WATERLOO. 



French cuiraflicrs, that a regiment aftually cut into the 

 fquare of the forty-fecond Highlanders ; but they paid 

 dear for their temerity, as few ever returned to their lines ; 

 and the Highlanders had ample revenge for the lofs of their 

 brave colonel fir Robert Macara. The third battalion of 

 the Royal Scots, twenty-eighth, and firil battalion of the 

 ninety-lifth, were warmly engaged for feveral hours on the 

 left of the Brnffels road ; while general Pack's brigade, 

 confiding of the forty-fourth, feventy-ninth, and ninety- 

 iecond regiments, with the forty-fecond already mentioned, 

 fucceeded completely in repelling the enemy on the right, 

 after an equally arduous conteft. 



About 4 o'clock, the firll divifion under major-general 

 Cooke, and third under lieutenant-general fir Charles Alten, 

 came up, and were alfo immediately engaged. The enemy 

 was now driven from his ground, and obliged to retire to 

 the pofition which he had occupied the night before, and 

 where he had fome difficulty in maintaining himfelf, until 

 the darknefs put an end to the combat. The troops of the 

 duke of Brunfwick diftinguilhed themfelves very much on 

 the afternoon of the ifith ; and his ferene highnefs was un- 

 fortunately killed at the head of his brave huffars. 

 I At day-light on the morning of the 17th, the duke 

 jftiewed his whole force, and challenged the enemy to fight ; 

 but they did not feem difpofed to accept the cTiallenge ; 

 ;and therefore both he and prince Bliicher took up their re- 

 ifpeftive politions ; their movements having been commu- 

 nicated to each other, and Blucher having been requefted 

 to fupport the duke in cafe of an attack on the next day 

 with two divifions of his army. On the 17th no movement 

 of any confequence took place. 



i The pofition which the Britifh army now took up, had 

 ibeen chofen with great judgment, from its proximity to the 

 lextenfive foreft of Soignies. The village of Waterloo lies 

 upon the great road from Bruflels to Charleroi, embofomed 

 in the foreit ; and a few fcaltered houles extend to another 

 fmall village called Mont- Saint-John : about a quarter of a 

 mile in front of this latter village, there is a rifing ground 

 'which croffes the great road already mentioned, and extends 

 from a farm-houfe called Ter-la-Haye on the left, to the 

 Village of Merbe-le-Braine on the right, croffing alfo the 

 Iroad from BruflTels to Nivelles, which diverges from the 

 ;road to Charleroi at the village of Mont-SaUit-John. It 

 was on this rifing ground that the^allied army, command^-d 

 by field-marfiial the duke of Wellington, or more properly 

 the firft corps of that army, took up its pofition on the 

 levening of the 17th of June. The fecond corps, under the 

 command of lord Hill, (with the exception of the fourth 

 idivifion and the troops of the Netherlands, under prince 

 ;Frederick of Orange, who were left to guard an important 

 'pofition at Halle,) was placed in referve on the right of the 

 ipofition, and in front of tlie village of Merbe-le-Brainc, 

 Iwith its right refting on Braine-la-Leud. The infantry 

 bivouacked a little under the ridge of the rifing ground, 

 ■and the cavalry in the hollow ground in rear of the infantry. 

 [Excepting a tew roimd fhot which the enemy occafionally 

 [fired while our troops were deploying into their pofition, 

 ;nothing of any moment occurred during that afternoon or 

 jthe whole of the night. 



, It had rained almoft inceffantly during the greater part 

 jof the 17th, and the weather was very lempeftuous during 

 |the night. The ground afforded no cover for tlie troops ; 

 |fo that generals, officers, and men, were equally cxpofed to 

 |tlie rain, which fell in torrents. Buonaparte flcpt at the 

 |farm-houfe of Caillou near Planchenois ; and his army 

 halted in the neighbourhood of Genappc. The duke of 



Wellington flept at a fmall public houfe in the village of 

 Waterloo. 



As foon as day-light appeared on the morning of the 

 1 8th, the Britifh army could perceive, from its pofition, 

 immenfe mafils of the enemy moving in every direftion, and 

 before two o'clock the vthole of his force appeared to be 

 coUeftcd on the heights and in the ravines, which ran 

 parallel with the Britifli pofition. 



The French army, when concentrated in front of the 

 pofition of tlie allies, confiltcd of four corps of infantry 

 including the guard, and three corps of cavalry, the whole 

 number of men being uncertain, and probably overrated by 

 thofe who ii'.te them at i20,oco. 



At 1 1 o'clock every thing feemed to indicate tliat the 

 awful contefl; would foon commence ; — a conteft in which 

 viftory was obftinately and valiantly difputed on both fides, 

 but which at laft terminated in the complete triumph of the 

 duke of Wellington, and total defeat and political annihila- 

 tion of Buonaparte. The weather had cleared up, and the 

 fun (hone a little as the battle began, and the armies within 

 800 yards of each other, the duke of Wellington, with his 

 ufual quicknefs, had foon perceived the natureof the attacks 

 that would be made upon lii.s line ; and when the troops 

 flood to their arms in the morning, he gave orders that they 

 fliould be formed into fquares of half battalions, and in that 

 ttate await the enemy's attack. 



Marflial Ney, as foon as Buonaparte's order was com- 

 municated to him, direfted the divifion of infantry com- 

 manded by Jerome Buonaparte, to advance upon Hougo- 

 mont ; and about half paft eleven o'clock, the firft columns- 

 of this divifion made their appearance upon the ravine, or 

 rather hollow ground, which leads down from the pubhc- 

 houfe of La Belle Alliance to tlie Chateau. The two 

 brigades of artillery belonging to general Cooke's divifion 

 had taken up a pofition on the ridge of the hill in front of 

 the line of infantry, and the moment the enemy made his 

 appearance, our nine-pounders opened upon his columns. 

 The artillery officers had got the range fo accurately, that 

 almoft every fhot and ftiell fell in the very centre of his 

 mafiTes; fo great was the effeft produced by thefe few guns, 

 that all Jerome's bravery could not make his fellows advance, 

 and in a moment they were again hid by tlie rifing ground 

 from under cover of which they had but juft emerged. 

 This, which was the commencement of the aftion, was con- 

 fidered a very favourable omen by our brave fellows who 

 witnefled it ; and for a (hort time they were much amufed 

 with the manoeuvres of Jerome's divifion, and the cautious 

 manner in which it feemed to emerge from its hiding-place. 



This Hate of things, however, did not continue long, as 

 other great movements were obferved to be preparing 

 throughout the enemy's hue. A powerful artillery was 

 brought to bear upon our guns that had fo annoyed his firll 

 advance, and general Jerome's troops gained the outfltirts 

 of the wood, where they became engaged with our light 

 troops. By mid-day the cannonade was general. 



The great objeft of Buonaparte, in this important battle, 

 was evidently to force our centre, and at the fame time turn 

 our right flank ; fo that by furrounding and taking pri- 

 foners, as it were, one half of our line, he might completely 

 paralyfe and deftroy the effeft of the other half. Unfor- 

 tunately, our centre was the weakeft part of our pofition, 

 and upon that part he direfted his firft grand attack to be 

 made about noon. 



An immenfe mafs of infantry, followed by a column of 

 upwards of twelve thoufand cavalry, advanced upon the 

 points occupied by the third and fifth divifions, and the left 



of 



