316 
WATERLOO DIARY. 
1815. 
J uno 17th, 
bivouacked at dusk near Braine le Comte. There was heavy cannon¬ 
ading apparently at some leagues distance in our front, and some of 
the regiments of Cavalry still pushed forward—-a drizzling rain came 
on. We had marched during the day between 50 and 60 miles with 
only one halt sufficiently long to feed with corn. 
Marched before daylight and proceeded through Nivelles, meeting 
many wounded on carriages and some on foot, and arrived at Quatre 
Bras, where there had been a severe affair yesterday at the time we 
heard the cannonade. The Duke of Brunswick was killed, and though 
a great many dead had been buried, the ground was still strewed with 
the bodies of our Highlanders and the French Cuirassiers and their 
horses. The cavalry which had continued to push on last night, failed 
to arrive in sufficient time to be used, and there had been a deficiency 
of Artillery, but notwithstanding, the Infantry had repulsed the French 
and were masters of the position when we arrived this morning. The 
whole army gradually and successively arrived and the French ap¬ 
peared in tolerable force (but at a considerable distance) in our front. 
At about 12 o’ clock I saw one of the Commander-in-Chieffs Aides-de- 
Camp and heard him say to Sir R. Gardiner that the Prussians had been 
beaten with the loss of 12 cannon and a great many men, and that 
their army had retreated. In the afternoon our Infantry seemed to be 
moving off gradually, as I understood, to a position a few miles in our 
rear. The Cavalry formed in three lines, the Hussars facing towards 
the enemy, the Light Cavalry in the second line and the Heavy in the 
third line. Very suddenly it became extremely sultry with the sun 
obscured with a very black cloud. At this time a very thick cloud of 
dust shewed the march of cavalry which seemed to be approaching to 
reinforce the French from a direction in rear of their right, and at the 
same time there was a considerable bustle among those immediately in 
our front. It was known to many (and I had heard it from the same 
beforementioned A.-D.-C.) that Lord Uxbridge had the most positive 
orders to avoid an affair with his Cavalry, but such was not known to 
all, and as the French approached, the utmost silence prevailed along 
the whole of the lines, who evidently expected immediately to be en¬ 
gaged. The French advanced very boldly until their skirmishers, pre¬ 
ceding the column, fired upon our line of videttes, which were ranged 
about 200 yards in front of our first line, which was flanked on the 
left by our troop and on the right by Lieut.-Colonel Smithes. They 
then pushed forward some artillery and immediately began to deploy ; 
the first discharges from our artillery had scarcely been answered 
before the cloud which was hanging above us, burst with the loudest 
clap of thunder I ever heard, and the rain instantly commenced as it 
were in torrents, and at the moment the whole of the Cavalry received 
the order and commenced a rapid retreat. The scene was now com¬ 
pletely changed. A few moments before, our three lines with sabres 
drawn, were watching with breathless interest the approach of the 
French Cavalry, all, excepting superior officers, having no doubt they 
were going to be in personal conflict, and now were retiring liter¬ 
ally at a gallop in three separate columns by different roads. We 
followed the left column. We were pushed by a few light cavalry, and 
