The description of the battle which will now be given will be brief; as it will be necessary subsequently to enter with more detail into the services and conduct of the Artillery during the day.
The battle of Waterloo was—as Sir James Shaw Kennedy expresses it—a drama in five acts. The first was the attack on Hougomont at 11.30 A.M., many precious hours having been wasted by Napoleon; the second was the attack by the French on La Haye Sainte, at half-past 1; the third was the celebrated succession of cavalry attacks on the Allied line between Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, commencing at 4 o’clock; the fourth was the successful attack by Marshal Ney on La Haye Sainte, at 6 o’clock,—an event which if properly used by Napoleon might have had a very grave effect on the result of the battle, for it caused a great gap in the very centre of the Allied line; and the fifth was the celebrated attack on the Allied centre made by 12 battalions of the Imperial Guard, strengthened by the co-operation of Kennedy. other divisions, and supported “by a powerful Artillery, and what remained of the Cavalry.”
In the attack on Hougomont, the battery which most distinguished itself was the famous old I Troop—now D Battery, B Brigade, R.H.A.—under Major R. Bull, whose Peninsular history rivals that of the Chestnut Troop. It was armed with howitzers; and cleared the wood in front of Hougomont of the French troops,—firing shell with wonderful accuracy over the heads of the English Infantry; an operation Frazer’s Letters, p. 556. so delicate, as to make the Duke remark to Sir Augustus Frazer, who ordered it, that he hoped he was not undertaking too much. But Sir Augustus said that he could depend on the troop; and the event proved that he was right: for after ten minutes’ firing, the French were driven out of the wood. Webber Smith’s troop was also hotly engaged during this first attack, and suffered during the day very severely, not merely—as all did—from the French skirmishers, but also from having been on one occasion enfiladed by one of Prince Jerome’s batteries. Captain Bolton’s field brigade, which was to have so great glory at a critical period in the day, was in action at the first attack on Hougomont; and when subsequently moved more to the centre of the Allied line, its place to the left of Hougomont was taken by Norman Ramsay’s troop. It has already been mentioned that the first shot fired by the Allied Artillery at Waterloo was fired by Captain Sandham’s brigade. This was in reply to the first attack on Hougomont; and during the day no fewer than 1100 rounds of ammunition were fired by this single brigade.[47] Although beyond the province of this work to enter into the Infantry details of the battle, it must yet be said that, even in a day when the British Infantry showed a valour and endurance which have never been surpassed, their defence of Hougomont shines with especial lustre. Knowing its value, as strengthening the right of his line, the Duke had taken precautions on the previous night by loopholing the walls to render its defence more practicable. Although set on fire, and attacked repeatedly by superior numbers, it was never lost; its defenders showing a tenacity and courage, unexampled almost in the annals of war.
In the second act of the drama—the first attack on La Haye Sainte—Captain Whinyates’s troop and Major Rogers’ field brigade were first engaged; and it is important to Vide Appendix A. remember, with a view to the argument, which is to come, that it was during this act that the Artillery of the reserve was brought up. Sir Hew Ross’s and Major Beane’s troops suffered at this time great loss. Among the officers alone, Major Beane was killed, and both 2nd captains and two subalterns wounded.
The third act, the charges of the French cavalry, will be fully discussed in the argument, which will be found in the Appendix. Suffice it to say, at present, that they were preceded by clouds of skirmishers, and by a tremendous artillery fire; and that at no period of the day were the losses among the Artillery more severe. Among those who fell then was Norman Ramsay; and it was the lot of his Frazer’s Letters, p. 548. dearest friend to witness and to tell the circumstances. “In a momentary lull of the fire,” wrote Sir Augustus Frazer, “I buried my friend Ramsay, from whose body I took the portrait of his wife, which he always carried next his heart. Not a man assisted at the funeral who did not shed tears. Hardly had I cut from his head the hair which I enclose, and laid his yet warm body in the grave, when our convulsive sobs were stifled by the necessity of Nivelle, 20 June, 1815. returning to renew the struggle.” Two days later, the same hand wrote: “Now that the stern feelings of the day have given way to the return of better ones, I feel with the bitterness of anguish not to be described, the loss of my friend Ramsay. Nor for this friend alone, but for Dated 6 July, 1815. many others, though less dear than poor Norman.” And yet again, writing from Paris, Sir A. Frazer said: “I cannot get Ramsay out of my head; such generosity, such romantic self-devotion as his, are not common.” It was written of Ramsay, “Sibi satis vixit,—non patriæ;” and it is difficult to conceive a nobler eulogy. A man who never tampered with temptation, but trampled on it instead,—he left behind him the story of a life, which is a model for his successors in the Corps to imitate. There is a Waterloo going on daily in a soldier’s life: his enemies are more skilled than Napoleon—they are as relentless as death: they come dressed in many garbs, but their names are sloth, ignorance, and vice; and the weapon by which alone they can be overcome is an earnest and conscientious performance of duty. This weapon must be grasped most firmly, and wielded most mercilessly, when the duties to be performed are monotonous or uninviting; but its unfailing use, even through a life of uninteresting routine, will earn for the soldier, when the night comes, the same words as were spoken of Norman Ramsay, “Satis sibi vixit,—non patriæ.”
The fourth act of the drama witnessed, at 6 o’clock, the capture of La Haye Sainte by the French, after a magnificent defence by Major Baring and part of the King’s German Legion, which only failed from want of ammunition. There seems little doubt that the Duke of Wellington had underrated the importance of this position; indeed, he is said in later years to have admitted it. Fortunately, Napoleon did not sufficiently note the advantage he had gained; and contented himself with using its now friendly cover in preparation for his great final effort.
The Prussians had by this time arrived, and were in force on the French right. At the village of Planchenoit, they were already in such numbers that the French General, Loban, required 16,000 men to keep them in check. On the extreme left of the English, at Papillote, the advanced parties of another Prussian column had also arrived; and, all fear for his left being now at an end, the Duke of Wellington was enabled to strengthen his centre, and his right centre, by moving Vivian’s and Vaudeleur’s Cavalry Brigades from the left, accompanied by Sir Robert Gardiner’s troop of Horse Artillery.
The necessity of a great final effort was now apparent to Napoleon; and the curtain rose on the fifth act of the drama at half-past 7 o’clock. It is a point which the Artilleryman should never forget, that, in this majestic advance of the Imperial Guard, its head was broken and thrown into confusion by the fire of Captain Bolton’s guns, before the 52nd Regiment, and the Guards, did their celebrated work. It was at this time that Captain Bolton was killed, and that the Duke personally gave his orders to Captain Napier,—the 2nd Captain,—as the French approached, to load with canister.
While the advancing columns of the enemy were in the hollow, their artillery carried on a cannonade over their heads, more terrible than had been witnessed during the day. The following description of Mercer’s battery at the end of the day will give the reader an idea of the murderous Mercer’s Journal, vol. i. p. 331. fire to which the Allies were exposed. “Of 200 fine horses,” he wrote, “with which we had entered the battle, upwards of 140 lay dead, dying, or severely wounded. Of the men, scarcely two-thirds of those necessary for four guns remained; and those so completely exhausted, as to be totally incapable of further exertion. Lieutenant Breton had had three horses killed under him; Lieutenant Hincks was wounded in the breast by a spent ball; Lieutenant Leathes on the hip by a splinter; and although untouched myself, my horse had no less than eight wounds. Our guns and carriages were all together in a confused heap, intermingled with dead and wounded horses, which it had not been possible to disengage from them.” And this was but typical of most of the batteries engaged.
As for the Infantry, words cannot paint too highly their endurance on that long day. One regiment had 400 men killed or wounded, before they were allowed to fire a trigger; and all suffered heavily. Yet there was not a word of distrust as regarded their great commander. They pined with all their hearts for permission to attack, instead of lying where they often were—being shot by scores; but discipline was stronger than desire. Even at the worst times, a word from the Duke, or a report that he was coming, sufficed to produce a silence and a steadiness, as perfect as if on parade in a barrack-square. For those who were present, Waterloo was thus a double victory,—over their enemies, and over themselves. True discipline is a succession of such victories.