1815..

BOOK XV. cavalry, who ought to have supported them, gave way on all sides. The black Brunswick infantry, CHAP. VIII. however, stood firm. They were drawn up in squares, as most of the British forces were, in this memorable battle. The Duke of Wellington, with bis usual quickness, had foreseen the nature of the attack that would be made upon his line, and when the troops stood to their arms in the morning, he gave orders that they should be formed into squares of balf battalions, and in that state to await the enemy's attack. These squares were not quite solid, but nearly so, the men being drawn up several files deep. The distance between these masses afforded space enough to draw up the battalions in line, when they should be ordered to deploy, and they were posted with reference to each other much like the alternate squares upon a chess-board. It was, therefore, impossible for a squadron of cavalry to push between two of these squares without finding themselves at once assailed by a fire in front from that which was to the rear, and on both flanks from those betwixt which it had moved forward. But although this order of battle possessed every efficient power of combination for defence against cavalry, its exterior appearance was far from imposing. The men thus drawn up, occupied a very small space of ground. A distinguished officer, who was destined to support the Brunswickers, says, that when he saw the furious onset of the French cavalry, with a noise and clamor that seemed to unsettle the firm earth over which they galloped, and beheld the small detached black masses, which, separated from each other, stood each individually exposed to be overwhelmed by the torrent, be almost trembled for the event. The Brunswickers, however, opened their fire with coolness, readines, and rapidity, and repulsed the attacks of the enemy. The British artillery was never in bigher order, or more distinguished for excellent practice. Their fire made dreadful gaps in the squadrons of cavalry, and strewed the ground with men and horses, who were advancing to the charge. Still this was far from repressing the courage of the French, who pressed on in defiance of every obstacle, and of the continued and immense slaughter which was made amongst their ranks. These cavalry attacks were generally supported by artillery, who, as soon as the cavalry were repulsed, opened a most destructive fire upon the British squares, being only 150 yards distant. "One fire," says a general-officer, “struck down seven men of the square, with whom I was for the moment; the next was less deadly, it only killed three." Yet under such a fire, and in full view of these clouds of cavalry, who were waiting like birds of prey, to dash upon them when the slaughter should afford the slightest opening, did these gallant troops close their files over the dead bodies of their dead and dying

comrades, and resist with the greatest steadiness every attack that was made against them.

After the enemy had made the most desperate efforts to push back the right wing of the British army, and to establish themselves on the road to Nivelles, the battle slackened in some degree in this quarter, to rage with greater fury towards the left and centre of the British line. The enemy had been foiled in every attack which he had hitherto made, and he therefore turned his attacks to the left of the British, in order to gain the road to Brussels.

This attack was made in columns of cavalry and infantry, protected by the fire of upwards of 100 pieces of artillery, which did dreadful execution. The enemy advanced with intrepidity, and charged with such resolution that it required the utmost skill of the British general to post his troops, and valor of the soldiers to resist the overwhelming numbers that were brought against them. The attempt against Hougoumont and the right was severe; but" on this point," said Marshal Blucher, the enemy " attacked with fury," intending to throw the left wing of the allied army upon the centre, and thus effect its separation from the Prussian army. The combat was of the everest description: La Haye Sainte was the enemy's first object. This was a large farmhouse, with offices, surrounded with a high wall, and lay upon the right of the great road from Brussels to Charleroy, in front of Mount St. John, at the bottom of the ridge. The garden attached to this house, which had only a brushwood fence, extended about fifty yards into the plain. Being a covering-point of much importance, the duke had occupied it with a considerable force of the light troops of the king's German legion. The enemy attacked this post with great fury; but it was resolutely defended. The enemy were repeatedly repulsed, but they advanced again with fresh troops, and the action was maintained with the most determined courage on both sides for a considerable time. The place, however, was at last carried, after a sanguinary contest, and all its brave defenders were put to the sword.

While the combat raged with the utmost violence at La Haye Sainte, the columns of the enemy pressed forward against the whole body of the British left wing, directing their efforts along this part of the line, towards the village of Mount St. John. It was about one o'clock that the attack on the left became serious. Three columns, of between 3 and 4,000 men each, and forty pieces of cannon, advanced against the line on the left, where the Belgians were posted. The fifth division, a brigade of heavy dragoons, and two brigades of artillery assisted them. The com bat was severe, and the slaughter dreadful. For about an hour, the Belgian infantry, assisted by

the fire of the British artillery, arrested their progress; but they were at length obliged to give way. The 3d royals and 44th regiments were then sent to occupy the ground which the Belgians had abandoned; but these troops, after the most gallant conduct and the greatest exertions, were, in about half-an-hour, also forced to yield; and the enemy succeeded in getting to the hedge that ran in front of the position. At this moment General Pack commanded the 92d to advance. "You must charge," said he to them, "all these troops in your front; and do it your own way." The troops answered by a loud cheer, and they advanced with a firm countenance to the charge. The enemy were panic struck with their boldness; they stood for a moment, till the British were within a few yards, when they turned to the right, and fled as fast as possible. The Scotch greys immediately followed, and did terrible execution. The enemy, however, rallied, and with fresh troops renewed the attack. The French troops advanced in deep and solid columns, with loud cheers, and confident of victory. General Picton, who was with his division on the road from Brussels to Charleroy, advanced with the bayonet to receive them. This gallant body of infantry, with their brave commander at their head, charged first the infantry and then the cavalry of their adversaries. The conflict here became close and murderous; but the intrepid bravery of this band of heroes finally succeeded in repelling the utmost strength of the enemy. Unable to withstand the shock, the French soldiers turned and fell back in disorder, suffering at the same time a terrible loss. In this furious conflict, however, General Picton fell, mortally wounded while leading on his division to the charge. A musket-ball passing through his right temple, penetrated to the skin on the opposite side, from whence it was cut out with a razor. Upon stripping the body, it was found that he had been severely wounded on the 16th, but which he had concealed. The wound had got into such a putrid state, that he could not have survived its effects. On the 11th of June only he had embarked from England, and seven days afterwards he died gloriously at Waterloo. He had served in all the campaigns of the Peninsula, and in all of which he distinguished himself, particularly at the taking of Badajoz, where he converted a feint into a real attack, and took the castle, after the troops had been repulsed in every other quarter. His division was known by the name of the "fighting division" and the "right hand of Wellington." When he left England, he had a presentiment that he should never return; but " when you hear of my death," said he to a friend, "you will bear of a bloody day."-" He fell gloriously," said his illustrious commander, " leading his di

the most furious attacks made by the enemy upon BOOK XV. our position was defeated."

1815.

The enemy was not to be deterred by this re- CHAP. VII. pulse. He immediately sent a large body of cavalry to cover his infantry, and the attack commenced again. These attacks were sometimes carried on by cavalry and infantry intermixed, and sometimes separate. In those, however, made at this period of the day, both were employed, in which the most desperate attempts were made to drive the British from their position at the vil lage of Mount St. John; but they were unsuc、 cessful. The cannonade, at this moment, on both sides, was dreadful. The French artillery, which was led by Count d'Erlon, vomited forth terrible showers of grape-shot, which made frightful chasms in all the left of the British line, which, nevertheless, remained firm and immoveable. The British artillery also did considerable execution. It cut to pieces the masses of the enemy's infantry and cavalry as they advanced. The French, exasperated at the loss which they sustained, attempted to charge the guns with their cavalry. In these charges, the artillerymen stood at their guns as long as they could, and then retired under the bayonets of the infantry; and as soon as the French cavalry were driven back, they returned to their guns, and gave them a parting salute.

During all this first terrible struggle on the left, the scene, said a person who was present, was indescribably grand and terrific. The atmosphere, for sometime, was heavy and tempestuous, which prevented the smoke, occasioned by the cannon and musketry, from rising; and while both armies fought under these gloomy clouds, they served to conceal the advance of the columns of the French infantry till they were close at hand. Hence the prospect was more terrific. The cries of the wounded and dyingthe thunder of the artillery-the vollies of musketry-the bursting of shells-the noise occasioned by Congreve's rockets-the fury of the com batants-the cries of "Vive l'Empereur," or the one side, and of " Vive le Roi," and the Bri tish huzza, intermixed with the loud cheers o "Scotland for ever," from the other side, formed a scene which it is impossible to describe. The shot from the French artillery passed, over the line of the British guns, and fell into the squares of infantry behind them, and occasioned a great loss to several regiments, without their having been at all engaged. In this situation, several o the regiments expressed the greatest impatience, when the commander-in-chief appeared near them, to be allowed to charge the enemy. But this his superior judgment prevented. "Not yet," he replied, to the earnest solicitations of the 95th regiment-"not yet, my brave men, but you

BOOK XV. The French army was also similarly situated with regard to the tremendous fire of their anCHAR. VIII. tagonists. Many of the rockets, in particular, carried destruction to a great distance, passed over the front lines, and fell amidst the equipage which was placed behind on the road, which rendered it indispensably necessary to remove the train to a greater distance.

1815.

Though repulsed in every onset, and notwithstanding the loss which the enemy had sustained, he still persevered and sent forward fresh troops to reinforce those which had been defeated. In one of these attacks, General Ponsonby charged the enemy with his brigade, consisting of the 1st dragoon-guards, the Scotch greys, and the 6th, or Inniskillen dragoons. Sir William Ponsonby led the charge at the head of the latter regiment, which cut down every thing before them; and the enemy's troops were overthrown with great loss. The enemy admitted the serious effects of this charge for he says, the second brigade of the first division of Count d'Erlon "was charged by a corps of English cavalry, which occasioned it much loss.' "The charge, however, though successful, proved fatal to the brave Sir William Ponsonby. In returning from the charge which he had made, his horse stuck fast in a newly-ploughed field. The enemy had rallied, and were again advancing Finding it impossible to escape from a column of lancers, he alighted, and was in the act of giving his aid-de-camp his watch and a picture, in order that these memorials might be delivered to his wife and family, when the lancers came up. Both were cut to pieces in an instant; and when his body was found it was pierced with seven lances. His brigade afterwards came up, and amply revenged his death, and the lancers were nearly annibilated. In Sir William Ponsonby his country sustained a severe loss: he was a brave, an active, and an intelligent officer; and certainly one of the brightest ornaments to his profession.

Finding all his efforts fruitless, the enemy now sent another column of cavalry against the British lines. At the head of this column marched those formidable troops named cuirassiers. These soldiers were not only clad in armour, but were all chosen men, about six feet high. Their horses were the best and strongest which could be procured; and it was necessary to have served in three campaigns, and to have been twelve years in the service, before they got into that corps. From their chin downwards to the lower part of the body they were cased in armour. The front cuirass was made bright, and in form of a pigeon's egg. The back one was made to fit the back. The inside was s'uffed with a pad, and both were fitted on with a clasp. They were easy put off and on, and weighed from nine to eleven pounds each, according to the size of the man. They resisted in a great measure musket-balls, which strik

ing against them, flew off in an oblique direction. On their heads they had large massy belmets; and their weapons were straight long swords and pistols. These troops being brought forward, they advanced against the British line with the utmost confidence. The attack of this body of troops was tremendous, and for a considerable time every attempt that was made to repel them proved unavailing. The British light-cavalry were found to suffer cruelly in their unequal contest with the ponderous and sword-proof cuirassiers, and even with the lancers. They were driven back with considerable loss, and many were made prisoners. Even the German legion, so distin guished for discipline and courage during the peninsular war, were unequal, on this occasion," to sustain their shock.

They then attacked the infantry, who, notwith. standing the loss which they sustained, remained immoveable, and repelled every attack made upon them. The 28th regiment particularly distinguish ed itself; and its colonel, Sir Philip Belson, had four horses shot under him. In this manner the engagement continued at this point upwards of an hour. Both sides behaved with the most extraordinary gallantry, and neither the one nor the other would yield an inch of ground. The attacks of the enemy, however, were incessant and severe; and three times was he upon the point of carrying the position at this point, and as often was he repelled. The cuirassiers deliberately advanced to the mouth of the British cannon. At one time they galloped along, and at another coolly walked their horses in front of the British squares, continuing to look for an opening into which they might dash. But none appeared. The ranks were filled up as soon as they were broken by the enemy's fire; while with the bayonet they resisted and unhorsed these armour-equipped cavaliers. Some of these men were so bold, 1..at they fre quently rushed singly out of their columns, and firing their pistols in front of the British line, endeavoured to irritate the troops so as to make them throw away their fire upon them, and that their main columns might attack with more safety.

As

The cuirassiers repeatedly charged the 30th regiment; but they did not succeed in making the least impression. When the horsemen had passed, the regiment deployed into line, that its fire might be more extended and effectual. soon as this was done, the word was given, “Reform square; prepare to receive cavalry." The cuirassiers, several times, walked round this gallant regiment, eagerly watching for an opportunity to dash in. Finding no opportunity of breaking this regiment, the cuirassiers marched off to try another; and having come upon the 69th, before the square was completely formed, cut down a vast number. These cavalry frequently pene trated between the squares to the very rear of the

British line; but in retiring they suffered dreadfully. The crisis was important. In order to repel these desperate attacks on the British line, Sir John Elley, now quarter-master general, was directed to bring up the heavy brigade of cavalry, as the other cavalry were found inadequate to the task. These consisted of the life-guards, Oxford blues, and the Scotch greys, who instantly charged, and the most sanguinary cavalry-fight ever witnessed took place. Notwithstanding the weight and armour of the cuirassiers, and the power of their horses, they proved altogether unable to withstand the shock of the heavy brigade, being literally rode down both horse and man, while the strength of the British soldiers were no less preeminent, when they mingled and fought hand to hand. Several hundreds of French were forced headlong over a sort of quarry, or gravel-pit, where they rolled a confused and undistinguishable mass of men and horses, exposed to a fire which, being poured closely into them, soon put a period to their struggles.

Amidst the fury of this dreadful conflict, some traces occurred of military indifference, which must be recorded. The life guards coming up in the rear of the 95th, which distinguished regiment acted as sharp-shooters in front of the line, sustaining and repelling a most formidable onset of the French, called out to them, "Bravo, 95th, do you lather them, and we'll shave them."-Many individuals distinguished themselves by feats of personal strength and valor. Among these should not be forgotten the famous Shaw, a corporal of the life-guards, well known as a pugilistic champion, and equally formidable as a swordsman. It is supposed he had slain or disabled ten Frenchmen before he was killed, by a musket or pistolshot. Sir John Elley, who led the charge, was also distinguished for personal prowess. He was at one time surrounded by several of the cuirassiers; but, being a tall and uncommonly powerful man, completely master of his sword and horse, he cut his way out, leaving several of his assailants on the ground. Officers of rank and distinction, whom the usual habits of modern war render rather the directors than the actual agents of slaughter, were, in this desperate action, seen fighting hand to hand like common soldiers.

This great movement of the enemy against the ft comprehended one of the severest attacks made by him during this tremendous day. His cavalry was completely beaten off, after losing immense numbers; and of his infantry, two regiments, the 45th and 105th, were broken, and lost an eagle and a standard, and from 2 to 3,000 prisoners. The colours of the 105th were a present from the Ex-Empress Maria Louisa. The eagle of the 45th was most superbly gilt, and scribed with the names of Austerlitz, Jena,

1

Friedland, and Wagram. In the struggle to take BOOK XV. it, it was much tarnished, and covered with blood and dirt. It was a Serjeant Ewart, of the Scotch CHAP. VIII. greys, who captured this trophy; and, in effect1815. ing which, he first killed the bearer, then a lancer, and, lastly, a foot soldier, who, at the moment, successively attacked him. The cuirassiers also lost an eagle, which was taken by the royal horse-guards. The loss of the cuirassiers was dreadful. They fell before the British ranks in heaps, and the ground was literally covered with the dead and mortally wounded. From the commencement of the action little manoeuvring was necessary in either army.

While this tremendous struggle was going on in the centre and left of the British line, the attack upon Hougoumont and the right was renewed with greater fury than before. The enemy made the most furious attempts against Hougoumont, in order to turn the right of the British position; but the guards disputed the wood and orchard most gallantly.

About three o'clock, when Bonaparte found that Jerome's division could not drive the guards from Hougoumont, 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 the British troops, retiring into the garden, did not yield one inch of their ground; and the only thing which he gained by this cruel measure was the destruction of some wounded British soldiers, who were too ill to be removed, and who fell a prey to the flames. At one time, the enemy had penetrated a considerable way into the wood; but the Duke of Wellington having sent a reinforcement, cousisting of the coldstream and 3d regiment, they were driven out of it, and every subsequent struggle they made to re-possess themselves of it proved abortive. The conflict, however, maintained at this point was very destructive to both parties, as may be judged of by the following account, derived from the best authority. A British officer, sent out with twenty men, returned with one, and being again sent out with 150 returned with fifty. To gain possession of this place the enemy made vast sacrifices, but he made them in vain.

Meanwhile, the attack was renewed along the whole line of the British right wing, by successive columns of cavalry, who rolled after each other like waves of the sea. These were supported by a most tremendous fire of artillery, which seemed to threaten to sweep every thing before it. The Belgian horse were forced to give way, and galloped from the field in great confusion. The advanced line of guns were stormed by the French. The artillerymen had' received orders to retire within the squares of the infantry; and thus some pieces fell into the hands' of the enemy. After gaining these, the French'