'See! through the battle's lurid haze,
How Vivian, as the trumpet blew,
Led the last charge at Waterloo.'
H. S. STOKES: _Rhymes from Cornwall_.
The nest of the Vivian family was Truro; here our hero was born, and
here resided his father, John Vivian, who may be called the founder of
the copper trade in Cornwall, and who subsequently became Vice-Warden
of the Stannaries: but the present seat of the Vivians is Glynn, the
ancient residence of the Glynn family, from which place the subject
of the following remarks, Richard Hussey, first Baron Vivian of Glynn
and Truro, derived the former of his titles. He derived his second
name from his grandmother, who was a Miss Hussey, of Okehampton; his
grandfather was the Rev. Thomas Vivian, of Comprigney, Kenwyn; he was
vicar of Cornwood, Devon, and was a man of some literary ability.
Well do I remember, when I was quite a youngster, an autumnal visit
in 1842 to the well-wooded valley which Glynn overlooks, and through
which rushes the Fowey, a lovely trout-stream, when the 'fiery finger'
had been laid upon the leaves of the myriad-tinted oaks in its glades;
and when Death had just claimed the owner of that noble mansion. On the
grand staircase hung the great picture by Shee,[156] representing the
lithe figure of the tall, bronzed hero advancing in his hussar uniform,
dismounted and bareheaded, fresh from the 'rapture of the fray;' whilst
in the background was a servant holding a spirited white charger. I
thought then, and think so still, that I had never seen a more goodly
presence.
Vivian's mother was as much distinguished for her beauty and vivacity
as his father was as an upright man of business, and able administrator
of the Stannary laws. She was a daughter of the Rev. Richard Cranch,
vicar of St. Clement's, near Truro, an early friend and patron of
Sir Joshua Reynolds; and, accepting her own admission, must have had
a sufficiency of admirers. 'What a fine creature she was!' said Dr.
Wolcot ('Peter Pindar'). 'I once told her in jest that she _must_ be my
wife, for I had never been so deeply in love before.' 'It is out of the
question, my dear doctor,' she replied; 'it is impossible. I am _five
deep_ already!' The charming buxom profile of the good old lady, who
died in 1816, might until recently have been seen on her cenotaph at
St. Mary's Church, Truro;[157] as well as a medallion portrait, on his
marble tomb (with an epitaph), of her eldest and illustrious son, the
subject of this notice.
He was born at Truro--probably at the house to which reference has just
been made--on 28th July, 1775; and when about eight years old was sent
to the Truro Grammar School under Dr. Cardew. Here, however, he did not
long remain, as we find him from 1784 to 1787 at school at Lostwithiel,
from which place he went direct to Harrow.
Another three years of his life were passed there; and in 1790 he
entered at the old West-Country College--'Exeter'--at Oxford; but he
only kept two terms. His education seems to have been completed by a
visit to France in 1792.
The time had now come for Vivian to choose a profession; and in
this important matter one hardly knows whether to admire more the
liberality of the father, or the instinctive sagacity of the son.
Mr. Vivian wished his heir to follow a pursuit in which distinction
had been gained both by himself and by other members of the family,
and an attempt was made in this direction. Our hero was accordingly
articled to a Mr. Jonathan Elford, a solicitor, of Devonport, with a
view to Vivian's becoming a 'counsellor, learned in the law;' but the
attractions presented by the lives and the uniforms of the officers
of a garrison town were an all-powerful opposing force; and, besides,
Vivian could urge family precedents for a military career; for was not
his great-uncle, Colonel Hussey, amongst the heroes who fell with
Wolfe on the heights of Abraham?[158]
Accordingly, an ensign's commission in the 20th Regiment of Infantry
was procured for him on 31st July, 1793. In the following year he got
a captaincy in the 28th, and was present in all the affairs of that
time between the French and British armies in the Low Countries; his
regiment suffering severe losses at Geldermalsem. In 1795 he returned
to England; and shortly afterwards made an attempt--the second
unsuccessful one--to get with his regiment to the West Indies. But the
war god had other and higher services in store for Vivian; and the
winds and the waves drove back the transports to the British shore.
For the next two years (1796-98) Vivian was doing garrison duty at
Gibraltar. This sort of pursuit must have fretted so high a spirit
as his, and probably led to his exchanging into a cavalry regiment,
the 7th Light Dragoons, or 'Queen's Own' Hussars;--now, at least, he
thought he should be sure to see service. Nor was he disappointed; for
in 1799 he took part in the unfortunate Texel Expedition, under Sir
Ralph Abercombie, one result of which, however, was the capture of
Helder on the 28th August in that year.
To Vivian the piping times of peace during the next four or five years
gave an opportunity for turning his thoughts from war to love; and in
1804 he married his first wife, Eliza, daughter of Philip Champion De
Crespigny, of Aldborough (with whom, so the story goes, he ran off
from a boarding-school). She was descended from an old French family,
refugees from the Edict of Nantes; and the fruit of this marriage was
two sons and three daughters.
The Peninsula was destined to be the scene of Vivian's next exploits;
and in 1808 we find him landing with Sir John Moore at the once busy
port of Corunna. He was engaged in most of the cavalry affairs during
that brief campaign, and led the rear-guard during the historic
retreat in January, 1809, collecting the infantry stragglers to the
number of about 600, forming them, and so repulsing a pursuing enemy,
almost as weak and winter-stricken as themselves. For his skill and
valour on this memorable occasion he obtained the thanks of Sir G.
Paget. He also received high commendation from that gallant hero and
graceful gentleman, Sir John Moore himself, whose masterly tactics were
recognised by his generous antagonist Soult's placing a monument to his
remains on the Corunna ramparts,--celebrated in the ode with which we
have all been familiar from our childhood.
After an interval of repose for about three years in Ireland, during
which he was made Aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent, and attained the
rank of a Colonel in the army, in 1813 Vivian was ordered to take
part in the Peninsular campaign; and, in the August of that year, he
landed at Bilbao--'the beautiful ford'--that scene of so many conflicts
between the French and the Allies. He was now appointed Colonel on the
staff, and had the command of a brigade of cavalry; and in the latter
capacity he was present at most, if not all, of the important cavalry
affairs in that campaign--gathering laurels at Orthes, Vittoria, and in
the Pyrenees.
Vivian particularly distinguished himself in the following year at
Croix d'Orade; of his conduct on that occasion there is no better
description than that which is contained in the following extract from
the Duke of Wellington's despatches to Earl Bathurst:
'Toulouse, 12th April, 1814.
'I have the pleasure to inform your lordship that I entered this
town this morning, which the enemy evacuated during the night....
The continued fall of rain and the state of the river prevented me
from laying the bridge till the morning of the 8th, when the Spanish
corps and the Portuguese artillery ... crossed the Garonne. We
immediately moved forward to the neighbourhood of the town; and the
18th Hussars, under the immediate command of Colonel Vivian, had an
opportunity of making a most gallant attack upon a superior body of
the enemy's cavalry, which they drove through the village of Croix
d'Orade, and took about one hundred prisoners, and gave us possession
of an important bridge over the river Ers, by which it was necessary
to pass in order to attack the enemy's position. Colonel Vivian was
unfortunately wounded upon this occasion, and I am afraid that I shall
lose the benefit of his assistance for some time.'
For this affair he bore on his coat of arms (amongst other allusions to
his brave deeds) a flying pennon inscribed with golden letters, 'Croix
d'Orade.' The wound referred to by the Duke was from a carbine-shot in
the right arm.
It is curious to contrast the Great Duke's appreciative eulogy of this
brilliant exploit with Napier's sour version of it in his 'English
Battles and Sieges in the Peninsula' (p. 453, ed. 1873): 'In this
operation a single squadron of the 18th Hussars, under Major Hughes,
being _inconsiderately_ pushed by Colonel Vivian across the bridge
of St. Martin de la Touch, suddenly came upon a regiment of French
cavalry. The rashness of the act, as often happens in war, proved the
safety of the British; for the enemy, thinking a strong support must
be near, discharged their carbines, and retreated at a canter. Hughes
followed; the speed of both parties increased; and as the road did
not admit egress by the sides, this great body of horsemen was pushed
headlong by a few men under the batteries of St. Cyprian.'
When the late Chaplain-General Gleig disputed a statement of Napier's
relating to the battle of Vimiero, the latter writer fell back on
the authority of the Duke of Wellington, which, of course, Napier
preferred to that of Gleig, adding tartly, that 'the two authorities
may be weighed by those who are fastidious.' A similar process may be
recommended as to Wellington and Napier's authority touching Vivian's
share in the affair at Croix d'Orade. It may also be well to add the
significant fact that the 18th Hussars presented Vivian with a sword of
honour on the occasion.
The year 1814 was further memorable in our hero's annals. The
Transitory Peace was signed; Vivian was promoted to the rank of
Major-General; returned to England; and was appointed to the command
of the Sussex Military District, taking up his residence at Brighton.
On thus giving up his connexion with the Hussars, his brother officers
presented him with a piece of plate worth 250 guineas.
The curtain rises upon the eventful year 1815--the year in which
Napoleon's ambitious career was to be at once and for ever checked by
the Iron Duke on the field of WATERLOO.
Vivian, now a Knight Commander of the Bath, was the first major-general
sent in command of a brigade of cavalry to join the army assembling at
Brussels; and did 'yeoman's service' during the few days which preceded
the great battle, notably covering the retreat (as at Corunna) of the
army whilst falling back from Quatre Bras on Waterloo.
It would of course be out of place here (even if the familiar histories
of the great battle, given by Siborne, Alison, and Hooper, had not also
made it unnecessary) to attempt any description of that world-renowned
fight. But Vivian's share in it demands more than a passing notice;
and this I have drawn up from the authorities whom I have mentioned,
as well as after having made a visit to the field of battle; and from
other sources.
It may be premised that, at Waterloo, Vivian commanded the 6th Brigade
of Cavalry of the British and King's German Legion. It was composed
of the 1st, 10th, and 18th Hussars, numbering, according to Siborne,
1,279 sabres. They were at first stationed on the _extreme left_ of the
first or main portion of the British line. The 10th and 18th regiments
were in line in rear of the road to Wavre, and withdrawn a little from
the crest of the ridge, the right of the 10th resting upon a lane. The
1st Hussars were also in line, and formed the reserve. The extreme left
of this brigade was completely _en l'air_ (_i.e._, unsupported), upon
high, open, and flat ground. A piquet, consisting of a squadron of the
10th, occupied the village of Smohain, and their vedettes were within
half-carbine-shot of some of the French cavalry. Vandeleur's brigade of
light horse was on Vivian's right.
But the frequent and furious charges of the enemy made it necessary,
as the anxious, bloody day wore on, to strengthen the Duke's left
centre; and accordingly in the sheet of Siborne's Atlas representing
the field at a quarter before eight p.m., when the Prussians had begun
to arrive, Vivian's cavalry appear as then occupying the _middle_ of
the much-weakened British force, close at the rear of the Brunswickers
and Nassauers. This change of position was effected on Vivian's own
responsibility, and to the great satisfaction of the Duke; for when
these fresh troops took up their position, the British cavalry had been
reduced to mere skeletons of regiments. It is not difficult to fancy
how long the day must have seemed to the fiery Hussars, who had not yet
struck one blow, and who were anxiously longing for the opportunity of
displaying their own valour, and of avenging the deaths of their slain
comrades.
They were not to wait much longer, as we shall presently see; for,
twenty minutes later, Vivian, instead of being at the rear of the
British army, was at its head, sabring the Imperial Guard:--'Oh the
wild charge they made!' It must be borne in mind that the crisis
of the battle had arrived; and Napoleon, like a desperate gambler,
had risked his all by sending his masses of reserves against the
attenuated British regiments, with instructions, _at all hazards_, to
force the centre, in the rear of which Vivian had placed himself, in
a most trying position for cavalry, exposed as they were to the fire
of the French tirailleurs. His first impression, on contemplating the
destruction which he saw around him, was that he had come, once more,
to cover a retreat of the Anglo-allied army: and, indeed, but for the
exertions of himself and others--actually using the flats of their
sabres--the contemptible Dutch-Belgian troops, who formed Wellington's
second line, would have probably fled from the field, and have left a
hideous and fatal gap in the British line.
But Adams's infantry brigade had swept, like a triumphant wave, the
front of the Allied line, and the moment had arrived when a daring
charge by fresh cavalry against the shattered Imperial Guard and the
French cavalry reserves round La Belle Alliance, was all that was
wanting to secure the impending victory. Vivian was the happy man upon
whom this glorious task devolved. He moved out to the rear of Alten's
division, and thus clearing himself from the British infantry, advanced
directly to the front by the right of Maitland's brigade of Guards.
His orders from the Duke were not to attack till the infantry came up
to his support, unless he was '_confident of success_.'
At this juncture, Sir Hussey Vivian--encouraged by the cheers of
his comrades, heard above the fierce trumpet-blasts, by the ringing
of scabbards as the swords leaped forth, and by the victorious omen
bestowed by a crimson gleam of the rapidly setting sun, which now
pierced and incarnadined the smoke and clouds--charged in echelons of
regiments; the 10th, headed by himself, leading: and with that regiment
he dispersed and drove in the cavalry posted in the front and on the
left of the squares of the Old Guard. No sooner was this done, than,
galloping to his left, he led on the 18th, also in person, against the
Cuirassiers of De Lorte, who were on the right of that veteran body;
the 1st Hussars of the German Legion following. In a few minutes the
dazzling helmets of the French Cuirassiers and the spears of their
Lancers were seen scattered in every direction! At the same time the
2nd King's German Legion, which Wellington had moved up to support
Vivian, successfully charged a body of Cuirassiers on the right of
the 10th; and although this corps was in its turn assailed by fresh
Cuirassiers, and thrown into disorder, it quickly rallied, and soon
drove the French off that part of the field. The squares of the Guard
were thus laid bare, and the artillery in the intervals opened a heavy
fire on the British horse; but Vivian, dashing on, captured the guns,
twenty-four in number, _before any foot-soldier on his left arrived_.
Then, seeing the Osnaburgh red-coats coming up to his support, he
ventured to attack the squares themselves. Such was the ardour of the
men, that a squadron of the 10th, having re-formed after taking the
artillery, and Vivian himself leading them, charged one of the squares
with unparalleled vehemence. That attack was, after a short struggle,
at first repulsed by the steady fire of the veteran French grenadiers.
The French square, nevertheless, fell back after the shock, still
keeping up a rolling fire on its opponents, who never ceased to cut at
them till they too were lost in the crowd of fugitives. About this time
Vandeleur's brigade came up. It charged upon Vivian's right, defeating
a body of French infantry, who were formed in square, and who were
endeavouring to restore the battle in that quarter; but the rout was
now complete.
Wellington, encouraged by the rapid and beautiful style in which
Vivian's brigade advanced, and by the brilliant success of the attack,
now ordered, amid the enthusiastic cheering of the troops, the
long-looked-for general advance of the whole line. That this was, as
Siborne well describes it, 'a march of triumph rather than of attack,'
is matter of history. The battle of Waterloo was won; and the British
General's prediction was verified, in the words of Scott, that 'England
should tell the fight.'
That night Vivian and his exhausted Hussars, satiated with their bloody
victory, bivouacked in advance of the main body of the English at the
little village of Hilaincourt; while the fresh Prussian troops followed
up the retreat of the flying French.
One or two episodes in this memorable achievement have been recorded by
Captain Malet, in his 'History of the 18th Hussars.' As at Balaclava,
there came an order which
'Some one had blunder'd:'
the leading half-squadron, in the final charge, was wheeling in
precisely the wrong direction, which Vivian perceiving, at once rode up
to rectify, exclaiming, says Malet, 'with emphasis, and a good hearty
d----, that it was _towards_ the enemy he wanted them to wheel!'
Again, after the 18th regiment had been led to the charge, Vivian, on
returning (with his arm in a sling, the result of the wound at Croix
d'Orade) to lead on the 10th also, was intercepted by a straggling
French cuirassier, who cut at the English General. Taking his reins,
however, in his right hand, which was barely able to grasp them, Vivian
not only parried the blow with his sword in his left hand, but also
contrived to wound his antagonist in the neck. This unequal combat
might possibly have ended fatally for the gallant Cornishman, had not
his German orderly galloped up at this moment, and cut the luckless
Frenchman down.
Vivian's own account of the affair, as contained in the following
extract from a letter written by him soon after the battle to Mr.
Pendarves, will probably be read with interest:
'St. Benir, in part of the Château, 23rd June, 1815.
'... About six o'clock, however, I learnt that the cavalry in the
centre had suffered dreadfully, and the Prussians about that time
having formed to my left, I took upon myself to move off from our
left, and halted directly to the centre of our line, where I arrived
most opportunely at the instant that Bonaparte was making his last
and most desperate effort; and never did I witness anything so
terrific--the ground actually covered with dead and dying, cannon-shot
and shells flying thicker than I ever heard even musketry before,
and our troops some of them giving way. In this state of affairs, I
wheeled my brigade into line, close (within ten yards) in the rear of
our infantry, and prepared to charge the instant they had retreated
through my intervals (the three squadron officers of the 10th were
wounded at this instant); this, however, gave them confidence, and the
brigades that were literally running away halted on our cheering them,
and again began firing. The enemy on their part began to waver; the
Duke observed it, and ordered the infantry to advance. I immediately
wheeled the brigade by half-squadrons to the right and in column over
the dead and dying, trotted round the right of our infantry, passed
the French infantry, and formed lines of regiments on the first
half-squadrons.
'With the 10th I charged a body of French Cuirassiers and Lancers
infinitely superior to them, and completely routed them. I then went
to the 18th, and charged a second body that was supporting a square
of Imperial Guards; and the 18th not only defeated them, but took
fourteen pieces of cannon that had been firing grape at us during our
movement. I then, with the 10th, having re-formed them, charged a
square of infantry (Imperial Guards), the men of which we cut down in
the ranks; and here the last shot was fired. From this moment all was
_de route_.
'Whether the Duke will do my brigade justice or not, I know not; but
Bonaparte has given them their due in his account. We are the cavalry
that he alludes to, where at the end he says, "At eight o'clock,"
etc.; and the Colonel of the 3rd Chasseurs, who lodged the night
before last in the house I occupied, last night told the proprietor
"that two regiments of British Hussars decided the affair."[159] The
third regiment (1st Hussars) I kept in reserve.
'Of course, our loss was severe. All those returned missing are since
ascertained to have been killed.
'I never saw such a day, nor anyone else. I expect and hope that every
soldier will bear a medal with "Mont St. Jean" on it. I would rather
do so than be adorned by the brightest star that any potentate could
bestow on me....
'To Wynne Pendarves, Esq.,
'No. 11, Queen Anne Street, London.'
For his services on this occasion Vivian received the following
decorations: viz., the Order of Maria Theresa from the Emperor of
Austria; the Order of St. Wladimir from the Emperor of Russia; and
that of Hanover from the Prince Regent.
In his despatch dated 'Waterloo, 19th June, 1815,' the day after that
great and glorious victory, the Duke says that the British army 'never,
upon any occasion, conducted itself better.... There is no officer
nor description of troops that did not behave well. I must, however,
particularly mention, for his Royal Highness's approbation----' Here
follows a list of heroic and illustrious names; amongst which Truro men
especially, but also all Cornishmen, and all Englishmen, ever read,
with glowing pride, the name of our own hero, Major-General Sir Hussey
Vivian.
A brother-officer of Vivian's (Colonel Taylor, of the 10th Hussars)
wrote the following lines on the occasion:
'From the left flank, in column, winding far,
Speeds with a whirlwind's force the swift hussar;
Tho' to their thund'ring hoofs the plain resounds
Still cautious discipline their ardour bounds.
Who, with a hero's port and lofty form,
With waving sabre onward guides the storm?
While through the tangled corn and yielding clay
His spurs incessant urge his panting grey[160]--
'Tis VIVIAN, pride of old Cornubia's hills,
His veins the untainted blood of Britons fills.
Him follows close a Manners,[161] glorious name,
In him a Granby's soul aspires to fame,
Or such as erst, when Rodney gained the day,
Ebb'd from his kinsman's wound the life away.
"Front form the line!" cries VIVIAN; still its course
The head maintained; the rear with headlong force
Speeds at the word, till troops to troops combine,
And each firm squadron forms the serried line.'
His subsequent connexion with the Waterloo campaign may be briefly
summed up in the statements that he led the advanced guard of the
British army all the way from Waterloo to the gates of Paris; and that,
on the restoration of Louis XVIII., his brigade formed part of the
allied army of occupation in Picardy--services less brilliant perhaps
than those which have just been described, yet certainly most useful
and important.
But the reception accorded to 'the Warrior of the West' by his native
town, after the battle of Waterloo, should not pass unnoticed. Towards
the latter part of July (the 27th was, I believe, the day) Vivian
returned home for a short time; and when it was known that he was
approaching Truro, which was _en fête_ on the occasion, numbers of the
inhabitants went out to meet him, and, taking the horses out of his
carriage, dragged it in triumph through the streets. Several of the
townsfolk had assembled at Mr. Vivian's house, to greet the victorious
hero on his return. Amongst them was the writer's mother--then quite a
young girl--whom the tall, strong man lifted up in his arms as if she
had been an infant, and embracing her, exclaimed to those around him,
'There! believe me, that's the first kiss I've had since the battle of
Waterloo!' His speech to the populace on this occasion could not be
reported, for the air was rent by their shouts; and I should judge,
from the contemporary accounts, that a similar enthusiasm prevailed on
the occasion of the public dinner which was given to him at the Truro
Assembly Rooms on the 31st July.
The army returned to England in 1818; and with it Vivian, who now
found himself, for the first time in twenty-three years, unemployed.
Great reductions in the military establishments, of course, took
place; and on the 10th September, 1821, the 18th Hussars was, amongst
other regiments, disbanded. On this occasion he was presented by the
_soldiers_ with a silver trumpet purchased out of the proceeds of the
sale of horses which had been captured by the regiment during the
Peninsular campaign.
It seems hardly necessary to dwell upon the facts of his having been
despatched in 1819 to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and thence to Glasgow, for
the purpose of quelling riots which had broken out at those places; it
will suffice to mention that the service was promptly and efficiently
performed.
The University of Oxford in the following year accorded to him the high
honour of the degree of D.C.L., which, however, for some reason, he
does not seem to have taken until fourteen years afterwards. In 1820 he
was elected a Member of Parliament for his native town, and represented
it for five or six years.
In 1827 he received a Colonelcy of the Life Guards; and in the
following year he was created a baronet--a coat of arms full of
heraldic allusions to his distinguished career being at the same time
granted to him.
For the five years, 1825-30, Vivian represented Windsor in the House
of Commons; but the failing health of Lady Vivian, and his appointment
to the command of the forces in Ireland, caused him to retire from
Parliament. It is said that during this period he was offered the
post of Secretary-at-War, but that he declined it on account of his
preference for the more active duties of his profession. Whilst in
Parliament he seldom failed to speak on all military questions; he also
took part in the debates on Catholic Emancipation (of which he was a
supporter), and on the distress which prevailed in the country in 1830.
Polwhele thought highly of his fluent eloquence; and I am told by Mr.
H. S. Stokes that Vivian was remarkably successful in his addresses to
election mobs. In this year he attained the rank of Lieutenant-General;
and about the same time William IV. made him a Grand Cross of the Royal
Hanoverian Order of Guelph.
In 1833 (the first Lady Vivian having died) Vivian married a second
time; the lady of his choice being Lætitia, third daughter of the
Rev. J. A. Webster, by whom he had one daughter, Lalage. Four years
afterwards he again entered Parliament, this time as a representative
of the Eastern Division of Cornwall; having, however, been previously
made a Privy Councillor in 1834, and having filled, with distinction,
for four or five years the historic post of Master-General of the
Ordnance.
Little remains to be told of his history. On his retirement from the
above post, he was created a peer, and took his seat in the Upper
House as Baron Vivian of Glynn and Truro, the patent being dated 11th
August, 1841. His last-earned honour he did not enjoy for more than a
year; for, on the 20th August, 1842, he died suddenly at Baden-Baden.
On the 13th of the following month the little town of Truro presented a
doleful contrast to that which it bore some twenty-seven years before,
when her brave son returned in the full flush of victory. All business
was entirely suspended in order that the townsfolk might receive, at
the town quay, Vivian's mortal remains; they were brought up the river
from Falmouth, and carried to the church, which was draped in black.
He was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery, in the same vault with his
father and mother, against the eastern wall of the enclosure; but no
inscription marks the spot. His epitaph which was in St. Mary's Church
(now the new cathedral), need not be inserted here, for his career
has been described in the foregoing pages, and it will be perhaps
sufficient to quote the description of his character as summarized by
Dr. Wolcot--no lenient critic:
'An excellent officer, and, better still, a kind, brave, honourable,
and good man.'