WATERLOO.
The Prussians indeed had been beaten at Ligny. Their three corps,
numbering eighty thousand men, with two hundred and twenty-four guns,
had been attacked by Napoleon with sixty thousand men, with two
hundred and four guns. The battle was contested with extraordinary
obstinacy on both sides. The villages of Ligny and St. Armand were
taken and retaken over and over again, and for hours the desperate
strife in and around them continued without cessation. Both parties
continued to send down reinforcements to these points, but neither
could succeed in obtaining entire possession of them.
The faults which Wellington had perceived in the Prussian position
told against Blucher. The villages were too far in advance of the
heights on which the army was posted, and his reinforcements were
therefore a long time in reaching the spot where they were required to
act. They were, too, as they descended the hill, under the observation
of Napoleon, who was able to anticipate their arrival by moving up
supports on his side, and who noted the time when Blucher's last
reserves behind Ligny had come into action. At this critical moment
General Lobau arrived from Charleroi with twelve thousand fresh men
and thirty-eight guns, and at seven o'clock in the evening Napoleon
launched this force with his division of guards, twenty thousand
strong, who had hitherto been kept in reserve, against the enemy.
Ligny was captured and the victory won. The Prussians throughout the
day had fought with great bravery. They had a long score to wipe out
against the French, and were inspired as much by national hatred as by
military ardor; and they owed their defeat rather to the disadvantages
of the position they held than to the superior fighting qualities of
the French. Their cavalry had several times made desperate charges;
sometimes against the French horse, at others upon columns of
infantry. In one of these Blucher himself was with them; and as they
were in turn driven back by a charge of the French cuirassiers his
horse was shot, bringing him to the ground. His aid-de-camp leaped off
and threw his cloak over him as the cuirassiers came thundering past,
intent upon overtaking the Prussian cavalry. They paid no attention to
the solitary dismounted man, and a few minutes later again passed the
spot, this time in retreat, a fresh party of Prussian cavalry having
met them. Again they passed by the fallen general, little dreaming
that one of their most formidable and determined enemies lay there at
their mercy. As soon as the Prussians came up the dead horse was
moved, and Blucher, who was insensible, carried to the rear, when he
soon recovered and resumed the command.
But though beaten the Prussians were by no means routed. They had lost
the _key_ of their position; but night came on before the combat
terminated, and under cover of the darkness they fell back quietly and
in good order. General Thielmann's corps on the extreme Prussian left
had taken but little part in the fighting; and as the center and right
of the Prussian army retreated he advanced, fell upon the French in
the darkness, and for some time forced them back, thus giving time to
the rest of the army to reform its ranks and recover its discipline.
After having rendered great service by thus occupying the enemy
Thielmann took up a position on the heights, and remained facing the
French, while the other _corps d'armé_ took post in his rear.
The French were too weary to follow up the advantage they had gained;
the night passed without any attack being made, and at daybreak the
Prussians started on their march to Wavre, the cavalry remaining
behind to cover the movement, check pursuit, and conceal if possible
from the French the line by which the army was falling back. Had the
pursuit been taken up at daybreak by the French, they would soon have
driven in the cavalry and ascertained the route taken by the infantry;
but it was not until many hours had elapsed that the French got into
motion, and by that time the Prussian cavalry had disappeared from
their front, and nothing remained to inform them of the line by which
the enemy had retreated.
There was a general feeling of disappointment among the gallant
defenders of Quatre Bras when on the following morning orders were
issued for them to abandon the ground they had so stoutly held. They
had been astir at daylight, firearms were cleaned, fresh ammunition
served out from the reserve wagons, and the men fell into the ranks,
expecting that in a short time they would again be engaged; but no
movement could be seen on the part of the enemy, and arms were again
piled. The commissariat wagons had come up in the night, and rations
were served out to the troops and breakfast prepared. As soon as this
was over strong parties were again sent over the battlefield to
collect any wounded who had escaped the search of the night before. As
soon as these were collected the whole of the wounded were placed in
ambulance wagons and country carts, and despatched to Brussels.
Presently a general movement of the great baggage trains was observed
by the troops to be taking place, and the long column moved along the
road to the north. The duke had sent off a staff-officer at daybreak
to ascertain the state of things at Ligny; he returned with the report
that the Prussians had left the field. He then sent out a small party
of cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Alexander Gordon. This officer
pushed forward until he encountered General Zieten, who was still at
Sombreuf, but a mile distant from the battlefield. The general
informed him of the whole events of the preceding day, and gave him
the important intelligence that Blucher had retreated to Wavre, and
would join hands with Wellington at Mount St. Jean, which the English
general had previously fixed upon as the scene of the battle for the
defense of Brussels.
The news relieved Wellington of all anxiety. It had been before
arranged that Blucher if defeated, should if possible fall back to
Wavre; but it was by no means certain that he would be able to do
this, and had he been compelled by the events of the conflict to
retire upon his base at Namur he would have been unable to effect a
junction for some days with Wellington, and the latter would have been
obliged single-handed to bear the whole brunt of Napoleon's attack.
The latter's plans had indeed been entirely based on the supposition
that Blucher would retreat upon Namur; and in order to force him to do
so he had abstained from all attack upon the Prussian left, and
employed his whole strength against the right and center, so as to
swing him round, and force him to retire by way of Namur.
As soon as Wellington learned that Blucher had carried out the
arrangement agreed upon his mind was at ease. Orders were sent off at
once to the troops advancing from various directions that they should
move upon Mount St. Jean. All the baggage was sent back to Brussels,
while provisions for the troops were to be left at Mount St. Jean,
where also the whole of the ammunition wagons were to be concentrated.
Horsemen were sent along the road to keep the baggage train moving,
and they had orders that if the troops at Quatre Bras fell back upon
them they were at once to clear the road of all vehicles.
Having issued all these orders, and seen that everything was in train,
Wellington allowed the troops at Quatre Bras to rest themselves, and
ordered their dinners, to be cooked. No movement was yet to be seen on
the part of the French; there was, therefore, no occasion to hurry.
Those, therefore, of the men who were not out on patrol stretched
themselves on the ground and rested till noon. Dinner over the
infantry marched off in two columns, the cavalry remaining until four
o'clock in the afternoon, when upon the advance of Ney in front and
Napoleon on the left they fell back, and after some sharp skirmishes
with the enemy's light cavalry joined the infantry before nightfall in
their position near Mount St. Jean and Waterloo. Rain had fallen for a
time during the afternoon of the battle, and now at four o'clock it
again began to come down heavily, soaking the troops to the skin.
"This is miserable, Stapleton," Ralph said to his friend, after the
regiment had piled arms on the ground pointed out to them by the
officers of the quartermaster's department.
"I am rather glad to hear you say it is miserable, Ralph. I was
certainly thinking so myself; but you always accuse me of being a
grumbler, so I thought I would hold my tongue."
Ralph laughed. "I don't think any one could deny that it is miserable,
Stapleton; but some people keep up their spirits under miserable
circumstances and others don't. This is one of the occasions on which
it is really very hard to feel cheerful. There is not a dry thing in
the regiment; the rain is coming down steadily and looks as if it
meant to keep it up all night. The ground is fast turning into soft
mud, and we have got to sleep upon it, or rather in it; for by the
time we are ready to lie down it will be soft enough to let us sink
right in. I think the best plan will be to try to get hold of a small
bundle of rushes or straw, or something of that sort, to keep our
heads above it, otherwise we shall risk suffocation."
"It is beastly," Stapleton said emphatically. "Look at the men; what a
change in them since we marched along this road yesterday. Then they
were full of fun and spirits, now they look washed out and miserable.
Were the French to attack us now you wouldn't see our men fight as you
did yesterday."
"But you must remember, Stapleton, the French are just as wet as we
are. This is not a little private rain of our own, you know, got up
for our special annoyance; but it extends right over the country."
"What nonsense you talk, Conway; as if I didn't know that."
"Well, you spoke as if you didn't, Stapleton; but you will see the
fellows will fight when they are called upon. Just at present they are
not only wet but they are disgusted. And I own it is disgusting after
fighting as hard as we did yesterday to find it's all been of no use,
and that instead of marching against the enemy we are marching away
from them. Of course it can't be helped; and if we had waited another
half-hour we should have had all the French army on us, and
yesterday's work would have been mere child's play to it. Still I can
quite enter into the soldier's feelings. Of course they do not
understand the position, and regard it as simply a retreat instead of
a mere shifting of ground to take up better position and fight again
to-morrow.
"Still this is a nice position, isn't it? You see there's room enough
along on the top of this slope for our whole army, and our guns will
sweep the dip between us and the opposite rise, and if they attack
they will have to experience the same sensations we did yesterday, of
being pounded and pounded without the satisfaction of being able to
return their fire.
"They must cross that dip to get at us--at least if they attack, which
I suppose they will, as they will be the strongest party--and our
artillery will be able to play upon them splendidly from this road.
Then, too, there are two or three farmhouses nearer our side than
theirs, and I suppose they will be held in force.
"That looks rather a nice old place among the trees there on our
right. It has a wall and inclosure, and they will have hard work to
turn us out of it. Yes, I call this a fine place for a battle; and we
shall have the advantage here of being able to see all over the field
and of knowing what is going on in other places, while yesterday one
couldn't see three yards before one. During the whole time one was
fighting, one felt that it might be of no use after all, for we might
be getting smashed up in some other part of the field."
"I never thought anything about it," Stapleton said. "My only idea was
that I must look as if I wasn't afraid, and must set a good example to
the men, and that it was all very unpleasant, and that probably my
turn might come next, and that I would give a good deal for something
like a gallon of beer. As far as I can remember those were my leading
ideas yesterday."
"Well, Denis, what is it?" Ralph asked his servant, who approached
with a long face.
"Have you any dry tinder about you, your honor? I have been trying to
strike a light for the last half-hour till the tinder box is full of
water, and I have knocked all the skin off my knuckles."
"That's bad, Denis; but I don't think you will get a fire anyhow. The
wood must be all too soaked to burn."
"I think it will go, sor, if I can once get it to light. I have pulled
up some pea-sticks from an old woman's garden; and the ould witch came
out and began at me as if I was robbing her of her eldest daughter. It
was lucky I had a shilling about me, or be jabbers she would have
brought down the provost's guard upon me, and then maybe I would have
had my back warmed the least taste in the world more than was
pleasant. I hid the sticks under a wagon to keep them dry, and Mike
Doolan is standing sentry over them. I promised him a stick or two for
his own kindling. The weather is too bad entirely, your honor, and the
boys are well-nigh broken-hearted at turning their backs to the
Frenchmen."
"Ah, well, they will turn their faces to-morrow, Denis; and as for the
weather, I guess you have got wet before now digging praties in the
old country."
"I have that, your honor, many and many a time; and it's little I
cared for it. But then there was a place to go into, and dry clothes
to put on, and a warm male to look forward to, with perhaps a drop of
the crater afterward; and that makes all the difference in the world.
What we are going to do to-night, sorra of me knows."
"You will have to lie down in the mud, Denis."
"Is it lie down, your honor? And when shall I get the mud off my
uniform? and what will the duke say in the morning if he comes round
and sees me look like a hog that has been rowling in his sty?"
"You won't be worse than any one else, Denis; you see we shall all be
in the same boat. Well, here's the tinder. I should recommend you to
break up a cartridge, and sprinkle the powder in among the leaves that
you light your fire with."
"That's the difficulty, your honor; I have got some wood, but divil a
dry leaf can I find."
"Look here, Denis. Open your knapsack under the wagon, and take out a
shirt and tear it into strips. You will soon get a fire with that, and
we can easily replace the shirt afterward."
"That's a grand idea, your honor. That will do it, sure enough. Faith,
and when the boys see how I do it, there will be many a shirt burned
this evening."
"But how about wood, Denis?"
"There's plenty of wood, your honor. The commissaries have had two or
three score of woodcutters at work on the edge of the forest all day,
and there's timber felled and split enough for all of us and to spare.
The pioneers of all the regiments have gone off with their axes to
help, and I will warrant there will be a blaze all along the line
presently. Now I will be off, your honor; for the cooks are ready to
boil the kettles as soon as we can get a fire."
Great masses of the enemy could now be seen arriving on the crest of
the opposite rise. Presently, these broke up into regiments, and then
moved along the crest, halted, and fell out. It was evident that
nothing would be done till next morning, for it was already beginning
to get dusk.
In a few minutes smoke rose in the rear of the regiment, and ere long
half a dozen great fires were blazing. Men came from the regiments
near to borrow brands. The news soon spread along the line of the
means by which the Twenty-eighth had kindled their fires and, as Denis
had foretold, the number of shirts sacrificed for this purpose was
large. Strong parties from each regiment were told off to go to the
woodpiles and bring up logs, and in spite of the continued downfall of
rain the men's spirits rose, and merry laughs were heard among the
groups gathered round the fires. The officers had one to themselves;
and a kettle was soon boiling, and tin cups of strong grog handed
round. Of food, however, there was little beyond what scraps remained
in the haversacks; for the commissariat wagons had retired from Quatre
Bras to leave room for those carrying the ammunition, and were now so
far in the rear that it was impossible to get at their contents, and
distribute them among the troops. For an hour or two they chatted
round the fire, and discussed the probabilities of the struggle that
would begin in the morning.
Just as night fell there was a sharp artillery fight between two
batteries of Picton's division and the same number of the French. The
latter commenced the fight by opening fire upon the infantry position,
but were too far away to do much harm. Picton's guns got the range of
a column of infantry, and created great havoc among them. Darkness put
a stop to the fight, but until late at night skirmishes took place
between the outposts. A troop of the Seventh Hussars charged and drove
back a body of light cavalry, who kept on disturbing the videttes; and
the Second Light Dragoons of the king's German legion, posted in front
of Hougoumont, charged and drove back a column of the enemy's cavalry
that approached too close.
Gradually the fires burned low--the incessant downpour of rain so
drenching the logs that it was impossible to keep them alight--and the
troops lay down, with their knapsacks under their heads, turned the
capes of the greatcoats over their faces, and in spite of the deep
soft mud below them, and the pouring rain above, soon sank to sleep.
All night long a deep sound filled the air, telling of the heavy
trains of artillery and ammunition wagons arriving from the rear to
both armies. But nothing short of a heavy cannonade would have aroused
the weary soldiers from their deep sleep.
At twelve o'clock Ralph was called up, as his company had to relieve
that which furnished the posts in front of the position of the
regiment. The orders were not to fire unless fired upon. A third of
the men were thrown out as sentries; the others lay upon the ground,
fifty yards in rear, ready to move forward to their support if
necessary. Captain O'Connor left Ralph with the reserve, and himself
paced up and down along the line of sentries, who were relieved every
hour until morning broke, when the company rejoined the regiment.
The troops could now obtain a view of the ground upon which they were
to fight. Their line extended some two miles in length, along the brow
of a gradually sloping rise, the two extremities of which projected
somewhat beyond the center. The ground was open, without woods or
hedgerows. About halfway down the slope lay four farms. On the right
was Hougoumont; a chateau with farm buildings attached to it and a
chapel. In front of this lay a thick wood with a close hedge, and the
house and farm buildings were surrounded by a strong wall. In front of
the center of the line lay the farm and inclosures of La Haye Sainte,
abutting on the main Charleroi road, which, as it passed the farm, ran
between two deep banks. In front of the left of the line were the
hamlets of Papelotte and La Haye. At the top of the ridge the ground
sloped backward, and the infantry were posted a little in rear of the
crest, which hid them from the sight of the enemy, and protected them
from artillery fire. The whole of the slope, and the valley beyond it
was covered with waving corn or high grass, now ready for cutting.
Upon the opposite side of the valley there was a similar rise, and on
this was the French position. Nearly in the center of this stood the
farm called La Belle Alliance, close to which Napoleon took up his
stand during the battle. Behind the British position the ground fell
away and then rose again gently to a crest, on which stood the
villages of Waterloo and Mount St. Jean. The great forest of Soignies
extended to this point, so that if obliged to fall back Wellington had
in his rear a position as defensible as that which he now occupied.
The allies were arranged in the following order: On the extreme left
were Vandeleur's and Vivian's light cavalry brigades. Then came
Picton's division, the first line being composed of Hanoverians,
Dutch, and Belgians, with Pack's British brigade, which had suffered
so severely in Quatre Bras, in its rear, and Kempt's brigade extending
to the Charleroi road. Alten's division was on the right of Picton's.
Its second brigade, close to the road, consisted of the First and
Second light battalions of the German legion, and the Sixth and Eighth
battalions of the line. The Second German battalion was stationed in
the farm of La Haye Sainte. Next to these came a Hanoverian brigade,
on the right of whom were Halket's British brigade. On the extreme
right was Cooke's division, consisting of two brigades of the guards,
having with them a Nassau regiment, and two companies of Hanoverian
riflemen.
Behind the infantry line lay the cavalry. In reserve were a brigade of
the fourth division, the whole of the second division, and the
Brunswickers, Dutch, and Belgians. The artillery were placed at
intervals between the infantry, and on various commanding points along
the ridge.
The duke had expected to be attacked early, as it was of the utmost
importance to Napoleon to crush the British before the Prussians could
come up; but the rain, which began to hold up as daylight appeared,
had so soddened the deep soil that Napoleon thought that his cavalry,
upon whom he greatly depended, would not be able to act, and he
therefore lost many precious hours before he set his troops in motion.
From the British position the heavy masses of French troops could be
seen moving on the opposite heights to get into the position assigned
to them; for it was scarcely a mile from the crest of one slope to
that of the other.
In point of numbers the armies were not ill-matched. Wellington had
forty-nine thousand six hundred and eight infantry twelve thousand
four hundred and two cavalry, five thousand six hundred and forty-five
artillerymen, and one hundred and fifty-six guns. Napoleon, who had
detached Grouchy with his division in pursuit of the Prussians, had
with him forty-eight thousand nine hundred and fifty infantry, fifteen
thousand seven hundred and sixty-five cavalry, seven thousand two
hundred and thirty-two artillerymen, and two hundred and forty-six
guns. He had, therefore, four thousand three hundred men and ninety
guns more than Wellington. But this does not represent the full
disparity of strength, for Wellington had but eighteen thousand five
hundred British infantry including the German legion--who having
fought through the Peninsular were excellent troops--seven thousand
eight hundred cavalry and three thousand five hundred artillery. The
remainder of his force consisted of troops of Hanover, Brunswick,
Nassau, Holland, and Belgium, upon whom comparatively little reliance
could be placed. The British infantry consisted almost entirely of
young soldiers; while the whole of Napoleon's force were veterans.
As early as six o'clock in the morning both armies had taken up the
positions in which they were intended to fight. The British infantry
were lying down, the cavalry dismounted in their rear, and so
completely were they hidden from the sight of the French that Napoleon
believed they had retreated, and was greatly enraged at their having,
as he supposed, escaped him. While he was expressing his annoyance,
General Foy, who had served against the duke in the Peninsula, rode up
and said:
"Your majesty is distressing yourself without just reason, Wellington
never shows his troops until they are needed. A patrol of horse will
soon find out whether he is before us or not, and if he be I warn your
majesty that the British infantry are the very devil to fight."
The emperor soon discovered that the British were still in front of
him; for the English regiments were directed to clean their arms by
firing them off, and the heavy fusillade reached Napoleon's ears. At
eight o'clock Wellington, who was anxiously looking over in the
direction from which he expected the Prussians to appear, saw a body
of mounted men in the distance, and soon afterward a Prussian orderly
rode in and informed him that they were on the march to his
assistance, and would soon be on the field.
Grouchy had, in fact, altogether failed to intercept them. Napoleon
had made up his mind that after Ligny the Prussians would retreat
toward Namur, and sent Grouchy in pursuit of them along that road.
That officer had gone many miles before he discovered the route they
had really taken, and only came up with the rear of their column at
Wavre on the morning of Waterloo. Blucher left one division to oppose
him, and marched with the other three to join Wellington.
It was not until nearly ten o'clock that the French attack began; then
a column moved down from the heights of La Belle Alliance against the
wood of Hougoumont, and as it approached the leading companies broke
up into skirmishing order. As these arrived within musketry range a
scattering fire broke out from the hedges in front of the wood, and
the battle of Waterloo had begun.
Soon from the high ground behind Hougoumont the batteries of artillery
opened fire on the French column. Its skirmishers advanced bravely,
and constantly reinforced, drove back the Hanoverian and Nassau
riflemen in front of the wood. Then Bull's battery of howitzers opened
with shell upon them; and so well were these served that the French
skirmishers fell back, hotly pressed by the First and Second brigade
of guards issuing from the chateau. The roar of cannon speedily
extended along both crests; the British aiming at the French columns,
the French, who could see no foes with the exception of the lines of
skirmishers, firing upon the British batteries. The French therefore
suffered severely, while the allies, sheltered behind the crest, were
only exposed to the fire of the shot which grazed the ground in front,
and then came plunging in among them.
Prince Jerome, who commanded on Napoleon's left, sent strong columns
of support to his skirmishers acting against the right of the wood of
Hougoumont, while Foy's division moved to attack it in front. In spite
of a terrific fire of artillery poured upon them these brave troops
moved on, supported by the concentrated fire of their powerful
artillery against the British position. The light companies of the
guards, after an obstinate resistance, were forced back through the
wood. The French pushed on through the trees until they reached the
hedge, which seemed to them to be the only defense of the buildings.
But thirty yards in the rear was the orchard wall, flanked on the
right by the low brick terraces of the garden. The whole of these had
been carefully loopholed, and so terrible a storm of fire opened upon
the French that they recoiled and sought shelter among the trees and
ditches in the rear.
Jerome, seeing that his skirmishers had won the wood, and knowing
nothing of the formidable defenses that arrested their advance, poured
fresh masses of men down to their assistance. Although they suffered
terribly from the British artillery fire, they gathered in the wood in
such numbers that they gradually drove back the defenders into the
buildings and yard, and completely surrounded the chateau. The
defenders had not even time properly to barricade the gate. This was
burst open and dense masses rushed in. The guards met them with the
bayonet, and after fierce fighting drove thorn out and closed the gate
again, and with their musketry fire compelled them to fall back from
the buildings. Some of the French, however, advanced higher up the
slope, and opened fire upon one of the batteries with such effect that
it had to withdraw. Four fresh companies of the guards advanced
against them, cleared them away, and reinforced the defenders of the
chateau.
A desperate fight raged round the buildings, and one of the enemy's
shells falling upon the chateau set it on fire. But the defense still
continued, until Lord Saltoun, repulsing a desperate attack, and
reinforced by two companies which came down the hill to his
assistance, drove the enemy back and recaptured the orchard. This
desperate conflict had lasted for three hours.
While it was going on Ney led twenty thousand men against the center
and left of the British position, advancing as usual in heavy column.
Just as they were setting out at one o'clock Napoleon discovered the
Prussians advancing.
He sent off a despatch to Grouchy ordering him to move straight upon
the field of battle; but that general did not receive it until seven
in the evening, when the fight was nearly over. It was just two when
the columns poured down the hill, their attack heralded by a terrific
fire upon the British line opposed to them. The slaughter among
Picton's division was great; but although the Dutch and Hanoverians
were shaken by the iron hail, they stood their ground. When the
columns reached the dip of the valley and began to ascend the slopes
toward the British division they threw out clouds of skirmishers and
between these and the light troops of the allies firing at once began,
and increased in volume as the French neared the advanced posts of La
Haye Sainte, Papelotte, and La Haye.
The division of Durette drove out the Nassau troops from Papelotte;
but reinforcements arrived from the British line, and the French in
turn were expelled. The other three French columns advanced steadily,
with thirty light guns in the intervals between them. Donzelat's
brigade attacked La Haye Sainte, and, in spite of a gallant resistance
by the Germans, made its way into the orchard and surrounded the
inclosures. Another brigade, pushing along on the other side of the
Charleroi road, were met by the fire of two companies of the rifle
brigade who occupied a sandpit there, and by their heavy and accurate
fire checked the French advance. The other two divisions moved
straight against that part of the crest held by Picton's division.
The men of the Dutch-Belgian brigade, as soon as fire was opened upon
them, lost all order and took to their heels, amid the yells and
execrations of the brigades of Kempt and Pack behind them, and it was
with difficulty that the British soldiers were kept from firing into
the fugitives. The Dutch artillery behind them tried to arrest the
mob; but nothing could stop them--they fairly ran over guns, men, and
horses, rushed down the valley and through the village of Mount St.
Jean, and were not seen again in the field during the rest of the day.
Picton's division was now left alone to bear the brunt of the French
attack. The battle at Quatre Bras had terribly thinned its ranks, and
the two brigades together did not muster more than three thousand men.
Picton formed the whole in line, and prepared to resist the charge of
thirteen thousand infantry, beside heavy masses of cavalry, who were
pressing forward, having in spite of a stout resistance driven in the
riflemen from the sandpit and the road above it. As the columns neared
the British line the fire from the French batteries suddenly ceased,
their own troops now serving as a screen to the British. The heads of
the columns halted and began to deploy into line; Picton seized the
moment, and shouted "A volley, and then charge!"
The French were but thirty yards away. A tremendous volley was poured
into them, and then the British with a shout rushed forward, scrambled
through a double hedgerow that separated them from the French, and
fell upon them with the bayonet. The charge was irresistible. Taken in
the act of deploying, the very numbers of the French told against
them, and they were borne down the slope in confusion. Picton, struck
by a musket ball in the head, fell dead, and Kempt assumed the
command, and his brigade followed up the attack and continued to drive
the enemy down the hill. In the meantime the French cavalry were
approaching. The cuirassiers had passed La Haye Sainte, and almost cut
to pieces a Hanoverian battalion which was advancing to reinforce the
defenders.
At this moment Lord Edward Somerset led the house-hold brigade of
cavalry against the cuirassiers, and the _élite_ of the cavalry of the
two nations met with a tremendous shock; but the weight and impetus of
the heavy British horsemen, aided by the fact that they were
descending the hill, while their opponents had hardly recovered their
formation after cutting up the Hanoverians, proved irresistible, and
the cuirassiers were driven down the hill. A desperate hand-to-hand
conflict took place; and it was here that Shaw, who had been a
prize-fighter before he enlisted in the Second Life Guards, killed no
less than seven Frenchmen with his own hand, receiving, however, so
many wounds, that on the return of the regiment from its charge he
could no longer sit his horse, and crawling behind a house died there
from loss of blood.
While the Second Life Guards and First Dragoon Guards pursued the
cuirassiers down the slope, the Royals, Scots Greys, and Inniskillens
rode to the assistance of Pack's brigade, which had been assailed by
four strong brigades of the enemy. Pack rode along at the front of his
line calling upon his men to stand steady. The enemy crossed a hedge
within forty yards of the Ninety-second, and delivered their fire. The
Highlanders waited till they approached within half the distance, and
then pouring in a volley, charged with leveled bayonets. The French
stood firm, and the Ninety-second, numbering less than two hundred and
fifty men, burst in among them; a mere handful among their foes. But
just at this moment Ponsonby's heavy cavalry came up, and passing
through the intervals of the companies and battalions, fell upon the
French infantry. In vain the enemy endeavored to keep their formation;
their front was burst in, their center penetrated, and their rear
dispersed, and in five minutes the great column was a mass of
fugitives. Great numbers were killed, and two thousand prisoners
taken.