FRANCE, 671 
_ History’ minding his troops that the 14th was the anniversary tre it had various weak points. It ran from the Brussels _ History. 
pers. of the battles of and Friedland, attd-that «+40. road tothe right about 4 mile and a half in length ; and 
a SS every Frenchman who had a heart, the moment was then turned very sharply to the right, and crossed the A. D. 1815, 
_ arrived to mer or perish.” The position of his road from Nivelle to Namur : these two roads cross each 
> > army was as S: Imperial head quarters.at other,so that the British position formed nearly a quarter 
a Beaumont; the Ist corps commanded by General circle. At the turn of the bottom of a slope, was a farm 
D’Erlon, at Solfre on the Sambre ; the 2d. com- and orchards, called Mount St John, whi was the key 
manded by General Reille, was at Ham-sur-Heure; of the position, and the front of the centre. On their 
corps commanded by General Vandamme, was left, the British communicated with the Prussians at. 
of Beaumont; and the 4th corps com- Wavre, through Ohaim. 
manded. by General Girard, was at Phili ille. The At half past 10 o’clock in the forenoon of the 18th, patile of 
were established on the bre; these Bonaparte teem to put his troops in motion; and, Waterloo, 
he attacked at day on the morning of the 15th, about an hourafterwards, one of his corps attacked the June 18. 
and in the course of the day drove them from the river, country-house on the right of the British, where the 
and made himself master of the ground from Thuin to Nassau troops were posted : these were obliged to give 
Prussians, Fleurus, a distance of about 16 miles, on the Namur way; but the house itself’ was so well defended, that 
_June15. road ; whilst on the Brussels road, he forced back a the French could not gain possession of it. This at« 
i to Quatre Bras, about 12 miles from tack on the right of the British centre, Bonaparte ac- 
the Sambre. Bonaparte in this affair evidently hadthe companied with a dreadful fire of artillery ; under the 
advantage, and seems to have surprised the allies. cover of which, he made repeated attacks of cavalry 
Battleof Qn the 16th, the Prussian army was posted on the and infantry, sometimes mixed, and sometimes sepa- 
‘igny ,, heights between Bril, and Sombref, occupying the vil- rate, from the centre to the right: but the skill of the 
lages of St Amand and Ligny, situated in its front. It Duke of Wellington, and the admirable moral courage 
i 3 the 4th aoe was not and physical strength. of his), were unconquer« 
vanced in able. Against one of these a of the French ca-« 
about three valry, General Picton, who was with his division on 
] : Ney, w he had at the road from Brussels to Charleroi, advanced with the 
kength called to the army, was ordered to put himself bayonet. The French; struck with astonishment at 
at the head of the 2d corps, and attack General Picton’s the circumstance of i advancing to the charge of 
division, the corps of the Duke of Brunswick, and the cavalry, fired, and then fl At this moment, General 
‘assau i which the Duke of Welli had Picton was unfortunately killed. The English life. 
dispatched in of the Prussians, and which had guards next advanced against the 49th and 105th regi- 
rae Saga dy $n about half past two o'clock. ments of French ee : to their support i cuiras« 
The. ject of Bonaparte was to gain possession Siers came up: most sanguinary cavalry fight per-~ 
of St Amand ; and he succeeded after a vigorous re« haps ever witnessed, was the consequence ; but the Bri- 
sistance. He next advanced against Ligny, where the were victorious, and the cuirassiers were annihilated. 
combat was of a most desperate and sanguinary de- — The battle had now lasted upwards of five hours ; 
scription. The Prussians, with their gallant commander, during which Bonaparte had lost an immense number 
were urged on to use their most strenuous efforts, of men, by his desperate charges, without being able 
every feeling of a national or individual nature, which to make any decisive impression... The Duke of Wel-. 
can men to brayery and vengeance ; for five hours _lington, with the skill of a consummate general, kept his. 
the near this village with doubtful success, troops entirely on the defensive; but though he thus 
while the Prussians by retaking a part of the village had saved their strength as much as possible, yet they 
of St Amand, regained an advantageous position on a wend beganning fo beeen: Sekt Ise com- 
height near that village. Still, however, the French mander frequently turned his anxious and vigilant eye 
were gradually overpowering the Prussians by their to that quarter where he expected the Prussians to arrive.. 
superiority of numbers; anxiously did Blucher look for © At break of day, the Prussian army had began to 
i of the move; the 2d 4th corps marched to take up a po 
pe Oe rags up, and the lat- rpc whence they mi 7 Pte yg —— on the rear, 
ter with difficulty mai i tion at Quatre if circumstances prov: vourable, e 1st corps was. 
Pes which he to operate on the right flank of the French ; and the 3d 
pushing it corps was to follow slowly in order. About 5 o’clock,, 
Bonaparte perceived the advance of of the Prus-« 
sian army, which at first he seems to have supposed to 
have been the division of his own army under Marshal 
Grouchy, who had been posted on the rear of the allies 
irassi to'take advantage of their anticipated defeat, _ As soon, 
main body of the Prussian army was taken in the however, as he ascertained that it was the Prussians, he 
at the same moment, the French cavalry succeed- his attacks with cavalry and infantry, supports, 
i ing several attacks of the Prussian cavalry : by artillery, in a more desperate and, m OuS | 
rt the success of : the Prussians. manner than ever; but the British were immoyeable, 
At last, about seven in the evenings he made.a last ef. 
not come up, afterwards to Wavre. fort, putting himself at the h of his guards. He 
The attack made by Ney on the English at Quatre succeeded for a moment in driving back the Bruns- 
Bras was equally desperate in its nature, but not so wickers ; but the Duke of Wellington, putting himself 
successful to the French in its result; for all their at their head, and animating them by a short speech, 
charges were repulsed in the steadiest manner. In this restored the combat. At this critical moment, the Prus- 
affair the Duke of Brunswick was slain. _ © sians came up: General Bulow advanced nip hi the. 
In of the retreat of the Prussians, the rear of the right wing of the French ; and Marshal. 
of Wallington retired on Waterloo. ‘The posi- Blucher had joined in nm. with a corps of his army 
tion which he occupied was , but towards the cen« to the left of the British army, by Ohaim, The Duke 
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