271 The citadel of Bayonne is a truly formidable work, standing on a commanding hill upon the right bank of the Adour, and greatly elevated above all the other defences of the city, nearly fronting the mouth of the Nive. It is almost a perfect square, with strongly-built oreillon bastions at the four angles. A double range of barracks and magazines inclose a quadrangular space in the centre called the place d’armes, the sides of which are parallel with the curtains of the citadel.

The north-east, north-west, and south-west bastions are surmounted by cavaliers which appear to be well armed with cannon mounted en barbette.

272 The allied loss in this spirited affair was only twenty killed, one hundred and thirty-six wounded and two missing.

273 “They were not aware that a rather deep ravine separated them from the enemy’s works; however, on they pushed, in a very disorderly manner, till they reached the point the French intended they should reach, when a fire was opened out upon them, such as they had never witnessed before. Few troops would have remained unshaken by such a reception, but to the Spaniards it was intolerable; consequently they broke into a thousand parties, and, turning tail, it was who should be first away from such unpleasant doings. I am told that Lord Wellington at this moment ‘wondered whether the Pyrenees would bring them up again, they seemed to have got such a fright.’ He did not indeed depend on their valour, or he would have made a bad winding up of his Peninsular campaign. The moment they left the height, every man took the way that seemed to him best, and they soon after literally covered the whole plain, and set to work with all expedition to plunder.”—Surtees.

274 Return of the killed, wounded, and missing, of the army under the command of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, K. B., at the battle of Toulouse, April 10, 1814.

The above loss as under:

Wellington’s Despatches.

275 What, let it be simply asked, were the relative objects of Soult and Wellington? Was it not with one to hold a city that the other was as anxious to obtain? And what were the results? Soult, after his defeat at Tarbes, had made forced marches to complete the defences of Toulouse, and garrison a place to which he attached such value. His opponent advanced more leisurely; for, as the end was great, so also were the means limited and the difficulties many. Were they not surmounted? “He desired to pass the Garonne, and he did pass it; he desired to win the position and works of Mont Rave, and he did win them; he desired to enter Toulouse, and he did enter it as a conqueror at the head of his troops.”—Napier.

276 The allied loss, according to official reports, was five hundred and ninety-five killed, four thousand and forty-six wounded, and eighteen missing.

277 “The enemy erected a tall mast on the cavalier of the south-west bastion, supporting a sort of round top, boarded at the sides, for the purpose of placing there a sentinel, who was thus enabled to overlook the positions of the allies all round. This was a subject of great jealousy to our soldiers, who were anxious to see the first cannon directed against so dangerous an overseer, whom they always designated by the name of ‘Jack in the box.’ Many of them amused themselves in drawing rude sketches on the garden walls and sides of the houses with burnt sticks, apparently consoling themselves by representing ‘Jack in his box,’ with outstretched arms, in the moment of expiring from a cannon-shot, which was duly depicted: their animosity was, in fact, very particularly directed against this, as they called it, unfair advantage.”—Batty.

“At Bayonne, occasional instances occurred which shewed the extreme accuracy of the French artillery-men in pointing their cannon, and afforded the most convincing proofs of the absolute necessity of keeping our sentinels in places where they could not be discovered, and where, through holes pierced for that purpose in the garden walls, or through the hedges, they could observe the enemy’s movements without necessary exposure. A soldier of the German Legion had been posted at the angle of a large house, with directions to look round the corner from time to time, but on no account to remain exposed. Unfortunately he placed one leg beyond the angle of the building, and in a moment afterwards it was carried off by a cannon-shot. This might have been accidental, but a second and third instance immediately following served to convince us it was not so. A soldier of the light infantry, belonging to those stationed at St. Bernard under the command of Lord Saltoun, was posted behind a breastwork dug across the road which leads from the suburb of St. Etienne towards Bouraut, not far from the bank of the Adour. This road was looked down upon from the citadel, and was guarded with extreme jealousy by the enemy. The soldier was desired occasionally to look over the breastwork, but always to conceal himself again as quickly as possible; he, however, had the rashness to stand boldly upright on it, and was instantaneously killed by a cannon-ball, which literally cut him in two.

“A similar instance of their accuracy in firing occurred on the 23rd of February, when Colonel Maitland’s brigade took shelter behind the sandhills on the borders of the marsh in front of the intrenched camp. A drummer in the 3rd battalion of the first Guards had got upon the summit of the sandhill, but had not been there many moments before a cannon-shot, fired from a battery of the intrenched camp nearest to the Adour, pierced the ground directly underneath his feet, and brought down the frightened drummer headlong amongst his comrades below, who were much amused on discovering that he had not sustained the slightest injury.”

278 “It appeared that the French were only able to extricate Sir John Hope by drawing his leg out of the boot, which was afterwards found under the horse’s side.”—Batty.

279 “When the enemy were driven out of St. Etienne, a field-piece was brought to bear on the retreating columns, and no less than thirteen rounds of grape and canister shot were fired at them with effect as they retreated down the great road to St. Esprit. The slaughter at this point was terrific.”—Batty.

280 A shell by daylight is occasionally visible. “The twenty-four inch mortar fired at intervals during the day. The shell was distinctly seen making its curve, and alighting with great precision. In the air it had the appearance of a huge cricket-ball, and had, apparently, little velocity.”—Siege of Antwerp.

281 “At the close of the action, the dead and wounded, along the high road and on the ground adjoining it, were lying thicker than perhaps, in an equal extent, on any field of battle which took place during the war, not excepting Waterloo, although the latter continued eight hours, whilst this was over in three. Lord Wellington, in riding over the ground, remarked, that he had never observed so large a number of killed in so small a compass.”

Return of the killed, wounded, and missing, in the operation of the army, under the command of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, K. G., in a sortie made by the garrison of Bayonne, on the morning of the 14th of April, 1814.

Wellington’s Despatches.

282 “After the engagement was over, the outposts and their officers freely met each other,—when the British expressed a becoming regret at the unnecessary loss of life the night affair had so uselessly occasioned. The French treated it with a levity that by no means raised them in English estimation. ‘It was merely a light affair—nothing but a petite promenade militaire;’ and not the slightest expression of regret was uttered for the many of their comrades who were lying thick upon the field.”—Batty.

283 Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington and the Marshals the Duke of Dalmatia and the Duke of Albufera being desirous of concluding a suspension of hostilities between the armies under their respective orders, and of agreeing upon a line of demarcation, have named the undermentioned officers for that purpose; viz. on the part of the Marquis of Wellington, Major-General Sir George Murray, and Major-General Don Luis Wimpffen; and, on the part of the Duke of Dalmatia and of the Duke of Albufera, the General of Division Count Gazin.

These officers having exchanged their full powers have agreed upon the following articles:—

Art. I.—From the date of the present convention there shall be a suspension of hostilities between the allied armies under the orders of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, and the armies of France under the orders of Marshal the Duke of Dalmatia and of Marshal the Duke of Albufera.

Art. II.—Hostilities shall not be recommenced on either part without a previous notice being given of five days.

Art. III.—The limits of the department of the Haute Garonne, with the departments of Arriege, Aude, and Tarn, shall be the line of demarcation between the armies as far as the town of Buzet, on the river Tarn. The line will then follow the course of the Tarn to its junction with the Garonne, making a circuit, however, on the left bank of the Tarn opposite Montauban, to the distance of three-quarters of a league from the bridge of Montauban. From the mouth of the river Tarn, the line of demarcation will follow the right bank of the Garonne, as far as the limits of the department of the Lot and Garonne, with the department of La Gironde. It will then pass by La Reole, Sanveterre, and Rauzan, to the Dordogne, and will follow the right bank of that river, and of the Gironde, to the sea. In the event, however, of a different line of demarcation having been already determined by Lieutenant-General the Earl of Dalhousie and General Decden, the line fixed upon by those officers shall be adhered to.

Art. IV.—Hostilities shall cease also on both sides in regard to the places of Bayonne, St. Jean de Pied de Port, Navarreins, Blaye, and the castle of Lourdes.

The governors of these places shall be allowed to provide for the daily subsistence of the garrisons in the adjacent country, the garrison of Bayonne with a circuit of eight leagues from Bayonne, and the garrisons of the other places named within a circuit of three leagues round each place.

Officers shall be sent to the garrisons of the above places to communicate to them the terms of the present convention.

Art. V.—The town and forts of Santona shall be evacuated by the French troops, and made over to the Spanish forces. The French garrison will remove with it all that properly belongs to it, together with such arms, artillery, and other military effects as have not been the property originally of the Spanish government.

The Marquis of Wellington will determine whether the French garrison of Santona shall return to France by land or by sea, and, in either case, the passage of the garrison shall be secured, and it will be directed upon one of the places or ports most contiguous to the army of the Duke of Dalmatia.

The ships of war or other vessels now in the harbour of Santona, belonging to France, shall be allowed to proceed to Rochfort with passports for that purpose.

The Duke of Dalmatia will send an officer to communicate to the French general commanding in Santona the terms of the present convention, and cause them to be complied with.

Art. VI.—The fort of Venasque shall be made over as soon as possible to the Spanish troops, and the French garrison shall proceed by the most direct route to the head-quarters of the French army: the garrison will remove with it the arms and ammunition which are originally French.

Art. VII.—The line of demarcation between the allied armies and the army of Marshal Suchet, shall be the line of the frontier of Spain and France, from the Mediterranean to the limits of the department of the Haute Garonne.

Art. VIII.—The garrison of all the places which are occupied by the troops of the army of the Duke of Albufera shall be allowed to return without delay into France. These garrisons shall remove with them all that properly belongs to them, as also the arms and artillery which are originally French.

The garrison of Murviedro and of Peniscola shall join the garrison of Tortosa, and these troops will then proceed together by the great road, and enter France by Perpignan. The day of the arrival of these garrisons at Gerona, the fortresses of Figueras and of Rosas shall be made over to the Spanish troops, and the French garrisons of these places shall proceed to Perpignan.

As soon as information is received of the French garrisons of Murviedro, Peniscola, and Tortosa, having passed the French frontier, the place and forts of Barcelona shall be made over to the Spanish troops, and the French garrisons shall march immediately for Perpignan. The Spanish authorities will provide for the necessary means of transport being supplied to the French garrisons on their march to the frontier.

The sick or wounded of any of the French garrisons who are not in a state to move with the troops, shall remain and be cured in the hospitals where they are, and will be sent into France as soon as they have recovered.

Art. IX.—From the date of the ratifications of the present convention, there shall not be removed from Peniscola, Murviedro, Tortosa, Barcelona, or any of the other places, any artillery, arms, ammunition, or any other military effects belonging to the Spanish government. And the provisions remaining at the evacuation of these places shall be made over to the Spanish authorities.

Art. X.—The roads shall be free for the passage of couriers through the cantonments of both armies, provided they are furnished with regular passports.

Art. XI.—During the continuance of the present convention, deserters from either army shall be arrested, and shall be delivered up if demanded.

Art. XII.—The navigation of the Garonne shall be free from Toulouse to the sea, and all boats in the service of either army, employed in the river, shall be allowed to pass unmolested.

Art. XIII.—The cantonments of the troops shall be arranged so as to leave a space of two leagues at least between the quarters of the different armies.

Art. XIV.—The movements of the troops for the establishment of their cantonments, shall commence immediately after the ratification of the present convention.

The ratification is to take place within twenty-four hours for the army of the Duke of Dalmatia, and within forty-eight hours for the army of the Duke of Albufera.

Done in triplicate at Toulouse on the 18th of April, 1814.E

(Signed)
G. Murray,
M. G. & Q. M. G.

(Signed)
Luis Wimpffen,
Gefe de E. M. G.
De Campaña de los
Exercitos Españoles.

(Signed)
De Gazan,
Le Lieut. Général.

(Approuvé)
Le M. Duc d’Albufera.

(Confirmed)
Wellington.

(Approuvé)
M. Duc de Dalmatia.

EJones’s Account of the War in Spain and Portugal, page 433.

284 It would appear, that to some unaccountable fatality that sanguinary affair must be attributed. Rumours had already reached the outposts, that Napoleon had abdicated—and although from these reports the vigilance of the blockading army might have been naturally expected to abate, the besieged should have remained merely on the defensive, and Thouvenot’s sortie was unwarrantable. The result was not to his advantage. His casualties were admitted to reach nine hundred men, and the allied were nearly equal—both losing a general. The siege had not commenced—for neither stores nor artillery had been brought forward—hence, there was no immediate cause for apprehension; and, though nothing was known certainly, it was generally believed that Napoleon was either dead or dethroned. The operation, therefore, appears rather designed to gratify bad passions than attain any military object. It seemed to have been purely a work of slaughter—and to gain no end, men were unnecessarily lost. “On both sides the troops, broken into small bodies by the inclosures, and unable to recover their order, came dashing together in the darkness, fighting often with the bayonet, and sometimes friends encountered, sometimes foes: all was tumult and horror. The guns of the citadel, vaguely guided by the flashes of the musketry, sent their shot and shells booming at random through the lines of fight; and the gun-boats, dropping down the river, opened their fire upon the flank of the supporting columns, which being put in motion by Sir John Hope, on the first alarm, were now coming up from the side of Boucaut. Thus nearly one hundred pieces of artillery were in full play at once; and the shells having set fire to the fascine depôts and to several houses, the flames cast a horrid glare over the striving masses.”—Napier.

At best it was a sanguinary experiment. No object was gained or could be gained—much blood was idly wasted—Thouvenot, in a few hours, was as closely inclosed, as he had been before his sally—his loss exceeded that inflicted on his enemy—and many of his casualties were caused by the indiscriminating fire of his own guns.

285 On the question of Peninsular distinctions now tardily conceded, we will not touch, inasmuch as we fear that we could not do it temperately. The subjoined is a record of the corps refused a medal. “Well, if the breast be bare, thank God, they can proudly point to their glorious colours!”

A list of regiments which served in the Peninsula that were not present at Waterloo, with the number of honorary distinctions they are permitted to bear on their colours for their services in that country and the South of France:—3rd Dragoon Guards, 4; 5th, 4; 3rd Light Dragoons, 4; 4th, 6; 14th, 6; 9th Lancers, 1; 2nd Foot, 8; 3rd. 7; 5th, 12; 6th, 8; 7th, 9; 9th, 9; 10th, 1; 11th, 7; 20th, 5; 24th, 8; 26th, 7; 29th, 5; 31st, 7; 34th, 7; 36th, 10; 37th, 1; 38th, 10; 39th, 7; 43rd, 12; 45th, 14; 47th, 4; 48th, 11; 50th, 8; 53rd, 7; 57th, 6; 58th, 6; 59th, 5; 60th, 16; 61st, 8; 62nd, 1; 66th, 9; 67th, 2; 68th, 6; 74th, 11; 76th, 3; 81st, 2; 82nd, 7; 83rd, 11; 84th, 2; 85th, 3; 87th, 7; 88th, 11; 91st, 9.

To the above may be added the 94th and 97th regiments—with others disbanded before permission to assume the badges was conceded, but equally deserving of distinction with those on whom they were conferred.

286

“Adjutant-General’s Office,
Bordeaux, 14th June, 1814.

“The Commander of the Forces, being upon the point of returning to England, takes this opportunity of congratulating the army upon the recent events which have restored peace to their country and to the world.

“The share which the British army has had in producing these events, and the high character with which the army will quit this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to the last.

“The Commander of the Forces once more requests the army to accept his thanks.

“Although circumstances may alter the relations in which he has stood towards them for some years, so much to his satisfaction, he assures them he will never cease to feel the warmest interest in their welfare and honour; and that he will at all times be happy to be of any service to those to whose conduct, discipline, and gallantry, their country is so much indebted.

(Signed) “E. M. Pakenham, A. G.”

287 It was a strange coincidence, that on that day twelve months, the duke was employed in issuing orders for the concentration of his army, to crush the second and last effort of him who, for so many years, had swayed the destinies of empires.

288 Appendix, No. 2.

289 “‘I had,’ resumed the emperor, ‘combined a bold manœuvre, with a view of preventing the junction of the hostile armies. I had combined my cavalry into a single corps of twenty thousand men, and appointed it to rush into the midst of the Prussian cantonments. This bold attack, which was to be executed on the 14th with the rapidity of lightning, seemed likely to decide the fate of the campaign. French troops never calculate the number of an enemy’s force: they care not how they shed their blood in success: they are invincible in prosperity. But I was compelled to change my plan. Instead of making an unexpected attack, I found myself obliged to engage in a regular battle, having opposed to me two combined armies, supported by immense reserves. The enemy’s forces quadrupled the number of ours. I had calculated all the disadvantages of a regular battle. The infamous desertion of Bourmont forced me to change all my arrangements. To pass over to the enemy on the eve of a battle!—atrocious! The blood of his fellow-countrymen be on his head! The malediction of France will pursue him!’”—Voice from St. Helena.

290 “Stories of Waterloo.”

291 “Paul’s Letters.”

292 “To the left wing, under Marshal Ney, was assigned the dangerous honour of encountering the British. The words ‘Nous marchons contre les Anglais’ passed uncheered along the column, when its destination became known. The ill-omened sounds checked not indeed the spirits of the brave, but it was associated with too many fatal recollections, to elicit even a single shout of anticipated triumph from the most sanguine of that enthusiastic host.”—Campaign of Waterloo.

293 “And here we come to the first accusation preferred by Napoleon against Marshal Ney. The exile of St. Helena charges that gallant and intrepid officer with having lost many hours of valuable time by delaying the attack on Quatre Bras till three o’clock in the afternoon, though Napoleon himself, whose army had a shorter distance to traverse, only began the attack upon Ligny at the same hour.”—Campaign of Waterloo.

294 Stories of Waterloo.

295 “The undismayed gallantry of the Guards was the more remarkable, as they were composed chiefly of young soldiers and volunteers from the militia, who had never been in action.”—Mudford.

296 Stories of Waterloo.

297 From its immediate connexion with the battles of Quatre-Brass and Waterloo, a brief sketch of the sanguinary engagement at Ligny will be given.

Although burning to commence his attack upon his old and formidable antagonist, the bad roads and inclement weather that delayed Bulow’s march, prevented the completion of Napoleon’s dispositions until the day was far advanced. Blucher’sF position embraced the heights between Bry and Sombref, with the villages of Ligny and St. Amand. The ground was well adapted for defence,G the surface being undulated and broken, and covered with farm-yards and orchards. The villages were naturally strong, standing on the crest of a ravine skirted by trees and copse-wood.

At three o’clock Napoleon’s order of battle was completed, and Vandamme’s corps commenced the engagement by attacking the village of St. Amand.

The French leader’s judgment was correct in selecting the right of the Prussians for his first effort. It was the more assailable, because Blucher, anxious to secure his centre at Ligny, had concentrated his best troops there; and from the Prussian position being considerably in advance of Quatre Bras, had Napoleon effected his object, and turned the right flank, he must certainly have succeeded in cutting off the communication between the allied commanders, as he would have possessed the great road from Namur to Nivelles. Napoleon’s calculations were just; and the Prussian centre was materially weakened by sending succours to the right.

At first the impetuosity of the French attack was successful, and Petit Amand was carried by Lefol’s brigade with the bayonet. Blucher in person re-attacked the village, and in turn the French were expelled. These varying successes led to a murderous conflict. Girard’sH division came to Vandamme’s support, and succeeded in gaining the churchyard, while Blucher held the heights above the village in such force as rendered any forward movement of the French impracticable.

From this conflict on the right the battle gradually extended, until the opposing armies were generally engaged: Ligny was furiously assaulted, while Grouchy endeavoured to turn the Prussian left at Sombref.

Nothing could equal the fury with which every part of the position was assailed but the obstinacy with which it was defended. Every orchard and enclosure was only to be carried after a sanguinary encounter. The villages were furiously contested; the combatants fought hand-to-hand; regiment met regiment with the bayonet; and Ligny, within the space of five hours, was six times won and lost. This seemed the chosen field of slaughter; the streets were heaped with dead; reserves, coming from either armies as battalions, one after another were annihilated. Two hundred pieces of cannon poured their torrents of round and grape upon the village. The French columns at last gained ground: the Prussian charge of cavalry failed in repulsing them; and in attempting to repel the cuirassiers, Blucher was dismounted, and escaped death or captivity by a miracle.I

Evening came,—the battle raged with unabated fury—both armies fighting with desperate fierceness, and as yet no decisive advantage gained. The French were masters of the burning village; the mill of Bussey and heights commanding Ligny were still occupied by the Prussians.

These Napoleon determined to carry by a grand effort, and the Imperial Guard, the reserve of the fourth corps, and a brigade of cuirassiers, under a storm of artillery, traversed the village and assailed the mill and heights; a desperate encounter ensued. The Imperial Guard attacked the Prussian squares with the bayonet, while at the same moment the rival cavalry were charging. Neither party would yield ground; the ground was heaped with corpses, blood flowed in torrents, and still the battle raged. Darkness, however, favoured the advance of a French division, which had made a circuitous movement from the village, the Prussians found their flank turned and the enemy on the point of attacking their rear. Without a reserve, for that had been already detached to strengthen the right, and having ascertained that Wellington could hardly maintain himself at Quatre Bras, and that Bulow could not get up in time, Blucher determined to retreat on Tilly and unite himself with the fourth corps. At ten o’clock the order to fall back was given, and the centre and right retrograded in perfect order. Forming again within a quarter of a league of the field of battle, they recommenced their retreat; and, unmolested by the enemy, retired upon Wavre, while the French occupied the ground the Prussians had abandoned, and bivouacked on the heights.

Zeithen, who commanded the right of the Prussians, evaded Vandamme’s attempts to detain him, and fell back, keeping his communications with the centre unbroken, while Theilman repulsed Grouchy’s attack upon Sombref, and after holding the village of Bire during the night, retreated at daylight and formed a junction with Bulow at Gemblaux.

“Blucher’s retreat was most judicious. He calculated that the English commander must fall back from Quatre Bras, and accordingly by retiring upon Wavre, his line of retreat was parallel with that of Wellington upon Waterloo.

“It may be anticipated that the loss sustained in this long and desperate conflict was on both sides tremendous. Buonaparte stated his killed and wounded at three thousand men; but it has been clearly ascertained that it amounted to double that number. The Prussians suffered dreadfully. They left fifteen thousand men upon the field—and they may be stated as having perished; for the unrelenting ferocity with which both sides fought, prevented quarter from being asked or given. Fifteen pieces of cannon, which Blucher had abandoned, comprised the trophies of the victory, if a battle gained under such circumstances, and unattended with a single important result, deserves that title.”

FBlucher’s earlier career was in the service of the Prussian monarch. He left it on his own solicitation, and his discharge is curious and characteristic. Frederick wrote the following note, and addressed it to the commandant of his regiment:

“Captain Von Blucher has leave to resign, and may go to the devil as soon as he pleases. “Frederick.”

GThe entire position measured about four miles from right to left, and was occupied by nearly 70,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry, with 252 pieces of artillery: of nearly similar strength were the forces of the assailants.

HFrom the similarity of sound, the names of Gerard and Girard have been frequently confused. The latter commanded a division of the reserve (2nd corps) under Vandamme; Gerard had the 4th corps, or army of the Moselle. Girard was killed in the attack on St. Amand: Gerard survived the campaign, and subsequently was general en chef at the siege of Antwerp.

IThe French cavalry followed up their success, and then it was that Blucher so narrowly escaped captivity,—a fate that, to him, would have been worse than death itself. His horse, a beautiful grey charger, the gift of the Prince Regent of England, had been wounded: it broke down, and fell just as the lancers turned to fly from the pursuing enemy. “Now, Nostitz, I am lost!” said the gallant rider to his aide-de-camp, at the moment that he sunk beneath the dying steed. Count Nostitz, who, in the confusion, had alone remained by his side, instantly leaped to the ground, and, sword in hand, stood over his fallen chief, while the whole body of the French cavalry passed on, totally unmindful of the group. Before, however, the count could take advantage of the calm, and extricate the general from beneath the dead charger, the Prussians had turned upon their pursuers, and forced the cuirassiers to retrograde as fast as they had come: so that the whole of the broken rout again rushed by the fallen marshal. As soon as the Prussians (who knew nothing of what had happened to their leader) arrived, Nostitz seized the bridle of a non-commissioned officer’s horse, and, with the aid of the soldier, placed the bruised and almost insensible commander in the saddle, and hurried him from the field.

298 “The wounded who had been collected during the night, were early in the morning sent off to Brussels. Every attention was bestowed upon them by the inhabitants. Wellington had taken the necessary precautions to secure them rest and relief; and the reception of the British wounded at Brussels, formed a striking contrast to the abandonment of the French sufferers at Charleroi. Napoleon left them to their fate; and such as escaped death among the ruins of Ligny and St. Amand, perished, for want of assistance, in the deserted streets of Charleroi.”—Stories of Waterloo.

299 Napoleon passed the night of the 17th in a farm-house which was abandoned by the owner, named Bouquean, an old man of eighty, who had retired to Planchenoit. It is situated on the high road from Charleroi to Brussels. It is half a league from the château of Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, and a quarter of a league from La Belle Alliance and Planchenoit. Supper was hastily served up in part of the utensils of the farmer that remained. Buonaparte slept in the first chamber of this house: a bed with blue silk hangings and gold fringe was put up for him in the middle of this room. His brother Jerome, the Duke of Bassano, and several generals, lodged in the other chambers. All the adjacent buildings, gardens, meadows, and enclosures, were crowded with military and horses.—French Detail.

300 The eminence on which Buonaparte was while he gave his orders during the battle is part of the territory of Planchenoit. It is called the Field of Trimotio, and is the property of several individuals: it is not far from the farm of Caillou. Buonaparte retired to this house for a moment during the battle. After he had lost it, endeavouring to avoid the crowd in the great road, he threw himself into the orchard opposite this farm-house to get the start of the mass of fugitives. A part of these, being closely pursued, sought refuge in the buildings of the farm; they were set on fire, and several of them reduced to ashes.—Letters of a French Officer.

301 “HougomontJ is comprised of an old tower, a chapel, and a number of offices, partly surrounded by a farm-yard. It had also a garden, inclosed by a high strong brick wall; and round the garden, a wood of beech, an orchard, and a hedge, by which 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 loop-holing, or perforating the walls, for the fire of musketry; and erecting scaffolding, to give the troops within an opportunity of firing from the top of the wall. The enemy’s cannon could only be brought to bear upon the upper part of the walls and buildings, and the great damage it received was by shells.”

302 The loss of the guards, in killed and wounded, in the defence of Hougomont, amounted to twenty-eight officers, and about eight hundred rank and file. The foreign corps (Nassau and Brunswickers) lost about one hundred.

JIts name, according to ancient tradition, comes from 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 hence called Gomont, for Gomme Mont, or Mont de Gomme. This château has existed for ages, and belonged to the family of Arrazola Deonate.

303 The proprietor of the ruins of the château of Hougomont has caused all the woods to be felled. Those trees, torn by a thousand balls, and that observatory, all the silent witnesses of so much glory and so much suffering, have vanished for ever.

304 The attack against the position of Hougomont lasted, on the whole, from twenty-five minutes before twelve until a little past seven at night.

305 “Within half an hour one thousand five hundred men were killed in the small orchard at Hougomont, not exceeding four acres. The loss of the enemy was enormous. The division of General Foy alone lost about three thousand; and the total loss of the enemy in the attack of this position is estimated at ten thousand in killed and wounded. Above six thousand men of both armies perished in the farm of Hougomont: six hundred French fell in the attack on the château and the farm; two hundred English were killed in the wood; twenty-five in the garden; one thousand one hundred in the orchard and meadow; four hundred men near the farmer’s garden; two thousand of both parties behind the great orchard. The bodies of three hundred English were buried opposite the gate of the château; and those of six hundred French were burned at the same place.”—Booth’s Narrative.

306 Stories of Waterloo.

Probably the statement of an enemy will bear the noblest testimony to the measureless bravery of the British infantry. A French general thus notices them:—“We saw these sons of Albion, formed in square battalions, in the plain between the wood of Hougomont and the village of Mount Saint John; and to effect this compact formation, they had doubled and redoubled their ranks several times. The cavalry which supported them was cut to pieces, and the fire of their artillery completely silenced, and generals and staff officers were galloping from one square to another, not knowing where to find shelter. Carriages, wounded men, parks of reserve, and auxiliary troops, were all flying in disorder towards Brussels. Death was before them, and in their ranks; disgrace in their rear! In this terrible situation, neither the bullets (boulets, cannon-balls) of the Imperial Guard, discharged almost point blank, nor the victorious cavalry of France, could make the least impression on the immoveable British infantry. One might have been almost tempted to fancy that it had rooted itself in the ground, but for the majestic movement which its battalions commenced some minutes after sunset, at the moment when the approach of the Prussian army apprised Wellington that he had just achieved the most decisive victory of the age.”—Foy.

307 “At this critical and awful moment, Lord Uxbridge galloped up; the three regiments of cavalry were in the most masterly style wheeled into line, and presented a most beautiful 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. After having taken a short survey of the force and threatening attitude of the enemy, and finding the Highland brigade, although still presenting an unbroken front, upon the point of being on both sides outflanked by an immense superiority of numbers, his lordship determined upon a charge, which, for the wonderful intrepidity of its execution, and its complete success, has rarely been equalled, and certainly never surpassed. The Royals appeared to take the lead, while the Greys preserved a beautiful line at speed; more to the left over the cross-road, near which spot their brave chief, Colonel Hamilton, fell.”

308 Stories of Waterloo.