PARIS. 
K They muft be fent quickly, that, when we are victorious, 
I may arm with them thepeafants in Belgium, Liege, See. 
Give me alfo a lift of Belgian officers who are here.” 
Every thing being now ready, the French army broke 
up from Beaumont at day-break on the 15th of June, 
and commenced their march for the Sambre. The advance 
of Bonaparte was bold and Bidden. His whole force 
advanced at all points by Thuin and Lopez, along both 
banks of the river ; upon Charleroy, Marchienne-au-Pont, 
and Goffelies ; where the firft corps of the Pruffian army, 
under general Ziethen, was ftationed. The ad corps at¬ 
tacked the outpofts of the Pruffians, drove them in, and 
purfued them as far as Marchienne-au-Pont. At the fame 
time, the light cavalry of the French, following the 2d 
corps as far as Marchienne, turned to the right, after crof- 
fing the Sambre, and pufhed along the left bank as far as 
Charleroy. Some fevere fighting took place here ; and, 
in confequence of this rapid and unexpected movement, 
Charleroy was taken before the Pruffians had time to de- 
ltroy the bridge. The French then advanced on Goffe- 
lies, a large town fituated on the road to Bruffels, with 
the intention of intercepting, at that quarter, the troops 
driven out of Charleroy. The Pruffians retired in great 
confufion on Fleurus, where their main body was concen¬ 
trated. They were attacked feveral times by the French 
advanced-guard, who afforded them no time to take any 
pofition. The prefence of Napoleon feerned to eleCfrify 
the French troops. Some fquadrons of his guard charged 
the Pruffian infantry feveral times ; in one of which his 
aid-de-camp, general Letort, received a mortal wound. 
The French thus far overcame all the obftacles oppofed 
to their advance. Towards night they ceafed the purfuit; 
and Napoleon, leaving the third corps on the road to Na¬ 
mur, and the fecond at Goffelies on that to Bruffels, re¬ 
turned with his head-quarters to Charleroy. The French 
ltated, that the lofs fuftained by the Pruffians in thefe en¬ 
gagements was 2000 men, 1000 of which were prifoners. 
The French faid that the inhabitants of Belgium received 
them as deliverers. “ The joy of the Belgians,” faid they, 
“ it would be impoffible to deferibe. There were feme 
villages which, on the fight of their deliverers, formed 
dances ; and every where there is a movement which pro¬ 
ceeds from the heart.” 
The adtionsof the 15th were but the prelude to a more 
extenfive and fanguinary a&ion on the following day. 
On the 16th, at four in the morning, theFrench columns 
which remained on the right bank of the Sambre put' 
themfelves in march and paffed the river, when the wdiole 
army advanced forward. The command of the left wing, 
confifting of the firft and fecond corps of infantry, com¬ 
manded by generals Erlon and Reille ; and the fecond 
corps of cavalry, confifting of four divifions, under the 
command of count Valmy (Kellerman), was given to 
marffial Ney, who arrived the evening before at head¬ 
quarters, and received orders to march by Goffelies and 
Frafnes on the road to Bruffels. 
All the reft of the army, under the immediate command 
of Napoleon, prepared to march againft Blucher. The 
right wing under the command of marlhal Grouchy, con¬ 
fifting of the third and fourth corps of infantry, and third 
of cavalry, occupied the height in the rear of Fleurus, 
and were deftined to march upon Sombref. The fixth 
corps, with the remainder of the cavalry, and all the im¬ 
perial guards, advanced from Charleroy. 
The Pruffian army was ported on the heights between 
Brie and Sombref, and beyond the latter place, occupying 
at the fame time, in great force, the villages of St. Amand 
and Ligny in their front. The whole under the immediate 
command of marlhal Blucher, confided of three corps, 
and amounted to 80,000 men. On their right was Ra¬ 
tioned a confiderable force of Dutch and Belgian troops, 
12 or 13,000 ftrong, under the command of the prince of 
Orange, who, on the 15th, had repul fed an attack made 
by the enemy on the pofition of Frafnes. Such were the 
pofitions and fuch the ftrength of the contending armies 
531 
on the 16th. We muft now proceed to notice the move¬ 
ments of the army under the duke of Wellington. 
The intelligence of Bonaparte’s movements reached 
Brufiels on the evening of the 15th, at which time the 
duke of Wellington, and molt of his officers, were at a 
ball given by the duchefs of Richmond. Nothing, how¬ 
ever, being known at which point the enemy intended 
to attack, orders were given to the troops in Bruffels and 
the neighbourhood to prepare to march. On the fame 
evening, the duke received difpatches from Blucher, with 
the information that Charleroy was taken, and that the 
French were advancing in the direfition of Fleurus. Or¬ 
ders were immediately ifl'ued for the troops to march in 
the direction of Quatre Bras ; and, at the fame time, the 
cavalry, artillery, and guards, who were ftationed at 
Enghien, were directed to move in the fame direction. 
The fpefifacle at Brufiels, as the troops were collecting 
and falling into their ranks, is deferibed to have been 
molt peculiar and impreffive. It was one o’clock in the 
morning of the 16th when the bugle founded, fummoning 
the foldiers to their proper rendezvous. The officers had 
been in a buftle of preparation for the previous hours fince 
the evening, when they received orders to hold themfelves 
in readinefs. Brufiels was agitated and anxious in all her 
hearts ; every houfe was the feene of adieus, not the lefs 
tender and forrowful on account of the ffiortnefs of the 
intimacy that had preceded them. The troops commenced 
their march before it was day-light. Among the firft: 
to mufter in Bruffels were the 4ad and 92d highland regi¬ 
ments. The hafty march was long and painful. The of¬ 
ficers, though they knew the enemy had attacked the 
Pruffians, did not think that they were on the road to 
immediate battle. But the faCf was fo. As early as five 
o’clock in the morning of the 16th, fome Belgian troops 
under the command of the prince of Weimar, which the 
preceding evening had been forced back from Frafnes to 
Quatre Bras, were attacked by part of the left wing of 
the French army, commanded by marlhal Ney. The 
prince of Weimar, being hard preifed, was forced to fall 
back ; but being reinforced with another brigade by the 
prince of Orange, he was enabled to regain fo much of 
the ground that had been loft, as to command the com¬ 
munications, leading from Nivelles and Brufiels, with 
marlhal Blucher. The combat then continued, without 
any refult, till noon ; when the French were greatly re¬ 
inforced, and quickly returned to the combat with over¬ 
whelming numbers. The prince of Orange himfelf was 
forced to give way, and by two o’clock had fallen back 
to Quatre Bras. 
In the mean time, the Britifli troops from Bruffels were 
pulhing forward to this point with thegreateft expedition. 
The duke of Wellington remained fome hours in Bruf¬ 
fels after the troops had quitted it. He probably waited 
to hear news from the more diftant divifions of his army, 
in reply to the orders fent them over-night. He then fet 
off for the feene of aftion on horfeback, followed by four 
or five gentlemen ; and arrived on the field before the 
troops j at which time the Belgians w’ere falling back. 
Soon afterwards the Britilh regiments began to arrive, 
one by one. Each, as it arrived, marched direfilly into 
the field, and took up its pofition. The troops belonging 
to the fifth divifion, which confifted of two brigades, was 
commanded by lieutenant-general fir Thomas Pifiton. 
This divifion was followed by the duke of Brunfwick’s 
corps ; and after them marched the Hanoverian infantry, 
and the contingent of Naflau, The whole confifted of 
about 15,000 men ; and they were without either cavalry 
or artillery. Sir Thomas Pifiton’s divifion, already men¬ 
tioned, arrived at Quatre Bras at the moment when the 
enemy was about to commence a freffi attack, which 
would have put them in poffeffion of the great road to 
Brufiels, and feparated the Britilh from the Pruffian army. 
The troops compofing this divifion had previoufly marched 
about twenty miles in a warm fummer day; and, as fcarcely 
any water was to be found on the road, were both thirfty 
and 
