The few months which I spent with the second battalion in Glasgow,
were so extremely barren of incident, that I shall pass them over
in silence. The regiment quitted the metropolis of the West on the
1st, and occupied the Castle of Edinburgh on the 3d of August 1814.
On the 16th of the same month, I, along with seven officers and 140
men returned to Glasgow, and from thence went to Greenock to embark
for the first battalion in Ireland. On our arrival at the place of
embarkation on the 21st, we were not a little astonished to find that
the transports had quitted the harbour that morning empty. Three other
detachments marched in on the same day, but the whole were ordered to
rejoin their second battalions. We remained in Greenock nearly three
weeks, to our great personal discomfort, and the manifest injury of our
purses. An order at length arrived for us to proceed to Glasgow, whence
two of the officers, and all the men, returned to Edinburgh, and the
rest joined the first battalion then quartered in Fermoy. In November
I returned to Scotland, where I remained until April 1815, when I
joined my old companions, then on the eve of embarking for Belgium.
Being quite unprepared for such an event, the return of the Exile
of Elba to France produced varied sensations in the breasts of the
members of the British army. Those who, during the previous contest,
had ascended the ladder of promotion at a pace little swifter than that
of the snail, viewed the prospect of another interminable contest with
no very agreeable feelings. Those who had friends who could give them
an additional hitch up the ladder, or help them to some snug staff
situation, were quite delighted on the occasion. A third class, if
their assertions could be credited, were more anxious to have a place
assigned them within point blank shot of the enemy's artillery, than
one, far removed from the scene of danger. But who for a moment could
give credit to such an asseveration? Where is the man, who, having a
choice of alternatives, would not rather prefer remaining in a place
of security with honour, than rush into one where the chances are
decidedly against his escaping without a severe or a mortal wound?
Point him out, and he shall very soon be told, that either he possesses
the spirit of a demon, or he longs to commit a suicidal crime,--for
nothing but an unquenchable thirst after human blood, or a sincere
desire to quit this world, could make any man prefer a scene of strife
and slaughter, to one of peace and honourable repose.
War, the last remedy for the cure of national complaints, should
never be applied until every other has proved ineffectual. It ought
never to be undertaken but on just grounds, for those who engage in
it from motives of interest or ambition, become accountable for all
the crimes that are committed,--the property destroyed,--and the
human blood shed daring its continuance. Happy would it have been for
Napoleon Bonaparte, for France, and for all those countries into which
he carried his arms, had he viewed war in this light, and considered
it more glorious to employ his military talents in defence of his
people, and in securing them all the blessings of a lasting peace,
than engaging in hazardous enterprises, from which he never could have
expected any greater reward than a portion of that phantom glory, which
in all ages has proved the ruin and the death of millions.
A conqueror such as Napoleon, who has acquired military renown by the
ruin of empires, and the death of millions, cannot be compared to
any thing more aptly than a flood, which destroys every thing in its
course,--or to a beast of prey, which delights in blood and slaughter.
Man being naturally active and restless, seldom fails, when not
usefully employed, to engage in enterprises which but too often injure
himself or others. Of this fact Napoleon furnishes us with ample
proof. Whenever he had no immediate prospect of advancing his darling
object in France, that instant he cast his eye over Europe--selected an
antagonist--picked a quarrel with him--put his armies in motion--and
then trampled upon the rights and liberties of every nation through
which he marched his troops to the scene of action. His towering
ambition aimed at nothing less than universal monarchy; to attain
which he waded through rivers of blood. For many years neither rocks,
mountains, deserts, seas, nor rivers, could check his desolating course.
These facts being fresh in the recollection of the allied sovereigns,
the ex-Emperor's landing in France was no sooner communicated to them
at Vienna, than the clang of arms resounded throughout every corner of
continental Europe,--the trumpet of war again sounded the dreadful note
of preparation, and those warriors, who in the previous campaigns had
lent their aid to break the charm of French invincibility, were,--when
almost on the threshold of their peaceful habitations,--ordered to
retrace their steps, without tasting of any of those sweets which a
meeting of friends after a long absence never fails to produce.
Having previously purchased a comfortable sea-stock, and supplied
ourselves with whatever was necessary for a long campaign on the
continent, we left Cork barracks on the 1st of May, and the same
afternoon embarked at Cove. Early on the 3d we prepared to depart,
and were clear of the harbour before mid-day. Scudding along with
a favourable gale, we passed between the Rocks of Scilly and the
Land's End on the morning of the 5th, looked into Plymouth on the
6th; Portsmouth on the 7th; passed Dungeness on the 8th, and next day
dropped anchor two miles from Ostend. In the afternoon a few of the
troops were landed, and the rest on the following morning. In the
evening of the 10th we moved along the Ghent canal in long boats, as
far as Bruges, where we halted till sun-rise on the 11th, when we
resumed our voyage, and at eight o'clock in the evening cast anchor at
Ghent.
The city of Ghent, or Gand, is situated on the Scheldt, and at an equal
distance from Ostend and Brussels, viz. from twenty-six to thirty
miles. The city possesses a spacious market-place, which on market days
is almost completely covered with the booths of itinerant merchants.
Its streets are spacious and clean, but are cut in numerous places by
canals, which intersect each other so in various parts of the city,
that to connect the _islands_ on which the town stands, no fewer than
_three hundred and twenty-eight bridges_ were then necessary. In
consequence of this, the city covers an amazing space of ground, nearly
double that occupied by the city of Edinburgh, though the population
does not amount to half the number of the latter. In every quarter of
the town we were treated with great hospitality by the people, who were
really angry if we would not consent to live with them.
When Louis XVIII. found himself compelled by the defection of his
troops to leave his native country, he retired in the first instance
to Ostend, and subsequently to Ghent, where a suitable residence was
provided for him by the king of the Netherlands. During our stay in
this city we were afforded repeated opportunities of testifying to
the exiled monarch, how deeply we sympathized with him on his recent
misfortunes. He took a daily airing in a coach and four, and was
generally accompanied by a detachment of the garde-du-corps. For a
few days after we went to Ghent, gentlemen were admitted to the royal
presence during dinner; a piece of very ridiculous and troublesome
condescension. A guard of British troops went on duty at the temporary
palace every day, and the officers dined at one of the tables, where a
senior officer of the household troops always presided.
At day-break on the 27th of May, the 28th, 32d, 42d, 44th, 79th, and
92d regiments, and 3d battalion rifle corps, marched from Ghent,
under the command of Colonel Cameron, 92d, to Alost, and next morning
continued their route to Brussels. At Alost, a French officer, in
the suite of Louis XVIII., but who had held a commission in the
British service for twenty-one years, informed us that he was present
when Marshal Ney bedewed the king's hands with tears, on taking
leave to bring Bonaparte to Paris in an iron cage. He described the
interview as so extremely interesting, that not only His Majesty,
but all who witnessed it, were sensibly affected. From that time the
Bourbon adherents were pleased to bestow on the gallant Marshal, the
name which above all others is the most abhorrent to the ear of a
Christian--"_Judas Ney_."
Brussels having been described a thousand times over by pens far abler
than mine, I conceive it to be quite unnecessary to enter upon a
lengthened eulogy of the fascinating squares, parks, and walks, of that
celebrated city, and therefore shall proceed to describe the country
sixteen miles to the south of it, as it appeared to me on the memorable
16th, 17th and 18th days of June 1815. Before doing so, however, I
shall lay before my readers a state, shewing the distribution of the
British and Hanoverian troops on the day preceding the battle of Quatre
Bras, and also a few particulars illustrative of our proceedings, and
that of our great Leader, from the time that the latter received the
first intelligence of Bonaparte's movement across the frontier, down
to that hour in which we quitted the capital of Belgium to meet our
antagonists on the plains of Quatre-Bras.
Cavalry.
The whole were under the orders of Lieutenant-General The Earl of
Uxbridge.
_1st Brigade_,--Major-General Lord Edward Somerset, The 1st and 2nd
Life Guards, Horse Guards (Blue) and 1st Dragoon Guards.
_2nd Brigade_,--Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, k.c.b. The 1st, 2nd
(Scot's Greys) and 6th Dragoons.
_3rd Brigade_,--Major-General Sir W. Dornberg, k.c.b. The 1st and
2nd Light Dragoons, King's German Legion and the British 23rd Light
Dragoons.
_4th Brigade_,--Major-General Sir Ormsby Vandeleur, k.c.b. The 11th,
12th, and 16th Light Dragoons.
_5th Brigade_,--Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, k.c.b. The 2nd, 7th,
and 15th Hussars.
_6th Brigade_,--Major-General Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, k.c.b. The
1st, 10th, and 18th Hussars.
_7th Brigade_,--Col. Baron Sir F. De-Arentscheldt, k.c.b. The 3rd
Hussars and 13th Light Dragoons.
Infantry.
_1st Brigade_,--Major-General Peregrine Maitland, The 2nd and 3rd
Battalions, 1st Foot Guards.
_2nd Brigade_,--Major-General Sir John Byng, k.c.b. The 3rd Battalion
of the Coldstream, and 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Foot Guards.
_3rd Brigade_,--Major-General Frederick Adam. The 1st Battalions of the
52nd and 71st, and 2nd Battalion 95th Rifle Regiment.
_4th Brigade_,--Colonel H. Mitchell, The 3rd Battalion 14th, the 23rd
and 51st Regiments.
_5th Brigade_,--Major-General Sir Charles Halket, k.c.b. The 33rd and
2nd Battalions of the 30th, 69th, and 73rd Regiments.
_6th Brigade_,--Major-General Johnson, The 54th, 2nd Battalions of 35th
and 59th, and 1st Battalion of the 91st Regiment.
_7th Brigade_,--Major-General Du Plat, The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Battalions King's German Legion.
_8th Brigade_,--Major General Sir James Kemp, k.c.b. The 28th, 32nd and
1st Battalions 79th and 95th Regiments.
_9th Brigade_,--Major-General Sir Denis Pack, k.c.b. The 3rd Battalion
Royals, 2nd Battalion, 44th, the 42nd and 92nd Regiments.
_10th Brigade_,--Major-General Sir John Lambert. The 1st Battalions 4th
and 27th, the 2nd Battalion, 81st and 40th Regiment.
_1st Division_,--Major-General George Cook, The 1st and 2nd Brigades.
_2nd Division_,--Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, k.g.c.b. The 3rd
and 7th British Brigades, and 3rd Hanoverian Brigade.
_3rd Division_,--Lieutenant-General Baron Sir Charles Alten, k.c.b. The
5th British 1st Hanoverian, and 1st Brigade King's German Legion.
_4th Division_,--Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Colville, k.g.c.b. The
4th and 6th British, and 6th Hanoverian Brigade.
_5th Division_,--Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton, k.g.c.b. The 8th
and 9th British, and 5th Hanoverian Brigade.
_1st Corps of Infantry_,--General, His Royal Highness the Prince of
Orange, k.g.c.b. The 1st, 3rd and 5th Divisions.
_2nd Corps_,--Lieutenant-General, Lord Hill, k.g.c.b. The 2nd and 4th
Divisions.
The 10th Brigade being composed of troops just arrived from America,
only joined us on the morning of the 18th, and at that date were not, I
believe, placed in any division.
Artillery.
Colonel Sir George Wood. The exact number of guns in the field I cannot
positively state, but they were estimated at from 140 to 160.
On the 4th of June, the Duke of Wellington, accompanied by Prince
Blucher, reviewed the fifth division in the vicinity of Brussels. The
Prince was lavish of his praise; and the Duke seemed quite delighted
on perceiving so many of his old Peninsular friends again under his
command. On passing the venerable warrior, and his more youthful
compeer, my attention was completely abstracted from the business in
which we were engaged, and rivetted on the countenances of the two
heroes, to whom, above all others, Europe was most indebted for her
liberty in 1814. But for the noble stand which the Duke of Wellington
made in the Peninsula, the Russian Autocrat would never have braved
the collossal power of the French Ruler; and had Blucher shewn less
spirit and enterprise, the allies would not have arrived before the
gates of Paris in March 1814. Such being the facts, was there any thing
unreasonable in us looking forward to the military talents of the
Duke, and the spirit and enterprise of the Prince, producing, in 1815,
results similar to those of the previous campaign? I think not: but
yet I must confess that our expectations were considerably lowered on
a minute examination of the number and quality of the troops composing
the hostile armies. The Emperor of France having recalled to his
standard a great proportion of his old soldiery, had many thousands who
just returned from prison in Britain, Russia, &c. were not only ready,
but, their natural bravery having been whetted, rather than blunted by
a residence in a foreign land, were also willing, indeed anxious, to
undertake the most hazardous enterprises, if directed against their
former antagonists.
To oppose an army of 140,000 or 150,000 men, to whom danger had long
been familiar, and spoliation but too long their daily occupation,
the two chiefs had under their command a force equally numerous, but
not all so efficient in the field. The Prussians were a fine body of
men, brave, hardy, and well-disciplined, but not a few of them were
militia. The Hanoverians were very young men, and many of the officers
were little better than children. The Dutch and the Belgians were fine
looking fellows, but some of the latter had fought too long under the
tri-color flag. The British were animated with the best spirit, but
their numbers were small, and nearly one-half of them had never been
in a field of strife. Therefore, although the armies of the Duke of
Wellington and Prince Blucher were equally formidable in point of
numerical strength, still they were in many other respects greatly
inferior to their opponents.
With this force, however, inferior in physical strength as it was, they
had no alternative, but to meet the foe should he venture across the
frontier. Circumstances, unfortunately, prevented the British general
from having the several divisions of his army cantoned so favourably
as he could have wished. This, although occasioned by the difficulty
experienced by the commissary in finding forage for such a large body
of cavalry and baggage animals, has been made the subject of a very
grave charge against the Field-Marshal, by those who have permitted the
necessity of the case to escape their observation. But another and more
serious charge has been preferred against the Duke on this occasion,
viz. attending a ball given by the Duchess of Richmond, when he should
have been engaged in making arrangements for the dreadful meeting
between himself and his formidable opponent. Had the latter been
preferred by some hair-brained or disappointed person, I should not
have considered it necessary to notice it here. But having heard the
charge preferred by thousands who actually believed it to be true, and
knowing, as I do, the whole to be a malicious fabrication propagated
to detract from the honours which the Duke had won on many a bloody
field, I trust I may be permitted to state a few facts connected with
this subject, which is to be hoped will set the matter at rest in the
breasts of those who may do me the honour to look into the pages of
this volume.
Every thing being prepared on the part of the enemy to open the
campaign with eclat, Bonaparte quitted Paris on the 12th of June, and
on the 14th issued a proclamation to the soldiers, in which, after
recalling to their remembrance the deeds of former times, he very
candidly told them they had battles to fight, and dangers to encounter,
but assured them, that with steadiness and valour, victory would be
theirs.
Early on the morning of the 15th of June, the French army crossed the
Sambre at various places, and then directed its march upon Charleroi,
where General Ziethen, with the first corps of the Prussian army, was
posted. After a smart affair, the latter retired upon Fleurus, the
point of assembly, whether they were pursued by the right wing, and
right of the left wing under Napoleon himself. At a subsequent period
of the day, the Prussians retired still farther to Ligny, followed by
the enemy. The left of the French army, under Marshal Ney, moved upon
the high road to Brussels, and drove back a corps of Belgians, under
the Prince of Weimar, first to the position of Frasne, and latterly to
Quatre-Bras.
At seven o'clock that evening, Captain H----, Lieutenant G----, and
myself, strolled as far as the park to enjoy our usual promenade. We
had scarcely gone half way down one of the walks, when Dr H----, who
had dined with the Duke of Wellington, (or rather who did so every
day,) stepped hastily up to Captain H----, who was an old acquaintance,
and with considerable earnestness requested us to go home and pack
up our baggage, as Napoleon was in motion. Being curious, as may be
conceived, to know a few more particulars, we pressed the Doctor so
hard to satisfy our curiosity, that he at length informed us that
during dinner, the Field-Marshal received a despatch from Prince
Blucher, intimating that he had been attacked. On the cloth being
removed, the Duke, filling his glass, called a bumper, and then gave
as a toast, "Prince Blucher and the Prussian army, and success to
them." On paying this mark of respect to his gallant colleague, the
Field-Marshal rose from the table, retired to his closet, and in a few
minutes dispatched the necessary orders to every division of the allied
army. The reader must remember that this was _three hours_ before the
ball commenced, and four before the Marshal entered the ball-room,
which he did but for a few minutes, a little after eleven o'clock. But
more; the troops in Brussels had not only received orders of readiness,
but had received six day's bread, and were actually on the streets long
before the ball began. All these things, therefore, afford the most
convincing proof that the whole story has been fabricated for the worst
of purposes, viz. to injure the character of the Duke of Wellington,
and by contrast to raise that of Napoleon.