Charles Dalton

“ And yet in 1807 Napoleon had not yet reached the zenith of his power. For the next xifive years he held the destinies of nearly the whole of Europe in his own hands. Monarchies of long standing were disestablished and new kingdoms—Napoleonic kingdoms—were raised up in their place. Immense French armies traversed Europe from Portugal to the heart of Russia, and every capital within that limit was, in its turn, subjugated to the French yoke. But in 1808 two British Generals stemmed the tide of French conquest in the Peninsula, viz., Sir John Moore and Sir Arthur Wellesley. ”

“ The horses of the first rank of cuirassiers, in spite of all the efforts of their riders, came to a standstill, shaking and covered with foam, at about twenty yards’ distance from our squares, and generally resisted all attempts to force them to charge the line of serried steel. On one occasion two gallant French officers forced their way into a gap momentarily created by the discharge of artillery; one was killed by Stables, the other by Adair. Nothing could be more gallant than the behaviour of those veterans, many of whom had distinguished themselves on half the battle-fields of Europe. ”

“ Another instance of Frazer’s firmness of character is exhibited in the speedy way in which he made the Prussians, two days after Waterloo, surrender all the French guns which had been captured by the British, and which the rapacious Prussians had annexed, and “regularly parked with Prussian sentries.” Frazer’s interesting letters from the Pa. and the Netherlands were published in 1859. These letters stamp the writer as a thorough soldier, a perfect gentleman, a delightful companion, and a modest and unassuming man, possessing a heart that could feel for others’ woes. ”

“ At four o’clock our square was a perfect hospital being full of dead, dying, and mutilated soldiers. The charges of cavalry were in appearance very formidable, but in reality a great relief, as the artillery could no longer fire on us; the very earth shook under the enormous mass of men and horses. I shall never forget the strange noise our bullets made against the breast-plates of Kellerman’s and Millhaud’s cuirassiers, six or seven thousand in number, who attacked us with great fury. ”

“ Commanded the 1st Brigade of Guards at the battle of Nive. The example he set, both at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, had much to do with the victory then obtained over the French. When Napoleon’s “Old Guard” made that gigantic and final effort, on the evening of June 18th, to retrieve the fortunes of the day, it was Maitland’s brigade which checked their advance and drove them headlong down the bloody slope. “Now, Maitland, now’s your time!” said Wellington, as the leading column of the French Guards approached the crest of the slope where the British Guards were stationed—the front rank kneeling. ”

“ Siborne immortalises the name of this officer, in his history of the battle of Quatre Bras, as follows:—“A French lancer gallantly charged at the colours of the 44th, and severely wounded Ensign Christie, who carried one of them, by a thrust of his lance, which, entering the left eye, penetrated to the lower jaw. The Frenchman then endeavoured to seize the standard, but the brave Christie, notwithstanding the agony of his wound, with a presence of mind almost unequalled, flung himself upon it—not to save himself, but to preserve the honour of his regiment. ”

“ At Waterloo he bravely led on the 2nd Batt. of the same gallant regiment, and was left for dead on that bloody field, having received several severe wounds in the head and thigh. Owing to the attachment of a faithful non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Ryan, who brought his wounded and insensible commander under the care of skilful medical treatment, he slowly recovered, and with his devoted follower returned home. A chivalric soldier, an honourable and most amiable gentleman, General Hamerton is deeply lamented by all who came within the influence of his high and endearing qualities. ”

“ His troop came in for the hottest part of the battle on Waterloo Day, and suffered considerably in loss of men and horses. Sir George Wood, R.A., paid the battery a visit on that memorable afternoon, and was surprised to find so many cannon balls whizzing round his ears. “D——n it, Mercer,” he exclaimed, “you seem to be having a hot time of it here.” Hot it was for all parties concerned, but the gallant way in which the gunners worked their guns kept the French cavalry from reaching the infantry squares behind Mercer’s battery. ”

“ About six o’clock we perceived formation columns, cavalry and infantry, formed in a great mass—the enemy’s artillery was brought to a more forward position—and again he began to cannonade us. He opened a fire, the most tremendous ever known, I believe, in the annals of war—250 pieces, very close, throwing shells and round shot, grape, and every instrument of destruction. It is really not exaggeration to say we could not ride quick over the ground for the bodies of men and horses. ”

“ The first met a soldier’s death at Corunna, and the latter was superseded by an incapable commander. But the British Government soon found that they had made a grievous mistake, and Wellesley was again entrusted with the supreme command in Portugal. Then commenced that series of brilliant campaigns which liberated Portugal and Spain from the Napoleonic grasp, and only ceased after the battle of Toulouse by Napoleon’s abdication at Fontainebleau. In the spring of 1814 England had a large army, composed for the most part of seasoned veterans, who were fit for anything and worth millions. ”

“ Waggon Train took up a new position in the Army List, viz., after the cavalry and newly-raised corps, the “Staff Corps of Cavalry,” so called to distinguish it from the “Royal Staff Corps,” which followed in the wake of the Rifle Brigade. The Waggon Train was reduced about twenty years after Waterloo, and after the Crimean War a corps called “The Military Train” sprung into existence, which, like its predecessor, was chiefly officered by old soldiers who had won their commissions while serving in the ranks. ”

“ The following description of the square of the Grenadier Guards during the afternoon of Waterloo day is by Capt. Gronow of that regt., and is certainly worthy of remembrance, exhibiting as it does the desperate heroism of the British resistance:—
“During the battle our squares presented a shocking sight. Inside we were nearly suffocated by the smoke and smell from burnt cartridges. It was impossible to move a yard without treading upon a wounded comrade, or upon the bodies of the dead; and the loud groans of the wounded and dying were most appalling. ”

“ F. The 3rd Batt. of the Royal Scots, which was reduced in 1817, distinguished itself in a particular manner at Quatre Bras. “Being removed from the centre of the 5th Division, it charged and routed a column of the enemy. It was then formed in a square to receive the cavalry, and though repeated attacks were made, not the slightest impression was produced. Wherever the lancers and cuirassiers presented themselves they found a stern and undismayed front which they vainly endeavoured to penetrate.” ”

“ Now this was the total of the force sent under Marshal Grouchy, on the 17th June, to follow the Prussian army, which had been defeated at Ligny by Napoleon on the previous day, and which was supposed to be in full retreat on Namur and Liége, so that, in round numbers, Napoleon was himself considered equal to a whole army corps! If the British had a Picton, the French had a Ney, who was considered almost Napoleon’s equal in handling troops in the field, and who had pressed us so sorely at Quatre Bras, on the 16th of June, when only half our army had arrived at that position. ”

“ H.B. Seymour, 18th Hussars, W.
“The strongest man in the British Army,” who is said to “have slain more men at Waterloo than any other single individual.” Was taken prisoner on the 18th June, but rescued by some of our cavalry sent by Wellington himself for the purpose. He is the identical “Capt. Trevanion” in Charles Lever’s Harry Lorrequer, who was grossly insulted by a French officer—a noted bully—at a restaurant in Paris a few weeks after Waterloo. ”

“ Then the doctors came, and took out the bullets from the wounds of the soldiers.... The Prussians came by, and then the English, shouting their cries of victory.
“Not far away soldiers were digging trenches in our fields to bury the dead. There were so many of them, so many of them”—and the old peasant covered her face with her hands as though to shut out the terrible picture. “I saw one woman of Gotarville cut off the fingers of a Prussian officer, sorely hurt but still living, to secure the jewelled rings that he wore. ”

“ I extract the following from the above memoir:—“On the 19th Jan., 1812, he was one of the officers who volunteered and led the stormers at the taking of Ciudad Rodrigo, and was fortunate enough to come out unscathed, although one of the first to enter that deadly pass. At the storming of Badajoz on the 6th April, 1812, his name again stood on the list of volunteers for the Forlorn Hope, but as it was claimed by a senior officer of the division, he was obliged to limit his expectations to one of the posts of honour with the storming party. ”

“ It is no slight to Wellington to say that Napoleon was, for rapid and offensive warfare, by far the first general of his xiiiday. In defensive warfare Wellington was much in advance of his great rival. Taking the words out of Philip the Second’s mouth, Wellington might have with truth said, “Time and I against any other two.” Once more: Wellington himself told Earl Stanhope that he considered the presence of Napoleon with the French army at Waterloo fully equivalent to an additional force of 30,000 men! ”

“ In the Waterloo campaign, Frazer again commanded the R.H.A., and “his high reputation as an artillery officer, combined with his firmness of character, prevailed on the Duke of Wellington, who was at first not favourable to the exchange, to permit him to substitute 9-pounders for 6-pounders in the troops of Horse Artillery serving with the army. To this exchange, which preceded the battle of Waterloo, may justly be ascribed much of the success of that memorable 210day.” ”

“ Hamilton, who was an officer in the 10th Hussars at Waterloo, was a great favourite with all of us boys at Elizabeth College, and always on the 18th June the old chap came sailing down the Grange with the Waterloo medal on his clerical coat, just about our play hour, and we used to drag him into the playground, and cheer him till we made him cry and we were hoarse. ”

“ They had lately been in his service, and had a settled conviction that Wellington would be defeated and his army cut to pieces. “Come over to us, brave Belgians!” shouted a French regiment at Waterloo to their Belgian opponents in the battle. But the “brave Belgians” preferred making “a retrograde movement for strategical reasons,” and retired from the field, carrying news of Wellington’s defeat to Brussels.
Now for Napoleon’s army: This consisted on the 15th of June of about 128,000 men [A] —mostly veterans who had served in many campaigns, and to whom defeat was rare. ”

“ On 18th June, 1816, Ensign Ewart, and other Waterloo officers, were entertained at a public banquet in Edinburgh. “Nearly 400 noblemen and gentlemen sat down to an elegant dinner in the Assembly Rooms, the Rt. Hon. Wm. Arbuthnot, Lord Provost of the city, in the chair. After several toasts had been given and duly honoured, Sir Walter (then Mr.) Scott proposed a bumper to the health of Ensign Ewart, late of the Scots Greys, whose bravery was conspicuous where he took a French Eagle, and killed with his own hand three of Napoleon’s guard. ”

“ An amusing anecdote relative to this officer is given in the United Service Journal for 1838. Col. A. Hamilton of this regt., had a very valuable charger at Waterloo, and knowing that if it was shot in the battle he would only get the Government price of £20 for another charger, he exchanged horses, before going into action at Quatre Bras, with his steady old quartermaster, who, being a non-combatant, was to remain in the rear. The quartermaster’s horse was what is called a “safe convenience,” but the colonel’s charger was very high-spirited and fresh. ”

“ A gallant military veteran, who has died at the great age of ninety-four, was reckoned one of the four surviving officers of the British Army present at the battle of Waterloo. Colonel Basil Jackson, born at Glasgow on June 27, 1795, was son of Major Basil Jackson; he entered the Military College in 1808, and, having received his commission as ensign, did not join a Line regiment, but was transferred to the Royal Staff Corps, where he learned the duties of the Quartermaster-General’s Department and engineering. ”

“ Lord Harris, K.C.H. and C.B., Col.-in-Chf., 73rd Regt. Son of the famous Gen. Sir George Harris, of Seringapatam renown, who was created a baron in Aug., 1815. Bn. 17th Jan., 1782. Served under his father in India, and was one of the first to enter the breach at Seringapatam. At Waterloo the 73rd were literally cut to pieces, and at the close of the battle only fifty unwounded men were left out of a total of from 500 to 600 men. “Once, and once only, during the dreadful carnage at Waterloo did the stern 73rd hesitate to fill up a gap which the relentless iron had torn in their square. ”