P A 
arreft their progrefs, and drove them back with great 
daughter. The moment was critical. The duke of 
Wellington, from the extraordinary lofs of men, was 
obliged to bring up the laft of his referve, and to with¬ 
draw his artillery into the fecond pofition. Viftory now 
liung in the balance in fuch a manner, that, to all appear¬ 
ance, a grain would have turned the i'cale. The Britifh 
line had to fultain the moft impetuous attacks from 
the French ; and one time the victory appeared more than 
doubtful. The duke was aware of the importance of the 
moment. He rallied the Brunfwick troops, and faid, 
“My brave men, we mull not be beat.” He put himfelf 
at their head ; and, charging the French, again reftored the 
combat. The prince of Orange and the Belgian troops 
conduced themfelves with the greateft gallantry, being in 
that part of the line which marfhal Ney attacked in per- 
fon. In this attack the prince was wounded by a ball in 
the (houlder, which obliged him to be removed from the 
field. The French troops, in fome places, approached 
within forty paces, and in others within twenty yards, of 
the Britifh artillery, which opened a dreadful fire upon 
them. The French, however, continued to fight with 
great refolution, notvvithftanding the numbers which fell 
in their ranks at every fire, and which they clofed up with 
the greateft coolnefs. The firft brigade of guards, and a 
Dutch brigade, made a dreadful Daughter amongll them, 
and more than 300 fell at this point. The Britifh 92ft, 
although reduced to lefs than 200 men, charged a column 
of the imperial guards; and, being followed and fup- 
ported by the Scotch greys, the whole was nearly cut to 
pieces. The carnage was dreadful. The imperial guard, 
however, once more advanced to the attack, covered by 
their artillery. As foon as they reached the ridge, the 
Britifh foot-guards, who had lain on the ground for the 
purpofe of avoiding the fire of the enemy’s artillery, were 
now ordered to rife. The duke had watched their ap¬ 
proach ; and, when they were within a hundred yards of 
his men, he exclaimed, “ Up, guards, and at them.” They 
needed no fecond bidding. In an inftant they fprangup, 
and rufhed upon theattacking columns with the bayonet. 
This charge even the imperial guard could not Hand 
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 Britifh and 
French guards were, for the firft time, fairly oppofed to 
each other. The fhock for a moment w»as dreadful. The 
French refufed to take or give quarter, and the carnage 
was horrible ; at laft the whole of their ranks were 
broken, all difcipline was at an end, and they began to 
give way in the utmoft confufion. The tirailleurs of the 
imperial guard gallantly attempted to cover their retreat, 
and, for a fhort time, did coniiderable execution among 
the Britifh; but, being charged by a body of cavalry, 
they fled in diforder. 
Thus terminated the laft dreadful effort of the French 
againft the Britifh line. In this attack the dead of the 
French guards, without exaggeration, lay in fe&ions, 
men and horfes together. From this moment the fpirit of 
the French foldier was fairly broken; the cries of Vive 
I'Empereur werefilenced; andNapoleon, with grief, beheld 
the field of battle covered with the bodies of his belt 
troops, and on the exertions of whom were placed his 
firmeft and his laft reliance. Marfhal Ney, who had wit- 
nefled many fevere battles, declared that he had never 
witneffed fuch a fcene of carnage as the field at this mo¬ 
ment exhibited. To reanimate the troops, when leading 
them to the laft attack, Bonaparte had recourfe either to a 
direfft falfehood, or elfe he muft have been grievoufly and 
culpably ignorant of his fituation. He caufed to be cir¬ 
culated throughout the army that Grouchy had arrived, 
and was overwhelming the Pruffian rear. “ At feven in 
the evening,” laid Ney, “ after the moft dreadful carnage 
I ever witneffed, general Labedoyere came to me with a 
meflage from the emperor, that marfhal Grouchy had ar¬ 
rived on our right, and was attacking the left of the united 
Vol. XVIII. No. 1263. 
R I S. 515 
Englifh and Pruffian army. This general (Labedoyere), 
continued he, circulated this intelligence to animate the 
troops.” 
5. While thislaftattack was goingon againft the Britifh 
line, the whole of the fourth corps and a part of the fe¬ 
cond corps of the Pruffian army, had fucceffively come up, 
attacking, as they arrived, the right wing of the French 
with the greateft impetuofity. Marfhal Blucher had alfo 
joined with the firft corps. The head of this corps reached 
Ter la Haye foon after feven o’clock, and immediately at¬ 
tacked and drove the French from that place, and alfo 
from Pappelotte, and Frifchermont, and completely 
opened the communication between the Britifh army and 
the fourth corps, which had before been feparated. At 
this extremity of the allied line were ftatior.ed the troops 
of Naffau, whofe uniforms were fo much like thofe of the 
French, that the Pruffians miftook the former for the 
latter, attacked them with the utmoft fury, and drove 
/hem from their poft, before difcovering their error. The 
Pruffians, which had now arrived on the right of the 
French army, amounted to 40,000 men. 
The duke of Wellington beheld with fatisfaflion the 
firm and determined advance of the Pruffians againft the 
right wing of the enemy, which was giving way every mo¬ 
ment. The Pruffian artillery formed one tremendous 
roar, fromTer la Haye to Planchenoit. “ There goes old 
Blucher at laft, and like himfelf,” exclaimed the duke. 
With the eye of the eagle when in f'earch of his prey, he 
now perceived that the viftory was his. He faw Napoleon’s 
laurels withering upon his brow; and, with his cha- 
rafteriftic decifion and energy, he feized that fortunate 
moment. He had particularly noticed the confufion in 
which the enemy had retired from his laft attack, and alfo 
that the march of general Bulow by Frifchermont upon 
Planchenoit and la Belle Alliance had begun to take 
effedd. He immediately ordered the whole line of in¬ 
fantry, fupported by the cavalry and artillery, to advance 
againft the French. At the fame time, he put himfelf at 
the head of the foot-guards 5 and having addrefied a few 
words to them, to which they replied with a general 
hurrah, he led them on with his hat in his hand. The 
whole army advanced with the greateft intrepidity up the 
oppofite heights, notwithftanding the fire of the French 
from 150 pieces of cannon. So impetuous and furious 
was this attack, that all idea of quarter, on either fide, 
was for fome time out of the queftion; and the conteft 
thus became a perfedd maffacre. The French polition 
was foon carried ; and, their artillerymen having deferted 
their guns, the whole army fled in the utmoft confufion. 
Entire columns threw down their arms and cartouch- 
boxes, in order to efcape the better; and 150 pieces of 
cannon, with their ammunition, fell into the hands of the 
conquerors. What added to the confufion, the Pruffian 
corps, under general Zeithen, with which marfhal Blucher 
was, charged the right flank of the French, near the vil¬ 
lage of Smouhen, at the fame time that the duke of Wel¬ 
lington attacked them in front. The right wing of the 
French army was broken in three places. The battle at 
this point was for a fhort time moft fanguinary. Officers 
of all ranks expofed themfelves like the meaneft foldier. 
General Gneifenau, the'chief of Blucher’s ftaff, had firft 
one horfe killed by a cannon-ball, and then another twice 
wounded by mufket-balls. His fab’re W'as once beat out 
of the fcabbard, and once fhot to pieces. 
Previous to the engagement on this day, Napoleon had 
taken along with him a farmer, of the name of Lacofte, as 
a guide, to point out to him the country. This man re¬ 
lated, that, when Bonaparte faw the Pruffian troops ad¬ 
vancing, and fuppofing them to be the troops of 
Grouchy, he defired an officer to inform him whofe co¬ 
lumns thefe were that advanced towards the right ? 
“ Pruffian,” was the reply. A death-like palenefs, for a 
moment, overfpread his countenance; but he did not fay 
a word. 
Although the French army was now in one mafs of 
6 Z confufion, 
