WATERLOO. 



of the Guards, covered by a fire from upwards of one hun- 

 dred pieces of artillery. Thefe columns, which feemed to 

 advance with a certainty of fuccefs, were led by count 

 d'Erlon in perlon. They advanced almoft to the muzzles 

 of our mufliets ; but here they foon found they had Britons 

 to contend with ; our fellows gave them a volley ; and, 

 cheering, rufhed on to the charge, which they did not ftand 

 to receive, and our cavalry emerging from the hollow ground 

 where they had hitherto been concealed from the enemy's 

 view, paffed through the openings between the fquarcs, and 

 charging the enemy's cavalry, fucceeded completely in dif- 

 perfing them, and driving them back upon their own line. 



In this conflid, which was dreadful while jt laited, the 

 enemy was baffled in all his attempts, and, befides the 

 killed and wounded, loll feveral thoufand prifoners and an 

 eagle ; but the Brililh army had alio to lament the lofs of 

 its brighteft ornaments, and his majefty, one of his beft; 

 officers. The gallant lir Thomas Pifton fell, mortally 

 wounded, in leading on the fifth divifion. 



About 3 o'clock, when Buonaparte found that Jerome's 

 divifion could not drive the guards from Hougomont, he 

 ordered the chateau to be fet on fire. The (lielh from 

 feveral mortars which were brought to bear upon the houfes, 

 foon had the defired effeft : but our troops, retiring into 

 the garden, did not yield one inch of their ground ; and the 

 only thing which the enemy gained by this cruel meafure, 

 was the dellruftion of a few of our wounded, who were too 

 ill to be removed, and who fell a prey to the flames. The 

 troops in La Haye Sainte, having expended tlieir ammuni- 

 tion, were obliged to retire for a moment from that point, 

 and the enemy got poflefGon of the houfe and garden ; but 

 as foon as a reinforcement of our troops could be moved 

 up, he was driven from that as well as from every other 

 point which he had attacked : and at no period during the 

 day, notwithllanding the heavy maffes of infantry and 

 cavalry which were advanced againtl our centre, time after 

 time, was he ev«r able to force our pofition ; and the pof- 

 feffion of the advanced pod of La Haye Sainte for a few 

 minutes, may be faid to have been the greateft advantage he 

 ever gained. The battle continued to rage with unabated 

 fury, and the number of brave men who were continually 

 falling on both fides was very great, while the rapidity with 

 which the columns of attack fucceeded each other, feemed 

 to indicate for a time, that the refources of the enemy were 

 inexhauftible. The artillery on both fides was well ferved : 

 but Buonaparte had upwards of two hundred and fifty 

 pieces in the field ; while the train of the allied army under 

 the duke of WeUington did not exceed one hundred guns, 

 nine-pounders and fix-pounders. Notwithftanding our in- 

 feriority in this arm, which was ftill more apparent from the 

 fize of the enemy's guns (being twelve-pounders) than from 

 their numbers, ours were fo well fought, that it is allowed 

 by all, they did equal execution. 



About 2 o'clock, the duke of Wellington difpatched an 

 officer of his ftafF to the head-quarters of field-marfhal 

 Blucher, to afcertain his movements, and to know when it 

 was probable his advance would come in contaft with the 

 enemy. This officer found the Pruffian general at the 

 village of Lafnes, where he gained the information required. 



At half paft 7 o'clock, the iffue of the battle was ftill 

 doubtful. The greater part of lord Hill's corps of the 

 Britifii army had been moved up at different periods to the 

 fupport of the firft corps. The whole of Bulow's corps, 

 and part of the fecond corps of the Pruffian army, had 

 arrived at their pofition near Frichermont, and their attack 

 in that direftion was fufficiently powerful to oblige the 



enemy to give way on his right ; which Buonaparte having 

 obferved, conceived that the moment was now arrived when 

 he muft put an end to the engagement. He informed his 

 generals that the firing on the right was occafioned by the 

 arrival of Grouchy's corps. This gave freih hopes to his 

 troops already beginning to defpair, and immediately he 

 gave orders to form the lalt column of attack. This 

 column was compofed principally of the guard, which had 

 hitherto fuffered but httle ; he gave direftions for the whole 

 of the line to fecond this effort, upon which he faid the 

 viftory depended, and placing himfelf at their head, they 

 advanced in double quick time. 



Thefe veteran warriors, fo long efteeemed the firft troops 

 in Europe, advanced acrofs the plain which divided the two 

 armies, with a firmnefs which nothing could exceed ; and 

 though our grape and canifter fliot made dreadful havoc in 

 their ranks, they were never difconcerted for a fingle mo- 

 ment. Our infantry remained firm in their pofition, until 

 the enemy's front line was nearly in contaft with them, 

 when, with the ufual falute of a well-difefted volley, and a 

 Britifh cheer, they rufhed on to the charge with bayonets. 

 This charge even the Imperial guard could not ftand againft, 

 and thofe undaunted troops, who at one time confidered 

 themfelves the conquerors of the world, were obliged to 

 give way. In this attack the Britifti and French guards 

 were, for the firft time, perhaps, fairly oppofed to each 

 other. The (hock for a moment was dreadful. The enemy 

 refufed to take or give quarter, and the carnage was horri- 

 ble. At laft the whole of their ranks was broken, all dif- 

 cipline was at an end, and they began to give way in the 

 utnioft confufion. The duke of Wellington, who was on 

 the fpot, was not inattentive to the manner in which the 

 enemy retired from this attack, and, though his left was 

 ftill preffed, he ordered the whole line of infantry, fupported 

 by the cavalry and artillery, to advance. This order was 

 no fooner given, than our brave fellows rufhed forward from 

 every point. In a moment they carried the enemy's pofition, 

 and obliged him to retire in great diforder, leaving in our 

 poffeffion a num'oer of prifoners, and upwards of one hun- 

 dred and fifty pieces of cannon, with their ammunition, 

 befides two eagles. Before the diforganized maffes of the 

 French had cleared the ravine by which they retired, the 

 right and left of the Britifli line were nearly in contaft, and 

 the enemy in a manner furrounded. What added greatly 

 to the confufion of the beaten foe, was a gallant charge by 

 general Ziethen's corps upon his right flank, at the moment 

 the Britifh advanced in front. Blucher, who had joined 

 with his firft corps at the time this decifive charge was 

 going on, advanced with his gallant troops ; and about nine 

 o'clock the two field-marfhals met at the fmall pubhc-houfe 

 called La Belle Alliance, and mutually faluted each other 

 as viftors. 



The Britifh army, which had been fo warmly engaged for 

 upwards of nine hours, was now halted, and the purfuit left 

 to the brave Pruffians. Though they had already marched 

 many leagues, all fatigue was forgotten when in the prefence 

 of their enemy. About half-pall nine field-marflial Blucher 

 affembled the whole of his fuperior officers, and gave orders 

 for them to fend every man and horfe in purfuit. 



It is not eafy to afcertain the number of thofe who were 

 killed and wounded, from the 15th to the 18th days of 

 June inclufively. The lofs of the guards, in killed and 

 wounded, in the defence of Hougomont, amounted to 28 

 officers, and about 800 rank and file. The foreign corps 

 (Naffau and Biunfwickers) loft about 100. Within half 

 an hour, it is faid, 1500 men were killed in the fmall orchard 



of 



