1814-1815] The Guards in Battle 71 



immediately retreated at a great pace, all our cavalry 

 following them, with our regiments, drove them back double 

 quick and dispersed them entirely. 



My regiment had lost 16 officers killed and wounded, 

 including Lieut. -Col. Sir A. Gordon, and Canning of my 

 company, who were among the number of killed. Capt. 

 Ashton of my company is also killed. The Duke of 

 Wellington told us that he never saw soldiers behave so 

 well as the Guards. The French have lost about 90 pieces 

 of cannon and an immense number of killed and wounded. 

 The Belgic troops who ran away went to Brussels, where all 

 our baggage was, and said that we were entirely defeated, 

 and that the French were advancing close at their heels. 

 The consequence was that the people of Brussels began to 

 pillage our baggage, but were soon stopped. I understand 

 that my baggage horse is either killed or stolen; but I do 

 not know yet, as we have not seen the baggage since the 15th, 

 and all that time we have been lying on the ground, without 

 any covering and not able to change our clothes. We have 

 had nothing to eat, except a very little biscuit, and I have 

 not tasted food now for 48 hours; but I am just going to 

 have some, and I believe our baggage is to come up 

 to-morrow. Another [trouble] is, that it is with the greatest 

 difficulty we can get water, and what we did was horribly 

 bad. I am now writing from the field in which we are to 

 bivouac to-night, and therefore you must excuse the con- 

 ciseness of this letter and I cannot get any more paper. 



Good-bye, my dear mother, and believe me, most 



affectionately, 



T. WEDGWOOD. 



Tom Wedgwood to his mother Mrs John Wedgwood. 



FBANCE, ENCAMPED NEAR COTTEAUX. 

 June 24:th, 1815. 



. . . We had the post of honor and were the first to begin 

 the attack. At the affair of the 16th I was rather nervous 

 at first, for we came quite unawares to the field after an 



