answer thereto, be printed in the votes of this day.
€€
House of Commons y May 20th, 1816.
''Lieutenant-general Sir Henry Clinton, Knight Grrand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, being come to the House, Mr. Speaker acquainted him that the House had, upon the 23d day of June, in the last Session of Parliament, resolved. That the Thanks of this House be given him for his indefatigable zeal and exertions upon the 18th of June, 1815, when the French army, commanded by Buonaparte, received a signal and complete defeat; and Mr. Speaker gave him the Thanks of the House accordingly, as followeth:—
PABLIAMENTABT RECOBDS. 241
* Lieutenant-general Sir Henry Clinton,
* After serving through the long campaigns of the Peninsular war, from Salamanca to Orthes and Toulouse, there remained nothing for a soldier to desire, but to be present at the great battle of Waterloo ; and if, in that terrible conflict, it were possible to select one spot more than another where our national military character was put to its fiercest trial, it must have been that where you were commanded, with Hougomont in your front, and directing or supporting the brave brigades of Byng, Maitland, and AdanL
" ' In estimating the services of that gallant army, this country has not contemplated alone the glory of a single day ; they have looked to the toilsome marches and sharp combats which preceded it, and to the steady, skilful, and victorious march by which that army completed its success, and entered the enemy's capital. They have seen also, with a just exultation, that whilst British troops held the gates of Paris by right of conquest, their camp displayed at the same time a model of good order and well-regulated dis- cipline, which even the conquered could not but applaud and aamire.
" * Your present stay amongst us we understand to be only for a short period. But on returning to your brethren in arms let them be assured by you, that whenever their foreign service shall terminate they will find that their great deeds had not been for- gotten by us : and we trust that, on re-entering the metropolis of their native country, they will behold some lofty and durable monument, which shall commemorate to the latest ages our . never-ending gratitude to the armies who have fought for us, and the God who has delivered us.
** * You, Sir, are the last of those distinguished officers to whom our thanks have remained undelivered; ana I do now, in the name and by the command of the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, deliver to you their unanimous thanks for your indefati^ble zeal and exertions upon the 18th of June, 1815, when the French army, commanded by Buonaparte, received a signal and complete defeat'
€€
Upon which Lieutenant-general Sir Henry Clinton said: — *Mr. Speaker,
it €
I am extremely gratefiil to the House for the honour which has been conferred upon me by the vote of its thanks for my ser- vices in the battle of Waterloo ; a reward to which you. Sir, so well know how to give the full value ; and I wish to assure you. Sir, that I am folly sensible of the favour I have received at your hands.
B
242 BllTLI or WATBSLOa
** ' It 18 impmsible for me to mention the name of Waterioo mb^ not feel an imn^istiblc desire to join in the general voice of graftitiMk to the hen> >vh() commanded us, and in that of admiration of the extraordinary talents which he has so long and so usefully derotai to the service of his countrj'.
** * An army hastily drawn together, composed of the troops of various nations, and amongst which were counted several brigades of inexi)erienced militia, was the force the Duke of WellingtOQ had to oppose to one of tlie most formidable and best-appointed annies which France ever produced.
** ' Everv officer and soldier, I am persuaded, did his duty ; but the Duke of Wellington alone was capable of giving union to such a force,
*' * No other man living could have rendered the service which he performed, w ith an army so composed.
" * His great name filled it witn confidence ; by his constant vigilance, his undaunted firmness, and the exertion of the greatest intrepidity and jK?rseverance, he was able, throughout that well- contested day, to defeat every effort of a powerful and enterprising enemy, and ultimately to gain that victory by which he restored peace to Europe, and increased, to the impossibility of our ever acquitting it, his country's debt of gratitude.'
** Ordered^ Nemine Contradicente, That what has now been said by Mr. Srxiaker, in giving the Thanks of this House to Lieutenant- general Sir Henry Clinton, toother with his Answer thereto, be printed in the votes of this day.
" House of Commons^ July 2, 1816.
** Resolved^ Nemine Contradicente^ That the Thanks of this House be given to Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington, on his retom from the Continent, for his eminent and unremitting services to his Majesty and to the public, especially on the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo ; and that a Committee of this House do wait upon his Grace to communicate the same, and to offer to his Grace the congratulations of the House on his arrival in this kingdom.
** Ordered^ That a Committee be appointed to attend the Duke of Wellington with the said Thanks ; and a committee was ap- pointed accordingly."
WEST ANNIVERSARY
OP
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
Considerations upon the Return of the 18th of June,
IN 1816.
We have often looked back with something like reverential feeling, upon the maimer in which the rejoicings for the great triumph of the 18th of June manifested themselves upon the instant, in every heart and in every situation.
The successes of our arms in the Peninsula, and the Conti- nental victories of our Allies, had made us familiar with the idea of military glory ; and we had regularly testified our satisfaction at these successes and its consequences, by all the proper indications of gladness which Englishmen are ever ready to adopt But there was something so tremendous in the extent, and so complete in the issue of the triumph of Waterloo ; it was so exalted bv details of individual heroism, and so saddened by the records of individual loss, that the shout of exultation died upon the lip, and the dirge mingled with the son^ in softening unison upon the past danger, but safety, of our Champion. This ecstasy of thought softened every heart and watered every eye ; reflection was far more sooth- ing and cheerful than mirth; — and who is there that now re- members the first break of the glories of Trafalgar, but instantly recognises a similar stupefaction of sensation when they heard at the same moment the fate of their idol. Nelson ? We rejoiced for the glory of England, but we wept for the fall of its heroes.
Since the deed of Waterloo a year has passed away, and with it has passed away much of those solemn considerations which once restrained our outward joy : the great effects, too, of this triumph are impressively before us — ^perhaps not so vividly as our hopes might have painted, but sufficiently bright to throw their lustre upon objects which evil policy may nave darkened. There was also much due to 'gratitude; and we believe this feeling has been general, we know tnat it has been enthusiastically cherished by those around us.
Upon thoughts and feelings similar to these, the return of the
I
244 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
d:iy in the fiillowinp year was celebrated as the first anniversarr with the iiuHt heartfelt joy ; and surely it is not too much to expeiT that future a;:t»s, with an inerease<l ratio in diminishincr the time. hut increa<iii<^ the ini[)ortance of the seeming affair of yesterdaj. though distant one year, will busily employ time to record in o^ existent characters in the calendar of glorv the feats of hoxasm. discipline, and |>erseverancc9 displayed by this chosen band on tk day of Waterhx).*
In onler to form a precedent or a memorial for sacceedtn^ years, we will en<leavour to give a faint idea of the en^usiasis with which the return of the day was welcomed at Brussels.
" At Bnisftcls the return of the day was celebrated with the utmost military |)om|), and during the whole day the road fipom Brussels to Waterl<x> was crowded with splendid equipages. The musical funeral service was performed in the Church of Waterloo with great solemnity. The visitors went to the wood, where a great many persons took their re])ast The place where the Prince of Orange was wounded was one of the principal objects of the at- tention paid in these celebrated fields, where the blood of so maov illustrious warriors flowed. Among the equipages were sevml very elegant ones belonging to English families. Two hundml carriages had arrived the evening before, mostly with foreigners"
At Windsor also, on June 18th, the residence of our august monarch, the most gratifying scene took place; and for the moment there was a i)erfect imison of soul in all ranks : they were found mingling with each other their good offices; the distinguishal forgot their elevation, and the less so elevated their ideas to be in concord. We now proceed to give some of the details.
The greater part of the officers of the Grenadier Guards, and a select party of distinguished persons, amongst whom were the Duke of Montrose, Earl Percy, and General Taylor, dined on Monday with Sir R. Hill, and the officers of the Royal Horse Guards, at the Cavalry Barracks. The extensive Riding-school was fitted up on this occasion in a style of appropriate el^ance seldom exceeded. At the head of me room was ^^G.P.K." in variegated lamps, with "YORK" on one side, and " WELLING- TON" on the other, most tastefully formed with laurel leaves; — under each of these was a brilliant star. On the sides were painted the names of generals of division, and the places where the regiments had been distinguished ; viz. Maitland, C5ooke, Anglesey, Somerset — Hougomont, Genappe; between these were arranged the banners of the several troops of the Royal Horse Guards. About a third of the room was divided from the part appropriated to the banquet-
♦ The gentlemen managing the Waterloo Fund chose the return of this ans- picious day to develope to the public an outline of their proceedings, and of the principle they had adopted fur the distribution of the fund committed to their charge. Vide p. 248.
FIBST AimiVEBSABT. 245
'table by a large and elegant arch, the columns of which were entwined with a profusion of variegated lamps, amongst which ap- peared transparencies of Peace and Felicity ; the top was formed by the word " WATERLOO," m variegated lamps. Behind this ma^ificent arch was the accommodation of sideboards, &c. : and at tne end of the Riding-school was fitted up an elegant temporary orchestra, over which was " G.R." and a crown of variegated lamps. The cross-beams of the building and the sides were decorated with a profusion of laurels and oaken wreaths, mingled with " flowers of all hues." The tables were arranged in the form of a horse-shoe ; over these were suspended nine brilliant chandeliers. At five o'clock on Monday, the cloth having been laid, the public were admitted to view tihe arrangements in the Riding-school : a great number of genteel persons continued there till nearly seven o'clock, the regimental band meanwhile playing some delightful pieces. About that hour the companj^ sat down to dinner, in foil dress, with their respective decorations and orders. Sir R. Hill took the chair ; the Duke of Montrose on his right. Earl Percy on his left. The dinner was of the most sumptuous and luxurious description, and wasjserved in the valuable plate of the regiment ; the dessert consisted of the rarest finiits, and the wines were of the most exquisite and expensive qualities.
We are sorry that our limits will not allow us to describe the many appropriate toasts that were given on the occasion ; whether expressive of warlike recollections, or the gallantry of soldiers, each was received with a corresponding enthusiasm : the remem- brance of the occasion was an irresistible stimulus to a generous warmth of festivity, and never, therefore, was an evening passed with more social freedom and hilarity. A number of the inhabit^ ants were admitted to witness these pleasures, and were treated with a marked urbanity and kindness.
On Tuesday the officers of the Royal Horse Guards, and several personages of distinction, dined with the Duke of York and the officers of the Grenadier Guards. The arrangements at the Infantry Barracks were not, from want of room, upon the same extensive scale as those of the Riding-house ; but elegance and taste predominated in the decorations. The room fitted up for the occasion was a large one usually occupied by Serjeants; round the walls were tastefully disposed a great variety of laurels and flowers, interspersed amongst the most fragrant and beautiful shrubs. At the head of the room were crossed the gloriously tattered banners, which had sustained so many fierce conflicts amongst their gallant defenders; between these was the word " WATERLOO;" at the other extremity were the new colours of the regiment, destined, we hope, long to be unfurled only in shows of peace : these floated on each side of the inscription, " FIRST ANNIVERSARY." The dining-room was elegantly %hted from
246 lUITLE or WATBBUX).
tasteiul branches and chandeliers: the whole eoup^^agU was eleatt and chaste. About seven o'clock the company assembled^ and sc down to a sumptuous dinner. Every dehcacy loaded the tabks, and the wines were of the choicest Qualities. The same unclouded cheerfulness, the same glowing recollections of the days of active warfare, the same good friendship and generous spirit, equally dis- tinguished this wiUi the precedmg festivaL The Doke of Tork warmly participated in all the festive pleasures ; and the gallant officers at a late hour separated with mutual regards and good wishes.
We now return to the less sumptuous, but not leas pleasii^ en- tertainment, prepared for the soldiers and non-conunissioned officers of both the orave regiments. The tables were laid in the Lon^ Walk, in a space roped in, under the shade of the spreading elms which adorn this delightful spot The grotmd was calculated to afford every facility of observation to lul spectators, being on a gentle ascent, with room to promenade on each side. The tabls extended in one line upwaids of 300 yards. They were (»Tia- mented with pots of laurel, interspersed with flowers ; in each of these was a variegated lamp for the convenience of smokins; and at eoual distances of 100 yards were two arches covered with laurels and shrubs, from each of which was suspended a tablet, bearing this motto : — ** Long live the Duke of Wellington and the Heroes of Waterloa" Plates were laid for 900 men, with each d which was a small cup, for the convenience of drinking wine, and to every two men a quart pewter tankard. By hw-past one o'clock the tables were c-overed with their abundant losld. The provisions consisted of fine roast and boiled beef, mutton, veal, nam, and meat pies, a proportionate quantity of excellent plum- pudding, lettuce, cheese, Ac. At convenient intervals were sta- tioned 24 kilderkins of porter; and the refreshm^its, &c, were distributed from three marquees, placed at the extremities and centre of the line. About half*past one the two regiments, in their fuU dress, headed by their respective colonels, marched into the Long Walk. After some little time the troops took their stations on each side of the table — ^the Royal Horse Guards on the right, the Grenadier Guards on the left ; by this arrangem^t the two regiments were united, and yet preserved their own order of march. Before the troops were arranged the Duke of York and Princess Mary arrived on the ground, and walked up to the centre of the table. The men being seated, the trumpet sounded, and dl stood up, while the Rev. Mr. Roper, chaplain to the forces at Windsor, pronounced in a most impressive manner the following address: —
" SOLDIEBS,
" You are now about to partake of a repast, provided for you
FIRST A5NITEBSABT. 247
by the generous solicitude of the inhabitants of this town, in com- memoration of the battle of Waterloo, when the most glorious victory was achieved by yoiw valour ; and by your exertions on that memorable day, the nations of Europe were delivered from tyranny and oppression, and the blessings of peace restored to your native country.
" But, while elevated by the recollection of the heroic deeds you then performed, remember that it is the Great God of Heaven that giveth all victory — that it is the God of Battles that nerves the soldier's arm ; — to God, therefore, rive the honour due unto his name, and attentively join in the following
''Grace.
'' O God of all mercies, and the Giver of all ^ood things, sanctify our hearts that we may acknowled^ thy loving-kindness in providing for us our daily bread ; and while we joyfully re^le ourselves with the good thiii^ provided for us, make us mindfrd that we are thy servants, fed oy thy bounty, preserved by thy Fatherly care, and united in one common interest with all man- kind Kelieve, therefore, O Lord, the wants of others, and give us thankful hearts. Amen."
bo
The troops then applied to the duties before them with great ;lee ; while the managers of the dinner set before each man a pint tde of excellent port wine. This addition to the good things of the day was furnished by the unexampled munificence of Mr. Car- bonell, wine-merchant of Pall Mall, who chose this most expressive mode of testifying his regard for these brave defenders of his country, and his respect for the neighbourhood in which he had long resided : no words that we can supply can express the public sense of the generosity of this gift, and of the very handsome manner in which it was presented. Every man being abundantly satisfied, the table was cleared, and the following toasts were given with the most enthusiastic cheers, atone signiQ, along the whole line: — « The King/' " The Prince Regent," « The Queen and Royal Family," "The Duke of York,^' « The Duke of Wellington," "Sir Robert Hill and the Officers of the Royal Re^ment of Horse Gnards," "Colonel Cooke and the Officers of the Grenadier Gtiards," " Mr. Carbonell," "Our absent Companions in the Glories of Waterloo." During this time the men smoked their pipes, re- counting their stories of danger, or singing their ditties of the camp. They separated about five o'clock in the greatest good humour, and it is a proud tribute to their character as citizens to declare, that although the greater part of them were sufficiently elevated by these festivities, not a single quarrel or the slightest disposition to tumult clouded the pleasures of the day.
SECOND ANNIVERSARY
OF
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
With satisfaction wo resume the subject of our consideratioiis ujK)!! the FiBST An'niversaby, to state the respectful gratitude with which the return of this auspicious day, for the second time, has been felt and celebrated, not only in England, but on the G>ntuient ; and it is conceived such information cannot be better prefaced than by the insertion of the Address given on the occa- sion by those gentlemen who have, with so much true patriotism, devoted a considerable portion of their time in the management of the
WATERLOO FUND SUBSCRIPTION.
The Committee %gain select with peculiar pleasure the Anni- versary of the Victory of Waterloo, to lay before the public a further accoimt of their proceedings. The plan adopted as the most effectual mode of relief to the wounded and surviving rela- tives of those who fell on that glorious day, was last year submitted in detail ; and the Committee have now the satisfaction to report a large accession of subscriptions since that period, by which Uiey are enabled not only to carry their original desimi into effect upon a scale of extended hberedity, but also to include many interesting and peculiar cases of distress, the consid^tition of which was necessarily postponed until they were possessed of funds adequate to the object.
The subscription is indeed worthy of the generosity, the patriotism, and the gratitude of a great people. The mighty conflict of Waterloo, whilst it gave peace to Europe, and crowned the victors with unfading glory, awakened in every British bosom feelings alike honourable to the national character, and to the steady valour of the army, which, imder its matchless Leader, consummated that ever-memorable achievement
When, hereafter, the pen of the historian shall trace the deeds of that immortal day, it will be his no less gratifying province to record that at the moment when the shouts of victory were heard, and every British heart exulted in the triumph of his country, a spontaneous impulse arose throughout the land to administer relief
SECONI) ANNITBBSABT. 249
to the wounded, and to the widows, children, and relatives of those who had met a glorious death in the field of Waterloo. All ranks, all classes, hastened to raise a fund for the sacred pur- pose. The sentiment was universal, and pervaded alike the Ealace and the cottage. The inhabitants of the most obscure and umble village, when assembled to return thanks to the great Disposer of events for his signal protection, contributed with cheerfol alacrity. This benevolent impulse was not limited to the British isles : with electric rapidity it passed to the most dis- tant r^ons, and excited the glow of patriotism in every quarter of the globe. Justly was it observed by the Marquis of Hastings (on transmitting a portion of the magnificent contributions of our Eastern dependencies), that " That subject of the British Umpire must indeed be unworthy of those blessings and of tfiose honours to which he was bom^ who does not acknowledge a kindred interest in the fortunes of the army which fought at Water loo.^^
Nor IS the subscription less a just tribute of admiration and gratitude to the great Commander of the age, to whom was reserved the glorious and singular destiny, by a series of victories in the fields of Asia and of Europe, to lay in each the broad foun- dations of permanent peace.
The Committee have proceeded, as far as was practicable, to apply the principle of Annuities. Had they at once distributed the whole amount among the various ranks of claimants, their labours would have been brought to an early termination ; but, on maturely weighing the consequences of either plan, they deter- mined rather to encounter the numerous difficulties attendant on the former than to abandon the manifest advantages resulting from its adoption.
Exclusive of life annuities to the widows, and to soldiers dis- abled by loss of limb, annuities for limited periods are granted, not only for the maintenance of the orphan and fatherless children, but adequate to the degree of education suited to their several conditions. And, shomd the sword be again unsheathed, the Committee trust that children thus educated in the principles of reli^om and moraUty, and attached to their country by the united considerations of birth and of gratitude, may decorate their parents* grave with the laurels of fdture victories ; or, should the blessings of peace be continued, will serve their country in the less splendid, though not less useful, career of the industrious citizen. For the attainment of ends so deeply interesting to the honour and
Erosperity of our country, the Committee still continue their ibours; and they indulge a confident hope, that the important trust confided to tneir managem^t will be discharged in a manner to fulfil the benevolent intentions of the subscribers.
Waterloo Subscription Office^ ISth June, 1817.
250
BiLITLB or WATBBLOa
General Account of the WaUrloo Subacriptum to Mixy 31^ 1817.
D
r.
Amount rec8ive<l bj the Committee Int roa^csl bj DiWdendH on Stock Intt»rest on Kxcheqner Bills Profit on Stock wUd
je2d.9»7 10 0
xsn 0 4
15,910 18 0
Total amoiint of Receipts
Ct.
Cost of 4^000 3 per Cent Cons. . 03,()()0 „ Redaced
17,300 Long Ann.
X26;212 13 0
37,618 10 0
274,949 4 6
Total invested in Pnblie Funds . X336,180 12 0
PojfWtenU amd ZhnaHant,
To Oflioers, Non-eommissioned OfBcen^and Privates Woonded ; to the Parents and de- p4>ndeQt Relatives of Officers, Non-commis« sioned Officers, and Privates Killed ; and in Annnilies to Widows and Children, com- mencing from the Ibth Jane, 1815 ; and to the Prussian and other Foreign Troops Discounts and Repayments ....
168,051 9 11 916 5 11
£xpe»9es/rom IBthJmu, 1815, io l&thJune, 1817.
Advertising, Printing, and Stationery . Lease of the House, Fixtures, Kent, and Taxes Salaries to the Secretary, Assistant Secretary, and Clerks, for two Years .... Postage and other incidental Expenses . Balance at the Bankers' ....
4,115 9 7 1,035 13 7
1,882 16 1 1,983 8 11 1,222 13 5
X476,S223 1
i
42,065 8 4 ^£518,288 9 II
£6lS;iS8 9 11
Statement of the Appropriation.
Anmrniiiet franUd/or Xf/e.
To the Widows of Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and
Privates Killed ^£9,594
To the Wounded Non-commissioned Officers, and PriTsies
totally disabled 1,649
To dependent Relatives 540
Amount of Annnitee for life
iCl 1,783
AnnuUieM gratUtd/or UmUed Perio^.
To the Children of Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and
Privates
To Orphans
Amount of Annuities for limited periods
Total Amount of Annuities .
^£8,314 895
9.209 je20,9i»
8EC0JXD ANNITEB8ABT. 251
Voted in Money,
To the Wonnded Officers, Non-commissioned Officrs, and Privates . j^ 1,126 To the Parents and dependent Relatives of Officers, Non-commissioned
Officers, and Privates Killed, leaving no Widows or Children . • 38,577
7b the Foreign Troope, viz, :
Prassians, Bransvridcers, Hanoveriazis, and Netherlanders . jS45,000 Additional for the ezdasive benefit of their Orphans, rendered
such hy the Campaign of 1815 17,500
62,500
Total amoont voted in Money . . . j£ 162,203
John What, Chairman.
London, June 18. — This day being the Second Anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the noble structure of the bridge over the Thames from Surrey to the site of the Savoy was first opened for public accommodation, with as much splendour and dignity as is possible to be given to a ceremony of this description ; the bridge had hitherto been denominated ^^The Strand Bridge:" but the natural and patriotic desire of commemorating in the most noble and public manner the ever-memorable victory of Waterloo, afforded a fortunate opportunity for changing its appellatioiL No mode of perpetuating great deeds by works of art is more con- sistent with good taste than where such works combine, in a high degree, what is ornamental with what is useftd. Monuments of this kind have strong claims on public respect There are many instances of public works having received their names from events honourable to the country in which they were erected ; the pre- sent work, in all human probability, will not be less permanent among the bridges of all ages than the event which it will com- memorate is unrivalled in the annals of ancient and modem history.
The intended ceremony excited the public curiosity to a great extent, which was much increased by the remarkable fineness of the weather — alike favourable for standing on the bridge, viewing the procession from the banks, or making excursions on the river. Botn banks of the Thames, from Blackfriars Bridge to White- hall, were immensely crowded by noon with all descriptions of persons of both sexes, from the curious of the lowest order up to the elegance of the highest fashion. Seats in stages were erected, and let out in the yards belonging to the various wharfs. The river itself seemed covered wim barges and boats of all kinds. Some, in the line where the coal and corn-barges ^nerally lie, were fitted np in a temporary way to accommodate the numerous spectators. The little pleasure-vessels enlivened the scene by the neatness and facility of their movements. Colours were hoisted
252 BATTLB or WATBBLOa
on the steeples of several churches, on tlie yards of wharfii^iers, and on many private boats. The navy standard waved on tbe centre of Somerset Place. A partv of the Horse Ghiards, who had bet»n pn^sent at the battle of Waterloo, clothed in new nm- form, went u]X)n the bridge about ten o'clock in the morning. A ])arty of Foot Guards also attended with their band ; and a detach- ment of the Royal Horse Artillery, with twenty field-pieces. Ti^ bridge was decorated with eighteen standards. In the centre, am at each end, were two royd standards of Grreat Britain ; there wen% between these, standards of Prussia and the Netheriands, and the Orange flag ; thus representing the nations, the snccess *ji whose combined armies occasioned the triumphant appellation of
« WATERLOO BRIDGE.''
The eastern side of tlie bridge was railed off, and temporary benches were placed to accommodate the sj)ectators.* Divisions of Foot Guards were stationed near Whitehall, and a captain s guanl was drawn up in the area before Fife House.
At a quarter past two o'clock the I^rd Mayor passed up the river to Fife House in his state barge, accompanied bv the Sheiifls, the Recorder, several of the court of Aldermen, and a numerous jMirty of ladies. Precisely at tliree a signal gun was fired, and the flags ujx)n the bridge were unfurled at the same moment, whicli had an imposing and magnificent effect The procession was now seen leaving Whitehall Stairs, the City barge taking die lead, immediately followed by the Admiralty barge, in which were the Prince Regent, the Duke of York, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Anglesev, and other personages of the first distinction; other barges belonging to the Admiralty, Navy-ofiice, &c. followed. Man-of-war boats and small vessels, fancifully decorated, preceded them to clear die way.
The procession reached the bridge soon after three o'clock ; it passed tlu^oughthe centre arch under discharges of artillery, which had continued firing from the embarkation, and continued luitil die landing, being 202 in number, the number of guns taken by the British at the battle of Waterloo, exclusive of diose taken in the pursuit The barges went below the Temple Gardens, when they put about and proceeded to the Surrey sida Scarlet cloth had been spread over the stairs and landing-place on the south- east of the bridge, and at the north-east end by Somerset House.
* Chiefly proprietors or their families. On the Prince Regent passing over the hridge, he distributed handfuls of a new silver medal, that had been stnidc to commemorate the opening of the bridge, which was intended for the several proprietors, 6cc.
SECOND ANKIYESSABT. 253
His Royal Highness was received in the most respectful man- Tier by the Committee, after which the ceremony or toll-paying -^-as gone through, the Prince Regent walked along on the western side of the bridge, between the Duke of York and the Duke of Wellington, followed by a number of military officers, officers of State, and persons of distinction, and attended by a military ^uard of honour, preceded by a band of music. Arrived at the north end of the bridge, he descended by the north-east stairs to the royal barge. The filing then re-commenced, and did not terminate till his Koyal Highness had landed at Whitehall water-gate, and re- turned to Carlton House. The City barge continued on the river some time after; and the other boats remained a considerable time rowing or sailing backwards and forwards. We scarcely re- collect an occasion of public gaiety on which a greater number of persons of all descriptions appeared in the streets, on the Surrey as well as the Strand banks of the river. All the roads leading towards the bridge were literally crowded. A fair was opened a little to the soutn-east of the bridge, and called Waterloo Fair. Decorations of laurel were worn by the soldiers, with " Waterloo, 18th June, 1815,'' in gold letters. A bough of laurel, with a similar inscription, was displayed at the suttlins-house in the Tilt- yard. A new banner was hoisted on the spire of St Martin's church. The firemen of different insurance companies appeared in their fiill dress. As a Waterloo trophy, a 12-pounder field- piece, taken in the battle, was placed on the parade iu St James's rark on the Tuesday preceding.
Having noticed the particulars connected with yesterday's ceremony, it is an agreeable task to say something of the bric^ itself, which we consider to be a very nigh proof of the eminent abilities and taste of Mr. Rennie, the engineer, and of the liberality of the great body of proprietors, who have provided the funds for its erection. The situation of tiiis bridge is remarkably fine, and it gives the grandest view we have of the river in its beautiful meander, displays the rising crescent of buildings on the north side, and brings out Somerset Terrace in the most favourable way; while on the south it opens the beautiful prospect of the Surrey hills.
The following are some detailed particulars of the bridge, which is constructed of Cornish granite; the balustrades are of granite from Aberdeen: —
DIVERSIONS OF THE BBIDGE.
The length of the stone bridge within the abatments . . . . 1,2412
Length of the road supported on brick arches on the Surrey side of the river 1,250
Length of the road supported on brick arches on the London side . 400
Total length from the Strand, where the building begins, to the spot in 1 „ ^^^
Lambeth where it falls to the level of the road .... J '
Width of the bridge within the balustrades 42
264 BiLniiB OP WATBBLOa
Width of pftvement or foot- way on each side ....
Width of road for bor&es and carriages . ^
Span of each arah .1^
Thickness of each pier .S3
Clear water-way under the nine arches, which are equal, 120 feet e«(db . Ijto'
Brick arches on the Surrey side 40
Ditto OD the London side 16
Granite ditto for the wateroourse 9
Total number of arches from the Strand to the Lambeth lerel 05
In building the arches, the stones (some of which wei^h i^h wards of six tons) were so accuratel j jointed and carefiil^ laid, that upon the removal of the centres none of the arches sunk more than an inch and a half. In short, the excellency of the workmanship vies with the beauty of the design, and with the skill and arrangement, to render the '' Bridge of Waterloo" a jik»iu- ment of the public spirit, taste, and glory of the age, of which the metropolis and the British Empire nave abundant reason to be proud.
Windaary June 19, 1817. — The Second Anniversary of the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo was celebrated yesterday, the 18th of June, by the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, by a baD and supper, with a degree of magnificence suitable to the spl^i- dour and importance oi the victorv obtained, and of the royal and noble guests to be entertained. tJpwards of a thousand cards of invitation were issued. Among the visitors were: —
His Royal Highness the Inince Regent, his Royal Highness the Duke of York, and the Duke of Wellington ; the Marquises of Anglesey, Worcester, and Blandford ; Earls Denbigh and Percy ; Coimtesses Ilchester, Mexborough, and Powis; Lords Bulkeley, Barnard, Clive, A. Hill, Harrington, M. Kerr, Mexborough, Valletort, Walpole, and J. Murray; Ladies Barnard, Bulkeley, Duckenfield, Fielding, Gibbons, Harrington, Stanhope, TS/L Kerr, E. Murray, Charlotte Onslow, Mary Paulett, Percy, Sullivan, Shuckburgh, Walpole, Whitstead, Wood, Wingfield, and Pagets, the Hon- A. Abercrombie, &c. &c
The Riding-school, which is 107 feet by 40, was fitted up as a ball-room, with a gallery for the musicians for the dancing. A grand orchestra was erected at the head of the room for the Kegent's band. Over the front of the orchestra was displayed in lamps the word *' Waterloo," with the letters ** G. P. ; " and at the opposite end, the name ** Wellington ; " with the letters ** G. R." On each side of the door leading to the upper room was a platform, with a seat, and a canopy of royal blue silk, with a light lining. The pavilion, or supper-room, immediately adjoined the ban-
SBOOND AMNIYBBSABT. 255
room> and extended 220 feet by 30. In it were placed three tables, nearly the whole lenMh of the pavilion^ terminatuig with a semicircular table on a plat^rm^ intended for his Royal Highness the Prince Regent
It having been commnnicated to the Queen that the arrange- ments^ for the evenings entertainment were completed, her Majesty, acconopanied by their Royal Highnesses the Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, went to the barracks, when they were received by the officers with military honours. Having viewed the ball and supper^room, her Majesty was pleased to express, in high terms, her approbation of the whole arrangement
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent retired about a quarter before one o'clocL The Duke of Wellington stayed till about three. In addition to the band belonging to the Royal Horse Guards, there were those of the 1st Foot Guards, and of the 15th Light Dragoons, in a tent near the entrance of the ball-room. The tent, extending over the three long tables, was new for the occasion, and given to the regiment by the Duke of Wellington. The tent forming the upper part of the room was taken m>m Tippoo Saib, and presentea to ner Majesty, by whom it was lent to Colonel Sir Robert Hill for the present occasion.
After supper, the men and their wives had a dance, which was occasionally relieved by a hornpipe, a song, or a glee from the orchestra.
The officers incog, frequently looked on, and partook of their well-regulated mirth. The men went to their respective rooms at twelve, when all was order and silence.
Almack's ball and ffite, given on the occasion of the anni- versary of the batde of Watenoo, was most elegant and splendid, aST«, attended by the first nobility, genl^and mil W in London ; the dancing was kept up with ^reat spirit until half- past four. The officers of the Ist and 2d Life Guards had pre- viously partaken of a sumptuous dinner at the Thatched House Tavern.
General Sir George Cooke, Bart, and a ntunerous party of military gentlemen, celebrated the anniversary at Pulteney Hotel.
Brussels, June 18. — To-day Te Deum was performed in the Cathedral of St Gudule, in memory of the Victory of Waterloa His Excellency the Commissioner-General for the affairs of the Catholic religion, the civil and mihtary authorities, the burgher miard of the city of Brussels, and a great number of persons of aistinction, were present
Te Deum was also celebrated in the Protestant church (for- merly the Augnstines), at which their majesties and all the royal
256 BATTLE OP WATBBljOa
family were present, and also the Princess of Hesse and k? daughter. Five thousand loaves of bread were distributed anKn^ the poor of the different {)arishes.
In the Pmssian States, in the Sjn^om of Hanov^ei% in Hesse. Nassau, the Hanseatic Cities, &c the Anniversary of the 18th wis generally observed*
At llanover, General Ck)unt Eielmansegge gave a ball and supfier at Herrenhausen, to the officers, subaJtems, and privates of the Guard, and of die Landwehr ; 500 invalids had a dinner and t bottle of wine each in the Riding-housa On the 22dy being the first Sunday after the 18th, wliich is fixed by the Ordinance fc^ the observance of the Anniversary, Te Deum was chanted in all the churches of the kingdom. At Luneburg it was kept -with par- ticular solemnity, on account of the presence of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge.
The sum of 7373 dollars has been already subscribed in the kingdom of Hanover, for the purpose of erecting a monument in memory of the victory of Waterloo. In Prussia, as in Hanover, the Anniversary was kept on Sunday 22d.
Prince Bliicher being at Carlsbad, the Prussians, who were there in great numbers, gave him a grand entertainment on the 18th, at which his Highness Field-marshal Prince Schwarzenbmg and many other distinguished characters were present
Brunaunck^On the 16th of this month, being the Anniver- sary of the battle of Quatre Bras, in which our illustrious Duke lost his life on the field of glory, while bravely fighting for the interest of Germany, the troops were all assembled on the parade, where their Commander-in-chief, General Olfermann, addressed them in a short but appropriate speech on the memorable event On the 18th, the Anniversary of the great victory of Waterloo, the whole corps of officers gave a grand entertainment, and then went to the theatre, where a prologue, sidtable to the solemnity of the day, was admirably spoken by Mr. Gassmann, after w^hich " The Chevalier Bayam" was performed. All the subalterns and privates who were present at the battle received, at the expense of the officers, free admission to the theatre, and were treated by them with refreshments.
BerUn, June 16, 1817. — His Majesty has been pleased, in the most distinguished and marked manner, upon this the Anniversary of the battle of Quatre Bras, to confer the Order of the ReJi Eagle of the first class on his Excellency Lieutenant-general
SECOND ANNITEBSART. . 257
Baron Perponcher, Minister Plenipotentiary from the King of the Netherlands to this court, who in the last campaign greatly dis- tinguished himself with the troops of the Netherlands nnder liis command, and maintained an important position against a very superior force of the enemy.
Viennay June 18. — The Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo ^was commemorated to-day by a solemn mass and Te Deurru There A^'as afterguards a grand parade of all the troops of the garrison, at which his Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and all the Gene- rals, with their staffs, were present
Extract of a Letter from Waterloo^ July 28 tA, 1817.
" The English visitors at this place are innumerable, and there is a daily change. The inhabitants of Brussels and its neighbourhood, in- cluding many distinguished personages, and the pubHc functionaries, celebrated the Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo with an elegant fete chanipetre on the field itself.
** This village, formerly a hamlet under Braine-la-Leud, is fast rising into consideration among towns ; and perhaps there are but few places that can boast of an origin which combines so much of the characters of the truly sublime ; in itself romantically picturesque, and agreeably placed on the skirts of the magnificent forest of Soignies, it is situated upon a much-frequented causeway leading to several large towns. The local advantages it possesses, when connected with the great recollec- tions of which it is the object, afford equal attraction to the warrior, the geographer, the historian, the painter, the pious and reflecting, — who, besides the general interest of the place and event, have to lament the dear but glorious recollection of a beloved friend I perhaps of a husband! of a father I of a brother ! or of a son I upon whom they placed their dearest hopes on earth.
" This unison of interest and heightened feeling has already called thousands to the spot, among whom are the greatest potentates, generals, and most illustrious charactei's of the age.
** The affecting testimonials of the different individuals meet the eye in almost everj' direction. Near La Haye Sainte is a sepulchral column, placed by the sister and five surviving brothers of Sir Alexander Gor- don, having on one side the elegant inscription, Ac. ; on the other is the English ; on the right side, a bow bent, with the mof to, * Fortuna sequatur,' on the left the family arms, with * Tria juncta in una.*
'IcH DiEN.*
" On the skirt of tho \v<'od near the causeway of Les Quatre Bras is a sepulchral stone, upon which, under a wreath of laurel, are the names of Ensigns James Lord Hay and the Hon. Samuel Shute Barrington, June 16th, 1816.' In the church of Waterloo are several tablets, &c. &c."
S
THE LAST WATERLOO BANQUET.
For many years past His Grace the late lamented Duke of Wellington had been in the habit of assembling his old companioos in arms on the anniversary of the glorious 18th of June; and it would, if our limits allowed, be a subject of melancholy interest to record the annual vacancies which the final Conqueror of all gradually, but certainly, caused in the ranks of these veterans. It was on the last anniversary a matter of congratulation that the illustrious chief had been spared for so long a period to enjoy bk justly won honours, and to receive from all assembled the assurance of ''the delight and satisfacttoii" with which his lonj^r-continued ''excellent health and spirits" inspired them, — a feeling not con- fined to the Royal ana gallant guests then assembled under his hospitable roof, but participated in throughout the entire kins- dom, and by every one in every quarter of the globe who felt an honourable pride in calling himself his countryman. A fall account of the last of these memorable meetings is here subjoined, extracted from the Morning Chronicle of the 19th June^ 1852:—
The Waterloo BA:NQnET.
Yesterday, the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington gave his commemorative banquet at Apsley House to a gallant band of officers, who participated with him in the dangers and glories of the field.
The diplomatic representatives of the Powers allied with us at the period of the battle called at Apsley House in the morning to tender their respects to the iUustrious Commander, and the same mark of respect was paid by a niunerous body of the aristocracy. On no previous anmversary was there such a throng of visitors The subjoined, which is haraly a tithe of the crowd, waited to leave cards at the ducal mansion : —
His Excellency the Prussian Minister, his Excellency the Belgian Minister and Madame Van de Weyer, his Excellency the Netherlands Minister, his Excellency the Austnaii Minister, his Excellency the Portuguese Minister and the Countess de Lavradio, his ExcelleDCj the Hanoverian Minister, his Excellency the Swedish Minister, Baron an(f Baroness de Rothschild, the Couiitess Hardenberg, Count Palen, Count de Macquitella, the Chevalier de Rebiero, M. Comyn, M. Savila, M. ^^'
THE LAST WATEBLOO BANQUET. 259
ganiere, M. Van Zellar, Duke and Duchess of Cleveland, the Duchess of Sutherland, Duke and Duchess of Argyle, the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort, the Marquis of Anglesey, the Marquis and Marchioness of Aylesbury, the Marquis and Marchioness Camden, the Marquis and Marchioness of Exeter, the Marchioness of Ely, the Marchioness of Conyngham, the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire and Lady Mary Hood, Dowager Marchioness of Ely, Lady Anna Loftus, Lady Catherine Lioftus, the Marquis and Marchioness of Westminster, the Marquis and Marchioness of Worcester, the Earl and Countess of Derby, the Earl and Countess of Jersey and Lady Clementina Villiers, the Earl and Countess of Guilford, the Countess of Powis and Ladies Lucy and Harriett Herbert, the Earl and Countess of Brownlow, the Earl of Chichester, the Earl and Countess of Tankerville, tlie Dowager Coun- tess of Verulam, the Countess of Dunmore, the Countess of Pembroke, the Earl of Minto, the Earl and Countess of Sandwich, the Earl and Countess of Caledon, the Earl and Countess of Verulam, the Earl of Normanton, the Earl and Countess Fortescue, the Earl and Countess Craven, the Earl and Countess Howe, the Earl and Countess Camper- down and Lady Elizabeth Duncan, the Countess St. German's, the Earl and Countess of Arundel and Surrey, the Earl of Stradbroke, the Coun- tess of Lindsey, Viscount and Viscountess Sydney, Viscount and Vis- countess Mahon, Viscount Canterbury, Viscount Newport, Viscount Chelsea, Viscount Melville, Viscount and Viscountess Maynard, Vis- count and Viscountess Folkestone, Viscount and Viscountess Villiers, Viscount and Viscountess Seaham, Viscount Cranboume, Viscount and Viscountess Eastnor, Lord and Lady Walsingham, Lord Forester, Lord Eliot, Lord Henry Gordon Lennox, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, Lord Robert Grosvenor, Lord William Thynne, Lord Charles Manners, Lord Broughton, Lord Vernon, Lord Colchester, Lord Ernest Bruce, Lord and Lady De Ros, Lord Edwin Hill, Lord Haddo, Lord and Lady Sey- mour and Ladies H. and N. St. Maur, Lord and Lady John Manners, Lord Alvanley, Lord and Lady Alfred Paget, Lord Churchill, Lady Willoughby de Eresby, Lady Grey, Lord and Lady Abinger and the Hon. Miss Scarlett, Dowager Lady Abinger, Baroness North and Miss Doyle, Lady Augustus Loftus and Miss Greville, Lady Emily Drum- mond, Lady Fuller, Lady Laura Meyrick and Miss Meyrick, Lady Agnes Buller, Lady RoUe, Lady Sarah Maitland and Misses Maitland, Lady Charles Somerset and Miss Somerset, Lady Emily Ponsonby, Lady Louisa Tighe, Lady Antrobus, Lady Farquhar and Miss Farquhar, Lady Maria West, the Hon. R H. and Lady Harriet Clive and Miss Clive, the Hon. Frederick and Lady Elizabeth Villiers, the Hon. Mr. and Lady Emma Vesey, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Right Hon. Sir James and Lady Graham, Lady Wallscourt and the Hon. Misses Blake, Sir Hugh and Lady Hume Campbell, Sir Wil- liam and Lady Vemer, Lieut. -general Sir Edward Kerrison, Sir John Walsh, Sir John and Lady Kirkland, Sir Augustus ClifiFord, Sir E. Antrobus, Sir John Yarde Buller, Sir George Hayter, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Migor-general Sir Heniy Floyd, the Hon. Lieut. -colonel Hood, the Hon. Captain and Mrs. Duncombe, the Hon. Mr. Curzon, the Hon. Colonel Grey, the Hon. Robert Grimston, the
260 BATTLE OP WATEBLOa
Hon. Captain De Roos. the Hon. Richftrd Cavendish, Admiral A'Coon lippinf^ton, Admiral W. H. Perrv, Admiral Poulett, Afajor-general McH»re. Major penend Fane, Major general Calvert, Colonel MevricL (' ilon(»l (fas<-oi;^iie. Colonel William Thornton, Colonel MacleaiL (,'.»l(mel Angerstein, Colonel Ha<»ot. Lieut. -colonel North, Lieut, col. Cotton, Commodore Eden, Major Studholme Brownrigg, Captain Carlet<m, Captain Kincaid, Captain Howard Vyse, Captain Eenyon, Captain Mmin>. Captain liayter Smith, Captain Llovd ; and a best oi fashionables too numerous to enumerate.
Before half-[)ast six o'clock, the hour when the veteran officers invited by his Grace began to arrive, a large concourse of people had conffrecated in front of the mansion. A strong body of police, under the cnarge of Superintendent Otway and Inspector Whall, were in attendance to prevent any obstructions to the traffic ; and we are happy to say that, notwithstanding the vast crowd of persons and vehicles which thronged the locality, not the least confusion took place.
The jx>pular favourites received their customary ovations from the crowd. Viscount Hardinge and Sir Harry Smith were coi^ dially welcomed; but the loudest demonstrations of favour appeared to have been reserved for Field-marshal the Marquis of Anglesey, who was enthusiastically cheered.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by the Marquis of Abercom, K.G. (groom of the stole to the Prince), and the Hun. and Rev. Gerald VVellesley, domestic chaplain to the Queen, and nephew of his Grace, arrived at five minutes past seven. The Prince was received bv the noble and gallant Duke at tlie portica
The full band of the Grenadier Guards (of which regiment the Duke is Colonel-in-chief) was stationed in the vestibule, and per- formed a varied selection of music during the arrival of the guests, and on the Prince reaching the courtyard struck up the " Goburg March."
The Prince Consort was cx>nducted by the Duke to the grand saloon, which is hung with portraits of some of the veteran's oldest and most famous generals, who served under him in the Peninsula, including Beresford, Hill, Anglesey, Vivian, and other great names of military fame.
Precisely at half-past seven the Duke, with the Prince Consort, followed by his old companions in arms in the field, passed into the Waterloo Gallery, in which the banquet was laid out with sumptuous magnificence. The Duke sat in the centre of the table, having on his right His Royal Higlmess Prince Albert, the Marquis of Anglesey, the Marquis of Abercom, the Earl of Strafford, and Sir Harry Smith ; and on his left the Hanoverian Minister, Sir Colin Halkett, &c.
In addition to the Prince Consort, the Marquis of Aberconi,
THE LAST WATEBLOO BANQUET. 261
and the Hon. and Rev. Gerald Wellesley, the company dining -with his Grace on this anniversary were as follows : —
His Excellency Couut Kielmansegge (the Hanoverian Minister), who last year was abseut from precarious health, but who is now quite recovered ; and the following distinguished officers : —
Field-marshal the Marquis of Anglesey, KG., G.C.B., and G.C.H., Colonel of the Koyal Regiment of Horse Guards.
General the Earl of Strafford, G.C.B. and G.C.H., Colonel of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards.
General Sir Peregrine Maitland, K.C.B., Colonel of the 17th Foot. General Sir Colin Halkett, G.C.B. and G.C.H., Colonel of the 45th Foot, and Governor of Chelsea Hospital.
General Sir Edward Kerrisou, Bart., K.C.B. and G.C.H., Colonel of the 14th Dragoons.
Lieut.-general Lord Seaton, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., and G.C.H., Colonel of the 26th Foot.
Lieut.-general Sir Alexander Woodford, K.C.B. and G.C.M.G., Colonel of the 40th Foot.
Lieut. -general Lord Fitzroy J. H. Somerset, G.C.B., Colonel of the 53d Foot, and Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief.
Lieut.-general Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B. and K.C.H., Colonel of the 7 1st Foot.
Lieut.-general James W. Sleigh, C.B., Colonel of the 9th Dragoons. Lieut-general Sir Arthur B. Clifton, K.C.B. and K.C.H., Colonel of the 1st Dragoons.
Lieut.-general the Earl Cathcart, K.C.B., Colonel of the Ist Dragoon Guards.
Lieut.-general Viscount Hardinge, G.C.B., Colonel of the 57th Foot, and Master-General of the Ordnance.
Lieut.general the Hon. E. P. Lygon, C.B., Colonel of the 13th Dragoons.
Lieut.-general Sir George H. F. Berkeley, K.C.B., Colonel of the 36th Foot.
Lieut.-general Sir George Scovell, K.C.B., Colonel of the 4th Dra- goons, and Governor of the Royal Military College.
Lieut.-general Lord Saltoun, K.C.B. and G.C.H., Colonel of the 2d Foot.
Lieut.-general Henry Wyndham, Colonel of the 11th Hussars. Lieut.-general Sir Edward Bowater, K.C.H., Colonel of the 49th Foot.
Lieut.-general Henry DOyly, Colonel of the 33d Foot. Lieut, general the Hon. Henry Murray, C.B., Colonel of the 7th Dragoon Guards.
Lieut.-general Thomas Dalmer, C.B., Colonel of the 47th Foot. Lieut.-general James Hay, C.B., Colonel of the 79th Foot. Lieut.-general Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross, K.C.B., Deputy Adjutant- general of the Royal Artillery.
Lieut.-general J. W. Smith, C.B.
Lieut.-general Douglas Mercer, C.B., Colonel of the 68th Foot.
262 BATTLE or WATBBLOO.
Lieut-genenl Johu Reeve.
MHJor-j^eueral Sir H. Willoughbv Rooke, C.B. and K.C.H.
Major-general Archibald Money. C.B. and K.C.. Colonel of the 2d Dragooufl.
Major-general E. Parkinson, C.B.
Major-general R. Lewellyn, C.B.
Major-general Richard Egerton, C.B.
Major-general J. Claud Bourchier, K.C., Colonel of the 3d Dng^^^ Guanls.
Majorgeneral T. W. Taylor. C.B., Lieut.-Govemor of the Royal
Military College.
Major-general Sir Hany G. W. Smith, Bart., G.C.B., Colonel of
the Hifle Brigade.
Major-general Felix Calvert, C.B.
Major-general Sir De Lacy Evans, K.C.B.
Major-general A. Macdonald, C.B.
Major-general Lord James Hay.
Major-general Lord Sandys.
Major-general Sir (ieo. Bowles, Lieutenant of the Tower of London.
Major-general T. W. Robins.
Major-general W. L. Walton.
Major-general Mildmay Fane.
Major-general Sir James Maxwell Wallace, K.H.
Major-general William G. Moore.
Major-general Sir Henry Floyd, Bart,
Major-general James Simpson, Lieut.-govenior of Portsmouth.
Major-general the Hon. (xeorge Anson.
Major-general Ijord Hotham.
Major-general E. P. Buckley.
Major-general Edward Byam.
Major-geijeral Berkeley Drummond.
Colonel Henry Dawkins.
Colonel Michael Childers, C.B.
Colonel C. AUix.
Colonel Thomas Wildman.
Colonel the Hon. Hely Hutchinson.
Colonel G. W. Hortou.
Colonel James C. Chatterton.
Colonel C. F. R. Lascelles.
Colonel Thomas Read, C.B.
Colonel A. K. Clark Kennedy, C.B. and K.H.
Colonel E. C. Whinyates, C.B. and K.H.
Colonel John Oldfield, K.H.
Colonel Everard Bouverie.
Colonel Lord Rokeby.
Colonel Thomas Marten.
Colonel C. Diggle, K.H.
Colonel John Cox, K.H.
Colonel Edward Keane.
Colonel the Right Hon. George Lionel Dawson Darner.
THE LAST WATERLOO BANQUET. 263
Colonel R. H. Cooke, C.B. Colonel the Earl of Albemarle. Colonel John Enoch. Colonel George Wilkins, C.B.
The gaests being seated, the Hon. and Rev. Grerald Wellesley said grace, and at the conclusion of the banquet made the thanks.
Inuring dinner the military band stationed in an adjoining saloon played the following pieces: —
Overture, ** La Dame Blanche " Divertimento, ** I Martiri " Waltz, " Traume auf dem Ocean " Cavatina, ** Torquato Tasso " Soldaten Polka * StjrianJodler
Boieldieu.
Donizetti,
Qvngl.
Donizetti,
Stassny,
UmraUi.
The banquetdng board presented much the same aspect as on former years. The Portuguese silver plateau, a superb piece of workmanship, with its hundreds of emblematical figures, adorned the greater length of the table. There were also costly vases of Potsdam china (the gift of the late King of Prussia), filled with flowers; and the companion statuettes, silver gilt, designed by Count D'Orsav, of the Duke and his imperial nval at W aterloo. Napoleon. The apartment was lighted from the costly chande- liers, a souvenir from the late Emperor Alexander of Russia. All the plate used at the dessert was of gold ; the service to the^ests was of Dresden china, a present from one of the European Poten- tates. On the sideboards there was a great display of costly plate : conspicuous among other pieces was Flaxman s Waterloo Snield ; larse gold salvers decorating a sideboard at the north end of the gaUery ; and a gold candelabra, the gift of the merchants of the City of London, afforded sufficient light to render all their beauties . At the other end was a superb gold vase of large
tensions, filled with flowers.
After Conner the noble Duke called on his gallant friends to fill their glasses ; and the conmiand having been complied with, the Duke rose, and gave " The Queen."
The toast was drank upstanding, with three times three.
Band—" The National Anthem."
His Royal Highness Prince Albert next rose, and said: " Gentlemen, I have only to give vou * The health of the noble' Duke, our distinguished host, and to express a feeling, in which I am sure you all join with me, of my delight and satisfaction in seeing our illustrious host in such excellent health and spirits on the present occasion." [Loud cheering.]
The toast was drank with three times three, the band playing " See the conquering hero comes."
264 BATTLE OF WATFJOjOO.
The Diikf of \Vi*lIin;rton, on risinfj, said there was no occasion to iviiiind tlic |»ul»Iic of* bv^one transactions; but of this he wai confident, that »iiould iui iinergency arise, — of which he was ha[}pT to S41V there was no prosjH.»ct at present, — the officers of the annv and tlie army itself would do their duty as they had done before lie begged to projK)se " Tlie health of Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family.''
Band — " The C<)lK)ur<r March."
The toa,st lH»iu«r dulv honoured. His Roval Highness Prince Albert said: " Gentlemen, I am thankful to the noble Duke; and I assure him that I highly appreciate the honour of bein|^ asso- ciate<l with you on this memorable anniversary." [Cheers.]
The Duke next gave " The memory of those who fell at the Battle of Waterloo." This toast was drank in solemn silence.
His Grace afterwanls rose, and in an excellent speech propose! " The Cavalry that fought at Waterloo." He spoke in most com- plimentary terms of the services of that branch of the service. He said he saw an old friend [turning to the Marquis of Anglesey] near him who had greatly cfistinguished himself in command of tie cavalry on that day, and it affordcnl him great satisfaction to see him so full of healtli and spirits. With the toast he would join "the Marquis of Anglesey." [Cheers.]
Band — Cavalry March.
The Marquis of Anglesey, in reply, said he begged to return his thanks to his gallant comrades for the manner they had drunk his health. Often as he had had the honour of meeting them, never did he experience the happiness he felt at the present moment to see their illustrious Chief still possessing those powers of mind which had carried him through all his triumphs. [Cheers.] This was the thirty-seventh anniversary ; and long mi^ht we see him — long might he be spared to remain the admiration and glory of liis country — [loud cheers] — and to enjoy all the honours conferred on him. [Continued cheering.] The noble Marquis having re- peated his thanks for their kindness, resumed his seat amidst warm applause.
The Duke of Wellington, after a few remarks bearing testi- mony to the great services of the Foot Guards, gave " The Foot Guards at Waterloo, and Sir Peregrine Maitland." His Grace turned round to Sir Peregrine, and said to the gallant general in a loud tone of voice, " Your good health !"
Band — " The British Grenadiers."
General Sir Peregrine Maitland briefly returned thanks.
The Duke then proposed " The Artillery at the Battle of Waterloo," with which he associated the name of Sir Hew Ross. [Loud cheers.]
Lieutenant-general Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross, K.C.B., briefly acknowledged the toast
THE LAST WATERLOO BANQUET. 266
The Duke, in proposing the next toast^ " The Infantry of the Line at Waterloo,** said he had heen an eye-witness of their great efficiency on that occasion ; and he was confident, that whenever their services might be required they would faithfully discharge their duty. With the toast he would name Lord Seaton. [[Cheers.]
Band — Quick step.
Lieutenant-general Lord Seaton, G.C.B., returned the noble rhike his gratefiil thanks for the honour done to the infantry of the line, and for the mention of his own name in conjunction with that branch of the service.
The Duke next rose and said, among the most difficult duties attached to the army there was none more so than that imposed on the staff. He proposed " The Staff Officers at Waterloo and the Earl Oathcart"
Lieutenant-general Earl Cathcart, K.C.B., replied in a few words.
The Duke rose and said, the comitry was very strong when the great battle was fought which they were then commemorating, for the whole of the Sovereigns of Europe were allied with us. Among the armies of those Sovereigns, none had done more service both in Flanders and the Peninsula than the Hanoverian army. He had on his left a distinguished friend who served with him on that oc- casion; and he begged to give **The Hanoverian Army and the Count Kielmansegge," [Cheers.]
His Excellency Count Kielmaifsegge, in a very eloquent speech, thanked the noble Duke and the gallant officers present for the compliment paid to the Hanoverian army. There was not a man in the Hanoverian army that would not follow the example set them by British valour, and the great Captain who had led them to vic- tory. They might be assured his countrymen would feel proud to learn the high opinion given of them by the greatest General of his time. [Cheers.]
The Duke then said, he always at these meetings was proud to acknowledge the great services rendered by the Prussian army at Waterloo. Indeed, he could not speak too highly of the advantages which followed upon their operations. He saw his old friend 'V'ls- coiint Hardinge at the table, to whom important duties in connexion with the Prussian army were entrusted ; and the result proved the diligence and ability of his noble and gallant friend on a very deli- cate duty. He would, therefore, give them " The Prussian Army and Viscount Hardinge."
Lieutenant-general Viscount Hardinge, G.C.B., in reply, said he was proud on all occasions to obtain the approbation of the Duke. He could only say, that the reliance of Marshal Bliicher was chiefly on the good faith and confidence he had in the noble Duke and the British army. The gallant Viscount concluded by
266 BATTLE OP WATBBLOa
thanking the company for the honour done to himself and to tbe army of Pnissia.
The Duke next gave ** The King's Grerman L^on at Wato^ loo and Sir Colin Halkett"
General Sir Colin Halkett, G.CB., briefly returned thanks.
The Duke next proposed, '' General the Earl of StraffonTs health," and spoke m nigh terms of his gallant services at Waterloa
General the Earl of Straflbrd, on rising, said he saw around him many brother officers to whom he was much indebted; and to the valour of the men and the character of the officers the success of the day was looked forward to by the noble Duke. He returned them his grateful thanks for the kmdness they had shown him io return.
The Duke said they had amongst them a gaUant soldier and a valued officer, who had just returned irom a most ardnons and difficult service. He [the Duke] was fully aware of the harassing and annoying circumstances that officer had to contend with, in not having a sufficient force to bring against hostile barbarians in a country abounding in woods and forests, and a rocky and moun- tainous land. He would propose "The health of Sir Hanr Smith.''
The toast was loudly cheered. When the applause had sub- sided. Major-general Sir Harry G. W. Smith, G.C.B., rose, and in an energetic speech expressed his deep sense of the kindness of the gallant Duke, and the satisfaction he felt that his services had his approbation. The gallant officer said he had been graciously received by Her Majesty, the Duke, and by his country on hs return. He concluded by thanking the all-wise Dispenser of good that he had been spared to meet them aeain under the roof of meir illustrious Captain. The gallant general was several times cheered during his observations.
It being half-past ten, the Duke and His Royal Hifrhness Prince Albert, and the gallant veterans (eighty-four in number) who had joined in celebrating the day, left the ^Jlery for the saloon, where coffee and tea were served.
EGs Royal Highness Prince Albert, after taking farewell of his Grace, left at a quarter to eleven o'clock ; and immediately af^ wards the venerable and gallant band separated.
The Duke, soon after the departure of the Prince Consort, although the weather was far &om pleasant, ordered his carriage, , to attend the Duchess of Beaufort's and the Marchioness of Salis- bury's ** receptions."
A VISIT
TO
THE FIELD OF WATERLOO IN 1850,
AiMOffr every En^L'slimaD who finds himself in Brussels makes it a mint to pay a visit to the memorable battle-field of Waterloo^ and having, at previous times, been unable to satisfy this national feeling, we determined to ma^e a day, in spite of the advanced period of the year ; so, on the morning of the — of October we started from Brussels in a drizzling rain, and took the road by the Boulevard de Waterloo, and through the Forest of Soignies, to the village of Waterloo. Murray had prepared us for a host of guides and relic-mongers, and consequently, on our nearing the village, being stopped by one of the fraternity, who, as he appeared an mtelugent man, and our coachman vouching for his capacity, we thought it prudent to select at once ; and this plan we recommend to future visitors, as one they will find greatlv conducive to their subsequent comfort; the rest, finding the victuns already secured, are generally kept at a tolerable distance, and the pilgrim is allowed a short breathing-time to collect his thoughts between the many claims which are necessarily made on his patience and temper by the itinerant vender of plans and relics.
Our guide was a man about fifty years of age, and appeared per- fectly conversant with the different localities ; he, as well as the others, has a museum of reUcs, T?ith the aid of which his wife tries to tempt his clients on their return. We will ofler no advice to others on this point; the ladies of our party certainly loaded them- selves with French and English bullets, which professional men aflSrm have never been discharged from anything but the bullet- mould. However, if they believe them to be relics, what more can he desired? Before we leave this worthy it may as well be stated, that Sergeant-major Cotton, recommended by Murray, was dead, and as our guide is also well spoken of by that infallible authority, we will
268 BATTLK OF WATERLOa
give a fac-simile of his can!, which, to those who love the eccentr:' may be amusing ; and to those who want a guide, useful.
at Mount Saint - John^
4^utte in Ui« jtelcl ©j iJoiUe an ILateMoc
He ejcerass this profeation since eighteen hunderd and fiftt He has htd, sevtr al tifnes, the honour of accompanying the fnosl resftect/ul families of En^nnd, and particuUxriy the honobltsfc^ mdy of LORD WELLESLEY, who have deigned to deliver him certificates^ in witness of their satisfaction.
On our emerging from the Forest of Soignies the rain ceased, and we were enabled to oj)en our caliche. The village of Waterit*} b in a hollow, gradually rising towards the farm of Mont St. Jean: we alighted near this point, and walked up the ascent to the field, and on arriving at the cross road^ on the summit, the memorable battle-field was first seen.
The feeh'ng of indifference which some of us had on the war manifested was not less felt by the writer of this short notice, aixi the conclusion we had, with one exception, come to on our way, was, that we were doing a very absurd thing in performing, as it were, a cockney pilgrimage to a place where every one had been, and to which our national eccentric feeling prompted us to think it would be more distingtti to abstain from visiting. However, this feeling gradually faded as the weather brightened, and by the time we arrived on the field we had really quite accumulated a stock of enthusiasm, which certainly was as genuine as our previous feel- ings had rendered unexpected. This, upon reflection, is not won- derfiil, for, when gazing for the first time on that field where thousands lay interred, the thoughts that unbidden rise cannot but impress the reflections of all with sadness, that £he insatiable am- bition of one man caused those thousands of brave men to sacrifice their lives in a cause which the collected wisdom and powers of Europe had declared incompatible with the liberties and nationali- ties of the world. On the other hand, thousands of brave men, in the execution of their duty, had here perished ; and when we remembered that these men were our countrymen who had fallen in the defence of our liberties, and moistened with their blood the ground on which we trod — that on the left of our position the gallant Picton fell in the moment of victory — before us stood
A VISIT TO WATEBLOO IN 1850. 269
the monument of Sir A. Gordon, and on the right, under that
inimense mound of green earth, lay intermingle the bones of
friends and foes — a teeling of sadness, and, at the same time, of
national exultation came over us, for which we were not prepared.
Often as the maps and plans of this battle had been consulted,
"we had never before felt the importance which the maintenance
of the British position had on the result of the campaign, and we
now saw what the object was for which the enemy so furiously
stni^led.
The battle-field is smaller than we had pictured beforehand to ourselves, and the position of each wing of both armies could easily he ascertained. What this task was, mrough the smoke and amid the confusion of 120,000 men engaged in deadly conflict, c^n only he known to those who were placed in command. The wood from which the Prussians advanced is clearly seen from the position occupied by Wellington — that succour for which he had so anx- iously looked during that long and dreadful day. What must have been his feelings when at last he found himself in a position to attack the enemy, and when he was at last enabled to say, *' Now every man must advance" ? Gloriously did his army reply to this long-looked-for order, and gloriously did they avenge the aggressions which they had for so many hours patiently and heroically endured I "My plan is to remain here till the last man," said he, in reply to inquiries from his generals ; and ad- mirably had he posted his anny to endure the many and furious charges directed upon it A slight valley lay between the French and ourselves ; they had to charge up-hill in attacking us ; the effect of one of their most furious charges was prevented from this circumstance. Buonaparte having, as a last resource, marshalled the ilite of his Guard, in their eagerness to attack they hurried forward and divided ; the foremost men arrived out of breath with excitement and eagerness, and were retreating in disorder as their comrades were advancing.
What the result of the battle might have been had Blucher not arrived is a matter of vaiied opinion. Buonaparte, it is reported, manifested the liveliest joy when he found the English army sepa- rated from the Prussians in their positions on the morning of the 18th, with the forest in their rear, and exclaimed, " Now I have them!" So confident was he of succeeding, he vainly imagined that the forest in the rear would have prevented their retreat On the other hand, it is stated that Wellington had especially relied on the Forest of Soignies, in the event of such a movement being necessary, to cover and effectually check the advance of the enemy. On this point let each enjoy their own opinion, the result is sufficient for Englishmen to* contemplate.
Our guide now took us to Picton's position on the left, and pointed out the place where he fell ; we then descended towards the
270 BATTLE OP WATKBLOa
monmnent erected to the Hanoveriaiu, which is in a dib^Mdatedccs- dition, and the inscription nearly efiaced«* After viewing aixMiiids the varied positions, we crossed over the chaoss^ near La Haj! f Sainte, and ascended to the monument erected to Sir A. Gonks. •. brother to Lord Aberdeen. The inscription is more perfect, and viH - be found in page 296. We did not enter HoogcHnont, bat walks i to the right, to the vast green mound surmounted bj the Be^ | Lion, erected near the spot where the Prince of Qraz^ ws \ wounded to the memory of the Belgians who fell in the battle: to construct this vast pyramidical mound the earth, tor nearir i * yard thick, has been removed from the Britid position, whick consequently, was much more formidable than it now iqipean. We entered a sort of court-yard, by a fee to the goardian, and inscribed our names in the visitors' l>ook, one of which is annuallr filled with the names of several thousand visitors : Uie roam k decorated with prints of Nanoleon, &c &c The sympathy c^ the people about were clearly with him. On our askii^ the i guide wny no portrait of Wellmgton or memorial of his deeds was j to be found, he gave as a reason that one was dead and unfor- \ tunate, and that we Englishmen had our Duke always with us. However, he might have answered, with those who so wisely placed over the architect of that great temple in which it is decided onr great and lamented Commander is for ever to repose, this sim|je but expressive memorial, —
•< Si MonmneDtam requiris, Circomspice.'*
And this should always be the answer to those who look for a monument of Wellington at Waterloa
This mound is 200 feet in height, and is ascended by a flight of steps, assisted by a rope to steady the visitor. On a day sncli as that of our visit it was most needed ; the ascent was certainly not an easy one. The view from the summit is very extensive — Hougomont at our feet; La Belle Alliance, where Buonaparte stood; Planchenoit, where the Prussian monument is erected; Wavre, and every other point of interest, are easily identified. To those who are not equal to the task of visiting each position in detail, the summit of the mound forms the best point of view possible.
The French army, when passing through Belgium to the siege of Antwerp in 1830, sadly mutilated this monument of their national humiliation. They endeavoured, with ropes, to pull the lion from his elevated position; they were not, however, enabled to effect their wish, probably from the remonstrances of their officers, who knew full well that, destroy as they might the monuments, the name and fame of Waterloo would ever endure.
* Vide page 208.
A TI8IT TO WATERLOO IN 1850. 271
"Pile soldiers damaged the teeth and claws^ and attempted to break oiF the tail, and tlios ended their impotent efforts.
Our guide, Pierson, was, he informed us, pressed into their service to procure ladders to aid this fiitile attempt
The main building, or ch&teau of Gomont, has been removed ; tlie out-buildings show the marks of the devastation done bj the sliOTver of missiles so long received against them. The walls still retain the loop-holes made for its defence by the British. The most strenuous efforts were made bj the French to possess this key to our position. Their efforts were in vain ; the gallantry and perseverance of our troops at this fearfiilly-contested pomt can never sufficiently be praised.
We descended the mound, and continued our walk along the crest of the British position, Pierson at each point naming the regiment or event which rendered it famous; he was full of anecdotes, and loud in praise of the French gallantry : *^ they fought like lions" — they had the best of the battle for a long period, till the Prussians arrived ; then Lord Wellington " say to his troop, ^ Orpgarde-anattemme,'" which, according to him, finished the affair.
We had not time to walk over the French lines, we therefore returned to Mont St Joan, which was in the rear of the British position, and was used as a hospital for the wounded. The church at Waterloo is rather a handsome building, consisting of a dome with a lantern over, with a Grecian portico ; the interior contains monuments to several English officers.* We successftdly resisted the offers of our guide to visit the tomb of the Marquis of Angle- sey's leg, and other blandishments which he held out, and having gratified our curiosity by a most interesting and exciting, although in some points imperfect, view of this memorable battle-field, we bade adieu to the village of Waterloo and returned to Brussels.
* Vide page 206 for the uiBcriptions.
i
MILITARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
NOTICES OF THE FALLEN HEROES.
DUKE OF BRUNSWICK.
" To record the virtues of the departed brave" is a pleasliu though {gainful task to survivors ; and the pen is never^ perhaps exercised with more immediate advanta^ or future benefit tbn when Inlying a due tribute to the worUi and excellence of tbo* with whom r rovidcnce has adorned societv for a time, and then by some sudden event has swept them away and left their ima^ alone to memory.
At the head of these may be placed His Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick-Oels, who was killed on the spot by a wouik in his side, whilst fighting gallantly at the head of his troops. Hb remains were brought to Brunswick near midnight, on the 22d of June, accompanied by the physician and servants of his household Several thousand persons went to meet them. At a mile distance from the town the horst»s were taken from the hearse and drawn by tlie })eople to the {)alace. This prince had put his annv. amounting to 14,000 men, in mourning ever since his &ther's death, and made his soldiers swear never to leave it off till they had avenged the insult offered to his father's tomb by the French.
Fkederick William, Duke of Bbunswick - Wolfenbuttu:, Okls, and Bernstadt, was the fourth and voim^st son of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick- Wolfenbuttle, who died on tlie 10th of November, 1806, at Ottensen, near Altona, in consequence of the wound which he received at the un- fortunate battle of Jena.* He was doubly allied to the illustrious house which sways the British sceptre f — his mother beuig the
* Buonaparte refused this noble character burial amonj? his ancestors.
t The seven sons of William, the younger Duke of Brunswick- Lunenburg, furnished the most striking instance of fraternal affection. The right of primo- geniture had not yet been introduced into the dukedom, and the death of each reigning prince had till then given occasitm to a divisi< ii of power, which inu>tin the end be the means of considerably weakening the prftiid»nir of this sovereignly. Immediately after the death of their father, which hapi)enpd in 1011, the seven brothers resolved to make a regular family convention, in virtue of which it should no longer be permitted to dismember in future the ducal domains ; but, on the
^
NOnCES OF THE FALLEN HEROES. 273
sister of George III., and his sister the unfortunate Queen Caro- line, wife of George IV. He was bom on the 9th of October, 1771, at the tune when his father was still hereditary prince ; but already highly honoured by the princes and people of Germany, on account of his exploits in the Seven Years' W ar and the attach- ment of Frederick the Great to his brave companion in arms. The whole north of Germany was suffering, in that unhappy year, the horrors of famine from a failure of the harvest Brunswick was besides oppressed by the disorder of the finances, from which there was no relief, except through the hereditary prince. He thought it his duty to give, in his own family, the example of the economy which he wisned to introduce into his country. This generous resolution, and the numerous military and state affairs which occupied the time of the hereditary prince, did not fail to influence, in some measure, the education of his sons. Frederick William being the youngest, his future elevation to the sovereignty could not be calculated upon in his education : but whoever ob- served him and his way of life, not only what immediately sur- rounded him, could not help believing him destined for something great. His large and ardent eye added the expression of energy to the mildness that was announced by the mouth and other fea- tures ; a finely-formed forehead and a Grecian nose completed his agreeable countenance. His form was elegant, yet muscular ; and ^ hardened himself a^t the fatigu^ of war, eagerly pur- suing the exercises which are considered as its image. It has been often remarked, that the most lively minds are the fondest of the abstruse sciences : thus, the Prince took great delight in mathe- matics. His education was, upon the whole, much the- same as that of his brothers, who were but a Kttle older than himself, till the military profession, for which he was destined, required an appropriate course of instruction. When he arrived at maturer years, and became a sovereign, he regretted the want of a more extensive education.
In 1785 he was nominated successor to his uncle, Frederick Augustus, Duke of Oels and Bemstadt, in case he should die without issue ; an arrangement which was confirmed by Frederick the Great and his nephew, Frederick William IL, as sovereigns of Silesia.
The Prince, in his sixteenth year, went to Lausanne, accom- panied by M. Langer, who held the situation of hbrarian at Wolfenbuttle, and who had, a few years before, attended his
contrary, to unite them under that part of their posterity to whose rule they might hereafter fall. They agreed, at the same time, that one out of the seven should many, and that they would draw lots to determine who should be the prop of their house. Tliey all agreed to this proposal, and the lot fell upon Duke George, the youngest but one: his elder brothers affectionately embraced him, and strictly observed every article agreed upon. The posterity of this George are now in possession of the throne of England.
T
274 BATTLE or WATERLOa
brother, the hereditary prince, to the same place. After a res- dence of about two years in Switzerland, the Prince immediate^r commenced his military career. He was appointed captain in the regiment of infantry then in garri$w>n at Mafrdeburgh, commanded bv Lieutenant-general Langefeld, governor of that place, who died in 1789; a regiment which previously had for its chief the Prince's great uncle, the hero of Cfrevelt ami Minden.
The Prince here devoted himself with the whole ardour and perseverance of his soul to the duties of his profession, and wis rapidly promoted; the army divided its attentions between him and Prince Louis of Prussia, at that time a promising yoang hero like himself. How did his father delight in him I with what trans|)(>rt did he see himself honoured in the person of his eon, on whose breast the star of the Black Eagle blazed I How did he rejoice at the encomiums which the youth, then only nineteeo years old, received on being promoted to the rank of major! Thus Fre<lerick William began his career, surrounded by the remembrance of tlio great examples of his house — of the lion- hearted Henry, who servinl his emperor and friend, and, after he had lost all through him, still preserved a heart for him ; of the accomplished Julius, who disregarded money where art or science were in question, and yet always had more money at his command than other princes of his time; of the high-minded Christian, who was still a knight when the days of chivalry were no more, and who understood now to derive more advantage from his defeats than others from their victories ; of that illustrioos com- mander Ferdinand, whom the great Frederick sent instead of an auxiliary army to beat the French, and lo ! what the king had said was done ; and, lastly, of Leopold, who had just ended his sacred vocation in the service of humanity in the waves of the Oder. The Prince, whose mother was sister to the King of England, and whose grandmother was sister to Frederick the Great, lived and formed himself in those recollections and in the love of his fiftther, brave as a Henry, and noble as his brother Leopold had been.
In the war with France, which commenced in 1792, the Prince accompanied the Prussian army. He gained experience ; and the military talents and intrepidity which he more and more developed were conspicuously displayed by him on every occasion. This courage, this buoyant sense of youthful energy, which banished every idea of personal dan^r, impelled him, in several instances, beyond the bounds of prudence. On the 27th of November in the last-mentioned year he incmTed the most imminent dai^r of his life, in a skirmish which took place in the village of Etsch, near Wurges. He here received his first honom^ble wound, from the effects of which he did not recover till after a considerable time. His father, whose permission he had obtained to be present
NOnCEB OF THE FALLEN HEBOES. 275
at the action, received the news of his wound with admirable com- posure and suppression of his affliction, as is testified by Massen- Dach, who brought him the intelligence. The treaty concluded at £asle on the 5th of April, 1795, again gave repose to the Prussian army. Prince Frederick William, after being for some time com- mander of the regiment of Thadden at Halk, and afterwards of Kleist's regiment at Prenzlau, was, in 1800, promoted to the rank of Major-generaL The latter regiment had long distinguished itself in the Prussian army, and under the conduct of the Prince, who bestowed on it the most assiduous attention and many sacrifices, confirmed the character and reputation which it had acquired.
His iather, who had not yet had the pleasmre of seeing grand- children in his family, had long wished that Frederick William should marry, and his unmarried brothers were willing to cede to him their rights to the succession. But this wish of the father and brothers remained unftdfilled, because love alone was, for a heart like that of Frederick William, the price of love. As, in the ancient heroic times of Germany, the houses of Welf and Zaehringen had been in the most intimate friendship, as Henry the Lion rivalled the wise Duke Berchtold lY. of Za^iringen, so it now happened that the Duke Charles William of Brunswick emulated the Margrave Charles Frederick of Baden in the glory of making his people happy. Economy and beneficence, old German probity, and the enlarged ideas of later times, all were turned to accoimt ; their subjects blessed the one as weU as the other, and the Princes honoured each other. This mutual esteem of the fathers became the tenderest love between their children ; Frederick William was devoted with his whole soul to the gentle Maria, granddaughter of the venerable Charies Frederick. The Princess was beautiful, and still more amiable than beautUul, by the charms of her angelic pious mind, by the natural delicacy of her sentiments, and by the mental polish which she owed to her exceUent mother, a second Landgravine Amelia of Hesse, both in character and name. Her policy was the more admiraUe, as it was wholly without art : her object was devation of soul and the consecration of domestic life ; and its finiit has been, thrones and the benedictions of happy nations. Frederick William did not place bis adored Maria upon a throne, but she would not have exdianged his faithfiol heroic hand for any sceptre. The joxms couple (they were married at Carlsrube, November the lat, 1802) repaired to Prenzlau, the quarters of the Prince's regiment On the 30th of October, 1804, his domestic felicity was completed bv the birth of a son ; and on the 8th of .October, 1805, he succeeded, on the death of his uncle Frederick Augustus, to the Duchies of Oels and Bemstadt
The days ctf misfortune now followed. The year 1806 was distiQguishe(l by the beginning of the war with France, the fatal
276 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
issue of which is so well known. Scarcely had the Duke got over the grief of parting fn>m his beloved coasort and his infant sons, and had taken tlie field with his brave regiment, when the first messenger of affliction came and announcea that his brother, the Hereditary Prince, was no more; September 20th, the second messenger came, and announced that his father and generd, Duke Charles William Ferdinand, had fallen earlj in the mornii^ in the front of the battle (October 14), and that his armj was beaten and dispersed. He soon received orders to break np: in his rapid march he everywhere found news of the defeat ; ha- rassed by the enemy, who was deceived, he reached Brunswick His father did not, as usual, come to meet him ; wounded in body and mind, the ai^ed hero lay on his death-bed, hoping at least that the victor woula suffer him to dei>art in peace to his fathers, and only provided that the written document concerning the succession of Frederick William should be drawn up. The Duke hastened from his father's sick bed to join the troops which BlUcher (to whose corjjs he was attached) attempted to preserve for the King. After the most astonishing exertions, and the most obstinate resist- ance, Bliicher was obliged to capitulate at Lubeck, where he bad sought shelter, the enemy's force being such as to render further resistance only a useless waste of blood. Wliile this was passin<:, the Duke's father had been obligtni to fly, carried on a bier, i^ith uns{)eakable pain, to Ottensen, in the Danish territory, near AI- tona; he was not to have even the consolation of dyino: in the arms of his beloved son. He was still living when Lubeck fell (November 7). He was no more when his son reached Ott^isen (November 10), The capitulation of Lubeck put an end to the Duke's military career, for this war ; and the circumstances of the times, with the peculiar relations resulting from them, induced him to apply for his dismission from the Prussian service.
The unexpected decease of his eldest brother, the Hereditary Prince, in the month of September of the same year, and the agreement concluded by him with his two brothers, called him, on the decease of his father, to the government of the pateimonial dominions. In order to attend to tne concerns of his States, he remained as near to them as he could, namely, at Altona, ardently longing to rejoin his beloved Duchess. He several times went over to Sweden, whither she had fled, in order to see her, and at last prevailed upon her to live with him at a small country-house near Altona. The Treaty of Tilsit having deceived his expecta- tions, and robbed him of his dominions, which were incorporated with the new kingdom of Westphalia, he retired with his consort to Bruchsal, unconscious that the cup of his misfortunes was not yet full.
On the 20th of April, 1808, he lost his amiable consort, and with her fled all his happiness. In the flower of her age, having
NOnCES OF THE FALLEN HEROES. 277
not yet attained her 26th year, this excellent princess, wife, and mother, after being delivereci of a still-bom daughter, was removed to a better life.
After her death, little or nothing was known respecting him. On the rupture between Austria and France, in April 1809, the Duke was in Bohemia, where he was endeavouring to raise an independent corps of Black Hussars. More fortunate than Schill, who had already perished at Stralsund, the Duke began his new military career by making an incursion into the kingdom of Saxony, in conjunction with a corps of Austrian troops. They were, nowever, obliged to evacuate Leipsic and Dresden, on the approach of a considerable force, composed of Dutch and West- phalians. The Duke of Brunswick-Oels and General Am Ende retired from Dresden in a western direction towards Franconia, into which the Austrians had penetrated from Bohemia in consi- derable force, under the command of Lieutenant Field-marshal Kienmayer. The armistice concluded at Znaym, in consequence of the battle of Deutsch Wagram., terminated the contest in that country also, and deprived me Duke of the co-operation of the Austrian troops. They evacuated Dresden, which they had a second time occupied, and withdrew beyond the Bohemian frontiers.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Brunswick had likewise evacuated some of the places of which he had taken possession, but still remained in the Erzgebirge, without being pursued either by the Saxons or Westphalians. For some time he appeared undecided whether he should join the Austrians in Bayreuth, or adopt a diOerent plan. It is not, however, improbable, that he proceeded further to the west, as his advanced posts are said to have been seen near Fulda, in order to mislead nis adversaries in respect to his real intentions. Be this as it may, the unfortunate events in the course of July fixed his resolution. He determined to quit Germany, where fortune did not seem to smile on the cause which he had espoused, and to conduct his corps to the English, of whose great preparations for an expedition to the Continent ^e foreign papers were at that time so inll.
The difficulties which opposed the execution of this undertaking were innumerable. It was not till he had travelled a space of near 300 miles that he could hope to reach the coasts of the German Ocean. His route lay through countries which were not wholly destitute of hostile troops.
The current accounts stated the corps of the Duke of Bruns- wick to have been completely dispersed and annihilated ; the inha- bitants of Leipsic were, therefore, not a Uttle surprised, when, at three in the morning of the 26th of July, he entered that city with 1900 men, 700 of whom were cavalry, after a smart action before the inner gates. It is not unlikely that the Duke had
27S BATTU or WAnsRLoa
reason to be dissatisiied with something which had occurred durinff his former occnpation of this city; for a eontnbatioiL though a very moderate one, amounting to no more than ISfiilf' dollars, was imposed ; and this, we believe, was die only requi- sition of the kind made by the Doke during his whole marclL His men also exercised the right of retaliation on several per- sons who had given them cause of offence daring and after their retreat.
On the 27th of July the Duke arrived at Halle, and, with im- paralleled celeritVy pursued his route br way of E^leb^ to Hai- Derstadt, which place Colonel Count Wellingerode,. Grand Marshal of the Pidace to the King of Westphalia, entered with the 5th Re- giment of Foot, on the afternoon of the 30th of July. Tlie same evening, the Duke's corps i^peared before the gates with six pieces of cannon. The enemy, diough destitute c^ cavalry and artillery, made an obstinate resistance, but was at length over- powered after a bloody conffict, which was continued for some time, in the streets of Halberstadt The Duke, who had fought in the ranks of his Black Hussars, invited his officers to tame (to which he was often accustomed to sit down in public), where he was surrounded by such a concourse of people that he was fre- quently obliged to request them to stand back. He appeared simply dressed in the uniform of his corps, and without anv other decoration than the order conferred on him by the Prussian monarch.
He now directed his course towards his native city. Late in the evening of the 31st of July he entered BrunswicK, on whose rampaits, wrapped in a cloak, he passed the night What must have been the feelings of the Prince when he beheld the palace, once the residence oi his illustrious ancestors, his own cradle, and the theatre of his juvenile years ; when he traversed the streets, in which his parent had so often been seen attended by crowds of happy morteds, who waited the father of his pe(^e, to pay him the eloquent tribute of grateful tears ; when he encountered the anxious and timid looks of those who once hoped to see the prosjjeritv and the glory of their country augmented by him, whom alone, ft'om among his three sons, his aged father had deemed worthy to be his successor I These were, perhaps, the ifiost painful moments experienced by this high-spinted Prince, since the sable genius of Auerstadt eclipsed the splendour of the House of Welfs. Fate seemed to show him once more the happy land to which he was the rightful heir, to make him the more keenly sensible of his loss. The reflection, that he had returned to a country which once was his, and which he once hoped to leave to his hopeful offspring, as a fugitive, to whom those lips which ought to have sworn fealty scarcely durst address the accents of compassion, must have wrung his heart He, never-
NOnCSS OF THE FALLEN HEROES. 279
thdesa, retained sufficient strength of mind to conduct himself with exemplary moderation ; and, amidst the gloom of his feelings^ he was not abandoned by the light of wisdonL If he could not confer happiness, neither would he involve others in his own ca- lamity ; but, in a proclamation, magnanimously recommended to his beloved countrymen to be obedient to their present rulers.
The Duke durst not take any long repose at Brunswick, as he was closely pressed on all sides. The Westphalian General, Rew^ bel, concenlrated 4000 men of his division at Ohoff; General Gratien had set out wil^ a Dntoh division from Erfurt, and was approaching the coasts of the German Ocean ; while Lieut-gen. Ewald, with a corps of Danish troops, crossed from Gluckstadt over the Elbe, into the Hanoverian territory, to cover the banks of diat river. General Rewbel was nearest to the Duke, who, in his rapid retreat, had daily actions with the advanced guard of the Westphalian troops. That which was fought in the afitemoon of the 1st of August, at Oelper, near Brunswick, in which the Duke's horse was kuled by a cannon-ball^ was die eleventh since the commencement of his retreat in Saxony.
The next morning he quitted his native city ; and the move- ment which he now made caused it to be generally supposed that he was proceeding to Zell. Thither the troops under Rewbel, and others, accordindy directed their course. The Duke, however, suddenly made his appearance at Hanover, which he entered on the morning of the 3d of August; and in the aB:emoon pursued his route, by way of Neustaat, to Nieuburgh, where he arrived early the next day. Here he crossed the Weser. He broke down the bridges behind him, and reached Hoya on the 4th. In this manner he hastened along the left bank of the Weser, while part of his corps, in order to make a false demonstration, turned off to Bremen. On the evening of the 5th this detachment possessed itself of the gates of the city, and hastily departed the next day to rejoin the corps.
The Duke, meanwhile, continued his march through the Duchy of Oldenburg, and through Delraenhorst, where he passed the night between the 5th and 6th of August ; and it appeared as if he was directing his ooinrse towards East Friesland, with a view to embark on the coast of that province. This opinion, however, proved erroneous; for, crossing the Hunta, a small stream which discharges itself into the Weser, at HuntelMruck, he seized the corn-ships, which had been lying inactive for years at Elsfleth. In these vessels he embarkea lus men, in the night of the 6th, and, by force, procured a sufficient number of hands to navigate tliem, the surrounding district being chiefly inhabited by seafaring people. On the morning of the 7 th the Duke hoisted the English nag, set sail, and the following day reached Heligo- land, with part of his corps. That island he quitted on the 11th,
280 BATTLE OF WAlSHLOa
and with his faithftd followers proceeded to England. The En^ lish Parliament immediately resolved that the Diike*s troops sbodd be taken into the pay of EnglancL The Duke lived at London. as his great ancestor, Henry the Lion, had form^j done, with his eyes constantly turned on his beloved native coontiT* He shared his time between his promising sons and his £EutbfuI com- rades, whose banners waved on the plains of Salamanca and Vit- toria. Four years had thus passed when the thunder <^ the battle of Leipsic recalled him to the inheritance of his fathen. On the 23d of December, 1813, he arrived at Brunswick ; on the spot where, in 1809, he had slept on the bare ground, a temple now stood. Twelve maidens sang a hymn of thanksgiving; all the spectators were overpowered by their feelings, and a sacred silence reigned in the innumerable multitude. They proceeded slowly to the palace. The Duke was, as usual, in a plain black dress; his splendour was derived solely from the homage of those around him. At the sight of the Duke on his white horse, which seemed to paw the ground with conscious pride, the parents rejoiced at his resemblance to his deceased father, and the young men at his martial appearance. When they arrived at the palace, the voice of the whole people rose to Heaven, chanting with heartielt devotion the favourite hymn of the Germans, " Now praise God." Not a dry eye was found among the crowd, and the Duke him- self was too deeply moved longer to indulge in public the influence of this sacred hour. The next day, every body having free access to him, he made the following speech to the people : '* During my absence I have learnt, with the greatest joy, the attachment and faithAil devotion of the inhabitants of the Duchy of Brunswick to me and my house, and rejoice to see those accounts confirmed by the proofs they have given me in these two last days. It shall be my first endeavour to merit this confidence, and the love of the iimabitants of the whole country. I shall lead a very retired life, at which I hope nobody will be surprised, as it is required partly by my occupation, puctly by the exhausted state of the finances of the country. The co-operation of all our subjects is now necessary to ensure the fruits of our deliverance. I have the confidence, that their patriotism will voluntarily supply me with the necessary troops. I shall go with them, and not confide them to another, because my duty reouires that I personally risk my blood and my life ror the good of my iaithml subjects, and
i'om in combating for their iiiture happiness." Faithfully he [ept his word ; lie laboured with inaefatigable industry ; he lived retired ; he risked his blood and his life, and he sacri- ficed them. On the bloody day of the 16th of June, 1815, every exertion was necessary to maintain the position of Qnatre Bras, which was the key of Brussels. Though the artillery was not come up, his young troops, animated by his example, sustained
NOTIGES OF THE FALLEN HEBOES. 281
the terrible shock of the French attack. Deaths however, makes dreadful ravages in his ranks ; the most distinguished oiBcers fall at his side — whole files drop ; but the Duke is everywhere pre- sent ; his eye catches every movement ; a word from him instantly restores order to the broken ranks. Not far from him, Prince Bern- hard of Weimar maintains with hereditary valour the splendour of his name. Without an interval of repose, the battle rages through the whole of the long and sultry day. The sun was sinking to the horizon ; the rest of the army was approaching from its distant cantonments in long lines to the field of battle ; the prize of the day was gained, when a ball passed through the hand and the heart of the Duke. He had gathered the laurels for the victo- rious wreaths of the following days, and his heroic spirit soared rejoicing to the mansions of tne blessed, the messenger of victory to his avenged fj^ther.
How heartily he espoused the cause of legitimate right and social order may be conceived from the fact, that though the contingent required of him was no more than 4000, he actually joined the AUied forces with 14,000. Providence, however, decreed that he should not enjoy those gratifications, nor live to see the results of a victory which he so bravely contributed to accomplish, by his personal exertion and valour, and that of his brave followers.* The Hanoverian Government assumed the ad- ministration of the duchy during the minority of his son.
In the battle of Genappe, the brave Lieut-col. Macara, 42d Regiment, K.C.B., whose aeath was deeply avenged by his com- rades. He was wounded about the middle of the engagement, and was in the act of being carried off the field by four of his men, when a party of French unexpectedly surrounded and made them all prisoners. Perceiving by the Colonel's numerous deco- rative distinctions that he was an officer of rank, and possibly considering the difficulty of retaming him as a prisoner, they im- mediately cut him down, with his faiUiful attendants.
Colonel Cameron, who nobly fell at the head of his regiment. We have to produce the following honourable testimony of the high consideration of his country :
" Whitehally June 6th. — The Prince Regent, being desirous of conferring upon John Cameron, EsqL, Col. in the army, Lieut-col. of the 92d (Highland) Regiment of Foot, and Knight of the Royal
* '^ Aix-la-ChapeUej 12th July. — The Dnke of Wellington caused twelve pieces of the brass cannon taken from the enemy to be delivered to Colonel Osterman, of the Brunswick troops, in order to be employed in the monument which is intended to be erected to his memory."
282 BATTLB or WATKBLOa
Portagaeae Military Order of the Tower and Sword, saA a mn of hifl Majesty's royal favour as may in a special maimer erinrt the sense he entertains of the highly-distinguished services of tbs officer upon divers important occasions, am more especiallv dol- ing the lucent glorious and evei^memomble caknpMCTs m Por- tugal, Spain, am France ; and particulariy the siCTau intiepidin dimayed hv him in the action of Arroya de Molino; in ti^ derence of the pass of Maya; in the brilliant action near Bavoaor. in crossing the river Gave de Mouline, at Arriverete ; and k compelling a very superior force of the enemy to abandon the town of Aire; hath been pleased to grant unto die said Col Cameron, his Majesty's royid license and authority that he ani his descendants may bear the following crest of hooonral^ augmentation, viz.: — On a wreath, a Highlander of the 92d Regiment, armed and accoutred, up to the middle in water, grasp- ing in his dexter hand a broad-«word and in his sinister a banner, inscribed * 92d,' within a wreath of laurd, and in escrol abore, * Arriverete,' in allusion to the signal bravery displayed by him in forcing a passage through the river Ghive de Mouline, in hct of a very superior body of the enemy."
Captain William Bucelet, Royal Scots, fell the 16th d June, whilst leading on his company. He had been in the regiment thirteen years, seven of whicn period he served in the West Indies, as adjutant to the 1st battalion, and was suh^ quently employed with the ^ battalion in Spain, France, and Belgium.
June 17, whilst charging die French Hussars early in the morning, Major Hodge, 7th Hussars. That regiment formed part of the cavalry under the Earl of Uxbridge, and was activelv engaged, together with the Life Guards, in covering the retreat of the British army from the attacks of the enemy's Lancers and Cuirassiers, as mentioned in the Gazette.
Lieut-gen. Sir Thomas Picton,* K.G.C.B., memorable in the Peninsular campaigns, began his inilitary career, September 1771, in the 12th Regiment of Foot; upon the reduction of which regi- ment we find him to have attained the rank of Captsdn, and io the bosom of his family in Pembrokeshire, the birth-place and residence of his ancestors for centuries. Upon the commencement of the Revolutionary war in 1794 he embarked for the West Indies, where he soon distinguished himself, and obtained his Majority in the 68th Regiment, and the appointment of Deputy- Quarter-master General. Upon the appointment of a new Ge-
* Vide particulars of his fall in " Circumstantial Details,*' p. 22 preeeding.
NOTICES OF THE PAIXEN H&BOES. 283
xieiral officer, he proposed to return to Europe, but was induced to remain at the request of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who arrived in 1796. This general officer was fully sensible of the worth of this officer at this moment, and took every occasion he could t6 make his merit conspicuous ; and upon the capture of St Lucie lie became the Lieut-col. of the 68di, and with his commanding officer and friend returned to England upon the clo^ of the campaign by the reduction of St. V incent
In the ensuing campaigns in 1797, from the kindness and
friendship of his commanding officer, he was honoured ** in being
selected as the best officer to discharge the duty " of Grovemor in
17rinidad: the difficulties of his new situation, however, in the
result, occasioned many days and years of anxiety, wUch was
only to be relieved by the esteem, gratitude, and applause of every
man of probity and principle in the island, notwithstanding the
unparalleled exertions of individuals to sully his character and
ruin his fortune, and to render him an object of public clamour.
The law, at length, although tardy in reparation, proclaimed hhn
innocent of the charges attributed to him, and vindicated his
honour, which from the first he had boldly defended*
In 1809 we find Major-general Picton commanding a brigade of un army sent to rescue Holland from the French, and was at the siege of Flushing, of which town, after its surrender, he was appointed Grovemor : he there rendered himself conspicuous for his humanity to the natives, and to the sick and wounded soldiers. During his stay at Walcheren he caught the fever, and came home enfeebled and emaciated; fortunately for his Country, his health was restored. Instantly, and even before he could be said to have re-assumed his tone of health, his active services were required in Portugal, where he commanded the 3d division of the British army; which, from the situation in which the fortune of war had continually placed it, became noticed as the ** fight- ^ ing division."
In all the battles in the Peninsular war, the division which he commanded was placed in the post of honour, and never faUed to justify the confiaence reposed in its gallant commander. The capture of Badajoz was prmcipally owing to his resolution and presence of mind, in converting a feint into a real attack, and thu^ gaining possession of a castle which overlooked the place. His services were continued during the whole of the Peninsular war, excepting that he was obliged from ill-health to resign for a time
Srevious to the battle of Salamanca, when the command of his ivision was entrusted to the late gallant Sir Edward Pakenham, who bravely led it to Victory. Before the battle of Vittoria our hero was sufficiently recovered to resume the command, and in this battle his division acted in a manner which at once excited acclamation and surprise ; for nearly four hours did it alone sustain
284 BATTLE OF WATBBLOa
the unequal force opposed to it, of which the whole army, firtnn tk peculiar nature of tne ground, were witnesses. Greneral Pictce continued with the army until its entrance into France^ In k wonl, he was the very soul of honour. The popil of Sir RalpL Abercromhic, he never disgraced his general and hb friend. lis private life Sir Thomas Picton was kind, humane, benevolent, an: charitable. He discharged with strictness all the social and rek- tive duties ; and, in the midst of the severest persecution, nevt? lost that enuanimity of temper which pious integrity alone cai impart Tne Duke of Wellington, in liis dispatch^ passes a jus eulogium on his worth. (See p. 306.) As soon as onr armr was sent to Flanders, Government, it is stated, offered him tbe command of a division ; but api>rehendin^ the Duke of WeUingtoo. as Commander-in-Cliief, would leave the British force to sook officer in whom he could not repose the same confidence, he de- clined the offer, adding, however, if the Duke should personalk nxjuire his services he would instantly repair to the army. This requisition was made ; and the General left town on June 1 ItL and on the 18th terminated his honourable career in the field of glory ! He had made his will before his departure — he did not expect to return; but observed to a friend, mat when he heard of his death he would hear of a bloodv day. Alas I his predictioQ was too literally verified I The following pleasing trait in hL character may be relied on: — Some time aner relinqaishing the government of Trinidad, the inhabitants voted him 5000L as a testimony of their esteem. When a dreadful fire laid the cs^ital in ashes some time after this, a subscription was opened for tbe relief of the sufferers, and the General eagerly seized the oppyt- timity of appropriating the 5000L to that object!* His remains were landed at Deal, June the 25th. Minute-guns were fired fiT>in all the ships in the Downs, while the body was ccmveyed to the beach, where all the naval and military were drawn up to receive it. The body reached Canterbury the same evening, and was deposited in the custody of a guara of honour, in the same room at the Fountain inn where, on that same day fortnight, the Gene- ral had dined, on his way to embark. At six on the 26th the body proceeded, accompanied to the extremity of the city by the 52d Regiment, with reversed arms, the band playing the Dead March m Said. On the 3d of July the remains of this distin- guished officer were deposited in the family vault, in the burial- ground of St, George's, Hanover Square, on the Uxbridge Road, attended by his brother, the Rev. Edward Picton, and many officers and gentlemen of distinction. A great concourse of people assembled to witness the impressive scene. On the coffin was in-
• The Duke of Queensbexry, with a nobleness of spirit, offered 5000^ to Sir T. Picton, on the close of his prosecution by Colonel F. ; but he politely refused it, with the highest sense of gratitude to the donor.
NOTICES OF THE FALLEN HEBOES. 285
scribed : "Lieut-Gen. Sir Thomas Picton, aged 57, G.C.B., who fell at the great and decisive battle of Waterloo, in Flanders, on the 18th of June, 1815, between the French Army commanded \>y Napoleon Buonaparte, and the English Army conmianded by liis Grace the Duke of Wellington."
In the list of those who fell gloriously in the hour of victory, stands conspicuous the name of Major Robert Cairnes, of the Royal Horse Artillery. Nature had marked him as her favourite. ICndued with a strength and activity of mind that are rarely sur« passed, he carried them into his profession with the happiest result to himself and the service. An undaunted bravery, an exquisite sense of honour, a cool and discriminating, though quick judg^ ment, and a steady perseverance, were his peculiar characteristics as a soldier ; a noble and generous temper, an imdeviating sweet- ness of disposition, a most engaging person, and manners highly polished and universally amiable, were his qualifications as a member of society ; a heart the most affectionate, and an urbanity the most conciliating, completed his character in the different rela- tions of son, brother, and friend. Adored by his family, beloved by his brother-officers, and respected by the world, this gallant man met the death his noble spirit ever panted for, in the thirtieth year of his age, and left behind him unutterably regrets for his fate — to his friends indeed untimely, but to himself matured. The truth of this sketch will be attested by those who knew and loved its subject, while he who traces it is conscious of his in- ability to do it justice. By the female line, Major Cairnes was the eldest branch of the family of that name, to whom a baronetcy was granted by a patent in tne reign of Queen Anne, but which has been dormant since the death of Sir Alexander Cairnes, who was killed at the battle of Minden.
Colonel Febbiob, of the Life Guards, fell on the 18 th of June. He led his regiment to the charge no less than eleven times ; and most of the cnarges were not made till after his head had been laid open by the cut of a sabre, and his body was pierced with a lance.
Lieut-col. Sir Francis D'Oylt, K.C.B., of the Ist Regiment of Foot Guards, in his thirty-ninth year. He was the third son of the Rev. Matthias D'Oyly, Rector of Buxted, Sussex, and Archdeacon of Lewes. He entered into his Majesty's service, in the 1st Regiment of Guards, in the vear 1794 ; and since that period has oeen engaged in most of the principal military enter- prises which have taken place in the late wars. In the expedition to the Holder, in 1799, he acted as aide-de-camp to his late uncle. General D'Oyly. In 1804 he accompanied his regiment to
286 BATTLE or WATBBLOa
Sicily, and remained there about two years. From the first breaking out of the Peninsular war to the close of it he was, witk Tery litde exception, engaged on various military duties in Spain : he was present in the whole of Sir John Moore's campaign asd retreat to Corufia; he afterwards spent a considerable tmie at Cadiz, while that citv was besieged by the French ; and, lasdv. under the Duke of W ellington, he held the situation of Assistaox- Adjutant-general to one of' the divisions of the army, chi^T to that commanded by the Earl of Dalhousie. Holding this atoa- tion, he was engaged in all the great engagements which arowned the Duke of Wellington's cami>aigns with such distinguished suc- cess ; in the several battles of Sahunanca, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Ordies, &C. ; and accompanied Lord Dalhousie's division of the army to Bordeaux. Having received several medals for the share he bore in these principal engagements, he was created one of the Knights Commanders of the Order of the Bath, on the late extension of the honours of that order. Diuing the whole of the late battles on the 16th and 18th of June he was closely engaged with the enemy, and for a long time escaped unhurt. At last, towards the close of the action of the 1 8th, in the yery last charge to which his regiment was led against the broken and yiddii^ enemy, he received a wound from a musket-ball in a vital part df his body, and fell dead from his horse. He was a brave and acdre officer, ardently and zealously attached to his profession, diligent in the pursuit of the knowledge that belongs to it, anxious to bear a part m its more active services, and to share its dangers and its glories. He has ^len, sincerely and deeply lamented bj his re- lations and by a large circle of friends, whose esteem and res^ard he had justly conciliated by many valuable and excellent quaOties in private life.
Lieut-col. Richard Fitzgerald, Captain in the 2d Regiment of Life Guards. The distinguished share which the brigade of Life Guards had in contributing by their irresistible charges to the glorious result of that ever-memorable day is a matter of general notoriety, as it was of admiration, to the armies that wit- nessed its achievements. Among those whose gallantry was crowned with a death of glory, none was more conspicuous than Ck>l. Fitzgerald: he was the only officer of his regiment who was killea ; he did not, however, fall till he had the satisfaction of witnessing the triumph of the British army. Towards the dose of the action, being advanced in the front of his regiment, leading it in pursuit of the flying enemy, he was killed by a cannon-shot
* A plain monument is erected for this noble sacrifice to his conntry's honoor in the church of Waterloo, with the following inscription : " Sacred to the Memory of Lieut.-col. Fitzgerald, of the 2d Regt. of Life Guards of H. B. Majesty, who died glprioualy in the battle of La Belle Alliance, June 18, 1815, in the ilst jear
N0TIGE8 OF THE FALLEN HEROE& 287
Major Hawltn, 23d Regiment (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), an officer who had greatly distinguished nimself with his regiment at the storming of Badajoz, of Salamanca^ and in all the operations of the army in the Peninsula.
Chables Jolliffb, Captam in the 23d Regiment (R. W. F.). He was the yoimgest son of T. S. JoUifie, Esq., of Ammeidown, comity of Somerset, formerly representative in Parliament for the horougk of Petersfield. Ck)nstantly engaged in active duty, the first years of his service, after the sie^ of Copenhagen, were employed in North America and the West Indies. Upon the reduction of Martinique he returned with his regiment to Hali£Eix, and £pom thence to Europe, where he served several campaigns in the Peninsula. Scarcely recovered from a severe wound received in the brilliant action of Orthes, he embarked with Jiis battalion for the Netherlands, and on the memorable 18th of June fell with his brave CQmi*ades in his country's cause: thus defeating the well- ibunded hope entertained by all who knew his superior merits, of his attaining the highest honours in his profession.
Lfieut FosTEB of the Royals, killed by a cannon-ball on the 1 8th of June, in the battle of W aterloo ; son of the Rev. Mr. Foster, of Kingston, near Taunton.
Lieut Elliot DuNCAif Johnson, 95th Remment, by a cannon- shot ; third son of Lieut-gen. Johns(»i, of the East India Company's service; a younff man whose amiable disposition and engaging manners had endeared him to the regiment, as well as to his nu- merous family, who in him will long lament the loss of a most affectionate son and brother.
Lieutenant-colonel Cubbie. — Amongst the gallant heroes wlio have fallen in the defence of their country, on the ever-memorable 18th of June, on the plains of Waterloo, few are more lamented than LieutenantK^olond Currie, of Dalebank, in Annandale, A^- sistantr-Adjutant-general on Lord Hill's staff. This excellent and valuable officer received his commission at the early age of 13, from the Duke of York, in consequence of the meritorious conduct of his father in the army, imd for a period of above 20 years had been constantly distinguishing himself in actual service. He
of his age. He carries with hizn the most profound and sUicere jregreta of his relations and firiends. To the most manly fortitude he added all the virtues that could do honour to the profession, and make him beloved in private and social life."
** Avx mdnes du pint verOieux des hornmeSj g^n^alement etiim^ et re^etl^ d* ta familU et de te.t atnis, le Lieutenant- Colonel Richard Fitzgerald, de la Garde du Coifs de 8a Majetti Britannique^ tu^ glorieusement a la Bataille de La Belle Alliance^ le 18 JviMt 181&/'
288 BATTLl or WATEUiOa
fought bravely, and was severely wounded under Sir Ralph AKt- crombie, in Egypt; and served for several years in we W=£ Indies, by which his health was greatly impaired. He was £- actively employed as an aide-de-camp to Lord Hill, during the wixii of the war in tlie Peninsula and in France, where he ocHidiKt:': himself with such ability and bravery as repeatedly on the fici. of battle to receive the thanks of the Ck>nmaander-iii-Cliief ; as. particularly at Talavei*a, at the passage of the Dooro, Almari. and Aroyo de Molinos. It is melancholy, although glorious, : record, that Lieutenant-colonel Currie was the tenth of this galks and amiable family who have nobly sacrificed their liv^ iu ^ fence of their king and country, six of whom have died on tk field of battle.
Lieut-col. Chablss Fox Cannbvg, who fell in the late tre- mendous conflict at Waterloo, had served with the Duke of Wrl- lington as his aide-de-camp during the whole of the Peninsula: war, and was with him in every action and siege, from the ban> of Talavera to that of Orthes. At the termination of the war br went to Brussels, where his regiment was quartered, and was pn- paring to go into the field with it, when the Duke accid^it^!; met him in the street, when he was received with the us^ cordiality, and the next day he had the inexpressible gratificaii c of finding himself restored, without solicitation, to the hononralk situation he had held through so many campaigns. The a£S?ctiD£ particulars of his last moments we cannot help repeating, as i proof that, among many other splendid qualities, the Duke of W^ lington eminently possesses the power of enga^ng the affection of his officers, whose most anxious thoughts seem always directtii toward the safety of their Conunander. Towards the close of the action of the 18th, Lieutenant-colonel Canning received orden from the Duke to carry a message of importance to a distant pan of the line : he had delivered it and was returning, when a grape- shot struck him in the stomach: he fell, and his firiend, Lonl March, immediately rode up to his assistance. As he approached him the Colonel raised himself up, and with eagerness demanded if the Duke was safe? Being assured that he was, he seemed satisfied, and said, " God bless him!" Then taking the hand of the nobleman who had so kindly come to his assistance, he had just strength enough to say, " God bless you !" and expired.
Captain the Honourable WnxiAM Cubzon, who fell in the battle of Waterloo, was the fourth son of Lord Scarsdale. He was edu- cated at the junior department of the Military College, and en- tered, 1807, the 9th Foot, at the age of 16 ; he was with this corps in all the great Peninsular operations, and towards their close was promoted to a company in the 69th Raiment, and he
NOTICES OF THE FALLEN HEBOES. 289
>vas appointed Aide-de-camp to Lord Ajlmer: his conduct ac- quired then the regard of all3 and he was honoured by the friendship of the Duke of Wellington and the Prince of Orange, to whose staff he was this year appointed. On the great day^ when in the execution of his duty, riding with his friend Lord March, he x*eceived a ball in his chest, and instantly fell on his fece, ex- olaiming, '^ Good bye, dear March.'' His gallant companion ren- dered him every assistance, but in vain. Lord March then, from SL movement of the French Cuirassiers, was calUng to the Nassau i;roops to form a square, and to resist the threatened attack; Oaptain Curzon even then, forgetful of himself and his situation, liearing his friend animating the Nassau levies, with a self-de- votion worthy of the proudest days of Greece and Rome, faintly joined as he was expiring, — "That's right! well done, my dear March 1"
Major-gen. Sir W. PonsomBt. The remains of this gallant General were deposited in the family vaidt at Kensington, be- longing to his noble ancestors in the female line, on the 10th of July. England had not a more accomplished officer, nor society a more amiaole man, than was Sir W. Ponsonby. He was na- turally diffident, well-bred, and unassuming, with a singleness of mind and simplicity of character, both of which were so strongly expressed in his countenance as to induce a prepossession whicn his genuine worth secured. He owed his appointments solely to his merit, and was selected for that alone by the illustrious Duke, as both himself and family held opposite politics to his Grace. His conduct justified the choice, for probably a more timely, a more hrilliant, and a more successAil charge was never made, than by General Ponsonby on the morning of the 18th, who, with his brigade,* succeeaed in making 2000 prisoners and in taking two eagles. He fell, covered with wounds and with glory, in his 43d year. Most of those who accompanied their commander shared his fate.
CoL Sir William Delancet, Deputy Quarter-master-ffeneral, K.C.B. This brave officer, when he was raised for medical assist- ance, conceiving his death equally inevitable and near, intreated to be laid down again to abide his fate, without giving useless trouble. In this situation he remained till the morning, when he was found, in the course of attention to other sufferers, to be still alive, and hopes were for some time entertained of his recovery.
Col. Hamiltok, of the Greys, fell gloriously at the head of his regiment
* Vide p. 184 for an account of the operations of this brigade.
U
290 BATTLE OF WATKSLOO.
In the moment of victor>% pierced with hcmoorable woimds, while bravely charing the enemy with his gallant invindUe reproent, Col. Sir H. W. Elus, 23d Regimioit, son <^ the k£e Major-pen. EllLs of Kempsev, near Worcester, and nephew f4 William JoyntT, Esq., of Berkeley, county of Gloncest^v Bnxi lip in the army from his earliest youth, this gallant soldier di>- tinguished himself in almost every quarter where the exertiuiis of the British were calle<l forth, havin<; receivcxl no less than nine wounds in different actions, in Holland, Egypt, and the Peninsula. Upon several occasions he received toKens of his Sovereign's approbation, and rose to considerable rank at an early period of life, being not more than 35 at the time of his death.
Lieut Richard Maoniac, of the 1st Royal Dragoons. He entered the army from a decided predilection for the profession o( arms, and, actuated by a high sense of honour and a desire to dis- tinguish himself, fell in his nrst campaign on that memorable day. " after behaving most gallantlv." Although returned as missing in the official returns of the Latde, the length of time that has elapsed without any intelligence compels his afflicted family, with the deepest sorrow, to conclude that he did not survive, and to seek the only consolation that remains to them in the testimonial of his commanding officer, ** that he died like a brave and gallant soldier in a glorious cause."
Major Robert C. Packe, Royal Horse Guards (second son of C. J. Packe, Esq., of Prestwould), who fell in the second chai^ leadirg his squadron against a column of Cuirassiers. He killed the oincer commanding the squadron opposed to him, and was run through the body by a private on the side of that officer. He lost one horse before, and was then mounted on a troop-horse. This brave and estimable man was continually the first amon^ the enemy, for on the near approach he redoubly spurred his norse and quitted his station in the ranks, and dashed mto the enemy's. In a previous charge he and bis opponent had dismounted each other, and their horses went respectively into the ranks of their enemies. As a testimonial of his general character, and their reverence to his memory, his brother officers have caused a marble monument, from a simple, elegant, and appropriate design by Hopper, to be erected in St George's Chapel, W iiidsor.
In the destructive charge of the 1st Life Guards, Captain Montagu Lind, of that regiment, only son of Edward GeoMre Lind, Esq., of Stratford Place, and brother-in-law to Sir Fehx Agar.
NOTICES OF THE FALLEN HEROES. 291
In his 23d year, Newton Chambebs, son of the Hoil Jane /hambers. He was a Captain in the 1st Guards, and Aide-de- axnp to Sir Thomas Picton, by whose side he fell, at the close of be contest, a few minutes after that lamented General
Capt. HoBHOUSE, 69 th Regiment of Foot, second son of Sir B. lobliousc, Bart M.P. He had volunteered, with his accustomed pirit, to act as Sir Colin Halkett's orderly, in conveying com- naiids to the different regiments of the brigades. Whilst on horse- Dack, and riding about in a very hot fire, he displayed a sang ^roid and courage which was remarkable to all. At a most •ritical period of this sanguinary day, when the regiment was lilosely engaged with a strong body of Imperial Guard of In- fantry, being a very conspicuous mark, he was struck by a ball on the cheek, and spoke no more. Thus fell, in his 25th year, a highly estimable man, and one of his country's most promising soldiers.
Lieut William L. Robe, of the Royal Artillery, son of Colonel Sir William Robe, ICC.B., was one of the most distinguished members of his corps, and the profession terminated his bright career in the battle of Waterloo, near La Haye Sainte. ' Tiiis gallant officer entered the army the 3d of October, 1806, as a second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, and was promoted to a first Lieutenancy the 28th of June, 1808. During eight years of service, he was thirty-three times in presence of the enemy in action, frequently at the side of his father, or in the same field. He had the singular honour, as a subaltern officer, to be distin- guished for his conduct by the Duke of Wellington, and, in consequence, a medal and clasp for the battles of the Nivelle and the Nive have been transmitted to his family. With his latest breath he sent a message to his father, to assure him he died like a soldier. The loss of such a son Sir William Robe must, as a father, ever regret; as a soldier, however, he cannot fail, with noble pride, to consider his having reared him as a service rendered to his country beyond reward. His brother officers, in testimony of their high esteem and personal attachment, have requested to raise to his memory a tablet in the Church of Waterloo.
Lieut-col. Thomas, 3d Battalion, 1st Guards. This worthy young soldier, who obtained his i*ank by merit, was at an early age plac(5 as Ensign in the East Middlesex Militia, from which he volunteered to accompiany the expedition to Holland, 1799, and received promotion for his gallant conduct there from the Duke of Gloucester, who also honoured him with his esteem and firiendship.
292 BATTLE OF WATEBLCXX
At the battle of Salamanca, he was particularly mentioned in die dispatches irom I^ord Wellington for the gallantry of his conduct, and at the termination of the war was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-colonel. He ]x>ssc>ssed a most excellent natnral ca- pacity, leaving nothing unattained to which he had once applied ; without seeming to aspire to gain esteem, he was beloved by old and young ; his religion was real and unaffected, and bis honour and duty to his country, never on his tongue, but ever dearest to his heart in practice.
Capt Thomas Cassan, of the 32d Regiment This g:allant youth was wounded in the battle of the 18 th, but concealed his situation, and continued in the field with that manly resolution, intrepidity, and disregard for personal danger, which always dis- tinguished him. His fall is aeservedly regretted by his brother officers and all who knew him. He was the son of the late John Cassan, Esq., Captain in the 56th Regiment, and had been in the 32d Regiment from Ensign to Lieutenant and Captain, and had served m the East Indies.
Comet Lemhel Shuldham, of the Scotch Greys. A fine youth, beloved and admired by all who knew him. He fell in that glorious and brilliant charge made (about two o'clock) by tlie Heavy Horse upon the Lancers.
June 17, near Brussels, in consequence of a severe wound on the preceding day, in his twenty-fourth year, Lieut E. M. Wight- wick, 69th Regiment of Foot, fifth son of William Wightwick, Esq., of New Ronmey, Kent
June 19, at Brussels, of wounds received the preceding day, Lieut-coL Miller, of the Guards. In his last mortal scene he displayed the soul and spirit of a hero. On being wounded, he requested not to be removed, saying the ball had done for hinL He then added, " But I have the consolation of knowing that I have led on my brave fellows against the enemy, and rallen at their head." He sent for CoL Thomas, and said, " I feel I am mortally wounded ; but I am pleased to think it is my fate rather than yours, whose life is involved in that of your young wile." After a pause he said, faintly, " I should like to see the colours of the Regiment before I quit them for ever.*' They were brought and waved round his wounded body. His countenance brightened, he smiled, declared himself well satisfied, and was carried from he field.
June 20, at Brussels, of a wound received at Waterlot,
NOTICES OF THE FMXEN HEROES. 293
Lieutenanfr-colonel Stables, 1st Foot Guards, of Great Ormead, Herts.
Major the Hon, Frederick Howard, 10th Hussars, second son of the Earl of Carlisle. His remains have been brought over to ^England. The whole afflicted family of the Earl of Carlisle were so anxious to recover, if possible, the remains of this their gallant relative, that the Duke of York wrote to the Duke of Welhngton, requesting that every endeavour might be made to effect it On inquiry, it was found that two Serjeants of the 10th Hussars had interred him on the field. They were, in consequence, dispatched from Paris for this purpose, and on traversing the wide field of slaughter were fortunate enough to discover the place of sepulture, from which they immediately dug up the remains of their beloved officer, enclosed them in a leaden shell, with which they were provided, and took them to Brussels, from whence they were conveyed to England.
In consequence of wounds received in the battle of the 16th of June, Major C. Smyth, youngest son of the late Right Hon. John Smyth, of Heath, county of York.
Major Graham, King's Dragoon Ghiards, who fell in a des- perate charge of that distinguished corps.
Capt Windsor, 1st Royal Dragoons, son of the late E. Windsor, Esq., of Shrewsbury.
Capt James Gubbins, 13th Light Dragoons, eldest son of the late James Gubbins, Esq., of Epsom, Surrey; was killed early in the battle on the 18th by a cannon-shot, which, striking his head, in an instant numbered him with the dead. He had been in the campaign under the command of the Duke of Wellington, in Portugal, Spain, and France. This gallant officer was as con- spicuous for his intelligence and bravery in the field as for his gentleman-like and honourable conduct through his short but enviable career in this world, leaving behind him the most heartfelt sorrow and respect for his memory.
Lieut John Geale, 13th Light Dragoons.
Lieut John Ptm, 13th Light Dragoons, fourth son of F. Pym, Esq., M.P. for Bedfordshire. This gentleman, with the one im- mediately preceding, were both wounded in the upper part of the thigh, ana were £)omed to suffer an accumulation of misery : then: cases, though utterly hopeless, were of that distressing
294 BATTLX OF WATSRLOa
nature, that entail hours and days of lingering torture ; but, e^s in this state of deplorable agony, the knowle^e of their oountrr glory was the dearest and most cherished theme of their ccm^e?* sation and remarks, and they heard the tidings of Waterioc*- unequalled victory ! — with a joy that death itself sought in t^ ' to strip their features of, so indelibly was the exulting expressbc mark^ upon their countenanceSi No two officers ooold eo}*; a greater portion of unfeigned r^ret than those it is uo^r our ms- lancholy office to record.
At Brussels, of wounds received at Waterloo, aced tweDty-ax, Lieutenant J. Raleigh Elwbs, 71st Raiment Uighlaud Ligb Infantry, youngest son of the late CoL iC Elwes, and brother oe Sir Wm. H. Elwes, Bart, of Tynemouth, Northumberland. Ht had been only ten months married to the dau^ter of CoL Aird, td the Royal Waggon Train.
Julu 29. Major W. J. Lloyd, Royal Artillery, died at Brussels, of the wound he received in his thigh in the battle of Waterloo, which afterwards turned to a gangrene. It was this noble officer's misfortune to be placed in a low, bad situation, and ground, where he could obtain utile or no assistance, and exposed most severely to the enemy ; but no one could behave better, (s obtain more honour, than he did in his accidentally perilous situation.
Maior A. John Maclaine, 73d Foot This officer died at Brussels, of the wounds he received in the battle of Waterloa He was the son of Mrs. Maclaine, of Scalasdale, Isle of Mull, a lady who deserves to be celebrated for the heroism and the bravery of the sons to whom she has given birth. She had already lost two sons in the service of her country, and two yet survived, ornaments to their profession, covered with scars received in various me- morable enga^ments. The late Captain Maclaine, who so glo- riously fell whilst gallantly leading on his light company at the battle of Maida, as mentioned in Su* John Stuart's dispatches, was one of the former, and Lieut-coL Maclaine, of the 7th West India Regiment, who made so gallant a defence at Fort Mata^rda, is one of the latter. Major Maclaine, of the 73d, had signalised himself in all the actions in which this fine Highland R^;imeDt were engaged in India, and particularly at the taking of oering- apatam. He had left the 1st oattalion of it at New South Wales to come to Europe, anxious and ardent to join the second, and to '^ share their glories and honour," as he expressed himself, ^' on the Continent" His loss, in common with other brave men, his country will deplora
NOTICES OF THK FALLEN HEItOES. 295
Capt Georqe Datidson, Brig. Major, received the wound (of ^wliich he died, August 7th fofiowing) after the command had devolved on him by the death of Lieut-col. Macara and wound of Lieut-coL Dick ; he had been twice wounded previously, but remained on the field until nearly the close of the action of the 16th of June.
Lieut Squibes, of the 4th Regiment of Foot, was desperately grounded in the battle of Waterloo, and whose death it is our regret to announce, at Brussels, about three weeks after, was pos- sessed of most amiable manners and conduct, which endeared nim to all who knew him. He had served with his re^ment during the Peninsular campaign, and aftier, in the battle of Toulouse, the success of the Allied army having changed the political aspect in that quarter. This was hardly over, when the subject of this memoir found it his duty to embark for North America, where he took part in the most serious conflict we had in these distant regions, and in which he was woimded ; he, however, recovered, and sailed with his regiment, and had arrived only three days when he entered the glorious field of Waterloo, and where tne fates had decreed he snould become one of the noble sacrifices. When he received his death-wound he was acting as the captain of his company. He began his ^oilitarv career as a cadet in the Hon. East India Company's service, tut from which he removed and entered into the Koyal Bucks Militia, from which he volunteered with 200 to the 4th Regiment of Foot, by which means he obtained his commission in this fine regiment
Col. FuLLEB of the 1st Dragoon Guards, as also Major Graham, and Comet Hon. H. B. Bebnabd, and another oiBcer, were taken prisoners in a desperate charge at the same time ; for a long time their friends hoped they would retium, but though the particulars of their fate remain uncertain, there can be no doubt that they were murdered by the enemy, like many other brave but unfortunate men.
The Hon. Lieut.-coL Sir Alexakdeb Gokdon, Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington, lost his leg as he was communicating the orders of the DiSe, and died of his woimd at the head- quarters in Waterloo. He was greatly regretted by the General- in-Chief, as an officer of great promise. This young man was so beloved at Brussels, that its pnncipal inhabitants wished to erect a monument to hinu His mmily, one of the most ancient and most illustrious in Scotland, sorrowing lament his loss. A column has been erected to his memory on the field at La Haye Sainte : the epitaph is as follows : —
296 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
SacRll ti tic JKcoMV
of
Lt Col. the Hon^ Sir Alexander Gordon,
Kniffhi Commander of the moi«t Hon^ Order of the B*tfa,
Aiue-de-Camp to Field Marshal the Duke of WeUingtoii,
And thb^ brother to George Earl of Aberdeen ;
Who in the 29 year of his age
Terminated a short but glonous career,
On the 18 June, I81.\
Whilnt executing the ordera of his Great Commander
in the Battle of Waterloo.
Distinguished for gallantly and good conduct in the Field,
He was honoured with repeated markn of approbation
By the Illustrious Hero
With whom he shared the dangers of many battles
in Spain, Portugal, and France;
And received the most flattering proofs of his confidenee
on many trsring occasions. His zeal and activity in the service obtained the reward
of Ten Medals,
And the Honoiurable Distinction of the Order of the Bath.
He was justly lamented by the Duke of Wellington
in his public despatch.
As an officer of high promise.
And a serious loss to his country.
Nor less worthy of record were his >irtue8 in private life.
His unaffected respect for Religion,
His high sense of honor,
His scrupulous integrity,
And the more amiable qualities
Which secured the attachment of his friends
And the love of his own family,
In testimony of feelings which no language can express,
A disconsolate Sister and five surviving Brothers
Have erected this simple memorial
To the object of their tenderest affection.
In the Church of Waterloo are the following inscriptions^ on plain mural tablets, opposite to each other : — " Sacred to the Me- mory of Lieutenant-colonels — EJ<L Stables, Sir F. D'Oyly, K.C.B., Charles Thomas, William Miller, W. BL Milnes ; Captains — ^Ed. Adair, Edward Grose, Newton Chambers, Thomas Brown, Ed- ward Pardoe ; Ensigns — James Lord Hay, the Hon. G. S. P. Har- rington, of his Britannic Majesty's 1st Raiment of Foot Guards, who fell gloriously in the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, on the 16th and 18th of June, 1815. The Officers of the Regi- ment have erected this Monument in commemoration of the fall of their gallant companions."
" To the Memory of Mjyor Edwd. Griffith, Lieutenant Isaac Sherwood, and Lieutenant Henry Buckley, Officers of the 15th or King's Regt of Hussars (British), who fell in the battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815. This stone was erected by the Officers of that Regiment, as a testimony of their respect Dulce et de- corum est pro patria mori."
NOTICES or THE FALLEN HEROES. 297
In Waterloo Church : —
Gulielmus Norman Eamsay,
in exercita Britannico
Spectata virtute insignis
Qui honoris illustrem circulum
Perbrevi spatio compleviti
Kt sibi satis vix.it
Sed Don patria
Pro Liberatione Earopse,
et Gloriffi AnglisB,
Duce Invicto Wellington
Fortissime pugnans
Pulcherrimam mortem invenit,
die Octo decima Junii mdcccxy.
iEtemee amici et commilitionis,
Memorise
Hoc marmor Sacrum esse voluit.
Augustus Fraser.
** Lieut. William Livingstone Robe, of the British Royal Horse Artillery.*'
In the cemetery of the church : — " Colonel Pelaugier, Com- mandant le 1*' Bataillon de Bremen, — Lieut-col. Fitzgerald, de la Grarde du Corps de Sa Majesty Britannique."
To these we will add the epitaphsjplaced in other places in the Forest of Soignies: — "Lieutenant W. L. Robe, British Royal Horse Artillery."
In the cemetery of Braine-la-Leud: — "Lieut-col. Henry Crofton."
In the cemetery of the Protestant Church at Brussels : — "To the memory of those English Officers who died of their wounds in this city. — Sacred to the memory of Lieut John Blyde, 23d Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who was wounded in the battle of Belle Alliance, on the 18th of June, and died July 31, 1815, aged 22 years."
" Here lies the body of Captain W. Stothert, 3d Remment of Foot Guards, and Brigade Major to the 2d Brigade of Guards, who died of the wound in the battle of Belle Alliance (Waterloo), and was interred the 23d of June, 1815, aged 35 years."
Then follow other inscriptions : — " To the memory of Colonel Sir William Howe De Lancey, struck by a cannon-ball by the side of the Duke of Wellington."
Of Charles Spearman, Lieutenant Royal Artillery, — Mich. Thomas Cromie, Lieutenant Royal Artillerv, — Captain John Lucie Blackman, buried in the garden at Hougomont
Among the brave who perished in defending Hougomont was Thomas Crawftird, aged 21, Captain in the 3d Regiment of Guards, and son of Sir James Crawfurd
2 J8 BATTLB OF WATERLOa
In the cemetery outside of the gates at Hal : —
Auz mAoes de I'Houorable Hastings Brutlcnel Forbes,
CapiUina du 3** Kegt. deti Gardes de S. M. Britaoniqne,
TroUieme flls de Milord Granard,
et Deven da ires
iUustre Karl Moira,
mort gloriei»eiuent i Waterloo 1e 18 Join, 1815,
A r&j^e de 2*2 ans.
II v^cQt pea pour oca parens, scs amis et mod pays, mais Q a beaaeoop
vecu pour sa gloire.
La Hats Sainte.
In remembrance of the brave defence which took place at La Have Sainte, the corps of Anglo-Hanoverian officers nave fiacei within the wall of this farm, towards the high road, the following inscription, engraved on a slab of white marble : — ** The Officers of the 2d Light Battalion, King's German Legion, in meuiorr V' their Brother Officers, and Friends of their Regiment, who fell in defending tliis farm on the 18th of June, 1815* — Captain Bl Major Adolphus Bosewiel, — Captain William Wiegmann, — Caj^ tain William Schaumann, — Ensign Emestus Robertson."
On the outside, behind the farm, and opposite to the colunui erected to Sir Alexander Gordon, is constructed, at the expense of the same corps, a monument, in form of an obelisk, to the me- mory of the officers whose names follow : — " To the memory at' their Companions in Arms, — Colonel Christian Baron Ompteda. of the 5th Line Battalion, R.G.H.— Colonel Charles Du Plat, of the 4th Line Battalion, R.G.H. — Captain Philip Holzermaim. 1st Line Battalion, — Captain Henry Baron Marschalk, — Captain Alexander Baron Goeben, — Lieutenant Anthony Albert, — jMaJor Adolphus Bosewiel, 2d Line Battalion, — Captain William Schau- mann,— Captain Henry Wiegmann, — Ensign Frederick Robertson, — Captain Augustus SaiFe, 1st Line Battalion, — Captain Charles Baron Holle, — Ensign Arthur Suckow, — ^Lieutenant-colonel John Schroder, 2d Line Battalion, — Captain George Tilee, — Captain Frederick Didel, 3d Line Battalion, — Lieutenant Frederick de Jeinsen, — Lieutenant Frederick Leschen, — Major George Thuden, 4th Line Battalion, — ^Captain Greorge Leue, — Captain Frederick Heise, — Ensi^ Theodore Bronhelm, — Captain Christian Baron Wurmb, 5th Line Battalion, — Lieutenant-adjutant Lewis Schuck, — Captain Augustus de Vorgt, 8th Line Battalion, — Captain Thilo Baron Westemhagen, 8th Line Battalion, — Lieutenant Baron Mahrenholtz, — who gloriously fell on the memorable 18th day of June, 1815. This monument is erected by the Officers of the King's German Legion."
PART 11.
COMPLETE SERIES OF OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS,
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY,
VIZ.
FIELD-MARSHAL DUKE OF WELLINGTONS— FIELD MARSHAL PRINCE BLUCHERS— THE HANOVERIAN— DUTCH- RUSSIAN— AUSTRIAN— SPANISH AND FRENCH.
oomfUKiCATma
THE DETAILS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE GOVERNMENTS OF THE
CAMPAIGN IN THE NETHERLANDS,
AND
RELATIVE OPERATIONS.
WITH OTHER OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The very important results from the battle of Waterloo so teem with suggestions^ that mfinitely more must be trusted to the reader's reflection and sensibility than can be offered on paper to his eye. The effect of these events is so grand, their succession to each other is so rapid, and, at the same time, so towering in the scale of importance, — their variety is so precipitate and wild, that one feels, in relation to this political crisis, much in the same way as when surrounded by the most sublime and abrupt scenes of nature — as if it would be impertinent to throw in the petty voice of remark amongst so much that outstrips the power and specula- tion of individuals. There is a pitch of activity of mind, excited by the vastness of surrounding objects, which silences language by a conviction of its inability; and there is a rush in the tiae of success which produces a vague but serious impression, akin to alarm, occasioned by the faculties finding themselves at a loss. The break-up of what appeared so strong, the instantaneous dis- comfiture and dispersion of what appeared so formidable, the unbounded triumph of what appearea so beset with doubts and difficulties, which we have witnessed, cause the result to assume altogether the air of a stupendous phenomenon. Amidst this union of violence and rapidity, we feel ourselves rather carried than carrying; we seem tlie object of some overruling influence, rather man the fulfillers of our own designs. The mterval has been so small since Buonaparte declared nimself impregnable in French feeling and strength, — since we heard of armies on armies collected to resent as well as resist invasion, — since we were dazzled and astounded with oath-taking ceremonials, with the im-
Sosing display of a throne, the steps of which were crowded with evoted cnildren,— that now, when we find this man absolutely stripped, and rendered destitute by one blow, — ^his unrestrainable ana all-confident soldiery scattered and dissipated by one encounter, — and France, " the beautiful and invincible," laid open to her heart, defenceless and bare, by one defeat,— we startle in diat feeling of scepticism which is sometimes produced by the over- \.( wering nature of the conviction of a reality. It may be said, we believe — and under all the circumstances, without any violation
<
302 BATTUI OF WAHBLOO.
of generosity— that the two extremes of previous boasdng and sub- sequent depression and disgrace could have happened in no country of Europe, within the same space of time, but France ; and we apprehend it may be said, consistently, under all the ciicamstanoes, both with truth and decency, that the succession of the latter to the former could not have been so rapidly forced on such an enemy by any other country than England, Neither the taunt nor tiie self-congratulation would be worth writings unless con- nected with the vindication of true principles. Every trhun]^ of policy, with such a bias, is a benefit gained for mankind generally.
It is the proud distinction of the British troops, diat they 9ie alike to be aepended upon in " doing or in suffering," while the French are nothing unless they are doing: the latter must be carried out of themselves to reach to any thing that is sreat, and when the artificial stimulus fails, or is checked, they drop back into their natures, which do not well sustain them. Their British adversaries, on the other hand, have no occasion to go beyond the essential qualities of their character, and their efforts bein^ thus sounder in motive, are more substantial in effect The dinerence may be represented by calling one the rock, and the other the foam- ing spray which it beats back. During the whole course of the war in Spain this difference was very perceptible, but never has it been exhioited on so grand a scale as in the late battles in the Nether- lands. The French were impetuous and desperate in their charges, — the British were inunovabie and calm in receiving them ; wher- ever any number, no matter how small, of British troops could be thrown forward to meet the enemy, there was the enemy, no matter how strong, or how triumphant over others, abruptly stopped. Moral superiority took the aspect of a physical obstacle, which must be annihilated to be removed. In the grand result the French have felt, the world has seen, and posterity will know, that England's sons are the best in the fight, and that they are capable of the mightiest exertions of every kind. Their country alone has held out, without interval or faltering : their country alone has entirely escaped degradation in these times of misfor- tune : she alone has assisted al^ and held her own head high with- out assistance. Our enemy has now experienced the superiori^' of England in every way; all his publications for many years have avowd that his great design was to ruin England ; his measures have all been duected to this end. He has tried to effect it at sea, on shore, singlv, and by alliances, — he has tried to effect it by commercial, financial, and sentimental means. We have destroved him at sea, we have beaten him on shore ; we have repelled him singly, we have conquered him with our Allies: we tired him out of his anti-commercial system, and our finances have also tri- umphed, without the commission of any breach of faith to our
(
GENERAL REMARKS. 303
creditors. We have exposed the meanness and falsehood of his sentiments. Lastly, in one great battle^ — England, away from her own shores, has, in the teeth of superior numbers, beaten the col- lected might of France on her own frontier, headed by an Imperial general, whose superiority over all captains, ancient or modem, the public voice of France has asserted and sworn, in prose and poetry, in harangues and writings, — in insolence, in perfidy, and falsehood. In one battle, England has dealt to France a blow that has gone to her heart, and sent her reeling and tumbling backward on a throne, which, in theatrical show at least, she had sworn to defend to the last drop of her blood, in behalf of which she, but the other day, held forth the boldest language of defiance ; a throne which was said to present a superb spectacle, a sublime spectacle, an imposing spectacle, and Heaven knows how many spectacles besides. This throne has tumbled down like rotten wood under her stagger and fall : her soldiers have disappeared, like the smoke of her cannon, after the prodigious noise they made ; — and, between her frontier and the neighbourhood of her capital, scarcely an arm has been raised to preserve the " fine country," to vindicate the honour of the "great nation," to fulfil the "destiny" which had "decreed France to be the Queen of the West"
If it be true, which has been taken for granted by some, that it was the will of the people of France that Buonaparte should reign over them, — the ruin of that person at one blow, the instan- taneous desertion of him in the teeth of engagements to support him to the last, and the breaking up of a national army by one defeat, form a more severe humiliation of the French than any which they have inflicted on other countries. Nothing that has been done by them to Prussia or to Austria was so severely dis- graceful to l^e vanquished as this which has fallen on themselves, supposing that they were enlisted in Buonaparte's cause. As- suming, on the other hand, that Buonaparte's return was a mea- sure of violence, that it was offensive to the public sentiment of France, what is to be said of a people thus wrested to and fro, — ^knocked like a shuttlecock from one govermnent to another, — and all the while debating about their "destinies, and their deliberations, and their high attitude," — deriving their self-satis- faction from words which they ought to seek in things ? Some, we know, feel a distrust and disheartenedness from the utter over- throw of Buonaparte, in consequence of regarding it as the over- throw of intellect; but, if the matter be properly considered, it will appear that a grand vindication has been effected of those prin- ciples which combine intellect, morality, and freedom together. It has been j)roved, that it is only from this union that the invin- cibility of character c^n spring, into whose contemplation the idea of yielding is never admitted, which acquires strong feeling from senous reflection, and its keenest enthusiasm from a sober sense of
304 AATTLE or WATBBLOa
self-respect This is a description of character which at leasi applies better to England than to France ; the triumph ct the latter over the former, therefore, would have been a most melan- choly event, as a proof of the little practical worth of those domesdr virtues, sficial comforts, and public rights, which England possesses in a superior deio^'se to France. But the victory of England is an assurance that tney are of sterling worth ; that, although they may demand some self-denials, yet uiat they will repay them; that Providence has a sacred store, from which it bestows its most splendid and im])erishable gifts on those who willingly forfeit, for their sake, the easy pleasures that are within the reach of indoleice and sensuality. It would, indeed, have been a miserable thing for the hopes of the world, if a perjured and unprincipled soldiery, a careless and fickle people, a perfidious and declamatory govern- ment, had, in the terrible and decisive stru^le of £EbciutY and heart, gained the day. But the great fight of Waterloo has, with the instrumentality of English neroism, connected the politi- cal and moral qualities which pliilanthropists enforce, with that public strength which is the common ambition of the gross as well as of the enlightened. .
We rejoice in the victory which England has gained ; and we have no doubt that the cause of political freedom in France will be benefitted by what has happeneoL Buonaparte's fall has proved, we think,.that he was not supported by the opinion of the French; and, if not so supported, his return was a piece of ruffian violence, and his pretensions, since his return, sheer knavish imposition.
We now proceed to give the words of the original documents, as issued by the respective governments, as tlie best elucidation of the glorious events, which cannot fail to fix an emulative record of English valour to the latest posterity.
OFFICIAL BULLETIN.
"Downing Street, June 22, 1815.*
" The Duke of Wellington's dispatch, dated Waterloo, the 19th of Jime, states, that on the preceding day Buonaparte at- tacked, with his whole force, the British line, supported by a corps of Prussians ; which attack, after a long and sanguinary cx>nflict, terminated in the complete overthrow of the enemy's army, with
tlie loss of ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PIECES OF CANNON, AND TWO
EAGLES. During the night, the Prussians, under Marshal Bliicher, who joined in the pursuit of the enemy, captured sixty guns, and a large part of Buonaparte's baggage. The Allied armies con- tinued to pursue tlie enemy. Two French generals were takea"
* The first news of the commencement of hostilities was known in London at four o'clock on Tuesday, June -^0, 1815, by the following means : — The Hon. Mr. Butler and the Knight of Kerry, were travelling on pleasure in the Netlierlands,
DUKE OF Wellington's dispatch. 306
London Gazette Extraordinary.
" Downing Street, June 22 J, 1815.
** Major the Honourable H. Percy arrived late last night,
^with a dispatch from Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington,
K.G., to Earl Bathurst, His Majesty's principal Secretary of
State for the War Department, of which the following is a copy :_
''' Waterloo, June 19th, 1815.
"*Mt Lobd,— Buonaparte having collected the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4tli, and 6th corps of the French army and the Imperial Guards, and nearly all tne cavalry, on the Sambre, and between that river and the Meuse, between the 10th and the 14th of the month, advanced on the 15th, and attacked the Prussian posts at Thuin and Lobez, on the Sambre, at day-light in the morning.
" ' I did not hear of these events till the evening of the 15th, and I immediately ordered the troops to prepare to march ; and afterwards to march to their left, as soon as I had intelligence from other quarters to prove that the enemy's movement upon Charleroi was the real attack.
"*The enemy drove the Prussian posts from the Sambre on that day; and General Ziethen, who commanded the corps which had been at Charleroi, retired upon Fleurus; and Mar- shal Prince Bliicher concentrated the Prussian army upon Sombref, holding the villages in front of his position of St Amand and Ligny.
^^^The enemy continued his march along the road from Charleroi towards Brussels, and on the same evening, the 15th,
on Thumday the Idth, intending to sleep that night at Charleroi; hut hearing the firing of the Prussians and French, they proceeded back to Brussels, at about ten o'clock, where they communicated what they had heard. They remained at Brus^ sals until hali-past one on the Sunday, having, in the interim, witnessed the effect of the variety of reports, and consequent confusion, which is accurately detailed in the first part of this work ; and having given their endeavours to help the wounded to quarters, &c., on Monday, three o'clock, they reached Ostend, and sailed in the Leveret frigate on Tuesday morning. At five o'clock they were at Deal, and arrived in London at fom* o'clock in the afternoon, where they delivered to Lord Melville the dispat^shes they had been entrusted with by Admiral Mark- ham, who sent home word of all he knew, bad seen, or believed; which contained, in substance, communicated verbally by the Duke's aide-de-camp, the Duke of Wel- liugton's entire confidence in his dispositions, and ultimate success of the battle he then had to fight.
It is but due to observe, that the great expedition in this communication is attributed to the particular exertions of Mr. Toumier, the courier who aocom-* panied the above gentlemen, whose experience and foresight led him to avoid the common road, which, as he predicted, had become completely choked.— £ditor.
306 BATTLE OF WATEBIXXK
attacked a brigade of the army of the Netherlands, under Prinee de Weimar, posted at Frasne, and forced it back to the fazm- houae on the same road, called Les Quatre Bras.
" * The Prince of Orange immediately reinforced this brigade- with another of the same division, under General Peipc»chef. and in the morning early regained part of the grouna whk*h had been lost, so as to have the command of the comnmnii*a- tion leading from NiveUes to Brussels, with Marshal Bluchers position.
** ' In the meantime I had directed the whole army to marcii upon Les Quatre Bras, and the 5th Division, under L*ieutenaDt-
Seneral Sir Thomas Picton, arrived about half-^ist two in tk ay, followed by the corps of troops under the Duke of Brui^ wick, afterwards by the contingent of Nassau.
" * At this time the enemy commenced an attack upon Prince BltJcher with his whole force, excepting the 1st and 2d corps, and a corps of cavalry under General I^erman, with which he attacked our post at Les Quatre Bras.
'''The Prussian army maintained their position with their usual gallantry and ]:)er3everance, against a great disparity of numbers, as tne 4th corps of their army under General Bnlow had not joined, and I was not able to assist them as I wished, as I was attacked myself, and the troops, tlie cavalry in particular, which had a long distance to march, had not arrived.
^ ' We maintained our position also, and completely defeated and repulsed aU the enemy's attempts to get possession of it The enemy repeatedly attacked us with a lai^ body of infEmtrr and cavalry, supported by a numerous and powerral arrillerr; he made several charges with the cavalry upon our infantry, bnl all were repulsed in the steadiest manner. In this afiair, his Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Brunswick, and Lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Picton, and Major-general Sir James Kempt, and Sir Denis Pack, who were engaged from the commencement of the enemy's attack, highly^ distinguished themselves, as well as Lieutenant-general Charles Baron Alten, Major-general Sir C. Halkett, Lieutenant-general Cooke, and Major-generals Maitland and Byng, as they successively arrived The troops of the 5th Division, and those oi the Brunswick corps, were long and severely engaged, and conducted themselves with the utmost gallantry. I must particularly mention the 28th, 42d, 79th, 92d Regiments, and the battalion of Hanoverians.
" ' Our loss was great, as your Lordship will perceive by the inclosed return; and I have particularly to regret His Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick, who fell, fighting gallantly, at the head of his troops.
" ' Although Marshal Bliicher had maintained his position at Sombref, he still found himself much weakened by the severity
DUKE OF WELUNQTOlt's DISPATCH. 307
of the contest in which he had been engaged, and as the 4th corps had not arrived he detennined to fall back and concentrate liis army upon Wavre ; and he marched in the night, after the action was over.
'^ ^ This moyement of the Marshal's rendered necessary a cor- responding one on my part; and I retired from the farm of Quatre Bras upon Genappe, and thence upon Waterloo the next morning, the 17th, at ten o'clock.
" ' The enemy made no effort to pursue Marshal Bliicher. On the contrary, a patrol which I sent to Sombref in the morn- ing found all quiet, and the enemy's videttes fell back as the patrol advanced. Neither did he attempt to molest our march to the rear, although made in the middle of the day, excepting by following with a brge body of cavalry (brought from his right) the cavalry under the Earl of Uxbridge.
** * This gave Lord Uxbridge an opportunity of charging them with the Ist Life Guards, upon their ddbouche fix>m the viUage of Genappe ; upon which occasion his lordship has declared him- self to be well satisfied with that regiment
" * The position which I took up in front of Waterloo crossed the high roads from Charleroi ana Nivelles, and had its rL^ht thrown back to a ravine near Merke-Braine, which was occupied, and its left extended to a height above the hamlet Ter-la-Haye, which was likewise occupied In front of the right centre, and near the NiveUes road, we occupied the house and garden of Hougoumont, which covered the return of that flank ; and, in front of the left centre, we occupied the farm of La Haye Sainte. By our left we conununicated with Marshal Prince Bliicher at W avre, through Ohain ; and the Marshal had promised me, that in case we should be attacked he would support me with one or more corps, as might be necessary.
" ^ The enemy collected his army, with the exception of the 3d corps, which had been sent to observe Marshal Bliicher on a range of heights in our front, in the course of the night of the 17th and yesterday morning; and at about ten o'clodc he commenced a fiirious attack upon our post at Hougoumont I had occupied that post with a detachment from General Byng's brigade of Guards, which was in position in its rear; and it was for some time under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Macdonald, and afterwards of Colonel Home; and I am happy to add, that it was maintained throughout the day with the utmost gidlantry by these brave troops, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of large bodies of the enemy to obtain possession of it
^^ ' This attack upon the right of our centre was accompanied by a very heavy cannonade upon our whole line, which was destined to support the repeated attacks of cavalry and infantry.
\
308 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
occasionally mixed, but sometimes separate, which were u&i- upon it In one of these the enemy carried the fSunn-house a* i La Ilaye Sainte, as the detachment of the light hattalion of ±^ Lemon which occupied it had expended all its ammunitiuL. an<r the enemy occupied the only communication there was win j them. I
"*The enemy repeatedly charged our infantry with Itf cavalry ; but thes^ attacks were uniformly unsuceessfbl, and the} afforded op|)ortunities to our cavalry to charge ; in one of which. Lord E. Somerset's brigade, Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards. and 1st Dragoon Guards, highly distinguished themselves; as did that of Major-general Sir vf, Ponsonby, having taken maoj prisoners and an eagle.
" * These attacks were repeated till about seven in the even- ing, when the enemy made a des{)erate effort with the cavalry and infantry, supported by the fire of artillery, to force our lei: centre, near the farm of La Haye Sainte, which, after a severe contest, was defeated ; and having observed that the troops re- tired from this attack in great confusion, and that the march (n General Bulow's corps by Frichermont upon Planchenoit ani La Belle Alliance had begun to take effect ; and as I could per- ceive the fire of his cannon, and as Marshal Prince Blticher had {'oined in person, with a corps of his army to the left of our Hue >y Ohain, I detei*mined to attack the enemy, and inunediatek advanced the whole line of infantry, supported by the cavalry and artillery. The attack succeeded in every point; the enemy was forced from his position on the heights, and fled in the utmo^ confusion, leaving behind him, as far as I could judge, one hi:> DRED AND FiFTT PIECES OF CANN05, with their ammunition, which fell into our hands.
** * I continued the pursuit till long after dark, and then dis- continued it, only on account of the fatigue of our troops, who had been engaged during twelve hours, and because I found my- self on the same road with Marshal Bl'iicher, who assured me (rf* his intention to follow the enemy throughout the night ; he has sent me word this morning that he had taken sixty pieces ci cannon belon^ng to the Imperial Guard, and several carriages, baggage, &C belonging to Buonaparte, in Genappe.
^^ * I propose to move this morning upon Nivelles, and not to discontinue my operations.
"^Your Lordship will observe that such a desperate action could not be fought, and such advantages could not be gained, without great loss; and I am sorry to add that ours has been immense. In Lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Picton, his Ma- jesty has sustained the loss of an officer who has frequently distinguished himself in his service; and he fell gloriously leading his division to a charge with bayonets, by \vhich one
DUKE or Wellington's dispatch. 309
>f the most serious attacks make bj the enemy on our position ^as defeated.
** * The Earl of Uxbridge, after havinff successfully got through this arduous day, received a wound dv almost the last shot fired, which will, I am afraid, deprive his Majesty for some time of his services.
** * His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange distinguished himself by his gallantry and conduct till he received a wound trom a musket-ball through the shoulder, which obliged him to quit the field.
** ' It gives me the greatest satisfaction to assure your Lord- ship, that the army never upon any occasion conducted itself better. The division of Guards, under Lieutenant-general Cooke, Who is severely wounded. Major-general Maitlana, and Major- general Byng, set an example which was followed by all; and there is no officer, nor description of troops, that did not be- have well.
** * I must, however, jiarticularly mention, for his Royal Highnesses approbation, Lieutenant-general Sir H. CUnton, Major-general Adam, Lieutenant-general Charles Baron Alten, severely wounded; Major*general Sir Colin Halkett, severely wounded; Colonel Ompteda, Colonel Mitchell, commanding a brigade of the 4th Division; Major-generals Sir James Kempt and Sir Denis Pack, Major-general Lambert, Major-general Lord E. Somerset, Major-general Sir W. Ponsonby, Major- general Sir C. Grant, and ifitjor-general Sir H. Vivian, Major- general Sir O. Vandeleur, Ma.jor-general Count Domberg. I am also particularly indebted to General Lord Hill for his assistance and conduct upon this, as upon all former occasions.
" ' The Artillery and Engineer departments were conducted much to my satisfaction by Colonel oir G. Wood, and Colonel Smyth ; ana I had every reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the Adjutant-general, Major-general Barnes, who was woimded, and of the Quarter-master-general, Colonel Delancy, who was killed by a camion-shot in the middle of the action. This officer is a serious loss to his Majesty's service, and to me at this moment. I was likewise much indebted to the assistance of Lieutenant-colonel Lord Fitzroy Somerset, who was severely wounded, and of the officers composing my personal staff, who have suffered severely in this action. Lieutenant-colonel the Honourable Sir Alexander Gordon, who has died of his wounds, was a most promising officer, and is a serious loss to his Majesty's service.
" * General Kruse, of the Nassau service, likewise conducted himself much to my satisfaction ; as did General Trip, com- manding the heavy brigade of cavalry, and General V anhope, commanding a bri^uie of infantry of the King of the Netherlands.
310 BATTLE or WATBBLOa
i€i
General Pozzo di Borgo, General Baron Vincent, MufiUng, and General Alava, were in the field daring the actifx. and rendered me every assistance in their power. Baron Vinc^ 18 woundedy bat I hope not severely; and Greneral Pozzo & Boi^ received a contusion.
** * I should not do justice to my feelings, or to Mar^ Blticher and the Prussian army, if I did not attribute the sao oessful result of this arduous day to the cordial and tindr assistance received from them.
^^ ' The operation of General Bulow upon the ^lemy^s flank was a most decisive one; and, even if i had not found my- self in a situation to make the attack which prodaced the fiinl result, it would have forced the enemy to redre if his at- tacks should have failed, and would have prevented him from taking advantage of them if they should unfortanatdy have succeeded.
'^ ' I send, with this dispatch, two eagles, taken hj the troops in this action, which Major Percy will have the honoor of laving at the feet of his Royal Highness. I beg leave to rocomme&i him to your Lordships protection.
" * 1 have the honour, &c.
(Signed) " * Wkixingtok.' "
***P.S. — Since writing the above, I have received a report that Major-general Sir W; Ponsonby is killed ; and, in announc- ing this intelligence to your Lordship, I have to add the expression of my grief for the fate of an officer, who had alreadj rendered very briluant and important services, and who was an ornament to his profession.
'''2d P.S. — I have not yet got the returns of killed and wounded, but I inclose a list of officers killed and wounded on the two days, as far as the same can be made out with- out the returns; and I am very happy to add, that Colonel Delanc^ is not dead, and that strong hopes of his recovery are entertamed.' "
HANOVERIAN ACCOUNT.
Extra4stfrom a Report of Lieviemint'^eneral Charles Von Alien to His Royal Highness Field-fnarsnal and Ghvemor'-general the Duke of Cambridge^ elated Brussels^ June 20 A, 1815. {Fir^ published in tiiis 1VorL)
" On the evening of the 15th the troops broke up from their cantonments, which were very widely separated. Tne Duke of
HANOTBBIAN AOOOUNT. 311
\Velli]]gt(»i concentrated the troops in the environs of Brussels^ at Oenappe. The Hereditary Prince of Oran^e^ under whose com- mand mj division was, advanced to Quatre Bras, where the roads from Mons to Namur, and from Brussels to Charleroi, intersect each other. The French had divided their army and attacked the Prussians^ the Duke of Wellington, and our corps, at one and the same time. The Hereditary Prmce posted us between Quatre Bras and Sart k Maveline, in such a manner that the right wing occupied the former and the left the latter vUlage. The troops marchea up Tinder a most violent cannonade from the enemy. A wood on the right of Quatre Bras was alternately taken on our part and by the f rench. The cannonade on both sides was extremely brisk. The enemy repeatedly attempted to force our left wing ; I detached the field oattalion of Luneburg to drive him out of the village of Pierre* mont in our front Lieutenant*colonel Klencke executed this com- mission with great intrepidity, took the village, and maintained it against the reiterated attacks of the enemy. Upon this the enemy's infantry advanced in several columns, against which I detached tl^e field-battalions of Grubenhagen, Osnabriick, and Bremen. With the assistance of the artillerv of the German Legion, under Captain Cleves, the troops repulsed the enemy. On the right wing the enemy's cavalry ventured to make several attacks, but the gal* lantry of the troops prevented it from breaking through them* On this occasion the battalion of the Landwehr of Luneburg, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Von Ramdohr, particularlv distinguished itself. It suffered the enemy's cavalry to approacn to the distance of thirty paces, and then received it with a volley, by which it was repulsed with great loss. We were so fortunate as to maintain our position ; but, as the Prussian army on our left wing had sustained a considerable check, we were obliged to fall back, on the 17th, upon Genappe, in which movement my division formed the rear-guard. As tne enemy appeared in the afternoon in very great force we retreated to Mont St Jean, on the road to Brussels. Here the whole army of the Duke of Wellington had assembled, and it took a position on the heights in front of this village, so that the left wing was supported upon the village of Fricnerpiont, and the right on the chaussee from Brussels to Nivelles. The chaussee from Genappe to Brussels intersected the centre of the army, which was formed by my division. I sent the second light battalion of the King's German Legion, under Major Baring, to occupy the farm-house of La Haye Salute, situate just before the left wing of my division. A company of Hanoverian Yagers, and two hght companies of the English Guards, were thrown into the farm-house of Hougomont and the small wood before it, in front of the right wing.
"The infantry of the corps of his Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, to wnich my division belonged, was marched up in
/
312 BATTUE OF WATBU/XX
columns, en ichiqtder, the battalions bein^ placed two and tv« beside one another, in such a manner that ttiey might immediatdy deploy or form into squares. Between the columns there was i suiiicient space for the imssage of the cavalry and artilleiy stationed behind the squares. The corps of Greneral Lord Hill was posted, in reserve, at Braine-la-Leud, and, at the same time, covered tbo chauss^ from Nivelles to Brussels. Beyond this chaussee tfaei^ was some cavalry, for the purpose of watching the motions of the enemy.
** About one o'clock the enemy sent his tiraiileors upon the wocxl in front of our right wing, where a smart engagement ensued. This post was of great importance to us, as the enemy would hare gained in its possession a height which would have endangira^ oor right flank. He caused strong columns of infantiT> supported by artillery, to advance successively upon this post, tne maintenance of which was committed to the British Guards, who defended it with undaunted gallantry.
** The battle became general upon the whole line. The enemy brought up against us a numerous artillery, under cover cf whidi a column of several thousand men pushed on upon the chaussee of Genappe, but it was repulsed by the two light battalions and the 8th bt^talion of the line of the King's German Legion, and the field-battalion of Liineburg. Behind this column the enemy's cavalry advanced, with such impetuosity as to overthrow the infantry acting en dibandage^ and to penetrate to the hill among the squares postea en Schiquier. The troops remained immoveable till the English cavalry came up and repulsed the enemy ; the squares most exposed on tliis occasion were commanded by Lieatoiant- colonel Von Wurmb and Major Von Schkopp. Lieutenant- colonel Von Langrehr had already been brought wounded to the rear. The fire of the enemy's artillery now became brisker^ and it was kept up on both sides with a vehemence such as few of the oldest soldiers had, perhaps, ever witnessed. The attacks of the enemy's infantry and cavalry were several times repeated, and in different quarters. Buonaparte was determined to break through the centre, and thus to open for himself the way to Brussels. Chse column was repulsed by Colonel Von Ompteda, who put, himsdf at the head of his battalion. Meanwhile the enemy kept advancing nearer, and continually bringing up fresh troops. His ardUery played upon our souares at the cOstance of 150 paces. Not one of them gave way ; tne dead were pushed aside, and the ranks filled up again. Several went to meet the enemj^'s cavalry, and, by their heavy fire, compelled it to retreat At length some of them, which were almost entirely cut in pieces, fell back ; they retreated, however, in good order, and immediately advanced again when they were ordered. The Duke of Wellington was a constant eye- witness of their conduct This hero was always at that point
HANOYEKIAK ACCOUNT. 313
"where the danger was the greatest ; and the Prince of Orange dis- played a courage worthy of his illustrious ancestors. It was his corps against which the main force of the enemy, led on by Buona- parte in person, was directed. At this critical moment the Prus- sian geneSral, Yon Billow, who had hastened to our assistance with 30,000 men, attacked the enemy in his flank. The victory was ours ; the enemy fled in all directions,' leaving behind the greatest part of his artillery. About 200 pieces of cannon and several eagles have been taken. The number of prisoners brought in cannot be accurately stated, but it amounts to many thousands.
" These two days have, indeed, cost us much, and, with the deepest regret, I have to inform your Royal Highness tliat the greatest part of our most distinguished officers have fallen. Among these I reckon particularly Colonels Von Ompteda and Du Plat, and Lieutenant-colonels v on Wurmb and von liangrehr. We have, to be sure, this consolation, that these men have covered their graves with glory, and that the Hanoverians have established their reputation for valour. As an eye-witness, indeed, I can only bear testimony concerning the field-battalions of Bremen, L'une- burg, Verden, Grubenhagen, and the Duke of York, belonging to my division, and affirm, that they have rendered themselves worthy of being recorded in the annals of our army ; but a highly favourable report has also been made to me of some of the bn-
Sdes of the Landwehr, which were in the engagement Colonel alkett bestows particular praise on the battalion of Osnabriick. Of our cavalry, the Duke of Cumberland's regiment only was present at the conflict, but was not advanced to the attack. It was for some time much exposed to the fire of the artillery, by which it sustained considerable loss.
" Though every officer and soldier whom I had an opportunity of observing has done his duty, still I feel it incumbent upon me to make particular mention of some of them who pre-eminently signalised themselves on these arduous days, and I venture to hope that your Royal Highness, as you are so disposed to reward merit, will confer on them marks oi your satisfaction and approbation, than which nothing is for them a more powerful stimulus.
" Major-General Count Von Kielmansegge gave the most bril- liant example of courage and intrepidity to his brigade, and con- stantly supported me with all his might
**The conduct of Lieutenant-colonels Von Klencke, Von Wurmb, and Von Langrehr ; of Majors Von Schkopp, Von Billow, and Von Stockhausen, deserves the highest praise. Ac- cording to report received from Colonel Halkett, I think I may with justice recommend Major Count Miinster also to your Royal Highness. He fought with the battalion of Osnabriick Landwehr against Napoleon's Guards, and overthrew them.
^' I am not less gratefrd to the officers of my stafl*, and especially
3 14 fi^TTLB OP WATBBLOa
to Colonel Von Berger, as chief of die ^tat-major, who never quitted my side on the 16th and 18th, and who, by his counsd and exer* tionsy rendered me the greatest service. The meritorioiis talents of this officer are known to your Royal Highness ; and, severely wounded as I was, I should not have been able to retain the chi^ command of the Hanoverian troops had not Colonel Berger*s con- tusion permitted him to perform its principal duties.
*^ On Major Heise, of the King's German Legion, whom your Royal Highness assigned to me as Military Secretary, I must bestow the deserved encomium, that he evinced cm these two days a zeal and activity which reflect upon him the highest honour.
" Majors Kunze and Yon ochlutter, who had no specific sphere of action, as I had only the command of the diviskm, nevertheless seized every opportunity to afford me assistance, and, therefore, I cannot pass them by unnoticed in this report.
** Lieutenant Count Von Kielmansegge was, Ukewise, very serviceable to me. It is, as yet, impossible for me to name all tl»e officers who have distinguished themselves on these davs, as I have not yet received the reports of the brigadiers. I shall ooUect them, however, and send your Royal Highness an extract, thai you may be made acquainted with than all, if possible. Thus, too, the lists of dead, wounded, and missing, had not yet been completed, because the army put itself in motion a^ain imme- diately. I hope to be able to transmit them in a few days. The names of the killed shall shortly follow.
" I have still to remark to your Royal Highness> that the wound which I received at the conclusion of the en^a^ement will not prevent me from retaining the command of the rianoverians, if you shall be pleased to continue to entrust me with it under these circumstances. I hope in a few weeks to be ccMnpletely recovered."
The official lists of killed, wounded, and missing, of the Hano- verian brigades of Count Kielmansegge and Colonel Halkett, and the battery under Captain Braun, only, have yet been received, and are subjoined : —
'^ OFFICERS KILLEn.
*^ Artillery. — Lieut Von Schulze.
"Infantry. — Ist Biemen battalion, Lieut-col. Von Langrehr. 1st Liineburg batt, Capt Von Bobart, Ensign Von Plato. 1st Grubenhagen batt, Lieut-col. Von Wurmb. Bremervorde batt of Landwehr, Lieut Loner, Ensi^ Von Holt 2d batt of the Duke of York's, Lieut U ffel, Ensign Berghoffi
** OFFICEBS SEVERELY WOUNDED.
" General Staff. — Lieut-gen. Von Alten.
HANOYERUN ACOOUNT. 315
Artillery. — Capt Braun.
Infantry. — Ist Bremen batt, Lietit-coL Von Langrehr (since dead oi his wounds), Major Mliller, Capt Von Lepel, Capt Bazoldo, Lieut Von Quistorp, 1, Lieut Von QiiistorD, 2. 1st Verden batt, Major Von Schkopp, Capt Jacobi, Aojut Ger- hard, Lieutenants Selig, SuiFenplan, Brandis, 1, and Brandi8,2. 1st batt of the Duke of York's, Capt Von Pawel, Lieutenants Moll and Marenholz. 1st Liineburg batt, Lieut Vbl^r, Capt Korfes. Ist Grubenhai^n batt, Lieut Westpfahl, Ensigns Ernst and Stiepel. Bremervorde batt of Landwehr, Lieut W amecke. Ensign Wilke. 2d batt of the Duke of York's, Capt Gotthardt, Ensigns Niehencke and Meyer. 3d batt of the Duke of York's, Major Von der Biische-Hunefeld. Saltzgitter batt of Landwehr, Lieut Von Spangenberg.
** OFFICEBS SLIGHTLY WOUNDED,
General Staff. — Colonel Von Berger.
Infantry. — ^Ist Bremen batt, Lieut Wehner, Ensigns Bruel and Meyer. 1st Verden batt, Capt Von Baudomer. 1st batt of the Duke of York's, Major Von Biilow, Ensi^is Miiller and Rabius. 1st Liineburg batt, Lieut Col. A Von Klencke, Lieut Von Plato, Ensigns von Weihe and Sachse. 1st Grub^hagen batt, Capt Bouer, Lieut Marwedel, Ensign Von Biilow. Bre- meryorde batt of Landwehr, Lieut Meyer, Ensign Holthusen. 2d batt of the Duke of York's, Major Count Von Miinster, Capt Quentin, Lieutenants Winckler and Riechers. Saltzgitter batt of Landwehr, Capt Van Henunerstein.
^* MISSINO.
** Infantry. — 1st Liineburg batt. Major Von Dachenhausen. 1st Grubenhagen batt, Lieut Von LUtken. Bremervorde batt of Landwehr, Lieut Ehlers, Ensign Ress. Saltzgitter batt of Landwehr, Assistant Surgeons, Topken and Homeier.
" A* VoN Bergeb, *' Colonel and Chief of the General Staff."
" To his Excellency the Hanoverian LieutenantrGeneral
Sir Charles A hen.
Gbobob, Prince Regent, acting for and in the name of his Majesty, our father George III. by the grace of God, Eling, &c. communicate to you, by these presents, our gracious intentions.
" Noble, beloved, and loyal, if on the one hand we are deeply afflicted at the considerable k>ss which our Hanoverian corps, con* fided to your orders, has suffered in the memorable battles of the 16th and 18th of last month, we have had reason, on the other
316 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
hand, to feel {)eculiar satisfaction at learning the ealogiuins whiih voQ bestow in your account upon the distinguished courage aii<! bravery of our valiant Hanoverians; a testimony upon wmch we set the higher value, as it comes from you, from a general who has combatted in so many battles for his country and the good cause, and has constantly distinguished liimself by his talents and his bravery.
" It very sincerely aiHi(*ts us to see you among the number of those who are wounded ; and it is, however, with pleasure that we IKsrceive you were able to retain tlie command of vour troops, ami that you have the ho(x> of being entirelv recovered in a few weeLs.
" We have bc^en very glad at receiving, with your narration, die copy of the report which you made on the 20th of last month to our l)eloved brother the Duke of Cambridge, upon the said battles, by which we have been perfectly informed of the plan of the battle, and of all the circumstances which have accompanied it It will be the object of our particular solicsitude to recompense all those who have gloriously distinguished themselves before the enemy, and we certainly shall not fail also to provide for the widows and orphans of those who have 6di&i fighting for their country. We wait, for this end, only for the proposals of our beloved brother the Duke of Cambridge, whom your farther reports will soon enable to realize our intentions.
" We charge you to express to the Hanoverian army, under your command, our entire satisfaclion with their good conduct in the said battles : assuring you, at the same time, that it is perfecdy well known to me how much is to be ascribed to the talents aiKl bravery with which you commanded them. — It is with sentiments of affection and favour, &c. &c.
(Signed) " Geoboe, Prince R^ent"
" Carlton Ilousej July 7, 1815.**
After having given the General such a flattering mark of his esteem, his Royiu Highness has deigned, by a later resolution, to confer upon him and his descendants tne title of Count, as a recom- pense for his distinguished services in the war in Spain, and in the Dattle of Waterloa
His Royal Highness has been further pleased to testify his high satisfaction with the Hanoverian troops who were present in this last battle, and to permit them to bear, Uke the English troops, on their colours and on tlieir uniforms, the word " Waterloa**
^
DUTCH ACCOXTNT. 317
DUTCH ACCOUNT.
Reports of William Prince of Orange, to His Majesty the King of the NeUierlands, (First Published in this Worh^
Head-quarters, Nivelles, \lih June, 1815, two in the morning,
Yqtv early on the morning of the 15th, the Prussian army was attacked in its position, which it abandoned, and retired from Gharleroi, by Gosselies, as far as the environs of Fleurus. As soon as I was apprised of this attacl^ I gave the necessary orders to the corps of troops under my command. The result of what took place in the Prussian anny was, that the battalion of Orange Nassau, which, together with a battery of light artillery, occupied tlie village of Frasne, were attacked at five o'clock in the evening of the 15th. These troops maintained themselves in their position on the height of this village, and at a short distance from the road called Quatre Bras. The skirmishing ceased upon this point at eight o'clock in the evening.
^' As soon as I was informed of this attack I gave orders for the third division, as well as to two English divisions, to move upon Nivelles, and to the second to maintain the position of Quatre Bras. Only a part of the second division was enabled to move thither immediately, in consequence of the brigade under the orders of Major-general Byland not being able to leave Nivelles prior to the arrival of other troops at that place.
'* The firing of the tirailleurs commenced at five o'clock yester- day morning, on this point, and was kept up on both sides untQ mid-day, without any result About two o'clock the attack be- came much more severe, especially on the part of the cavalry and artillery. The brigade of light cavalry, imder the command of General Van Merlen, was not able to come up before four o'clock ; previous to which time I had no cavalry to oppose to the enemy. Seeing of how great importance it was to preserve the position on the heights of the road called Quatre Bras, I was fortunate in maintaining them against an enemy who, in every respect, was superior to me in forces.
" Having been attacked bv the two corps d'armfe commanded by Generals d'Erlon and Reille, and having succeeded in checking them, the Duke of Wellington had time enough to assemble a saiBcient force to foil the projects of the enemy. The result of this attack has been, tliat after a very obstinate contest, which lasted till nine o'clock in the evening, we not only checked the enemy, but even repulsed him.
" The Prussian army, which was also attacked yesterday, main- tained its principal position ; and there is no doubt but that Napo-
318 BATTLE OP WAlSBLOa
leon, with very considerable forceSy directed an attack npcm the whole line.
^* Our troops bivonaeked upon the field of battle, whither I shaL immediately proceed, in expectation of the probability that Napo> leon will endeavour, this day, to execute the project of yesterday. The Duke of Wellington has concentrated upon this point as many troops as he was able to collect
" I exwrience a lively pleasure in being able to aimonnce to your Majesty tnat your troops, and the infantry and artillery in parti- cular, fought with great courage.
" Circumstances having prevented my receiving the reports firom the diflerent corps concerning their loss, I am unable to acquaint you with it : but I shall have the honour of doing so as soon as possible.
(Signed) ** William, Prince of Orange^''
''Bru88ek, June 22, 1815.
''After the battle of the 16th, of which I had the honour of giving an account to your Majesty on the 17th, at two in the monung, from the head-quarters at Nivelles, the Duke of Wel- lington, keeping his line with the Prussian army, in the morning made a movement, the result of which was that the army found itself in position upon the heights in front of Waterloo, where it bivouacked ; the enemy's cavalry, which followed the movements of the army, was, in different attacks, repulsed with loas by the British cavalry.
'' On the 18th, at daybreak, we discovered the enemy in our front: at ten o'clock he snowed a disposition to attack. The army of Buonaparte was composed of the first, second, third, fonrth, and sixth corps, the Imperial Guards, and nearly the whole of his cavalry, and a tram of artillery, consisting of many hundred pieces of cannon. About eleven o'clock the enemy unmasked a small battery, under the cover of the fire of which his tiraillenrs advanced against our right wing, and immediately after his attack was direct^ against a farm surrounded with copse-wood, which was situate a snort way in front of this wing, and on the left of the road leading to Nivelles. The enemy made the most fbiious, but fruitless, attacks to possess himself of this farm. At noon the can- nonade became violent, and before half-past twelve the battle was extended along the whole lina The French repeatedly attacked our two wings ; but, as their principal object was to pierce the right of our centre, ihey employed all their means to accomplish it. Some columns of the enemy's cavalry advanced boldly against us; but, notwithstanding the inconceivable violence widi which they renewed their attacks, from three o'clock in the afbemocm until the end of the battle, they never succeeded in making our line waver. The enemy was constantly repulsed, as well from the
DUTCH ACCJOUNT. 319
fire of the squares as by the charges of our cavalry: it Ls impos- sible to depict to your Majesty the fury with which they fought, especially during the last six hours.
<< I was unfortunate in not being able to see the end of this glorious and important battle, having received, half an hour before the defeat of the enemy, a ball through my left shoulder, which compelled me to quit the field of battle.
^^ It is with the most lively satisfaction that I am able to inform your Majesty that your troops, of all arms, have fought with the greatest courage. In the charges of cavalry, the brigade of Cara- bineers attracted particular notice. The division of Lieutenant- general Chasse was not engaged until late; and as I was not personally able to quit the centre, I had placed it, for the day, under the orders of General Lord Hill, commanding the second corps of the army. I have heard that this division, likewise, con- ducted itself with much bravery, and that Lieutenant-general Chass^, as also the two commanders of brigades, very satisfactorily acquitted themselves of their duty.
" I cannot at this moment make any detail to your Majesty of the loss we have sustained, not having received the returns. I am obliged, nevertheless, with the most profotmd regret, to state, that it is considerable.
" The Generals of Division have requested me to speak of those who have particularly distinguished themselves ; ana I feel it a duty to name those to your Majesty of whose conduct I was myself an eye-witness, viz. : —
" The Lieutenant^enerak Gollaert and De Perponcher; the first is wounded. Tne brave and experienced officer, Major- general Van Merlen, died of his wounds upon the field of battle. I take this opportunity of recommending his widow and children to your Majesty's kind consideration. Major-general Trip dis- tinguished himself as much by his intelligence as his gallantry. Maior-seneral Ghigny. The Commanders of the three regiments of Carabineers, Lieutenant-colonel Coenegracht,dead of his wounds. Colonel de Bruyn, and Lieutenant-colonel Lechleitner. Lieut- colonel Weslenber^, commanding the battalion of militia. No. 5, who is a verv excellent officer, conducted his battalion very ably, and behaved extremely well in the battle of the 16th. Major Hegman, of the third battalion of Nassau, wounded. Majors Merex and De Bryas, of the Carabineers, No. 2 ; the last wounaed. Major de la Sarraz, of the Artillery. Major-general De Constant Rebecque, Quarter-master-general, performed his duty with the greatest credit, and rendered great services. I yet have to bear testimony to your Majesty of my satisfaction of the conduct of my Adjutants-M^or, Van Limburg Stirum wounded on the 16th ; and on the 18th, Uolonel de Caylar and Major Ampt had each a horse shot under them ; and Lieutenant-colonel Cruquenbourg had two.
320 BATTLB OF WATEITLOO.
*' I have charged my Adjutant, Van Hooft, to traDsmit thi^ report to your Majesty. I take the liberty of recomzn^idmg bim to your favourable considerati<»L
(Signed) ** William, Prince of Orange."
I^S8 OP THE DITCH.
Officers killed or ini»Aing ..... 27
"Wcmmlt^d . . . . .115
Rank and file killed or missing .... 3(>58 Wounded ....... 19M
Total . . ... . . 4136
Horsi^s killed ...... 1C90
MARSHAL BLttCHER'S OFFICIAL REPORT
Of the Operations of the Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine.
It was on the 15th of this month that Napoleon, after faa^in^ collected on the 14th five corps of his army, and the sevem corps of the Guard, between Maubeuge and Beaumont, commenced hostilities. The points of concentration of the four Prussian corps were Fleurus, Namur, Ciney, and Hannut ; the situation of which made it possible to unite the army, in one of these points, in twenty-four hours.
Chi the 15th Napoleon advanced by Thuin, upon the two bank of the Sambre, against Charleroi. General Ziethen had collected the first corps near Fleurus, and had on that day a very warm action with the enemy, who, after having taken Charleroi, directed his march upon Fleurus. General Ziethen maintained himself in his position near that place.
Field-marshal Bliicher intending to fight a great battle with the enemy as soon as possible, the three other corps of the Pmssian army were consequently directed upon Sombref, a league and a half from Fleurus, where the 2d and 3d corps were to arrive on the 15th, and the 4th corps on the 16th.
Lord Wellington had united his anny between Ath and Nivelles, which enabled him to assist Field-marshal Bliicher, in case the battle should be fought on the 15th.
June 16. — Battle of Ligny.
The Prussian army was posted on the heights between Brie and Sombref, and beyond the last place, and occupied witb a large force the villages of St Amand and Ligny, situate in its front Meantime, only three corps of the army had joined ; the
:l
i ;
PRUSSIAN ACCOUNT. 32 1
fourth, which was stationed between Li^e and Hannut, had been delayed in its march by several circumstances, and was not yet come u]^ Nevertheless, Field-marshal Bliicher resolved to give battle ; Lord Wellington having already put in motion, to support him, a strong division of his army, as well as his whole reserve, stationed in the environs of Brussels, and the fourth corps of the Prussian army being also on the point of arriving.
The battle began at three o'clock in the afternoon. The enemy brought up above 130,000 men. The Prussian army was 80,000 strong. The village of St Amand was the first point attacked by the enemy, who carried it after a vigorous resistance.
He then directed his efforts against Ligny. It is a large vil- lage, solidly built, situate on a rivulet of the same nama It was there that a contest began, which may be considered as one of the most obstinate recorded in history. Villages have often been taken, and retaken : but here the combat continued for five hours in the villages themselves, and the movements, forwards or back- wards, were confined to a very narrow space. On both sides fresh troops continually came up. Each army had, behind the part of the .village which it occupied, great masses of infantry, which maintainea the combat, and were continually renewed by the reinforcements which they received from their rear, as well as from the heights on the right and left. About two hundred cannon were directed from both sides against the village, which was on fire in several places at once. From time to time the combat extended through the whole line, the enemy having also directed numerous troops against the third corps ; however, the main contest was near i'igny. Things seemed to take a favour- able turn for the Prussian troops, a part of the village of St. Amand having been retaken by a battalion command^ by the Field-marshal in person; in consequence of which advantage we had regained a height which had been abandoned after the loss of St Amand. Nevertheless, the battle continued about Ligny with the same fury. The issue seemed to depend on the arrival of the English troops, or on that of the fourth corps of the Prussian army; in fact, the arrival of this last division would have afforded the Field-marshal the means of making imme- diately, with the right wing, an attack, from which great success might be expected : but news arrived that the English division, destined to support us, was violently attacked by a corps of the French army, and it was with great difficulty it had maintained itself in its position at Quatre Bras. The fourth corps of tiie army did not appear, so that we were forced to maintain, alone, the contest with an army greatiy superior in numbers. The evening was already much advancol, and the combat about Ligny continual with the same fary, and the same eqnaKty of success: we invoked, but in vain, the arrival of those succours which were
T
322 BATTLE OV WATBHLOa
SO nocessaiy: the danger became every hour more and more urgent ; all the divisions were engaged, or had already been so, am there was not any corps at hand able to sopport them. Sud- denly a division of the enemy's infantry, which, by favour of the night, had made a circuit round the viUage witnoat being ob- served, at the same time that some regiments of Cuirassiers had forced the passage on the other side, took, in the rear, the main body of our army, which was posted behind the houses. This surprise on the part of the enemy was decisive, especisllj at the moment when our cavalry, also posted on a hdgfat bdiinl the viUage, was repulsed by the enemy's cavalry in repeated attacks.
Our infancy, posted behind Ligny, though forced to retreat, did not suffer itself to be discouraged, either by being surprised by the enemy in the darkness, a circumstance which exaggerates in the mind of man the dangers to which he finds himseu exposed, or, by the idea of seeing itself surrounded on all sides. Formed in masses, it coolly repulsed all the attacks of the cavahy, and retreated in good order upon the heights, whence it continued its retrograde movement upon Tilly. In consequence of the sadden irruption of the enemy's cavalry, several of our cannons, in their precipitate retreat, hail taken oirections which led them to defiles, m which they necessarily fell into disorder; in this manner, fifteen pieces fell into the hands of the enemy. At the (fistanoe of a quarter of a lea^e from the field of battle, the army fimned again. The enemy did not venture to pursue it The village of Brie remained in our possession during the night, as weu ts Sombref, where General Thieimami had fought with the third corps, and whence he at daybreak slowly b^an to retreat towards Gemblouz, where the fourth corps, under General Bnlov, had at length arrived during the night The first and second corps proceeded in the mormn^ behind the defile of Mount St Gmbert Our loss in killed and wounded was great ; the enemy, however, took from us no prisoners, except a part of our woundeu. The battle was lost, but not our honour. Our soldiers had fou^t with a bravery which equalled every expectation ; their fortituae remained unsnaken, because every one retained his confidence in his own strength. On this day. Field-marshal Bliicher had encountered the greatest dai^rs. A charge of cavalry, led on by himself, had failed. While that of the enemy was vigot- ously pursuing, a musket>-shot struck the Field-maruial's horse; the ammal, far from being stopped in his career by this wound, began to gallop more furiously till it dropped down dead. The Field-marshal, stunned by the violent fail, lay entangled under the horse. * The enemy's Cuirassiers, following up their advantage, advanced: our last horseman had already passed by the Field- marshal, an Adjutant alone remained with him, and had just
7.2; -<«
^
■iJ
PBU88IAN ACCOUNT. 323
alighted^ resolved to share his fate. The danger was great^ but Heaven watched over us. The enemy, pursuing their charge, passed rapidly by the Field-marshal without seeing him : the next moment, a second charge of our cavalry having repulsed them, they again passed by hmi with the same precipitation, notper- ceiving him, any more than they had done the nrst time. Then, but not without difficulty, the Field-marshal was disengaged from under the dead horse, and he immediafely mounted a dragoon horse.
On the 17 th, in the evening, the Prussian army concentrated itself in the environs of Wavre. Napoleon put himself in motion against Lord Wellington upon the great road leading firom Char- leroi to Brussels. An English divi&ion maintained, on the same day, near Quatre Bras, a very severe contest with the enemy. Lord Wellim^n had taken a position on the road to Brussels, having his right wing leaning upon Braine-larLeud, the centre near Mont St Jean, and the left wing against La Haye Sainte. liord Wellington wrote to the Field-marshal, that he was resolved to accept the battle in this position if the Field-marshal would support him with two corps of his army. The Field-marshal
Sromised to come with his whole army ; he even proposed, in case Tapoleon should not attack, that the Allies themselves, with their whole united force, should attack him the next day. This may serve to show how little the battle of the 16th had disorganised the Prussian army, or weakened its moral strength. Thus ended the day of the 17th.
Battle of the 18^.
At break of day the Prussian army again began to move. The 4th and 2d corps marched by St Lambert, where they were to take a position. Covered by the forest, near Frichermont, to take the enemy in the rear when the moment should appear favourable. The first corps was to operate by Ohain, on the right flank of the enemy. The third corps was to follow slowly, in order to afford succour in case of need. The battle began about ten o'clock in the morning. The English army occupied the heights of Mont St Jean ; Siat of the French was on the heights b^ore Planche- noit : the former was about 80,000 strong ; the enemy had above 130,000. In a short time the battle became general along the whole line. It seems that Napoleon had the design to throw the left wing upon the centre, and thus to effect the separation of the English army firom the Prussian, which he believed to be re- treating upon Maestricht For this purpose he had placed the greatest part of his reserve in the centre, against his right wing, and upon this point he attacked with fiiry. The English army fought with a valour which it is impossible to surpass. The
324 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
repeated char^ of the Old Guard were baffled by the intrepidity of the Scottish regiments; and at every chai^ the Freocb cavaky was overthrown by the English cavaby. But the supe- riority of the enemy in numbers was too great ; Napoleon cud- dnnally brought forward considerable masses, and, with whatevtr firmness the English troops maintained themselves in their posi- tion, it was not possibly but that such heroic exertions must have a limit
It was half-past four oVlock. The excessive difficulties of the passage by the defile of St Lambert had considerably retarded the march of the Prussian columns, so that only two brigades of the 4th corps had arrived at the covered position which was assigned to them. The decisive moment was come ; there was not an uistant to be lost The Generals did not suffer it to escape. They resolved immediately to begin the attack with the troops which they had at hand. General Bulow, therefore, with two brigades and a corps of cavalry, advanced rapidly upon the rear of me enemy's right wing. The enemy did not lose his presence of mind ; he instantly turned his reserve against us, and a murder- ous conflict b^an on that side. The combat remained long im- certain> while me battle with the English army still continued with the same violence.
Towards six o'clock in the evening we received the news that General Thielmann, with the 3d corps, was attacked near Wavre by a very considerable corps of the enemy, and that they were already disputing the possession of the town. The Field-marshal, however, did not suffer himself to be disturbed by this news : it was on the spot where he was, and nowhere else, that the afiair was to be decided. A conflict continually supported by the same obstinacy, and kept up by fresh troops, could alone insure the victory, and if it were obtained here, any reverse sustained near Wavre was of little consequence. The columns, therefore, con- tinued their movements. It was half an hour past seven, and the issue of the battle was still uncertain. The whole of the 4th corps, and A part of the 2d, under General Pirch, had successively come up. The French troops fought with desperate fiiry: however, some uncertainty was perceived in their movements, and it was observed that some pieces of cannon were retreating. At this moment, the first columns of the corps of General Ziethen arrived on the points of attack, near the village of Smouhen, on the enemy's right flank, and instantly charged. This moment decided the defeat of the enemy. His right wing was broken in three places ; he abandoned his positions. Oar troops rushed forward at the pas de charge^ and attacked him on all sides, while, at the same tune, the whole English line advanced.
Circumstances were extremely favourable to the attack formed by the Prussian army; the ground rose in an amphitheatie, so
PRUSSIAN ACCOUNT. 325
that our artillery could freely open its fire from the summit of a great many heights which rose gradually above each other, and in the intervals of which the troops descended into the plain, formed into brigades, and in the greatest order ; while fresh corps con- tinually unfolded themselves, issuing from the forest on the height behind us. The enemy, however, still preserved means to retreat, till the village of Planchenoit, which he had on his rear, and which was defended by the Guard, was, after several bloody attacks, carried by storm. From that tune the retreat became a rout, which soon spread through the whole French army, and in its dreadftd confrision, hurrying away every thing that attempted to stop it, soon assumed the appearance of the flight of an army of barbarians. It was half-past nine. The Field-marshal assembled all the superior officers, and gave orders to send the last horse and the last man in pursuit of the enemy. The van of the army accelerated its marcL The French being pursued without inter- mission^ was absolutely disorganised. Tne causeway presented the appearance of an immense shipwreck ; it was coverea with an innumerable quantity of cannon, caissons, carriages, bagffage, arms, and wrecks of every kind. Those of the enemy who had at- tempted to repose for a time, and had not expected to be so quickly pursued, were driven from more than nine bivouacs. In some villages they attempted to maintain themselves; but as soon as they heard the beating of our drums, or the sound of the trumpet, they either fled or threw themselves into the houses, where they were cut down or made prisoners. It was moonlight, which greatly favoured the pursuit, ror the whole march was but a continued chase, either in the corn-fields or the houses.
At Genappe, the enemy had entrenched himself with cannon, and overturn^ carriages : at our approach, we suddenly heard in the town a great noise and a motion of carriages ; at the entrance we were exposed to a brisk fire of musketry ; we replied by some cannon-shot, followed by a hurrahy and an instant after the town was ours. It was here that, among many other equipages, the carriage of Napoleon was taken ; he had just left it to mount on horseback, ana, in his hurry, had forgotten in it his sword and hat Thus the afiairs continued till break of day. About 40,000 men, in the most complete disorder, the remains of the whole army, have saved themselves, retreating through Charleroi, partly with- out arms, and carrying with them only twenty-seven pieces of their numerous artillery.
The enemy, in his flight, had passed all his fortresses, the only defence of his frontiers, which are now passed by our armies.
At three o'clock Napoleon had diq)atched, from the field of battle, a courier to Paris, with the news that victory was no longer doubtiul : a few hours after, he had no longer any army left; We have not yet any exact account of the enemy's loss; it is enough
326 BATTLE OF WATEBIiOa
to know, that two-thirds of the whole were kflledy womided, cs pruoners ; among the latter are Grenerals Monton, Dnliesme, sai Companfl. Up to this time about 300 camM^n, and above 50u caissons, are in our hands.
Few victories have been so complete ; and there is certainlT no example that an army, two days after losing a battle, ei^aged in such an action, and so gloriously maintained it. Honour be tk> troops capable of so much firmness and valour 1 In the middle ^' the position occupied by the French army, and exactly upon the height, is a farm, called La Belle Alliance. The march of all the Prussian columns was directed towards this farm, which was visible from every side. It was there that Napoleon was during the battle ; it was thence that he gave his orders, that he flatteneii himself with the hopes of victory ; and it was there that his rain was decide<L There, too, it was, that, by a happy chance, field- marshal Bliicher and Lord Wellington met in the dark, and mu- tually saluted each other as victors.
bi commemoration of the alliance which now subsists between the English and Prussian nations, of the union of the two armies, and theu: reciprocal confidence, the Field-marshal desired diat diis battle should Dear the name of La Belle Alliance.
By the order of Field-marshal Bliicher,
G^ieral Gheosenau.
[N. B. The Prussians lost 33,120.— Editor.']
Proclamation
Addressed hy Fieldrtnarshal Prince Bliicher to the Army of the Lower Rhine, to be read at the head of every Battaliofu
Brave Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Lower Rhine— You have done great things, brave companions in arms. Yoa have fought two battles in three days. The first was unfortunate, and yet your courage was not broken.
** You have had to struggle with privations, but you have borne them with fortitude. Immoveable m adverse fortune, after the loss of a bloody battle, you marched with firmness to fi^ht an- other, relying on the God of battles, and full of confidence m your Commanders, as well as of perseverance in your eflforts against presumptuous and perjured enemies, intoxicated with their victory.
^^ It was with these sentiments you marched to support the brave English, who were maintaining the most arduous contest with un- paralleled finnness. But the hour which was to decide this great strufi^gle has struck, and has shown who was to give the law, whe-
RUSSIAN ACCOUNT. 327
ther an adventurer^ or Oovemments who are the friends of order. Destiny was still undecided, when you appeared issuing from the forest which concealed you from the enemy ^ to attack his rear with that coolness, that firmness, that confidence, which characterise experienced soldiers resolved to avenge the reverses they had ex- perienced two days before. There, rapid as lightning, you pene- trated his ahready shaken columns. Nothing could stop you in the career of victory* The enemy in his despau: turned his artillery upon you ; but you poured death into his ranks, and your progress caused in them disorder, dispersion, and, at last, a complete rout He found himself obUged to abandon to you several hundreds of cannon ; and his army is dissolved.
" A few days will suffice to annihilate these perjured l^ons, who were coming to consummate the slavery and the spoliation of the universe.
** All great commanders have regarded it as impossible im- mediately to renew the combat with a beaten army: you have proved that this opinion is ill founded ; you have proved that resolute warriors may be vanquished, but uiat their valour is not shaken.
" Receive, then, my thanks, incomparable soldiers — o]^*^^ <^ all my esteem. You have acquired a great reputation. Ine an- nals of Europe wiU eternise your triumphs. It is on you, immove- able columns of the Prussian monarchy, that the destinies of the King and his august house wiU for ever repose.
** Never will Prussia cease to exist wlule your sons and your grandsons resemble you.
(Signed) '' Bluchbb.**
RUSSIAN ACCOUNT.
Letter from General Pozzo di Borgo to hie Excellency Prince Wblkonsky. {First published in this Work)
** I have had the honour of giving your Excellency an account of the advantageous action which me Duke of Wellington had fought on the 4-16 of June, at the place called Les Quatre Bras. The movement of Prince Bliicher having induced his Grace to remove his head*quarters to Waterloo on uie 5-17, he took a posi- tion in advance of that place, at a point where the great causeway firom Brussels to Namur crosses that which leads to Braine-la- Leud.
'^ Though the ground is open, and without any remarkable fear ture, it rises almost insensibly upon this point to the distance of half a league. At the right extremity of the firont of this elevation
!
328 BATTLE OF WATBRLOa
there is a hrm, consisting of a stone house, of a snrromidiiig wall and of a wood intersecteu by natural hedges and ditches. It was upon this ground that the Duke resolved to expect the eiiemj: he )>iaced his batteries, occupied the farm and the garden, and drev up his army along the eminence, protected by its height fixm the enemy's fire.
** The army being composed of different trocms, he took the
i precaution to sup{X)rt eacn of them by En^iw infiurtry, all |]S|)osed in such a manner as to be able to sacoonr die' point thrcatened.
** On the 6-18, towards noon, the French army, eomnoumded by Buonaparte, began the attack ; his first efforts were directed against the farm, of which I have made mention : after several attempts he succeeded, at about half-past one o'clock, in dislodg- ing a ]>art of the troo|)s from it The Duke hastened to the spot, and ordered two battalions to retake it, and to defend themselves there to the last extremity. His orders were punctually exe- cuted.
" The enemy then directed two strcmg columns against our centre* The Duke of Wellington, in person, led some battalions of infantiy against these columns, and Lord Uxbridge ccmducted the cavalry. They attacked at the point of the bayonet ; the French were overthrown, and their cavalry broken (cuUnitde), In this charge, one eagle, a standard, and about 1200 prisoners, were taken* The victorious troops instantly returned to their positions, and reformed their line.
" The attack on the farm did not cease ; the enemy pen^rated to it, but was never able to establish a footing there.
" Buonaparte, seeing that he could not obtain any advantage, manoeuvred with all his cavalry, and a part of his infantry, against our right, tried to out-flank it with 17,000 cavalry, and began by a most vigorous attack. The Duke made his disposi- tions in consequence ; the cavalry of both armies charged ; the squares of infantry remained immoveable, and repulsed every attack : this attempt of the enemy was baffled. At last, about six o'clock, he repeated another attack upon our centre, and succeeded in getting as far as the eminence. The Duke caused him to he attacked, overthrew him, pursued him, and the rout became general
" Prince Bliicher had announced that he would march against the right of the French. On the advance, the two Field-marshals met each other, about half-past eight in the evening.
" The army of Lord Wellington did not exceed 50,000 actually engaged. The enemy was far superior, especially in cavalry. The Frince Royal of Orange is wounded in the shoulder ; it is hoped that he will recover. Lord Uxbridge has had a thigh fractured Sir Thomas Picton is killed. The Duke's head-
AirSTBIAN ACCOUNT. 329
quarters will be at Nivelles this evening. He is gone to Brussels to nudce up his dispatches {pour f aire son eapMition),
^' P.S. Just as I am going to seal my letter, news is brought that 300 cannon are already taken^ and also the equipages of JBuonaparte^ and prisoners innumerable."
AUSTRIAN ACCOUNT.*
Head-Quarters of the Allied Sovereigns, Heidelberg, June 21, 1815.
General Baron Vincent having been disabled from writing, in conse^ quence of the Wound he received in the JBatde of Waterloo, the Austrian Government gave publicity to the following Account of the Military Events on the I5ih, I6th, nm, and ISth of June, in the Netherlands, and of the great Victory obtained .over Buonaparte and the French Army by the Duke of Wellington and Prince Blucher.
^* On the 12th of June, in the morning, at three o'clock. Na- poleon Buonaparte 1^ Paris, and, taking the road by Soissons, Laon, and Avesnes, arrived at Maubeuge on the 13th, in the evening. Soult, as Major, went before him on the 9th, by the way of LQle ; as also Jerome Buonaparte, Marshal Mortier, and the Guards. All the disposable troops between the North Sea and the Maese were collected in five corps d'arm^^ between the Sambre and the Meuse ; 150,000 men, of whom 25,000 were cavalry, with 60 batteries of cannon,t were destined to a grand attack, which was to force Marshal Bliicher over the Meuse, and the Duke of Wellington towards Flanders. Even the corps of Greneral Girard, which was stationed about Metz, was made to approach by way of Sedan, in order, in case of need, to serve as a reserva
'^ It was, evidently, the internal situation of France that in* duced Buonaparte to the hazardous step of staking the very flower of his s^ agabst two generals Uo weTSv eoualS him. In the first place, it was omy on the field of battle that he could become again perfect master of the army, whose creature he was become, and which combined in itself many discordant ele* ments ; in the second place, the first, as unimportant, as tumultu- ous sittings of the new repres^itatives of France, which are before the public in the journals, showed the internal contradiction and
* First published in this Work.
f Camot's report to the Chamber of Bepresentatiyes, on the 14th of June, officially states, Uiat the French artillery consisted in all of 100 batteries, com' pletely organised, and in the line with the difCarent armies.
330 BATTLE or WATSBLOO.
the danger of his position so very dearl j, that be oould no kx^ hesitate to remove his throne from the capital to the camp.
^ Thus it happened that he opened tne campaign jost at tk moment when the Russian troops nad entered into the line of tb gieat force collected upon the Rhine, and when^ therefere, no con- nected system of resistance was possible, except from the centra of France, and when the most fortunate result of his attach could have no other effect than that of removing him still fnrtfaer from the solution of the problem which was, in fact, before hinL
" According to accounts just received from the Netherlsnds. j hostilities began there on the 15th instant The enemy, who bd * in the last few days collected all his forces between the Sambre and the Meuse, and had assembled five corps d'arm^ put las columns in motion on the 15th iqx>n both banks of the Sambre, hoping to surprise the Prussian army in its cantonments, and bj a rapid advance, perhaps, to hinder the different corps firam coih centrating themselves, and also to prevent the union of the Pros' sian army under Prince BlUcher with that under the Duke at Wellingtcx). As the two armies were cantoned, with all thdr troops, at the extreme frontiers of the enemy, their union was not mucticable in any point, except in the neighbourhood of Brossda. To keep in view uiis main object, nam^, mutual onion, sod to direct tneir operations accordingly, was the determination of tk two illustrious commanders; and it was happOy attained od ^ 17th, amidst continual and very bloody battles, by the vakvff of their troops, and by fresh proofs of their talents. The followii^ according to the statements of the couriers, who hare just arriTeo, is a summary of these events.
^ On the 15th, at half-past five in the morning, the posts of the Prussian first corps, under Greneral Von Ziethen, 2!^ ^ sides of the Sambre were attacked, and the points of Tnuis and Charleroi were taken, after an obstinate resistance firom the troops which were stationed there. This General, according to his in- structions, retreated fighting, and took a position at FleoraSi Field-marshal Prince Bliicher, who had his head-quarters at Nan^ur, assembled at Sombref the second corps, which was fyiog in the neighbourhood. The Duke of Wellington assembled his troops about Soignies and Braine-le-Ckmite. The enemy poshed his posts, this day, to Genappe, in order to interrupt the com- munication between the two armies. This induced the Duke of ( Wellington to place his reserve, on the morning of the lOth, at | Quatre Bras, in order to approach on his side the Prussian armv, " and, by thus forcing the enemy to employ a part of his ff^ ' against the English army, to am)rd all the aid he could to Yrm& \ Bliicher. The three corps of the Prussian army, collected on tie forenoon of the 16th, had the following position. On therigt^ , wing, the village of Brie; before the nont, St Amand; ontbe
AU8TB1AN ACOOUNT. 331
left wingy the yillfkge of Lignj; the third corps^ at Point du Jour.
'^ On the 16th9 in the forenoon, he advanced his columns beyond Charieroi, and soon conunenced an attack upon Prince £lucher, — against whom he directed his chief force. His strength was estimated at 120,000 foot and 22,000 cavalry. It consisted of the first, second, third, and fourth corps of the French army, the Gruards, and the reserves.
'^ The fourth Prussian corps, which was cantoned in the neigh- bourhood of Liege, had found it impossible to join the others. The Prussian army was, therefore, far inferior in strength to the enemy. However, it was a considerable mass, and all depended on main- taijoing the ground with this, in order to give the more remote corps, as well of the Duke of Wellin^n as of the Prussian army, time to come up. Prince Bliicner, intimately persuaded how important this was, resolved to accept the battle, notwith- standing the superiorily of the enemy. About three o'clock in the afternoon, large masses of the enemy attacked the village of St Amand. After a resistance, which cost the enemy very dear, it was taken; recovered again by the Prussian troops, again taken by the enemy ; stormed, for the third time, by the rrussians, and, at last, each party remained in possession of one half of it, so that the part called Little St. Amand, and La Haye, remained in the occupation of the Prussian army. It was now five o'clock. The enemy directed his attacks against the Tillage of Ligny, when a combat began that was still more murderous than the former. The village hes on the rivulet Ligny ; the enemy had his artillery upon the heights on the ftirther bank ; that of the Prussians was planted on the heights upon the hither bank. Amidst alternate attempts to take it m>m each other, one of the most bloody con- flicts recorded in history continued here for four hours. Prince Bliicher, in person, sword in hand, continually led his troops again to the combat The battle was at last undecided; the vfllage remained here, also, half in the possession of each party. Thus the day declined; it was between eight and nine in the evening when the enemy brought forward his masses of c^^valry to attam his object, namely, to cut off the communication of the Prussians with the English army. This induced Field-marshal Bliicher to withdraw his army by way of Tilly to Wavre, in order to join the fourth corps of the Prussian army, and to form an im- mediate junction with the Duke of Wellington.
"The English army had been engaged, on this day, with Marshal Ney and the French cavalry, under Greneral Kellerman, and on that side also the battle had been extremely bloody. The Duke of Wellington had been able to bring up only a part of his troops. However, the enemy had gained no ground, and, at nine o'clock in the morning of the 17th, the Duke was still on the field
332 BATTUB or WAmixxx
of battle, and regulated his movement to j<nii with the
army in such a manner that his armj was^ oo the ISth, a:
Waterloo.
" The momentary interruption of the communication betwees the two Allied armies was tne cause that the movement of the IVussian armj upon Wavre was not known to the Duke tiD th? 17th, in the morning. By this battle of Blticher's, the Duke c^' Wellington had gained time to collect his army ; and on the ITtb, in the forenoon, it stood at Les Quatre Bras. At t»i o'clock be put it in motion, and made it take up a position with the right wii^ upon Braine-la-Leud, and the left upon La Haye. The enemy, on his side, followed the same evening, with -large miMBftR^ to within a cannon-shot of the camp.
'^ In this position, the Duke was induced not to decline the battle if Prince Bliidier would approach nearer to himu Piince Bliicher accepted the proposal, m case the enemy^ as it was to be expected, should CeJI with all his forces on the Ihike of Wellington* He resolved, in this case, to march his army by the way of St Lambert, into the enemy's flank and rear. Early in the morning of the 18th, the fourth corps marched for this puipose through Wavre. It arrived at half-past eleven at St. Lambert, and was followed by the second, and tnen by the first corps.
" As the third corps was on the point of following, it was attacked close to Wavre by a corps of the enemy, which Buona- rarte had detached thither to observe the Prussian army. Prince Bliicher left General Thielmann with the third corps to oppose it, and keeping his mind constantly fixed on the grand object, turned all the rest against the mass of the enemy.
" Towaros eleven o'clock the enemy developed from La BeDe Alliance his attacks upon Mont Saint Jean,* which was the nK^ important point of Wellington's position, and was occupied by 1000 infantry. A massy wall was raised there as a defence, an^ two successive violent attacks of the enemy, each with six bat* talions of infantry, were repulsed. Now Buona]^krte advanced his cavalry, and imaertook a general attack on the Duke's whole line. This also was repulsed. But the smoke of the cannon and musketiy was for a long time prevented from rising by a heavy tempestuous air, and concealed the approach of the columns of infantry, which were all directed against the centre. Fresh attacks of cavalry were designed to employ the English infantry till the French came up, and no infimtry less practised and les cool than the English could have resisted such attacks.
^^ The first French attack of this description was r^ulsed about two o'clock ; but Buonaparte renewed it five or six tiines till about seven o'clock, with equal courage. The English cavalry,
* This is sorely a mistake for Hougomont t
AUSIBIAN ACCOUNT. 333
of the King's Household Troops, led on hy Lord Uxhridge, made, £ibout six o'clock, some very brilliant attacks, and cut to pieces "two battalions of the 014 Guard, into whose masses they [je- xietrated.
"About this time the extraordinary loss of men, and the xiecessi^ of brinmng the reserves into the line, made the situation of the Duke of Wellington critical. Prince Bliicher, however, liad advanced with the lourth corps over Lasne and Aguiers, and about five o'clock, his first cannon-shot was fired from the heights of Aguiers. He extended his left wing towards the chauss^ of Genappe, in order to make his movement quite decisive. Buona- parte, upon this, threw some masses of liis infantry upon La Haye, Papelotte, and Frichermont, of which he made himself master ; by which the armies of Bliicher and Wellington were separated.
" Prince Bliicher had, however, at an earlier period, directed the first corps from St Lambert, over Ohain, to strengthen the Duke's left win^; and the head of this corps reached La Haye about seven o'clock, took this village without much resistance, advanced in masses, and restored the communication with the fourth corps, upon which it advanced, along with it, gainst La Belle AlUance, in order to disengage the Duke of Wellington, who was still occupied by a heavy fire of musketry along his whole line, and had been obliged to withdraw his artillery into the second position. When the enemy saw himself taken in the rear a fiight commenced, which soon became a total rout, when the two Allied armies charged the enemy on all sides. Field- marshal Bliicher, who was the nearest to Genappe, undertook the pursuit of the enemy, as the two commanders met at La Belle Alliance about nine m the evening.
"About eleven at night Pnnce Bliicher reached Genappe. The enemy made a fruitless attempt to maintain himself there — he was instantly overthrown. Prince Bliicher made his army march the whole night, in order incessantly to break all the enemy's masses that were still together. When the courier came away on the 19th, 300 cannon and powder-waggons were already taken, as well as Buonaparte's field equipage.
"Thus, by the aid of Providence, by the unanimitv and bravery of the two Allied armies, and by the talents of their generals, was obtained one of the greatest and most decisive victories recorded in history.
" The loss of the Allies on these bloody days of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th of June, may amount to 30,000 men killed and wounded. Among the superior officers of the English army killed were the Duke of Brunswick-Oels, Generals Picton, Pon- sonby, and Fuller; the Duke's aides-de-camp, the Colonels Gordon and Canning; wounded, the Quarter-master General of the army, De Lancey, General Sir E. Barnes, the Prince Royal of
334 BATTLE or wAinLoa
the Netherlands, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, the Hereditary Prince d Nassau-'Weilburg (slightly); and of die Dnke of Wellington's suite, the Austrian general. Baron Vincent, the Russian genenL Count Pozzo di Borgo, and almost all the Duke's aides-de-camp.
'^ The loss of the Prussian army on the 18th is not mentioned, no reports having been made. On the 15th and l6th thei« were amonpr the killed, Colonel Von Thieman; wounded, Grenerak Von Holzendorf and Juergass ; and of the suite of Prince Bliicfaer the English Colonel Haroinge, and several aides-de-campL On the 16th the Prince's horse ^11 under him, pierced with balls, at the moment of an attack of cavalrvy a part of which rode over him. The contusions thereby occasioned, in the thi^ and shoulders, did not however, hinder him from leading on his troops in person in the battle of the 18th.
*' On the 19th, the Field-marshal had his head -quarters already at Charleroi, and was pursuing the enemy with his ac- customed ardour.
** Several French generals and officers came over after the battle, and their number was increasing every momeni."
SPANISH ACCOUNT.
General Miguel Alava, in quality of Minister Plenipotentiaiy to the King of the Netherlands from the King of Spain, having shared the dangers of the battle by the side of the Duke of Wellington, has addressed his Court, under the date of the 20th of June, from Brussels, giving an account of the battles of Quatie Bras and Waterloo.
The following is a copy of his despatch to Don Pedro Cevallos, Principal Secretary of State to Ferdinand VIL* : —
Supplement to the Madrid Gazette of TkurscU^j
13th July, 1815.
" Lieutenant-general of the Royal armies, Don Miguel de Alava, Minister rienipotentiary of Uis Majesty in Holland, has addressed to his Excellency Don Pedro Cevallos, First Secretary of State, the following letter: —
'' * Most Excellent Sir,
*' * The short space of time that has intervened hetweoi the departure of the last post and the victory of the 18th, has not allowed me to write to your Excellency so diffusely as I could have wished ; and although the army is, at this moment, on the
* First published in this work as a translation of the whole " Gazette," and which, in other accounts, is only given in part.
SPANISH ACCOUNT. 335
point of marchingy and I also am soing to set out for the Hague^ "to deliver my credentials^ which I did not receive till this morning ; nevertheless^ I will give vonr Excellency some details jrespecting this important event, which, possibly, may bring us to the end of the war much sooner than we had any reason to expect
^* * I informed your Excellency, under date of the 16 th inst, that Buonaparte, marching from Maubeuge and Philippeville, had attacked the Prussian posts on the Sambre, and that, aner driving them from Charleroi, he had entered the city on that 15th.
'^ ' On the 16th, the Duke of Wellin^n ordered his army to assemble on the point of Quatre Bras, where the roads cross from Namur to Nivelles, and from Brussels to Charleroi ; and he himself proceeded to the same point at seven in the morning.
** * On his arrival ne found the Hereditary Prince of Orange, with a division of his own army, holding the enemy in check, till the other divisions of the armv were collected.
^' ' By this time the British di^^sion, imder General Picton, had arrived, with which the Duke kept up an unequal contest with more than 30,000 of the enemy, without losing an inch of ground. The British Guards, several regiments of iniGuitiy, and the Scottish Brigade, covered themselves with glory on this day, and Lord WelUn^n told me, on the following day, that he never saw his troops behave better during the number of years he had com- manded them.
" * The French Cuirassiers likewise suffered much on their part, for, confiding in their breastplates, they approached the British squares so near, that they killed officers of the 42d Regiment with their swords; but those valiant men, without flinching, kept up so strong a fire, that the whole ground was covered with the Cuirassiers and their horses.
'^ * In the meantime the troops kept coming up, and the night put an end to the contest in this quarter.
*'* During this time, Buonaparte was fighting, with the re- mainder of his forces, against Marshal Bliicher, wi& whom he had commenced a bloody action at five in the afternoon, from which time, till nine in the evening, he was constantly repulsed by the Prussians, with great loss on both sides. But at that moment he made his cavalry charge with so much vigour, that they broke the Prussian line of infantry, and introduced disorder and confdsion throughout
**' Whether it was that Buonaparte did not perceive this incident, or that he had experienced a great loss, or, what is more
{>robable, that Marshal Bliicher had re-established the battle, the act is that he derived no advantage whatever from this accident, and that he left him quiet during the whole of the night of the 16th.
336 BATTLE or WATKBIiOO.
t( t
Lord Wellington, who, by the morning of the ITth, ha collecttHi the whole of his army in the position of Quatre Bi% was combining his measures to attack the enemy, 'when he reoehrei a despatch from Marshal Bliicher, informing him of the evenfe of the preceding day, together with the incident that had snatched the victory out of his nands, adding, that the loss he had ex- perienced was of such a nature that he was forced to retreat to Wavre, on our left, where the corps of Bulow would nnite widi him, and that on the 19th he would be ready for anything h^ might wish to undertake.
" In consequence of this. Lord Wellington was obliged imme- diately to retreat, and this he effected in such a manner, that the enemy did not dare to interrupt him in it He to<^ up a posi- tion on Braine-la*Leud, in front of the great wood of Soignies, ss he had previously determined, and placed his head-qnartois in Waterloa
** I joined the army on that morning, though I had reoeived no orders to that effect, because I believed that I should thus best serve His Majesty, and at the same time ftilfil your Elxcellencr^s directions ; and this determination has afforded me the satjsfaction of having been present at the most important battle that has been fought for many centuries, in its consequences, its duration, and the talents of the chiefs who conmianded on both sides, and because the peace of the world, and the Aiture security of all Europe, may be said to have depended on its result
'' The position occupied by his Lordship was very good^ but towards the centre it nad various weak points, which required good troops to guard them, and much science and skill on the part of the General-in-chief. These qualifications were, however, to be found in abundance in the British troops and their illustrioiis conmiander ; and it may be asserted, without offence to any one, that to them both belongs the chief part, or all, the glory of this memorable day.
" On the right of the position, and a little in advance, was a country-house, the importance of which Lord Wellington quickly perceived, because, without it, the position could not be attacked, on that side, and it might therefore be considered as its key.
*^ The Duke confided this important point to three companies of the English Guards, under the conmiand of Lord Saltoun, and laboured during the night of the 17th in fortifying it as well as possible, covering its garden, and a wood which served as its part, with Nassau troops as sharpshooters.
** At half-past ten a movement was observed in the enemy's line, and many officers were seen coming firom and going to a particular point, where there was a very considerable corps of mfantry, which we afterwards understood to be the Imperial Guard : here was Buonaparte in person ; and from this point
SPANISH ACCOUNT. 337
issued all the orders. In the mean time the enemy's masses were forming, and everything announced the approaching combat, lyhich Degan at hali-past eleven, the enemy attacking desperately ^ith one of his corps, and, with his usual shouts, the countrj'- house on the right
** The Nassau troops found it necessary to abandon their post; but the enemy met such resistance in the house, that though they surrounded it on three sides, and attacjced it most desperately, they were compelled to desist from their enterprise, leaving a great number of Killed and wounded on the spot Lord Wellington sent fresh English troops, who recovered the wood and garden, and the combat ceased, for the present, on this side.
" The enemy then opened a horrible fire of artillery from more than 200 pieces, under cover of which Buonaparte made a gene- ral attack, from the centre to the right, with infantry and cavalry, in such numbers that it required all the skill of his Lordship to post his troops, and all the good qualities of the latter to resist the attack.
^* General Picton, who was with his division on the road from Brussels to Charleroi, advanced with the bayonet to receive them; but was unfortunately killed at the moment when the enemy, appalled by the attitude of this division, fired, and then fled.
"The English Life Gruards then charged with the greatest vigour, and tne 49th and 105th French Regiments lost their respective eagles in this charge, together with from 2000 to 3000 prisoners. A column of cavalry, at whose head were the Cuiras- siers, advanced to charge the Life Guards, and thus save their infantry ; but the Guards received them with the greatest valour, and the most sanguinary cavalry fight perhaps ever witnessed was the consequence.
" The French Cuirassiers were completely beaten, in spite of their cuirasses, by troops who had nothing of the sort, and lost one of their eagles in this conflict, which was taken by the heavy English cavalry called the Royals.
" About this time, accounts came that the Prussian corps of Bulow had arrived at St Lambert, and that Prince Bliicher with the other, under the command of General Thielmaim (Zie- then) was advancing, with all haste, to take part in the combat, leaving the other two in Wavre, which liad. suflered so much in the battle of the 16th, in Fleurus. The arrival of these troops was so much the more necessary, in consequence of the forces of the enemy being more than triple, and our loss liaving been horrid during an unequal combat, from half-past eleven in the morning till five in the afternoon.
" Buonaparte, who did not believe them to be so near, and who reckoned upon destroying Lord Wellington before their
338 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
arrival, iK?rrtnvi»d that lie had firwitU*ssly lost more tlian five hoois and that in the critical position in which he would soon he pls'^' there remained no other resource but that of despeiatelj attack- in^ the weak part of the English position, and thus, if poesiUe, K^at the Didce before tils nm\t was turned and attacked by the l*russiana.
"Henceforward, therefore, the whole was a repetition of at- tacks by cavalry and infantry, su{>]x)rted by more than 300 pieces of artillery, which unfortunately msule horrible ravages in our line, and killed and wounded ofiiccrs, artillerists, and horses, in tk weakest ])art of the ix)6ition.
" The enemy, aware of this destruction, made a charge with tlie whole cavalry of his Guard, which took some pieces of camKm that could not be withdrawn; but the Duke, who was at this
{K>int, char<ied them with three battalions of English and three of irunswickers, and compelknl them in a moment to abandon the artillery, although we were unable to withdraw them for want of horsc»8 : nor did they dare to advance to recover them.
*^ At last, about seven in the evening, Buonaparte made a last effort, and putting hims(»lf at tlie head of his Guards, attackeil tlie alHJve iK>int of the English jiosition with such vigour that he drove back the Bnin«wickers who occupied part of it ; and, for a Tiionieut, tlie victory was undecided, and even more than doubtfuL
" The Duke, who felt that the moment was most critical, spoke to the lirunswick tr(M)ps with that ascendancy which every preat man [Kwsesses, made them return to the charge, and, putting liimself at tlieir head, again restored the combat, exposing himseli* to every kind of personal danger.
" Fortunately, at tliis moment he perceived the fire of Marshal Bliicher, who was attacking the enemy's right with his usual impetuosity ; and the moment of decisive attack being come, the Duke put himself at the head of the English Foot Guards, spoke a few wonls to them, which were replied to by a general hurrah, and his Grace himself leading them on with his hat, they marched at the point of the bayonet, to come to close action with the Imix?rial Guard* But the latter began to retreat, which was soon converted into flight, and the most complete rout ever witnessed by military men. Entire columns throwing down their arms and cartouch-boxes, in order to escape the better, abandoned the s}X)t on which they had l^een formed, where we took possession of 150 pieces of cannon. The rout at Vittoria was not comparable to this, and it only resembles it, inasmuch as on both occasions tlicy lost all the train of artillery and stores of the army, as well as all the baggage.
" The Duke followed the enemy as far as Grenappe, where he found the resj)ectable Bliicher, and both embraced in the most
SPANISH ACCOUNT. 339
cordial manner on the royal road of Charleroi ; but finding him- self in the same point as the Prussians^ and that his army stood in need of rast after so dreadful a struggle, he left to Bliicher the charge of following up the enemy, who swore that he would not leave them a moment of rest This he is now doing ; and yes- terday, at noon, he had reached Charleroi, from whence, at night, he intended to proceed on after them.
^^ This is, in substance, what has happened on this memorable day ; but the consequences of this event are too visible for me to detain myself in stating them.
'^ Buonaparte, now tottering on his usurped throne, without money, and without troops to recruit his armies, has received so mortal a blow, that, according to the report of the prisoners, no other resource is left him than * to cut his own throat'
** For this reason, they say, they never saw him expose his person so much, and that he seemed to seek death, in order not to survive a defeat fraught with such fatal consequences to him.
" I told your Excellency, under date of the 16th, that his manoeuvre appeared to me extremely daring before such Generals as Bliicher and the Duke ; the event has fully justified my pre- diction. For this reason, I conceive that his executing it has arisen from nothine else than desperation at the appearance of the enormous troops about to attack him on all quarters of France, and in order to give one of his customary blows before the Russians and Austrians came up.
" His ^military reputation is lost for ever ; and on this occa^ sion, there is no treason on the part of the Allies, nor bridges blown up before their time, on which to throw the blame : all the shame will fall upon himself.
** Numerical superiority, superiority of artillery, all was in his favour ; and his having commenced the attack proves that he had sufficient means to execute it
" In short, this talisman, which, like a charm, had enchanted French military men, has been dashed to pieces on this occasion. Buonaparte has for ever lost his reputation of being invincible ; and henceforward this reputation will be preserved by an honour- able man, who, far from employing this glorious title in dis- turbing and enslaving Europe, will convert it into an instrument of her felicity, and in procuring for her that peace she so mi^^h requires.
" The loss of the British is horrid, and of those who were by the side of the Duke, he and myself alone remained untouched in our persons and horses.
" The Duke of Brunswick was killed on the 16th, and the Prince of Orange and his cousin, the Prince of Nassau, aide-de- camp to the Duke of Wellington, received two balls. The Prince of Orange distinguished himself extremely; but, unfortunately,
340 BATTLE or WATEILOa
although his wound is not dangerous, it will dq>rtve the annj .r his ini[M)rtant service:} fur some time, and poesibljr he maj lose Vx use of his left arm.
** Lord Uxbriilge, general of cavalry, received a wound ar the close of the action, which made the amputation of his ivji' leg necessary ; an irreparable loss, for it would be difficult to tiii^. another chief to lead on the cavalry with the same counj': and skilL
^* The Duke was unable to refrain firom shedding tears «>ii witnessing the death of so many brave and honourable men, an-i the loss of so many friends and faithful companions, and noth'ii:: but the importance of the triumph can compensate so consideraLc a loss.
** This morning he has proceeded on to Nivelles, and i<^ morrow he will advance to Mons, from whence he will imme- diately enter France. The opportunity cannot be better.
" I cannot close this dispatch without stating to your Excel- lency, for the information of his Majesty, that Captain Don Nicholas de Minuis^ir, of Doyle's Regiment, and of whom I befoiv spoke to your Excellency, as well as of his destination in the army, conducted himself yesterday with the greatest valour and steadi- ness ; having been wounded when the iS'assau troops were driven from the garden, he rallied them, and made them retom to their
Eost During iJie action he had a horse wounded under him, and y his former conduct, as well as by that of this day, he i> worthy of receiving from his Majesty a proof of his satisfaction.
" This officer is well known in the War Office, as well as to General Don Josef de Zayas, who has duly appreciated his merits " God preserve your Excellency many years, &c, &c,
(Signed) " Miquei. de Aultjl"
" Brussels, 20th of June, 1815.
" To his Excellency Don Pedro CevaUoSy ^c Sfc
*' P.S. — The number of prisoners cannot be stated, for th^ are bringing in great numbers every moment There are many Generals among the prisoners ; among whom are the Count de Lobau, aide-de-cam}) to Buonaparte, and Cambrone, who accom- panied him to Elba."
" Brussels, June I9th, 1815. '* My Lord, ** I have to inform your Lordship, in addition to my dis- patch of this morning, that we have already got here five thousand prisoners taken in the action of yesterday, and that there are about two thousand more coming in to-morrow : there will probably be many more. Among the prisoners are the Count
ORDER OF THE DAT. 341
Lobau, who commanded the 6th corps, and General Cambrone, who commanded a division of the Guards. I propose to send the whole to England by Ostend.
*^ I have the honour to be, &c.
" Wellington." ** Earl Bathurst, ^c"
Order of the Day, June 20, 1815.
''As the army is about to enter the French territory, the troops of the nations which are at present under the command of rield-marshal the Duke of Wellington are desired to recollect that their respective sovereigns are the Allies of his Majesty the King of France, and that 1 ranee therefore ought to be treated as a friendly country. It is then required that nothing should be taken, either by the officers or soldiers, for which payment be not made. The Commissaries of the army will provide for the wants of the troops in the usual manner, and it is not permitted, either to officers or soldiers, to extort contributions. The Commissaries •will be authorised, either by the Marshal, or by the Generals who command the troops of the respective nations, in cases where their provisions are not supplied by an English Commissary, to make the proper requisitions, for which regular receipts will be given ; and it must be strictly understood, that they will themselves be held responsible for whatever they obtain in the way of requisition from the inhabitants of France, in the same manner in wliich they would be esteemed accountable for purchases made for their own Government in the several dominions to which they belong.
(Signed) « J. Waters, A. A. G."
^^ I acquaint all Frenchmen, that I enter their country at the head of a victorious army, not as an enemy, the Usurper excepted, who is the enemy of human nature, and with whom no peace and no truce can be maintained. I pass your boimdaries to relieve you from the iron yoke by which you are oppressed. In conse- quence of this determination I have given the following orders to my army, and I demand to be informed of any one who shall pre- sume to disobey them. Frenchmen know that I have a right to require that they should conduct themselves in a manner that will enable me to protect them against those by whom they would be^ injured. It is therefore necessary that they should comply with the requisitions that will be made by persons properly authorised, for which a receipt will be given, which they will quietlv retain, and avoid all communication or correspondence with the tJsurper
342 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
and his adher^ts. All those persons who shall absent ihemsA^^ firom tlieir dwelling after the entrance of this army into Fraoc^. aiitl all th<>»c who shall be fonnd attached to the service of xl^ VstxrfQTf and so absent, shall be considered to be his partisans anl public enemies, and their property shall be devoted to the sub- sistence of tlie forces.
** Issued at head-quarters, irom Malplaqaet,
(Signed) " WELUNOTOsr «Jw;m?21«/, 1815."
1
Extracts or Dispatches
Received by Eiirl Bathurst from the Duke of WeliingUm,
T2d and 25f/i June.
"/.« Cateau, June 22, 1815.
** We have continued in march on the left of the Sambre since I wrote to you. Marshal Bliicher crossed that river on the 19tk in ])ui*suit of the enemy, and both armies entered the French ter- ritory yesterday; tlie Prussians by Beaumont,* and the Allied anny, under my command, by oavay. The remains of the Frt*nch army have retired upon Laon. All accounts a£:ree in stating that it is in a very wretched state ; and that, in addition to its losses in battle and in prisoners, it is losing vast numbers of men by desertion. The soldiers quit thdir regiments in parties, and return to their homes; those of the cavalry and artillery selling their horses to the people of the country, Tlio third corps, which in my dispatch of the 19th I informed your Lordship had been detached to observe the Prussian army, remained in the neighbourhood of Wavre till the 20th ; it then made good its re- treat by Namur and Dinant This corps is the only one remaining entire. I am not yet able to transmit your Lordship returns of the killed and wounded in the army in the late actions. It gives me the greatest satisfaction to inform you that Colonel Delancey is not dead ; he is badly wounded, but his recovery is not doubtecf, and I hope wiD be early.
" Joncourty June 25, 1815.
** Finding that the garrison of Cambray was not very strong, and that the place was not very well supplied with what was wanting for its defence, I sent Lieut,-generaJ Sir Charles Colville there the day before yesterday, with one brigade of the 4th diri-
* The fortress of AvesneSr after having been attacked for several hoars by the PrussianFi surrendered by capitulation in the ni(;ht. It was accelerated by an accident in the explosion of a magazine of ]r)0,()00 pounds of powder, destroying nenrly the whole town, and 4(K) persons. — Editor.
OimCIAL FAFBB& 343
sion, and Sir C, Grant's brigade of cavalry ; and, ujion his report of the str^i^h of the place^ I sent the whole division yesterday morning. I have now the satisfaction of reporting that Sir Charles Colville took the town by escalade yesterday evening, with trifling loss^ and from the communications which he has since had with the Governor of the citadel, I have every reason to hope that that post will have been surrendered to a Governor sent there by the King of France to take possession of it, in the course of this day. St. Quentin has been abandoned by the enemy, and is in possession of Marshal Prince Bliicher ; and the castle of Guise surrendered last night All accounts concur in stating that it is impossible for the enemy to collect an army to make head against us. It appears that th« French corps, whicn was opposed to ,the Prussians on the 13th instant, and had been at Wavre, suffered considerably in its retreat, and lost some of its cannon."
[Transmitted by the Duke of Wellington.]
« Govy, June 26, 1815. " My Lord,
"Colonel Sir N. Campbell (Major of the 54th Regiment) having asked my leave to go to head-quarters to request your Grace s permission to return to England, I beg leave to take the opportunity of mentioning, that I feel much obliged to him for his conduct in closing, in the town of Cambray, with the light companies of Major-general Johnston's brigade, and in leading one of the columns of attack.
**The one which he commanded escaladed at the angle formed on our right side by the Valenciennes gateway, and the curtine of the body of the place.
" A second, commanded by Colonel William Douglas, of the 91st Regiment, and directed by Lieut Gilbert, Royal Engineers, took advantage of the reduced height in that part of the escarpe (which on an average is, on that side, abouta fifty-five feet), by placing their ladders on a covered communication from this place to a large ravelin near the Amiens road.*
"The Valenciennes gate was broken open by Sir N. Campbell, and drawbridges let down in about half an hour, when, on entering the town, I found that the attack made by Col. Mitchell's brigade on the side of the Paris gate had also succeeded ; the one directed by Captain Sharpe, Royal Engineers, forced tlie outer gates of the dorre Tort in the hom-work, and passed both ditches by means of the rails of the drawbridges, which they scrambled over by the side. Not being able to force the main gate, they escaladed by the breach (the state of which your Grace had observed hi the mom-
* A third column had heen formed, but not found necessary.
344 BATTLB OF WATERLOO.
ing), aiid Wfore wliich^ although the ditch was sakl to have twelre feet water, a footing on dry ground was found, by wading through a narrow iNirt in the angle of the gate, within the rampart I have every reason to he satisfied with the light infantry of the division, who, by their fire, covered the attacKS of the parties, of sixty men each, which preceded the column.
" The thn*e brigades of artillery of Lieutenant-colonel Webber Smith, and Majors Knott and Browne, under the direction of Lieutenant-colonel Hawker, made particularly good practice, and immediately silenced the fire of the enemy's artillery, except from two guns on ea4*h flank of the citadel, which could not be got at, and two field-pieces on the ramiiarts of the town, above the Valenciennes gate, and which played upon the troops as they debouched from the cover they had been posted in. Twenty pri- soners were nuule at the horn-work of the Paris gate, and about one hundred and thirty altogether in the town. Their fire was very slack, and even that, I foresaw, they were forced to by the garrison of the citadel. I left the 23d and 9lst Regiments in town, with two guns and a troop of Ensdorff Hussars, and I am much indebted to Sir William Douglas and Colonel Dalmer for their assistance in preserving order. Some depredations were com- mitted, but of no consequence, when the circumstances we entered by are consideretl.
" From the division, as well as my personal staff, I received every assistance in the course of the three days* operations.
** I am, &C. (Signed) " Chables Colville.''
Ah Extract received by Earl Bathurst, addressed to his LordsJiip by the Duke of Wellington, dated OrvilU, June 28^ 1815.
" Mt Lord,
" The citadel of Cambray surrendered on the evening of the 25th instant, and the King of France proceeded there with his Ojurt and Ins troop on the 26th. I have given that fort over entirely to his Majesty.
" I attacked Peronne with the Ist brigade of Guards, under Major-general Maitland, on the 26th, in the afternoon. The troops took the honi-work, which covers the suburb on the left of the Somme, by storm, with but small loss ; and the town imme- diately afterwards surrendered, on condition that the garrison should lay down their arms and be allowed to return to their homes.
" The troons u|x)n this occasion behaved remarkably well, and I have gruat ])leiisure in ivi)orting the good conduct of a battery of artillery of the troops of the Netherlaiias.
OFnCIAL PAFBBS. 345
€f
I have placed in garrison there two battalions of the troops of the King of the Netherlands.
^' The armies under Marshal Bliicher and myself have con- tinued their operations since I last wrote to your Lordship. The necessity which I was under of halting at Cateau, to allow the
Smtoons and certain stores to reach me, and to take Cambray and eronne, had placed the Marshal one march before me; but I conceive there is no danger in this separation between the two armies.
'^ He has one corps this day at Crespy, with detachments at Yillars Coterets and La Fert6 Milon ; another at Senlis ; and the fourth corps, under General Bulow, towards Paris; he will have his advanced guard to-morrow at St Denis and Gonasse. The army under my command has this day its right behind St Just, and its left behind Taub, where the nigh road from Compeigne adjoins the high road from Roye to Paris. The reserve is at Roye. " We shaS be upon the Oise to-morrow. ** It appears, by all accounts, that the enemy's corps collected at Soissons, and under Marshal Grouchy, have not yet retired upon Paris; and Marshal Bliicher's troops are already between them and that city."
Dispatch addressed to Earl Bathurst by his Crrace the Duke of Wellington, dated OroUUy June 29, 1815.
** Mt Lord,
** Being aware of the anxiety existing in England to receive the returns of killed and wounded in the late actions, I now send lists of tlie officers [the whole of the killed and wounded will be found at the end in an alphabetical form], and expect to be able to send, this evening, returns of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers. The account of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, British and Hanoverian, killed, wounded, and missing, is between 12,000 and 13,000.
''Your Lordship will see in the enclosed lists the names of some most valuable officers lost to his Majesty's service. Among them I cannot avoid to mention Colonel Cameron of the 92d, ana Colonel Sir H. Ellis of the 23d Regiments, to whose conduct I have frequently drawn your Lordship's attention, and who at last fell distinguishing themselves at the head of the brave troops which they commanded.
*' Notwithstanding the glory of the occasion, it is impossible not to lament such men, both on account of the public, and as friends.
" I have the honour to be, &a
" Welungton."
346 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
'' Beaumont^ June 20^ 1815.
^* All die details which we have hitherto collected concerning the flight of the French are confirmed here. Baonaparte passed through this place yesterday, at one o'clock; he had on a grev surtout and m round hat He took the road to Avesnes. Disorder increases every moment in the French army, and the want of discipline is at the highest pitch. The soldiers think themselves betrayed, and every one manifests his wish to retnm to his home.
^' At Beaumont, all fled at the first alarm. Almost at the gate of the town we found a piece of cannon abandoned, and two more on the road to Solre-lchChateau. They say that the enemy has set on fire a train of pontoons near the village of Clermont I hope I shall be able to save some of them.
** At Charleroi) our troops found nine cannon and 100 caissons abandoned. The crowd upon the bridge was so great, that Bao- naparte was obliged to pldce there a company with fixed bayonets, to stop the fugitives. This company was overpowered, and then it was impossible to stop the torrent An inhabitant of that town counted twen^-nine pieces which passed the bridge, and six were left between Uharleroi and Solre-le-Ch&teau.
(Signed) " Zieihen.''
" Mt Lord, " Louvres^ June 30lt
*' I have the honour of inclosing to your Lordship the returns of the killed and wounded of the army, on the 16tli, 17tli, and 18th ; lists of oflicers, &c.
** Brigadier-general Hardinge, who was employed by me with the Prussian army, is not included in these returns; but he re(*eived a severe wound in the battle of the 16th, and has lost his left hand. He had conducted himself, during the time he was so employed, in such a manner as to obtain the approbation of Martial Prince Blucher and the oflicers at the Prussian head- quarters, as well as mine, and I greatly regret his misfortune.
*^ I have the honour to be, &c. &c.
(Signed) " Wbijjkgton."
" Earl BaihursC
Hie following U a Copy of the Form of Prayer and ThankKficing for the late Victory ; ordered to he read in aU Churches in Great Britaiuy Sfc,
** O God, the disposer of all hiunan events, without whose aid the strength of man is weakness, and the counsels of the wisest are as nothing, accept our praise and thanksgiving for the signal victory, wmch Thou hast recently vouchsafed to tlie Allied armies in Flanders. Grant, O merciml God, that the result of this
ABDICATION OF BUONAPABTE. 347
mighty battle, terrible in conflict, but glorious beyond example in success, may put an end to the miseries of Europe, and stanch the blood oi nations. Bless, we beseech Thee, the Allied armies with Thy continued favour. Stretch forth Thy right hand to help and direct them. Let not the glory of their progress be stained by ambition, nor sullied by revenge ; but let Thy Holy Spirit support them in danger, control them m victory, and raise them above all temptation to evil, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory now and for ever. Amen."
Proposals for Ck)MMissioN£Bs.
" Laon^ June 25 y 1815.
" The changes which have taken place in the Government of France by the abdication of the Emperor Napoleon, accepted in the name of the French people by their representatives, having removed the obstacles which had hinderea, till this day, the opening of a negociation, calculated to prevent the evils of war, between France and the high Allied Powers, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have received full powers for negociating the conclusion and signature of all acts which may conduce to stop the eiFusion of blood, and re-establish, upon a stable foundation, the general peace of Europe. They have, therefore, the honour to
§ve this information to his Highness the General-in-Chief, Prince liicher, and to beg him to enable them immediately to repair to the head-quarters of the Allied Sovereigns, and to confer pre- viously with him on the subject of a general suspension of arms between the French and the Allied armies, a suspension which has been already demanded by the French general commanding the vanguard of the Army of the North, and virtually agreed upon between our respective outr-posts.
" The Plenipotentiaries request his Highness the General-in- Chief, Prince Bliicher, to accept the assurance of their high consi-: deration.
*^ Count Horace Sbbastiani. Count De la Fokbt. La Fayette.
B. Constant, Councillor of State. D'Argenson."
Abdication op Buonaparte.
" Headrquartera at La Villette, June 30, 1815.
** My Lord, ^^ Your hostile movements continue, although, according to
348 BATTLE OF WATEBIXXX
their declarations^ the motives of the war which the Allied Sove- reif^s make upon us no longer exist, since tlie Emperor Napoieon has abdicated.
*^ At the moment when blood is again on the point of flowing, I receive, firom Marshal the Duke of Albufera, a telegraphic despatch, of which I transmit you a copy. My Lord, I guarantee this armistice on my honour. All the reasons you m^ht liave had to continue hostilities are destroyed, because you can have no other instruction from vour Government than that which the Austrian generals had from theirs.
*' I m^e the formal demand to your Excellency of ceasing all hostilities, and that we proceed to form an armistice, aVaidng the det*isi(m of Congress. I cannot believe, my Lord, that my request will remain ineflcctual; you will take upon yourself a great resjK>nsibility in the eyes of your noble fellow-countrynien.
** No ot^er motive but that of putting an end to die effusion of blood, and the interests of my country, have dictated this letter.
" If I present myself on the field of battle, with the idea of your talents, I shall carry the conviction of there combating for the most socrctl of causes, that of the defence and independence of my country-; and, whatever may be the result, I shall merit your esteem.
" Accept, I beg you, my Lord, the assurance of my highest consideration.
** The Marshal Prince of Eckhuhl, Minister at War."
The same letter was written by his Excellency to Marshal Bliicher.
Pboclaxation of THE DucHEss d'Akgouleme.
« London, June 26, 1815.
^* If the voice of your Intimate king has not yet reached you, I now make you hear it It is in his name, in virtue of the powers he has confided to me, that I address you.
'* Faithful Frenchmen I join the (laughter of your kings; she does not bring you war; she speaks to you only of peace and union. She laments the fnghtful calamities brought upon you by treason and perjury ; she cannot look without terror to tiiose of which war may still render you the victims.
*^ Frenchmen I in the name of the country, of your families, of all that you hold most dear and sacred upon earth, rise all, join yourselves to me, to secure the triumph of the paternal views of the best of kings.
" Frenchmen 1 time is precious, victorious armies advance ; let a truly national movement, and the expression of our fidelity to our kmg, at once put an end to a war, not undertaken firom ambi-
ADVANCE OF THE ALLIES TO PABI& 349
tion and the love of conquest, but from the necessity of saving f ranee and Europe.
** Frenchmen I raise the standard of fidelity, and you shall see me in the midst of you.
(Signed) " Mabia Thebbsa."
Advance of the Allied Ajooes to Pabis.
IHspatches of the Duke of Wellingtony transmitted to Earl Bathurst by Captain Lord Arthur Hill, dated Gonasse, 2d and 4th inst
*^ Gonassey July 2d, 1815.
" The enemy attacked the advanced guard of Marshal Prince Bliicher's corps at Villars Coterets on the 28th, but the main body coming up, they were driven oflF, with the loss of six pieces of cannon and about 1000 prisoners. It appears that these troops were on the march from Soissons to Paris, and having been driven off that road by the Prussian troops at Villars Coterets, they got upon that of Meaux. They were attacked again upon this road by General Bulow, who took from them 500 prisoners, and drove them across the Mame. They have, however, got into Paris. The advanced guard of the Allied army, under my com- mand, crossed the Oise on the 29th, and the whole on the 30th, and we yesterday took up a position with the right on the height of Rochebourg, and the left upon the Bois de Bondv. Field- marshal Prince Bliicher having taken the village of Aubervilliers, or Vertus, on the morning of the 30th of Jime, moved to his right, and crossed the Seine at §t Germain as I advanced, and he will this day h&ve his right at Plessis Pique, his left at St Cloud, and the reserve at Versailles. The enemy have fortified the heights of Montmartre and the town of St Denis strongly, and by means of the little rivers Rouillon and La VieUe Mar, they have inun- dated the ground on the north side of that town, and water having been introduced into the canal de I'Ourcq, and the bank formed into a parapet and batteries, they have a strong position on the side of Paris. The heights of Belleville are likewise strongly fortified, but I am not aware that any defensive works have been thrown up on the left of the Seine. Having collected in Paris all the troops remaining after the battle of the 18th, and all the d^p6ts of the whole army, it is supposed the enemy had there about 40,000 or 50,000 troops of the line and Guards, besides the National Guards, a new levy called Les Tirailleurs de la Grarde, and the FM^r^s. I have great pleasure in informing your Lordship that Quesnov surrendered to his Royal Highness !rrince Frederick of the Nemerlands, on the 29th of June. I inclose the copy of his Royal Highness's report on this subject, in which your Lordship
35() BATTLE or WATEBI/X).
will observe with satisfaction the intelligence and spirit with which this youn^; Prince conducted this affair. I likewise understuui that Bassaume has surrendered to the officer sent there by the King of France to take possession of that town.''
(translation.)
" Petit Wargnies, June 28 A, 1815.
•* On the day before yesterday I had the honour of receiving your (jxace's letter, dated Joncourt, 26th inst, sent by your aidt?- de-camp. Captain Cathcart, whom I have requested to inform your Excellency that Marshal Count Rothallier had arrived thi> morning to summon tlie place in the name of Louis XYIII. He entered into a negociation with Lieutenant-general Despreaux, governor of Quesnoy. The only result, however, produced by tliis, was a very singular reply from the Governor, m>m which it apiteared to me that he might possibly be induced to capitulate, and I determined at once on firing some shells and shot into the town, and of advancing our Tirailleurs to the very glacis, to annoy them in every quarter, with a view of making some impression on the commandant, and of endeavouring by that means to excite to revolt the National Guards and inhaoitants, who are said to be well-disposed tow^ards us. From the information collected as to the fortifications, there appeared to me no reasonable chance of taking it by escalade, the ditches being filled with water^ in ad- dition to the inundation which had been made. At eleven o'clock at night I ordered five howitzers and six six-pounders to open on the town, and I continued the fire until three o'clock at day-breaL The town was at one time on fire in three places, but the fire was shortly extinguished. Some men were killed in the town^ and several wounded, which api)ears to have produced exactly the effects which I wished. Last night General Anthing, who com- mands the Indian brigade, sent an officer with the proposals to the Commandant, according to the authority which I had siven to him, and coupled with a threat of bombardment and assault.
^* Upon tliis a negociation was entered into, which ended in the signing of the followmg capitulation this night ; that is to say, that he would send an officer, with an aide-de-camp of G^ersd An- thing, to Cambray, to ascertain the fact of the residence of the King of France in that town, and the abdication of Buonaparte in ikvour of his son, and that thereupon he would give us this night, at six o'clock, possession of the Porte des For^ts, to be occupied by a company of artillery ; and that the next morning the garrison should marcn out of the town ; the National Giiards to lay down their arms and return to their homes ; the Commander, and that part of the garrison who were not National Guards, were to go and receive orders of Louis XVIIL, in whose name we shall take possession of the town."
captuke of paris. 35 1
Captuiie of Paris.
" My Lord, " Gonasse, July Ath, 1815.
" Field-marshal Prince Bliicher waa strongly opposed by the enemy in taking the position on the left of tne Seine, which I reported in my dispatch of the 2d instant that he intended to take up on that dav> particularly on the heights of St Cloud and Meudon ; but the gallantry of the Prussian troops, imder General Ziethen, surmounted every obstacle, and they succeeded finally in establishing themselves on the heights of Meudon and in the village of Issy. The French attacked them again in Issy at three o'clock on the morning of the 3d, but were repulsed with considerable loss; and finding that Paris was then open on its vulnerable side, and that a communication was opened between tlie two Allied armies by a bridge which I had established at Argenteuil, and that a British corps was likewise moving upon the left of the Seine towards the Pont de Neuilly, the enemy sent to desire that the firing might cease on both sides of the Seine, with a view to the negociation at the Palace of St Cloud of a Military Convention between the armies, under which the French army should evacuate Paris.
" Officers accordingly met on both sides at St Cloud, and I inclose a copy of the Military Convention which was agreed to last night, ani which has been ratified by Marshal Prince Bliicher and me, and by the Prince d'Eckmuhl on the part of the French army. This Convention decides all the military questions at this moment existing here, and touches nothing political. General Lord Hill has marched to take possession of the posts evacuated by agreement this day, and I propose to-morrow to take possession of Montmartre. I send this dispatch by my aide-de-camp. Captain Lord Arthur Hill, by way of Calais. He will be able to inform your Lordship of any further particulars, and I beg leave to re- commend him to your favour and protection.
" I have, &c. « To Earl Bathursf' (Signed) « Welungton."
m
** The 3d of July* 1815, the Commissioners named by the Commanders-in-Chief of the respective armies ; that is to say, the Baron Bignon, holding the portefeuille of Foreign Affairs ; the Count Gxullemont, Chief of the General Staff of the French army ; the Count de Bondy, Prefect of the Department of the Seine, being furnished with the full powers of his Excellency, the Marshd Prince of Eckmuhl, Commander-in-Chief of the French army on one side ; and Major-general Baron Muffling, ftimished with the full powers of his Highness the Field-mar^al Prince Bliicher, Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian army ; and Colonel Hervey, furnished with the full powers of his Excellency the Duke of
352 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
Wellington, Commander-in-Cliief of the Eaiglish army on the other Bide, have agreed to the following articles : —
** Art L There sliall be a suspension of arms betn-een the Allied armies commanded by his Highness the Prince Blucber, and his Excellency the Diike of Welluigton^ and the Frraich armj under the walls of Paris.
^*Art IL The French army shall put itself in march to- morrow, to take up its position behind the Loire. Paris shall be completely evacuated in three days; and the movement behind the Loire shall be effected within eight days.
** Art IIL The French army shall take with it all its mai^nel^ field artillery, military chest, horses, and property of regiments, without exception* All persons belonging to the depots shall be removed, as well as those belonging to ue different branches of administration, which belong to me army.
^* Art IV. The sick and wounded, and the medical officers whom it may be necessary to leave wiUi them, are placed under the special protection of the Commanders-in-Chief oi the English and Prussian armies.
** Art V. The military and those holding emplojrments, to whom the foregoing article relates, shall be at hberty, immediatelj after their recovery, to rejoin the corps to which they belong.
** Art y L The wives and childr^ of all individuals belon^i^ to the French army shall be at liberty to remain in Paris. The wives shall be allowed to quit Paris for the purpose of rejoining the army, and to carry with them their property and that of their husbanos.
" Art VIL The officers of the line employed with the F&leres, or witli the Tirailleurs of the National Guard, may either join the army or return to their homes or the places of theu* birth.
" Art. VIIL To-morrow, the 4th of July, at mid-^y. St Denis, St Ouen, Clichy, and Neuilly, shaU be given up. The day after to-morrow, the 5th, at the same hour, Montmartre shall be given up. The third day, the 6th, all the barriers shaU be given up.
** Art IX. The duty of the city of Paris shall continue to be done by the National Guard and by the corps of the municipal gendarmerie.
^^ Art X. The Commanders-in-Chief of the English and Prus- sian armies engage to respect, and to make those under their command respect, the actual authorities, so long as they shall exist
'' Art XI. Public property, with the exception of that which relates to war, whether it belongs to the Government or depends upon the Municipal Authority, shall be respected, and the Allied Powers will not interfere in any manner with its administration and management
CAPTUBE OF FABIS. 353
"Art Xn. Prirate persons and property shall be equally respected. The inhabitants, and, in general, all individuals who shall be in the capital, shall continue to enjoy their r^hts and liberties without being disturbed or called to account, eimer as to the situations which they hold or may have held, or as to their conduct or political opinions.
*^ Art XnL The foreign troops shaU not interpose any ob- stacles to the provisioning of the capital, and will protect, on the contrary, the arrival and the free circulation of the articles which are destined for it
** Art XIV. The present Convention shall be observed, and shall serve to regulate the mutual relations until the conclusion of peace. In case of rupture, it must be denounced in the usual forms, at least ten days beforehand.
** Art XV. If difficulties arise in the execution of any one of the articles of the present Convention, the interpretation of it shall be made in favoru* of the French army and of the city of Paris.
" Art XVI. The present Convention is declared common to all the Allied armies, provided it be ratified by the powers on which these armies are dependent ,
" Art XVIL The ratifications shall be exchanged to-morrow, the 4th of July, at six o'clock in the morning, at the bridge of Neuilly.
" Art XVTIL Commissioners shall be named by the respec- tive parties, in order to watch over the execution of the present Convention.
^^ Done and signed at St Cloud, in triplicate, by the Commis- sioners above-named, the day and year before-mentioned*
(Signed) " The Baron Bignon.
Count GnnxEHONT. Count De Bondt. The Baron De MuFFLma. F. B. Hervet, Colonel
^' Approved and ratified, the present Suspension of Arms, at Paris, the 3d of July, 1815.
" Approved. (Signed) Marshal the Prince D'Egkhuhl.'*
" My Lokd, « Parisy July Sth, 1816.
" In consequence of the Convention with the enemv, of which I transmitted your Lordship the copy in my dispatch of the 4th, the troops under my command, and that of Field-marshal Prince Blucher, occupied the barriers of Paris on the 6th, and entered the city yesterday, which has ever since been perfectly quiet ** The King of France entered Paris tms day.
** I have the honour to be, &c. Welungton,"
« Earl Baihursty ^c"
AA
" Paris, July 91*.
** Tcsterdar the King made his public entn' into his capital at three in the afternoon. His Majesty left St Denis at two o*clocL Numerous detachments irom the National Guard of Paris went to meet the King, and to ran£;e themselves among the iaithfiil ad- herents who served to form nis Majesty's retinue. No ceremonial had, however, been ordered. The public enthusiasm and brilliant testimonies of general joy alone embellished this family festival The Kind's carriage was preceded and followed bv his military householcL Around it we observed several Marshals, followed bv a great number of General Officers, who had always accompanied the IGng. The inhabitants of Paris and the neighbouring towns covered the road. All, as well as the National Guard, had as- sumed the white cockade, making the air resound with cries of Vive le Boi I
"Count Chabrol, prefect of the Seine, accompanied by the municipal body, waited the arrival of the King at the barrier of St Denis. At four o'clock the acclamations of an immense multitude announced the approach of a procession, which defiled amidst a thousand times repeated cries of Vive le Boi ! "
AnsTRiAN Proclamation.
354 BATTLE OF WATBBLOa
Immediately after the arrangement under which Paris was ? iurrendered, the following was issued : — I
" General Order. j
** 1. The Field»nmrshal has crcat satisfaction in announcing to the troo|>8 under his command that he has, in concert with Field- marshal IMnce BlUchor, conclude<l a Military' Convention with the Commander-in-Chief of the French army, near Paris, by which the enemy is to evacuate St Denis, St Ouen, Clichy, and Neuilly, this oay at noon, the heights of Montmartre to-morrow at noc«i, and Paris next day.
** 2. The Field-marshal congratulates the army upon this result of tlieir glorious victory. He desires that the troops may employ the leisure of this day and to-morrow to clean their arms, clothes, and appointments, as it is his intention that they sliould pass him in review.
** 3. Major-general Sir Manley Power, K.C.B., is appointed to the staff of this army.
(Signed) "J. Waters, Lieut-coL A-A-G."
Frenchmen I — Twenty years of trouble and misfortunes had Impressed Europe. One man's insatiable thirst of dominion and
AUSTBIAN PBOCLAMATION. 355
conquest, while depopulating and ruining France, had desolated the remotest countries ; and the world saw with astonishment the disasters of the middle ages reproduced in an enlightened age.
" All Europe rose. One cry of indignation served to rally all nations.
"It depended on the Allied powers, in 1814, to exercise upon France a just vengeance, which she had but too much pro- voked; but great monarchs, united for an only and sacred cause — the re-establishment of peace in Europe — knew how to distinguish between the promoter of so many evils and the people whom he had made use of to oppress the world.
** The Allied Sovereigns declared, under the walls of Paris, that they could never make either peace or truce with Napoleon Buonaparte. The capital rose against the oppressor of Europe. France, by a spontaneous movement, rallied itself to the principles which were to restore and to guarantee her liberty and peace.
" The Allied armies entered Paris as £riends. So many years of misfortunes, the spoliation of so many countries, the death of millions of brave men ^ho fell on the field of battle, or victims of the scourges inseparable from war— all was buried in oblivion.
^^ Buonaparte solemnly abdicated a power which he had ex- ercised but for the misfortunes of the world. Europe had from that time no enemy more to combat
"Napoleon Buonaparte has re-appeared in France; he has found Europe in arms against him.
"Frenchmen I — It is for you to decide on peace or war. Europe desires peace with France — ^it makes war only upon the Usurper of the French throne. France, by admitting Napoleon Buonaparte, has overthrown the first basis on which its relations with other powers were built
'^Europe does not wish to encroach on the rights of any nation, but she will never allow France, under a chief but lately proscribed by herself, again to threaten the repose of her neigh- bours.
^^ Europe desires to enjoy the first benefit of peace. It desires to disarm, and it cannot do uiis as loi^ as Napoleon Buonaparte is on the throne of France. Europe, m short, desires peace, and, because it desires it, will never negociate with him whom it regards as a perpetual obstacle to peace.
" Already, in the plams of Brabant, Heaven has confounded this criminal enterprise. The Allied armies are goin^ to pass the frontiers of France. They will protect the peaceable citizens — they wiU combat the soldiers of Buonaparte — they will treat as fiiends the provinces which shall declare a^nst him — and they will know no other enemies than those who shall support his cause.
" Fidd-marshal Prince ScHWAKTZENBKEa." Headrquartera at Heidelberg y June 23, 1815.''
((
356 BATTLE OF WATERLOO*
Austrian Order of the Dat.
" Carlsrhuef Head-quarters, June 24.
'* Soldiers of the Austrian Army of the Rhine I *' Napoleon, whose ambitious plans, and lust of conquest, armed all Europe against him, was conquered by you and tout allies. Returning from tlie exile into which the generosity of the victors had sent turn, he again attacks the repose, the welfare, the peace, the security of all states ; provokes by his guilty arrc^nce the armies of United Europe to combat for the inviolability of their frontiers, the honour of their country, the happiness of their fellow- citizens — these most sacred of all possessions, which this man, to whom nothing is sacred, and who has become the scourge of humanity, has been attacking and endeavouring to destroy for so many years. Thus, brave soldiers of the Austrian army, a new and vast career of glory is opened to you. I know that you will distinguish it by new victories, and that new deeds in arms will render still more dear to me the proud sads&ction of calling mj^elf
four General. It is as honourable to you as agreeable to me, that have only to recall the remembrance of your ancient exploits to animate you to new ones. The victories of Culm, Leipsic, Brienne, and Pans, are so many illustrious garlands that crown your ftandards. Continue worthy of your glory by combating as you did formerly, and by adding fresh laurels to those you have already gained.
" Grr^t thinp have been already performed. Your brethrrai in Italy have with their arms opened themselves a way into the heart of the enemy's country, and their victorious banners wave in the capital of the kingdom of Naples. Those in Flanders gained, on the 18th inst, one <h the most memorable victories recorded in history. Those victorious armies have their eyes fixed upon you, and summon you to similar exploits. Let the recollection of what you have been on so many a hard-fought day — ^let the feeling of what you owe to yourselves, animate you to become constantly more worthy of your ancient glory by combating for your Emperor, your honour, and your country.
" ScHWARTZENBERO, Ficld-marshaL"
Bavariaiy Order of the Dat.
** Soldiers ! — In three days you have marched from the Rhine, in hopes of contributing to the operations of the Allied armies in the Netherlands. These victorious armies have anticipated you. A great and decisive victory crowned their efforts in the battle of
BAVABIAK PROCLAMATION. 357
the 18th. It is now for us, and the Allied armies on the Upper Rhine, to annihilate the enemy's corps which oppose us. Soldiers 1 to-morrow we attack the enemy — march against him with courage and perseverance. His Royal Highness our Crown Prince is among us ; his Royal Highness his younger brother is with the vanguard. The Crown Frince will be witness to your actions. Honour and protect the property of the peaceable French inhabit- ants. It is not upon them that we make war: it is against Napoleon and his adherents that our swords are drawn.
" Come on, then, against him and them I Come on, then, for Kin^ and country, for our Allies, and for Grermany 1
" Given at our head-quarters at Hoinburg, June 22, 1815. (Signed) " Pbince Wbedb, Field-marshaL"
Bavabian Pboclamation.
" Frenchmen 1 — ^The manner in which we yesterday entered your country may prove to you that we are not tiie enemies of the peaceable inhabitants. I have pardoned even such of your feJlow- countrymen as have been taken with arms in their hands, and also might have been deservedly shot as bandittu But, considering that these armed ruffians, who scour the country under the name of free corps to plunder their fellow-citizens, are a scourge which Buonaparte has brought upon France, which has been abreadv made sufficiently unhappy bv the unbounded ambition of thiB enemy of the repose anahappmess of the world, I command : —
" I. That every one who belongs to these free corps, or is taken with arms in his hands, without felongmg to the troops of the line and wearing their uniform, shall be brought before a court-martial, and shot in twenty-^four hours.
" II. That every town or commune in which any of the Allies shall be mturdered shall be punished. For the first oflence, the town with a contribution of 200,000 francs, and the village one of 50,000. On a repetition of the oflence, the town or village shall be plundered and burnt
** in. Within tweniy-four hours after the entrance of the AUied armies, every town or commune shall deliver up its arms and military effects at the chief place of the prefecture or subpre- fecture.
** IV. Every town or conunune in which, twenty-four bourse after the entrance of the Allied troops, arms or mUitary effects shall be found, shall pay a contribution, the town of 200,000, the village of 50,000 francs. The house of the owner of these arms shall be plundered and pulled down, and the owner brought before a court-martial and shot in twenty-four hours. If the owner of the arms should have absconded, his family, or the majot, ot the
358 BATTLE OF WATEBIXXX
principal inhabitants, thall be punished in a militarj maimer, as protectors of highwaymen.
" Frenchmen ! — ^iMake yourselves easy. Our victorious armies will not disturb the re|)ose of tlie peaceable citizen. Eairope has taken up arms again only to conquer, for itself and for you, the peace and the happiness of which a single Usurper threat^is to rob it for the second time.
** Given at my head-quarters at Sargemines, 24 th June, 1815,
** Field-marshal Pbince Wrede.*
Russian Pboclamation.
** Frenchmen I — Europe, united at the Congress of Vienna, has informed you of your true interests by the acts of the 13th of March and the 12th of May. It comes in arms to prove to yoa that it has not spoken in vain. It desires peace ; it has need of it, it must be coniumed by its amicable relations with you. It can have none, it never can have any, with the man who pretends to govern you. A fatal infatuation may have made the French soldier forget for a moment the laws of honour, and have extorted a perjury m>m him. An ephemeral power, supported by all kinds of illusion, may have misled some magistrates into the paths of error. But this power totters — soon it will w^hoUy disappear. The combined Army of the North convinced you of it on the day of the 1 8th of Juna Our armies are marching to convince yoa of it in their turn.
''Frenchmen, it is still time! — Reject the man who, again chainii^ all your liberties to his car, tnreatens social order, and brings mto your native country all nations in arms. Be restored to yourselves, and all Europe salutes you as fiiends, and ofiers you peace. It does more. From this moment it consid^s all Frenchmen, who are not ranged under the standards of Buona- parte, and who do not adliere to his cause, as fri^ids. We have consequently the order to protect them, to leave them the peace- able enjoyment of what they possess, amd to support the laudable efforts which they shall make to replace France in the relative situation which the treaty of Paris had re-established betwe^i her and all the European nations.
*' God, justice, the wishes of all nations, second us. French- men, come to meet us ; our cause is yours : your happiness, your glo^T) your power, are still necessary to the nappiness, the gloxy, and the power of the nations who are going to combat for you.
(Signed) '' Marshal Count Babclat de Tollt." ** HeadrquarUrSy Oppenheim, June 23."
dutch obdeb of the dat. 359
Dutch Obdeb of the Day.
** Brusseby June 27. ** His Majesty, informed bjr my reports of the glorious vic- tories to which you have contributed, with so much bravery and fidelity, has charged me with the commission, equally agreeable and flattering to my heart, to testify to you, my fellow-citizens, his entire satisfaction with your conduct in the several actions that have taken place. I cannot give you, brave warriors of the Netherlands, a stronger proof of the approbation of our beloved and aumist sovereign, than by making you acquainted with the tenor of the letter which his Majesty has addressed to me, and which is conceived in these terms : —
'' ' Hie Hoffuey June 24.
^* * Your reports of the 17th and 22d inst have given me inex- pressible satisfaction.
" * As a sovereign and a father I doubly feel the joy which the happy result of so many obstinate combats has generally excited, for I have the certainty that my troops have had a glonous share ill them, and have seen, in the Son of tneir Prince, a brave example of the most dangerous duties they have to perform.
" ' I desire that you will acquaint, with my complete satisfac- tion, all the brave warriors of the Netherlands who ibught under your command at Quatre Bras and at La Belle Alliance. Tell them that all their fellow-countrymen have their eyes fixed on them with admiration and gratitude, and are proud of the firmness and courage which they have displayed. Let them know that the blood they have shed nas irrevocably effaced the last doubt that might have subsisted on the solidity of this new kingdom, and the iimon of its inhabitants. Assure them that they shim always have in me a true friend of their noble profession, and a protector of valour and of all military merit
** * Do you yourself find the reward of your devotion, and an alleviation of your wounds, in the honour of being to the brave warriors of the Netherlands the organ of the sentiments conse- crated to them by their king and meir country.
(Signed) *• * William.*
'^ Continue then, my countrymen, to walk in the path of honour ; your King acknowledges your services, and the country honours you. As for me, I feel my wounds only because they keep me for a time at a distance nrom you. My most ardent desire is to join you, again to combat the common enemy, and bravely to lavish our blood and our lives for the king and country.
(Signed) " William, Prince of Orange.'*
360 BAiTLB or WAinUKI.
Thb Swiss Pbociamation.
General Order addressed to Colonel D^Affry^ Commandani of
JJivisioriy at Basle*
** Switzerland, faithfiil to its old principles, had declared itself for the defence of its frontiers, A Convention with the powers armed for the restoration of the repose of Europe consecrated this declaration. On the part of Switzerland no hostile step was taken against multiplied offences. The communications with Switzerland were intercepted without previous notice, and dispositions made for attack, in the mean time tlie flower of the French, com- manded by Napoleon Buonaparte, was completely routed on the plains of Flanders, by Wellington and Bliicner.
** When Buonaparte had brought to Paris the news of his own defeat, and it was seen that they could no longer shake the torches of war over all Europe, but that the avengers of perjury and of the rupture of peace would advance without halting, the authors of those calamities endeavoured to avert their consequences by a stroke of the pen. Buonaparte again renounced that throne, after having, fifteen months before, formally abandoned, for himself and his posteritv^, the bloody sceptre of iron with which he had so long oppressed Europe. At tliat moment his Generals sent heralds to the right bank, and to the centre of our army, to ask a suspension of arms, though no hostilities had yet taken place. While this request, accompanied by a promise mat nothing hostile should be undertflJLen against us, was transmitted to the authorities of the Confederation, on the same day, the 28th, in the evening, — all at once, against the law of nations, without any reason, the fortress of Huningen bombarded the town of Basle ; thus breaking their word of honour, always held sacred by brave soldiers, and attack- ing the Swiss territory by the mischief they have inflicted on our confederates of Basla
'^ Soldiers, arm to punish the authors of injustice. We must watch that no part of our frontiers be violated by an enemy with- out faith. Call to mind the invasion of 1798; the atrocity of bombarding a town without its being besieged, without notifica- tion, and without cause, is a repetition of the same perfidy. We must put it out of the power of such an enemy to injure us; there- fore, comrades, prepare to combat for justice and honour, for liberty and country. May God bless the powerful Confederation, of which we form a part, and to which the most sacred duty attaches us.
" Bachhaitn, " General in Chief of the Confederation."
" Head^juarters at Bemey June 29, 1815."
bluchek's fabewell. 361
Blugheb's Fabewell to the brave Belgians.
Marslud Prince Blucher to the brave Belgians.
" My army being on the point of entering the French terri- tory, we cannot leave you, brave Belgians 1 without bidding you farewell, and without expressing our Bvely gratitude for the hos- pitaUty which you have shown to our soldiers. We have had an opportunity of appreciating your virtues. You are a brave, a loyal, and a noble people. At the moment when danger seemed to threaten you, we were called to give you aid : we hastened to obey the call, and it was much against our will that we found our- selves compelled, by circmnstances, to wait so long for the com- mencement of the contest, which we should have been glad to see begin sooner. The presence of our troops has been burden- some to your country; but we have paid with our blood the debt of gratitude which we owed you, and a paternal government will find means to indemnify such among you as have suffered the most by the quartering of our troops.
** Adieu, brave Belgians ! The remembrance of the hospitable reception you have afforded us, as well as the recollection of your virtues, will be eternally engraven on our hearts. May the God of peace protect your me country 1 May He remove trom it, for a long period, the troubles of war I May you be as happy as you deserve to be 1 Farewell 1 ** Blucheb."
" Headrquarters, MarbeB^e-ChdteaUy Jwie 21«*, 1815."
Fbom the Duke of Welunqton to the Matob of Brusseia
« Pariiy Auffust 13th, 1815. **Mr. Mayor,
" I take this opportunity to write to you in order to thank you, to request you to make known my gratitude to the inhabitants of Brussels and the environs, for the care and kindness they have shown to the wounded officers and soldiers of the army under my command.* The services which we have had in our power to
* The acts of humanity of the mhabitants of Brussels, if particularised, would occupy many pages. But it ought not to be left unknown the signal service of the Mayor on this occasion ; — he literally and figuratively gave wine and beer when water was required. An inhabitant of the name of Troyanx made his ,whole esta- blishment a complete hospital, finding, without any previous oonsideratioo for re« muneration, every possible comfort and subsistence for the unfortunate needing his kindnesses. A female, who had realised a little independence by selling lace, lodged and relieved the distresses of a great many. The fair sex indiscriminately, in high or low circumstances, were animated with the most solicitous attention. The regard of these brave people towards the English was brotherly and affec- tionate ; and many of the inhabitants went to find our countrymen in the field, and brought them to their homes ; and crowds met them on the road with refresh- ments of every kind.
362 BA1TLB or WAIKBLCWL
render the city of Brusiselsy in aaving it from the hands of a cmd enemy, by the efforts that have been made, and by the bravery d tlie troom, almost under its very walls, gave us reason to hope th^ the inhaoitants would relieve, as far as lay in their power, tho!ic who had been the victims. But I did not expect the tender care, the kindness, which the inhabitants have displayed towards n^ and I beg you to believe, and to let them know, that their condnct has made u|)on us all an impression which will never be efiaced from our memory.
** I well know of what value, on such occasions, is the example of the magistrates, and I l)eg you, Mr. Mayor, to believe that I duly appreciate that which you have given.
** I have the honour to be, Mr. Mayor,
'' Your most obedient and humble servant, (Signed) " Wellington, Prince of Waterloa"
To the Prefect of the Department of the Seine,
'' Paris, July 10, 1815.
" Sir, — Your agreeable letter of the 9th, which I have had the honour to receive this morning, has been read in the original, as you desired, to Highness Prince Bliicher, of Wahlstadt.
" After the reiterated orders which I have received for the raising of the contributions imposed by this Prince on the city of Paris, it is not long in my power to avoid those coercive measures which are rendered necessary, by the tergiversations employed fc) elude my propositions. At the receipt of this letter, you and several of the inhabitants of Paris are placed as hostages under a military guard, and if we do not receive, this very day, a part of the contribution in question, you, as well as the other hostages, will be conveyed to the fortress of Graudenz, in West Prussia. This measure nas been dictated to me by the Commander-in-Chief. You and your fellow-citizens cannot tax it with injustice, when I remind you of the overtures which I have, several times, made you respecting the demands of Prince Bliicher. You know that m 1806, 1807, and 1808, Prussia, under the administration of M. Daru, not only lost its prosperity, but was ruined by the enormous mass of requisitions and exactions to which it was subjected : you know what was done in 1809, 1810, and 1811, to exhaust the king- dom; nor can I dissemble that in 1812, though then in alliance with France, several of our provinces suffered treatment, of which the most cruel enemy would hardly have been guilty. It was in 1813 that we shook off the yoke of tyranny ; the victorious arms of the Allies delivered France from a dynasty under which that fine country had groaned for so many years.
OOMSIBUTION& 363
'^ The inconceivable efforts which Prussia made to support the great contest, after six years of oppression, signalised by all kinds of extortion and arbitrary treatment, put it out of our power to make a suitable provision for the eqmpment, the pay, and other -wants of the armies again called forth to combat Buonaparte and his adherents. France, now delivered, cannot refuse its gratitude to the conquerors of the common enemy, when one reflects on the persevering courage and patience, in the midst of numberless privations, which they have shown during the most extraordinary efForts; but this gratitude must not consist, as in 1814, in empty words, but in deeds. You pretend that the contribution of 100 millions of francs exceeds the ability of your city. Ask Count Daru what Berlin (a city of one quarter of the size of yours) was obliged to furnish ? and you will be convinced it gready exceeds the demands of Prince Bliicher from the capital of France. If we treated your provinces as you did ours, from 1806 to 1812, the contribution to be imposed, according to that standard, might ex- ceed your ability. But, far from using reprisals, we have hitherto demanded only the reimbursement of the expenses of the war ; for the budgets of our finances have no head for the exorbitant imjx)- sitions levied in foreign countries, such as were found in the budgets of France previous to the year 1814. Last year the conquest of Paris ended the war. In this campaign the same conquest has been the object of oin: labours ; to attain it we have been forced to make promises to the troops, — not such promises as the French leader made to his army before the defeats on the Katzbach, near Calne and Dennewitz, which hindered him from performing them, — but such as generous conquerors make to modest soldiers, whose welfare they value, and whose courage they know how to appreciate.*
'^ It is by the contribution that these promises must be ful- filled ; and 1 cannot conceive. Sir, how it happened, that in those ihree days that we have been n^ociating on this subject you have not got together a sum on account sufficient to show your good will to the Prince, who must not be deceived in his hope of ful- filling his promise to his soldiers, who are used to depend on his
* The Editor begs to add the reported account of the several exactions made by the French during the last twenty years, viz. :-^In Flanders, Brabant, and Holland, in 1704 and 1795, 14 millions sterling ; in Italy, at different times, 17 miUions ; in Brabant, Flanders, and Holland, since taking possession of them, 48 millions ; in the Austrian states, 13 millions ; in Prussia, 25 millions (150 millions of dollars) ; in Hamburg, Saxony, Westphalia, and Hanover, 23 millions ; in Spain and Portugal, before and after the war, 35 millions : together, 175 millions sterling. Besides this are to be reckoned the expenses caused by the presence and support of the French troops, the English subsidies, taxes, and loans on account of the war (700 millions) : the whole will amount to 958 millions. Add to this the above 175 millions, and the whole makes the enormous sum of 1139 millions sterling, the 45th pari of which was only recorered from France.
364 BATTLE OF WATERIOa
I
word. YoUy and those who have neglected, or rather pfreTented, ) the payment of a sum in part, are the persons to whom Park '; must impate the disagreeable consequences of this n^ect. I am sorry, Sir, that, having a particular esteem for you, I am obl^i to make this declaration. I must add, that the measures takai on this occasion are no violation of the Convention of Paris, since they fall only on those who show disobedience or coohiess in the execution of our orders. Accept the assurance, &c.
(Signed) " RiBBEiiTHBOP.''
This letter was written in German, which the Prefect not understanding, bogged the bearer to translate for him, which he readily did. The Prefect suffered himself to be arrested, but stopped his journey to Graudenz by making a payment.
The Pbince Regen*t's Message for ADnmoNAL Pboviston
FOR THE DCKE OF WELLINGTON.
*^ The Prince Regent, acting in the name and on the hAsM of his Majesty, having taken into his consideration the most im- portant and glorious victory obtained by Field-marshal the Duke Wellington over the French army, under the immediate com- mand of Buonaparte^ on the 18th of this month, is desirons of manifesting the sense entertained by his Royal Highness and the country ofthis signal and splendid achievement, wnich has added fresh renown to the British arms, and which cannot fail to be productive of the most essential advantages to Europe.
** The Prince Regent, therefore, recommends to his Majesty s faithful Commons to enable his Royal Highness to grant such additional provision to Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington as shall afford a further proof of the opinion entertained by Parliat- ment of the Duke of^ Wellington's transcendent services, and of the gratitude and munificence of the British nation.
« George, P. R"
Thanks of both houses of Parliament were given to the Duke of Wellington, officers, and men ; and also to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, Captain-general and Commander-in-cnief of his Majesty's forces, for his effective and unremitted exertions in the discharge of the duties of his high and important situation, during the period of upwards of twenty years, in the course of which time the British army had attained a state of discipline and skill before unknown to it; and which exertions, under Provi- dence, have been in a great degree the means of acquiring for this country the high military glory which it enjoys among the nations of Europe. — June 23d.
ADDRESS OF THE CITY OF LONDON. 365
Extract from the Speech of the Prince Regent to Parliament, UPON closing the Sessions, July 12, 1815. '
^' Under such circumstances, you will have seen with just pride and satisfaction the splendid success with which it has pleased Divine Providence to bless his Majesty's arms, and those of his Allies,
" Whilst the glorious and ever-memorable victory obtained at Waterlop by Field-marshals the Duke of Wellington and Prince Bliicher has added fresh lustre to the characters of those great commanders, and has exalted the military reputation of this country beyond all former example, it has, at tne same time, produced the most decisive effects on the operations of the war, by delivering from invasion the dominions of the King of the Netherlands, and by placing, in the short space of fifteen days, the city of Paris, and a large part of the kingdom of France, in the military occupation of the Allied armies."
The Address of the City of London.
" Jtdy 5th.
*' To his Royal Highness the IVince of Wales, Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ;
" The dutiful and loyal Address of the Lord Mayor, Alder- men, and Commons of the City of London, in Common Coimcil assembled.
** May it please your Royal Highness,
" We, ms Majesty s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of the City of London, in Com- mon Council assembled, beg leave to approach your Royal High- ness with the sincerest affection to your Royal Person, and with the warmest congratulations upon the glorious victory obtained by the Allied army, on the 18th of June, under the command of Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington.
**At a period when the tumults of war had subsided, and Peace had begun to shed invaluable blessings over long-contending and hostile nations, it was with indignation and horror we be- held the return of that person who had been the dreadful scourge of Europe from an obscurity in which the stipulations of a solemn treaty had bound him to continue.
** We observe with grief, that on his re-appearance the lawful Sovereim of France was compelled by a rebellious and faith- less soldiery to leave his capital, and to take refiige in the Netherlands.
I
366 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
** We felt assured that the relations of peace and amity wl^h : had been so recently enterecl into by vour Koyal Hi^^hness, in the name of out* beloved Sovereign, could not be maintauied with th^ daring usur|)er^ who had repeatedly manifested that no treaty was held sacred by him longer than suited the purposes of h^ ambition or revenge; who had constantly evinced the deepen hatred of the British name and character; and with whom hi« Majesty's Allies had unanimously declared the impoesibilitv of making any emragements in the relations of peace and eoncora.
" Under these difficult circumstances, we beheld with the highest satisfaction the wisdom of your Royal Highness, in ap- pointing to the cliief command of his Majesty's armies on the Continent tliat Illvstrious Hero who had so often led them to con(|uest and to glory.
"It is with tne most heartfelt joy we contemplate the late victory, as affording another leaf to the page of history, br recorcmig further mafi[nificent deeds to enhance the honour and grandeur of the British Empire ; in which will be seen, that a greatly suj)erior force of the veteran armies of France, com- manded by a Napoleon Buonaparte, could not vrithstand the irre- sistible bravery of British heroes, when guided by a Wellington aided by a Blucher.
" It is with the deepest sorrow we lament the fall of a large portion of these brave defenders of the liberties of Eurc^: and particularly of an Illustrious Member of your Royal High- ness's family, who had ever evinced the characteristic gallantrv of a Prince of the House of Brunswick : but we trust the issue of this great event aifords a well-grounded hope that the power of the Usurper will be destroyed, and the peace of Europe established upon the most solid foundation.
^'We shall continue to place our humble reliance on the Divine Goodness that these results may speedily take place, and that the glory, the peace, and the prosperity of this United King- dom, tmaer the government of your Royal Highness, and a long line of succeeding Princes of your Royal Highness's illustrious House, may endure ui^til the latest period of time.
** We have only further to entreat your Royal Highness to be assured of the continued zeal, loyalty, and affection of his Majesty's faithful Citizens of London to support your Royal Highness in bringing this great contest to a speedy and happy termination.
(Signed, by order of the Court,) *' Henry Woodthobpe,"
To which Address his Royal Highness was pleased to return the following most gracious answer: —
^^ I receive with the greatest satisfaction this loyal and dutifiil address.
ABDICATION OF BUONAPABTE. 367
** By the fkvour of Divine Providence the first operations of the Allied armies on the Continent have been attended with the most signal and decisive success ; and we may confidently trust, that the high military reputation which tliis country has acquired by the undaunted valour and consummate discipline of our troops, and the transcendent genius and heroic example of the great Commander who has constantly led them to victory, will afford one of the most important securities for the future tranquillity and independence of Europe.
" I deeply lament with you the extent of private calamity occasioned by the loss of many valuable officers and men in the late unexampled contest ; and I feel most sensibly the manner in ^'hich you have adverted to an illustrious member of the House of Brunswick, who closed on that memorable occasion a career of honour with a death of glory-
" To the surviving relatives of tliose who have fallen, it must be a soothing reflection that they have perished in a just and noble cause, and that the memory of their splendid and inestim- able services will be cherished with admiration and gratitude to the latest posterity.
** I have a perfect reliance on the steadfast loyalty and public spirit of the Citizens of London, and on your assurances of sup- port in such exertions as may be necessary to brin^ this most im- portant contest to a speedy and happy termination.
They were all very graciously received, and had the honour to kiss the hand of the Prince Regent
Abdication of Buonapabte.
This is one the consequences that resulted from the brilliant victory of the Duke of Wellington. Never, in the history of the world, did one battle produce an event so important The fate of Buonaparte and of France has been decided at a blow.
^^ Paris papers of the 22d and 23d have been received. Buonaparte returned to Paris from the army on the 21st On that day there were ven^ tumultuous debates in the two Houses of Representatives, on the necessity of Buonaparte's abdication. On the 22d he sent in his abdication in favour of his Son, as Nafoleon the Second. This abdication was accepted simply without any condition in favour of his son, and a Provisional Government appointed, consisting of Camot, Fouch^, Caulin- court, Orenier, and another, to treat with the Allied Generals for peace.
" It was attempted in debate by the Ministers of the Interior,
368 EATTLE or WATBBLOa
to show that Soult had rallied 60,000 men on the northen frontier; but this was denied by Marshal Nej, with warmtk who asserted that 20,000 men was the utmost number that coaU be mustered, and that the Allies could pass the frontier, and be as Paris in six or seven days."
Declabation of Buonapabte to the Fbench.
« raris, June 23.
" Frenchmen I In commencing a war for maiTitaining the national inde[X!ndence, I relied on the union of all efforts, of all wills, and the concurrence of all the national authorities. I had reason to hope for success, and I braved all the declaratioiis of the Powers against me.
" Circumstances appear to me changed. I oifer mjsdt as a sacrifice to the hatred of the enemies of France. — May they prove sincere in their declarations, and really direct them only agaimt my power I My political life is terminated ; and I jproclaim mr Son, under the title of Napoleon II. Emperor of the French.
** The present Ministers will provisionally form the Council of the Government The interest which I take in my son induces me to invite the Chambers to form, without delay, the Regency by a law.
*^ Unite all for the public safety, in order to r^nain an inde- pendent nation.
(Signed) *' N'apoi.eon.''
^^ Malmaiaofiy 25 A June, 1815. Napoleon to the brave Soldiers of the Army before Paris.
** Soldiers! — While obeying the necessity which removes me from the brave French army, I carry with me the happy certain^ that it will justify, by the eminent services which the country expects from it, the praises which our en^nies themselves have not been able to refuse it Soldiers I I shall follow your st^, thou^ absent; I know all the corps, and not one of them will obtain a single advanta^ over the enemy, but I shall give it credit for the courage it shall have displayed. Both you and me have been calumniated : men, very unfit to appreciate our labours, have seen in the marks of attachment which you have given me a zeal of which I was the sole object
*^ Let your future successes tell them that it was the countiT above all things which you served by obeying me, and that if I have any share in your afiection, I owe it to my ardent love for France, our common mother.
BUOKAFABTB'S EMRARKATIOy, 369
'* Soldiers! some efforts more and the coalition is dissolved; Napoleon will recognise you by the blows wliich you are going to stnxe.
" Save the honour^ the independence of the French. Be to the last the same men that I have known you for these last twenty years, and you will be invincible.
(Signed) " Napoleon.**
[Napoleon reigned 100 days, in which he spent 600 millions, and lost 150,000 men. France ravaged by civil war, and its capital besieged by two armies t]
Admiralty Office^ July 25, 1815.
Captain Maitland, of the BeUerophon, to <7. W, Croker, Esq. dated
in Sasque Moods , the 14tfi inst
" For the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty I have to acquaint you, that the Count Las Casses and General Allemand this morning came on board his Majesty's ship under my command, with a proposal for me to receive on board Napoleon Buonaparte (who had been secreted at Rochefort), for the purpose of throwing himself on the generosity of his Royal Higlmess the Prince Regent — Conceiving myself authorized by their Lordships*^ secret order, I have acceded to the proposal, and he is to embark on board this ship to-morrow morning. That no misunderstanding might arise, I have explicitly and clearly ex-
JJained to the Count Las Casses that I have no authority whatever or granting terms of any sort ; but that all I can do is to convey him and his suite to England, to be received in such manner as his Royal Highness may deem expedient"
From Viscount Castlereagh^ dated Paris, July 17, 1815.
Foreign Office, July 21.
*' Since closing my dispatches of this date I have received the accompanying communication from this Government : —
(trajisiahon.)
' '^ I have the honour to acquaint your Lordship, that Napoleon Buonaparte, not being able to escape from the English cruisers, or from the guards kept upon the coast, has taken the resolution of going on Board the English ship BeUerophon, Captain Maitland.
" ' 1 have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) " ' Le Due D'Otrantb.' "
*' * To his Excellency Lord Viscount CasUereagL* "
BB
370 BATTUE OF wathiloo.
Paris, July 17.
Mcasnres had been taken to prevent the escape of Boonapaite. It will be seen, by the following extract of a letter from the Maritime Prefect o{ Rochefort to the Minister of the Marine, that the result has been snch as there was reason to expect : —
^^ Rochefort, July 15, ten o'clock at mght
** To execute the orders of your Excellency, I embarked in my boat, accompanied by Baron Richard, prefect of Charente- Ini'^rieure. The reports from the roads^ of the 14th, had not yet reache^l me : I w^as informed by Captain Hilibert, commander of the Amph\'trite frigate, that Buonaparte had embarked on board the brig Epervier, armed as a flag of truce, determined to sni^ render nimself to the English cruisers.
" In fact, at break of day we saw him manoeuvre to approach the English ship Bellerophon, commanded by Captain Maidand who, seeing that Buonaparte was coming towards him, mounted a white flac at the mizen mast Buonaparte was received on board the English vessel, as also the persons in his suite. The officer whom 1 left in observation had informed me of this important news, when General Beker, who arrived a few moments afterwards, confirmed it to me.*
(Signed) " Bonnkfocx,
" Captain of a vessel, Maritime PrefSecL"
Cessation of Hostiuties wtth France bt Sea.
*' Paris, Jtdy 27th, 1815.
'^ Faithful to the principle of the alliance formed betwe^i the Powers of Europe, and only directed against the man who, usurp- ing anew the supreme power in France, made all the evils of war re-appear, his Royal Highness the Prince Regent of England, who has snown himself so constantly animated by the noble desire of terminating these evils, has been informed that Napoleon Buona- narte had given himself up to the naval force of his Britannic Majesty, has hastened to cause all hostility on the coasts of France immediately to cease. His Excellency Lord Castlereagh has made an official communication of these orders to the Minister of the King, and the following note to that effect has been addre^ed to Prince TaUeyrand:—
*' * Note. — The undersigned, his Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has received orders from his Royal Highness the Prince Regent to inform Prince Talley- rand, for the purpose of its being communicated to his Mc^t
* For an account of Buonaparte while on board the Bellerophon, vide p. 127.
CESSATiaS OF H08IILITIE& 371
Christian Majesty, that as soon as the news was received in £ngland that Buonaparte had heen given up to the naval forces of Great Britain, his Royal Highness mstantly gave orders to cause all acts of hostility on the coasts of France to cease. — The under- signed communicates with the greatest pleasure to his Highness Prince Talleyrand a copy of tlie orders issued on this subject, and embraces this opportunity to renew to him the assurance of his distinguished consideration.
" Paris, July 24, 1815. * CASTLEBEAaH.' "
Earl Bathurst to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.
" My Lords, War Department, July 21, 1815.
^^ Having been this day informed that Napoleon Buonaparte has surrendered to the Honourable Captain Maitland, commanding his Majesty's ship the Bellerophon, his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, eager to seize the opportunity of delivering the ports of France from the restramts which rcs Jted from the state of war- fare, in as much as may be compatible with the great object of the alliance of the Sovereigns, the stabihty of the peace and tranquillity of Europe, has ordered me to let you know, that it is his intention that your Lordships should give orders for the immediate cessation of all acts of hostility against the coast of France, and that his Majesty's ships may allow free navigation to those French ships that sad under the white flag.
" I have, &c.
(Signed) " Bathubst."
The MxtnxEU m which Buonapabte is to be treated.
Letter from Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State, to the Lords of the
AdmiraUy.
" My Lobds, Downing Street, July 30, 1815,
" I wish your Lordships to have the goodness to communicate to Rear-admiral Sir George Cockbum a Copy of the followinir Memorial, which is to servT him by way of Strudioo, to dS his conduct while Greneral Buonaparte remains imder his care. The Prince Regent, in confiding to EngUsh Officers a mission of such importance, feels that it is imnecessary to express to them his earnest desire that no greater personal restraint mav be employed than what shall be found necessary faithfrdly to perform the duties of which the Admiral, as well as the Governor of St. Helena, must never lose sight, namely, the perfectly secure detention of the person of Greneral Buonaparte. Every thing which, without opposing the grand object, can be granted as an indulgence will, his Royal Highness is convinced, be allowed the General The
S72 BATTLE or WATlBIiOa
Prince Regent dctiends further on the well-known zeal and resolct/ character of Sir George Cockbum, tliat he will not sofler hiniseb *• be misled imprudently to deviate from the performance c^his dnrv.
** BATHTBgrr MemoriaL
^* When General Buonaparte leaves the Bellerc^hon to go <? board the Northumberiand, it will be the properest moment t r Admiral Cockbuni to have the effects examincsd which Creneni Buonaparte mav have bn>ught with him.
** The Admiral will allow all the bagga^, wine, and provisk^i which the General mav have brought with him, to be taken vc board the NorthumborlaniL Among the baggage, his table sen'i>::: is to be understood as included, unless it he so considerable ai to seem rather an article to be converted into monej than tl: real u^ie.
*^ His money, his diamonds, and his saleable effects (ccHue- quently bills of exchange also), of whatever kind they may be. must be delivered up. The Admiral will declare to the Goieral that the British Government by no means intends to confiscate his property, but merely to take upon itself the administration d* his effects, to hinder mm from using them as a means to promute his flight
'^ The examination shall be made in the presence of a persoc named by Buonaparte ; the inventory of the effects to be retainei sliall be signed by this person, as well as by the Rear-^ulmiral, ^ by theperson whom he shall appoint to draw up this inventory.
** Tne interest, or the principal (according as his property is more or less considerable), shall be applied to his support, and in this respect the principal arrangements to be left to him.
'^ For this reason he can, from time to time, signify his wishes to the Admiral, till the arrival of the new Governor of St. Helena, and afterwards to the latter ; and if no objection is to be made to his proposal, the Admiral or the Governor can give the necessary orders, and the disbursement will be paid by bills on his Majesty's Treasury.
*^ In case of death he can dispose of his property by a last will, and be assured that the contents of his testament shall be faithfiiUy executed.
'^ As an attempt might be made to make a part of his property pass for the property of the persons of his suite, it most be sig- nified that the property of his attendants is subject to the same r^ulations.
'^ The disposal of the troops left to guard bun must be left to the Governor.
'^ The latter, however, has received a notice, in the case whidi will be hereafter menticmed, to act according to the desire of the Admiral
TR&ATMBST OF BUONAFABTE. 373
*'The General must comtantlj be attended by an officer appointed by the Admiral^ or, if the case occur, by the Governor. If the General is allowed to go out of the bounds where the sentinels are placed, an orderly man at least must accompany the officer.
** When ships arrive, and as long as they are in sight, the General remains confined to the limits where the sentinels are placed. During this time, all communication with the inhabitants is forbidden. Bis companions in St. Helena are subject during this time to the same rules, and must remain with him. At other times it is left to the judgment of the Admiral or Governor to make the necessary regulations concerning theaa. It must be signified to the General, that if he makes any attempt to fly he will then be put under close confinement ; and it must be notified to his attendants, that if it should be found that they are plotting to prepare the General's ffight, they shall be separated fi-om him, ana put under close confinement
"All letters addressed to the General, or to persons in his suite, must be delivered to the Admiral or Governor, who will read them before he sufiers them to be delivered to those to whom they are addressed. Letters written by the General or his suite are suUect to the same rule.
" No letter that does not come to St Helena through the Secre- tary of State must be communicated to the General or his attendants, if it is written by a person not living in the island. And their letters, addressed to persons not living in the island, must go under the cover of the Secretary of State.
" It will be clearly expressed to the General, that the Governor and Admiral have precise orders to inform his Majesty's Govern- ment of all the wishes and representations which the General may desire to address to it ; in this respect they need not use any pre- caution. But the paper on whicn such request or representation is written must be communicated to them open, that they may both read it, and when they send it, accompany it with such obser- vations as they may judge necessair.
** Till the amval of the new Governor, the Admiral must be considered as entirely responsible for the person of General Buona- parte, and his Majesty has no doubt of the inclination of the present Governor to concur with the Admiral for that purpose. The Admiral has full power to retain the General on board his ship, or to convey him on board again, when, in his opnion, secure detention of his person cannot be otherwise efiected. When the Admiral arrives at St Helena, the Governor will, upon his representation, adopt measures for sending immediately to Eng- land, the Cape of Good Hope, or the East Indies, such officers or other persons, in the military corps of St Helena, as the Admiral, either because they are foreigners, or on accoimt of their character
374 BATTLB or WATEBLOa
or dispoeiticm, shall think it advisable to dismiss the militair ser- vice in St Helena.
** If there are strangers in the island, Whose residence in t> country shall seem to be with a view of becoming instromeiitel z the flight of General Buonaparte, he must take measures toreznoTr them. The whole coast of the island, and all ships and boats th^ \ visit it, are placed under the surveillance of the AdmiraL H^ | fixes the place which the boats may visit, and the Governor wil send a sunicient guard to the points where the Admiral shall con- aider this precaution as necessary.
** TI.e Admiral will adopt the most vigorous measures to waxr^ over tho arrival and departure of every ship, and to prevent £ } comm:iiiication with the coast, except such as he shall allow.
** Orders will be issued to prevent, after a certain necessary interval, any foreign or mercantile vessel going in future to Si Helena.
** If the General should be seized with serious illness, the Admiral and the Governor will each name a physidan, wk< enjoys their confidence, in order to attend the General in commcs with his own physician ; they will give them strict orders to givt? in, every davy a report on the state of his health. In case of hk death, me Admiral will give orders to convey his body to £i^ land"
" Given at the War Office, July 30, 1815."
''Foreign Office, August 26, 1815.
*' Lord Bathurst, one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries *d State, has this day notified, by command of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to the ministers of friendly powers residem at this court, that, in consequence of events which have happened in Europe, it has been deemed expedient, and determined, in con- junction with the Allied Sovereigns, that the Island of St» Helena shall be the place allotted for the Aiture residence of General Napoleon Buonaparte, under such regulations as may be necessazy for the perfect security of his person ; and for this purpose it his been resolved, that all foreign ships and vessels whatever shall be excluded fix>m all communication with, or approach to, this island, so long as the said island shall continue to be the place of residence of the said Napoleon Buonaparte."*
* Baonapute landed there on the I7th of October. — Vide p. 140.
Buonaparte's portfolio. 375
French Movements and Arrangements previous to the Battles OF THE 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th of June.
Suonaparte^B Portfolio — ExtractSy ^c from Letters, ^c* mostly in his own hand-writing, pretnous to the Battles,
"June 11. — Monsieur Count Lavellette, — As I said in my speech this day, that I should depart this night, I wish you would look to it, that no post-horses be taken from the road by which I travel ; that particular attention be paid to the persons to whom horses are given on the neighbouring roads; and that no courier, or estafette, be sent off.'*
Other letters, written this day, request Marshal Massena to take the command of the third and fourth divisions, and say, " Let Ney come if he wishes to be present at the first battle : he must be at Avesnes by the 13th, where my head-quarters will be."
" Acquaint Marshal Suchet that hostilities will commence on
the 16th, and on that day to make himself master of Montmeillaiu"
"June 11. — To the Prince of Eckmuhl (Davoust). — Look to
it, that 240 pieces of naval cannon be placed in battery by the
20th, that I may be without anxiety about the city of Pans."
Speaking of muskets, — " they must be sent quickly, that, when we are victorious, I may arm with them the peasants in Belgium, Liege, &c. Give me also a list of Belgian officers who are here. Send also a Belgian staff officer for the suite of the general sta£ These people may become necessary."
"June 11. — ^To the Minister of Marine. — I suppose that you have broken off all communication by sea, and that no person or packet-boat dare to pass any more, under any pretence. "June 12. — Set off from Paris and slept at Laon. " June 13. — Slept at Avesnes.
" Avesnes, June 13. — To the Major-general. — Give orders for the equipages of the pontoons to repair this evening behind Solre, on the road to Beaumont
"JunelS. — To the same. — Since General Vandamme is arrived at Beaumont, I do not think it proper to make him return to Phi- hppeville, wliich would fatigue his troops ; I prefer letting this general encamp in the first line, a league and a half from Beau- mont; I shall review his troops to-morrow. The sixth corps will then be placed a quarter of a league behind. In this case, the army of the Moselle will join to-morrow, near Philippeville ; the detachment of Cuirassiers, coming from Alsace, wm make this change in the general order.
" June 13. — To General Drouet — Give orders for the division composed of the Chasseurs and Red Lancers to repair this evening in advance of the Solre. Let all the divisions of Chasseurs like- wise repair to Solre. All the grenadiers at Avesnes, the gre-
376 BATTUB OF WATERLOO.
nadiers on horseback, and the dra^i^iis in advance of AvesnesL each corps will have its artillery with it ; the reserve artiliefy in advance of Aveanes.
** June 14. — Slept at Beaumont
"June 14. — To Prince Joseph. — Brother, — I remove mv hearl-quarters tliis evening to Beaumont: to-morrow, the loth, I shall advance to Charleroi, where the Prussian army is, which will occasion a battle, or the retreat of the enemy. The army is fine, and the weather pretty fair ; the country perfectly well disposed. I shall write this evening, if the commnmcations are to be made on the 16th ; mean time we must prepare. Adieu.
** To the Minister of War. I hope to pass the Sambre to- morrow, the 16th. If the Prussians do not evacuate, we shall have a battle. Suchet must take Montnieillan, and fortify himself there. Recommend that there be 10,000 muskets at Lyons to arm the National Guards. The 300 cannon of the marine must be placed in batteries at Paris ; let them be there before the 25tL
Lastly, let the company of cannoneer march — let them
ffo en diligence to Vmcenncs, on Thursday. Do not be too pro- digal of muskets to the Fiki^r^s ; we are in great want of th«ii
everywhere. I direct fix)m Maubeuge to Paris." — [The
blanks are for two words that we cannot decipher. The rest of the letter is quite unintelligible, except a few words ; we see that mention is made of the KhOne, of the Saone ; of Rapp, who is to defend Alsace to the utmost; of Befort, of Mame, &c. His imperial Majesty seems very uneasy about all this: he has much business on his hands at this moment, and never wrote with more precipitation*]
" Grtneral Order.
" AvetneSf June 14, 1815.
** Soldiers 1 — This day is the anniversary of Marengo and of Friedland, which twice decided the destiny of Europe. Then, as as after Austerlitz, as after Wagram, we were too generous 1 We believed in the protestations and in the oaths of princes whom we left on the throne ! Now, however, coalesced among themselves, they would destroy the independence and the most sacred rights of France. They have commenced the most unjust of aggres- sions. Let us march, then, to meet them. Are they and we no longer the same men ?
" Soldiers I at Jena, against these same Prussians, now so arrogant, you were one against three, and at Montniirail one against six I
'^' Let those among vou who have been prisoners of the English, detail to you the hulks and the frightful miseries which they suffered!
buonapabtb's fobtfouo. 377
'^ The Saxons, the Belmans, the Hanoverians, the soldiers of the Confederation of the Rhine, lament that they are compelled to lend their arms to the cause of princes, the enemies of justice and of the rights of all nations ; they know that this coalition is insa- tiable! After having devoured twelve millions of Poles, twelve millions of Italians, one million of Saxons, six millions of Belgians, it must devour the states of the second rank of Germany.
^* The madmen I a moment of prosperity blinds them. The oppression and humiliation of the Frencn people are beyond their pow^er. If they enter France, they will there find their tomb.
** Soldiers 1 we have forced marches to make, battles to fight, dangers to encounter ; but, with steadiness, victory will be ours — the rights, the honour, the happiness of ihe country will be re- conquered!
** To every Frenchmanwho has a heart, the moment is arrived to conquer or perish.
(Signed) " Napoleon."
** (A true copy),
" The Marshal Duke of Dalmaha, Major-generaL"
Beaumont , June \5ihy three in the morning.
To Prince Joseph. — Brother, the enemv being in motion to attack us, I march to meet him : hostilities will then begin to-day. Thus I desire that the communications which have been prepared may be made.
" Your afiectionate Brother."
" Charlerai, June I6th, 1815.— To the Minister at War.— My Cousin, — Send me all the Generals I have demanded, and par- ticularly General Mouton Duvemet; send me also General Lepie of the Guard ; he understands the use of the sabre (c^est un hon 8abreur)y and will do well in the Grenadiers."
" June 16<ft. — To Prince Joseph. — Brother, — The bulletin will inform you what is passed. I advance my head-quarters to Sombref ; we are all in motion. I much regret the loss of General Letort The loss yesterday was inconsiderable, and fell chieflv on the four squadrons of the Guard on duty. The confiscation of the property of the traitors, who hold meetings at Ghent, is necessary.
" Your affectionate Brother."
378 BATTLE or WATERIOa
FRENCH OFFICIAL* DETAIL
or THE BATTLES WITH THE PRUMi8IANS AND tSQUSHy WITH IOET's
0BSEBTATI05S.
Position of the Frendi Army.
On the 14th the army was placed in the following order:
The Imperial Head-quarters at Beaumont
The fin»t corps, conmianded bj General Count D'Erlon, was at Solre-sur-Sambre.
The second corps, commanded by General Reille, was at Haio- sur-Heure,
The third corps, commanded by General Yandamme, was cm the right of Beaumont
The fourth corps, commanded by General Girardy was airiving at Philipi)eville.
On the 15th, at three in the morning. General R^lle attacked the enemy, and advanced upon Marchiennes-au-Pont He bad several engagements, in which his cavalry charged a Prussian battalion, ana made 300 prisoners.
At one o'clock in tlie morning, the Emperor was at Jamignan- sur-Heure.
General D'Aumont's division of light cavalry sabred two Prussian battalions, and made 400 prisoners.
General Pajol entered Charleroi at noon. The sappers and the marines of the Guard were with the van to repair uie bridges. They penetrated the first into the town as sharpshooters.
General Clari, with the first raiment of hussars, advanced npm Gosselies, on the road to Brussels, and Genersd Pajol upon Gillj, on the road to Namur.
At three in the afternoon, General Vandamme, with bis corps, debouched upon Gilly.
Marshal Grouchy arrived with the cavalry of General Excelmans.
The enemy occupied the left of the position of Fleuros. At five o'clock in the aitemoon the Emperor ordered the attack. The position was turned and carried. Tne four squadrons on service of the Guard, conunanded by General Letort, broke three squares The 26th, 27th, and 28th Prussian raiments were put to the rout Our squadrons sabred 400 or 500 men, and made 150 prisoners.
During this time General Reille passed the Sambre, at
Marchiennes-au-Pont, to advance upon Gosselies, with the divisions
of Prince Jerome and General Bachelu, attacked the enemy, took
firom him 250 prisoners, and pursued him on the road to Bmssek
Thus we became masters of the whole position of Fleurus.
* fide foxther particnlan in the French Officer's Account, p. 80.
FBENCH OFFICIAL DETAIL. 379
At eight in the evening, the Emperor returned to his head- quarters at CharleroL Tnis day cost the enemy five pieces of camion, and 2000 men, of whom 1000 are prisoners. Our loss is 10 killed and 80 wounded, chiefly of the squadrons of service which made the charges, and of the three squadrons of the 20th Regiment of Dragoons, who also charged a square with j;he greatest intrepidity. Our loss, though trifling as to number, is sensibly felt by the Emperor, on account of the severe womid received by General Letort, his aide-de-camp, while charging at the head of the squadrons of service. This is an ofiicer of the most distinguished merit; he is wounded by a ball in the stomach, and the surgeon is apprehensive that his wound will prove mortal.
We have found some magazines at CharleroL The joy of the Belgians is not to be described. There are villages where, on the sight of their deliverers, they made dances; and everywhere it is a transport which comes from the heart
The Emperor has given the command of the left to the Prince of Moskwa, who had nis head-quarters, this evening, at Quatre Chemiers (Quatre Bras), on the road to Brussels.
The Duke of Treviso, to whom the Emperor had given the command of the Young Guard, has remained at Beaumont, being confined to his bed by a sciatica.
The fourth corps, commanded by General Girard, arrived this evening at ChUteL
General Girard reports, that Lieutenant^eneral Bourmont, Colonel Clouet, and Captain Villontrevs, of the cavalry, have gone over to the enemy. A Lieutenant of the 11th Chasseurs has also gone over to the enemy. The Major-general has ordered the sentence of the law to be pronounced against these deserters.
Nothing can paint the good spirit and the ardour of the army. It considers, as a happy event, the desertion of this small number of traitors who thus tiurow off the mask.
Battle of LiGnnr-uKDEB-FLEUBUs.
Paris, June 21.
On the morning of the 16th the army occupied the following position: —
The left wing, commanded by th^ Marshal Duke of Elchingen, and consisting of the 1st and 2d corps of infantry, and the 2d of cavalry, occupied the positions of Frasne.
The right wing, commanded by Marshal Grouchy, and com- posed of me 3d and 4th corps of infantry, and the 3d corps of cavalry, occupied the heights in rear of Fleurus.
The Emperor's head-quarters were at Charleroi, where were the Imperial Gxiard and the 6th corps.
The left wing had orders to inarch upon Quatre Bras, and the
380 BAITLB OP WAXBBLOa
xifjtii upon Sombref. The Emperor adranced to Fleams with lis
reserve.
Tlie a>Iumiis of T^Iurshal Grouchy being in march, perceiTed. after having passed Fleiu'us, the enemy's army, commanded by Fiold-marshal Ulucher, occupying with its left the heights of the mill of Bussy, tlie village of Sombref, and extending its cavalry a great way forward on tlie road to Namur; its right was at St Amand, and occu}>ie<l tliat larce village in great force, having before it a ravine which formed its position.
The Fmperor reeomioitred tlie strength and the positioiis of the enemy, and resolved to attack inmiediately. It became neces- sary to change front, the right in advance, and jHvoting upcxi Fleurus.
General Vandamme marched upon St Amand, General Girard upon Ligny, and Marshal Grouchy upon Sombre£ The 4th division of the 2d corjis, commanded by General Girard, marched in reserve behind the corps of General Vandamme. The Guard was drawn up on the heights of Fleurus, as well as the Cuirassiers of General MiUiaud.
At three in the afternoon these dispositions were finished. The division of General Lefol, forming part of the corps of General Vandamme, was first engaged, and made itself master of St Amand, whence it drove out the enemy at the point of the bayonet It kept its ground, during the whole of the engagement, at the burial- ground and steeple of St Amand; but that village, which is reiy extensive, was the theatre of various combats during the evening: the whole corps of General Vandamme was there engaged, an^l the enemy there fought in considerable force.
General Girard, placed as a reserve to the corps of General Vandamme, turned tlie village by its right, and fought there with his accustomed valour. The respective forces were supported on both sides by about 50 pieces of cannon each.
On the right. General Girard came into action with the 4th cori>3 at the vill.agc of Ligny, which was taken and retaken several times.
Marshal Grouchy, on the extreme right, and General Pajol, fought at die village of Sombref. The enemy showed from 80,000 to 90,000 men, and a great number of cannon.
At seven oVIock we were masters of all the villages situate on the bank of the ra^llle, which covered the enemy's position ; but he still occupied, with all his masses, the heights of the mill of Bussy.
The Emperor returned with his Guard to the village of Ligny; General Girard directed General Pecheux to d^bouoi with wliat remained of the reserve, almost all the troops having been engaged in that village.
Eight battalions of the Guard debouched with fixed bayonets.
FBEKCH OFFICIAL DETAIL. 381
and behind them four squadrons of the Guards, the Cuirassiers of General Delort, those of General Milhaud, and the grenadiers of the Horse Gnards. The Old Guard attacked with the bayonet the enemy's columns, which were on the heights of Bussy, and in an instant covered the field of battle with dead. The squadron of the Guard attacked and broke a square, and the Cuirassiers repulsed the enemy in all directions. At half-past nine o'clock we had forty pieces of cannon, several carriages, colours, and prisoners, and the enemy sought safety in a precipitate retreat At ten o'clock the battle was finished, and we found oui*selves masters of the field of battle.
Gfflieral Lutzow, a partisan, was taken prisoner. The prisoners assure us, that Field-marshal Bliicher was wounded. The flower of the Prussian army was destroyed in this battle. Its loss could not be less than 15,000 men. Oiurs was 3000 killed and wounded.
On the left, Marshal Ney had marched on Quatre Bras with a division, which cut in pieces an English division which was stationed there ; but being attacked by the Prince of Orange with 25,000 men, partlv English, partly Hanoverians in the pay of England, he retired upon his position at Frasne. There a multi- plicity of combats tooK place; the enemy obstinately endeavoured to force it, but in vain. The Duke of Elchingen waited for the 1st corps, which did not arrive till night; he confined himself to maintaining his position. In a square attacked by the 8th Regi- ment of Cuirassiers, the colours of the 69th Regiment of English infantry fell into our hands. The Duke of Brunswick was kuled. The Prince of Orange has been wounded. We are assured that the enemy had many personages and Generals of note killed or wounded ; we estimate the loss of the English at from 4000 to 5000 men ; ours on this side was very considerable, it amounts to 4200 killed or wounded. The combat ended with the approach of night. Lord Wdhngton then evacuated Quatre Bras, and proceeded to Genappe.
In the morning of the 17th the Eniperor repaired to Quatre Bras, whence he marched to attack the English army. He drove it to the entrance of the Forest of Soignies with the left wing and the reserve. The right wing advanced by Sombref in pursuit of Field-marshal Bliicher, who was going towards Wavre, where he appeared to wish to take a position.
At ten o'clock in the evening the English army occupied Mont St Jean with its centre, and was in position before the Forest of Soignies. It would have required three hours to attack it ; we were therefore obliged to postpone it till the next day.
The head-quarters of the Emperor were established at the &rm of Oaillon, near Planchenoit The rain fell in torrents. Thus, on the 16th, the left wing, the right, and the reserve, were equally engaged at a distance a£ about two leagues.
382 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
Battle of Moivt St. Jeah.
At nine in the morning, the rain havii^ somewhat abated^ the 1st corps put itself in motion, and phioeJ itself with the le^ on the roaa to Brussels, and opposite the village of Mont St. Jean, which appeared the centre of the enemy's position. The 2d coq» leaned its right upon the road to Brussels, and its left upon a small wood, within cannon-shot of the English army. The Cui- rassiers were in reserve behind, and the Guards in reserve upon the heights. The 6th corps, with the cavaliy of General D'Aumont, under the order of Count Lobau, was destined to proceed in rear of our right to oppose a Prussian corps, which appeared to have escaped Marshal G-rouchy, and to intend to fall U{x>n our right flank, — an intention which had been made known to us by our reports, and by the letter of a Prussian general enclosing an order of battle, and which was taken by our light troops.
The troops were full of ardour. We estimated the force of the English army at 80,000 men. We supposed that the Prussian corps, which might be in line towards the right, might be 15,000 men. The enemy's force, then, was upwards of 90,000 men, ours less numerous.
At noon, all the preparations being terminated. Prince Jerome, commanding a division of the second corps, and destined to form the extreme left of it, advanced upon the wood of which the enemy occupied a part The cannonade began. The enemy supported with thirty pieces of cannon the troops he had sent to keep the wood. We made also on our side dispositions of ar- tillery. At one o'clock Prince Jerome was master of all the woo({, and the whole English army fell back behind a curtain. Count D'Erlon then attacked the village of Mont St. Jean, and supported his attack with eighty pieces of cannon, which must have occasioned great loss to the English army. All the efforts were made towards the ridge. A brigade of the 1st division of Count D'Erlon took the village of Mont St Jean ; a second brigade was charged by the corps ot English cavalry, which occasioned it much loss. At the same moment a division of English cavalry charged the battery of Count D'Erlon by its right, and disorganised several pieces; but the Cuirassiers of General Milhaud cnaiged that division, three regiments of which were broken and cut up.
It was three in the afternoon. The Emperor made 'the Guard advance, to place it in the plain upon the ground which the first corps had occupied at the outset of the battle, this corps bein^ already in advance. The Prussian division, whose movement had been roreseen, then engaged with the light troops of Count Lobau, spreading its fire upon our whole right flank. It was expedient.
FRENCH OFFICIAL DETAIL. 383
before undertaking anything elsewhere, to wait for the event of this attack. Hence, all the means in reserve were ready to succour Count Lobau, and overwhelm the Prussian corps when it should be advanced.
This done, the Emperor had the design of leading an attack upon the village of Mont St Jean, from which we expected decisive success; but by a movement of impatience, so frequent in our military annals, and which has often been so fatal to us, the cavalry of reserve having perceived a retrograde movement made by the English to shelter themselves from our batteries, from which they suffered so much, crowned the heights of Mont St. Jean, and charged the infantry. This movement, which made in time, and supported by the reserves, must have decided the day, made in an isolated manner, and before affairs on the right were terminated, became fatal.
Having no means of countermanding it, the enemy showing many masses of cavalry and infantry, and our two divisions of Cui- rassiers being engaged, all our cavalry ran at the same moment to support their comrades. There for three hours numerous charges were made, which enabled us to penetrate several squares, and to take six standards of the light infantry ; an advantage out of pro- portion with the loss which our cavaL^ experienced by the grape- shot and musket^firing. It was impossible to dispose of our re- serves of in&ntry until we had repulsed the flanK attack of the Prussian corps. This attack always prolonged itself perpen- dicularly upon our r^ht flank. The Emperor sent thither General Duhesme, with the Young Guard and several batteries of reserve ; the enemv was kept in check, repulsed, and fell back: he had exhausted his forces, and we had nothing more to fear. It was this moment that was indicated for an attack upon the centre of the enemy. As the Cuirassiers suffered by the grape-shot, we sent four battalions of the Middle Gnard to protect the Cuirassiers, keep the position, and, if possible, disengage and draw back into the plain a part of our cavalry.
Two other battalions were sent to keep themselves en potence upon the extreme left of the division, which had manoeuvred upon our flanks, in order not to have any uneasiness on that side. The rest were disposed in reserve, part to occupy the potence in rear of Mont St Jean, part upon the ridge in rear of the field of battle, which formed our position of retreat.
In this state of affairs the battle was gained. We occupied all the positions which the enemy occupied at the outset of the battle. Our cavalry having been too soon and ill-employed, we could no longer hope for decisive success ; but Marshal Grouchy having learned the movement of the Prussian corps, marched upon the rear of that corps, which insured us a signal success for next day. After eight hours' fire and charges of infentry and cavalry, all the
384 SATTLE or WAXKBLOa
army saw with joy the battle gained, and the field of battle in oor power.
At half afU'r eight oVlock the four battalions of the Middle Guard, who had been Rent to the ridge on the other side of Misxi St. Jean in order to BU[)port the Cuirassiers, bein^ greatly an- noyed by tlie grape-shot, endeavoured to carry the batteries ^ith tlie bayonet At the end of the day, a charge directed against then- flank by several Em^Iish squadrons put them in disorder. Tbe fugitives recrossed the ravine. Several regiments near at hand, seeing some troojjs belonging to the Guard in confusion, believed it was the Old Guard, and, m consequence, were thrown into disorder. Cries of "All is last I the Guard is driven back ! ^ were bearl on every side. The soldiers pretend even, that on many pdnts ill- dis[K>sed persons crici out, " Sauve quipeut! " However this mav be, a complete panic at once spread itself throughout the whole field of battle, and they threw themselves in the greatest disorder on the line of communication. Soldiers, cannoneers, caissons, all press»l to tliis point The Old Guard, which was in reserve^ was infected, and was itself hurried along.
In an instant the whole army was nothing but a mass of con- fusion* All the soldiers, of all arms, were nnxed pele-mele, and it was utterly impossible to rally a single corps, ihe enemy, who perceived this astonishing confusion, immediately attacked, with their cavalry, and increased the disorder; and such was the con- fusion, owing to night coming on, that it was impossible to rallv the troops, and pomt out to them thdr error. Thus, a battle terminated, a day of fiilse manoeuvres rectified, the greatest soo^ss insured for the next day — all was lost by a moment of panic terror. Even the squadrons of service^ drawn up by the side of the Emperor, were overthrown and disorganised by these tomultnous waves, and there was then nothing else to be done bat to follow the torrent The parks of reserve, the baggage which had not repassed the Sambre, in short, everything that was on the fidd of battle, remained in the power of the enemy. It was impossible to wait for tlie troops on our right— every <me knows what the bravest army in the world is when thus mixed and thrown into confiiaioD, and when its organisation no longer exists.
The Emperor crossed the Sambre at Charleroi at five o'clock in the morning of the IQth. Philippeville and Avesues have been given as the points of re-union. Prince Jerome, General Morand, and other generals, have there already rallied a part of the army. Marshal Grouchy, with the corps on the right, is moving <mi the Lower Sambre.
The loss of the enemy must have been very great, if we may judge from the number of standards we have taken irom them, and from the retrograde movements which he made. Ours cannot be calculated till after the troops shall have been collected. Before
MABSHAL NEY S ACCOUNT. 385
the disorder broke out, we had already experienced a very con- siderable loss, particularly in our cavalry, so fatally, though so bravely engaged. Notwithstanding these losses, this brave cavalry constantly kept the position it had taken from the English, and only abandoned it when the tumult and disorder of the field of battle forced it In the midst of the night, and the obstacles which encumbered their route, it could not preserve its own organization.
The artillery has, as usual, covered itself with glory. The carriages belonging to the head-quarters remained in their ordinary position, no retrograde movement being judged necessary. In the course of the night they fell into the enemy's hands.
Such has been tne issue of the battle of Mont St. Jean, glorious for the French armies, and yet so fatal.
The Prince of Moskwa (Mabshal Net) to ms Excellency the
Duke of Otranto.
"M. le Due, — ^The most false and defamatory reports have been spreading for some days over the public mind upon the conduct which I have pursued during this short and unfortunate campaign. The journals have reported those odious calumnies^ and appear to lend them credit After having fought for twenty- five years for my country — after having shed my blood for its glory and independence — an attempt is made to accuse me of treason — an attempt is made to mark me out to the people and the army itself as the author of the disaster it has just experienced*
^' Forced to break silence, while it is always painful to speak of one's self, and above all to answer calumnies, I address myself to you. Sir, as the President of the Provisional Government, for the
Eurpose of laying before you a faithful statement of the events I ave witnessed. On the 11th of June I received an order from the Minister of War to repair to the Imperial presence. I had no command, and no information upon the composition and strength of the army. Neither the Emperor nor his minister had given me any previous hint from which I could anticipate that I should be employed in the present campaign; I was, consequently, taken by surprise, without horses, without accoutrements, and without money, and I was obliged to borrow the necessary expenses of my journey. Having arrived on the 12th at Laon, on the 13th at Avesnes, and on the 14th at Beaumont, I purchased, in this last city, two horses from the Duke of Treviso, with which I repaired, on the 15th, to Charleroi, accompanied by my first aide-de-camp, the only ofBcCT who attended me. I arrived at the moment when the enemy, attacked by our troops, was retreating upon Fleums and Gosselies.
CO
386 BATTLE OF WATEBLOa
'' The Emperor ordered me immediately to put myself at ^ head of the Ist aiid 2d corps of infantry, commanded by Lieo- tenant^nerals D'Erlon and Reille, of the divisions of l^fat cavabr of Lieutenant-general Pine, of the division of light cavalry of tfae Guard imder Sie conmiand of Lieutenant-generals LefebTre Des- nouettes and Colbert, and of two divisions of cavalry of the Coant Valmy, forming, in all, eight divisi(»is of infantry and four of cavalry. With these troops, a part of which only I had as yet under my immediate command, I pursued the enemy, and forced him to evacuate Gosselies, Frasnes, Millet, Hepp^nies. There they took up a position for tlie night, with the exception of the 1st coq)s, which was still at Marchiennes, and which cud not join me till the following day.
** On the 16th I received orders to attack the English in their position at Quatre Bras. We advanced towards the enemy with an enthusiasm difficult to be described. Nothing resisted our im- petuosity. The battle became general, and victory was no longer doubtful, when, at the moment tnat I intended to order up the first corps of infimtry, which had been left by me in reserve at Frasnes, I learned that the Emperor had disposed of it without advising me of the circumstance, as well as of the division of Girard of the second corps, on purpose to direct them upon St Amand^ and to strengthen his left wing, which was vigorously engaged with the Prussians. The shock which this intelligence gave me confounded me. Having no loneer under me more uian three divisions, instead of the eight upon which I calculated, I was obliged to rraiounce the hemes of victory ;, and in spite of all my efforts, in spite of the intrepidi^ and devoticm of my troops, my utmost efforts after that could only maintain me in my position till the close of the day. About nine o'clock the first corps was sent me by the Emperor, to whom it had been of no service. Thus 25 or 30,000 men were, I n^7 sfty* paralysed, and were idly paraded during the whole of the battle m>m the right to the left, and the Idh to the right, without firing a shot.
*^ It is impossible for me. Sir, not to arrest your attention for a moment upon these details, in order to bring liefore your view all the consequences of this false movement, and, in general^ of die bad arrangements during the whole of the day. By what &tality, for example, did the Emperor, instead of leadiug all his forces against Lord Wellington, who would have been attacked unawares, and could not have resisted, consider this attack as 8ec(»daiT? How did the Emperor, after the passage of the Sambre, conceive it possible to fight two battles on we same day ? It was to impose forces double ours, and to do what milita^ men who were wit- nesses of it can scarcely yet comprehend. Inst^ of this, had he ' left a corps of observation to watch the Prussians, and marched with his most powerful masses to support me, the TJ^Ii^fh army
MAKSHAL net's ACCOUNT, 387
liad undoubtedly been destroyed between Quatre Bras and Ge- nappe ; and this position, which separated the two Allied armies, being once in our power, would have opened for the Emperor an opportunity of advancing to the right of the Prussians, and of crushing them in their turn. The general opinion in France, and especially in the army, was, that the Emperor would have bent his whole efforts to annihilate first the English army ; and circum* stances were favourable for the accomplishment of such a project: but fate ordered otherwise.
" On the 17th, the army marched in the direction of Mont St. Jean.
" On the 18th, the battle began at one o'clock, and though the bulletin which details it makes no mention of me, it is not neces- sary for me to mention that I was engag^ in it. Lieutenant- feneral Count Drouet* has already sp^en of that battle in the louse of Peers. His narration is accurate, with the exception of some important facts which he has passed over in silence, or of which he was ignorant, and which it is now my dutv to declare. About seven o'clock in the evening, after the most mght^ car- nage which I have ever witnessed. General Labedoyere came to me with a message from the Emperor, that Marshal Grouchy had arrived on our right, and attacked tlie left of the English and Prussians imited This general o£Bcer, in riding along the lines, spread this intelligence among the soldiers, whose courage and devotion remained imshaken, and who gave new proofs of tnem at that moment, in spite of the fatigue which they experienced. Im- mediately after, what was my astonishment, I should rather say indignation, when I learned, that so far from Marshal Grouchy having arrived to support us^ as the whole army had been assured, between 40 and 50,006 Prussians attacked our extreme right, and forced it to retire !
" Whether the Emperor was deceived with regard to the time when the Marshal could support him, or whether the march of the Marshal was retarded by the efforts of the enemy longer than was calculated upon, the fact is, that at the moment when his arrival was announced to us, he was only at Wavre upon the Dyle, which to us was the same as if he had been a hundim leagues from the fidd of battle.
" A short time afterwards I saw four regiments of the Middle Guard, conducted by the Emperor, arriving. With these troops he wished to renew the attack, and to penetrate the centre of the enemy. He ordered me to lead them on ; generals, o£Bcers, and soldiers all displayed the greatest intrepidity; but this body of troops was too weak to resist, for a long time, the forces opposed to it by the enemy, and it was soon necessary to renounce the
* Vide p. 223 for this officer's account of the battle.
388 BATTLIS OF WATEBLOO.
hope which this attack had, for a few moments, inspired. Generd Friant had been struck with a ball by my side, and I myself had my horse killed, and fell under it The brave men who will re- turn from this terrible battle will, I hope, do me the justice to say, that thej saw me on foot with sword in hand daring the woole of the evening, and that I only quitted the scene of carnage among the last, and at the moment when retreat could no longer be prevented. At the same time the Prussians continaed their offensive movements, and oiur right sensibly retired ; the English advanced in their turn. There remained to us still four squares of the Old Guard to protect the retreat These brave grenadiers, the choice of the army, forced successively to retire, yielded ground foot by foot, till, overwhelmed by numbers, they were almost entirely annihilated. From that moment a retrograde move- ment was declared, and the army formed nothing but a conAised mass. There was not, however, a total rout, nor the cry of *Sautt quipeutP as has been calumniously stated in the bulletiiu As for myself, constantly in the rear guard, which I followed on foot, having all my horses killed, worn out with fatigue, covered with contusions, and having no longer strength to march, I owe my life to a corporal who supported me on the road, and did not absmdon me during the retreat At eleven at night I found Lieutenant-gene- ral Lefebvre Desnouettes, and one of his officers. Major Schmidt, had the generosity to give me the only horse that remained to him. In this manner I arrived at Marchiennes-au-Pont at four o'clock in the morning, alone, without any officers of my staff, ignorant of what had become of the Emperor, who, before the end of the battle, had entirely disappeared, and who, I was allowed to believe, might be either killed or taken prisoner. General Pamphele Lacroix, chief of the staff of the second corps, whom I found in this city, having told me that the Emperor was at Charleroi, I was led to suppose that his Majesty was going to put himself at the head of Marshal Grouchy's corns, to cover the oambre, and to facilitate to the troops the means ot rallying towards Avesnes, and with this persuasion I went to Beaumont; but parties of cavalry following on too near, and having already intercepted the roads of Maubeuge and Philippeville, I became sensible of the total impos- sibility of arresting a single soldier on that point to oppose the progress of the victorious enemy. I continued my march upon Avesnes, where I could obtain no intelligence of what had become of the Emperor.
" In this state of matters, having no knowledge of his Majesty nor of the Majofi^ggneral, confusion increasing every moment, and, with the-exception of some fragments of regunents of the Guard and of the line, every one followed his own inclination, I detei> ' i^^V J. ^ mined inunediately to go to Paris by St Quentin, to disclose, as quickly as possible, the true state of affairs to the Minister of War,
HABSHAL DE OBOUCHT's REPORT. 389
that he might send to the army some fresh troops, and take the measures which circumstances rendered necessary. At my arrival at Bourget, three leagues from Paris, I learned that the Emperor had passed there at nine o'clock in the morning.
^' Such, M. le Due, is a history of this calamitous campaign.
'^ Now, I ask those who have survived this fine and nume- rous army, how I can be accused of the disasters of which it has been the victim, and of which your military annals furnish no example? I have, it is said, betrayed my country — I who, to serve it, have shown a zeal which I, perhaps, have carried to an extravagant height; but this calumny is supported by no fact, by no circumstance. But how can these odious reports', which spread with frightful rapidity, be arrested ? If, in the researches which I could mase on this subject, I did not fear almost as much to^ discover as to be ignorant of the truth, I would say, that all has a tendency to convmce that- 1 h^ve been unworthily deceived, and that it is attempted to cover, with the pretence of treason, the faults and extravagances of this campaign; faults which have not been avowed in the bulletins that have appeared, and against which I in vain used that voice of truth which I will yet cause to resound in the House of Peers. I expect, from me candour of your Excellency, and from your indulgence to me, that you will cause this letter to be inserted in the ^ Journal,' and give it the greatest possible publicity,
" I renew to your Excellency, &c.
" Marshal Prince of Moskwa." '' Paris, June 26, ISU:'
Report addressed to the Emperor bt Marshal De Gboucht.
" Dinant, June 20lhy 1815.
**It was not till after seven in the evening of the 18th of June, that I received the letter of the Dtuce of Dalmatia, which directed me to march on St. Lambert, and to attack General Bulow. I fell in with the enemy as I was marching on Wavre. He was immediately driven into Wavre, and General Yandamme's corps attacked that town, and was warmly engaged. The portion of Wavre on the right of the Dyle was carried, but much difficulty was experienced in debouching on the other side. General Girard was wounded by a ball in the breast, while endea- vouring to carry the mill of Bielge, in order to pass the river, but in which he did not succeed, and Lieutenant-general Aix had been killed in the attack on the town. In this state of thin^, being impatient to co-operate with your Majesty's army on that important day, I detached several corps to force the pas-.
390 BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
sage of the Dyle, and inarch against Bulow. The corp c^ Vandamme, in the meantime, maintained the attacks of ^ aire, and on the mill, whence the enemy showed at iutention to de- bouche, but which I did not conceive he was capable of eflecdng. I arrived at Limale, passed the river, and tlie heights were car- ried by the division of Vichery and the cavalry. Night did not permit ns to advance farther ; and I no longer heard the canncm on the side where your Majesty was engaged.
" I halted in this situation untu daylight Wavre and Bielge were occupied by the Prussians, who, at three in the morning of the 18th, attacked in their turn, wishing to take advantage of the difficult position in which I was, and expecting to drive me into the dcnle, and take the artillery which had debouched, and make me repass the Dyle* Their efforts were fniitless. The Prussians were repulsed, and the village of Bielge taken. The brave General Penny was killed.
''Greneral Vandamme then passed one of his divisions by Bielge, and carried with ease the heights of Wavre^ and along the whole of my line the success was complete. I was in front of Rozieme, preparing to nuurch on Brussels, when I received the sad intelligence of the loss of the battle of Waterloo. The officer who brought it informed me that your Majesty was retreating <hi the Sambre, without being able to indicate any particular point on which I should direct my mai^L I ceased to pursue, and b^^an my retrograde movement The retreating enemy did not think of followmg me. Learning that the enemy had akeadj passed the Sambre, and was on my flank, and not being suffi- ciently strong to make a diversion in favour of your Majesty, with- out compromising that which I commanded, I marched on Namur. At this moment the rear of the columns was attacked. That of the left made a retrograde movement sooner than was expected, which endangered, for a moment, the retreat of the left ; but good dispositions soon repaired everything, and two pieces which had be^ taken were recovered by the brave 20th Dragoons, who, besides, took an howitzer from the enemy. We entered Namoi without loss. The long defile which extends from this place to Dinant, in which only a single column can march, and the embar- rassment arising from the numerous transports of wounded, ren- dered it necessary to hold for a considerable time the town, in which I had not die means of blowing up the bridge. I entrusted the defence of Namur to General Vandamme, who, with his usual intrepiditv, maintained himself there till eight in the evening ; so that nothmg was left behind, and I occupi^ Dinant
*^ The enemy has lost some thousands of men in the attack on Namur, where the contest was very obstinate ; the troops have performed their duty in a manner worthy of praise.
(Signed) " De Gboucht."
TREATY BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE ALLIED POWERS. 391
Protocol of the Conference between the Plenipotentiahies
OF AusTRU, Rnssu> Great Britain, Prussu, and France,
ON Monday the 2d of October, 1815.
''After various declarations and conferences between the Pleni- potentiaries of Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, on the one side, and the Duke of Richelieu, appointed Plenipoten- tiary of his Majesty the King of France, on the other, it has been agreed upon to-day, that the relations between France and the Allied Powers, armed for the re-establishment and maintenance of the general peace, shall be definitively regulated upon tlie foUowingbasis : —
" 1. The boundaries of France as they were in 1790, firom the North Sea to the Mediterranean, shall form the fundamental principles of the territorial arrangements, so that those districts and territories of former Belgium, of Grermany, and Savoy, which, by the Treaty of Paris of 1814, were annexed to oLa France, shall remain separated therefrom.
** 2. Where this principle is departed from, the boundaries of 1790 shall be modified ana better arranged, according to mutual conventions and interests, both in regard to civil jurisdiction, so as to cut off inclosed districts and assign on both sides a more regular territory, and also in regard to military jurisdiction, so as to strengthen certain weak parts of the boundaries of the cen- terminous countries.
^^ In conformity to this rainciple, France cedes to the Allies, —
'^ Landau, Saarlouis, JPhilippeville, and Marienburg, with those circles of territory which are more fully laid down in the plan of Treaty proposed by the four Allied cabinets on the 20th September.
'^ Versoy, with the necessary territory, shall be ceded to the Helvetic Confederation, in order to bring the Canton of Greneva in direct communication mth Switzerlam ; and the French line of customs shall be there estabUshed, in the manner most con- venient for the administrative system of both countries.
" The works of Huningen shall be d^nolished. The French Govemm^it binds itself to canect no others within a distance of three leagues from Basle.
" France relinquishes her rights to the principality of Monaco.
^' On the other hand, the possession, of Avigpon and the Yenaissin, as well as of the county of Mompd^ard, and the pos- session of every other teriitory which is included within the French line, shall be anew secured to France.
''3. France pays to the Allied Powers, by way of indemnity for the expenses of tneir last armaments, the sum of 700 millions of
392 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
francs. A special Commission shall fix the mode, the periods, and the securities for this payment
** 4, A military line of the following seventeen fortresses, viz. : Conde, Valenciennes, Bouchain, Cambray, Le Quesnoy, Mau- henge, Landrecies, Avesnes, Rocroy, Givet, Meriferes, Sedan, Mommedy, Thionville, Longwy, Bitche, and the Bridge-head of Fort Louis, shall be occupied by an army of 150,000 men, which the Allied Powers shall appoint. This army, which shall be placed under the command of a General chosen by these Powers, shall be wholly maintained at the expense of France.
^* A sjiecial Commission shall fix all that relates to its main- tenance, which shall be regulated in the best way for supphnn^ all the wants of the army, and, at the same time, the least buraen- some for the country.
'' The longest duration of this military occupation is fixed at five years. However, on the expiration of three years, aft^ the Allied Sovereigns have weighed the situation of things and of mutual interests, as well as the advances which may have been made in the restoration of order and tranquillity in r ranee, they will come to a common decision with the ^ing of France, whether the above term of years mav be shortened.
" The Plenipotentiaries having definitively adopted these bases, have concerted upon the course to be adopted, in order to arrive, in the shortest possible time, at a formal arrangement, and have consequently determined, —
*' 1. That a general Treaty shall be drawn up, upon the basis above laid down, and adding to them such articles as, by common consent, shall be judged necessary to complete it The French Government will nommate, on its part, the person who is to unite with those whom the four Powers nave charged with the drawing up of the Treaty.
*^ 2. That th^ Conmiissioners appointed for the military afiairs shall proceed, conjointly with' the Commissioners whom the French Government shall appoint for this purpose, to draw up a plan of Convention to regulate every thing relative to the military occu- pation, and to the support of the army employed in this occupa- tion. The same Commissioners shall also aetermine the manner and the periods of the evacuation of all such parts of the French territory as are not comprehended within the line of the military occupation.
^* 3. That a special Commission, appointed for that purpose by the contracting parties, shall draw up, without delay, a plan of Convention to r^ulate the mode, the periods, and the guarantees of the payment of the 700,000,000 of francs, to be stipulated by the general Treaty.
'*4. The Commission formed to examine the reclamations of several Powers, relatively to the non-execution of certain articles
TREATT BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE ALLIED FOWEBS. 393
of the Treaty of Paris, shall continue its labours, with the under- standing that it is to communicate them as soon as possible to the Plenipotentiaries in the principal negociation.
*^5. That as soon as these Commissioners shall have termi- nated their labours, the Plenipotentiaries shall unite to examine the results of them, — to determine on the definitive arrangements, — and to sign the principal Treaty, as well as the different parti- c\dar Conventions. This process verbal having been read, the Plenipotentiaries have approved it, and
(Signed) " Rastmowskt, Wessenbbro,
Castlereagh, Capo d'Istria,
Richelieu, Humboldt,
Wellington, Hardbnberq."
"London, Foreign Office, Nov. 23, 1815.
" Mr. Planta arrived early this morning from Paris, with the several Treaties and Conventions for the restoration and mainten- ance of peace between his Britannic Majesty and his Allies on one part, and his Most Christian Majesty on the other; signed at Paris, on Monday, the 20th instant, by Lord Viscount Castle- reagh and the Field-marshal his Gfrace the Duke of Wellington, as Plenipotentiaries of his Majesty, and by the Due de Richdieu, as Plenipotentiary of his Most Christian Majesty."
The combined Forces of the Allied Armies tohich came into France
are estimated as follows :
English and Hanoverians . . . 80,000
Prussians ...... 250,000
Austrians 250,000
Bavarians and Wirtembergers . . . 110,000
Russians 200,000
Total . . . 890,000
Adding to this the Staff, with the Sovereigns, &c. nearly 1,000,000.
The Generals appointed to the command of the 150,000 troops to remain in France, viz. —
England, Duke of Wellington, Russia, General Woronzow. AusTBiA, General Frimont Pbussia, General Gneisenau.
The chief command to be with the Duke of Wellington, Paris is to be occupied by from 10 to 12,000 English, in barracks.
These forces will have a certain number of fortresses, as points d^amm, in case of any revolutionary movement They will be weU supplied with field artillery, besides that of the fortresses; having among them not less than 500 pieces of cannon.
'
PART III.
ALPHABETICAL LIST
OF THE
OFFICERS KILLED AND WOUNDED,
AHD
REGIMENTAL LOSS,
FROM THE OFFICIAL RETURNS:
WITH AS SNUMBSATIOH OF
THE WATERLOO HONOURS AND PRrVTLEGES,
AND OF THOSE ENTITLED THEBETO ;
AS ALSO THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO WERE ADMITTED INTO THE
MOST HONOURABLE MILITARY ORDER OF THE BATH,
AND ORDERS OF THE ALLIED SOVEREIGNS :
A LIST OF OFFICERS EMPLOYED,
ABBAKOED IN REGIMENTAL OBDEB ;
AND
AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF EVERY OFFICER SERVING IN THE CAMPAIGN OF THE
NETHERLANDS.
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF KILLED AND WOUNDED,
Fbom thx Official Bbtubms, June 10 to Jums 26, 1815.
A.
Ck>l. Hon. A. Abercromby, Ass. Qua.
Maat. Oen. Cold. F. O. w, Lieut. Acres, 78 F. nnce dead, Capt. Adair, 1 F. 0. do. Maj.-Oen. Adam, Mev* w. lieut. Albert, I Lt. Inf. K. G. Leg. k. Ensign Alderson, 38 F. mv. ri^hi tartn
Lieat. Alstone, 1 F. w,
lient-Gen. Sir C. Alten, E.C.B. «ev. w,
A^j.-Iient. Anderson, 71 F. w,
Lieut. Anderson, 52 F. <ev. Uft kg amp.
Ensign Anderson, 1 F. k.
Ensign Anderson, 69 F. sev,
Ac^.-Lieut. Andrews, 30 F. tr.
Lieut. Anthony, 40 F. iev.
Ensign Appuhn, 4 line, Ger. Leg. uv.
Lieut. Armstrong, 1 F. k,
Lieut. Arnold, 10 Dr. iev.
Migor Arquimbeau, 1 F. w,
Capt. Ashton, 8 F. G. k.
Col. Askew, 1 F. G. tev. w,
B.
Lieut. Bacon, 10 Dr. iev. lieut.- Col. Bailey, 80 F. itv. Ensign Bain, 88 F. tev. Lieut. Baird, 8 F. G. <ev. Lieut. Baring, 1 Huss. K. G. L. tr. Col. Sir A. F. Barnard, K.C.B. 95 F. w. Captain Barnard, 2 Dr. k. Major-Gen. SirE. Barnes, K. C.B. A^j.-
Gen. «ev. w, Capt. Bameli, 40 F. sev. Lieut. Bair, 82 F. sev. Lieut. Barrallier, 71 F. w. Lieut Barton, 1 F. G. tev. Lieut Hon. S. Bairington, I F. G. k. Capt Battersby, 1 Dr. G. *. Ijeut BaUy, 1 F. G. w. Capt Baynes, B. Art w, H^jor Beane, R Art k. Capt Beardesley, 51 F. $ev. lieut Beatty, 7 Dr. tev. Ensign Becher, 92 F. A.
M^jor Beokwith, Ass. Qua. Mast Gen.
95 F. tev, Lieut Beere, 80 F. k. Ensign Behne, 1 Ft Inf. Ger. Leg. tev. Lieut-Col. Sir G. H. Berkeley, E.C.B.
35 F. Ass. Acy. Gen. tev. Ensign Bennett, 32 F. tev. Lieut Berger, 5 line, K. G. L. iev. Comet Hon. H. Bernard, 1 Dr. Guards,
kilUd. Lieut. Bertie, 12 Dr. k. Lieut. Birtwhistle, 82 F. tev. Ensign Birtwhistle, S'Z F. tev, Lieut. Black, 91 F. w. Lieut Black, 1 F. tp. Ci^t Blackman, Cold. F. G. k. Capt Blackwood, 69 F. k. M%jor Blair, Brig. M^j. 91 F. tev, Lieut Blois, 1 Dr. tr. lieut Bloomfield, Boy. Art. w, lieut Boase, 32 F. tev. Capt. Bobers, K. G. L. Brig. M^jor, k, M^jor Boden, 3 line, K. G. L. tev, Capt. Bolton, R. Art it M%jor Basewell, 2 Lt Inf. E. G. L. k, lieut Bosse, 1 Lt Dr. E. G. L. w. lieut Baron Both, 4 line, E. G. L. tp. lieut Bouyerie, R. H. G. tr. lieut-Col. Bowater, 8 F. G. w. Capt. Bowles, 28 F. tev, lieut Bowers, 18 Dr. w, lieut- Col. Boyce, 18 Dr. w. Capt. Boyce, 82 F. tince dead, Lieut Boyoe, 83 F. k. lieut Boyd, 4 F. tev. Capt Boyle, 42 F. tev. Capt Baron Bothmer, 1 Lt Dr. E. G. L.
tev. lieut -Col. Sir H. Bradford, E. C. B. 1
F. G. Ass. Qua. Mast Gen. tev. lieut Brander, 42 F. w. Ensign BranweU, 92 F. tev, right leg
etnvp, Capt Brann, Art E. G. L. tev* lieut Brereton, R. Art tev. Ensign Bridge, 78 F. tev, A<iy.-Iieut Bridgland, 28 F. tev.
398
BATTLB or WATEBLOa
Ctpt Hon. O. Bridgeman, Aide-de-camp
to Loid IlilU 1 F. a. w, Af^.-Lt. BriDckinann, 8 line, K. G. L.
Mi^or Bringhnnit, I Dr. O. k.
Lieat Brooke, I I)r. O. k,
lieut Bnnm, 79 F. $ev.
lieuL-Col. Brown, 79 F. aev,
('apt. Brown, 1 F. 0. *.
Lieut. Browne, 73 F. 9ev. mum dead,
Ijeat. Hon. M. Browne, iO F. «ev.
Capu Browne, 0 Dr. iev.
Lieut. Browne, 4 F. «t.
LienU Brooke, 1 Dr. G. aev. Nusfuiy, cirp*
pa$ed to have been kUUd. Lieut. Brookes, 32 F. ir. 2 Lieut. Bmce, 1 Dr. G. eev. (^apt. Bruce, 79 F. tev. Adj.-Lieut. Bruggeman, 8 Huaa. K.G.L.
kUUd, Capt. Bnigh, 44 F. $ev» LieuL-Gen. Duke of Brunswick- Oela,
kilUd, Capt. Buchanan, 10 Dr. A. Lieut. Buck, 33 F. k, Lieut. H. Buckle J, 19 Dr. nace dead. Capt. Buckley, I F. *. Lt.*Col. Baron Bnlow, 1 Ll Dr. K. O. L.
eev. Capt. Burgess, 1 F. G. thigh amp, Capt. Bulow, 2 Lt. Dr. G. Leg. *. Lieut. Burke, 44 F. arv. Migor Bull, R. Art. ar. Knsign Buller, 80 F. k, CapL Buney, 44 F. jev Migor H. Baron Bussche, 1 Lt. Inf« K.
G. Leg. l^ arm amp, Lieut. Busteed, 69 F. eev. Lieut. Butterworth, 32 F. w, Lieut W. Byam, 13 Dr. eev. Lieut. £. Byam, 13 F. w.
C.
Mijor Caimes, R. Art. k, M^jor A. Cameron, 93 R. B. eev» Col. I. Cameron, 92 F. nnce dead, LieuU-Col. D. Cameron, 79 F. 9ev4 Lieut.-CoI. Cameron, "/OF. eev, Lieut. £. Cameron, 79 F. eev, Lieut. A. Cameron, 79 F. tr. A4J.-Lient Cameron, 1 F. eev, Lieut. D. Cameron, 79 F. eev. Lieut. J. Cameron, 33 F. nnce dead, Lieut. Donald Cameron, 95 F. tr. 1 Capt. John Cameron, 79 F. eince dead. Lieut. -Col. C. Campbell, 1 Ft eev, Lieut. Campbell, 32 F. eev, Lieut. Campbell, 44 F. tr. Lieut. Campbell, 40 F. tr. Capt. Neil Campbell, 79 F. eev, Capt. Campbell, 92 F. eev, Capt. Campbell, 71 F. tr. Capt. Jamee Campbell, 79 F. eev.
Lieut.- Col. Canning, Aide-de-camp to tks D. of Wellington, 3 F. G. eimee deed.
Lieut. Carey, 2 LL Inf. IL G. L. ir.
lieut. Carmthers, 28 F. «rv.
Lieut. Carruthers, 2 Dr. amoe dead.
Capt. Cassan, 82 F. eev.
Lieut. Cathcart, 91 F. do,
M^or (Hiambers, 30 F. A.
Capt. Chambers, 1 F. G. Aide-de-eaaip to Sir T. Picton, k.
Capt. C. Chawner, 93 F. arr.
Lieut Chisholm, 92 F. A.
Lieut. Chisholm, 42 F. ir.
Lieut Crichtun, 10 Dr. eev.
Ensign Christie, 44 F. do.
Migor Chuden, 4 line, K. G. Leg. dead.
Ensign Church, 93 F. eev,
Lieut-Col. Clarke, 2 Dr. da.
Lient Clarke, 1 F. do.
Lieut Claike, 28 F. eimee demdU
Capt aarke, I Dr. w.
Ensign Claik, 40 F. eev,
Ci^t CUnd, Brig. M%). G. Leg. k.
CvgiL Hon. R. Clements, 1 F. G. eev.
Lieut ayde, 28 F. tr.
Capt Coane, 73 F. eev.
Lieut R. Cochran, 93 F. w.
Lieut Coen, 28 F. w.
Lieut Coles, 11 Dr. v.
Lieut Colthurst, 32 F. w.
Migor^Gen. Cooke, left anei oim.
Lieut.CoL R. H. Cooke, 1 F. G.
Ensign Cooke, 44 F. k.
Ensign Lee Morse Cooper, 1 F.
Ensign A. Cooper, 14 F. w,
Lieut Coote, 71 F. w.
Lieut Cottingham, 32 F. eev.
Comet Cox, 1 L. G. do,
Lieut Coxon, 93 F. do.
Lieut Coxon, 23 Dr. mist, empfoeed killed.
Lieut Craddock, 27 F. eev,
Lieut Crawford, R. Art «;.
Capt Crawford, 8 F. G. k.
Ensign Crawford, 79 F. tr.
Lieut Croft, 1 F. G. eev.
Capt Croflon, Brig. Mig. 34 F. A.
Lieut Cromie, R. Art hUh Ufe eamp. emee
dead. Capt Crowe, 32 F. eev. 1 Lt.-Col. Currie, 90 F. Ass. A^j. Gen. k. Major Cutcliffe, 28 Dr. set;. Capt Hon. W. Curzon, D. A. A4j. Gen.
09 F. *.
D.
Lieut Dallas, 32 F. eev.
Lt-Col. Dalr>'mple, 16 Vr. l^ leg
Capt Dance, 23 Dr. ir.
Lieut Daniel, 30 F. tr.
Capt Dansey, B. Art eev.
Lieut.CoL Dashwood, 3 F. G. A>.
Comet DasaeU, 8 Husa. G. Leg. da.
OFnCSBS KILLKD AND WOUNDED
399
A.cU.-Iieut. Davis, 82 F. do, ^lajor Davison, 42 F. since dead, ILdeut. Dawkins, Id Dr. w, X.ieut. Dawson, 52 F. sev, ^clsgor Hon. O. Dawson, Ass. Qua. Mast
Oen. 1 Dr. G. w, X^eut. Day, B. Art. te, ISnsign Deacon, 78 F. $ev, lAeut, Deares, 28 F. w. I^ieat. Bar. Deeken, 2 line, K. G. L. tev, CJapt. De Einem, Brig. M%j. K. G. L. do* £ nsign De GenUkow, 1 Lt. Inf. G. L. do* Capt. De Gilsa, 1 Lt. Inf. K. G. L. w. X^t. De Goeben, Art. K. G. L. tince dead, A.di.. Lieut. De Hartwig, 4 line, K. G. L.
aev. Capt. De Hattoif, 1 LL Dr. K. G. L. w. JLit.-Col. De Jouqnieres, 2 Lt Dr. K. G. L.
w. Hiient De la Farque, 4 line, K.G.L. aev, Col.DeLancy, Q.M. Gen. K.C.B. rimce
dead, JBnsign De Murreao, 8 line, G. L. do, £nsign De Bobertson, 2 Lt Inf. K. G. L.
kiUed. Ijt-Col. De Scbroeder, 2 line, K. G. L. tp. Lieut De Scholzen, Art K. G. L. k. Capt De Seighard, 1 Lt Dr. K. G. L. ip. Cf^t De Yoight, 8 line, G. L. k, Capt De Wurmb, 5 line, G. L. it lieutCol. Sir F. D'Oyly, K. C. B. 1 F.
G.*. CaptDunaresque, Aide-de-camp to Gen.
Byng, 9 F. $ev, lieut-Col. Dick, 42 F. do, Capt Diedel, 8 line, G. Leg. k. Capt Diggle, 02 F. eev, Lieut Disn^, 28 Dr. tr. Ensign Ditmas, 27 F. w. Lieut. Dobbs, 1 F. tev, Ci^t Joseph Doherty, 18 Dr. w. Lieut G. Doberty, 18 Dr. w. M^jor-Gen. Sir W. Domberg, K. C. B.
K. Ger. Leg. tev, Lieut-Col. Douglas, 79 F. do, Capt Hon. S. Douglas, 6 Dr. do, Lieut Douglas, 7 Dr. do, Lieut Dowbiggen, 12 Dr. w. Capt D*Oyly, 1 F. G. sev. Comet Diankmeister, 2 Lt Dr. K. G. L.
kiUed. lieut Drew, 27 F. sev. Ensign Dnuy, 88 F. do. Comet Deichmann, 8 Huss. K. G. L. A. Capt Dudgeon, 1 F. sev, lieut Dunbar, 42 F. do. A^j.-Iieut Duperler, 18 Dr. w. Col. Duplat, Ger. Leg. sktee dead.
E.
Ensign Eastwood, 78 F. w.
Capt Edgill, 4 F. w,
Capt C. EocOes, Bog. Mij. 95 F. k.
Col. Sir J. EUey, K. C. B. Dep. A4i. Gen.
B. H. G. sev. Lieut Elliott, 80 F. ip. CoL Sir H. W. EUis, K. G. B. 28 F. since
dead, Capt Ellis, 1 F. G. w. Capt Ellis, 40 F. sev, Capt Elphinstone, 7 Dr. do. Lieut Elwes, 71 F. since dead. Capt English, 28 F. sev, Lieut Erithropel, Art K. G. L. do, Capt Hon. E. S. Erskine, 60 F. Dep. Ass.
Ac^. Gen. 2^ arm amp. Capt Evelyn, 3 F. G. sev. Ensign Eyre, 95 F. do,
F.
Ciq>t. Fsne, 44 F. sev,
Capt Farmer, 28 F. k,
lieut-Col. Fead, 1 F. G. ip.
Capt Felix, 95 F. w.
Lieut Fensham, 28 F. k.
Capt Eraser, 42 F. tp.
Capt Ferrier, 92 F. tp.
lieut-Col. Ferrior, 1 L. G. A.
Capt Fisher, 40 F. k.
lieut-Col. Fitzgerald, 2 L. G. k,
Lieut Fitzgerald, 82 F. sev.
Capt Fitzgerald, 25 F. Dep. Ast. Qua.
Mast Gen. ip. Capt. Fitzmaurice, 95 F. eev, Capt Hon. H. Forbes, 8 F. G. k, Lieut Forbes, 79 F. ip. Comet Floyer, 8 Huss. G. L. w, 2 lieut Fludyer, 1 F. G. sev. Ensign Ford, 40 F. do. Capt Forlong, 88 F. do. Lieut Foster, 1 Dr. k, Capt Fortescue, 27 F. sev, Lieut Foster, B. Art. do. Ensign Franck, 2 Lt Inf. Gar. Leg. do, Capt 1. 1. Fmaear, Aide-de-camp to the
E. of Uzbridge, 7 Dr. w, Capt Eraser, 79 F. do. Ensign A. L. Eraser, 42 F. tP. Ensign W. Eraser, 42 F. tp. Lieut Eraser, 79 F. sev. A4i..Lieut Fricke, 1 Lt Dr. K. G. L. tp. Lieut FJry, 95F. ip. Col. Fuller, 1 Dr. G. k. M^jor Fullerton, 95 F. sev.
G.
Lieut Gardiner, 95 F. sev, lieut J. P. Gardner, 95 F. do. Capt Garland, 78 F. do, lieut J. Geale, 18 Dr. twice dead. lieut Gerard, 4 F. ip. Mi^or Gerrard, 28 Dr. sev. Ensign Gerrard, 42 F. k, lieut. Gerstlacher, 8 Huss. D. A. AcQ. Gen. E. G. L. intwiii^, supposed dead. lieut Gilbert, 28 F. sev.
400
BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
Oapt. BuroD Ooeben, 1 I.t. Brig. O. L. Jr.
Cnpt. Bftron (n^Wn* il Hns. K. G. L. ir.
Lieut. (T<K>(1enou({h, 1 Dr. ir.
Li«ut.-('ol. Sir A. (Gordon, K. C. B. 3 F. (r. Ai(lc.ilt*-ramp to the Duke of Wei- ll nKt^tn* »inre dend,
IJcut. (tortUm, 7 Dr. uev.
Lieut. (lonlon, 49 F. k.
('apt. (iore, 30 F. it.
Lieut. I5(«n\ 3:) F. Jr.
Miyor Graham, 1 Dr. G. k
Capt. (tnint, 71 F. uv.
(.'apt. Grant. 0*2 F. do. timet dead,
Capt. Grey, 10 I>r. «•.
Lieut, (tnenie, 2 Lt. Inf. K. G. L. $ev,
Liuut. (irior, 44 F. do.
Lieut. (frit!ith««, 23 F. do,
Mf^jor (irimth, I.*) Dr. *.
2 Lieut, (iritiiths, 2 F. G. 9ev.
g. M. (iriffiths 1 F. tr.
Capt. it rose, 1 Ft. (fds. *.
rapt, (tubbins, 13 Dr. k,
Lit»ut. Gunning, 1 Dr. w.
IJeut. Gunning, 10 Dr. Jr.
Capt. Gurwoxl, 10 Dr. »rv.
H.
Capt. Haijrh, 33 F. Jr. LieuL Tho. Haigh, 33 F. ir. MiKi.-Gen.SirC.Halkett,K.C.B. K.G.L.
Lieut. Hal], R. Staff Corps, $ev, Lieut. -Col. Hamerton, 44 F. w, Lieut.-Col. HamilUm, 30 F. »ev. Lieut. Hamilton, Dep. Ass. Adj. Gen.
4fi F. IT. Lieat.*Col. Hamilton, 2 Dr. Jr. Major Hamilton, Aide-de-camp to Miy.
Gen. Sir E. Barnes, 4 W. I. R. w, Lieut. Handcock, 27 F. $ev. Ensign Handc^x'k, 27 F. ««». Lieut. -Col. Hankiii, 2 Dr. v. Lieut. Baron Hannerstein, 1 Lt. Dr.
K. G. L. sev, Brig.-Gen. Hardinge, left hand amp, Capt. Harling, 2 Lt. Dr. K. G. L. tev. Col. Hanis, 73 F. sev, Capt. T. N. Harris, h.p. Migor of Brig.
righi arm amp. Capt. Harrison, 32 F. sev, Lieut. Hart, 33 F. *. Lieut. Hartmann, Art. K. G. L. sev. Capt. Harty, 33 F. tr. Lieut. Harvey, R. Art. righi arm amp, Lieut. Hassard, 6 Dr. sev, Lieut. Havelock, Aide-de-camp to M^j.-
Gen. Alten, 43 F. tr. Major Hawtyn, 23 F. k. Lieut. James Lord Hay, Aide«d6-camp to
Maj.Gen. Maitland, J F. G. k, Lieut. -Col. Hay, 16 Dr. w, sev. Comet Hay, IG Dr. *. Acy. •Ensign Hajr, 73 F. sev.
Capt. Heise, 4 line, K. O. T^ mmee drU
Lieut. Heise, 1 Lt. Inf. K. O. L. «rr.
Comet Heise, 1 Lt. Inf. G. L. arr.
Comet Hei<«e, Art. G. L. sev.
Lieut. Helmrick, 7 line, K. G. L. anr.
Capt. Henderson, 71 F.
Lieut. Henderson, 27 F.
Lieut. Hem, 44 F. sev.
Ensign Heselrige, 73 F. w.
Capt. Hesketh, 3 F. G. tr.
Lieut. Hes«.e, 18 Dr. ser.
Ensign Hewett, 92 F.
Capt. Hevliger, 7 Dr.
Maj. Hevland, 40 F. *.
lient-Col. Clem. Hill, R. H. G. v. set.
Lieut..Col. Hill, 23 F. arr.
Lt.-Col. Sir R. C. Hill, Knt. R. H. G. set,
Lieut. Hillyard, 28 F. v. aev,
lieut. Hobbs, 92 F. »ev.
CapL Hobhonse, 69 F. k.
Ensign Hndder, 69 F. aev.
Mi^or Hodge, 7 Dr. sev. amd mias.
Cor. Bar. Hodenbetg, 3 Hubs. K. G. L
sev. Capt. C. Baron HoUe, 1 line, Ger. Leg. k. lieut. Hollis, 73 F. k, Capt. Holmes, 27 F. *. Capt. Holmes. 92 F. sev. Capt. Holzermann, 1 LL Bat. G. L. ft. Capt. Holzermann, 2 Lt. Inf. K. G. L
mtsttfi7, supposed k, Lieut. Hope, 92 F. sev. Capt. Horan, 82 F. w. Lieut. Horan, 82 F. sev» Mi^or Hare, 27 F. tr. M%jor Hon. F. Howard, 10 Dr. k. Ensign Howard, 38 F. w, Lieut. Hughes, 30 F. w, Lieut. Humbley, 05 F. sev,
I.
Lieut. Ingram, 1 F. sev. Lieut. Ingram, 28 F. since d. Ensign Ireland, 27 F. k. Lieut. Irvine, 1 Dr. G. if7. Major Irving, 28 F. sev. Lieut. Inang, 13 Dr. tr. lieut. Irwin, 28 F. sev.
J.
Lieut. Jagoe, 82 F. sev. Ensign James, 30 F. *. Capt. Jansen, 8 Huss. Q.'L. k. Lieut. Jeinsen, 3 line, K. G. L. arr. Mi^jor Jessop, A. Q. M. G. 44 F. lieut Jobin, 2 Lt Inf. K. O. L. ar Capt Johnson, 23 F. w. Capt. Johnston, 95 Ft sev» Lieut Johnston, 95 F. k. M%jor Johnstone, 71 F. ip. Capt JoUiffe, 23 F. k. Lieut-Col. Jones, 71 F. wv.
OFnCEBS KUXBD AND WOUNDED.
401
K. ULeut. Keily, 1 Dr. $ev, Capt. Kelly, 28 F. w. Oa.pt. Kelly, I L. G. sev. 'M.a^oT-G&n, Sir J. Kempt, K.C.B. sev. CaptV Kennedy, 73 F. *. I^eut. Kennedy, 79 F. k, Ensign Kennedy, 1 F. k,
Capt. Kessenbnick, 3 Huss. G. L. k.
X^eut. Kessler, 2 Lt. Inf. K. G. L. sev.
Comet Kinchant, 2 Dr. Ar.
Lieut. Klingsohr, d line K. G. L. iev.
Capt. Knight, 38 F. w.
IBnsign Kroniielm, 4 line K. G. L. k.
Lieut. Kuester, 1 Lt. Inf. K. G. L. tr.
Ijient. Kuokuck, K. G. L. sev,
XieuL H. Kuckuck, K. G. L. aev.
Xaeut. Kuhlmann, 1 LL Dr. K. G. L. k,
Adj.-Iieut. Kynock, 70 F. A.
L. Lieut. Lake, 3 F. G. sev, CoL Sir W. De Lancey, K. C. B. 23 F.
since dead. Lieut. Lane, 1 F. arm amp. Capt. Langton, Aide-de-camp to Sir T.
Picton, 61 F. IT. Lieut. B. Langworthy, 4 line K. G. L. u'. Liieut. Lascelles, I F. G. tr. Lieut. Law, 71 F. sev. Lieut. Lawrence, 32 F. tr. Mfyor Leake, 4 line K. G. L. since d. Lieut. Leaper, 79 F. sev. 2 Lieut. Leebody, 23 F. k. Lieut. Leivin, 32 F. w. Lt Leonhardt, 1 Lt. Inf. K. G. L. sev% Lieut. Leschen, 3 line K. G. L. sev. Mfiuor L'Estrange, Aide-de-camp to Sir
D. Pack, 71 F. since dead. Lieut Lewin, 71 F. w. Capt. Lind, 1 life Guards, k. lieut. Lind, 71 F. sev. Lieut Lindham, 2 Lt Inf. K. G. L. sev, Miyor Lindsay, 69 F. sev.
Lieut. Lister, 09 F. k.
Capt little, 02 F. k.
Mi^or Llewellyn, 28 F. sev.
Lieut Lloyd, 73 F. sev.
M^jor W. Lloyd, R. A. sev.
Comet Lockbart, 12 Dr. k.
Lieut Lockwood, 30 F. sev,
Lieut Logan, 92 F. sev.
Ensign Logan, 92 F. tr.
Comet Lorenz, 2 L. D. K. G. L. sev.
Major Love, 52 F. sev.
Lt Bar. Lovetzow, 4 Lt Dr. K. G. L. k,
2 lieut. Lowe, 73 F. k,
Capt Luttrell, 1 F. G. sev.
Capt Lynam, 90 F. sev.
M. Ueut-Col. Sir R. Macara, K. C. B. 42
F.Ar. Mijor R. Macdonald, tr.
Lieut.-Col. Macdonald, 92 F. sev. Lieut-Col. Macdonell, C. F. G. sev, Capt Mackay, 79 F. sev. miss, sup. k. Lieut Mackenzie, 1 Lt Dr. K. G. L. aev. Lieut Mackie, 92 F. sev. since dead. Major Maclean, 73 F. sev. since dead. Capt. Macleod, Dep. Ass. Q. M. G. 35
F.w, Ensign Macpherson, 92 F. k. Lieut Maddocks, 79 F. sev. Lieut. Magniac, 1 Dr. miss, sup, d. Lieut. B. Mahrenhohls, 8 Une K.G. L. A. Lieut Malcolm, 42 F. sev. Lieut Manley, 27 F. sev. lieut Mann, 1 F. sev, Lieut. Manners, Royal A. since dead. Lieut Mansfield, Aide-de-camp to Mt^r-
Gen. Grant, 15 Dr. w. Capt. H. Marschalk, 1 Lt. Bat K. G.L. A. Lieut.-Col. Baron Marsdell, 2 Lt Dr.
K. G. L. w, Capt Marshall, 79 F. sev. Major Massey, 1 F. sev. Ensign Mathews, 4 F. w, Lieut M'Arthur, 79 F. tr. Ensign *M*Bean, 73 F. sev, Aiy. Ensign M*Cann, 44 F. sev. Adj. Lieut. M'Clusky, 6 Dr. *. Lieut M-Connell, 73 F. *. Ensign M'Conchy, 32 F. sev.
Capt M'Cullock, 95 R. B. leji arm amp*
Capt M'Donald, 42 F. sev.
lieut McDonald, 92 F. sev.
Migor M'Donald, 1 Ft sev.
Ensign McDonald, 92 F. sev^
Lieut M^Donell, 27 F. sev.
lieut M'lunes, 92 F. w,
Lieut. M'Intosh, 92 F. sev.
Capt. M»Intosh, 42 F. do.
Q. M. M*Intosh, 42 F. w.
Capt. M'lntyre, 33 F. w.
Ensign M'Kay, 1 F. w.
lieut. M*Kenzie, 42 F. w.
Lieut M*Kinlay, 92 F. sev.
lieut-Col. M*Kinnon, Ft G. w.
Capt M'Nabb, 30 F. *.
Lieut M'Phee, 79 F. tr.
Capt M*Pher8on, 42 F. w.
Lieut M*Pher8on, 92 F. sev.
Lieut MTherson, 79 F. *.
Capt. M*Ray, 79 F. sev. miu. sup. k.
Mi^or Meacham, 28 F. k.
Lieut. Meaghan, 32 F. w.
Capt Menzies, 42 F. sev.
Ensign Metcalfe, 32 F. w.
Lieut-Col. Meyer, 8 Huss. K,G.Ij.«et>.
Lieut. Meyer, 2 Lt Dr. K. G. L. w,
Lieut Mill, 13 Dr. w.
Lieut. Mill, 40 F. sev.
lieut Millar, 27 F. sev.
lieut-Col. Miller, 1 Ft Gds. since d.
Lieut.- Col. Miller, 6 Dr. sev»
Lieut Miller, 1 F. sev.
D D
40>
BAXIU OP WAlBBLOa
Mijor Molar, 95 F. »ev.
Lient. MUligan. 11 VT,$ev.
Lieut. MiUs, 2 Dr. ir.
LieoL-Col. Milnes, 1 Ft Gds. timet d.
Iieiit.-CoL Mitchell, 02 F. tev,
Lieut Molloy, 9d F. tev.
Lieut Moneypennjr. HO F. w.
a Lieut MonUgae, 2 Ft Gds. v.
C^rt Montgomerie, 8 Ft Oda. w.
C^it Hon. R. Moore, Colds. F. G. sev.
Lieut Moore, 40 F. tev,
Lieut Muore, 11 Dr. tev,
Cspt Morsy, Ex-Aidede-camp to M.
Gen. Grant, 18 Dr. $rv. Colonel Morice, 60 F. k. Lieut Morrison, 1 F. sev. Ensign Mountsteven, 28 F. tev* Lieut MuUer, 1 line K. G. L. tev. Lieut Munro, 42 F. tev. Lieut Mu^and, 38 F. tev. Col. Muter, 6 Dr. w. A4j. Lieut Myers, 7 Dr. tev. Capt Mylne, 70 F. tev.
N.
Capt Nanne, I Lt Dr. Ger. L«g. tev. Capt CoL Napier, B. Art tev. Ensign Nash, 70 F. w. Capt Naylor, 1 Dr. G. w. Ensign Nettles, 52 F. k. Liettt.-CoL Norcott, 00 F. tev.
O.
Lieut Oelkers, 8 Huss. K. G. L. tev.
Lieut Ogle, 38 F. tev.
Lieut.-CoL O'MaUey, 44 F. w.
lieut Ommaney, 1 Dr. tev.
Bar. Ompteda, 5 line Ger. Leg. k.
Lieut O'Neill, 1 F. *.
Gen. H.R.H. the Pr. of Orange, G.C.B.
•r. tev. Ensign Ormsby, 14 F. w. Lieut Orr, 42 F. tev. Lieut Osten, 16 pr. tr.
P.
MiU.-Gen. Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B. w.
Lieut Pack, 18 Dr. w.
M^). Packe, Bqy. H. G. *.
Lieut Pagan, 88 F. tev.
Ensign Page, 73 F. k.
Lieut Pardoe, 1 F. G. *.
M^j. J. Parker, Boy. Art ley amp,
Miy. Parkinson, 88 F. tev.
Lieut Peters, 7 Dr. tev,
Capt Peters, 1 Lt Dr. K.G.L. k.
Lieut Fhelips, 11 Dr. k,
Lieut-Gen. Sir T. Picton, G.CB. *.
Lieut Pigott, 60 F. tev.
MiU.-Gen. Sir W. Ponsonby, K.C.B. A.
Hon. CoL F. Ponsonby, 12 Dr. w. tev.
Lieut Poole, Roy. Art tev.
M^jor Poole, 2 Dr. tev.
Capt Power, 44 F. tev.
lieut Fowling, 70 F. Lieut Pratt 80 F. tev. Lieut Prendergast, 30 F. Jt Lieut Pringle, Roy. Engin. v. Capt Purguld, 2 line K. G. L. Lieut Pym, 13 Dr. mmee dead.
Col. Quentin, 10 Dr. ir. Lieut Quell, 32 F.
B.
MiU- R«l<*I.vff6, 1 I>r.
M%|. Ramsay, Roy. Art A.
Lieut Itea, 1 F. tev.
Lieut Keid, 33 F. tev.
Lieut Rief kugel, 2 Lt Inf. G. L.
Brig. M%|. Reignolds, 2 Dr. A.
Mfg. 6. Reitzenstein, 1 Lt Dr. G. L. w.
Col. Reynell, 71 F. w.
Lieut Reynolds, 73 F. tev,
Lieut. Reach, 70 F. tev,
Lieut. Richardson, 4 F. tev,
Lieut Richardson, 1 L. O. wv.
Lieut Ridgeway, 05 F. tev,
Lieut Ritter, 2 Lt Dr. K. G. L. snr.
Lieut Robb, 40 F. w,
Lieut. W. Robe, Roy. Art. tmee doad.
Lieut Roberts, 71 F. w,
Capt Robertson, 78 F. k.
Ensign Robertson, 1 F. k.
Ensign Robertson, 70 F. tev,
Mig. Robertson, 1 line Ger. IJeg. tev. v.
Capt Robins, 7 Dr. tev,
Lieut Robinson, 32 F. tev,
Lieut Roe, 30 F. w,
Lieut Jas. Rooke, Aide-de-camp to the
Prince of Orange, half-paj, ir« Lieut T. K. Ross, 02 F. ip, Lieut -Col. Ross, 05 F. tev, Lieut £. Ross, 02 F. tev. Lieut K. Ross, 02 F. w. Capt Rougemont, 8 line K. G. L. tr. Lieut-Col. Rowan, 53 F. «r. Lieut Ruffo, 6 Dr. smm. tuppoted dead, Lieut Rnmby, 30 F. tev, Lieut RusseU, 44 F. tev,
S.
Lieut Sadler, 8 line K. G. Lb ip.
Capt Sandys, 12 Dr. tev,
Capt Sander, 5 line K. G. L. arv
Capt Schaumaiin, 2 Lt Br. G. Leg. A
Capt Schlutter, 1 line K. G. L. tev,
A4)t.Lieut Schnath, 1 Uno K.G.L.se*.
Capt Schnehen, 3 Huss. K. G. L. w,
Capt Schreiber, 11 Dr. w.
A4}. Lieut. Stthuck, 5 fine K. G. L. A.
lieut. Scott, 1 F. tr.
Capt Seymour, Aide-de-camp to the £.
of Uxbridge, 60 F. w. Lieut Shaw, Roy. Horse Guards^ w. lieut Shelton, 28 F. w, Lieut G. H. Shenley, 05 F.
OFnCEBS KILLED AKD WOmCDEB.
403
Iieut.-A4). Shelver, 1 Dr. Gds. k.
Capt. W. Shenley, 95 F. sev.
Lient. Sherwood, 15 Dr. k.
Adj ^Cornet Shipley, 1 Dr. k.
Comet Lemmel Shuldham, 2 Dr.
Ueut. Sidley, 23 F. w.
Lieut. Simmons, 95 F. uev.
Capt. Simpson, 1 F. G. tev,
2 Lieut. Simpson, S F. G. niice detul,
Capt. Sinclair, 79 F. since dead.
Lieut. W. Smith, Boy. Art v.
Ensign Smith, 27 F. iev.
M%). C. Smyth, Biig. Mc^. 95 F. sinct
dead. Lieut. Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Mil. Sec.
1 F. G. rigfU arm amp. Lieut. Speannan, Roy. Art. tince dead. Lieut. Squire, 4 F. w. Lieut.-Col. £. Stables, 1st F. G. k. Lieut. Stephens, 32 F. ktv. Ensign Stephens, 1 F. tr. Lieut. G. Stewart, 1 F. ir. Lieut. Stewart, 42 F. tev. Lieut. Stewart, 69 F. tev. Ensign Stewart, 32 F. mv. Asttistant Surgeon Stewart, 92 F. tr. Lieut. Stroud, 44 F. tev. Lieut. Stillwell, 95 F. since dead. Capt. Stothart, 3 F. G. since dead, Lieut. Strachan, 73 F. k. Lieut. Strangways, Roy. Art. w. Lieut. Stratton, Royal Sappers and
Miners, ir. Capt. Streatfield, 1 F. G. sev. Col. Hon. W. Stuart, 1 F. G. w. sev. Lieut. Stupart, 2 Dr. sev. Capt. Summer, Coldst F. G. sev. Capt. Sweeny, 1 Dr. G. sev. w. Comet Sykes, 1 Dr. k. Lieut. Symes, 1 F. w. Maj. Sympber, Art. E. G. L. tr. Capt. A. Sympher, Art. K. G. L. w.
T.
Capt Thackwell, 15 Dr. left arm amp.. A4j. Ensign Thain, 83 F. w, Lieut-Col. Thomas, 1 F. G. *. Capt. Thomson, Roy. Eng. w. Meg. Thomhill, Aide-de-camp to the £.
of Uzbridge, 7 Dr. sev. Capt Tilee, 2 line Ger. Leg. k. Ensign Todd, 71 F. *. Lieut. Tomkins, 44 F. k. Haj. Toole, 32 F. w. Lieut-Col. Hon. H. G. Townsend, 1 F.
w. sev. Lieut Sig. Traflford, 1 Dr. w. Lieut Trinmann, 2 Lt Inf. K. G. L. sev. Comet Tritton, 1 E. D. Ger. Leg. sev. Lieut Trotter, 2 Dr. *. Lieut True, 3 Huds. K. G. L. sev. Capt Tucker, 27 F. sev, Capt Tuner, 1 Dr. G. sev.
Capt. Tyler, Aide-de-camp to Sir T.
Picton, 93 F. w. Lieut Tyndale, 51 F. tr.
U. Eail of Uzbrldge, G.C.B. right leg amp.
V.
Lieut. Vane, 2 F. G. sev,
Mi^. Vernon, 2 Dr. sev.
Capt. Vemor, 7 Dr. sev.
Lieut Vigoureux, 30 F. sev.
Ensign Von Lucken, 1 line K. G. L. k,
W.
Lieut Wall, 23 Dr. sev.
Capt. Waller, 32 F. w.
Ensign Walsh, 95 F. sev,
Lieut Warren, 30 F. sev.
Lieut Waters, Ass. A-dj. Gen. w.
Maj. Watson, 69 F. sev.
Lieut. Weymouth, 2 L. G. missina.
Lieut Webb, 95 F. sev.
Capt. Webber, Roy. Art. sev.
Ensign Webster, 44 F. sev.
Capt Weigman, 2 L. B. G. Leg. k.
Lieut.-Col. West, 3 F. G. w.
Comet Westby, 2 Dr. k.
Capt Baron Westemhagen, 8 line Ger.
Leg. k. lieut Westmore, 38 F. sev. Capt Weyland, 16 Dr. w. Capt Whale, 1 Life Gds. w. Capt Wharton, 73 F. sev. Capt Whinyates, Roy. Art. sev, Capt. Whiteford, 15 Dr. sev. Ensign Whetney, 44 F. sev. Capt Whitty, 32 F.w. Lieut Wightwiek, 69 F. k. Capt Wildman, Aide-de-camp to the
Earl of Uxbridge, 7 Dr. w. Lieut Wildman, 1 line E. G. L. sev. Capt Wilkie, 92 F. sev. Col. Wilkms, 95 F. do. lieut. Wilkinson, 28 F. do. Lieut-Col. Wilson, 4 F. tr. Ensign Wilson, 44 F. sev. Lieut. Winchester, 92 F. do. Capt Windsor, 1 Dr. k. Ac^ .-lieut Winterbottom, 52 F. sev. Lieut Wolrabe, 1 Lt led. E. G. L. do. Capt Wood, 10 Dr. do. Lieut Wood, 11 Dr. do. Lieut Worsley, 95 F. do. Capt Wright, Roy. Staff Corps, «^. Ensign Wright, 95 F. do. Lieut Wyndowe, 1 Dr. tr. Lieut. Weynham, 2 Dr. sev. Lieut CoL Wyndham, Coldst. F. O. do^
Y.
Lieut. Toonge, 1 F. k. Adj.-Lieut Young, 42 F. tr.
LIST OF REGIMENTS
rNVKB THS COXM AMD OV
FIELD-MARSHAL DUKE OF WELLINGTON
IN FLANDERS,
WITH THE EFFECTIVE FORCE OF EACH REGIMENT ENGAGED
JUNE 18,1810;
AND THS TOTAL LOSS OF THS BBITISHy HAKOYSBIANS,
AND OSBMAN LEGIONS :
FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS FROM JUNE 16th TO 26th, 1815.
To which ii added the eompuied Loi9e$ of the Dutch tmd Pnusians during ike
Campaign in the NetherlamdM,
OFFICERS.
General Staff
let Life Guards
2d Life Guards
Royal Horse Guards, Blue .
Ist Dragoon Guards .
Ist, or Royal Dragoons
3d, or Royal N. B. Dragoons 6
KiU. 12 3 1 1 7 4
6th Dragoons 7th Hussars 10th HuKsara 11th Light Dragoons 12th Light Dragoons 13th Light Dragoons 15th Hussars 16th Light Dragoons 18th Hussars add Light Dragoons 1st Light Dragoons, K. G. L. 2d Ditto
1st Hussars, K. G. L. 2d Hussars, K.G.L. *Sd Ditto Ditto Royal Ariilleiy Ditto, K. G. L. Royal Engineers Royal Staff Corps Royal Sappers and Miners . Waggon Train 1st Foot Guards, 1st Batt. Ditto, 8d Battalion 2d Cold. Regiment 3d Foot Guards, 2d Batt 1st Foot, dd Battalion 4th Foot, 1st Battalion
1 7 2 2 2 1 3 2
8 2
4 5 2
8
4 1 3 8
Woo. 46
4
4 9 8 5
ft ■
6 0 3 9 3 4 2 0 11 4 1
• •
8 27 5 2 2 1
• ■
9 IS
7
9 36
9
3
•
1 1
1
p ■
1
RANK AND FILB.
KUl.
• •
24 16 19 120 86 96 72 62 20 10 45 11 21 8
13 14 30 19 1
« •
40 62
73 101 54 39 33 12
49
40
61
115
88
89
111
109
40
34
61
69
48
18
72
26
99
54
5
ft •
78 228
353 487 242 195 295 113
4 97 20
■ ft
9
■ ■
27 15 26 25
• •
19 5
• «
17
33
10
3
3
10
Trt I
TotaL 61
83 LW 106 I 246 I 197 I 199 217 196
94
76 111 109
79
32 104
79 153
82
10
130 832
2 2 3
438 604 308 246 362 134
tiff«
'22T •212
5'ii4 mi
39T
;^^^
39il 39^
390
a-^T
396 3U7 49S 518 61-^ 4n7 UO
655 58SJ
le^2
1017
urn
1010
1064
627
63S
LIST OF BBGIMENTS.
406
•Ditto, 2d Battalion •7th Foot, 1st Battalion •9th Foot
]4th Foot, dd Battalion
23d Foot . •2dth Foot, 2d Battalion
27 th Foot, 1st Battalion
28th Foot .
29th Foot .
80th Foot, 2d Battalion
32dFoot
3dd Ditto . *3.')th Ditto, 2d Battalion *37th Ditto, 2d Battalion
40th Ditto, 1st Battalion
42dFoot .
44th Ditto, 2d Battalion
Mst Ditto
d2d Foot, l8t Battalion •54th Ditto . •59tb Ditto, 2d Battalion
69th Ditto, 2d Battalion
71st Foot, 1st Battalion
73d Ditto, 2d Battalion •78th Ditto, 2d Battalion
79th Ditto, 1st Battalion •81st Foot, 2d Battalion '*'9lst Foot, Ist Battalion
92d Ditto .
9!)thy Ist Battalion
9.')th, 2d Ditto
9dth, 8d Ditto
13th Veteran Battalion
Ist light Infantiy, K. G.
2d Ditto, Ditto
1st Line Batt E. O. L.
2d Ditto, Ditto
3d Ditto, Ditto
4th Ditto, Ditto
&th Ditto, Ditto
8th Ditto, Ditto
L.
OFFICERS. KUL Woa. Mlw.
8
2 1
I «
6 1 d
2 3 2
4 1 6
4 2
4 3 I 1 I 1 2 3
13 19
* •
14 30 17
10
17
18
2
8
7
14 16
8 27
2 27 15 U
4
• •
6 9
6
3
5 7 3
4
Totol, Killed and Wounded and EfTective Force
The Dutch Loss . • 27 115
I
The Prussian Ditto, viz.
1st Corps, June 15 to July 3 38 200 27
2d Corps, June 15 to 23 . 29 151 7
3d Corps, June 1 5 to July 8 16 107 2
4th Corps, June 15 to 23 . 23 148 5
Total Prussian Loss ....
KUl.
7 13
108 29
■ •
51
49
49
1
• •
30 47 14 11 16 2
51 24 54
• •
57
• •
1
49
28
34
3
■ •
37 40 22 18 17 13 36 44
2058
2418
1280
834
1132
|
RANK AND FILE. |
Effeo- |
||
|
ttT« |
|||
|
. Won. • • |
IfiM. |
Total |
Forco. • « |
|
• • 26 |
• • • • 36 |
• • 672 |
|
|
80 |
104 |
641 |
|
|
860 |
478 |
698 |
|
|
203 |
252 |
567 |
|
|
18] |
iV |
279 |
619 |
|
290 |
370 |
689 |
|
|
162 |
58 |
291 |
584 |
|
• • |
t |
477 |
|
|
159 |
18 |
219 |
675 |
|
266 |
333 |
572 |
|
|
151 |
i7 |
202 |
455 |
|
29 |
42 |
- 548 |
|
|
174 |
199 |
1032 |
|
|
2 |
4 |
491 |
|
|
2 |
* |
2 |
405 |
|
163 |
15 |
240 |
551 |
|
160 |
3 |
202 |
810 |
|
219 |
41 |
336 |
568 |
|
390 |
* • |
479 |
675 |
|
• • |
• • |
■ • |
401 |
|
6 |
■ • |
9 |
780 |
|
822 |
• ■ |
402 |
621 |
|
175 |
• • |
220 |
571 |
|
178 |
20 |
246 |
585 |
|
36 |
7 |
50 |
190 |
|
• • 82 |
• • 13 |
i45 |
487 |
|
120 |
29 |
202 |
434 |
|
69 |
17 |
115 |
450 |
|
79 |
7 |
107 |
500 |
|
98 |
81 |
147 |
555 |
|
77 |
15 |
113 |
474 |
|
47 |
74 |
162 |
454 |
|
80 |
16 • • • • 6434 |
147 |
' 526 |
|
• • |
11084 |
3881& |
|
|
1936 |
4186 |
||
|
5322 |
14439 |
. |
|
|
8915 |
2234 |
7616 |
• |
|
2636 |
1129 |
4724 |
|
|
8871 |
1174 • |
6353 |
|
|
• |
38182 |
* Corps not present in Line at the Battle of Waterloo, being either m GaniBon or Obserration.
406
BAT1XJ5 or WllBBUX).
JEfective Strength of the several RegirMnts of iJie Sritidi Army present at the Battle of Waierhoy on \%th June^ 1815.
Adj. General's Office^ 6 Nov. 1816.
l8t Life GoardB .
2d ... .
Horse Guards .
1st Dragoon Guardn .
1st Dragoons .
2d ... .
6th .
7th Hussars
RankJ^Fils per Return
of 26tli May. . 227 . 232 . 239 . 529 . 395 . 391 . 397 . 386
10th (Do.) 390
11th 398
12th 402
13th 390
15th (Hussars) . . . .398
16th 387
18th (Hussars) .... 396
23d 397
1st Light Drag. E. G. L. . . 498
2d 518
1st Hussars, E. G. L. . .618 Sd 640
. Cavahy
Grenadiersy or Ist Foot(l Bat.
Guards . . .(3d. 2d FL Gds. or Cold. . 2d Third Foot Guards . 2d
1st or Boyal Scots, . 3d
4th Foot . . .1st 14th . . . . 8d< 23d .
27th . . . . iBt 26th .... 80th .... 2d 82d . . . . 8dd . . . . 40th .... 1st 42d . . . . 44th .... 2d
Cvnry over . 10,684
8219
1017
1037
1010
1064
627
638
672
641
698
567
619
389
584
675
572
455
51st
52d
69th
7l8t
73d
79th
92d
Bifle Brigade
Brought over
Back & File
per Betom of 25th Ma J.
1st Lt Inf. Batt K. G
2d
1st Line Batt. King's G. L.
2d
3d
4th
5th
8th
InfjBntty , Eoyal Artilleiy, Engineers)
Sappers, <feo. . . {
(German i^tilleiy . Hanoverian Cavalry, Es-I
torf Brigade . . . ) Hanov. Inf. (1, 3, 4«
4 Brigades .
IBat.
2d
1st
2d
1st
Ist 2d 3d L.
'^^.I
Total B. Army in Quatre) Bras and Waterloo .> British in observation E. G. L. Cavalry 487)
6 Han. Infantry 2,778 (
Brunswickers, Belgians, and Nassau .
Grand Total
:!
ltt?2 Wl Bin
.VJS 675 621 571 5S5 I'm 4^'7 4.^ 4-Vi
5'i'> 474 4.H 526
a«,Ti5
5,431
625
1,135
9,812
46,221 2A54 8.265
52,040 2^,000
74,040
KUIAD AND WOUNDED. 407
^hstract of the KiUedy Wounded, and Miseing, of the Royal Artillery y in the Battles ofAe I6th and ISth of June, 1815.
Killed lYouDded
Missing
Total
|
tUaxk |
||||
|
Offionv. |
B«zj. |
AFUe. |
Total. |
Honas. |
|
. 0 |
^ 2 |
60 |
67 |
356 |
|
. 27 |
13 |
216 |
255- |
187 |
|
ft ^^"^ |
— |
10 |
10 |
86 |
|
. 32 |
15 |
285 |
832 |
520 |
OFFICERS' NAMES.
HOBSE BRIGADE.
Major W. N. Ramsay, kiUed R. M. Gaimes, do, > G. Beane, do.
J. Parker, severely^ leg amputated R. Bull, iligMy Captain Whinyates, do, Dansey, do, Macdonald, do, Webber, do, lieutenant Strangways, do,
Brereton, severely, not dangentutly
Robe, do, since dead
Smith, slightly
Cromie, severely^ both legs amputated
Forster, severelg, not dangerously
Crauftud, sUgliiy
Day, do.
FOOT ARTILLEBT.
Mfi^or H. Baynes, «%At/y Captain Bolton, kiUed
Migor Lloyd, severely^ nnce dead Captain Napier, do. Lieutenant Spearman, do,
B. Manners, severely^ since dead Harvey, do. right arm amputated
Poole, do, not dangerously
king's GEBKAN ABTILLEBT.
Bt Mi^or A. Sympher, slightly lieutenant F. KiyUiropel, severely
Captain W. Braun, do. not dangerously
Lieutenant C. de Schulzen, killed
W. de Goeben, severely^ since dead H. Hartmann, -do, not dangerously L. Heiae, do. do.
406
BITILB or WAHBLOa
ive Strenffth of the several ReffimentB present at the Battle of Waterloo, on I
Adj. General's Ofice, 6 Nov. 1816.
Iflt Life Guards . 2d . . . Horse Oaards •
Ut Dragoon Ooarda
l8t Dragoons .
2d . . .
6th .
7th Hussars 10th (Do.) . 11th . 12th . 13th .
l&th (Hussars) . 16th .
18th (Hussars) . 23d .. .
1st light Drag. K. G
2d . . .
1st Hussars, K. G. L.
ad ... .
L.
Rank it Fil« per Return
or 2&th May.
. UZ7
. 2"i2
. 2:W
. 52»
. 39.-)
. 301
. 397
. 386
. 390
. 398
. 402
. 390
. 398
. 387
. 306
. 397
. 49ft
. 518
. 618
. 640
. Gavahy
Grenadiersv or 1st Foot(l Bat.
Guards . . .c3d. 2d Ft. Gds. or Cold. . 2d Third Foot Guarda . 2d
1st or Royal Soots. . 3d
4th Foot . . .1st 14th . . . . Sd> 23d .... 27th . . . . Ist 26th .... 80th .... 2d 82d . . . . 88d . . . . 40th .... 1st 42d . . . . 44th .... 2d
Ciiry over 10^84
8219
1017
1087
1010
1064
627
638
672
641
698
567
619
889
584
675
572
455
51st
52d
69th
7 Ist
73d
79th
92d
Bifle Brigade
Brought over
Bank * Ff^
per Ret-iTj of 25th M.T.
l!.V>l
1st Lt Inf. Batt K. G
2d . . .
1st Line BatL King's G. L.
2d
3d
4th
5th
8th
Infimtty Bojal Artillery, Engineers?
Sappers, Ac . . f
German .^lillery . Hauoyerian Cavahy, £s-l
torf Brigade . . (
Hanov. Inf. (1, 3, 4, 5) )
4 Brigades . . . )
Total B. Army in Quatre) Bras and Waterloo .{ British in obsenration K. G. L. Cavalry 487)
6 Han. Infantiy 2,778 {
Biunswickers, Belgians,) and Nassau . . )
Grand Total .
IBat.
2d
1st
2d
1st
Ist 2d 3d L.
Wl
81"
fitil
!:•" 4<T ^U
474 4.n 526
29,715
5,434
625
1,135
0,312
46^321 2,554 3,255
52,010 22,000
74,010
KUIAD AND WOUNDSS. 407
^hstract of the Killed^ Wounded^ and Mimng, of the Royal Artillery^ in the Battles of the \^ih and \%ih of June^ 1815.
|
'VVoanded ItfissiDg |
• * • • • • • • • Total . |
OffioexB. . 5 . 27 • |
Soj. > 2 Id |
tiank AFUo. 60 215 10 |
ToUL 67 25> 10 |
Honas. 356 137 36 |
|
. 32 |
15 |
285 |
332 |
529 |
OFFICERS' NAMES-
HOBSE BRIGADE.
M^or W. N. Ramsay, HUed R. M. Caimes, do, ■ O. Beane, do,
J. Parker, aevereliff leg amputated R. Bull, slightly Captain Whinyates, do, Dansey, do. Macdonald, do. Webber, do, lieutenant Strangways, do,
Brereton, severtlff not dangerously
Robe, do. since dead
Smith, slightlg
Cromie, severely, both legs amputated
Forster, severely, not dangerously
Craoftird, sUamy
Day, i>.
FOOT ABTII1.EBT.
Mfi^or H. Baynes, slightly Captain Bolton, kiOed
Migor Lloyd, severely, since dead Captain Napier, do. lieutenant Spearman, do,
R. Manners, severely, since dead Harvey, do. right arm amputated
Poole, do, not dangerously
king's GEKKAN ABTOiLEBT.
Bt. Migor A. Sympher, slightly lieutenant F. KiyUiropel, severely
Captain W. Brann, do. not dangerously
Lieutenant C. de Schulzen, killed
W. die Goeben, severely, since dead H. Hartmann, tio. not dangerously L. Heise, do, do.
r I
410 BUTLB or WAIULOa
Majesty's forces, serving under the comnumd of Field-manhal the Duke of Wellin^n, in the glorioos victory obtained apcm the 18th of Jane ; and that the same be signified to them by the com- manding oflicors of the several corps, who are desired to thaiik them for tlieir gallant and exemplary behaviour.
** Bf9olredf AVfiu CoTu That the thanks of this House be given to the General Oflicers, Officers, and Men, of the Allied forces, serving ondor the immediate command of Field-marshal the Duke of WelUngton, for the distingubhed valour and intrepiditT displayed bv th<!m on the 18th of June; and that his Grace tl^ Duke of Wellington be desired to signify the same to them ac- cordingly.
** Resolved^ Xerru Con, That the thanks of this House be given to Marshal Prince Bliicher, and the Prussian army, for the cordial and timely assistance afforded by them on the 18th of June, to which the successful result of that arduous day is so mainly to be attributed ; and that his Grace the Duke of W ellington be desired to convey to them the resolution*"
« Whitehall, June 23.
" Tlie Prince Regent has been pleased to grant the diCTity of a Marquis of the United Kingdom of Ghreat Britain and IrelaDd unto Lieut-general Henry William, Earl of Uxbridge, Knight Grand Cross of tlie Most Honourable and Military Order of the Bath, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style, and title of Marquis of .Aiigleaey.'*
Addbbbs tOB A National MoimcEifr and Monmasins lo Qfticebs
WHO FELL Ef THE BaHUS OF WATKRLOa
June 29 A, 1815.
^ Ruolved, Nemine ContradicenJte, That an humble Address he pesented to his Royal Highness the IVince Regent, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that a National Momnnent be erected in honour of the splendid victory of Waterloo, and to commemorate the fiune of the officers and men of the British army, who fell gloriously upon the 16th and IBth of the jHnesent month ; and more pardctuarly of Lieut-general Sir Thomas Picton and Major-general the HcNiourable oir William Ponsonby ; and tiist Funeral Monuments be also erected in memory of each of those two officers in the cathedral church of Saint Paul, Londcm ; and to assure his Ro^al Highness thai this House will make good the expoise attendmg the same.**
WATEBLOO HO5OIIB85 BTC.
411
The Prince Regent has been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant promotion to the following Majors ana Captains, recommended for Brevet Rank, for their conduct in the Battle of Waterloo.
To be LiEiiTENAinvCoLONEiJS in the Abht, viz.
Commissions to be dated IBth of Jmie, 1810.
:M8y.
Maj.
Maj.
Maj.
Maj.
IVIaj.
M^j.
Maj.
Maj.
M%j.
Maj.
M^j.
Maj.
Miy.
M^.
Mai,
Maj.
Miy.
M^j.
K.
Maj.
Maj.
M^j.
Mig.
M%j* M^.
Miu.
Frederick Reh, 4 L. K. G. L.
Edward Parkinson, 38 F.
Fred, de Lutterman, 3 L. K. G. L.
Hans Baron BusschOi 1 L. B. ditto.
Frederick de Robertson, 1 L. ditto.
Philip Baron Gmben, 1 Has. ditto.
George KrauchenWrg, 3 Hus. ditto.
Thomas Hunter Blair, 01 F.
Dawson Kelly, 73 F.
Robert Bidl, R. A.
Edward Cheney, 2 D.
Richard Llewellyn, 28 F.
Augustus Fredericks, 2 L. D.E.G.L.
Donald McDonald, 02 F.
J. P. Bridger, 12 L. D.
George Home Murray, 16 L. D.
WilUam Thomhill, 7 L. D.
J. Lewis Watson, 60 F.
Aug. Baron Reitzenstein, 1 L. D.
G. L.
John Hare, 27 F.
George Baring, 2 L. I. K. G. L.
Jonathan Leach, 96 F.
Peter Brown, 23 F.
Thomas F. Wade, 42 F.
Francis Dalmer, 23 F.
Riohard Egerton, di F.
M^j. William Chalmers, 52 F.
Mfy. John M^Curliffe, 23 L. D.
Mig. John Parker, R. A.
Mai. C. H. Churchill, 1 G.
Meg. George D. Wilson, 4 F.
Mi^. John Keightley, 14 F.
Mig. George Miller, 05 F.
Mi^. Charles Beckwith, 06 F.
Meg. John Campbell, 42 F.
Maj. William Campbell, 23 F.
Maj. Charles de Petersdorff, 8 L. B.
K. G. L. Maj. James Bourchier, 11 L. D. Maj. James Grant, 18 L. D. Mig. Brook Lawrence, 13 L. D. M^j. John Thomas Keyts, 01 F. Mig. Augustus Sympher, Art. K. G. L« Maj. Charles C. Raddyffe, 1 D. Mig. Fielding Brown, 40 F. Meg- Thomas W. Taylor, 10 L. D. Mig. L. Arquimbeau, 1 F. Maj. Michael Childers, 11 L. D. Maj. Heniy George Smith, 00 F. M^j. Felix Calvert, 82 F. Meg. William Stayely, Royal Stf. Corps. Miy. Alexander Campbell Wylly, 7 F. BreT..M^). DeLacy Evans, 0 W. India B.
To be Majobs in the Abmt, viz.
CommUaioiks dated June 18, 1810.
Capt Michael Turner, 1 D. G.
Capt. Edward Whinyates, R. A.
CapL Peter Junes, 70 F.
Capt. Edward Kelly, 1 L. G.
Capt. Heniy Madox, 6 D.
Capt. Hon. H. E. Irby, 2 Life G.
Capt. Samuel Reed, 71 F.
Capt. Edward Eeane, 7 L. D.
Capt W. Baron Deoken, 3 L. B. K. G. L.
Capt Adam Brugh, 44 F.
Capt A. Cleves, Art K. G. L.
Capt L. de Dreves, 8 L. Bat K. G. L.
Capt Lord John SomeiBet, 63 F.
Capt Thomas Dyneley, R. A.
Capt William Vemer, 7 L. D.
Capt Skinner Hancox, 10 L. D.
Capt W. F. Halsemann, 1 Lt. In. Bat
K. G. L. Capt Conyngham EDia, 40 F.
Lord Arthur Hill, upon the Staff
Capt George Bowles, Cold. F. G. Capt George L. Rudor£^ 1 Lt. In. Bat
K. G. L. Capt Hon. E. S. Erskine, 60 F. Capt William F. Drake, Roy. H. G. Capt William Drummond, 3 G. Capt James Gunthorpe, 1 G. Capt Aug. de Saffe, 1 L. Bat K. G. L. Capt James Shaw, 43 F. Capt Lord Charles Fitzroy, I G. Capt Charles A. F. Bentinck, C. F. G. Capt Alexander Macdonald, R. A. Capt Robert Ellison, 1 F. G. Capt Henry Dumaresque, 0 F. Capt James Jackson, 87 F. Capt Robert Howard, 30 F. Capt William Eeles, 00 F. Capt John Tyler, 03 F. Capt. Algernon Langton, 61 F.
(commission dated July 37, 1610).
412
BATTLE or WATEBLOO.
Jtdy 1815.
The King of the Netherlands has given the Dnke of Wdlingtcm the title of rsiNCK of Waterloo, and the States-General have settled an estate uix>n his family, annually producing 20,000 Dutch florins (2000^), consisting of woods, &c. m the neighbourhood of La Belle Alliance, Hougomont, &c
The King of Saxony has conferred upon the Duke of Wel- lington his Family Order of " The Cbowk of Rue."
The Grand Duke of Baden has also conferred upon this Olus- trious Personage his Order of " FmBUTT," of the First Glass, ac- companied with a gold snu£f-box, enriched with diamonds of great value.
WhitehaU, June 22, 1815.
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has been pleased, in the name and on oehalf of His Majesty, to nominate and arooint Major-General Sir James Kempt, K.C.B. to be Knight Gba5d Cbo88 of the Most Honourable MiLiTAfiT Ordek of the Baih, vict Lieutenant-General Sir T. Picton, deceased.
His Royal Highness has been also pleased to nominate and appoint the following Officers to be KiaaHis Co]OiAia>£BS of the said Order: —
Major-General G. Cook, vke Maior-Greneral Sir R. R. Gil- lespie ; Major-General Maitland, vice Major-General Sir W. Pon- sonby, deceased; Major-General F. Adam, vice Major-Genoral Sir J. Kempt
His Royal Highness the Prince R^ent has further been pleased to nominate and appoint the undermentioned Officers to bie Com- panions of the saia Most Honourable Milttabt Okder of the Bath, upon the recommendation of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellin^n, for their services in the battles fought upon tlie 16th and 18Ui of June last : —
A.
•Col. Hon. A. AberoTomby, Cold. Gds. LieaL-Col. Stephen 0. Adye, Roy. Art. Lieut.-Col. L. Arquimbeau, 1st Foot. ♦Col. Henry Askew, 1st Ft. Gds,
B.
Lient.-Col. N. W. Bailey, 30 F. Lieut-Col. 0. Baring, 2 Lt. In. K.G.L. Lieut.- Col. Charles Beck with, 95 F. Lieut.-Col. Shapland Boyse, 13 Lu D. M^jor F. Breymann, 8 Line, K. G. L. Lieut-CoL James P. Bridger, 12 Lt. Dr. ♦Lieut-Col. F. Brooke, 4 F. Lieut.-Col. Andrew Brown, 70 F. Lieut.-Col. Fielding Browne, 40 F. Lieut-Col. Robert Bull, Royal Art. ♦Lieut- Col. J. Buron Bulow, Ist Lt Dr. K. G. L.
lieut-Col. De Lancey Barclay, 1 Ft G. Lieut -Col. Hans Baron Bossche, 1 Lc Inf. K. G. L.
C.
Lieut-Col. Alex. Cameron, 05 F. Lieut-Col. Duncan Cameron, 70 F. ♦Lieut..Col. Colin Campbell, 1 F. Lieut-Col. Sir Guy Campbell, Bt 6 F. Lieut- Col. John CampbeU, 42 F. Lieut-Col. William Campbell, 23 F. Lieut-Col. Edward Cheney, 2 Dr. Lieut-Col. Isaac B. Clarke, 2 Dr. Lieut-Col. Arthur B. Clifton, 1 Dr. Lieut-Col. George Colquitt, 1 F. G. Lieut -Col. Richard H. Cooke, 1 F. G. Lieut -Col. John M. Cutcliffe, 23 Dr-
D. ♦Lieut-Col. Thomas Dalmer, 23 F.
WATERLOO HONOUBS, BTa
4ia
Xieut-Col. L. C. Dalrymple, 15 L. D. ISIb^. the Hon. Geo. Dawson, 1st D. G. *Lieut.-Col. Robert Henry Dick, 42 F. Xieut.-Col. Philip Dorville, 1 D. *Lieut.-Col. NeU Douglas, 79 F. M^jor Percy Drummond, K. A.
E. Ueut-Col. W. K. Elphinstone, 33 F.
F. Lieut-Col. G. Fead, 1 F. G. Lieut-Col. J. Freniantle, Cold. G. Mig. J. Fullartoii, fl5 F.
G. Lieut-Col. C. Gold, Royal Art. *L.ieut-Col. Lord Greenock, Permanent Assist. Q. M. Gen.
H. I^eut-Col. Alexander Hamilton, 30 F. L.ieut-Col. J. M. Hammerton, 44 F. Lieut-Col. John Hare, 27 F. Col. Hon. William G. Harris, 73 F. *LJeut.-Col. Frederick Hartwig, 1 L. I.
K. G. L. *IJeut-Col. James Hay, 16 L. D. M^jor Aug. Heise, 2 Lt Inf. Bat K. G. L. *Col. Francis Hepbume, 3 F. G. *Col. F. B. Heney, 14 Lt D. *Lieut-Col. John Hicks, 32 F. Lieut-Col. Sir R. C. Hill, Royal H. G. M%jor Sir George Hoste, Knt Royal En.
J. M<\ior John Jessopp, 44 F. Lieut-Col. C. de Jonquieres, 2 Lt. D. K. G. L.
K. Msijor H. Kuhlmann, Art. K. G. L Lieut-Col. Dawson Kelly, 73 F. *Col. Sir Edw. Kerrison, Knt 7 Lt D. Lieut-Col. John T. Keyt, 61 F.
L.
Lient-Col. Lieut-Col. Lieut -Col.
K. G. L. lieut-Col. Lieut-Col.
K. G. L. Lieut-Col. Hon. E. P. Lygon, 2 LifeG.
P. A. Latour, 23 Lt D.
Jonathan Leach, 95 F.
W. Baron Linsingen, 5 L. 6.
Richard Llewellyn, 28 F. Frederic de Lutterman, 3 L.
M. Lieut-Col. James Macdonnell, Cold. G. Lieut -Col. Alexander Macdonald, R. A. Lieut-Col. Donald Macdonald, 92 F. Major R. Macdonald, 1 F. Lieut-Col. Lord Robert Maimers, 10 D. Lieut-Col. Douglas Mercer, 3 Ft G. lieut-Col. F. S. Miller, 6 Dr. Lieut-Col. George Miller, 95 F. ♦CoL H. H. Mitchell, 51 F. lient-Col. James Mitchell, 92 F.
Lient.-Col. Archibald Money, 11 Lt Dr. Lieut-Col. Geoiige MuUer, 2 L. Batt
K. G. L. Lieut-Col. Hon. Henry Murray, 18 D, Lieut.-Col. George H. Murray, 16 L. D, Col. Joseph Muter, 6 D. Lieut-C«»l. George Muttlebuiy, 69 F.
N. Col. W. Nicolay, Royal Staff Corps. Lieut-Col. Robert Nixon, 28 F. Lieut-Col. Amos G. Norcott, 95 F.
O. lieut-Col. George O'Malley, 44 F.
P.
Lieut-Col. John Parker, R. A. Lieut-Col. Hon. H. Percy, 14 Lt JT. Lieut-Ci)l. C. de Petersdorff, 8 L. K.G.L. Col. Hon. F. C. Ponsonby, 12 L. D.
Q.
Col. George Quentin, 10 Lt. D.
R. Lieut.-Col. Frederick Leh, 4 L. K. G. L. Lieut. -Col. A. Baron Reitzenstein^ 1 LD.
K. G. L. Col. Thomas Reynell, 71 F. Lieut-Col. Samuel Rice, 51 F. lieut-Col. Frederick De Robertson, 1 L.
Batt K. G. L. Miyor Thomas Rogers, Royal Art Lieut-Col. Henry W. Rooke, 3 F. G. *Lieut-Col. John Ross, 95 F. *Lieut-Col. Charles Rowan, 52 F.
S. Lieut-Col. Lord Saltoun, 1 F. G. Lieut-Col. James W. Sleigh, 11 Lt Dr. *Lieut-Col. J. W. Smith, Royal Art. Lieut-Col. Henry G. Smith, 95 F. Col. James C. Smyth, Royal Eng. Lieut -CoL W. Stavely, Royal Staff C. ♦Col. Hen. W. Stuart, 1 F. G. Lieut-Col. A, Sympher, Art. K. G. L.
T. Lieut-Col. F. S. Tidy, 14 F. Lieut-Col. R. Torrens, 1 W. India R. Lieut-Col. Baron Tripp, 60 F.
V.
•Lieut-Col. C. A. Vigoureux, 30 F.
Major L. Walker, 7i'f. ♦Lieut.-Col. John Waters, Assist. A. G. Lieut-Col. J. S. Williamson, Royad A. Lieut-Col. George D. Wilson, 4 F. Iieut.-Col. Fred, de Wissell, 5 Line B.
K. G. L. lieut-Col. Aug. de Wissell, 1 Hnssan,
K. G. L. GoL Sir George A. Wood, Knt R. A. ♦CoL A. G. Woodford, Cold. G. lieut-Col. Alex. C. Wylly, 7 F.
414
BITTLB OF WATEKLOa
War Deparimenty Sept 23, 1815.
Dispatches, of which the following are copies, have been re- ceived at this office by Earl Bathurst, addressed to his Lordship by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington : —
Paris, August 2, 1815.
Mr Lord, — I have the honour to inclose a list of Officers upon whom the £m{)eror of Austria has conferred the Cross of a Com- mander and of a Knight respectively of the Order of TAasxjl Tee- B£8A, in testimony of His Im()erial Majest/s approbation of their services and ainclucty particularly in the late battles in the Nether- landsy which I beg your LordsUp to lay before His Royal High- ness the Prince I{e<;ent, and request His Royal Highxiess's per- mission for them res})ectively to accept the same.
I have, &c Welltngtoil
To bt Commandm of the Order of Mabu Theresa.
lienL-Gen. the Marqaii of Anglesey,
O. C. B. Iieut.-Gen. Lord Hill, O. C. B.
To be Kni^hU ofth* Order of Mabia Tuekeba.
Lient..Gen. Sir Henr>- Clinton, G.C.B. Miy.-Oen. Sir James Kempt, K. C. B. M^.-(ien. Sir Kdw. Htimes, K. C. B. M^).>Gen. Lord Kdw. Somerset, K. C.B. Cul. Sir John EUey, K. C. B. R. H. G. CcL Thomas Kejnell, 71 i\
Col. Sir And. Barnard, K. C. B. 05 F. Col. the Hon. Alex. Abercrombj, C. G. Col. Sir George Wood, R. A. Col. Sir Colin Campbell, C.G. Col. Sir John Colbome, K. C. B. .yj F. Col. Alex. Woodlord, C. G. Col. the Hon. Fred. Ponsonbv, 12 L. U. Col. Fel«on B. Her%'ey, 14 L. 1>. Col. Carmichael Smith, Royal Eng. Lieut..Col. James Macdonnell, C G. Lieut. -Col. Sir Robert Hill, KuU R. H- G. Lieut. -Col. Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
K. C. B. 1 G. Lieat-Col. Robert Dick, 42 F. LieuU-CoL NeU Douglas*, 79 F. Lieut -Col. Lord Saltoun, 1 G.
War DepaHmenty Oct 28, 1815.
Dispatches, of which the following are copies, have been re- ceived by Earl Batharst, addressed to his Lordship by Field- Marshal his Grace the Duke of Wellington, K.G. G.CB. : —
Head Quarters, Paris, Oct 8, 1815.
Mt Lord, — I have the honour to annex a ftirther list of Ge- neral Officers upon whom His Majesty the Emperor of Austria has conferred the Order of Mabia Theresa, in testimony of His Miyesly's approbation of iheir services and conduct, particularly in the late battles fought in the Netherlands, which I bez your Lordship to lay before His Royal Highness the Prince K^nent, and request lus Royal Highnesses permission for them to wear the same. I have, &c*
The Earl Bathurst WELLncQlolf.
Mf^or-Gen. Sir John Byng. Mugor-Gen. Sir Frederick Adam.
Mijor-Gen. Sir Denis Padc Mi^or-Gen. Sir Husaey Yiviaa.
WAIXRLOO HOVOVBBy ETC.
416
War Department, Sept 23, 1815.
DispatcheSj of which the following are copies, have been re- ceived at tlus office by Earl Bathurst, addressed to his Lordship by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington : —
Parisy Aug. 21, 1815.
Mt Lobd, — ^I have the honour to inclose a list of Officers upon -whom His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia has conferred decorations of different classes of the orders of St. Geobge, Akve, and Wt.adtmtr, respectively, in testimony of His Imperial Ma- jesty's approbation of their services and conduct, particularly in the late battles fought in the Netherlands, which I beg your Lord- ship to lay before His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and request His Royal Highness's permission for them to accept the
I have, &C.
Wellington.
same.
Second Class.
St. Oeorob.
Xiieut.-6exi. the Marquis of Anglesey. lieut-Gen. Lord Hill.
ITiird Class.
St. George.
X*ieut-Gen. Sir H. Clintoo. 3VIaj.-Gen. Cooke. Maj.-Gen. Kempt.
Sscond Class*
St. Wladimir.
Mflgor-General Sir O. Vandekor. M^jor-General Sir J. Byng. ld^or>General Sir D. Pack«
Third Class.
St. WiAOuaik.
Mfi^^'x'-^'^^'^^ ^'^ ^' Somerset. Mfl^or^GenenJ Sir J. Lambert. Mi^or- General Sir C. Grant. M^jor-General Maitland. Major-General Sir H. Vivian. Colonel Mitchell.
Fomih Class.
St. Geosoe.
Col. Sir J. EUey, Assist. A^j. Gen.
Col. Reynell, 71 F.
Col. Sir A. Barnard, 9ft F.
Co). Hon. A. Abereromhy, A. Q. M. G. I
Col. Sii C. Campbell, A. Q. M. G. Col. Sir J. Colbome, 52 F. Col. Woodford, Cold. G. Col. Hon. F. Ponsonby, 18 Lt. D. Col. Hervey, Acting Military Sec. Lieut.-Col. Sir R. Hill, Royal H. G. Lieut. -Col. Lord F. Somerset, Mil. Sec. Lieut. -Col. Lord Saltoun, 1 G.
Fourth Class.
Sj. WlADIMIB.
Col. Hepburn, 8 G.
Col. Sir G. Wood, R. A.
Col. Muter, 6 Dr.
Col. Carmichael Smyth, R.E.
Lieut.-Col. Macdonnell, G.
Lieut.-Col. Sir H. Bradford, 1 G.
Lieut. -Col. Lord Greenock, A. Q. M. G.
Lieut. -Col. Cooke, 1 G.
Lieut. -Col. Sir C. Broke, A. Q. M. G.
Lieut. -Col. Sir H . G. Berkeley, A.Q.M.G.
Lieut. Col. RosR, 05 F.
Lieut.-Col. Sir G. Scovell, A. Q.M. G.
Lieut.-Col. Dick, 42 F.
Lieut. -Col. Douglas, 70 F.
Lieut.-Col. Nixon, 28 F.
Lieut.-Col. Lygon, 2 L. G.
Lieut-Col. Hare, 27 F.
First Class. St. Anne.
Lieat.-Gen. Charles Count Alten. M%ior-Gen. Sir E. Barnes, A4j. G. M^}or-Gen. Adam.
416
BATTLB OF WAISBLOO.
War Department^ Oct 28, 1815. Dispatches, of which the following are copies, have been re- ceived oy Earl Bathurst, addressed to his Lordship by Field- Marshal his Grace the Duke of Wellington, K. G. G. d R :—
Head Quarters, Paris, Oct 8, 1815.
Mt Lord, — I have the honour to inclose a list of Officers upon whom His Majesty the Emperor of Russia has conferred decon- tions of the Order of St. Anne, in testimony of His Majesty's ap- probation of their services and conduct, particularly in the laie iMittles fought in the Netherlands, which i beg your Lordship to lay before Ilis Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and request liis Royal Highness's permission for them to wear the sam&
I have, &C.
The Earl Bathursty fyc Welldigton.
Secomd Clou of St. Anne.
Col.F. IJeut. Ijeut. Lieut. Lieut. Lieut. Lieut. Lieut. Lieut.
Von ArenUcheildt, 8 Hus. K.G.L. -Col. R. Torrens, W. L Re^. -C/ol. John Waters, A. A. G. .Col. Charles Beckwith, 95 F. .Col. W. Campbell, A. Q. M. G. -Col. Colin Campbell, Roy. Scots. -Col. Arthur ClifUm, 1 Dr. .Col. John Hicks, :)2 F. -Col. W. Elphinstone, 33 F.
Lieut. .Col. Heniy Mitchell, 91 F. Lient..Col. A. G. Norcott, 05 F. Lieut. .Col. A. Cameron, 95 F. Lieut.. Col. J. B. Clarke, 2 Dr. LieuL.CoI. Sir J. May, K. C. B. R A. Lieut..Col. Sir Hew Kom, K. C. B. B. A. Lieut..Col. Sir R. Gardiner, K.C.B. K.V. Lieut..Col. SirW. Gomm, K.C.B. R..V. Lieut.. Col. John Bull, R.A. Major Edward Kelly, 2 L. G. M^jor A. M'Donald, R. A.
Head Quarters, Parts, Oct 8, 1815.
Mt LoBDy — I have the honour to inclose a list of Officers upon whom His Majesty the King of the Low Countries has confeired decorations of different classes of the Wilhelm's Order, in tesd- mony of His Majesty's approbation of their services and conduct, particularly in the fate battles fought in the Netherlands, which I beg your Lordship to lay before His Boyal Highness the Prince Regent, and request His Royal Highness's permission for them to wear the same. I have, &c.
The Earl BathursL Welunoton.
Third Class.
Wilrelm'8 Order.
Lieut-Oen. Sir Henry Clinton, G.C. B. Maj.-Gen. Sir Colq. Grant, K. C. B. M%j.-Gen. Sir Colin Halkett, K. C. B. Meg.-Gen. Sir George Cooke, K. C. B. Mig.-Gen. Sir Jamefl Kempt, K. C. B. Mig.-Gen. Sir William Domberg, K.C.B. M^).-Gen. Sir Per. Maitland, K. C. B. LieuUGen. Charles CountAlten, K.C.B.
FouHh Class. WiLHELif'8 Order. Hon. Col. Stewart, 1 G.
Col. Fra. Hepburn, 3 G.
Col. Fred. ArentscheUdt, 3 Hns.
Col. A. B. Clifton, 1 Dr.
Hon. Lieut..Col. W. Elphinstone, 3-3 F.
LieuL-CoL E. 0. Tripp.
Lieuu-Col. Sir Charles Broke, K. C. B.
Lieut-Col. Sir Henry Bradford, K. C. B.
Lieut.-Col. Sir George Berkeley, K.C.B.
Lieut.- Col. Lord Greenock.
Lieut-Col. B. Nixon, 1 F.
Lieut.-CoL G. Muttlebuiy, 09 F.
Lieut.-Col. Harris.
Lieut-Col. J. Boss, 95 F.
Lieut-Col. Bussche, 1 L. B. K. G. L.
Lieut-Col. George Baring, 2 L.B. K.GX^
WATEBIXX) HONOUBS9 Exa 417
WhitehaU, Oct 31, 1816.
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has been pleased, in the name and on oehalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignity of a Baron of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland unto the Right Honourable Lieutenant-General Rowland Baron Hill, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style, and title of Baron Hill of Almarez, and of Hawk- stone and Hardwicke, in the county of Salop ; and in default of such issue, to the heirs male lawfully begotten of his late brother John Hill, of Hawkstone, in the said county of Salop, Esq. deceased.
War Department, Oct. 28, 1816.
Dispatches, of which the following are copies, have been re^ ceived at this office by Earl Bathurst, addressed to his Lordship by Field-marshal the i>uke of Wellington: —
Parisy September 24thy 1815.
Mr LoBD, — I have the honour to inclose a list of OiKcers upon whom His Majesty the King of Bavaria has conferred decorations of different classes of the Order of Maximilian Joseph, in testi- mony of His Majesty's approbation of their services and conduct, particularly in the late battles fought in the Netherlands, which I beg your Lordship to lay before His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and request His Royal Highness's permission for them to accept the same. I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed) Wbimngton.
To Earl Bathurst, ^c ^c ^c
Nakes 07 OmcEBs UPON WHOM His Majesty the King of Bavabia
HAS GONFEBBED THE OrdEBS OF MaXTMUJAW JoSEPH.
Head Quarters^ Paris, September 23d, 1816.
Commanders. — Major-General Sir Colin HaUcett, K.C.B. Major- General Sir John Lambert, E. C.B. Major-General Sir James Lyon, K.C.B. Major-General Sir John Vandeleur, K. C. B.
JTnwAte.— Colonel Sir Colin Campbell, K C. B. Colonel F. B. Hervey. Colonel Lord Fitzroy Somerset, K.C.B. Lieutenant- Colonel Norcott Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Noel Hill, E.C.B. Lieutenant-Colonel Fremantle. Major Honourable G. Dawson.
'' War Office, Jvly 2Ath, 1815. " The Prince Regent, as a mark of his high approbation of the distinguished bravery and good conduct of the 1st and 2d
e e
418 MhXnM OF WAZUUXk
Life Guardfl at the battle of Waterloo, on the 18th ultimo, is pleased to declare himaelf Colonel in Chief of both the Reg^nents of Life OnardB."
*« War Ogvuy Jrdy 25th, 1815.
'' His Royal Highness the Prince R^ent has been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, to approve of all the British Regiments of cavalry and infantry which were engaged in the battle of Waterloo being permitted to bear on their colours and appointments, in addition to any other badges or devices that may nave heretofore been granted to those regiments, the word * Waterloo,' in commemoration of their distinguished services, on the I8th of Jmie, 1815,''«
« War Office, July 29th, 1815.
^The Prince Recent, as a mark of his Royal approbation of the distinguished gallantry of tlie Brigade of Foot Guards in the victory ot Watenoo, has been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, to approve of all Ae Ensigns of the three Regiments of Foot Guards having the rank of Lieutenants, and that such rank shall be attached to all the future appointm^its to Ensigncies in the Foot Guards, in the same manner as the Lieutenants of those regiments obtain the rank of Captain.
'* His Royal Hjglmess has been pleased to approve of the 1st Reriment of Foot Guaixls being made a Regiment of Grenadiers, and styled * The 1st or Greni^ier Regiment of Foot Guards,' in commemoration of their having defeated the Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guards upon wis memorable occasion."
St ~ ~ ^
War Office, July Zlsty 1815.
Sm, — ^The Prince Regent having taken into his most gracious oonsideration the distinguished gaUantry manifested upon all occasions by the Officers of the British army, and having more particularly adverted to the conspicuous ralour displayed by fheni m the late glorious victory gained near Waterloo, by the army under the command of FiekL-marshal the Duke of Wellington; and his Royal Highness being desirous of testifying the strong sense entertained by him of their devotion to his Majesty's service, I have the honour to acquaint you, that his iloyal Highness has been pleased to order, —
* Vuk List of BegimMits, p. 4S1.
WATEBLOO HONOUBSy ETC. 419
^' Firsty — ^That the reflation under which peasions are granted to wounded Officers shall be revised, and that the pensions which have been or may be granted to Officers for the actual loss of eye or limb, or for wounds certified to be equally injurious with the loss of limb, shall not be c(Hifined to the amount attached by the scale to the rank which the Officer held at the time when he ^nras wounded, but shall progressively increase, according to the rank to which such Officer may &om time to time be promoted ; the augmentation with regard to the pensions of such Officers now upon the list being to take the date from the 18th of June, 1815, mclusive.
" Secondly, — That every Subaltern Officer of Infantry of the line who served in the battle of Waterloo, or in any of the actions which immediately preceded it, shall be allowed to account two years' service, in virtue of that victory, in reckoning his services for increase of pay given to Lieutenants of seven years' standing; and every sucn Sm)altem will therefore be entitled to the additional 1«* a-aay, whenever he shall have served five years as a Lieutenant.
'^And, thirdly, — That this regulation shall be extended to every Subaltern of Cavalry, and to every Ensign of the Foot Goa^, who served in the above-mentionid act^Qs; aad ever^ such Subaltern and Ensign will, therefore, be entitled to an addi- tional shilling a-day after five years' service as Lieutenant in the CavakTy or as Ensign in the Guards.
^^ His Royal Highness bein^ also desirous of marking his sense of the distinguishea bravery msplayed by the non-commissioned Officers and Soldiers of the British forces in the victory of Waterloo, has been most graciously pleased to order, that hence- forth every non-commissioned officer, trumpeter, drummer, and private man, who served in the battle of Waterloo, or in any of the actions which immediately preceded it, shall be borne upon the muster-rolls and pay-lists of uieir respective corps a9 ^Waterloo Men ;' and that every * Waterloo Man ' shall be allowed to count two years' service in virtue of that victory, in reckoning his services for increase of pay, or for pension when discharged.
**It is, however, to be distinctly understood, that this in- dulgence is not intended in any other manner to affect the con- ditions of their original enlistment, or to give them any right to their discharge before the expiration of the period for which they have engaged to serve.
'^The Duke of Wellington has been requested to transmit returns of the Subaltern Officers to whom these orders may be considered by his Grace to apply ; together with accurate muster- rolls containing the names of all the ^Waterloo Men' in each corps ; such muster-rolls being to be preserved in this Office as a record honourable to the individuals themselves^ and as documents
420 BATTLE or WATEBLOa
by which they will at any future time be ambled to establish their claims to the benefits of this regulation.
** I have great pleasure in communicating these instances of the Prince Regent ^s gracious con^deration for the army; and I request that you will be pleased to take the earliest opportanily c4 announcing tlie same to the officers and men of the corps under your command.
" I have the honour to be. Sir,
** Your most obedient and humble servant,
(Signed) ^' Paijiebsios.''
Circular, To Paymasters of Regiments.
" War Offijcsy Jyly 31, 1815.
''That the Lieutenants of Cavalry and Infantnr, who had served more than five years as such on the 18th of ^one, 1815, or who may 8ubse<iuentlv have completed that period of service, are to receive one shillmg per diem for every day's service » Lieutenant beyond five years, it being fully understood that tk retrospect is in no instance to exceed two years. In like manner, the corporals and privates, distinguished as * Waterloo Men,' are to recei\'e the benefit of the two years' service retrospectively, in cases in which, by the addition of the two years, they would have completed their respective terms of service on or previously to the 18th of June, 1815, and the two years' service will, of course, be reckoned in all claims subsequently accruing.
** Such of the officers and men present with the battalion as are now entitled to receive the same mav be settled with accordin^v.
" The charges for the officers are to be included in the ordinaiy accounts of their pav, and those for the men present in a distinct supplementary pay-list to the 24 th of September ; forms of whicli are to be transmitted from that office.
" The ordinary quarterly pay-list to this period will, therefore, be proceeded upon and rendered as if the Cux^ular of the 31st of July last had not been issued.
'^The non-commissioned officers and privates absent are to receive the amoxmt due to them, under directions firom that department, which is to be issued as soon as a certified return, signed by the Commanding Officer, Adjutant, and Paymaster, shall have been received. And that, under the present Mutiny Act, soldiers becoming entitled to additional pay on account of service, are allowed to receive the same from the first day of the military quarter in which they completed their period of service; but that rule, being to take effect fix>m the 25th of June last, does not apply to the men who, with the addition of the two years now
WATEBLOO HONOIjTIS, ETC. 421
granted to them, will have completed their term of service on or Before the 24th of June last"
Addressed to the Paymaster. Officers commanding Regiment of *
** His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has conferred upon Lieut ^neral Sir Charles Alten, K.C.B., and to his descendants, the title of Count, as a recompense for his distinguished services in the war in Spain, and in the battle of Waterloo.
** His Royal Highness has been further pleased to testify his high satisfaction with the Hanoverian troops who were present in this last battle, and to permit them to bear, like the English troops, on their colours and on their uniform, the word * Waterloo.' "
War Qjfflce, Dec. 23.
The Prince Regent has been pleased to approve of the
undermentioned Regiments being permitted to bear on their
colours and appointments the word 'Waterloo,' in commemorar
tion of their distinguished services on the 18th of June, 1815 :
— 1st and 2d Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards, 1st Dragoon
Guards, Royal Dragoons, 2d Royal North British Dragoons, 6th
Regiment of Dragoons, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th,
ISm, and 23d Regiments of Light Dragoons, Royal Waggon
Train, Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, 1st Mid 2d German
Light Dragoons, 1st and 3a German Hussars, 2d and 3d batt
Grenadier Guards, 2d batt Coldstream Guards, 2d batt 3d Foot
Guards, 3d batt Royal Scots, 1st batt 4th, 3d batt 14th, 23d ;
1st batt 27th, 28th; 2d batt 30th, 32d, 33d; 1st batt 40th,
42d; 2d batt 44th, 51st, 52d; 2d batt 69th; 1st batt 71st; 2d
batt 73d; 1st batt 79th, 92d; 1st batt 95th; 6 companies 2d
batt 95th, and 2 comps. 3d batt 95th Remments of Foot ; Royal
Staff Corps; 1st and 2d German Light Battalion; 1st, 2d, 3d,
4th, 5th, and 8th German Line Battalions, and the German
Artillery.
** Memobandtjm.
Horse Ghtardsy lOih of March, 1816.
The Prince Regent has been graciously pleased, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, to command, that in com- memoration of the brilliant and decisive victory of Waterloo
* Vide List of Regimentfl, p. 481.
422 BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
a medal shall be conferred upon every officer, non-ooniBuasiosei: oiScer, and soldier of the British Army present upon tha: memorable occasion.
** His Royal Highness has further been pleased to command that the ribbon issued with the medal shall never be worn bo: with the medal suspended to it
** By conmumd of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent,
** Fredebick, Commander^in-C}iie£~ ** H, TorrenSf Major^eneral and MtHtary Secretary J*
[LlECT.-OENEBAL LoRB HiLL^s Order 18 introduced m pu 215.]
Copy of Division Order of Sir Chabubs Coltilub's Brigade,
''June20eh, 1815.
*^ Lt-gen. Sir Charles Colville cannot deny himself the satis- faction of adding to those of Lord Hill his own most heuty congratulations to Colonel Mitchell and the brigade of the 4th division under his command, in the share they so fortunately had in the glorious and for ever-memorable battle of the 1 8th instant By every statement, the 23d or Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and 5 1st Regiment, acted most fully up to their former high characten while the very young 3d battalion 14th Raiment, in this their furst trial, showed a gallantry and steadiness becoming of veteran troops.'*
Dividon Order y AmevUle, July 5th, 1815.
The 32d Regiment will join the 6th Division this day, agreeably to the General Order of the 3d instant.
^* Major-general Sir James Kempt feels that he cannot part with this regiment without again expressing the very high sense he entertains of its very distinguished conduct in the battles of the 16th and 18th of June: it was auite impossible for troops to behave more nobly than the 32d did on these glorious occasions; and he begs that Lieutenant-col. Hicks, the officers and men, will accept of his thanks for their distinguished services while under his command.
(Signed) "J. Kempt, Major-general.'*
'^ As the late 2d battalion of the 44th Foot bore a part in the memorable battle of Waterloo, and on that occasion received the
WATERLOO ROHOUKSy BTC. 483
Prince R^ent's permission to bear on its colonrs and appoint- ments the word ^Waterloo;' and as that battalion has been ireduced^ and the men have been transferred to the 1st battalion; Ills Royal Highness has been pleased to approve of permission l>eing granted to the 44th Regiment to bear on its colours and Appointments^ in addition to any other badges or devices which inay have been heretofore granted to the regiment, the word * Waterloo,' in commemoration of the distinguished gallantry dis- played by the 2d battalion of that regiment in the action of the 18th of June, 1816.
« War Office, 26th July, 1816."
''Shooter's HiU, Jan. 21, 1816. "Sir,
u
As Commanding Officer of the 9th battalion, I beg to acknowledge the favour of your letter of the 7 th instant, acquaint- ing me wim the conduct of the company which devolved to your command towards the close of the battle of Waterloo.
"Deeply do I regret that the excellent and lamented officer who commanded your brigade at the commencement of that memorable day should not have lived to perform the pleasing duty of recording the cool and intrepid bravery of his brother officers and men: yet the wounds that you received are testi- monies which cannot be mistaken, and which entitle you in a giculiar de^ee to that consideration, which is also due to Lieuts. ringle and Sharpin, and the non-commissioned officers and men> who contributed so essentially to the greatest victory our arms had ever achieved. Although I cannot doubt that the Com- manding Officer of Artillery has already done complete justice to the services which you, and the company under your command, have rendered their country ; yet I have felt it to be my duty to transmit your letter, through General Macleod, to the Master- General.
" Permit me to add, that I shall ever be proud to have had in the battalion under my command officers who have so highly distinguished themselves ; and in the hope that your wounds may soon admit of vour return to England, and that you may long enjoy tiie laurels which you have so dearly gained,
" I remain, dear Sir,
" Your very faithiul humble Servant, (Signed) " Thomas Bloomhbld,
'' Lieut-Gen« and Colonel Commandant, " Royal Regiment of Artillery."
" To Captain Napier, Royal Artillery.^
424 Binu OF WAiznxx).
I
PENSIONS
TO OFIICBBS HATINa LOOT (oB HATING fifUSTAINED AN INJUBT BQUAI TO LOSnia) AK ETE OB A LDfB ON SEEYIGE.
Ftom tke Dale qfthe BatlU of WaUrloo, 18<A June, 1815, the Rremiumg imtnne
wUh the Ramk,
He1d-M«nh«l, Genera), or LienC-Oeneral, commanding in chief at the
time . To be tpeciaUy eomaidered,
FEB AK5.
Uentenant- General ..... . J&400
Miyor General ; or Brigadier-General commanding a Brigade ; and Com- missary-General at tlie head of Department . . .350 Colonel — Lieutenant- Colonel — * A4) • -O eneral — *Qaarter-Ma8ter-GeDeral— *Dep.-A4j.-General, if Chief of the Department — ^*Dep..Qaa.-Master- General, if Ditto— Commis. -General not at the head of a Department Deputy Ditto at the head of a Department — ^Inspector of Hospitals • 300 M^)or Commanding ..... ^
M^jor—*Dep.-A4j. General — ^*Dep.-QTia.-Ma8.-General — Dep. Inspector of
Hospitals— Dep. Commis.-General not at the head of a Department . 200 Captain — *A8sist-A4j.-General — *A8sist.-Qaa-Mas.-General— *Dep. Ditto -— *Sec. to Com. of Forces — *Aide-de-Camp— *M%ior of Brigade— Assist.- Com.-General — *Jadge Advocate — Chaplain — Paymaster — Phj'sidan — Staff-Surgeon — Regimental Surgeon — Purveyor . .100
lieutenant — Ati^utant — Deputy^Assistant-Commissaiy-General . 70
Comet — Ensign — Second Lieutenant — Regimental Quarter-Master — ^As- sistant-Surgeon— Apothecary — Hospital Assistant — ^Veterinary Surgeon —Deputy Purveyor . . . . . .80
The OiBcers mariced thus * to have the Allowance according to their Armff Bank,
if they prefer it.
The Payments are made half-yearly, at the Pay Office, WhitehalL
PENSIONS TO OFFICEBS' WIDOWS^ BEOIMENTAL, NOT BBKYET.
PEBAinC.
To the Widow of a General Officer .... ^£120
Colonel of a Regiment, not a General Officer ... 90
lieutenant-Colonel 80
M^Jor 70
Captain 50
Unt Lieutenant 40
Second lieutenant, Comet, and Ensign .... 36
Paymaster previous to the 24th of August, 1811 . 40
Ditto, subsequent to ditto &0
Adjutant and Surgeon 40
Quarter-Master and Assistant Surgeon .... 36
Veterinary Surgeon 30
PENSIONS. 425
STATF,
PER AKK.
To the Widow of a Commissaiy-General .... .£120
Depaty Commissaiy- General 60
Ditto, after having been seven years upon ftdl pay . . 80
Assiatant Commissaiy-General 70
Deputy Ditto .... .... 40
Director and In8x>ector of Hospitals .... 70
Deputy Inspector of Hospitals 50
Physician, after having served abroad as such ... 60
Ditto, not having served abroad 40
Purveyor, District Paymaster, and Surgeon ... 40
Deputy Purveyor 80
Apothecary 36
Hospital Assistant, after having served abroad as such 80
Chaplain General 90
Chaplain to the Forces 50
N.B. The above pensions are payable every four months, viz. April, August, and December, at the Pay Office, Whitehall, except those that relate to the Commissariat Department, which are payable every three months at the Office of the Commissary-in-Cluef.
No. 36 Great George Street, Westminster.
Pbecedenct of Relatiyes. — 1. Widow— 2. Child — 3. Father Mother — 5. Brother or Sister — 6. Grandfather or Grand- mother— 7. Uncle, Aunt, Nephew, or Niece — 8. Cousin Ger- main— 9. Ditto once removed — 10. Second Cousin.
The Departments of Military Accounts are transmitting the following instructions on the Waterloo Grant :
" Lieutenants of Cavahy and Infantry, who had served more than five years on the 18th of June, to receive one shilling per day for every day beyond five years' service, provided the retro- spect be not beyond two years; non-commissioned officers and pWates also to Wefitproi^rtionatelj from the same retrospect
** The charge for officers to be made in their ordinary accounts. Those for men distinct in a pay-list supplementary, according to a prescribed form.
^^ Sums issued upon a return, to take effect &om the 25th of June, and no reference to the 97 th Section of the Mutiny Act
« September 20th, ISIS.**
486 BATTLi or WAtlBLOa
WATERLOO ARMY PRIZE-MONEY.
London Gazette, June 21, 1817. ORAiiT BT Parliament to the Abict which sebved xjsnssl tee
OOlOCAia) OF FlELD-HABSHAL HIS GrACB THE DuKS OP WeL- UN010N, Of THE BaTTLE OF WaTEBLOO AlCD CaFTCBE OF PaBI&
The following are the departments and regiments entitled to share, and the periods in which the prize-monej dae to the different individuals belonging to them is to be paid, at Na 18 Suffolk Street, Charing ^oss, viz. : —
The General Staff and different departments of the army, together with the Royal Artillery and Engineers, between the 25th of June and 24th July, 1817.
The 1st and 2d Life Ghiards ; Royal Horse Guards ; Ist Dra- goon Ghiards ; 1st, 2d, and 6th Dragoons ; 7th and lOtb Hnssars; 1 1th, 12th, and 13th Light Drains; 15th Hussars ; 16th Light Dragoons ; 18th Hussars ; 23d Light Dragoons ; Royal Waggon Train; 1st and 2d Light Dragoons, E. G. L.; 1st, 2d, aiia3d Hussars, K. G. L. ; 1st Foot (guards, 2d and 3d Battalions ; 2d Foot Guards, 2d Battalion ; 3d Foot Guards, 2d Battalion ; 1st Foot, 3d Battalion; 4th Foot, Ist Battalion; 7th Foot, 1st Bat- talion ; 14th Foot, 3d Battalion ; between 24th July and 24th August, 1817.
The 23d, 27th, 1st Battalion ; 28th, 29th, 30th, 2d Battalion 32d, 33d, 35th, 2d Battalion ; 40th, 42d, 43d, 44th, 2d Battalion 5l8t, 52d, 54th, 59th, 2d Battalion ; 69th, 71st, 73d, 2d Battalion 79th, 9l8t, and 92d Regents; the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, Rifle Brigauie (late 95th Regiment) ; Royal Staff Corps ; 1st and 2d Light Battalion, King's German Legion; and Ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, and 8th Line Battalions, King's German L^on: between the 25th August and 24th September, 1817.
Aflber which date no further payment can be made by me, as all shares and balances then remaming unclaimed must be paid over to Chelsea Hospital, piwsuant to Act of Parliament; but uey can afterwards be received from the Deputy-treasurer of that esta- blishment, if claimed within the period of six years.
In order to save the individuals concerned the expense of agency, &c it is thought right to apprise such of them as may not
PRIZE-MONET.
427
\ie acquainted therewith, that non-eominissioned officers of the iBritish army entitled to participate in this prize-money may, if in London, receive the amount due to them in person from the distributing agent, on satisfying him that they are the persons entitled to it; or if at a <Sstance, by drawing on him for the amount through any banker, or other respectaUe person, accord- ing to the following forms and instructions, which must be rigidly attended to.
For the information and guidance of such men as have been discharged, and to prevent their being misled by the public notices which have been circulated,
" That no person but a licensed agent can draw their prize- money,**
Notice is hereby given, that no person is as yet licensed to receive army prize-money : and that the security given by navy agents for their license cannot be made available for any army prize-money received by thenu
The Shares of each individual in the following classes are : —
Commander-in-Chief's proportion is estimated at
Class 1. General Offieers .
2. field Officers and Colonels
3. Captains
4. Subaltems .
5. Seijeants
6. Corporals, Drummers, and Privates
jg61,000 0 0
1274 10 lOf
43.) 2 4i
90 7 8f
84 14 9i
10 4 4
2 11 4
Then follow the necessary forms for the officers' and men's sig- natures, at seven days' sight Signed by Alexander Campbell, 18 Suffolk Street, Charmg Gross.
Notice has also been given in the Dutch, Flanders, and German papers, that his Highness the Prince of Waterloo, Duke of Wellington, has given orders for the payment of the prize- money to all the Allied troops who fought under his command at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and at the taking of Paris. His Highness has fixed the proportions in six classes, as above.
This distribution includes the Dutch, Belgic, Nassau, Hano- verian, and Brunswick troops.
Letter adbbessed by the London Mehchants to the Duke
Of WELLINQfON, ETC. ETC.
^*Londonf 30th June, 1815.
" My Lorb Duke, "The glories and advantages of the 18th of June are too splendid to admit of adequate expressions of admiration and lati- tude. Your Grace must rather mid in your own enviable feedings.
7
428 BAITLE OF WATERLOO.
and in the general exaltation of the empire, the great reward of your transcendent energy and akilL
** The Committee appointed by a general meeting of merchants, bankers, traders, and others, of this city, to consider of the best mode of manifesting their sense of obli^tion to the brave Briti^ army which conquered at Waterloo, confine themselves at this time to transmit to your Grace the list of subscriptions made in- stantly for the special relief and benefit of the families of die brave men killed, and of the wounded sufierers on that glorious day. With sentiments of the highest admiration and respect, *^ I have the honour to be, my Lord Duke, ** Your Grace's most obedient humble servant,
*' J. J. ANGEB8TEIK, Chairman.^
*' To Fiddrmanhal Hi» Grace the Duke of Wellington, ^ ^ Comnumder-^inrChief of the British army at ParisJ*
To which his Grace was pleased to make the following rqily :
'* PariBy July Sy 1815.
*' Sib, ** I have received your letter of the 30th June, in which you have enclosed the proceedings of the meeting of the merchants, &c of London, at the City of London Tavern, on the 28th of June ; for which I am veiy much obliged to you.
*^ I cannot express to you how sensible 1 am of the kindness and attention of our countrymen to the misfortunes of the brave officers and soldiers of this army, and of their families ; which I entertain no doubt will make a due impression upon them, and will be a firesh incitement to their exertions shoula the cause of their country and of the world require theuL
" I have the honour to be. Sir,
** Tour most obedient humble servant,
*' Wblungton." " J, J. Angerstein, Eeq.^
GENERAL PARDON.
War Office, June the 18«A, 1817.
A proclamation issued this day, for pardoning deserters from his Majesty's regular land forces, to all who should surrender themselves before the 18th of August, 1817.
Signed bv command of his Royal Highness the Prince Reg^t, in behalf of his Majesty King George III.
Palmebston.
THE STAFF.
429
THE STAFF
OF
FIELD-MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, JUNE 18, 1852.
G«Mnl Offloen.
FtoldUanlial TiM DUKE ofWELLINGTON. K.O. It O.CB^ &c. Coamuuid- Ing the Ensliah and Allied-^ Troops, tn oonjunctloii with the PruatUn Troops under the Commend of Mi-aHfi PRINCE BLUCHER.
>
Oenerel Hie RotbI HIgfanen the Heredit. Pkimci oy-< Oaamob, O.C.B. v.
Lleat.-Oeneral the Eerl of Ux- bridge now BiAmQVBie ol Amolmit, O.C.B. w. .
Lt.-Oen. LoB]> Hiu, G.C.B.
Lt-Gen. 8ib Taoius Pictov»
JlL>\V.CBa Mm * • •
Lieat.-Gen.
G.C.B. . lieot-Gen. C.
K.C.B. w. Lleat.-Gen. Sir
0.C3
8n H.
CU>TO», (
• • • • f
Bjlbom Altbii, (
C.
COLTILU,!
M.-Qen. G. Oookk, «. v . . M.-Gen. V. Baron Alton M.-Oen. SirK. A. Howard, K.C3. M.-Gen. H. Hinuber, K.C.B. H.-G. SlrJ.O. Vandelear,K.C.B. M.-Gen. K. Mackeniie . H..Oen. Sir J. Kempt, K.C.B. w. M.-Oen. W. DombeiY* K.C.B. 9.to M.-Gen. Sir W. Ponaonbl, k, M.-6en. Sir J. Byng, K.C.B. M.-Gen. Sir D. Pack, K.C.B. w. M.-Gen. Ld. E. Somerwt, K.C.B. M.-Gen. Sir T. Bradford, K.C.B. H.-Gen. Sir J. Lambert, K.C.B. 11-Gen. Sir Bf. Power, K.C.B.
M.-Oen. Sir C. Grant, K.C.B. to, i
M.-Oen. Sir Jamea Ljon, K.C.B. H.-Gen. P. llaitland . M.-Gen. J. Johnstone . IL-O.SlrR . W O'Callaghan, K .C.B M.-Oen. Sir J. Keane. K.C B. Mw-Oen. Lord George Bereaford M.-Gen. SirO.Ha]kett,K.C .B. 9m. H.-Gen. Adam, 9.w..- M..Gen, Sir R. H. Vivian, K.C.B. B.-G«i>. A. Bryoe, R( } al Eng*
Aidea-de-Camp.
Lt.-Col. Ld. P. Someraet, I F. G. i Lt.-Col. Sir U. Borgh, 1 P. G. Lt.-CoI. Freroantle, Coldat. Gda. Lt.-Col. Sir A. Gordon, S F. G. k. Lieut. Lord G. Lennox, 9 L. D. Lt.-Col. Hon. H. Perej, 14 L. D. Capt. Lord Arthur Hill, h.p. Lt. Hon. G. Cathcart,6 Dr. G. extra Lt.>Col. Sir F. Canning, 3 F. G. v. Lt.-CoL Baron Tripp, 60 F. Capt. Lord John Somenet, 60 F. Capt. Hon. F. RusmII, h. p. Capt. Hon. A. F.H. De Rooa, I F.G. Capt. E . of March, 53 F. egira. Capt. Vise. Bury, I F. G. do. Lieut. Webster, 9 L. D. do. Captain Scjmonr 60 F. «r. Capt. Streeruwlts, S Ger. Hue. Capt. WUdman, 7 Hues. w. Capt. J. J. Fraser, 7 Hues. r«fr», w. Brig..MjJ. ThomhUl, 7 Hnia. c«». Bt.-M^r Egerton, 84 F. Bt.-Migor ChurchiU, 1 F. G. Capt. Mackworth, 7 P. Cpt.Hon.O. Bridgeman, 1 F.G. es.v. Lleut.-Col. Hill, Boy. Hor. Gda. «ev. Capt. Algernon Langton, 61 F. w 16 Capt. C. Chambers, I F. G. *. Capt. Tyler. 93 F. w. Capt. Harrington Price Capt. F. Dawkins, 1 F. G. C^ Gnrwood, 10 Husssn Lieut. Hareloek, 43 F w. 16. Bt.-H^or Helse, 3 Germ. Lt. Bat. Cttpt. Jackson, 37 F. Lieut. Frankland, 9 F. Capt. Dcsbrowe, 1 F. G. Lt. Bar. Estorif, 8 Germ. Huas.
Lieut. Helmburg, 8 Ger. Line Bn. Capt. W. Armstrong, 19 L. D. Bt.-MaJ. Chalmers, 53 F. Capt. Hon. Charles Gore, 85 F. Ci4>t. Kranehenberg, K.G.C. 9 Hns. Lieut. B. Christie, 5 Drag. Gda. Capt. Dnmaresqne, 9 F. w. Mi^or L'Estrange. 71 F. v.
BfiJorsofBrigadea.
Lieut. Baynes, 89 F.
Lieut. Mansfield, 15 HuflBars, to, Ci^t. Moray, 13 Dr. to. Lieut. M*Glashan. K. G. L. Lord Hay, 1 F. G. i^ 16th. Capt. Gray, 95 F.
Bt. Mi^ R. B. Gabriel, 8 D. Gds. Captain MarMhalk. K.G.L. k. Lieut. R. P. Campbell, 7 F. Ci^t. Keane, 7 Hussars.
Lt. Jas. Rooke, to, h. p.
Capt. G. Eeies, 96 F. k. Capt. Tormin, K.G.L. Capt. Claiidt, K.G.L.
C^pt. EInem, K.G.L.
Capt. Weigman, k. Bt.*MiO- ChUders, II L.Dr Capt. Hohses, 78 F.
Capt. de Robers, K.G.L. Mi^or Reignold, 9 Drag. k. Capt. Stothert, 3 F. G. k.
Capt. VOHerst R. H. Gda.
B.-M. H.G.8mith,96F.i^.l6
Cpt. Richter, 1 Cey. Regt. Capt. Gnnthorpe, I F. G. Ci^ Holmes, 78 F.
Maya J. H. Blair, 91 F. to, Capt. Drewe, 73 F. Cwiit, Crofton, 54 F. k. Capt. T. N. Harris, v. h.p.
430
BATILB or W ATBBLOa
A4f. am. lf.«0«. Blr B. Bunm, K.CB
M.Hamlhon, «*. 4W.I.R«|r. A.D.C. to D.>f4.0'i».U.C.8irO.B.F.B«rk6l«7,K.C.B^F.v. Jm. Jd. On. Col. 8lr J. Elky. ML.C.B^ R.H.O. w.
Col. Hoo. A. A Wi crumby, S F. O.ir.
Li.-Col. Rook*, 3 F. O.
LL-Col. Sir N. Hill. 1 F. O.
Lt.-Col. Barclay. 1 F. O.
Lt.-Col. Sir G. CamplwU, BL 6 F.
Lt-Col. Blr O. 8oOT«ll, h. p.
U.-C0I. Mr C. Ormnl. 11 F.
Lt.-Col. Ciurrl*. ft.
Lt.-Col. Wfttara, v.
Uaior DMiing. b. p.
Bt.-MjJor Evfttt. U F.
Bt.- Major Breymann. K. O. L. D.At.Ad.Gu. Capt. Hon. E. 8. Enkina, eo F. v
Capt. Lord C. Fltsroy, I F. G.
Capt O. Black. M F.
Capt C. Bantlnck. Cotda. F. Q.
Capt. H. W. Cumo, 69 F. ft.
Capt. L. Grant, 78 F.
Capt. Blanckloy. 2S F.
LIrat. H. Boraoraet. IB
Bt..M^or HalM. K. O. L
Lkat. Rainilloa. 46 F. v.
Llaut. Rooke. h. p. w.
Llaut. GerUlarhar. K. O. L. ft. Qr.iias.Gm. Col. Blr W. H. Dalanoay, K.CB. ft. D.Q.M.Gn. hU CoL Torrtna. 7 W. I. R.
Bt.
^.Q.lTr.Gfli.Coi. Sir R. D. Jaekaon. t F. G.
LU-CoI. Sir J. DIekaaa. K.C.B.
Lt-Col. Lord Oreanock
LL-Col. Sir H. Bradlord. 1 F.6.a^.
Lt<-Col. Blr C. Brake, K.C.B.
Lt.-Col. BcU, h. p.
M^. Hon. O. L. Davsoo, 1 Dr.G.v.
lCiO«r Bcekvllh, w.
Bt. MjJ. JaMop, 44 F. w. I6tti 'D.J.Q.M.G:CfiL Ptt^Rarald, » Y.m.
Capt. Wri^ R.
Capt J. Fraaer, 90 F.
Capt Mitcball. S» F.
Capt Itoctood. M F. w. U
Capt CanMffco. 1 F. G.
Capt. Thornton, 78 F. D.Qr.M.G*.Capt Branton, 60 F.
Capt Moora. I F. O.
Capt. HllUar. 74 F.
Capt. P. Garwood, 10 Hi
Uant. BaraUkr. S F.
Licot. Bciiaraborat K. G. L. Llaot. Branna, R, Staff Corpa. Liaot W. da Goabaa, v. IBtk. C.Qgl^AriMr G. A. Wood. Do. qfKmg.lAnL Col. Smyth. Ma. See. Lt CoL Ld. F. Somcmet, 1 F. G. v. jUtitt. do. Cpt Hon. A. F. H. Do Rooa, 1 P. G. Dp, Jm4te A4». Lt-CoL GoodmHi, «B F.
ORDER OF BATTLK
\M CorpSi Oen. Prince of Orangey K,O.C^» w.
DIVISIONS, lat, M^or-Genaral Gforge Cooke.
Sd, Lt-Gan. Baron Sir C. Alien, K.CB.
(i
td, Lt-Gcn. Sir CUfUom^ K.G. C
4th. Uent. Oanoral Blr C. CoMUe.*
ftth. Lt.-Gen. Sir K.G.CB
BRIGADES. / I Britiah Brigade MigoivGaneral Paresrine MaltlMid I 9 Ditto, M^or-Oancral Sir John Byi« K.CB. 5 Brttlrfi Brigade. HiOw-Gen. Sir C. Halkett, K.C.B. w. Britlah King*! Gennan Legion. Col. Baron Ompleda, ft. Uanoferian Brigade, CokMiel Klalininaagga .
2d Corps, Lieut. Oen, Lord BUI, K.O.CM,
Britlah Brinde Mi^or-Oeneral Fraderiek Adam, m. . Ditto, Kln/f German Legion, M^or-Gen. Da Piatt, «. HanoTorlan Brigade, Colonel B. Halket BriUah Brigade Colonel mtcheU . Ditto. MisH"'-General Johnaton Hanoverian Brigade, MiO<w»Geoeral Lyon
8 Britiah Brigade. M^r -General Sir Ji
9 Ditto, Bi^or-Oeneral Sir Denia Pack, K.C.B. v. 5 Hanoverian Brigade. Colonel VInke.
10 Britiah Brigade, MJ^for-Oen. Sir J. Lamhcrt* K.C3. 4 Hanorarian Bri^Mle, Colonel Bort.
(i
{
Gnardallta Ditto, Sits 80 S8 €9 7S ft^B. ISLt D. of Tor. kc
M 71 96
I 1 S 4
U t8 M
85 54 69 91
» 32 79 95
1 41 44 98
4 S7 40 81
CAVALRY.
Commanded by LietU,-Gen. Earl of UxMdge, KXl.C.B. w.
1. Mid
9. lil4 8. Mai
4. MaJ 6. MiO
6. BljJ
7. Col.
-Gen. Lord Edward Someraet K.C.B. . -Oen. Sir W. Ponaonby, K.CB. ft. -O. Count Sir W. Domberg, K.CB. w . -Gen. Sir Onnaby Vandeleor, K.C.B. -Oen. Sir Colqabonn Grant K.CB. -Oen. Sir Richard Huaaay Vivian, K.CB. Baron Blr F. de ArentaohUdt K.CB.
Ilk 9 Lift Oda. Hone Gda. Btaea, 1 Dr. GdL
I. 9.6. Dragoona.
1 and 9 Lli^ Dragoona, K. G. L. 0.
II. 19. 16. UghtDrayoona.
7. 15. Homara, 9 HoMn, K. O. L.
1. 10. 18. Hnamca.
8 Huaaara, and 18 Light Dragoona.
Colonel Eatorff, Prince Regent, and Bremen Verdnn, and Cnmberiand Hi
ARTILLERY.
Commanded by Sir G. Wood, conalated of SO brigades of dz gana eadi, Brittah, German
Legion, ftc.
The EMtirvsu ware ander the command of Colonel Snuyth.
Hte Serane Hlghneai DUKE of BRUNSWICK, Oommandli^ the Branawlck Corpa, ft. 164ft.
General Qfficen of the Allied Powen i^ffldaU^ preeemi with Ae St^ff'qf the EmgUak Armif, ilMttte.— General Poaxo di Bob«o, v. Atulria. — General Babom VuicniT, w.
Pnueia. — General HcmAti. Spam. — General MlocH. Alata.
Britiah Officer attached to the Proarian Staff, Brig. Oen. Sir H. HAnnivoB, w. * ThiaDlviakm wia employed aa a oorpa of obaenratloo, and vaa not thenibra In aotkA Oft tht
IBthof Jane.
^
LIST OF OFFICEB&
431
A LIST OF OFFICERS,
BRITISH, HANOVERIAN, AND GERMAN,
8BBTINO IN
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE NETHERLANDS, 1815.
ExPLAKATiONB. — The * signifies Regiments present in the Battle of Waterloo.
The figures at the head of each signify the force of each Regiment from the returns made to the Horse-GnardB, May 20, 1815, the last before the Battle.
The Capital Letters after the Name imply the Army Rank of the Officer ; as M for
M^or; L.C. Iieut-Col.,.&c.
k or w, 16th, implies Killed or Wounded on the 16th \ har w without figares, the Killed or Wounded at the Battle of Waterloo on the 18th of June.
♦ la LIFE GUARDS, 227.
M^jor Samuel Ferrior, L. C. k. Captain John Whale, w, 17th June M. lind, k. Edward Kelly, w. John Berger, M. Lieutenant Geo. Randall W, Mayne Heniy Wyatt Sub-Iieut. W. S. Richardson, w, Samuel Cox, w, W. WombweU George Storey Surgeon R. Gough Assist, do. J. H. James Vet Sur. F. Dalton 1st Brig. Com. by Lord E, Bomenet.
• %dLIFE GUARDS. 232.
Miyor Hon. H. P. Lygon, L. C. Captain W. Boyce, M.
R. Fitzgerald, L. C. *. Hon. H. E. Irby J. P. M. Kenyon lieutenant Richard Meares W. Elliott S. Waymouth Chiun Barton Snb.-Lieut. A. Kenyon T. Marten A. M'Innes Josiah Clues, A^jt. Surgeon S. Broughton Assist, do. T. Drinkwater Vet, Sur. Jer. Field \st Brig. Com. by Lord E, Somerset.
♦ ROFAL HORSE GUARDS,
BLUE. 239.
Col. Duke of Wellington, F.M. &c Lieut-Col. Sir John EUey, C. tc. Sir R. C. HiU, Kt. tr. Miyor R. C. Packe, k. Captain John Thoyts W. R. Clayton Clement Hill, L. C. w. W. T. Drake Lieutenant J. B. Riddlesden W. C. Shawe, w. E. W. Bouyerie, w. H. E. Boates T. B. Tathwell George Smith Hon. G. J. Watson Comets J. K. Picard
James Arnold Surgeon D. Slow Vet Sur. John SeddaU 1st Brig. Com. by Lord E. Somerset.
♦ l8t {or KING'S) DRAGOON
GUARDS. 629.
Lieut.-Col. William Fuller, C. *. Captain Heniy Graham, M. k, Michael Turner, w, J. F. Naylor, w. William Elton J. D. Bringhurst, M. k. J. P. Sweny, w. Robert Wallace T. N. Quioke G. E. Battersby, k.
432
SATZLB or WAXKRLOa
lieatMiA&t James LeaUiun
WUliam Stirling
Kichard Babington
Francis Brooke, M,
R. T. Hawley
T. C. Brander
Tfaomaa Shelver, A(]yt. k.
Edward Hamill
W. D. A. Irvine, v.
J. E. Greaves
J. N. Hibbert Comet George Quicke
T. F. Middleton
Hon. H. B. Bernard, M,
W. W. HunUey Paymaater J. Webster
Sofgeon J. Going Assist, da William M'Anley
Robert Pearson Ui Brig. Com. hp Lord £. Somertet,
• lit ROYAL DRAGOONS, 396.
lienCCol. A. B. Clifton M^or P. Dorville, L. C. C^tain C. K. Radelyffe, M. w.
A. K. Clark, w,
Paul Pbippa
R. Heathcote
K. C. Windsor, *.
C. L. Methuen
C. Foster, k. Uentenant H. R. Garden
George Gunning, v«
T. R. Keily, v.
Sig. Trafford, w,
S. Windowe, w.
Charles Bridges
C. Ommaney, w,
Charles Blois, w,
S. Goodenongh, w,
Richard Magniac, k. Comet W. Starves
J. C. Sykes, k, A4i-Comet Shipley, k, Quarter-Mr. W. Weddel
Surgeon Geo. Steed Assist. Sur. Thomas Prosser U Brig, Com, by Sir W, Ponaonhy.
^%dorR.N. BRIT, DRAGOONS
{Scotch Greys). 391.
lieut-Col. J. I. Hamilton, C. k. Mitfor I. B. Clarke, L. C. w. T. P. Hankin, L. C. tr. Captain Edward Cheney, M. James Poole, M. tr. Robt. Vemon, M. w. T. Reignolds, M. k. C. L. Barnard, k, Edward Payne
lieutenant John MiUs, «r.
Francis Stnpart, v.
G. H. Falconar
James Wemyss
J. Camthera, «r. s. d.
A. Hamilton
T. Trotter, *.
James Gape
Charles Wyndham, w.
J. R. T. Graham
H. M'Mfllan Comet Edward Westbr, k.
F. C. Kinchant, k.
L. Shuldham, k.
William Crawford Paymaster W. Dawson Qoar.-Mr. J. Lennox
Siirgenn R. Daun Assist do. J. Alexander
Vet Sur. John Trigg fid Brig, Com, hy Sir W. Pommmkf.
^ eth,or INNISKILLING DRAG. 397.
Lieat.-CoL Joseph Muter, C. w. Mi^or F. S. Miller, L. C. w. Henry Madox W. F. Browne, ip. W. F. Hadden Captain Hon. S. Douglas, w. Edward Holbech Thomas Mackay lieutenant T. Biddulph
A. S. Willett John linton Henry W. Petre Alexander Hassazd, ir. Frederick Johnston Richard Down
B. Barry- Paul RnlTo, k. Mansell Dames
Comet J. D. Allingham Adjutant Michael M'Cluskey, k. Rg. Q.>Mr. James Kerr Surgeon John Bolton Assist do. W. H. Ricketts
W. Campbell Vet Sur. Richard Vincent Paymaster W. Armstrong 2d Brig. Com. by Sir W. Pomsomkg.
• 7th LIGHT DRAGOONS. 386,
Colonel Marquis of Anglesey, L. G. v. lieut-Col. Sir Edward Kenrison, C. M^or Edward Hodge, w. 17th W. Thomhill, tr. Captain W. Vemer, tr.
T. W. Robbins, tr. Edward Keane P. A. HeyKger, w.
I
LIST OF OFFIGEBS.
433
Captain Thomas Wildman
J. J. Fraser, w.
J. D. EIphiDstone, w, 17th
£. WildmaDi w. Lieutenant S. O'Grady
William Shirley
W. Grenfell
Robert Douglas, w,
Robert Uniacke
J. R. Gordon, w. 17th
Henry Lord Paget
J. Daniel
£. J. Peters, w.
John Wildman
Fred. Beatty, w,
Stephen Rice
Frederick Towers Paymaster T. Feltom Lieut. A^j. A. Myers, ir. 17th Quar. Mr. J. Greenwood
Surgeon D. Irwin Assist, do. A. Chermside
James Moffit Vet. Sur. R. Dorville
bth Brig. Com. by Sir C. Orant.
• lOM HUSSARS. 390.
Lieut-Col. George Quentin, C. tr.
Lord R. Manners M%jor Hon. F. Howard, k. Captain T.^W. Taylor, M.
H. C. Stapylton
John Grey, w.
John Gurwood, w,
Charles Wood, w,
Henry Floyd
A. Shakespeare Lieutenant J. W. Parsons
Gunning, k,
W. S. Smith
H. J. Bum
Robert Arnold, to,
W. Cartwright
J. C. Wallington
£. Hodgson
W. C. Hamilton
Anthony Bacon, w,
W. H. B. Lindsey Paymaster James TaUon Lt. & Adjt. S. Hardman Assist. Sur. G. S. Jenks Vet Sur. H. C. Sannerman 6th Brig, Com. by Sir B, JS, Vtvian,
♦lltt LTOUT DRAGOONS. 398.
Lieut-Col. J. W. Sleigh
Mfiyor Arch. Money, L. C. Captain James Bouchier, M.
Benjamin Lutyens, M. Michael Childers, M. J. Alf. Schreiber
Captain John Jenkins
Thomas Binney James Duberley Lieutenant George Sicker Fred. Wood, w, William Smith Richard Coles, w, B. Leigh Lye Edward Phelips, k. J. B. Rotton James S. Moore, w. 17th R. Milligan, w. Comet B. P. Browne Henry Orme George Schreiber, ir. H. R. Bullock P. H. James Paymaster D. Lutyens
Adjutant G. Sicker, Lt Quart Mr. John Hall
Surgeon J. O. Meally Assist bur. H. Steele ^h Brig. Com, by Sir O. VandeUur.
* \2ih, or PRINCE of WALES'S LIGHT DRAGOONS. 402.
Lieut -Col. Hon. F. C. Ponsonby, C. ir. M^jor J. P. Bridger Captain Samuel Stawell G. F. Erskine E. W. T. Sandys, w. H. Wallace Alexander Barton Henry Andrews lieutenant Wm. Heydon
James Chatterton J. Vandeleur W. Hay
W. H. Dowbiggen, w. A. Goldsmid J. D. Calderwood L. J. Bertie, k. Thomas Reed Comet J. E. Lockhart, k, J. H. Slade Ac^utant J. Griffiths 4M Brig. Com. by Sir 0, Vandelettr.
*lSth LIGHT DRAGOONS. 390.
Lieut-Col. P. Doherty, C.
Mfiyor Shap. Boyse, L. C. w. Captain B. Lawrence, M.
J. Doherty, w.
James Macalister, M.
Maunsell Bowers
James Gubbins, k.
Charles Gregorie
Frederick Goulbum Lieutenant John Moss
George Doherty, w.
John H. Drought
FF
434
BATILB or WATEBLOa
lieotenaiit C. R. Bowen, w, A. T. Maclean J. Oea]e, ir. Robert NesbtU i\, Pym, w, W. Turner JameA Mill, ir. <}eorge H. Pack, ir. Henry Acton John WaUace J. K. Irring, w. J. Wakefield Pajmaater A. Strange
Adj. J. Lawrence, joined after 18th Qoar. Mr. W. Mincbin Snrgeon T. G. Logan Assist, do. A. Armstrong Vet Sur. J. Constant
7(ik Brig, Com, by Sir O. Grmmi.
* I5ih HUSSARS. 989.
Lient Col. L. C. Dalrymple, w, M^jor E. Griffith, it. Ci^[»4ain Joseph Thackwelly w. Skin. Hancox J. Whiteford, tr. T. Wodehouse
F. C. PhiUps W. Booth
J. Buckley, w, James Carr Lieutenant Edward Barrett
James Sherwood, k, W. Bellairs Heniy Lane W. Byam, v. Edw. Byam, «r,
G. A. F. Dawkins, w. H. Dixon
J. J. Douglas W. Stewart Paymaster J. C. Cocksedge Lt & A4it J. Griffith Surgeon T. Cartan Assist Sur. Samuel Jeyes Yet do. C. Dalwig ^h Brigade Com, by Sir C, Cfruni.
•16tt LIGHT DRAGOONS. 887.
lieut.^Col. James Hay, ir. Mitfor Hon. H. B. Lygon
G. H. Murray Captain J. H. BeUi, M.
C. Swetenham
Richard Weyland, w*
William Persse
J. P. Buchanan, k,
W. Tomkinson
C. King Lieutenant J. Barra
William Oaten, ar«
Lieutenant Trev. Wheeler George Baker R. Beanchamp N. D. Criehton, ir. E. B. Uoyd William Nepean J. A. RichaidsoQ J. Luard w. uams
Hon. C. T. HoncktOD Comet W. Beekwith W. PolhiU George Nugent Paymaster G. Neyland
Adjutant J. Barra, Lieut Quart. Mr. J. Harrison Surgeon J. Robinson Assist Sur. J. M'Gregor Malloek Vet. do. John Jons. 4th Brig, Com. by Sir O. FoiNfeinir.
""ISA LIGHT DRAGOONS. 396.
Lieut -Col. Hon. H. Murray C^^tain Arthur Kennedy
Richard Croker
Richard EUis
James Grant, H.
George Luard
J. R. L. Lloyd Lieutenant Charies Hesse, w,
Thomas Dunkin
James Waldie
George Woodbeny
Hon. L. C. DawBOQ
Martin French
Thomas Prior
Robert Coote
J. T. Machell
Don. M^Duffie
Heniy Somerset
W. H. RowUfl
Rowlis
J. R. Gordon
C. C. Moller
W. Monins Paymaster W. Deane Lt & A4}t H. Dui>erier, tr.
Surgeon W. Chambers Assist, do. L. Pulsford
John Quincey Vet Sur. D. Pilcher 6ih Brig, Com. by Sir R. H, rSvioit
♦83rf LIGHT DRAGOONS. 397.
lieut-Col. Earl of Portarlington, C. M^jor J. M. Cutdiffe, w. ' P. A. La Tour Captain C. W. Dance, w. Phil. Zac. Cox John Martin R. M*Neil Lieutenant G. Dodwell
lAst or ovnoBB&
435
lientenant
Comet Paymaster Qaart. Mr.
Sm^eon Assist do.
Vet Sur.
Sd Brig.
A. Bolton Stephen Coxen, k. Charles Tudor John Banner John Lewis C. Bacon Barh. Disney Bohert Johnson Thomas B.Wall^ir. G. W. Blathwayte W. Hemmings T. Billow J. Crouchley S. Steele H. Cowen John Ship
Com, by Sir W. Domberg,
FOREIGN CORPS.
♦lj< LIGHT DRAG. K.GJj. 498.
Colonel Sir W. Be Domberg, K.C.B. Lieut-Col. John B. Bulow, Com. w. Migor F. Baron Gruben
A. Baron Reitzenstein, w. Captain P. de Sieghard, w,
H. de Uattorf
F. Uslar
B. B. Bothmer, v>.
G. H. de Hattorf, v. G. de Bamdohr
F. Peters, *. Charles Elderhost H. deWitzendorf
B. Baron Decken Lieutenant Henry Leftrew
J. Fischer
C. F. Bar. Lovetzow, k. Charles Lindes
W. Mackenzie, w. O. Kuhlmann, k. Henry Bosse, tr. Charles Spreebach O. Baron Hannerstein, v. Comet C. Poten
S. H. Nanne, tr. Lewis Kirchnir T. Breyman L. de Muller H. Leschen
G. von Uslar Edward Trittan, ir.
Paymaster W. Halpin Ad^titant W. Fricke, tr. Quar. Mr. Henry Kranz Surgeon F. GroskopiT Assist Sur. N. D. Meyer
J. H. C. Friderici
d<l Brig. Com. by Sir W. DorHberg.
•2rf LIGBT DRAG. KG J,. 618.
Lieat-Col. C. de Jonquieres, w,
C. B. MaydeU, ir. M^jor F. de Ziegesar
Aug. Friederioks Captain G. Anhagen
Lewis Luderitz
William Quentin
William Soger
T. Harling, v.
F. B. Bulow, k. Lieutenant J. Braun
Aug. Poten
F. Bergmann
L. de Hugo
Aug. Fumetti
Aug. Euhls
Charles Schaeffer
H. H. C. Bitter, tr.
£. Meyer Comet C. M. Pocock
F. Euster
H. Drankmeister, k.
Frederick Bumann
Otto B. Bulow
F. Lorenz, w. Paymaster W. Armstrong A4)utant A. Niess Quar. Mr. Henry Gropp
Surgeon F. Dettmer Assist Sur. J. D. Lange
C. Thalacker Vet Sur. H. Hogreve
Sd Brig. Com. by Sir W, Domberg*
*ltt HUSSARS, K.G.L. 618.
Lieut-CoL Aug. de l/^sel
Major Philip Baron Gruben M. de Muller Captain W. Linsingen
G. Baron Decken Ernest Poten
F. B. Decken
L. Kranchenberg Em. Corderaan
G. Schaumann G. Bartling
H. Baron Wisch J. Teuto Lieutenant George Baring, w* Conrad Poten A. de Ilton Leopold Schnlze S. Freudenthal F. Holzermann Henry Behrens A. C. W. Gimbom F.W. Trittan F. Blumenhagen George Leonhardt
436
lULTTLE or WATBBLOa
|
Cornet U Verstnrnie |
|
Otto K«M'*e |
|
(r. L. (oiize |
|
(\mnt Kiolraansegge |
|
F. H. < )iaerhauseii |
|
W. T. (iehs«>r |
|
K. J. KalilweH |
|
F. do Quiter |
|
W. liai-on Hassel |
|
J. Weiteint'ver |
|
ra>i«ftster J. M. Ijon«man |
|
A(\jiiUnt S. Freudonthal |
|
Quar. Mr. Henry Cohrs |
|
Surgeon Fn'clerick Fiorillo |
|
Assist. Sur. (J. C. Moyer |
|
Ytt. Sur. J. Tower |
|
A<A Briff. Om, fry Sir R. H. Vivian |
|
%d HUSSARS, K.O.L. |
|
Colonel V. Baron Alten, M. G. |
|
Lieut. Col. A. LinRingen |
|
M^)or W. Baron Bussche |
|
W. Aly |
|
Captain O. Baron Donop |
|
John Jansen |
|
Trban Clcve |
|
D. B. During |
|
George Meister |
|
W. B. iKsendorflf |
|
J. de Stolzenberg |
|
A. de Streeruwitz |
|
Lewis Koch |
|
A. Krauchenberg |
|
Lieutenant H. Baron Estorff |
|
D. BorcherH |
|
C. Fabrenkohl |
|
F. Grabn |
|
Charles Wiebold |
|
Fred. Roeden* |
|
Michael Loning |
|
M. B. Thummel |
|
J. Treftirt |
|
J. de W'itte |
|
Comet Charles Hobnstjom |
|
James Parodi |
|
James Hay |
|
Her. Meyer |
|
M. Prendergast |
|
Henry Fricke |
|
Ernest Soest |
|
H.Westiield |
|
Baron Alten |
|
J. Bothmer |
|
Paymaster W. Mitchell |
|
Lt & Adjt. H. Gotz |
|
Quart Mr. J. Muller |
|
Surgeon F. W. Woolringe |
|
Assist, do. W. Holscher |
|
Joseph Ader |
|
Vet. Sur. Fred. Eicke |
I
I
5/A Brigade Com. by Sir C. Grant
•3d UrSSARS. K.GJs. 540.
Colonel F. Baron Arentfichildt Lieut Col. I^wis Meyer, Com. tr, M^jor G. Krauchenberg
E. B. Linsingen Captain Ulrich Hover
A. Kersenbnich, Jt. Frederick Poten Chai"les Bremer George Jansen, Jt. Q. Bar. G<>eben, ir. William Schnehen, ic- Christian Heise J. B. Hodeuberg Aug. Harling George Meyer Captain W. Von der Hellen Lieutenant Gust Meyer Francis Power Eb. Fredericks, S. Fred. Nanne H. de Humboldt Aug. Beinecke Joac. Thuman Herman True Christian Oelkers, ir. Levris Krause
F. Zimmerman
E. (rerstlacher Comet Floyer, w.
F. de Fresnoy Philip Volbroth
A. B. Hammerstein Rod. Fredericks Conrad Dassell, w. C. de Hellen A. Ba, Hodenberg H. Ba. Hodenberg, w. Ba. Decken W. Deichmann Julius Meyer Paymaster J. TV. Wieler
Adjutant H. Braggeman Quart Mr. Wm. Hoppe Surgeon G. Ripking Assist, do. Lewis Whall
L. Bhuermeister Vet. do. F. Eickmann 7th Brig. Com. by Baron ArenUckiUL
• ARTILLERY.
♦ Oeneral Staff.
Col. Sir George Wood, commanding in general.
Lieut-col. Sir Augustus Frazer, com- manding British Horse Artilleiy.
Lient..col. A. Macdonald, commandiog under Sir A. Frazer.
Lieut-col. Sir J. Hartman, command- ing German Artilleiy
Lt-col. Sir J. May, Assistant-ai^.^eD.
Capt H. Ba}'nes, w. Brigade-migor.
^
LIST OF OFFICEBS.
437
lieat. John Bloomfield \ si^ff^aiftt. to George Coles ) Col. Sir G. Fort^scue Wells) ^<»<'-
W. Bell, do, to Col, SirA.Frazer.
FHdd Officers commanding two Bri- gadet of Foot A rtiUery attached to each Division of the Army,*
DIVISIONS.
1st. Iiient.-col. S. G. Adye 2d. Lieat .-col. Charles Gold 3d. LieuL-col. J. S. Williamson 4th. Lieut. -col. Hawker 5th. Major Ueise 6th. Lieut-col. Bruckmann Major P. Druminond. — Reserve. Liient-col. Sir Alex. Dickson, com- manding Battering Train.
Troops and Companies, ROY, HORSE ARTILLERY,
WITH ClYALBY.
Migor Sir B. Gardiner, L. 0. Capt T. Dyueley, M.
B. Harding liieut. W. Swabey
W. B. Ingleby M^or W. Smith, L. C. Capt. E. Y. Walcott
D. Crawford, w. Lieut. D. J. Edwards H. Foster, w. M. Sir A. J. Dickson, L. C. Staff Capt. A. C. Mercer, com. B.
R. Newland lieut. W. Bell, Staff H. M. Leathes J. Hiucks J. Breton Capt N. W. Ramsay, M. k. A. McDonald, M. W. Breretun, w. Lieut P. Sandilands
W.Robe, *. Msgor R. Bull, L. C. w, Capt R. M. Cairnes, M. k.
M. Louis Lieut. W. Smith, w, J. Townsend Capt E. C. Whinyates, M. w,
C. C. Dansey, w. A. Wright
Lieut T. Strangeway, w, F. Ward A. Ward • R. H. Ord
Migor > Capt
Lieut
Capt
Lieut Ms^or
In Reserve with Infantry,
Sir H. D. Ross, L. C.
J. B. Parker, M. w,
R. Harding
J. Day, w.
P.V.Onslow
G. Beane, M. 4r.
W. Webber, w,
J. E. Maunsell
J. R. Bruce
M. T. Cromie, tr. t. d.
Kuhlmanns, Germ. Ar. 9 pd,
Aug. Sympher, w, do. 9 pd.
*ROY, FOOT ARTILLERY,
Capt. E. Sandham
W. H. Stopford Lieut G. Foot, posted to H. Ar.
George M. Baynes
Darel I ago Capt. Alms
Bolton, k. Commander
C Napier, w. Lieut George Pringle
W. Anderson
Spearman, 4r.
W. Sharpin
B. Cuppage, posted H. A, Migor J. Brown Capt. J. J. G. Parker Lieut. R. J. Saunders
Thomas (). Cater
A. O. Molesworth Major T. Rogers Capt T. Scott Lieut. G. Coles, Staff-adj.pd. H. A,
H. Dunnichtfe
R. G. Wilson
W. H. Hennis Migor G. Unett Capt. G. Browne Lieut Douglas Lawson
W. Montagu
Charles G. Kett Major W. I. Lloyd, w. s. d, Capt S. Rudverd Lieut F. Wells, Staff-adj.pd. H, A.
Samuel Phelps
W. Harvey, w. Capt. F. Gordon
J. Sinclair, Commander
F. Macbean Lieut J. A. W^ilson
W. H. Poole, to.
R. B. Bumaby, Staff
^ * I-
X
I 8(^
I
I
* Subaltern Officers present hut unat- tached,
Lieuts. R. H. Vaughan, W. Lemoine, Edw. Trevor, E. W. Wood, John Bloomfield, posted H. A., C. Spear-
438
BATTLB OP WATBBLOa
man, k^ O. S. MauUe, T. WatkiiiB, G. T. Hnm^ R, Oiti
•GERMAN FT, ARTILLERY.
\$t Compantf, Cqpt F. EiTthropel, w,
* 2d Company, lieat H. Hartmaim, ip. Lewis Heise, ir.
* 4th Company. Cnyt. A. (beeves Lieut H. Mielmann
C. H. Ludowieg R. Manners, Ou A.
* 6th Company. Lieat L. Hardt
* 6th Company. C^>t G. de Rettberv 1 ^ «;
LieouA. Hngo /SI,
C^t William Braon, w. lieat. Schnltzen, k.
Remrveand Unattached.
BRITISH.
Mi^or W. Morrison C^t M. Evans Lieut C. Drawbridge J. Munro
M. Clarice . ^
Gi4>tatn Maitland (Aniicerp), Lieut
H. W. Scott— Capt Tyler, Lieuts,
B. N. King, J. Palmer — CapU. A. Hunt {Tounay), J. Dewelf, («fc- iaehed), Lieut S. Chartres — Capts.
C. Dbert {BrusaeU), H. Testing— M%jor C. Younghusband (0$iend), Captain J. Bettesworth, Lieuts. J. Romer, J. Whitty, J. Blake— M%)or A. Munro {Ottend), Capt H. Scott* Lieuts. C. Ford, B. E. Hill,G. Hare — >M%jor J. Michel (0$teHd), Captain W. Lempriere, Lieuts. F. Bailey, C, Douglas, W. £. Richardes— M^jor Carmichael (OMtend), Captain C. Deacon, Lieuts. J. Street, B. L. Poynter, E. J. Bridges, E. Green— Captain T. Hutohesson (Otten4t\, Lieut H. Palliser.
"^ ENGINEERS, K.GX.
Captain A. Berensbach
Victor Prott
Charles E. Appuhn 2d Captain G. Wedekind
G. F. Meinecke
Aug. Schweitzer
William Muller
F. de Graugreben Lieutenant William Unger
John Ijattermann
• ROYAL ENGINEERS.
Lieut-C<4. Carmichael Smjrtli, Cam. Captain G. L Harding
Sir George Hoste, M. 2d C^itain John B. Hairis
W. B. Tylden, M.
John Wells
W. F. Dawson
Frank Stanwaj
W. D. Smith
Frederick English
Thomas Blaaehaid
Loyalty Peake
Alex. Thompson, w. 20tfa
Donald McDonald
Harry D. Jones
Anthony Marshall
R.S. Piper
George (j^pps
^lUiamReid
S. H. Melhuish
J. L. Hulme Lieutenant J. W. Pringle, w.
M. A. Waters
Edward Matson
L. A. Matson
L. A. Hall
Francis B. Head
F. T. GUbert
Isaac M. Elton F. Lancey John Speiiing
Daniel Bolton Alexander W. Robe George V. Tinling Andrew D. White James W. Eyre Alexander Henderson Robert H. S. Cooper John Ker Edward Covey Arthur Kay Henry Sandham Colin M<Eenzie C. K. Sanders Thomas Luxmore H. M. Buckeridge C. H. Minchin William Fazis WiUiam Salkeld £. B. Patten F. H. Baddeley William Rogers George Dalton
* ROY. SAPPERS d! MINERS
Sub-Lieut Alexander Ross Richard Turner John Sparks Charles Grattan William Stmtton, ir. 16 '
Luerr or ofnoBB&
43»
Sub.-Iieat. Edward Sandan P. Johnson James Adam J. Armstrong
• ROYAL STAFF CORPS.
lienL-Gol. W. Nicolay, C.
Captain Sir J. R GoUeton, M.
Thomas Wright, w,
W. Stavely, M.
Francis Bead lieutenant Thomas Harriott
W. Ihimaresqne
Samuel Perry
George Longmore
William Tait
O. D. Hull, w.
Basil Jackson
A. C. G. Brauns Ensign J. S. Sedley
John Milliken
Henry Cole Adjutant £. P. White, Lieut Surgeon J. G. Cavenagh
♦ ROYAL WAQQON TRAIN,
Iieut.-Col. Thomas Aird Captain Thomas Pardoe Basil Jackson lieutenant Wm. Aitkin
Edward Smith Joseph M'Dowall Heniy O'Neil Bohert Parkinson Charles Bott Bohert Eerr Comet Thomas Glendenning John Fenn Surgeon Thomas Wynne Vet. do. Frederick Cherry
INFANTRY.
• lj< RET, FOOT GUARDS, \$t Bat, 1017. Zd Bat, 1037.
M^jor H. Askew, C. w. 10th
Hon. W. Stuart, w, 16th Captain Hon. H. Townsend, 5. w,
B. H. Cooke, «. w, Edw. Stahles, k.
Sir F. D'Oyly, k.c.b. *. L. G. Jones Heniy D'Oyly, ir. G. Fead, w, Charles Thomas, k. Lord Saltoun John Beeve W. Miller, w. 16th Hon. J. Stanhope
Captain J. G. Woodford G. Colquett W. H. Milnee, w. Sir H. H. Bradford, K. c. b. w. Sir T. N. HiU, k.c J.
D. Barclay, k.c.b. Sir U. Burgh, k.c.b. Lord F. Somerset, k.c.b.
Lieutenant Bohert Adair, tr. 16th T. Streatfield, w, 16th J. H. Davis
Lord James Hay, k, 16th Edward Grose, k, 16th J. Gunthoipe, Ac^. Hun. B. Clements, vo. Lord C. Fitzroy J. H. Hutchinson Bohert Ellison H. W. Powell George Desbrowe W. G. Cameron Lonsdale Boldero
B. W. PhUlimore
C. P. ElUs, tr.
James Simpson, w, 16th A. F. Viscount Buiy Edward Clive W. F. Johnstone F. F. Luttrell, ir. Thomas Browne, k, 16th
E. P. Buckley Fra. Dawkins James Nixon
C. F. B. Lascelles, w, W. G. Moore 8. W. Burgess, ir. Ensign Bohert Batty, w. Bichard Master W. Barton, w, 16th Hon. H. S. V. Vernon Edward Pardoe, k, James Butler T. B. Swinburne C. J. Vyner
F. D. Swann
J: P. Dirom, Lt. J. F. M. Erskine Bohert Bruce, w, Hon. T. S. Bathnrst Hon. E. A. Edgecumhe George Fludyer, w. 16th W. F. Tinling Alger. Greville
G. T. Jacob Don Cameron Samuel Hurd F. Norton
H. Lascelles
George Mure
George Allen
T. E. Croft, w, J6th
Hon. S. S. P. Banrington, k,
Joseph St. John
440
BATTLE or WiZBBLOa
Ensign D. Tigbe
JampM Talbot A^juUnt C. Allix, Cttpt. Qnmrt. Mr. R. Colquhuun Surgeon W. Curtis W. Watson Assist, do. John Harrison And. Armstrong John Gardner F. Gilder Oeneral Cookers Divuion.
^'^. D STREAM, or %i RET, GUARDS. 2d £(U. 1010.
Major A. G. Woodford, C. Captain James Mardonnell, L. C. v. ]). Mac Kinnon, L. C. ir, Hon. J. Walpole H. Dawkins H. A. Aber«romby, k. Sir C. ('ampl>ell, k.c.b. Hon. K. Aeheson Sir William (fomm, k.c.b. H. Wvndham, w, Lt. & Capl. Georgo Bowles Thomas Sowerby J. Fremantle, L. C. W. L. Walton W. G. Baynes C. A. F. Bentinek, A^jt. J. Stepney Cowell £. Sumner, w. J. L. Blackman, k. Bean Lord Hotham Hon. R. Moore, ir. Thomas Chaplin Ensign Hon. J. Forbes Heniy Gooch Aug. Cnyler Mark Beaufoy H. F. Griffiths, w, John Montagu, w. G. R. Buckley James Hervey Henry Vane F. I. Douglas Robert Bowen Alexander Gordon Hon. W. Forbes Charles Short Ac^utant C. A. F. Bentinck, Capt Quar. Mas. B. Selway
Surgeon W. WTiymper Assist, do. George Smith William Hunter Oeneral Cooke's Divinon,
• 3d FT. GUARDS. 2d Bat. 1064.
Mi^or Francis Hepburn Captain H. Yi. Rooke W. C. Master
Captain D. Mereer
Hon. Sir A. Gordon, v. C. Dasfawood, k*. Francis Home C. F. Canning, k. Edward Bowater, ir. Charles Went, w. lieatenant W. Stothert, Adj. W. Drummond R. B. Hesketh, ip. H. Hawkins R. H. Wigston Hon. J. B. Rodney C. J. Bamet J. W. Mooiiionse
E. B. Fairaeld George Evelyn, ir. Hon. H. Forbes, k. John Elrington
H. B. Montgomerie, ar. Thomas Crauford, k. John Ashton, k. Ensign Charles Lake, ar. Hon. E. Stopford
B. Drummond G. D. Stan den David Baird, w, Wm. James
W. F. Hamilton Hon. G. Anson Thomas Wedgwood W^hitewell Butler A. C. Cochrane JeflEl Prendergast
C. Simpson, w. H. S. Blane H. Montague
Adjutant W. Stothert, Capt «r. QnarL Mr. John Skuce Surgeon Sam. Good Assist, do. J. R. Warde
F. G. Haniott General Cooke's Division.
* IM FOOT, 3<f Bat. (R. Soot$). 627.
M^jor Colin Campbell, L. C. w. Captain L. Arquimbeau, M. w. 16th R. Macdonald, M. w. Hugh Massey, M. w. 16th W. Buckley, k. 16th W. Gordon R. Dudgeon, w. loth Lieutenant A. Morrison, w.
J. Armstrong, k. 16th J. E. O'NeUl, k. 16th W. J. Rea, «?. 16th John Ligram, tr. 16th W. Clarke, w, Iflth
G. C. Johnstone Thomas Gordon
A. Cameron, A^u v. John Stoyte, w
LIST OF OFFICERS.
441
XAeTXtenant R. H. Scott, w. 16th
George Lane, w, Joseph Symes, w. 16th James Alston e, w, 16th W. Y. Younge, *. James Mann, w, 16th W. Dobbs, Iff. J. F. W. Millar, w. George Stewart, w, 16th J. L. Black, IT. Cnsign A. Glen
Charles Mudie J. G. Kennedy, k. 16th Charles Lewis Charles Graham, w, 16th Thomas Stephens, w, Joseph Mac Kay, w. A. Robertson, k. 16th W. Anderson, *. Leonard Morse Cooper, w, W. Thomas Paymaster J. C. Thomson
Acyutant A. Cameron, w. 16th Quart. Mr. Thomas Griffith, ir.
Surgeon W. Galliers Assist, do. W. Finnie
Thomas Bolton
Oeneral Picton's Division, part of
General Pack's Brigade,
4<A REQT, of FOOT, \8t Bat. {King's Own.)f 638. Lieut.-Col. F. Brooke ♦
Captain G. D. Wilson, L. C. ir.
C. J. Edgell, w, W. L. Wood
J. W. Fletcher H. T. Shaw K. Frskine
D. S. Craig £. S. Kirwan John Browne, w.
Lieutenant George Vincent Ben. Martin G. Richardson, w. P. Boulby Hygatt Boyd, w, G. H. Heame B. Collins, w, William Squire, w. John Bushell R. MulhoUand W. Lonsdale Edward Boulby William Clarke W^ Richardson, Adj. F. Field W. Reddock
Lieutenant Arthur Gerard, w,
J. L. Fernandez
W. Blagrave
Charles Levinge Ensign William Taylor
Edward Newton
W. M. Matthews, w,
J. £. H. HoUand
Isaac Beer Paymaster J. Lonsdale Quart Mr. T. Richards
Surgeon F. Burton Assist. Sur. W. Morrah
J. French 6M Division, Gen, Lamberes Brig.
9th REOT, or EAST NORFOLK,
Lieut-Col. D. Campbell, L. C.
P. W. Lambert, L. C. Captain Adam Peebles
Benjamin Sibom
H. D. Loftus, M.
James Boyd
H. Dtmiaresque, Staff, w. Lieutenant Richard Dale
John Taylor
J. Ogle
W. Seward
G. Lindsay
A. Eraser, Adijt
G. L. Davis
W. H. Cockbume
James Scargill
P. R. Brown
Robert Brooks
H. M*Dermott
Wm. Telford
J. Syret
A. Ricketts
Hugh Moises
Robert Storey
W. Hoe
John Mahon Ensign John Martin
W. W. Leslie
S. Plympton Surgeon T. Bulkeley Assist do. W. Dent
Joined ajler the 18th.
♦ lAth FT 3d B. (Bsd/ordsh.) 672.
M^jor F. S. Tidy, L. C. J. Keighdey Captain George Marley, M. Thomas Ramsay W. Tumor W. Ross
\ K.B. The 4th wm the only regiment that wae In iction at Waterloo that had been In action in America.
X Commanded the 10th brigade on the 18th of June.
44t
hkTtlM OV WAmLOO.
Cftptaia Riehud Adams
Christopher Wilson J. L. WhiU WiUiam Hewett lieotaDflat W. Ak^nside
C. M. Bnuman Samuel Beachcroft W. Buck^ A4). George Baldwin
J. Niekson L. Westwood
D. Slooock J. C. Hartley Henry Boldero
Ensign W. R<^a
George Mackenzie
F. R. Tane
R. B. Newenham
C. Fraser
A. F. E. Adamson
WiUiam Keowen
J. M- Wood
A. Ormsby, w, 34th
J. R. Smith
A. Cooperi w,
J. Bowlby
J. P. Matthews
R. J. Staepoole
R. B. Holmes
Hon. G. T. Keppel
Robert Mitton
Alexander Ross
A. Shannon
Henry Terry
C. ColvUUs DitMom.
Paymaster Quart. Mr. Assist Sor.
i9tr
* 28d REOT. FOOT, (Ro^al Welik FutHierB.) 641.
lieiitCol. Sir H. W. EUis^w. L. C. Mitfor T. Dalmer, L. C.
J. H. E. HiU, w, L. C. Captain Jo8. Hawtyn, k. M. Peter Brown, M. Francis Dalmer, M. H. Wynne T. Strangeway W. Campbell, M. Charles JoUiffe, k, Thomas Farmer, k. Henry Johnson, w. H. S. Blanckley Istlieiit F. O'Flaherty J. Milne Wm. Walley
E. M. Brown
F. L. G. Cowel
G. Fen sham, k, R. Smith Har. Palmer J. W. Harris J. Enoch, Ac[j. Gis. Phillips
Ist lient. J. Macdona]d
George Fielding R. P. Holmes Chariee Fryer W. A. Griffiths, w. John Clyde, w. A. A. Brioe A. D. SidleT, w, A. ClayhiUs E. Methold
8d lieat. Thomas Lilly George Dnim George Stainforth G. Fit2 Gibbon W. Leobody, *. 24th T. Towers T. Allan Richard Julian J. Enoch, Li. Sidley John Dunn Thomas Smith' J. Williams C. CdviUe's
Paymaster Adjutant
Quart. Mr. Snrgeon
Assist. Snr.
Sir
25a REGIMENT, (orKmg't Owm Bordertn^
Li«at.-GoL A. Alexander light M^or V. Hompesch, L. C.
A. M. M'Donell Ciq;>tain AdoL Munstal
T. M. Crooke
Val. Grantham
D. McLaren
P. MacdougaD
Alexander Graham
G.Herbert
Henry Warren
J. L. Macdonnel
R. Simpson
A. Menzies
John Yowell
Charles Leslie
J. BUgg
John Sinclair
£. Muckleston
George Manners
Alexander Euehan
G. Compson
I. Keens, A.
George Needham
Samuel Brown Ensign R. S. Amiel
D. Blackwell
Matthew Keongh
Daniel Dickson
W. Ravenscroft
Roger Stewart
Thomas Lingard
G. H. Herbert
M. C. Halcott Paymaster J. Loch
UBT or omosB&
44S
Adjutant I. Keens QuarL-Mr. J . Smith
Surgeon W. Cringan Assist ditto Fra. Beid
♦ 27tk INNISKILLING EEQT.
OF FOOT, 1st Bat 698.
lient-Col. L. Warren, C.
Migor W. B. Neynoe, L. C.
C. Thompson, L. G. C^>tain f J. Hare, w. M. Com. 18
f John Tacker, w,
f G. Holmes, k,
Henry Thomas, M.
H. Bfdnea\iH, M.
Charles Pepper
John Waldron
John A. Amiel lieatenaat 4> G. Macdonald, t9.
f W. Henderson, to, A AdX^,
f Richard Handcock, v).
+ E. W. Drewe, w,
+ John Betty
+ W. F. Fortescne, w,
+ W. Talbot
f John Millar, w.
<t Charles Manley, w.
f Thomas Craddock, w.
B. M*Pherson
Francis Shee
John Harnett
Thomas Furnas
W. Armstrong
Joseph Smith
James Graham Ensign f W. Kater
f T.'Handcock, w.
f Thomas Smith, w,
f Sam. Ireland, i.
f John Ditmas, «r.
B. Hawthorne
W. Carrall
B. Bakewell Paymaster G. W. Crowe Quar. Mr. f T. Taylor Adjutant A. Byrne, Lient. Smgeon H. West Assist Do. f Thomas Mostyn
f G. Fitz Gerald 6M Dtvuiofi, Qen, Lasnnberet Brig,
*a8M FOOT, (Ohucestersk.) 567.
Colonel Shr Charles Philip Belson Lient. Col. B. Nixon, w. 16th M%|or W. P. Meacham, k,
William Irving, w, 16th B. Llewellyn, w. Captain Charles Cadell
Bichard Kelly, w.
Captain John Bowles, w, 18th Thomas English, w. Charles Tealon, w. laeatenant J. H. Cnimner
J. F. Wilkinson, w. Mat. Semple B. P. Gilbert, w.
B. P. Eason, w, William Irwin, w. 16th Henry HiUiard, w. Samuel Moore
John Coen, w, 16th
C. B. Carmthers, w. Jos. T. Clarke, «. w, J. W. Shelton, w, James Deares, w. £. E. Hill George Ingram, w. T. W. Colleton James Parxy
Ensign B. T. Stewart
W. Seijeantson
B. Martin
James Simpkin
W. Monntsteven, w,
W. Lynam A4j. and Lt.Bridgeland, w. Paymaster John Dewes Qoar. Mas. B. Beynolds. Assist Sur. P. H. Lavens.
N.6. Upon the fall of General Sir Thomas Picton, the command of the 5th Biyision was taken by Sir J« Kempt, upon which CoL Sir P. Bel- son took the command of the brigade. Col. Nixon was wounded while in command of the Begiment Oen, Pidon'i JHvinon, Kempfs Brig,
29a REOT. FOOT, (Woreuienk.)
lieut-Col. John Tucker Migor Hodge
George Todd Captain And. Patison
H. Birmingham
Thomas Gell
W. Wade
Wm. EUior
Denis Mahon
T. L. Coker
Bobert Stannua
James Brooks
Adam Gregory
Charles Stanhope Lieutenant Pupham
W. Pupham
Wm. Penrose
Alexander Young
H. Pennington
t OOcmn prwent at the Battle of Watarioo on Jane 18, 1816 ; tboae without 1 joined afterwarda.
444
lUITUB or WATBBLOa
LientfOOuU B«iguniii AVild, A^jt. llenr)' Koid J. V. EvMiis Thomas Uiggfl MileH Sandys John \en\e J. C. SuUivao Lovelock Kichard Lucas Thomart Hamillton Henr}* Brodrick Kdwtfd Kearney <ieorge Ford William Clarke Arthur Richardson C, FiU Gerald Richard Doxne Steven Gibbons W. L. Hilton K. BoviU William Johnson Ensign Henry Dixon
William Parker % J. L. Akers J. Fitz Gt'rald Charles Wright Heniy Wild R. S. Sitwell John Davidson C. Humfrey B. Wild W. GUlispie J. A Stanford
Assist, do. William Parker James Lawder
Paymaster Adjutant
Quart. Mr. Surgeon
♦ 90a REQT. FT, 2d Bat, 619.
LieaU-Col. A. Hamilton, w. 16th M^jor N. W. Bailey, tr.
C. A. Vigoureux, v. Chambers, k.
Captain R. Machell A. M'Nab, k. Robert Howard A. Gore, k,
D. Sinclair Lieutenant B. W. Nicholson
M. Andrews
R. Hea\iside
W. Penefather
R. C. Elliott, IT.
John Rumley
Andrew Baillie
Robert Daniells, tr.
John Roe, w,
T. 0. Hallorao
R. Hughes, w,
P. Lock wood, to. 16th
John Pratt, tr.
Henry Becre, *.
E. Prendergast, k. W. 0. Warren, w.
lieutenant T. Moneypenny, ir. R. Harrison Walter Ross John Roe (2) Francis Tincombe Ensign R. N. Rogers John James, k, W. B. Frizell James Bullen, k. G. L. Backhouse Paymaster H. B. Wray A4j. & Lt. M. Andrews, w. Quart. Mr. Williamson Sui^eon R. Pearce
J. G. Elkington Assist. Sur. John Evans Pat. Clarke Baron AUen't Dwitiom.
♦ 32d REGT, FOOT. 689.
Colonel A. Campbell, G. Lieut. -Col. James Maiiland
Mi^jor J. Hicks, L. C. Com. 16, IS
• Felix Calvert Captain Charles Hames, M.
H. R. Lewen
W. H. Toole, M. w. 16th
John Crowe, tp. 16th.
Jaques Boyce, tr. 16th
Thomas Cassan, tr. 16th
E. Whittv, k. ICth
Robert I)iUon
H. Harrison, ir.
Charles Wallet, tr. 16th
Stopford Cane Lieutenant H. W. Brookes, w. 16th
D. Da\'ies, Ady.
George Barr, ir. 16ih
M. W. Meighan, tr. 16th
S. H. Lawrence, ir. 16th
Theo. Butler
John Boase, w. 16th
T. R. Lewin, tr.
H. Butterworth, w, I6th
J. S. M*Culloch
J. R. Colthurst, w.
Boyle Hill
Jam^ Jarvey
James Robinson, tr. 16th
George Brock
R. T. Belcher
James Fitzgerald, tr. 16th
T. J. Horan, w. I6th
£. Stephens, tr.
Henry Quill, w.
Jon. Jagoe, tr.
George Small
B. R. O'Connor
Hibbert Newton
James Peyton Ensign Jasper Lucas
James M*Conchy
LIST OF OFnCEBS.
445
Ensign Henry Metcalfe, w. 16th John Birtwhistle, tr. 16th Alex. Stewftrt, w. 16th George Brown William Bennett, ir. Charles Dallas, w» 16th Paymaster Thomas Hart A(\j. & LU D. Davies, w. 16th Quart. Mr. W. Stevens
Surgeon W. Buchanan Assist. Sur. R. Lawder
H. M'Clintock PuAon*9 Division, KempVi BrigiuU,
•33rf REOT. FOOT, 2d Bat (YorJukire, W, Riding.) 584.
Lieut.-CoL W. K. Elphinstone Major G. Colclough
£. Parkinson, ir. 16th Captain W. M*Intyre, w. 16th
C. Knight, w.
I. Haigh, k. 16th
J. M. Harty, w,
R. Gore
J. Longden Lieutenant Thomas Reid, w.
George Barrs
H. R. Buck, *.
A. H. Trevor
John Boyce, k. 16th
A. Gore, k, 16th *
J. Hart
James Markland, tr. 16th
F. H. Patterson Richard Westmore, w, T. D. Haigh, w.
G. Whannel
J. G. Ogle, w, 16th
S. A. Pagan, i#.
Edward Clabon
Joseph Lynam
John Archbold
James Forlong, w. 16th
John Cameron, ir. Ensign Henry Bain, ir.
J. Alderson, tr. 16th
J. A. Howard, ir. 16th
And. Watson
Charles Smith
W. Hodson
G. Blackall
George Drury, w,
W. H. Grote Paymaster £. Stoddart Acyutant W. Thoin, w. Quart. Mr. J. Fazakerly
Surgeon R. Leaver Assist do. W. D. Fry
D. Finlayson
Oeneral Alien** Divmon.
Z5th REOT. 2d Bat. (Sus9ex,)
M^jor C. Macalister
J. Slessor, L. C. Captam C. W. WaU
W. Rawson
H. Rutherford
T. M'Niell
R. Cameron
N. Dromgoole Lieutenant S. S. Scarfe
J. W. Amos
J. Osbourne
T. M'Donough
R. Thobume
W. Farrant
A. Barnwell
J. Hildebrand
P. Murdock
J. WUder
N. R. Tompkins
£. She well
W. Rainsford
G. Wilkins
J. Middleton Ensign J. M. Bliss
W. L. Hedding
J. Hewetson
W. Macalister
J. B. Wyatt
Lord S. Kerr
N. M'Donnell
R. Pottenger
A. D. Hamilton
J. Thomas Paymaster W. Bury
Adjutant C. S. Brearey Quart Mr. R. Foot
Surgeon C. S. Doyle Assist, do. W. Keoghoe
J. Pur cell
Lieut-Col. Sir G. H. F. Berkeley, K. C. B., serving on the Staff of the Adjutant-General's Department
Captain Macleod, serving on the Staff of the Quarter- Master General's De- partment, tr. 16th.
The 2d battalion, 3dth Regt*. served in the 6th brigade of the 4th division, commanded by Lieut-General Sir Charles Colville, and was on the 18th of June stationed at a small village near Brainela-Leud to watch the movements oi a corps of French Cavalry, which endeavoured to get to Brussels by the Halle road.
37M REOT. FT. 2d B. (N. Uamp.)
Lieut-Col. Simon Hart M^jor G. Burer Captain Temp. Fenton R. Walton
446
BJLnUB OrWAXKILOa
Ci^plMB O. C. Hicks
P. B. Galwaj
J. Jackmrn
H. Hoftnsnv
Fta. Jackson
Edward Butler
£. Droit
H<m. J. Fioch
C. E. Bird
O. T. Colomb
John Cofitley lieataniDl R. Orsbam
John Daxon
John Grant
Dillon Hassey
J. Sheppard
Henry Dyer
O. M. Dale
Henry Sadlier
Bohert Stowards
W. Johnson
Philip SuUiran
Heniy Disney
G. C. Robinson
J. TiydeU
W. Morgan
W.Ralph
G. M. Stevenson
John Fleming Enaign G. Chapman
W. Metge
J. Lang, A4iai>
T. L. Butler
Marii Rainsford
Edward Cox
William Long
Thomas Walsh
R. Gardiner Paymaster Robert Mackie
Adjutant J. Lang, Ensign Qaart Mr. J. Maitland Surgeon W. Thomas Assist. Sor. Thomas Stobo
B. A. M'Monn
* 40th RT. FT. \tt B. {Som,) 675.
Mi^or A. R. Heyland, k. F. Browne Captain S. Stretton, M. Richard Torton
C. Ellis, tr.
J. H. Bamet, tr. Robert Phillips William Fisher, i. E. C. Bowen P. Bishop J. D. Franklyn W. Kelly Lientenant J, Thorean M. Chadwick Robert Moore, tr. W. O. SandwiUi
Lientenaat James Butler
Heniy Millar
J. Bichaidson
James Anthony, ar.
Const. Gorman
MiU, KT.
Glynne
W. NeiUy
Richard Hudson
Henry Wilkinson
J. Foulkes
Thomas Campbell, ir.
H. B. Wray
Richard Jones
Hon. M. Browne, v.
Don M'Donald
Fred. Ford
George Hibbert
Richard Rudd Ensign H. Hemsley
J. L. WaU
W. Clerke
George Atkinson
Richard Thomhill
James Murphy
W. J. McCarthy Paymaster F. H. Durand Adjutant W. Manning, LieuL Surgeon W. Jones Assist, do. W. Barry
George Scott 6lA DttfwioN, Oen. Lamberf» Brig,
* 42d FOOT, (JR. Highhmd.) 572.
Lieut-Col. Sir R. Macara, Jt. I6th R H. Dick, IT. 16th M%jor A. Menzies, tp. 16th Captain John Campbell, L. C.
G. Davidson, M. w. 16th M. Macpherson, w. D. M'Donald, w. 16ih Dan. M'Lntosh, «?. 16th Robert Boyle, ir. 16th
lientenant D. Chisholm, w,
D. Stewart, ir. 16th D. M'Kenzic^, ir. 16th H. A. Frazer, tr. 16th John Malcolm, w. 16th Alex. Dunbar, tr. 16th James Brander, w. 16th R. Gordon, k. 16th Roger Stewart James Robertson Kenneth M'Dougall Donald M*Kay Alexander Innes John Grant John Orr, tp. G. G. Munro, tr. Ensign Geoiige Gerard, k. 16th William Fraser, w. 16th A. L. Eraser, w.
Lurr OP omcEBfl.
447
Bnsign Alexander Brown
Alexander Camming Ac^ntant J. Yoimg, w. 16th Quart. Mr. D. M'Intosh, w.
Surgeon S. M*Leod Assist. Snr. Donald M'Pberson John Stewart Oen, Pictoti'i Divinon, PacJ^s Brig,
• 44ih RT. FT. 2 B. (E.Essex.) 456.
lieuL-Gol. J. M. Hamerton, w. 16th M%jor G. Harding, L. C.
E. Gregory, L. C.
F. Elwin
G. O'Malley, L. C. ir. Captain J. C. L. Carter, M.
J. C. Guthrie
Adam Brugh, tr. 16th
D. Power, w. 16th
T. A. Dndie
B. Jacob
G. Crozier
T. Mackrell
William Bumey, w. 16th
M. Fane, w. 16th lieutenant J. P. Shaw
R Russell, w. 16th
R. J. Twinberrow
T. F. Sinclair
Robert Grier, w. 16th
Richard Peny
G. Newbeny
John O'Reilly
W. Tomkins, t. 16th
Thomas Homer
W. B. Strong, w. 16th
J. Campbell, w. 16th
N. T. Kingsley
James Burke, w. 16th
Heniy Martin
W. Mar. Hem, ir. 16th
R. Peacocke
Alexander Reddock Ensign James Christie, ir. 16th
Ben. Whitney, w. 16th
Gil. Dunlevie
Philip North
P. Cooke, *. 16th
R. MackreU
T. M'Cann, Ad^.
J. C. Webster, tr. I6th Alex. Wilson, tr. 16th
W. Rogers Paymaster James Williams AcU. & En. T. M*Cann, w. Quart Mr. Jones
Surgeon Oliver Halpin Assist Snr. J. CoUins
William Newton F. M*Donogh Gen. Picton'M Divinon, Pack's Brig.
*6lstRT.FT.(2dY.W.
548.
lieut-Col.
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Ensign
Paymaster Lt &A6iU Quart. Mr. Surgeon Assist. Sur.
Sir
H. H. MitcheU, C. Samuel Rice, L. C. J. T. Keyt, M. J. Campbell William Thwaites, M. Richard Storer J. H. Phelps James Ross John Ross S. Beardsley, ir. Edward Frederick Thomas Brook B. B. Hawley Francis Minchin W. Mahon W. H. Hare O. Ainsworth H. Read F. Kennedy Joseph Dyas John Flamank W. H. Elliott W. D. Simpson
F. Mainwaring
C- W. Tyndale, w. H. Martin H. H. Roberta Egert Isaacson
E. J. Taylor Thomas Troward John Lintott
G. F. B. St. John
F. Percy
W. H. Krause R. B. Walton W. Johnstone A. Eraser John Blair Henry Lock John Gibbs W. Jones Thomas Askey R. Webster J. F. Clarke P. Fitz-Patriok C. ColviUe's Diuition.
•52d RT. FT. Ist B. {Osf.) 1032.
Lieut.- Col. Sir J. Colborae, C.
Mflgor Charles Rowan, L. C. w. Captain Patrick Campbell, M. William Chalmers, M. W. Rowan, M. w. J. F. Love, M. w. Charle» E. March, M. Charles Diggle, M. w, John Shedden George Young James M'Nair Edward Langton
448
BAITLB or WATBBLOa
^•|>Uiii John Cross
i'harleN Yorke lieutenaot CharleH Dawnoiii w.
M. Andernon, w,
Charles Kenny
G. H. Love
W. Ripley
J. C. Barrett «» W. H. Cl«»rke
George Mall ^
\V. U. Nixon
iJeorKc Gawler
(i. Whiohoote
W. Ojdlvy
K. U. Northey
Hon. W. Browne
Kilward Scoones
it, Carophell, IT.
W. Austin
J. Smxlgrasit
J. S. Cargill
W. HuntcT
W. C. Yonxe
T. Cottingham, w.
C. Holman
(leorge M(»ore
Edwiuxl Mitchel
Charles Shaw
John Hart
(». E. Scott
H. T. Oakes
J. li. Griffith
John Burnett
R. Steward
George Robson
F. W. Love Ensign Jos. Jackson
Thomas Massie
\V. Nettles, i.
J. Macnab
J. Montagu
James Frere May
Eaton Monins
William Luke Paymaster Jame.4 Clarke Adj. Sc Lt. J. Winterbottom Quart. Mr. B. Sweeten
Surgeon J. P. Gibson Assist. Sur. P. Jones
W. Macartney Mr J7. Cimt(m*9 DtvisUm, Oemenl
Adam't Brigade,
6Uh REOT. FOOT, (Wut Narf.)
Lieut. -Col. John Earl Waldegrave Migor Sir Neil Campbell, C. Allan Kelly Captain T. C. Kirby R. Blakeman W. Crofton, Brig. M. *. James Leslie
G. J. Tappenden
' Captain Lieutenant
Ensign
Paymaster Adjutant
Quart. Mr. Surgeon
Assist, do.
Sir
George Black, Brig. M.
Thomas Chartres
George Eraser
G. Bromhead
£. A. Evanson
John Pillon
R. Woodgate
W. CUus
Richard Ktlly
John Grey
P. Mandilhon
J. H. Potts
Robert Leacroft
Fra. Taylor
Edward Marcon
John Reid
Rich. Stacpoole
Fra. Burgess
W. PUkington
W. Persse
Dixon Denham
F. Hutchinson M. S. H. Uoyd Edward Nugent Thomas Eraser Charles HiU
J. Clark C. W. Thomas A. Mathewson Pryce Clarke H. Irwin John Dowdell W. Coates
G. Redmond M. F. Finan George Leech
C, ColvilU's IHvisum,
69A REGT. FT. 2<2 B. {NaUAig,)
Lieut-Col. H. Austen
Migor F. W. Hoysted, L. C.
C. Douglas Captain F. Fuller
J. Cockbum
A. Pilkington
J. A. Crawford
J. M*Gregor
J. Fawson Lieutenant R. Preedy
W. F. Mayne
A. Dent
John Cowper
Henry Brown
A. Macpherson
Edward Duncan
N. Chadwick
L. Carmichael
Henry Hartford
Paterson O'Hara
W.Veall
W. Pittman
W. H. Hill
LIST OF OmCEBJS.
449
X^ieutenaDt
£D8igll
Paymaster
Quart. Mr.
SnigeoD AjBsist. do.
Sir
Gilmore Robinson
Rob. ScoU
A. €. Ross
H. K. Bloomfleld
R.F. HiU
C. Makepeaoe
Charles Man*
A. Campbell, Lieut.
W.Baird
James Hagan
P. K. Lambe
A. Colvin
C, CoMUe't JHvinon,
* 69M RT. FT. 2d 3. (Xtw.) 551.
Colonel C. Morice, i,
M^or G. Mntdebury, L. C. Captain J. L. Watson, .M. w.
H. Lindsay, M. w/Wih
G. S. Cotter
Charles Cnyler
B. Hobhonse, Jk. H. W. Cnrzon, k, R. Blackwood, k. G. U. Bariow
Laentenant W. Hanison R. Franklyn Stephen Parker Brooke Hgot, w. 16tli
C. Bnsteed, tr. 16th Neil Boy
C. W. Ingle
Jos. Hill
H. Oldershaw, A4}.
C. L. Dickson
£. M. Wightwick, k. 10th
H. Anderson, ir.
J. Stewart, w. 16ih Ensign Edward Hodder, tr.
W. BarUett
Charles Seward
H. D. Keith
G. S. H. Ainslie
Cadet Clarke, 10. t Paymaster Phil. Vyryan Quart Mr. Mat. Stevens
Snrgeon C. Bancks, M.D. Assist. Snr. J. Bardett
Ofneral AUen*8 /Nvimon.
*7Ut LIGHT INFANTRY, IHB.
(jOflcugow Highlanders,) 810.
Lient-Col. T. Reynell, C. w, Mi^or A. Jones, L. C. w, L. Walker Captain S. Reed
J. T. Pidgeon A. Armstrong
Captain D. Campbell, w.
E. L'Estrange', M. k,
W. A. Grant, w,
J. Henderson, tr.
A. J. M'Intyre
Charles Johnstone, M. tr.
Alex. Grant Lieutenant J. BarraiUier, w.
L. Biohards
J. R. Elwes, k,
C. Stewart
R. Baldwin
W. C. Hanson, w.
Robert Lind, w.
John Roberts, tr.
J. Coates
J. Fraser
£. Gilboume
John Whitney
William Long
Robert Lawe, w.
C. T. Cox
Carique Lewin, w,
W. Woolcombe
W. Torriano
G. W. Horton
John Coote, w.
C. Moorhead
David Soutar
H. Munro
N. Campbell Ensign A. Moifitt
W. Smith
H. W. Thompson
John Todd, k,
John Bamett
A. M. Henderson
John Spalding
J. Impett
A. L'Estrange Paymaster H. Mackenzie
Adjutant W. Anderson, Lieut, w. Quart. Mr. W. Gavin Surgeon A. Stewart Assist, do. J. Winterscale
Samuel Hill Bir J7. Clinton's Dtvifum, General
Adam*§ Brigade,
♦ 73d RT. FT. 2d Bat. {HigK) 568
Colonel G. Harris, w.
Mijor A. J. Maclean, i9. Captain Robertson, k, Kennedy, k. AnL Coane, w. W. Wharton, w. John Garland, w. Lieutenant Richard Leyne
J. W. H. Strachan, *. 17th
\ This gentleman recelTed twMty-fimr Mbre and lance wounds, flnom which he recovered.
GG
450
XieirtenaDt
BAimior WAixBLoa
J. B. M'Ommell, «. Mat. Hollis, k. John Acrefi, w. 10th Joseph DowUog Thomas Reynolds, «. Don«ld Browne, w . J. Y. Uoyd, w. 16th Bobert Stew vt Enngn R. O. Uestlrige, w. 16th W. Mm Been, w . Thomes Deftron, w. lith G. B. Esstwood, w. O. D. Bridge, w. O. Hnghes W. L. Lowe, *. A. Blenneihessei Chsries Page, k, J. Hey, w. J. Williams P. M*Dearmid John Biach F. B. White
I This regiment was in «!>« gairisn d of Nienport, in Flanders, from tbs 20th of March, 1815, nntil liie ooea- padon of Paris.
N3. Cspt Thornton, Deputy-Aari^t Quartermaster-general, at Ostead. C^t. Holmes, Brig.-Migar to M^.- Oen. Johnstone's Brigade.
79e4
REGT. \M Bat. (Oamena, Highlanders.) 675.
A4)0tant Paymaster
Surgeon Assist, do.
Otneml AUetCt DivUAom.
78IA REQT. FT. id Bat. {ffigUand,)
Colonel J. Madeod, Com. the Oar. Lieut. •Col. M. Lindsay, Com. Offl. Bat. Mi^or C. C. Mackay Captain C. 0. Falconer
Mai. McGregor
Alex. GaUie
Charles Robertson
Neil Campbell
James Fraaer
L. Grant lieatenant James Stewart
John Marquis
WiUiam Bath
John Chisbolm
Allan Dregtom
William Smith, A4}.
E. Macpherson
F. A. M. Fraaer WilUam Hole Charles Macleod Charles Jack
Ensign W. J. Cockbum J. Forbes
Edward Twopenny William Beslea John Drew W. B. Macalpine M. G. F. Lindsay James Reid R. N. Macleod
Quart. Mr. William Gnnn Surgeon William Munro
Assist, do. William Macleod G. G. Maclean
Lieut-Col. N«U Dooglas, v. 16th M^ior A. Brown, L. C. w. l«th D. Cameron, L. C- w. 16th Captain T. Mylne, M. w. 16th Peter Innea R. Mackay, It. 1 6th J. Campbell, w. Neil Campbell, w. 16th W. Marshall, w. 16th M. Eraser, w. 16th M'Bay, k. W. Bruce, V. 16th J. Sinclair, w. 16th
Lieutensnt A. Cameron, w. Don Cameron, v. Thomas Brown, v. 16th W. Maddocks, w. 16th W. Leaper, w. 16th James Fraser, tp. 16th
D. Mcpherson, t. Donsld M'Phee, w. 16th F. Robertson
£. Cameron, v. Alexander Forbes, w. Chaiies M*Arthnr, w. K. J. Leslie John Fowling, w. J. Csmeron
E. Kennedy, k. W. A. Riach, w. 16th J. Thompson Geo. Harrison
Ensign J. Mackenzie John Nash, i9. James Robertson, w. 10th A. Cameron A. S. Crawford, w. J. CampbeU Cadet Cameron, w . 16th Adjutant J. Kynock, Lt. k. 16th Paymaster J. M' Arthur Quart, Mr. A. Cameron
Surgeon George Ridesdale Assist do. W. G. Burrell D. Perston
0€H. Pieim*8 ZKvMtoH, KtmfCi Bfif-
UBT OF OmCEBS.
451
Slst REGIMENT FOOT.
Xieut.Col.
Mi^or
Captain
Henry Milling P. Waterhonse P. G. Taylor R. PiUdngton
F. J. Edwards George Adams J. Duval Bobert Duff Charles French
G. Pearson Bobert Hipldns James Sinclair H. T. Heam T. Coilard
lieutenant F. D. Dundas J. Sisson, Acy. Edward Lee H. Biggam W. Hyde T. C. Wheat Francis Home Alexander Napper WUliam Jones James Mollan John Godwyn Pat. Chevers T. M. Smith J. S. O'Donnell W. Betteridge Charles Beale Bobert Beadle Thomas Whitley Charles Oakley John Brown
A. Donaghue
B. Hamilton James Cannon Thomas Lawton A, J, Picket S. R. Dickens
C. H. Marshall J. Sisson Peter Baker P. Schooles H. S. Moy J. Stocdale
Ensign
Paymaster Ac^ntant Quart. Mr. Sujiemum. Assist. Sur.
91^ REGIMENT FOOT,
lieut-Col. Sir W. Douglas, k.c3. Col. Captain James Walsh, M.
T. H. Bleur, M. 8 B. Brig. William Steuart Archibald Campbell (1) Dugald Campbell James C. Murdoch Alex. J. Callender, M. Archibald Campbell (2) Bobert Anderson
Lieutenant John Campbell John Bussell
Lieutenant Alexander Campbell (1) Robert Stewart Andrew M*Lachlan Carberry Egan And. Cathoart, w, 24th John M'Dougall James Hood Alexander Smith T. L. Fenwick Thomas Murray B. S. Knox Charles Stuart John McDonald Eugene Brown Alexander Campbell (2) George Scott, A^j. William Smith James Black, w, 24th Alexander Swozd Ensign Norman Lament William Trimmer James Paton Dugal Ducat Andrew Smith Laurence Lind Paymaster Dugald Campbell
Adjutant George Scott, Lieut. Quart. Mr. James Stewart Surgeon Robert Douglas Assist, do. George M'Lachlan William H. Young Sir C. ColvilU'9 IHvitum.
• 92fl? HIGHLAND RT. FT. 62L
Lieut-Col. I. Cameron, *. 16th
Miyor J. Mitchell, L. C. it. leth D. Macdonald Captain G. W. Holmes, w. leth D. Campbell, w. 16th Peter Wilkie, %d. 16th W. C. Grant, *. 16th William Little, *. 16th A. Ferrier, to. Lieutenant C. Alexander, Acyt.
J. J. Chisholm, *. 16th
R. Winchester, to, 16th
Thomas Hobbs, w. 16th
Thos. Mackintosh, tp. 16th
D. Macdonald, it. 16th
Andrew Will
James Ker Ross, w, 16th
R. Macdonald, 10.
Thomas Gordon
Hector Innes, to, 16th
George Logan, w. 16th
£. Campbell
R. Macdonald
J. Mackinlay, w, 16th
R. Peat
George Mackie, i, 16th
A. MTherson, w, 16th
452
BATTU OF WATERLOO.
lieoteiiaot Ewen Boss, w. lOth Junes Hope, w . Enxtgii John Brsnwell, w, 10th Robert Logsn, w. 10th J. Clsrke
A. M'Donsld, w, lOth Abel Berber, Jk, 10th Robert Hewitt R. M^Pheraon, k. 10th J. M. M'Pheraon P^jrmsster J. Gordon Ai^utsnt C. AlezAnder, Lieut. Surgeon George Hicks Assist do. John Stewart, 10th
(7m. PicUm'B Diwinom, PtLck't Brig.
* 9M RIFLE BRIO. l«r Bat. 671.
Colonel Sir A. F. Barasrd, w,
M%)or A. Cameron, L. C. «. w. Captain J. Leach, M.
F. Glass
C. Beckwith, M. H. Lee
£. Chawner, w. J. R. Badgem W. Johnston, w. H. G. Smith Lieatenant J. Layton
J. Molloy, w,
John Cox
Arch. Stewart
W. Chapman
R. R. Freer
John Gardiner, w,
George Simmons, w.
W. Haygnp
T. T. Worsley, w.
J. P. Gardner, w.
J. G. Fitzmauiice, w. 10th
George Dnimmond
G. H. Shenley, w. 10th Orlando Felix, w. 10th Stillwell, w.
Ensign Allen
J. Chnrch W. Wright W. Shenley Poymaster J. M'Kenzie Aci^utant J. Kinnairl Quart Mr. J. Bagshaw
Surgeon J. Burke Assist, do. R. H. Hett
Oeneral Picton's Division.
• 95^ RIFLE BRIO. 2rf BcU. 586.
Mfljor A. G. Norcott, L. C. i. w. G. Wilkins, L. C. «. w. Captain G. Miller, M. «. w. J. Logan
Csptttn T. M'Namara
J. G. M'Cnlloek, <. «.
C. Eaton
F. Le Blanc Lieatenant William Humbler, «. r. J. C. Hope T. Cochrane R. Budgeon T. Smith, A4j.
F. Bennett P. DLxon
£. Coxen, w.
D. CameroD, v. R. (^hrane, tp. J. Ridgeway, $. w. J. Fry, w.
E. Madden V. Webb, w. C. Urquhart
J. Lynam, s. w.
G. Drummond Charles Rochfort
2d Lieut R. Fowler
T. B. Sheean R. Eyre, «. w. J. P. Walsh, n. w. Paymaster A. Macdonald Quart Mr. D. Ross Surgeon F. Scott Assist do. J. Armstrong R. Scott
General PiHoiC$ Division,
♦ 95th RIFLE BRIO. 3d Bat. 190.
M^or John Ross, Bt L. C. w. Captain James Fullarion, L. C. v.
Charles George Gr^y
Charles Eeles, M. k.
W illiam Eeles 1st Lieut Frederick Aldrich
W. Lister, it. 10th
G. Vickers
T. T. Worsley, Adjutant
£. D. Johnston
G. H. Shenley 2d Lieut D. Macfarlane
Alexander Milligan
Charles Probart Surgeon J. J. Macabe
The two companies of this corps were in the brigade of Sir Frederick Adam, and employed dmiog the greatest part of the 18th in ctHtreet- ing the squares of the 52d and 11^ Regiments, under the command of Lieut -CoL Ross. Upon his being wounded, the command devolved cm Lt.-Col. Fullarton, who was wounded at the close of the day.
LIST OF OFFICEBi?.
453
13th VETERAN BATTALION, In GarrUtm,
Iaeat..Col. R. H. Burton Migor G. Langlands Captain W. Gibson J. Kitchen W. M*Leod James Porter WilUam Baird B. Purefoy
A. Gourlay
B. Hickley
A. Sutherland
J. T. Biyett I«ieutenant F. Baron Eberstein
D. Ross
J. Munton
H. Richardson
Thomas Brown
H. PhiUips
J. Eager
J. Mackie
J. Hagger
T. Clarke
John Soott
J. Yates
A. Yeitch
William Harris
J. Hartford
D.Wood
little
Williams
James Mason Ensign Wood
Faucett
Gordon
J. Barnes, Ad^j.
Knight
Garret
Coxson
G. Boreham
T. Thomas
W. Percy Paymaster Charles Rowan AcQutant J. Barnes, En. Quart Mr. George Woods
Surgeon John Lear Assist, do. Th. Watkins £. Tongae
At OUend with the D/pdt,
FOREIGN CORPS.
♦ 1st B. LIGHT INF. K,0,L, 487.
Colonel Baron C. Alten, M. G. lieut-Col. Ti. Baron Bussche, to, Migor F. de Hartwig, L. C. H. Baron Bussclie, w. Captain H. F. Hulseman, k, George Rudorff
Captain Frederick de GiTsa, to. G. B. Marschalk, k. lieutenant A. Baron Goeben, k. F. B. Both Ant Albert, Ar. A. Wahrendroff F. de Hartwig Chris. Heise, w, George Breyman H. Wolrabe, w. W. de Heugel J. Baumgaxten Charles Kessler E. A. Koester, tc. N. de Miniussir H. Leonhart, w, £. Gibson S. Macdonald J. F. Euntze John Henderson Ensign W. Rube
Gustavus Best L. Baron Reden A. A. de Gentzkow, tr. Fred. Heise, w. H. Welling Charles Behne, w, O. de Marschaik A. Heise
Paymaster A. Nag^ A^utant W. Fable
Quart Mr. R Hupeden Surgeon J. Grupe
Assist do. Fehland
G. H. Duvel General Baron AUen*s JDivitUm,
♦ 2d LIGHT INF. K.GJL. 434.
Colonel Sir Colin Halkett» M. G. Lieut-Col. David Martin Miyor Bosewell, h. G. Baring
E. Baron During Captain Aug. Heise, M.
G. Haasman William Stolte
F. Wyneken
F. A. Holzermann, w» George Deneke Alexander Home
H. Weigmann, k, Schaumann, k. Lieutenant G. T. Kessler, w.
G. Meyer, w. Charles Meyer J. M'Glashan Lewis Behne WilUam Atkin Ohle Lindham, tr. B. Rief kugel, w, M. T. H. Jobin, w.
454
BAnu or wiLmuMx
Lieatenani J. C. D. ^lervedea TboniAs Carey, ir.
E. BierdennaoD J. F. de Menron
O. Drum. Graeme, i
F. F. Ingeraleben Solomon Earl Alexander Macbean Rudolph Hnrtzig T. W. Doring Fred. Schaumaon W. D. Trinmann
Snsign Boloroey
F. de Robertson, k. Aug. Friedehckii George Franck, w. Auk. Knop WUUam Smith
C. de Goedke L. Baring C. Meyer
G. Le Bachelle Pajmaater J. Knight
Adt 4fe Li. W. D. Trinmann, w. Quart. Mr. J. Palmer Sugeon Em. Nieter
George Heisse Asaist do. H. F. A. MuUer Heniy Geske Oemeral Baron Alien's
Enaign F.
A.
A.
J.
H.
A.
G.
A.
A.
A. Paymaater T. Lt.&A4it.F. Quart. Mr. J. SuiigeonG. Aaaist. do. J.
P. SirH.
• IJT BcU. OF THE LINE, 4fi0.
Lieut. -Col. R. Bodecker
Mi^or F. de Bobertaon, L. C. w, George Coulon Captain A. de Schlutter, w. P. Baron Goeben G. Baron Goeben G. Schlutter C. Bar. HoUe, *. L. Rettberg
E. Baron Hodenbeig Lieutenant L. L. Baron HoUe
F. C. de Rossing
C. H. Baron During L. Kumme Thomas Allen Em. Wilding C. Lew Best W. Schroeder Died, de Einem
G. Wiehmann C. Weyhe
W. Meyer B. Fellowea W. Wolff A. Arentsohildt W. Drysdale A. MuUer, w. W. Best W. Wilding A. Carmichaa!
Leslie
Baron Le Foit
Ton Brmndis
Heisae
. Ton Lucken, k,
F. Kersting
Lodemann
Beaulieu
Reiche
C. von der He&en
Teighe
Schnath, v.
Carolin
Wetzig
Hartzig
Langeheinekan
CUnioH's IHvinotu
^ id Bat, OF THE LINE, 500.
Lieot-Col. De Schroeder, it. Major George Mailer, L. C. Captain W. Baron Deck^ A. HartmaAn
F. Purgold, w.
G. Tielee, *. Charles Buermann C. Wyneke
F. Baron Wenkstern Fred. Elderhost
G. Wolkenhaar Lieutenant Adolphus Holle
C. Baron Decken, w.
W. Kuhlmann
W. Tiensch
W. Fleish
Aug. Schmidt
Charles Billeb
C. Meyer
Aug. Kathmann
G. F. Pascal
A. Kessler
W. Dawson
J. Hamilton
P. Gardner
C. Fischer
Fra. La Roche
G. Fabricius
G. Lowson
A. F. Ziel
L. M. de Sichart Enaign C. L. de Sichart
A. Lynch
A. Distlehorst
Edward Cropp
G. Hartman
H. Bergmann
H. Garrens
T. Ton Uslar
A. Luhning Paymaster Thomas Small Lt. it, A^jt. A. Hesse Quart Mr. J. Silvester
U8T OF omcsBa.
4«5
Surgeon C. Thompson A^aist. do. J. Ratlge
Sir H, Clinton's JHrntion.
*3cLBcU,0F THE LINE, 556.
Colonel Sir H. de Hinuber, M. O. Xieat-col. Fred de Wissell, Comdg. Mi^or F. de Lutterman, L. C. A. Boden, w. Captain W. Dammere, M. J. Euckuck, M. G. Baron Honhorst J. de Dreves A. Curren £. Lueder C. Leschen W. de Schleicher F. Diedel, k, W. Cordemann lieutenant Justus Tormin H. B. Uslar George Appuhn George B. Weyhe Charles Brauns J. de Jeinsen, w, C. de Soden W. de Laffert Aug. Euckuck, tr. J. Brinckman H. Dehnel Louis Baohelle F. Leschen, w,
E. H. Euckuck, w» Thomas Cutting
Ensign Frederick de Stonen Fred. Schlutter W. Brandis C. A. Yon der Soden A. W. Euckuck Richard Hupedrai £. Boduvald A. Breymann
F. de Bonne
E« J* Beuiinann Paymaster TV. Anderson Lt. & A4jt. F. B. Schneider Quart Mr. J. Levin Assist. Sur. J. Suntermann
F. Dagenhart Vet. Sur. L. Hener
Sir H. Clinton's Divition.
• 4th Bat, OF THE LINE. 474.
Major Fred. Reh
G. Chuden, w. Captain Heniy Meyer, M.
George Lene, w, W. Heidenreich Aug. Bumann A. de Brandis
Captain J. Heise, ir. t. d. G. Ludewig Frederick Holzen G. Schlichihorst Lieutenant Frederick Otto
Frederick Eessler W. Pape
G. Baron Both, «r. A. Freudeothal F. W. Krietsch C. Lichtenberger Adol. de Hartwig C. de Lasperg C. de Jeinsen J. Rumann A. Langwerth, 10. Adol. Ludewig Heniy Witte George Siebold L. de la Farque, w*
E. Brinokmann Frederick Laspeig W. Shea
Ensign F. HeitmuUer W. LuniDg
F. A. Schulze Frederick Brandis James Maunsback W. Schaefer
F. von Uslar
A. Appuhn, w.
T. Eronhelm, k.
F. Freudenthall Paymaster Thomas Jones Qnart Mr. A. Becker
Surgeon G. Gunther Assist do. J. D. Mathaei
Sir H, Clinton's JHvision,
* 5th Bat, OF THE LINE, 454.
Colonel Baron Ompteda, k, Lieut-Col. W. B. Linsingen, Com. Mi^or A. Gerber, L. C. Captain De Wurmb, k, Fred. Sander, w, W. Meyer
F. Heinemann George Notting
G. Hagemann Lieutenant E. During
C. de Bothmer E. de Brandis Charles Berger, w, Augustus Meyer George Bushe G. de Schauroth Charles de Witte Aug. Winckler Charles Schlaeger Joseph Eorschann
456
lUTlLE OF WAZBBUX).
lieuleoMit <l«^rge KUngsohr, w. ix>uijf (Hesuuym L. Taenicke
E. Wheatley Heoiy Vassmer O. CEisohnunin Bern Croon
EnaigD C. Wieee
F. Scharnhont Julius Rainbokl W. WalUier Ch. G. Winkler W. L. iaiagsohr £. Baring
A. Sohainhoni Arnold Meter A<yuUnt L. Sohuck, k, Paymeiiter H. Knight
Surgeon L. Stuns Asbittt. do. J. Kohra
G. U. Geraon
Otneral Banm AlUn't Divisiom,
1th BaL OF THE LINE, LieuL-Gol. Hehnrick, w,
•B^ Bat, OF THE LINE. SSe.
lieut-GoL C. de Petersdorff, Com. Mi^or F. li. Breymann Captain Julius Brinkman S. Brauns A. Baron Wense W. de Voight, *.
F. de Becker Henry Oehme Fred. Marburg
G. W. Rougemont, w.
T. Bar. Westemhagen, k. Geoige Delius Lieutenant George Hotzen
Frederick Luderitz Charles Poten L. Baron Hodenberg W. Baron Mahrenhob, k*
E. de Weyhe WiUiam Wilkins
F. Brinkmann, A4)t.
lieulenant D. F. de Bai^elle
George de Witte
Chris. Sadler, it.
F. W. Ziamanxi
Ernest Grahn
Otto Brad
Franz Sehmitz
Bern Bertram
Val Bnchier
H. Schliehting
Fted-MuDer
F. Schultze
Aug. Heimricfa Ensign Frederick
Gottbeth Kunott
W. de Munean, v.
Edwaid Stanley
A. Spiel
F. H. Muller
H. Seffers
£. Bomemann
George Lundie
FriMt Sandler Paymaster J. Harrison
Adjutant F. Brinckmann, ir. Quart Mr. Tobing
Surgeon A. Ziermann Assist do. Ern. Sander
L. Ziermann
Oenttal Banm Alien*$
The 8ih Line BaUalion, King's Ger- man Legion, under Lt-coL Peiersdorff, formed at the battle of Waterioo the left wing of the 3d division of infantry. According to the position of the army, and of the principal points in the centre, the right side of the high road from Brussels to Charleroi came to the defence of this battalion. The batta- lion under the oommand of lieuL-eoI. Petersdorff pursued the enemy till late at night, when it joined the dxriaon of Guards under the oommand pf Mi^r- general Sir J. Byng, on the road to Genappe. The lieuienant-coL had a charger killed under him on the last repulsed attack which the enemy made on our centre.
UST OF OFnCEB&
457
COMMISSARIAT, MEDICAL STAFF, AND
CHAPLAINS.
Ctonuniuariat Depart,
IJ>aiiiel Ord ^'illiam Petrie Robert Boyes John Drake Xhomas Diuuaresque R. J. llouth James Ogilvie E. P. CoffiD John Glynn O. Haines Creorge White I>. Cairathers Tupper Carey John Forbes Samnel Belson Alex. Strachan ThomAs Kearney J. W. Willdnson
E. G. Bobinaon J. J. Moore William Booth, ace, A. B. C. Dallas Ign. Weddnger G. W. Wilgress Harold France James Sams Wilham Shakespear Joshua Brook Edward Cowan Daniel Kearney Thomas Bayley Richard P. Home John Laidley James Patterson Joseph Gillespie
F. W. M^jor H.Hill Richard Green Henry Basnett J. £. Daniel Hon. M. Rodney Stuart Byrie Alexander Schaumann D. Mac Nab
T. L. Skelton W. Cundell J. H. Edwards R. Cotes Thomas Bayner A. Biddell Thomas Marsden John H. Jesse W. Coates William Batley John Flamor Charles VV. Beverley
William Cordeaux James Wickens George Withers John H. Allsup Thomas Howie « George Elliott Richard Kirton James D. Watt Heniy N. Browne R. Wyllie G. Maddox
F. Case John Sarmon H. J. Bayley Edward Pitman James Hodsou David Bowman Robert Chartres Thomas ScobeU Daniel Hardy WiUiamHall John Radford R. B. Marshall J. George Eyl John Spencer J. B. Price Samuel Tubby John Cooper William Hume Robert Johnstone Peter Roberts
H. L. Whitehead M. Stokes Thomas Bunnett
G. M. Dillon WiUiam Condamine Thomas Walker
A. Wathen Henry Thynjue R. Decker Charles Fauquier Charles Wemyss George Bodley
Medical Staff,
James R. Grant WiUiam Taylor John Gunning Summers Higgings Donald M*Neil Thomas Thompson Charles G. Tice, M.D. G. F. Albert Step. Woolriche J. R. Hume William Curtis Edward Somers, >f .D.
John Eyre, M.D. J. MrDougle, M.D. John Dwyer, M.D. J. Mackenzie, M.D. Geo. Denecke, M.D. Edward Walsh, M.D. Wm. G. Wray, M.D. F. G. B. Downing Thomas Kidd H. G. Emery, M.D. Thomas Draper Thomas Inghs John Rice M. A. Burmeister Robert Grant John Hennen Jordan Roche James A. Campbell Hugh Bone Charles Collier Thomas Donahoe John Cole John Maling John Boggie Charles Groskopff J. Callandar A. HaUiday William H. BUcke James Mathews Thomas Sandell George Beattie Richard O'Connell J. G. Van Millingan Samuel Cooper W. C. Bach James Dease Thomas M*Whirter William Usher John Saunders Jonathan Croft George Winter Charles Surtees Richard Matthews William Lyons James Taylor James W. Simpson
ChapUuns.
Rev. Sam. Briscall W. G. Cautley John Hayward E. C. Frith C. Dayman R. W. Tunney O. W. Kilvmgton Maur. James G. G. Stonestrcet
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF OFFICERS
lUTnaiii THx
CAMPAIGN OF THE NETHERLANDS.
(
A.
Abercromby, Hon. A. 490,
440 Acheson, Hon. £. 440 Acres, John, 4d0 Acton, Henry, 484 Adair, Robert, 489 Adam, Fred. 429, 480 Adam, James, 489 Adams, Oeorge, 4dl Adams, Richard, 442 Adamson, A. F. E. 442 Ader, Joseph, 486 Adye, S. G. 487 AinsUe, G. S. H. 449 Ainsworth, 0. 447 Aird, Thomas, 439 Aitkin, Wm. 489 Akenside, W. 442 Akers, J. L. 444 AlaTa, Miguel, 480 Albert, Ant. 448 Albert, G. F. 457 Alderson, J. 445 Aldrich, Frederick, 462 Alexander, C. 451 Alexander, J. 432 Allan, T. 442 Allen, 452 Allen, George, 489 Allen, Thomas, 454 Allingham, J. B. 482 Allix,C.440 AUsup, John H. 457 Alms, 487 Alstone, James, 441 Alten, Baron Sir C. 429,
480 Alten, y. Baron, 423, 436 Alten, Baron, C. 458 Alten, Baron, 486 Aly, W. 486
Amiel, John A. 443 Amiel, R. S. 442 Amos, J. W. 445 Anderson, H.449 Anderson, M. 448 Anderson, Robert, 451 Anderson, William, 487 Anderson, W. 441 Anderson, W. 455 Anderson, W. 449 Andrews, Henry, 488 Andrews, M. 444 Anglesey, Marq. of 429,
482 Anson, Hon. G. 440 Anthony, James, 446 Appuhn, A. 455 Appuhn, Charles E. 438 Appuhn, George, 455 Archbold, John, 445 Arentaohildt, A. 454 Arentschildt, B. Sir F. de,
480 Arentschildt, Bar. F. 436 Armstrong, A. 434 Armstrong, A. 440 Armstrong, A. 449 Armstrong, J. 439 Armstrong, J. 440 Armstrong, J. 452 Armstrong, W. 429 Armstrong, W. 432 Armstrong, W. 435 Armstrong, W. 443 Arnold, James, 431 Arnold, Robert, 433 Arquimbeau, L. 440 Ashton, John, 440 Askew, H. 439 Askey, Thomas, 447 Aikin, WilUam, 458 Atkinson, George, 446 Auhagen, G. 435
Ansten, H. 448 Austin, W. 448
B.
Babington, Richard, 4^ Bach, W. G. 457 Bachelle, Louis, 455 Backhouse, G. L. 444 Baoon, Anthony, 433 Bacon, G. 435 Baddeley, F. H. 438 Bagshaw, J. 452 Bailey, N. W. 444 Bail^, William, 457 Bailey, F. 438 Bsin, Henry, 445 Baird, David* 440 Baird,W.449 Baixd, WilHam, 453 Baker, George, 434 Baker, Peter, 451 BakewiU, R. 443 Baldwin, GeOTge, 442 Baldwin, R. 449 Balneavis, H. 448 Bancks, G. 449 Banner, John, 435 Barailler, P. 430 Barclay, D. 430,439 Baring, E. 456 Baring, George, 435 Baring, G. 453 Baring, L. 454 Barlow, G. U. 449 Barnard, Sir A. F. 452 Barnard, G. L. 433 Barnes, Sir £. 430 Barnes, J. 453 Barnet, C. J. 44a Bamet, J. H. 446 Bamett, John, 449
OITIOEBS m THE WnOWUSDS.
459
Barnwell, A. 415 Barr, George, 444 Barra, J. 434 BarrailUer, J. 449 Barrett, Edward, 434 Barrett, J. C. 448 Barrington, Hod. S. S. P.
4.S9 Barrington, Price, 429 Barrs, George, 445 Barry, B. 432 Barry, W. 446 BarUet, J. 449 Bartlett, W. 449 BarOing, G. 435 Barton, Alexander, 433 Barton, Chum, 431 Barton, W. 439 Basnett, Henxy, 457 Bath, William, 450 Bathorst, Hon. J. S. 439 Battersby, G. E. 431 Batty, Bobert, 439 Banmgarten, J. 453 Bayley, H. J. 457 Bayley, Thomas, 457 Barnes, G. M. 437 Baynes, H. 430 Baynes, 429 Baynes, W. G. 440 Beachcroft, Samuel, 442 Beadle, Robert, 451 Beale, Charles, 451 Beales, William, 450 Beane, G. 437 Beardsley, S. 447 Beattie, George, 457 Beatty, Frederick, 433 Beaachamp, R. 434 Beanfoy, Mark, 440 Beaulieu, A. 454 Becher, Abel, 452 Becker, A. 455 Beckwith, 430 Beckwith, C. 452 Beckwith, W. 434 Beer, Isaac, 441 Beere, Henry, 444 Behne, Charles, 453 Behne, Lewis, 453 Behrens, Henry, 435 Belcher, R. T. 444 Bell, 430 Bell, WiUiam, 437 Bellairs, W. 434 Belli, J. H. 434 Belson, Sir C. P. 443 Belson, Samuel, 457 Bennett, F. 452 Bennett, William, 445 Bentinck, C. A. F. 440 Bentinck, C. 430 Berger, John, 431
Berensbach, A. 438 Beresford, Lord Geo. 429 Berger, Charles, 455 Bergmann, F. 435 Bergmann, H. 454 Berkeley, Sir G. H. F. 430 Bernard, Hon. H. B. 432 Bertram, Bern, 456 Bertie, L. J. 433 Best, C. Lew, 454 Best, GustavuB, 453 Best, W. 454 Betteridge, W. 451 Bettesworth, J. 438 BeUy, John, 443 Beurmann, Charles, 454 Beurmann, Fj. J. 455 Beverley, Charles W. 457 Bhuermeister, L. 436 Biddulph, T. 432 Bierdermann, E. 454 Biggam, H. 451 Biggs, Thomas, 444 Billeb, Charles, 454 Binney, Thomas, 433 Bird, C. £. 446 Birmingham, H. 443 Birtwhistle, John, 445 Bishop, P. 446 Black, George, 448 Black, G. 430 Black, James, 451 Black, J. L. 441 Blackall, G. 445 Blackman, J. L. 440 Blackwell, D. 442 Blackwood, R. 449 Blagg, G. 442 Blagrave, W. 441 Blair, ^. H. 429 Blaii, John, 447 Blake, J. 438 Blakeman, R.446 Blanchard, Thomas, 438 Blanckley, H. S. 430,442 Blane, H. S. 440 Blathwayte, G. W. 435 Blennerhasset, A. 450 Bleur, T. H. 451 BUcke, William H. 457 Bliss, J. M. 445 Blois, Charles, 432 Bloomfield, H. K. 449 Bloomfield, John, 437 Blacher, Marsh. Pr. 429 Blumenhagen, F. 435 Boase, John, 444 Boates, H. £. 4;U Bodecker, R. 454 Boden, A. 455 Bodley, George, 457 Boggie, John, 457 Boldero, Lonsdale, 439
Boldero, H. 442 Bolomey, 454 Bolton, A. 435 Bolton, Daniel, 438 Bolton, 437 Bolton, John, 432 Bolton, Thomas, 441 Bone, Hugh, 457 Booth, W. 434 Booth, WiUiam, 457 Borohers, D. 436 Boreham, G. 453 Bomemann, £. 456 Bort,430 Bosewell, 453 Bosse, Henry, 435 Both, F. B. 463 Both, G. Baron, 455 Bothmer, B. B. 435 Bothmer, J. 436 Bott, Charles, 439 Bouchier, James, 433 Boulby, Edward, 441 Boulby, P. 441 Bouverie, E. W. 431 Bovill, E. 444 Bowater, Edward, 440 Bowen, E. C. 446 Bowen, Robert, 440 Bowers, C. R. 434 Bowers, M. 433 Bowles, George, 440 Bowles, John, 443 Bowlby, J. 442 Bowman, David, 457 Boyce, Jaques, 444 <Boyce, John, 445 Boyce, W. 431 Boyd, Hygatt, 441 Boyd, James, 441 Boyes, Robert, 457 Boyle, Robert, 446 Boyse, Shap. 433 Bradford, Sir H. 430, 439 Bradford, Sir T. 429 Brander, James, 446 Brander, T. C. 432 Brandis, Frederick, 455 Brandis, W. 455 Brannan, C. M. 442 Branwell, John, 452 Braun, J. 435 Braun, William, 438 Brauns, A. C. G. 430, 439 Brauns, Charles, 455 Brauns, S. 456 Brearey, C. S. 445 Bremer, Charles, 436 BreretOD, William, 437 Breton, J. F. 437 Breyman, George, 453 Breyman, T. 453 Breymann, A. 455
460
BllTLB OF WATEBLOa
Ureymann, F. L. 4A6 Breymann, 430 Brice, A. A. 443 Bridge, G. I). 4d0 Bridgeland, 441 Bridger, J. P. 433 Bridgt'H, Chftries, 432 Bridges, K. J. 438 Bridgeman, Hon. O. 439 Bri&okmftn, J. 400 Brinckmann, K. 400 Brinckmann, F. 400 Bringhurst, J. D. 431 Brinkman, Julias, 400 Briscall, Samuel, 407 Brook, <hH)rge, 444 BnKirick, Henry, 444 Broke, Sir C. 430 Bromhead, G. 148 Brook, Joshua, 407 Brook, Thomas, 447 Brooke, Francis, 433 Brooke, Francis, 44i Brookes, H. W. 444 Brookes, James, 443 Brookes, Robert, 441 Broughton, S. 431 Brown, J. 437 Brown, Alexander, 447 Brown, A. 400 Brown, Eugene, 401 Brown, £. M. 442 Brown, George, 440 Brown, Heniy, 448 Brovrn, John, 401 Brown, Peter, 442 Brown, Samuel, 442 Brown, Thomas, 400 Brown, Thomas, 403 Browne, B. P. 433 Browne, Donald, 400 Browne, F. 446 Browne, George, 437 Browne, Henry, 407 Browne, John, 441 Browne, Hon. M. 446 Browne, Peter, 441 Browne, Hon. W. 448 Browne, W. F. 482 Browne, Thomas, 439 Bruce, Robert, 439 Bruce, J. R. 437 Bruce. W. 400 Bruckmann, H. 437 Bmel, Otto, 406 Bruggeman, H. 436 Brugh, Adam, 447 Brunswick, Duke of, 430 Brunton, B. 430 Bryce, A. 429 Biyett, J. T. 453 Buchanan, J. P. 434 Buchanan, W. 440
Bock, H. R. 440 Buckeridge, H. M. 438 Buckle, W. 442 Buckley, G. R. 440 Buckley, E. P. 439 Buckley, J. 434 BucUey, W. 440 Budgeon, R. 402 Badger, J. R. 402 Bulkeley, T. 441 Bull, Robert, 437 BoUen, Jamea, 444 BuUock, H. R. 433 Bulow, F. B. 430 Bolow, John B. 430 Bolow, Otto B. 430 Bunnett, Thomas, 407 Borer, G. 440 Burges, Franda, 448 Burgess, S. W. 439 Bux^h, Sir U. 429, 439 Burke, James, 447 Burke, J. 402 Burmeiater, M. A. 407 Bum, H. J. 433 Bumaby, R. B. 437 Burnett, John, 448 Bnrrell, W. G. 400 Barney, William, 447 Burton, F. 441 Burton, R. H. 403 Buiy,A. F.Vi8c429,439 Buiy, W. 440 Bushe, George, 400 BusheU, John, 441 Bussche, H. Baron, 403 Buasche, L. Baron, 403 Bussche, W. Baron, 436 Busteed, G. 449 Butler, Edward, 446 Butler, James, 439 Butler, James, 446 Butler, Theo. 444 Butler, T. L. 446 Butler, WhiteweU, 440 Butterworth, H. 444 Byam, Edward, 434 Byam, W. 434 Byng, Sir John, 429, 480 Byrne, A. 443
C.
Cadell, Charles, 443 Caimes, R. M. 437 Calderwood, J. D. 433 Callandar, J. 407 Callander, Alex. J. 401 Calvert, Felix, 444 Cameron, A. 440 Cameron, A. 441 Cameron, A. 400 Cameron, A. 400 Cameron, A. 400
Cameron, A. 402 Cameron, Cadet, 400 Cameron, D. 400 Cameron, D. 403 Cameron, Don, 430, 439 Cameron, Don, 400 Cameron, E. 40O Cameron, J. 400 Cameron, I. 401 Cameron, J. 440 Cameron, R. 440 Cameron, W. G. 4S9 Campbell, Colin, 440 Campbell, R. P. 429 C impbell, A. 444 Campbell, A. 449 Campbell, Alexander,451 Campbell, Alexander, 451 Campbell, Archibald, 401 Campbell, Archibald, 451 Campbell, Sir C. 440 Campbell, D. 441 Campbell, D. 449 Campbell, D. 401 Campbell, Dugald, 451 Campbell, Dugald, 401 Campbell, E. 401 Campbell, Sir G. 430 Campbell, G. 448 Campbell, J. 447 Campbell, J. 400 Campbell, James A. 407 Campbell, John, 446 Campbell, J. 447 Campbell, J. 400 Campbell, John, 451 Campbell, Sir Neil, 448 CampbeU, N. 449 Campbell, Neil, 40O Campbell, Neil, 40O Campbell, Patrick, 447 Campbell, Thomas, 446 Campbell, W. 432 Campbell, W. 442 Cane, Stopford, 444 Canning, C. F. 440 Canning, Sir F. 429 Cannon, James, 401 Garden, H. R. 432 Carey, Thomas, 404 Caroy, Tapper, 407 Car^, J. S. 448 Carolin, James, 404 Carmichael, 438 Carmichaei, A. 404 Carmichael, L. 448 Carr, J. 434 Carra], W. 443 Carruthers, C. B. 443 Cartan, T. 434 Carter, J. C. L. 447 Cartwright, W. 433 Caruthers, D. 407
OmCEBS IN THE NETHEBIAKDS.
461
CarraQiers, J. 492 Case, £. 457 Cassan, Thonias, 444 Cater, Thomas O. 437 Cathcart, And. 491 Cathcart, G. 429 Caatley, W. G. 467 Cavenagb, J. G. 489 Chadwick, M. 446 Chadwick, N. 448 Chalinen, William, 429,
447 Chambers, 444 Chambers, C. 429 Chambers, W. 484 Chaplin, Thomas, 440 ' Chapman, G. 446 Chapman, W. 4&2 Chartxes, Robert, 457 Chortres, Thomas, 448 Chartres, S. 488 Chatterton, James, 433 Chawner, £. 452 Cheney, Edward, 482 Chermside, A. 488 Cheny, F. 489 Chevers, Pat. 451 Childers, 429 Childers, Michael, 438 Chisholm, D. 446 Chisholm, John, 450 Chisholm, J. J. 451 Christie, B. 429 Christie, James, 447 Choden, G. 455 Chorch, J. 452 ChoTChill. 429 Clabon, Edward, 445 Clark, A. K. 432 ClailE, J. 448 Clarke, Cadet, 449 Clarke, J. 452 Clarke, James, 446 Clarke, I. B. 482 Clarke, J. F. 447 Chirke, Jos. T. 443 Clarke, M. 438 Clarke, Pat 444 Clarke, Piyce, 446 Clarke, T. 453 CUzke, William, 441 Clarke, W. 440 Clarke, W. 444 Claudt, 429 Clayhills, A. 442 Clayton, W. R. 481 Clans, W. 446 Clements, Hon. R. 439 Clerke, W. 446 Clerke, W. H. 448 Cleeves, And. 438 Cleve, Urban, 486 CUnton, Sir H. 429, 480
Clifton, A. B. 432 Clive, Edward, 439 Cloes, Josiah, 481 Clyde, John, 442 Coane, Ant. 449 Goates, J. 449 Coates, W. 446 Coates, W. 457 Cookbom, J. 446 Cockbum, W. J. 450 Cockbmme, W. H. 441 Cochrane, A. C. 440 Cochrane, R. 452 Cochrane, T. 452 Cocksedge, J. C. 434 Coen, John, 443 Coffin, £. P. 457 Cohrs, Henry, 436 CoUard, T. 451 Coker, T. L. 443 Colborne, Sir J. 447 Cole, John, 457 Cole, Henry, 489 Coles, George, 487 Coles, Richard, 488 Colohongh, G. 445 Colleton, T. W. 443 Colleton, Sir J. R. 439 Collier, Charles, 457 Collins, B. 441 Collins, J. 447 Colomb, G. T. 446 Colquett, G. 439 Colqnhonn, R. 440 Colthurst, J. R. 444 Colville, Sir C. 429, 430 Colvin, A. 449 Compson, G. 442 Condamine, William,457 Constant, J. 434 Conze, G. L. 436 Cooke, G. 429, 480 Cooke, R. 447 Cooke, R. H. 439 Cooper, A. 442 Cooper, John, 457 Cooper, L. M. 441 Cooper, Robert H. S. 438 Cooper, Samuel. 457 Coote, Robert, 484 Coote, John, 449 Cordeanx, William, 457 Cordeman, Em. 485 Cordemann, W. 455 Costley, John, 446 Cotter, G. S. 449 Cotes, R. 457 Cottingham, T. 448 Covey, Edward, 438 Coulon, George, 454 Cowan, EdwaSrd, 457 Cowel, F. L. G. 442 Cowell, J. Stepney, 440
Cowen, H. 435 Cox, C. T. 449 Cox, Edward, 446 Cox, John, 452 Cox, PhiL Zac. 434 Cox, Samnelf 431 Coxen, £. 452 Coxen, Stephen, 485 Coxson, 453 Cowper, John, 448 Craddoek, Thomas, 443 Craig, D. S. 441 Crawford, Thomas, 440 Crawford, A. S. 450 Crawford, D. 437 Crawford, J. A. 448 Crawford, THlliam, 432 Crichtnn, N. D. 434 Cringan, W. 443 Croft, Jonathan, 457 Croft, T. E. 489 Crofton, 429 Crofion, W. 448 Croker, Richard, 434 Cromie, M. T. 437 Croon, Bern, 456 Crooke, T. M. 442 Cropp, Edward, 454 Cross, John, 44B CroQchley, J. 435 Crowe, G. W. 443 Crowe, John, 444 Croader, G. 447 Cmmner, J. H. 443 Cmnming, Alex. 447 CnndeU, W. 457 Cnppage, Borke, 437 Cnrren, A. 455 Currie, 430 Cnrtis, W. 440 Curtis, WiUiam, 457 Cntchfii^, J. M. 434 Cutting, Thomas, 455 Curzon, H. W. 430, 449 Cnyler, Aug. 440 Cuyler, Charles, 449
D.
Dagenhart, F. 455 Dale, G. M. 446 Dale, Richard, 441 Dallas, A. R. C. 457 Dallas, Charles, 445 Dalmer, Francis, 442 Dalmer, T. 442 Dalton, F. 431 Dalton, George, 438 Dalwig, C. 434 Daliymple, L. C. 434 Dames, ManseU, 432
462
BATILE or WATEBLOa
Pammen, W. 455 DanielU, Robext. 444 Dance, C. W. 434 Daniel, J. 43.) Daniel, J. K. 457 Dansey, C. C. 4^)7 Darling, 4.'i0 Dashwood, C. 440 Dassell, Conrad, 4d6 Daun, K. 432 Davidson, G. 446 DavidHon, John, 444 Davies, D. 444 Davis, G. L. 441 Davia, J. H. 430 Dawldna, F. 420, 480 Dawkins, G. A. F. 434 Dawkinii, H. 440 Dawson, Charles, 448 Dawson, Hon. G. L. 430 DawHon, Hon. L. C. 434 DawBon, W. 454 Dawson, W. 432 Dawson, W. F. 438 Daxon, John, 446 Day, James, 437 Dayman, C. 457 Deacon, C. 438 Deacon, Thomas, 450 Deane, W. 434 Deares, James, 443 Dease, James, 457 De Bachelle, D. F. 456 De Bnmdis, A. 455 De Brandis, £. 455 De Becker, F. 456 De Bothmer, C. 455 Decken, Barou, 436 Decken, B. Baron, 485 Decken, C. Baron, 454 Decken, F. B. 435 Decken, G. Baron, 435 Decken, W. Baron, 454 Deekor, R. 457 De Dreves, J. 455 DeEinem, D.454 De Fresnoy, F. 436 De Gentzkow, A. A. 453 De Gilsa, Frederick, 453 De Goebau, W. 430 De Goethe, C. 454 De Graugreben, E. 438 De Hartwig, AdoL 455 De Hartwig, F. 453 De Hartwig, F. 453 De Hattoif, G. H. 435 De Hattoif, H. 435 De Hellen, C. 436 De Hengel, W. 453 De Hinuber, Sir H. 455 Dehnel, H. 455 De Homboldt, H. 436 De Hugo, L. 435
Deichmann, W. 436 De liton, A. 435 De Jeinson, C. 455 De Jeinson, J. 455 De Jonqoieres, C. 435 Delancey, Sir W. H. 430 De la Farqne, L. 455 De Laifert, W. 455 De Lasperg, C. 455 Delias, George, 456 De Lutterman, F. 455 De MaiBchalk, O. 453 De Menron, J. F. 454 De Miniussir, N. 453 De Muller, L. 435 De Muller, M. 435 De Murrean, W. 456 Denecke, George, 457 Deneke, George, 453 Denham, Dixon, 448 Dent, A. 448 Dent, W. 441 De Petersdorfl; C. 456 De Quiter, F. 436 De Ramdohr, G. 435 De Robers, 420 De Robertson, F. 454 De Robertson, F. 454 De Ronne, F. 455 De Roos, Hon. A. F. H.
420, 430 De Rossing, F. C. 454 Desbrowe, 420 Desbrowe, George, 430 De Schauroth, G. 455 De Schleicher, W. 455 De Schlatter, A. 454 De Schroeder, 454 De Sichart, C. L. 454 De Sichart, L. H. 454 De Sieghard, P. 435 De Soden, C. 455 De Stolzenberg, J. 436 De Storren, Fred. 455 De Streeruwitz, A. 436 Dettmer, F. 435 De Voight, W. 456 Dewell, J. 438 Dewes, John, 443 De Weyhe, E. 456 De Wissell, Aug. 435 De Wissell, Fred. 455 De Witte, Charles, 455 De Witte, George, 456 De Witte, J. 436 De Witzendorff, H. 435 De Warmb, 455 De Ziegesar, F. 435 Di Borgo, Pozzo, 430 Dick, R. H. 446 Dickens, S. R. 451 Dickson, Sir A. 437 Dickson, Sir J. 480
Dickson, C. L. 449 Dickson, Daniel, 442 Diedel, F. 455 Diggle, Charies,417 Dillon, G. M. 457 Dillon, Robert, 444 DiUow, T. 435 Diiom, J. P. 430 Disney, Barb. 435 Disney, Henry, 446 Distlefaorst, A. 454 Ditmas, Jofan, 443 Dixon, F. 452 Dixon, H. 4^ Dixon, Heniy, 444 Dobbs, W. 441 Dodwell, G. 484 Doherty, George, 433 Doherty, J. 433 Doherty, P. 433 Donaghue, A. 451 Donahoe, Thomas, 457 Donop, G. Baron, 436 Domberg, W. 429, 430 Domberg, Count Sir W.
430, 435 Doring, T. W. 454 Dorville, P. 432 Dorville, R. 433 Douglas, C. 438 Douglas, C. 446 Douglas, F. I. 440 Douglas, J. J. 434 Douglas, Neil], 450 Douglas, Robert, 433 Douglas, Robert, 451 Douglas, Hon. S. 432 Douglas, Sir W. 451 DowUng, Joseph, 450 Dowbiggen, W. H. 436 Dowdell, John, 448 Down, Richard, 432 Downing, F. G. B. 457 Doyle, C. S. 445 D'Oyly, Sir Francis, 439 D'Oyly, Heniy, 439 Doyne, Richard, 444 Drake, John, 457 Drake, W. T. 431 Drankmeister, H. 4S5 Draper, Thomas, 457 Drawbridge, C. 438 Dregtom, AJlan, 450 Drew, John, 450 Drewe, 429 Drewe, E. W. 443 Drinkwater, T. 431 Dromgoole, N. 445 Drought, J. H. 433 Droit, E. 446 Dmmmond, B. 440 Drummond, G. 452 Drummond, G. 452
OmCEBS IN THE METHEiaANBS.
463
Drmnmond, P. 487 Dmmmond, W. 440 Dnuy, George, 445 Drysdale, W. 454 Dnberley, James, 493 Ducat, Dogal, 451 DadgeoD, B. 440 Dadie, T. A. 447 Doff, Bobdrt, 451 Dmnaresque, H. 429, 441 Dumaresque, ThomaSi
457 Diimaresqae, W. 489 Dunbar, Alexander, 446 Duncan, Edward, 448 Dundas, F. D. 451 Dunkin, Thomas, 484 Dunlevie, OU. 447 Dunn, George, 442 Dunn, John, 442 * Dunnicliffe, H. 487 Duperier, H. 434 Du Plat, 480 Durand, F. H. 446 During, C. H. B. 454 During, D. B. 486 During, £. Baron, 453 During, £. 455 Duval, J. 451 DuTel, G. H. 453 Dwyer, John, 457 Dyas, Joseph, 447 Djor, Henry, 446 Dyneley, T. 487
£.
Eager, J. 453 Earl, Solomon, 454 Eason, R. P. 443 Eastwood, C. B. 450 Eaton, C. 452 Eberstein, F. Baron, 458 Ecles, G. 429 Edgell, C. J. 441 Edgcumbe, Hon. £. A.
489 Edwards, D. J. 487 Edwards, F. J. 451 Edwards, J. H. 457 Egan, Carberry, 451 Eickmann, F. 486 Eeles, Charles, 452 Eeles, William, 452 Egerton, 429 Eicke, Fred. 486 Einem, 439
Elderhost, Charles, 435 Elderhost, F. 454 Elkington, J. G. 444 Elley, Sir John, 429, 430 EUior, W. 443
Elliott, George, 457 EUiott, M. H. 447 EUiott, R. C. 444 Elliott, W. 481 Ellis, C. 446 ElUs, C. P. 489 Ellis, Sir H.W. 442 Ellis, Richard, 484 Ellison, Robert, 439 Elphinstone, J. D. 483 Elphinstone, W. K. 445 Elrington, John, 440 Elton, Isaac M. 438 Elton, WiUiam, 481 Elwes, J. R. 449 £lwin, F. 447 Emery, H. G. 457 English, Frederick, 438 English, Thomas, 448 Enoch, J. 442 Erskine, Hon. £. S. 480 Erskine, G. F. 483 Erakine, J. F. M. 489 Erskine, R. 441 Exythropel, F. 438 Estorfi; 429 Estorff, H. Baron, 486 Enchan, Alexander, 442 Evans, M. 438 Evans, John, 444 Evans, J. V. 444 Evanson, £. A. 448 Evatt, 4i)0 Evelyn, George,'440 Eyl, J. George, 457 Eyre, James W. 438 Eyre, John, 457 Eyre, R. 452
F.
Fabridus, G. 454 Fahle, W, 453 Fahrenkohl, C. 436 Fairfield, E, B. 440 Falconer, C. G. 450 Falconar, G. H. 482 Fane, M. 447 Fans, WiUiam, 488 Farmer, Thomas, 442 Farrant, W. 445 Fancett, 453 Fauquier, Charles, 457 Fawson, J. 448 Fazakerly, J. 445 Fead,4d9 Fehlaod,453 Felix, Oriando, 452 Fellowes, B. 454 Feltom, T. 433 Fenn, John, 439 Fensham, G. 442
Fenton, Temp. 445 Fenwick, T.L.451 Fernandez, J. L. 441 Ferrier, A. 451 • Ferrior, Samuel, 431 Field, F. 441 Field, Jer. 431 Fielding, George, 442 Finan, M. F. 448 Finch, Hon. J. 446 . Finlayson, D. 445 Hnnie, W. 441 Fiorillo, Frederick, 436 Fischer, C. 454 Fischer, J. 435 Fisher, WiUiara, 446 Fitzgerald, 480 Fitzgerald, C. 444 Fitzgerald, G. 448 Fitzgerald, J. 444 Fitzgerald, James, 444 Fitzgerald, R. 431 Fitz Gibbon, G. 442 Fitzmaurioe, J. G. 452 Fitzroy, Lord C. 480, 489 Fitzpstriek, P. 447 Flamank, John, 447 Flamer, John, 457 Fleish, W. 454 Fleming, John, 446 Fletcher, J. W. 441 Floyd, Henry, 483 Floyer, 436 Fludyer, George, 489 Foot, George, 847 Foot, R. 445 Forbes, Alexander, 450 Forbes, Hon. H. 440 Forbes, Hon. J. 440 Forbes, J. 450 Forbes, John, 457 Forbes, Hon. W. 440 Ford, C. 438 Ford, Fred. 446 Ford, George, 444 Forlong, James, 445 Fortescue, W. F. 443 Foster, C. 482 Foster, Henry, 487 Foulkes, J. 446 Fowler, R. 452 France, Harold, 457 Franck, George, 454 Frankland, 429 Franklyn, J. D. 446 Franklyn, R. 449 Eraser, A. 441 Eraser, A. 447 Eraser, A. L. 446 Eraser, C. 442 Eraser, F. A. M. 450 Eraser, George, 448 Fraser, J. 430
464
SITTLB OF W ATKBLOa
Frailer, J. 440 Fraiior, Jamefi, ^W FfMer, James, 4A0 Fraser, J. J. 4^0, 423 FnH^r, M. 4dO Fraser, ThoniM, 44B Frawr, Williftin, 446 Fraser, Sir Augostus, 430 Frmser, H. A. 440 Frederick, 4A6 Frederick, Edwaid, 447 Fredericks Eb. 430 Fredericks, Rod. 430 Fremantle, J. 420, 440 Freer, R. R. 452 French, Charles, 401 French, J. 441 French, Martin, 434 Frendenthal, A. 4M Freadenthall, F. 455 Freudenthal, S. 435 Fricke, Henry, 430 Fricke, W. 435 Friderici, J. H. C. 435 FriedericA, Aug. 435 FHederieks, Aug. 454 Frith, E. C. 457 Frizell, W. B. 444 Fry, J. 452 Ffy, W. D. 445 Fryer, Charies, 442 FuJlarton, James, 452 FuUer. F. 448 FuUer, William^ 431 Fomas, Thomas, 443 Funetti, Ang. 435
O.
Gabriel, R. B. 420 GalUe, Alex. 450 GaUiers, W. 441 Galway, P. B. 440 Gspe, James, 432 Gtfdiner, John, 452 Gardiner, R. 446 Gardiner, Sir R. 437 Gardner, John, 440 Gardner, J. P. 452 Gardner, P. 454 Garland, John, 440 Garret, 453 Garvens, H. 454 Gavin, W. 440 Gawler, George, 448 Geale, J. 434 Gebser, W. T. 430 Gell, Thomas, 443 Gerard, Arthur, 441 Genurd, George, 440 Gerber, A. 455 Gerson, G. H. 450
Gerstlacher, E. 4^)0 Gentlacher, 430 Geske, Henry, 453 Gibbons, Steven, 444 Gibbs, John, 447 Gibson, E. 453 Gibson, J. B. 448 Gibson. W. 453 Oiesmann, Louis, 450 GUbert, F. Y. 438 Gflbert, R. P. 443 Gilbonme, E. 440 Gilder, F. 440 Gillespie, Joseph, 457 GiUospie, W. 444 Gimbom, A. C. W. 435 Gipps, George, 438 Glass, E. 452 Glendenning, Thos. 430 Glen, A. 441 Glynne, 440 Glynn, John, 457 Godwyn, John, 451 Goeban,W.430 Goeben, A. Baron, 453 Goeben, F. Baron, 454 Goeben, Baron, 454 Goeben, Baron, 430 Gold, Charles, 437 Goldsmid, A. 433 Going, J. 432 Gomm, Sir WUiiam, 440 Good, Samuel, 440 Goodenoogh, S. 432 Goodman, 480 Gooch, Henry, 440 Gordon, Alexander, 440 Gordon, Sir A. 420, 440 Gordon, J. 452 Gordon, J. R. 433 Gordon, J. R. 434 Gordon, R. 446 Gordon, Thomas, 440 Gordon, W. 440 Gk>rdon, Thomas, 451 Gordon, 453 Gordon, F. 437 Gore, A. 444 Gore, A. 445 Gore, Hon. Charles, 420 Gore, R. 445 Gormon, Const. 446 Gotz, H. 430 Gongh, R. 431 Goalbnm, Frederick, 433 Gonrlsy, A. 453 Graeme, G. Drum, 454 Graham, Alexander, 442 Graham, Charles, 441 Graham, Henry, 431 Graham, J. 443 Graham, J. R. T. 432 Graham, R. 440
Grahn, Ernest, 456 Grabn, F. 4.30 Grant, Alezsoder, 44U Grant, SirCoL 429, 43<» Grant, James, 4^4 Grant, James R. 457 Grant, John, 446 Grant, John, 446 Grant, L. 430, 450 Grant, Robert, 457 Great, W. A. 440 Grant, W. C. 451 Grantham, Yal. 442 Grattan, Charies. 4:)8 Gray.Chas. Geo. 429. 4.V2 Greaves, J. E. 432 Green, E. 4:M Green, Richard, 457 Greenock, Lord. 430 Greenwofjd, J. 433 GrenfeU, W. 4.33 Gregori, C. 433 Gregory, Adam, 443 Gregoiy, £. 447 Greville, Alger. 430 Grey, John, 448 Grey, John, 433 Grier, Robert, 447 Griffith, E. 434 Griffith, J. R. 448 Griffith, Thomas, 441 Griffiths, H. F. 440 Griffiths, J. 433 Griffiths, J. 434 Griffiths, W. A. 44-i Gropp, Henry, 435 Grose, Edward, 439 GroRkopff, Charies, 457 Groskopfi; F. 435 Grote,W. H. 445 Gmben, F. Barcm, 435 Gruben, Phil. Baron, 4:15 Grape, J. 453 Gnbbins, James, 433 Gnnn, William, 450 Gmining, 433 Ghmning, Geoi^e, 432 Gunning, John, 457 Gnnther, G. 455 Gnnthorpe, J. 429, 430 Gurwood, P. 429, 430 Gurwood, John, 429, 433 Guthrie, J. G. 447
H.
Haasman, G. 453 Hadden, W. F. 432 Hagan, James, 449 Hagemann, H. 455 Hagger, J. 453 Haigh, I. 445
OFUGEBS IN THE NSTHERUlNDS.
465
Haigh, T. D. 445 Haines, O. 4d7 Halcott, M. C. 442 Halket, B. 430 Halkett, Sir Colin, 420,
430, 453 Hall, George, 448 Hall, John, 443 Hall, L. A. 438 HaU, WilUam, 457 HalUday, A, 457 Halloran, T. O. 444 ' Halpin, Oliyer, 447 Halpin, W. 485 Hamerton, J. M. 447 Hames, Charles, 444 Hamill, Edward, 432 Hamillton, Thomas, 444 Hamilton, 430 Hamilton, A. 482 Hamilton, A. 444 Hamilton, A. D. 445 Hamilton, J. 454 Hamilton, J. 482 Hamilton, M. 430 Hamilton, R. 451 Hamilton, W. C. 433 Hamilton, W. F. 440 Hamerstein, A. B. 436 Hancox, Skin. 434 Handcock, Bichard, 443 Handcock, T. 443 Hankin, T. P. 432 Hannerstein, O.BaiC435 Hanrott, F. G. 440 Hanson, W. C. 449 Harding, G. 447 Harding, G. I. 438 Harding, B. 487 Haidinge, Sir H. 430 Hardman, S. 433 Hardt, L. 438 Hardy, Daniel, 457 Hare, G. 438 Hare, J. 443 Hare, W. H. 447 Harling, Aug. 436 Harling, T. 435 Hamet, John, 448 Harriott, Thomas, 489 Harris, G. 449 Hams, John, 438 Hams, J. W. 442 Harris, T. N. 429 Harris, W. 434 Harris, WilUam, 453 Harrison, W. 449 Harrison, George, 450 Harrison, H. 4^ Harrison, J. 434 Harrison, John, 440 Harrison, J. 456 Harrison, B. 444
Hart, J. 445 Hart, John, 448 Hart, Simon, 445 Hart, Thomas, 445 Hartford, Henry, 448 Hartford, J. 453 Hartley, J. C. 442 Hartman, G. 454 Hartman, Sir J. 436 Hartmann, A. 454 Hartmann, H. 438 Hartadg, J. 454 Harty, J. M. 445 Harvey, William, 437 Hassard, Alexander, 432 Hassel, W. Baron, 436 Havelock, 429 Hawker, 437 Hawkins, H. 440 Hawley, B. B. 447 Hawley, B. T. 432 Hawthorne, B. 448 Hawtyn, Joseph, 442 Hay, J. 450 Hay, James, 434 Hay, Lord, 429 Hay, Lord James, 439 Hay, James, 436 Hay, W. 433 Haygup, W. 452 Hayward, John, 457 Head, Francis B. 438 Heam, H. T. 451 Heame, G. H. 441 Heathcote, B. 432 Heariside, B. 444 Hedding, W. L. 445 Heidenreich, W. 455 Heimbiirg,429 Heimrich, Ang. 456 Heinemann, F. 455 Heise, A. 453 Heise, L. 438 Heise, 437
Heise, Ang. 429, 430, 453 Heise, Chris. 436 Heise, Chris. 453 Heise, Fred. 453 Heise, J. 455 Heisse, George, 454 Heisse, J. 454 Heitmuller, F. 455 Helmrick, 456 Hemmings, W. 435 Hemsley, H. 446 Henderson, Alex. 438 Henderson, A. M. 449 Henderson, J. 449 Henderson, John, 453 Henderson, W. 443 Hener, L. 455 Hennen, John, 457 Hennis, W. H. 437
Hepburn, Francis, 440 Herbert, G. 442 Herbert, G. H. 442 Hem, W. Mar. 447 Hervey, James, 440 Hesketh, B. B. 440 Hesse, A. 454 Hesse, Charles, 434 Hesikige, B. G. 450 Hett, B. H. 452 Hewetson, J. 445 Hewett, W. 442 Hewitt, Bobert, 452 Heydon, William, 433 Heyliger, P. A. 432 Heyland, A. B. 446 Hibbert, T. N. 432 Hickley, B. 453 Hicks, G. C. 445 Hicks, George, 446 Hicks, George, 452 Hicks, John, 444 Higgins, Summers, 457 Hildebrand, J. 445 Hill, Lord, 429 Hill, Lord Arthur, 429 HiU, 429 HiU, Boyle, 444 Hill, Charles, 448 Hill, Clement, 431 HiU, £. E! 443 ffiU, H. 457 HUl, J. H. £. 442 HiU, Joseph, 449 HUl, Sir T. N. 430, 439 HUl, Sir B. C. 431 HUl, B. F. 449 HUl, Samuel, 449 HiU, W. H. 448 HUl, B. E. 438 HUUer, H. 443 HUUer, 430 HUton, W. L. 444 Hincks, John, 437 Hinuber, H. 429 Hipkins, Bobert, 451 Hitchen, J. 453 Hobbs, Thomas, 451 Hobhouse, B. 449 Hodenberg, A. Bar. 436 Hodenberg, £. Bar. 454 Hodenberg, H. Bar. 436 Hodenberg, J. B. 436 Hodenberg, L. Bar. 456 Hodder, Edward, 449 Hodge, Edward, 482 Hodge, 443 Hodgson, E. 433 Hodson, James, 457 Hodson, W. 445 Hoe, W. 441 Hogreve, H. 435 Hofmann, H. 446
H H
466
B11TLB or WAIULOOW
HolbMh, Edward, 439 Hola, William, 4d0 Holland, J. E. H. 441 Holla, Adolphos, 454 HoUe, C. Baron, 454 Holle, L. L. Baron, 454 HoUia, MaL 450 Holman,C. 448 Holm«a,4a9 Holmaa, O. 448 Holmaa, G. W. 451 Holmea, R. B. 442 Holmea, B. P. 442 Holmatrom, Charles, 436 Holaoher, W. 436 Holaen, Frederick, 455 Holcenninn, F. 435 Holzennann, F. A. 453 Home, Alexander, 453 Home, Francis, 451 Home, Francis, 440 Homepesch, Y. 442 HonhoTst, O. Baron, 455 Hood, James, 451 Hope, James, 452 Hope, J. C. 452 Hoppe, William, 436 Horan, T. J.444 Home, Bichard P. 457 Homer, Thomas, 447 Horton, O. W..449 Hoste, Sir George, 438 Hotham, Bean Lord, 440 Hotsen, George, 456 Howard, Hon. T. 433 Howard, J. A. 445 Howard, Sir K. A. 420 Howard, Robert, 444 Howie, Thomas, 457 Hoyer, Ufarich, 430 Hoysted, F. W. 448 Hudson, Richard, 446 Hughes, R. 444 Hnghes, G. 450 Hugo, Anthony, 438 Hull, G. D. 430 Hnlme, J. L. 438 Hulaeman, H. F. 453 Humble, William, 452 Hume, G. T. 438 Hume, J. R. 457 Hume, William, 457 Humfrey, C. 444 Hunt, A. 438 Hunter, W. 448 Hunter, William, 440 Huntley, W. W. 432 Hurd, Samuel, 430 Hupeden, R. 453 Hupeden, Richard, 453 Hurtzig, Rudolph, 454 Hntchesson, T. 438 Hutchinson, F. 448
Hntohinsoo, J. H. 480 Hyde, W. 451
lago, Danll, 487 Ilbert,C 438 Impett, J. 440 Ingersleben, F. F. 454 Ingle, C. W. 440 Ingleby, W. B. 437 Ingram, Geoige, 443 Ingram, John, 440 Inglis, Thomas, 457 Innes, Alexander, 446 Innes, Hector, 451 Innes, Peter, 450 Irby, Hon. H. E. 431 Ireland, Samael, 443 Irrine, W. D. A. 432 Irving, J. £. 434 Irving, William, 443 Irwin, D. 433 Irwin, H. 448 Irwin, WiUiam, 443 Isaacson, Egert. 447 Issendorfl; W. B. 436
J.
Jack, Charles, 450 Jackson, Basil, 430 Jackson, Basil, 430 Jackson, Francis, 446 Jackson, 420 Jackson, 430 Jackson, Sir R. D. 430 Jackson, J. 446 Jackson, Joseph, 448 Jacob, B. 447 Jacob, G. T. 430 Jagoe, Jon. 444 James, John, 444 James, J. H. 431 James, 433 James, Maur. 457 James, WiUiam, 440 Jansen, George, 436 Jansen, John, 436 Jarvey, James, 444 Jenkins, John, 433 Jenks, G. S. 433 Jesse, John H. 457 Jessop, 430 Jeyes, Samuel, 434 Jobin, M. T. H. 453 Johnson, Henry, 442 Johnson, P. 430 Johnson, Robert, 435 Johnson, W. 444 Johnson, William, 446
Johnston, E. D. 452 Johnston, Frederick, 432 Johnston, 430 Johnston, W. 452 Johnstone, Chaiiea, 4tf Johnstone, J. 429 Johnstone, G. C. 440 Johnstone, Robert, 457 Johnstone, W. 447 Johnstone, W. F. 430 Jolliife, Chariea, 442 Jones, 447 Jones, A. 449 Jones, Hany D. 438 Jonea, L. G. 430 Jones, P. 448 Jones, Richard, 446 Jones, Thomaa, 455 Jones, W. 446 Jones, W. 447 Jones, William, 4511 Jons, John, 434 Julian, Richard, 442
Kater,W. 443 Kathmann, Aug. 454 Kay, Arthur, 438 Keane, Edward, 432 Keane,SirJ.420 Keane, 420 Kearney, Daniel, 457 Kearney, Edward, 444 Kearney, Thomas, 457 Keens, I. 442 Eeightley, J. 441 Keily, T. R. 432 Keise, Otto, 436 Keith, H. D. 449 Kelly, Allan, 448 Kelly, Edward, 431 Kelly, Richard, 443 Kelly, Richard, 448 KeUey, W. 446 Kempt, Sir Jas. 429, 430 Kennedy, 440 Kennedy, Arthur, 434 Kennedy, £. 450 Kennedy, F. 447 Kennedy, J. G. 441 Kenny, Charies, 448 Kenyon, A. 431 Kenyon, J. P. M. 431 Keoghoe, W. 445 Keough, Matthew, 442 Keowen, William, 442 Keppel, Hon. G. T. 442 Ker, John, 438 Kerr, James, 432 Kerr, Robert, 430 Kerr, Lord S. 445
OFFICBBS IN THE METHEBLANDS.
467
Rerrison, Sir Edv. 4B*2 Kenenhmch, A. 486 Kersting, A. F. 4d4 Keesler, A. 454 Kessler, Frederick, 456 Kessler, Charles, 458 Kessler, Q. T. 453 Kett, Gharlee G. 487 Eeyt, J. T. 447 Kidd, Thomas, 457 Kielmansegge, 480 Kielmansegge, Count, 486 KUvington, O. W. 457 Kinnaird, J. 452 iCinohant, F. C. 482 King, C. 434 King, B. N. 488 Kingsley, N. T. 447 Kirby, T. C. 448 Kirchner, Lewis, 485 Kirton, Richard, 457 Kirwan, £. S. 441 Klingsohr, W. L. 456 Klingsohr, George, 456 Knight, 458 Knight, C. 445 Knight, H. 456 Knight, J. 454 Knop, Aug. 454 Knox, R. S. 451 Koch, Lewis, 486 Koester, E. A. 458 Kohrs, J. 456 Kohrsohann, Joseph, 455 Kranz, Henry, 435 Kranchenberg, 429 Krauchenberg, A. 486 Kranchenberg, L. 485 Kranchenbnrg, G. 486 Kraose, Lewis, 486 Kranse, W. H. 447 Kreitsch, F. W. 455 Kronhehn, T. 455 Knckuck, Ang. 455 Kuckuck, A. W. 455 Kncknck, E. H. 455 Knckuck, J. 455 Kuhlman, W. 454 Knhlmann, O. 435 Kuh]n?anns, 487 Kuhls, Aug. 485 Kumme, L. 454 Kunott, Gottheth, 456 Kuntze, J. F. 458 Kuster, F. 485 Kynock, J. 450
L.
Laidley, John, 457 Lake, Charles, 440 Lambe. P. K. 449
Laihbert, Sir J. 429, 480 Lambert, P. W. 441 Lamont, Norman, 451 Lang, J. 44G Lancey, F. 488 Lane, George, 441 Lane, Heniy, 484 Lange, J. B. 485 Langeheineken, P. 454 Langlands, G. 458 Langton, Algernon, 420 Laagton, Edward, 447 Langwerth, A. 455 La Roche, Fra. 454 Lascelles, C. F. R. 480 Lascelles, H. 489 Lasperg, Fredeiiok, 455 LaTonr, P. A. 484 Lattennann, John, 488 Lavens, P. H. 448 Lawder, James, ^44 Lawder, R. 445 Lawe, Robert, 449 Lawrence, B. 438 Lawrence, J. 484 Lawrence, S. H. 444 Lawson, Douglas, 437 Lawton, Thomas, 451 Layton, J. 452 Leach, J. 452 Leacroft, Robert, 448 Leaper, W. 450 Lear, John, 458 Leatham, James, 482 Loathes, H. M. 487 Leaver, R. 445 Le Bachelle, G. 454 Le Blanc, F. 452 Lee, Edward, 451 Lee, H. 452 Leebody, W. 442 Leech, George, 448 Le Fort, A. Baron, 454 Leftrew, Heniy, 435 Lemoine, William, 487 Lempriere, W. 438 Lene, George, 455 Lennox, J. 482 Lennox, Lord G. 429 Leonhardt, George, 435 Leonhart, H. 453 Leschen, C. 455 Leschen, F. 455 Leschen, H. 435 Leslie, Charles, 442 Leslie, F. 454 Leslie, K. J. 450 Leslie, James, 448 Leslie, W. W. 441 L'Estrange, 420 L'Estrange, A. 449 L'Estrange, E. 449 Levin, J. 45.^
Levinge, Charles, 441 Lewen, H. R. 444 Lewin, Carique, 449 Lewin, T. R. 444 Lewis, Charles, 441 Lewis, John, 435 Leyne, Richard, 449 Lichtenberger, C. 455 Light, A. Alexander, 442 Lilly, Thomas, 442 Lind, Laurence, 451 Lind, M. 481 Lind, Robert, 449 Lindham, Ohle, 453 Lindes, Charles, 485 Lindsay, M. 450 Lindsay, G. 441 Lindsiqr, H. 449 Lindsay, M. G. F. 450 Lindsey, W. H. B. 438 Lingard, Thomas, 442 Linsingen, A. 436 Liasingen, E. B. 436 Linsingen, W. 435 Linsingen, W. B. 455 Linton, John, 432 Lintott, John, 447 Lister, W. 452 Little, 453 Little, WilUam, 451 Llewellyn, R. 448 Lloyd, E. B. 434 Lloyd, J. B. L. 434 Lloyd, J. Y. 450 Lloyd, M. S. H. 448 Lloyd, W. L 437 Loch, J. 442 Lock, Heniy, 447 Lockhart, J. E. 433 Lockwood, P. 444 Lodemann, G. 454 Loftus, H. D. 441 Logan, George, 451 Logan, J. 452 Logan, Robert, 452 Logan, T. G. 484 Long, William, 449 Long, William, 446 Longden, J. 445 Longman, J. W. 436 Longmore, George, 439 Loning, Michael, 436 Lonsdale, J. 441 Lonsdale, W. 441 Lorenz, F. 485 Louis, Mat. 437 Love, F. W. 448 Love, G. H. 448 Love, J. F. 447 Lovelock, 444 Lovetzow, C. F. Bar. 435 Lowe, W. L. 450 Low«on, G. 454
468
BAITLE or WATBRLOa
LuMxd, J. Hn Luraii, Juiper, 444 LucAff, Kiriianl, 444 Luderitz, Frpderick, 4>^6 Lnderitz, Lewis, 4dd Ludowiff, AdoL 4dd Ludewig, O. 4M LudMwieff, C. H. 438 Lueder, £. 455 Lahning, A. 454 Lake, ^'UUam, 448 Lundie, George, 456 Laniog, W. 455 LntUell, W. F. 439 LuiyeuH, Benjamiu, A'\S Latyens, D. 4-i9 Luxmore, Thomts, 438 Lynch, A. 454 Lye, Leigh B. 433 Lygon, Hiiiii H. P. 431 LyguD, Hon. IL B. 4:i4 Lynam, W. 443 Lynam, J. 452 Lynam, Joseph, 445 Lyon, 430
Lyon, Sir James, 420 LJronB, William, 457
M.
M'Aitbor, J. 450 M*Ailhfir, Charles, 450 M'Auley, WilUam, 432 M'Cann, T. 447 McCarthy, W, J. 440 M*CUntock, H. 445 M*Cluskey, M. 4:)2 M'Conchy, James, 444 M*ConneU, J. R. 450 M'Golloch, J. G. 452 M'CnUoch, J. S. 4U M*Dearmid, D. 450 M'DermoU, H. 441 McDonald, A. 437 M'Donald, A. 452 McDonald, D. 446 M'Donald, Don. 446 M'Donald, Donald, 438 M'Donald, John, 451 McDonald, R. 451 M'Donell, A. M. 442 McDonnell, N. 445 M*Donogh, F. 447 M*Donough, T. 445 M*Doiigall, John, 451 M'DongaU, Kenneth, 446 M'Dougle, J. 457 M*Dowall, Joseph, 439 M'Duffle, Don. 4:U M'Glashan, 4-49 M'Glashan, J. 45:^
McGregor, J. 44h McGregor, Mai. 450 M'lnaeH, A. 431 M'Intosh, I). 446 M'Intosh, Dan. 446 M*Intyre, A. J. 4411 M^ntyre, W. 445 M*Kay, Donald, 440 H*Kenzie, Colin, 438 M*Kenzie, D. 446 M'Kenzie, J. 452 M*Lachlan, Andrvw, 451 M'Lachlan, Geoi^e, 451 McLaren, D. 442 M*I-#od, S. 447 M'Leod, W. 453 M'Millaii, H. 432 M'Mnnn, R. A. 446 M'Nah, A. 444 51'Nair, James, 417 M'Namara, T. 452 McNeil, Donald, V)7 M*NeU, R. 434 M'Neil, T. 445 M*Fhee, Donald, 450 M*Pherson, R. 452 Mcpherson, A. 451 M'Pherson, D. 443 M'Pherson, D. 450 M'Pherson, Donald, 447 M*Pherson, J. M. 4.52 M'Ray, 450
M*Whirter, Thomas, 457 Macabe, J. J. 452 Macalister, James, 433 Macalister, C. 445 Macalister, W. 445 Macalpine, W. B. 450 Macara, Sir R. 446 Macartney, W. 448 Macbean, Alexander, 454 Macbean, F. 437 Macbevi, W. 450 Macdonald, A. 436 Macdonald, A. 452 Macdonald, D. 451 Macdonald, D. 451 Macdonald, G. 443 Macdonald, J. 442 Macdonald, R. 440 Macdonald, R. 451 Macdonald, S. 453 Macdonell, James, 440 Macdonnell, J. L. 442 Macdongall, P. 442 Maehell, J. T. 434 Machell, R. 444 Macfarlane, D. 452 Macintosh, Thomas, 451 Mackav, C. C. 450 Mackay, Joseph, 441 Mackav, R. 450 Mackav, Thomas, 432
de, George, 442 Mackenzie, H« 449 Mackenzie, J. 450 Mackenzie, J. 457 Mackenzie, K. 429 Mackenzie, W. 435 Mackie, George, 451 Maekie, J. 458 Mackie, Robert, 446 Mackinlay, J. 451 Mackinnon, D. 440 MackreU, R. 447 Mackrell, T. 447 Mackworth, 429 Maclean, A. J. 440 Maclean, A. T. 434 Maclean, G. G. 450 Madeod, J. 450 Madeod, H. G. 430 Madeod, Chaiies, 450 Macleod, R. N. 450 Macleod, William, 450 Macnab, D. 457 Macnab, J. 448 Macpherson, A. 448 Macpherson, £. 450 Macpherson, M. 446 Maddocks, W. 450 Madden, E. 452 Maddoz, G. 457 Madox, Henry, 432 Magniae, Richard, 432 Mahon, Denis, 443 Mahon, John, 441 Mahon, W. 447 Mahrenholz, W. Bar. 450 Mainwaring, F. 447 Maitland, J. 446 Maitland, 438 Maitland, James, 444 MaiUand, P. 429, 430 Mf^or, F. W. 457 Makepeace, C. 440 Malcolm, John, 446 Maling, John, 457 Mallock, J. M'Greg. 4:U Mandilhon, P. 448 Manley, Charles, 443 Mann, James, 441 Manners, Geoiige, 442 Manners, R. 438 Manners, Lord R. 433 Manning, W. 446 Mansfield, 420 Marbui^, Frederick, 456 March, Charles E. 447 March, Eari of, 429 Marcon, Edward, 44'^ Markland, James, 415 Marlej, G. 441 Marquis, John, 450 Marr, Charles, 449 Marschalk, 421)
0FFIGEB8 IN THE N£TH£RLAJn)S.
469
Hanchalk* G. B. 453 Marsden, Thomas, 457 Marshall, Anthony, 488 Marshall, C. H. 451 Marshal], R. B. 457 Marshall, W. 450 Marten, T. 431 Martm, Benjamin, 441 Martin, Dairid, 453 Martin, H. 447 Martin, Henry, 447 Martin, John, 434 Martin, John, 441 Martin, R. 443 Mason, James, 453 Massey, Dillon, 446 Massey, Hugh, 440 Massie, Thomas, 448 Master, Richitfd, 439 Master, W. C. 440 Mathaei, J. D. 455 Mathews, James, 457 Mathews, W. M. 441 Mathewson, A. 448 Matson, Edward, 438 Matson, L. A. 438 Matthews, J. P. 442 Matthews, Richard, 457 Matille, G. S. 487 Mannsback, James, 455 Maunsell, J. K 437 May, Sir J. 436 May, James Frere, 448 MaydelJ, C. B. 435 Mayne, W. 431 Mayne, W. F. 448 Meacham, W. P. 443 Meally, J. O. 433 Mears, Richard, 431 Meier, Arnold, 456 Meighan, M. W. 444 Meinecke, G. F. 438 Meister, George, 436 Melhnish, S. H. 438 Menzies, A. 442 Menzies, A. 446 Mercer, A. C. 437 Mercer, D. 440 Merveden, J. C. B. 454 Metcalfe, Henry, 445 Metge, W. 446 Methold, £. 442 Methnen, C. L. 432 Meyer, Augnstus, 455 Meyer, C. 454 Meyer, Charles, 453 Meyer, E. 485 Meyer, G. 453 Meyer, G. C. 436 Meyer, George, 486 Meyer, Gust. 436 Meyer, Henry, 455 Meyer, Her. 436
Meyer, Julius, 436 Meyer, Lewis, 436 Meyer, N. D. 435 Meyer, W. 454 Meyer, W. 455 Michel, J. 438 Middleton, J. 445 Middleton, T. F. 432 Mielmann, H. 438 Mill, 446 I^Iill, James, 434 MiUar, HenVy, 446 Millar, J. F. W. 441 MiUar, John, 443 Miller, F. S. 432 Miller, G. 452 Miller, W. 439 Milligan, Alexander, 452 Milligan, R. 433 Milliken, John, 439 Millmg, Henry, 451 Mills, John, 432 Milne, J. 442 Milnes, W. H. 439 Minchin, C. H. 488 Minchin, Francis, 447 Minchin, W. 434 Mitchel, Edward, 448 Mitchell, 480 MitcheU, 430 MitcheU, H. H. 447 Mitchell, J. 451 Mitchell, W. 436 Mitton, Robert, 442 Moffit,A. 449 Moffit, James, 433 Moises, Hugh, 441 Molesworth,'A. O. 437 Mollon, James, 451 Moller, G. C. 434 MoUoy, J. 452 Monckton, Hon. C.T. 484 Money, Arch. 433 Moneypenny, T. 444 Monins, Eaton, 448 Monins, W. 434 Montagu, J. 448 Montagu, John, 440 Montagu, W. 437 Montague, H. 440 Moore, Geoige, 448 Montgomerie, H. B. 444 Moord, 430 Moore, J. J. 457 Moore, James S. 433 Moore, Hon. R. 440 Moore, Robert, 446 Moore, Samuel, 443 Moore, W. G. 439 Moorhead, C. 449 Moorhouse, J. W. 440 Moray, 420 Morgan, W. 446
Morice, C. 449 Morrah, W. 441 Morrison, A. 440 Morrison, W. 438 Moss, John, 433 Mostyn, Thomas, 443 Moy, H. S. 451 Mountsteven, W. 443 Mucklestone, £. 442 Mudie, Charles, 441 Mnfflin, 430 Mulholland, R. 441 Muller, A. 454 Muller, Frederick, 456 MuUer, F. H. 456 Muller, George, 454 Muller, H. F. A. 454 Muller, J. 436 Muller, William, 438 Munro, G. G. 446 Munro, ^^ illiam, 450 Munro, H. 449 Munro, A. 438 Munrr>, J. 438 Munstal, Adol. 442 Munton, J. 4&3 Murdoch, James C. 451 Murdeck, P. 445 Mure, George, 439 Murphy, James, 446 Murray, G. H. 434 Murray, Hon. H. 434 Murray, Thomas), 451 Muter, Joseph, 432 Muttlebury, G. 449 Myers, A. 433 Mylne, T. 450
N.
Nagel,A. 458 Nanne, Frederick, 436 Nanne, S. H. 435 Napier, Charles, 437 Napper, Alexander, 451 Nash, John, 450 Naylor, J. F. 431 Needham, George, 442 Neilly, W. 446 Nepean, William, 484 Nesbitt, Robert, 434 Nettles, W. 448 Newenham, R. B. 442 Newland, R. 437 Newton, Edward, 441 Newton, Hibbert, 444 Newton, WilUam, 447 Neyland, G. 434 Neynoe, W. B. 443 Newbury, G. 447 Nicholson, B. W. Jl44
470
BATTLE OF WATKULCX).
Nicolay, W. 438 NieMS, A. 4dd Nieter, Em. 4M Nixon, James, 4811 Nixon, R. 448 Nixon, W. R. 44M NonoU, A. a. 4.V2 North, PhUip, 447 Northey, £. U. 448 Norioo, F. 489 Nottinff, Oeorge, 455 Nugent, Edward, 44H Nugent, Oeoiga, 434
U.
Cakes, H. T. 448 Oakley, Charies, 451 O'C^allaghan, Sir R. W.
42U (V(*onnel, Richard, 457 O'Connor, B. R. 444 O'Donnell, J. S. 451 <Kischmann, O. 450 Oehme, Heniy, 450 OelkerB, Christian, 486 OFlaherty, F. Wi OpCihie, Jame», 457 Ojdlvv, W. 448 ()gle,'j. 441 Ojfle, J. O. 445 O Giudy, S. 488 O'Hara, Paterson, 448 Olderhaosen, F. B. 48tf OlderKhaw, H. 449 Oldfield, John, 488 O'Malley, Q. 447 Ommaney, C 482 Ompteda, Bar. 480, 455 O'Neil, Heniy, 489 O Neil, J. E. 440 Onslow, P. V. 437 Orange, Prince of, 42U Ord, Daniel, 457 Ord. R.H. 487 Ord, It 4.17 Orme, Henry, 488 Ormsby, A. 442 Orr, John, 446 O'Reilly, John, 447 ( )Hboume, J. 445 ()8ten, William, 484 Olto. Fi-ederick, 455
P.
Pack, Sir Denis, 429, 480 Pack, George H. 484 Paoke, R. C. 481 Page, Charles, 450
Pagan, S. A. 445 Paget, Lord H. 438 PaUiser, H. 488 Painter, Har. 442 Palmer, J. 454 Palmer, J. 488 Pape, W. 455 Pardoe, Edwaid, 439 Pardoe, Thomas, 489 Parodi, James, 486 Parker, J. B. 487 Parker, J. J. G. 487 Parker, William, 444 Parker, WiUiam, 444 Parker, Stephen, 449 Parkinson, £. 445 Parkinson, Robert, 489 Pany, James, 44^^ Parsons, J. W. 483 Pascal, G. F. 454 Patten, £. B. 488 Patison, And. 448 Paton, James, 451 Patterson, F. H. 445 Patterson, James, 457 Payne, Edward, 482 Peacocke, R. 447 Peat, K. 451 Peake, Loyalty, 488 Pearce, R. 444 Pearson, G. 451 Pearson, Robert, 482 Peebles, Adam, 441 Penefather, W. 444 Pennington, H. 448 Penrose, William, 448 Percy, H. 429 Percy, F. 447 Percy, W. 458 Perry, Richard, 447 Perry, Samuel, 489 Persse, William, 484 Persse, W. 448 Perston, D. 450 Pepper, Charles, 443 Peters, F. 485 Peters, E. J. 438 Petre, Heniy W. 432 Pethe, William, 457 Peyton, James, 444 Phelps, J. U. 447 Phelps, Samuel, 437 Phelips, Edward, 438 Philips, F. C. 484 Phillips, Robert, 446 Phillips, Gis. 442 Pliillips, H. 453 Phillimore, R. W. 489 Phipps, Paul, 432 Picaid, J. K. 481 Pictet, A. J. 451 Picton, Sir Thomas, 429, 480
PidgeoD, J. T. 449 Pigot, Brooke, 449 Pilcher, D. 434 PUkington, A. 448 Pilkington, B. 4.'>1 PiUdngton, W. 448 Pillon, John, 448 Piper, R. S. 438 Pitman, Edward, 457 Pittman, W. 448 Plympton, S. 441 Pocock, C. M. 435 Polhill, W. 4S4 Ponsonby, Sir W. 439.
430 Ponsonby, Hon. F. C. 438 Poole, James, 432 Poole, W. H. 437 Portailington, Eari oi,
434 Poten, Aug. 435 Puten, C. 485 Potcn, Conrad, 43d Poteii, Charles, 456 l*oten, Ernest, 435 Poten, Frederick, 436 Porter, James, 453 Pottenger, R. 445 Potts, J. H. 448 Powell, H. W. 489 Power, D. 447 Power, FHncis, 436 Power, J. 436 Power, Sir M. 429 Powlio, John, 450 Poyntcr, B. L. 488 VniX, John, 444 P^-eedy, R. 448 Prendergast, E. 444 Prendergast, Jeff. 440 Prendergast, M. 436 Price, Bairington, 429 Price, J. B. 457 Pringle, George, 437 Pringle,J.W. 488 Prior, Thomss, 484 Probart, Charies, 452 Prosser, Thomas, 432 Prt)tt, Victor, 438 Pulsfurd, L. 434 Pupham, 448 Pupham, W. 443 Purcel], J. 445 Purefoy, B. 453 Purgold, F. 454 Pym, G. 434
Quentin, George, 433 Quentin, William, 435 Quicke, George, 482
OmCSBS IN THB NETHEBULNBS.
471
Quicke, T. N. 4dl QiiiU, Heniy, 444 Quincey, John, 434
B.
Kaddyffe, G. £. 49*2 Radfoid, John, 457 Rahlwes, F. J. 436 Bainsford, Mark, 446 Rainsford, W. 445 Ralph, W. 446 Ramsay, Thomas, 441 Ramsay, N. W. 437 RandaU, Geo. 431 Ratlue, J. 455 Ravenscmft, W. 443 BawBon, W. 445 Bayner, Thomas, 457 Bea,W. J.440 Bead, Francis, 439 Bead, H. 447 Beddock, Alexander, 447 Beddock, W. 441 Beden, L. Baron, 459 Bedmond, O. 448 Beed, S. 449 Beed, Thomas, 433 Beed, W. 442 Beeve, John, 439 Beh, Fred. 455 Beiche, A. 454 Beid, Fra. 443 Beid, Heniy, 444 Beid, James, 450 Beid, John, 448 Beid, Thomas, 445 Beid, lYilliam, 438 Beignold, 429 Beignolds, T. 432 Beinbold, Julias, 456 Beinecke, Aug. 486 Beitzenstein, A. Bar. 435 BeUberg, C. de, 438 Bettberg. L. 454 Beynell, T. 449 Beynolds, B. 443 Be^nolds, Thomas, 450 Biach, John, 450 Biach, W. A. 450 Bice, John, 457 Bice, Samuel, 447 Bice, Stephen, 433 Bichardes, W. £. 438 Bichards, L. 449 Bichards, T. 441 Bichardson, Artiiur, 444 Bichardson, 6. 441 Bichardson, U. 453 Bichardson, J. 446 Richardson, J. A. 434 Bichardson, W. 441
Bichardson, W. S. 431 Bichter, 429 Bicketts, A. 441 Bicketto, W. H. 482 Biddell, A. 457 Biddlesden, J. B. 431 Bidesdale, George, 450 Bidgeway. J. 452 Biefkugel, B. 453 Bipking, G. 436 Bipley, W. 448 Bitter, H. H. C. 435 Bobbins, T. W. 432 Bobe, W. 437 Bobe, Alexander W. 438 Boberts, H. H. 447 Boberts, John, 449 Boberts, Peter, 457 Bobertson, 449 Bobertson, A. 441 Bobertson, Charles, 450 Bobertson, F. 450 Bobertson, James, 446 Bobertson, James, 450 Bobinson, E.G. 4£7 Bobinson, G. G. 446 Bobinson, Gilmore, 449 Bobinson, James, 444 Bobinson, J. 434 Bobscm, George, 448 Boche, Jordan, 457 Boohfort, Gharles, 452 Bodney, Hon. J. B. 440 Bodney, Hon. M. 457 Bodnvald, £. 455 Boe, John, 444 Boe, John, 444 Boeders, Fred. 436 Bogers, B. N. 444 Bogers, William, 438 Bogers, T. 437 Bogers, W. 447 Bomer, J. 438 Booke, James, 429, 430 Booke, H. W. 440 Booke, 430 Boss, A. G. 449 Boss, Alexander, 438 Boss, Alexander, 442 Boss, D. 452 Boss, D. 452 Boss, Ewen, 452 Boss, Sir Hew D. 437 Boss, James, 447 Boss, John, 547 Boss, John, 452 Boss, James Ker, 451 Boss, W. 441 Boss, Walter, 444 Botton, J. B. 433 Bongemont, C. W. 456 Bouth, B. J. 457 Rowan, Charles, 447
Bowan, Charles, 453 Bowan, W. 447 Bow]is,4d4 BowUs, W. H. 434 Boy, Neil, 449 Bube,W.45d Bndd, Bichard, 446 Budorff, George, 453 Bndyerd, S. 437 Buffo, Paul, 482 Bumann, Aug. 455 Bumann, Frederiok, 435 Bumann, J. 455 Bumley, John, 444 Bussell, Hon. F. 429 Bussell, John, 451 Bussell, B. 447 Butherford, H. 445 Byrie, Stuart, 457
S.
Sadler, Christian, 456 Sadlier, Henry, 446 St John, Joseph, 439 St. John,G.F.B.447 Salkeld, William, 438 Saltonn, Lord, 439 Sams, James, 457 Sander, Em. 456 Sander, Frederick, 455 Sanders, G. K. 488 Sandars, Edward, 439 Sandell, Thomas, 457 Sandham, E. 487 Sandham, Heniy, 438 Sandilands, P. 437 Sandler, Fred. 456 Sandys, E. W. T. 438 Sandys, MUes, 444 Sandwith, W. O. 446 Saunders, John, 457 Saunders, B. I. 437 Sannermann, H. G. 433 Sarmon, John, 457 Scarfe, S. S. 445 Scargin, James, 441 Schaefer, Charles, 435 Schaefer, W. 455 Schaznhorst, F. 456 Schamhorst, A. 456 Sohamhorat, 430 Schaumann, Fred. 454 Schaxmiann, G. 485 Schaumann, Alex. 457 Schaumann, 453 Schlaeger, Charles, 455 Schlichthorst, C. 455 Schliehdng, H. 456 Schlatter, F. 455 Schlutter, G. 454 Schmidt, A. 454
472
BATTLE OF WATEBLOO.
Schmidtz, Franz, 450 Schnath, F. 494 Schnehen, WUliam, 436 Schneider, F. B. 45& Scbooles, P. 451 Schultzen, 438 Scoones, Edward, 448 Sohreiber, George, 433 Schreiber, J. Alf. 433 Schroeder, W. 454 Schdck, L. 456 Schultze,F. 456 Schnlze, F. A. 455 Soholze, Ijeopold, 435 Schweitzer, Aug. 438 Scobell, Thomas, 457 Scovell, Sir G. 430 Scott, T. 487 Scott, H. 438 Scott, H. W. 438 Scott, F. 452 Scott, George, 446 Scott, George, 451 Scott, G. £. 448 Scott, John, 453 Scott, R. 452 Scott, Robert, 440 Scott, B. H. 441 Seddall, John, 431 Sedley, J. S. 430 Seffers, H. 456 Seger, WiUiam, 435 Semple, Mat. 443 Selway, B. 440 Sergeantson, W. 443 Seymour, 420 Seward, W. 441. Seward, Charles, 440 Shannon, A. 442 Shakespear, William, 457 Shakespeare, A. 433 Sharpin, W. 437 Shaw, CharleR, 448 Shaw, J. P. 447 Shaw, H. T. 441 Shawe, W. C. 431 Shea, W. 455 Shee, Francis, 443 Sheean, T. B. 452 Shedden, John, 447 Shelver, Thomas, 4 )2 Shdton, J. W. 443 Shenlej, G. H. 452 Shenley, W. 452 Shenley, G. H. 452 Sherwood, James, 434 Sheppard, J. 446 SheweU, £. 445 Ship, John, 485 Shipley, 432 Shirley, WilUam, 433 Short, Charles, 440 Shuldham, L. 43'^
Sibom, Benjamin, 441 Sicker, George, 433 Sidley, 442 Sidley, A. D. 442 Siebold, George, 455 Silvester, J. 454 Simmons, George, 452 Simpkin, James, ^8 Simpson, C. 440 Simpson, K. 442 Simpson, James, 430 Simpson, James W. 457 Simpson, W. D. 447 Sinclair, John, 442 Sinclair, J. 437 Sinclair, D. 444 Sinclair, J. 450 Sinclfur, James, 451 Smdair, T. F. 447 Sisson, J. 451 Sitwall, B. S. 444 Sknce, John, 440 Skelton, T. L. 457 Slade, J. H. 433 Slessor, J. 445 Sleigh, J. W. 433 Slooock, D. 442 Slow, B. 431 Small, Thomas, 454 Small, George, 444 Smith, Alexander, 451 Smith, Andrew, 451 Smith, Edward, 430 Smith, Charles, 445 Smith, George, 431 Smith, George, 440 Smith, H. G. 420, 452 Smith, J. 443 Smith, J. 443 Smith, J. B. 442 Smith, B. 442 Smith, Thomas, 443 Smith, T. 452 Smith, T. M. 451 Smithy Thomas, 442 Smith, W. 440 Smith, William, 451 Smith, William, 433 Smith, WilUam, 437 Smith, TVilUam, 450 Smith, William, 454 Smith, W. D. 488 Smith, W. S. 433 Smyth, 480
Smyth, Carmichael, 438 Snodgrass, J. 448 Soest, Ernest, 436 Somers, Edward, 457 Somerset, Ld. E. 420, ^30 Somerset, Ld. F. 420, 480 Somerset, Lord John,420 Somerset, Henry, 430 Somerset, Henry, 434
Sontar, David, 140 Sowerby, Thomas 440 Spalding, John, 440 Sparks, John, 438 Spearman, 437 Spencer, John, 457 Spelling, John,*438 Spiel, A. 456 Spreebach, Gharies, 435 Sqnire, William, 4U Stables, Edward, 480 Stacpoole, Richajid, 418 Stacpoole, B. J. 442 Stainforth, George, 442 Standen, G. D. 440 Stanford, J. A. 444 Stanley, Edward, 456 Stanhope, Charles, 443 Stanhope, Hon. J. 430 Stannns, Bobert, 443 Stapylton, H. C. 438 Stanway, Frank, 438 Stavely, W. 439 Staweli, SamaeU 433 Steed, G. 432 Steele, H. 433 Steele, S. 435 Stephens, Thomas, 441 St^hens, £. 444 Stevens, Mat 449 Stevens, W. 445 Stevenson, G. M. 446 Stenart, William, 451 Steward, B. 448 Stewart, A. 445 Stewart, A. 449 Stewart, Arch. 452 Stewart^ C. 440 Stewart, D. 440 Stewart, Geoi^e, 441 Stewart, James, 450 Stewart, James, 4A1 Stewart, J. 440 Stewart, John, 447 Stewart, J. 452 Stewart, B. T. 443 Stewart, Bob^t, 450 Stewart, Bobert, 451 Stewart, Boger, 442 Stewart., Boger, 446 Stewart, W. 484 Stillwell. 452 Stirling. W. 432 Stobo, Thomas, 446 Stocdale, J. 451 Stoddait, £. 445 Stokes, M. 457 Stolte, WilUam, 458 Stonestreet, G. G. 457 Stopford, Hon. £. 440 Stopford, W. H. 487 Storer, Richard, 447 Storey, George, 431
OFFICEBS IN THE NETHKRLANSS.
473
Storey, Robert, 441 Stothert, W. 440 Stoihert, 429 Stoyte, John, 440 Stowards, Bobert, 446 Stracban, Alexander, 457 Straohan, J. W. H. 449 Strange, A. 434 Strangeway, T. 437 Strangeway, T. 442 Stratton, William, 438 StreataeM, T. 439 StreeruwiU, 429 Street, J. 438 Stretton, S. 446 Strong, W. B. 447 Stuart, Charles, 451 Staart, Hon. W. 439 Stanz, L. 456 Stupart, Francis, 432 Sturges, W. 432 SoUiyan, Philip, 446 StilliTan,J.C. 444 Surtees, Charles, 457 Sutherland, A. 453 Snznner, E. 440 Soatermann, J. 455 Swabey, W. 437 Swann, F. D. 439 Sweeten, B. 448 Sweny, J. P. 431 Swetenham, C. 434 Swinbnme, T. B. 439 Sword, Alexander, 451 Symes, Joseph, 441 Symphers, Aug. 437 Sykes, J. C. 432 Syret, J. 441
T.
Taenicke, L. 456 Tait, William, 439 Talbot, James, 440 Talbot, W. 443 Tallon, James, 433 Tane, F. B. 442 Taylor, E. J. 447 Tappenden, G. J. 448 Tathwell, T. B. 431 Taylor, Fra. 448 Taylor, James, 457 Taylor, John, 441 Taylor, P. C. 451 Taylor, T. 443 Taylor, T. W. 433 Taylor, William, 441 Taylor, W. 457 Teighe, T. 454 Telford, W. 441 Terry, Henry, 442 Testing, H. 4.'^
Tenlon, Charles, 443 Tento, J. 435 Thaokwell, Joseph, 434 Thain, W. 445 Thalacker, C. 435 Thobonme, B. 445 Thomas, Charies, 439 Thomas, C. W. 448 Thomas, Henry, 443 Thomas, J. 445 Thomas, T. 453 Thomas, W. 441 Thomas, W. 446 Thompson, C. 443 Thompson, C. 455 Thompson, J. 450 Thompson, H. W. 449 Thompson, Alexander,
438 Thomson, J. C. 441 Thomson, Thomas, 457 Thoreau, J. 446 Thomhill, 459 Thomhill, Bichard, 446 Thomhill, W. 432 Thornton, 430 Thoyts, John, 431 Thmnan, Joac. 436 Thummel, M. B. 430 Thwaites, W. 447 Thynne, Henry, 457 Tice, Charles G. 457 Tidy, F. S. 441 Tielee, G. 454 Tiensch, W. 454 Tighe, D. 440 Tincombe, Francis, 444 Tinling, George Y. 438 Tinhng, W. F. 439 Tobing, 456 Todd, George, 443 Todd, John, 449 Tomkins, W. 447 Tomkinson, W. 434 Tompkins, N. B. 445 Tongae, E. 453 Toole, W. H. 444 Tormin, 429 Tormin, Justus, 455 Toirens, 480 Torriano, W. 449 Towers, Frederick, 438 Towers, T. 442 Townsend, Hon. W. 439 Townsend, I. 437 Trafford, Sig. 432 Treftirt, I. 436 Trevor, A. H. 445 Trevor, Edward, 487 Trigg, John, 432 Trimmer, William, 451 Trinmann, W. D. 454 Tripp, Baron, 429
Trittan, Edward, 435 Trittan, F. W. 435 Trotter, T. 432 Troward, Thomas, 447 True, Herman, 436 Trydell, I. 446 Tubby, Samuel, 457 Tucker, John, 443 Tucker, John, 443 Tudor, Charles, 435 Tunney, B. W. 457 Turner, W. 434 Turner, Michael, 431 Turner, Bichard, 431 Tumor, W. 441 Turton, Bichard, 446 Twinberrow, B. I. 447 Twopenny, Edward, 450 Tylden, W. B. 438 Tyler, 429 Tyler, 438 Tyndale, C. W. 447
U.
Unett, G. 437 Unger, WDliam, 438 Uniacke, Bobert, 433 Urquhart, C. 452 Usher, WiUiam, 457 Uslar, F. 435 Uslar, H. B. 455 Uxbridge, Earl of, 429, 430
V.
Yal Buchier, 456 Yandeleur, Sir J. O. 429,
430 Yandeleur, J. 438 Yane, Henry, 440 Yan Millingan, J. G. 457 Yassmer, Henry, 456 Yaughan, B. H. 437 Yeall, W. 448 Yemer, W. 432 Yemen, Bobert, 432 Vernon, Hon. H. S. Y.
439 Yersterme, L. 436 Yesie, John, 444 Yickers, G. 452 Vincent, Baron, 430 Vincent, George, 441 Vincent, Bichard, 432 Vigoureux, C. A. 444 Villiers, 429 Vinke, 430
Vivian, Sir R. H. 429, 430 Volbroth, Philip, 436
474
BATTLE OF WATEIOiOO.
Von BntndiB, A. 4M Von der Hellen, A. C. 454 Von der Hellen, W. 486 Von der Soden, G. A. 4A5 Von Lnoken, H. 454 Von Uslar, F. 455 Von Uslar, O. 435 Von Uslar, T. 454 Vowell, John, 442 Vyner, 0. J. 430 Vyvyan, PfaU. 449
W.
Wade, W. 442 Wahrendrofl; A. 453 Wakefield, J. 484 Waldegrave, J. Earl, 446 Waldie, J. 434 Waldron, J. 443 Walcot, £. T. 487 Walker, L. 449 Walker, Thomas, 457 Wall, C. W. 445 Wall, J. L. 446 Wall, Thomas B. 435 Wallace, H. 483 WaUace, John, 434 Wallace, Robert, 431 Wallet, Charles, 444 Walley. WilUam, 442 Wallington, J. G. 433 Walpole, Hon. J. 440 Walsh, Edward, 457 Walsh, James, 451 Walsh, J. P. 453 Walsh, Thomas, 446 Walther, W. 456 Walton, B. 445 Walton, B. B. 447 Walton, W. L. 440 Ward, Adam, 437 Ward, Francis, 437 Warde, J. B. 440 Warren, Henry, 442 Warren, L. 443 Warren, W. 0. 444 Waterhouse, P. 451 Waters, J. 430 Waters, M. A. 438 Wathen, A. 457 Watkins, T. 453 Watkins, T. 437 Watson, And. 445 Watson, Hon. O. J. 431 Watson, J. L. 449 Watson, W. 440 Watt, James D. 457 Waymouth, S. 431 Webb, V. 452 Webber, W. 437 Webster, 420
Webster, J. 432 Webster, J. G. 447 Webster, B. 447 Weckinger, Ing. 457 Weddell, W. 432 Wedekind, G. 438 Wedgwood, Thomas, 440 Weigman, 429 Weigmann, H. 453 Weiss, G. 456 Weitemeyer, J. 436 Welling, H. 453 Wellington, Dnke of, 429,
431 Wells, Fortescne, 437 Wells, John, 438 Wemyss, Gharles, 457 Wemyss, James, 432 Wenkstem, F. Baron,
454 Wense, A. Baron, 456 West, Charles, 440 Wesi, H. 443 Westby, Edward, 432 Westemhagen, T. Baron,
456 Westfleld, H. 486 Westmore, Bichard, 446 Westwood, L. 442 Wetzig, a. 454 Weyhe, G. 454 Weyhe, George B. 455 Weyland, Richard, 434 Whale, John, 431 Wball, Lewis, 436 Whannell, G. 445 Wharton, W. 449 Wheat, T. G. 451 •Wheatley, E. 456 Wheeler, Trev. 434 Whichcot^ G. 448 Wbinyates, E. G. 437 White, Andrew D. 438 White, E. P. 439 White, F. B. 450 White, George, 457 White, J. L. 442 YFhiteford, J. 434 Whitehead, H. L. 457 Whitley, Thomas, 451 Whitney, Benjamin, 447 Whitney, John, 449 Whitty, E. 444 Whittj, J. 438 Whymper, W. 440 Wickens, James, 457 Wiebold, Charles, 486 Wieler, J. W. 436 Wiehmann, G. 454 Wightwick, E, M. 449 Wigston, R. H. 440 Wild, Benjamin, 444 Wild, Henry, 444
wader, J. 445 Wflding, Em. 454 Wilding, W. 454 Wildman, 429 WUdman, E. 433 Wildman, John, 488 WUdman, Thomas, 43:) Wilgress, G. W. 467 WiUde, Peter, 451 Wilkins, G. 445 Wilkins, G. 452 Wilkins, WiUiam, 456 Wilkinson, Heoiy, 446 Wilkinson, J. F. 443 Wlkinson, J, W. 457 Will, Andrew, 451 Willett, A. S. 432 Williams, 4A8 Williams, J. 442 Williams, J. 450 Williams, James, 447 Williamson, 444 Williamson, J. S. 437 Wilson, Alexander, 447 Wilson, G. 442 Wilson, G. D. 441 Wflson, J. A. 437 Wilson, R. G. 437 Winchester, R. 451 Winckler, Ang. 455 Windowe, S. 432 Windsor, E. C. 432 WmUer, Gh. C. 456 Winter, George, 4^1 Winterbottom, J. 448 Winterscale, J. 440 Wisch, H. Baron, 485 Withers, George, 457 Witte, Henry, 455 Wodehonse, T. 434 Wolff, W. 454 Wolkenhaar, G. 454 Wobrabe, H. 453 Wombwell, W. 431 Wood, 453 Wood, Gharies, 433 Wood, D. 453 Wood, E. W. 437 Wood, Frederick, 433 Wood, Sir George, 4:».
436 Wood, W. L. 441 Wood, J. M. 442 Woodberry, George, 4S4 Woodford, A. G. 440 Woodford, J. G. 439 Woodgate, R. 448 Woods, Geoi^e, 45» Woolcombe, W. 449 Woolriche, Stephen, 457 Woolringe, F. W. 436 Worsley, T. T. V»^ Wray, H. B. 444
OFFIOEBS IN THE NETHERLANDS.
475
Wray, H. B. 440 Wray, W. G. 457 "Wright, 480 Wright, Amherst, 487 Wright, Charles, 444 Wright, W. 452 Wright, Thomas, 480 Wyatt, Henry, 481 Wyatt, J. B. 445 WyUie, R. 457 Wyndham, Charles, 483 Wjiidham, H. 440 Wyneke, C. 454
Wyneken, £. 453 Wynne, H. 442 Wynne, Thomas, 480
Y.
Yates, J. 458 Yeitch, A. 458 Yonge, W. C. 448 Yorke, Charles, 448 Young, Alexander, 443 Young, George, 447
Young, J. 447 Young, WUUam H. 451 Younge, W. Y. 441 YouDghushand, C. 488
Z.
Zimmerman, F. 430 Ziel, A. F. 454 Ziermann, A. 456 Ziermann, F. W. 450 Ziermann, L. 450
^•;o 9 19?1
London : -Printod by O. Barolat, OmUa St. Loioefitcr Sq