To Sir G. A. Wood, 24 June, 1815.
Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonald thus described the services of his Adjutant: “In justice to the conduct of Captain Pakenham, who acted as my Adjutant in the battle of the 18th, I feel it a duty I owe this most promising officer to state to you that he made himself equally conspicuous by his coolness and bravery, and the precision with which he conveyed my orders to the troops of Horse Artillery I had the honour to command on that occasion.” Sir Augustus Frazer spoke in equally favourable terms of his Adjutant: Ibid. 23 June, 1815. “I beg to submit my hope that, in the promotion which may be expected, the Horse Artillery may not lose the services of Lieutenant Bell, who, both here and in the Peninsula, has acted as Adjutant of Horse Artillery, and is an officer of much professional merit, whose judgment, intelligence, and unceasing application to the duties of his office, have rendered him very valuable.”
Major Bull thus described the conduct of his gallant troop, now D Battery, B Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery: Major Bull to Sir A. Frazer, 19 June, 1873. “I consider it a duty I owe equally to the officers, non-commissioned officers, gunners, and drivers, to say that, throughout the day, and in every situation, nothing could exceed their coolness, intrepidity, and strict attention to orders; and as a proof of their zeal in the service, at one period of the evening when we were short of ammunition, and H Troop” (Major Ramsay’s) “on our left rather short of gunners, on an application for assistance, several of my men volunteered joining their guns, until our ammunition came up; and as far as was prudent or necessary, I granted their request. I must also beg leave to say that, from Major Cairnes having unfortunately fallen very early in the action, I received the greatest assistance throughout the day from Lieutenant Louis’s activity; and it is but justice to this officer to add, that, when I was under the necessity of quitting the field for half an hour, in consequence of my being wounded, he commanded the troop during my absence in a manner that did himself great credit, and gave me perfect satisfaction at a very arduous period of the action.”
General Colquhoun Grant, in writing of Captain Walcott, To Sir G. A. Wood, dated 15 July, 1815. said: “I beg to recommend this gallant and meritorious officer to your attention.” He added: “I have great pleasure in embracing this opportunity to mention my entire and full approbation of the conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Webber Smith, and the officers and men of his troop” (now B Battery, B Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery), “during the whole of the period they have been attached to the brigade under my command.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonald,—an enthusiastic Horse Artilleryman—in addition to the letter quoted above, wrote Ibid. dated 16 July, 1815. as follows: “In addition to the names of the various officers belonging to the six troops of Royal Horse Artillery, attached to the Cavalry, whose lot it was to command troops on the memorable day of the 18th June, it has occurred to me to be no less my duty to express to you my admiration of the cool and determined conduct of Captain Walcott, who was some time detached from his troop on that day; and who, in the handsomest manner, after the whole of his ammunition was expended, volunteered to take charge of some of the guns of Major Ramsay’s troop, after it had suffered much by the loss of officers. It is also highly satisfactory to me to report to you the equally gallant conduct of Captain Dansey, of Captain Whinyates’s Rocket Troop, which I also had an opportunity of witnessing; and who was wounded when detached with rockets in the chaussée, which crossed the centre of the position. You are already aware, from your own observation, how much all the officers of these troops distinguished themselves on the occasion, and what a noble example they set to the non-commissioned officers and men by whom it was so gallantly initiated. Words are indeed inadequate to express my sense of the conduct of all, where the reputation, which the Horse Artillery had before obtained, was so nobly sustained, if not even surpassed; and which I must plead as my excuse for extending the limits of this communication beyond my original intention, viz., that of drawing your attention to the merits of Captains Walcott and Dansey.”
In reporting the death of Major Lloyd, from his wounds, Dated Paris, 3 Aug. 1815. Sir George Wood wrote: “I can, without hesitation, affirm that a braver, or more zealous officer, never entered a field of battle; and who did his duty on the 16th and 18th to the satisfaction of every General officer.” A few days later, in enclosing a letter from Lieutenant Brereton, Sir Ibid. 17 Aug. 1815. George said: “I have received from every commanding officer the handsomest testimony of the conduct of Lieutenant Brereton, both in the Peninsula, and at the battle of Waterloo; and I have it from General Byng to say that, on the battle of the 16th (the Horse Artillery not being engaged on that day), he proffered his service to act as aide-de-camp, which service he performed to the great satisfaction of the General.” At a subsequent date, in forwarding an application from Major Percy Drummond, Ibid. 8 Oct. 1815. Sir George Wood said: “I have ever found Major Drummond a most active, zealous, and attentive officer, having been under my command on several occasions, particularly in the battle of Waterloo.” In acknowledging a letter from Ibid. 28 Jan. 1816. Major Rogers, Sir George said: “Your company at all times did you every justice, and proved it under your command at the battle of Waterloo, in which your brigade bore a distinguished feature.” Almost every officer who served in the Artillery at Waterloo, received from his gallant commander some official commendation; and, by this means, many Regimental incidents connected with the battle have been handed down. In writing, for example, about an officer who lived to be a revered General in the Corps, Sir George Wood said: Dated Valenciennes, 29 Feb, 1816. “Lieutenant William Anderson has conducted himself in every situation as a good and zealous officer. On the 18th June,—on many occasions during that day,—he carried my orders, and brought off some disabled guns under a severe fire. Having my horses shot, I was forced to dismount him.”
Sir George Wood to Gen. Macleod, dated 3 July, 1815.
At the battle of Waterloo, the Artillery expended 10,400 rounds of ammunition. The amount fired by one battery, Captain Sandham’s, has already been stated; and it may be mentioned here that Captain Whinyates’s troop fired 309 shot, 236 spherical case, 15 common case, and 52 rockets.
Memoir of Sir E. C. Whinyates, p. 3.
The subsequent operations of the English army during the year, in which this history comes, for the present, to an end, will merely be glanced at. The main body of the army marched at once towards Paris; and the damage suffered by the Artillery during the battle was so quickly repaired, that Sir George Wood was able to take every gun with him that had been on the field, with four 18-pounders in addition; Sir George Wood to D.-A.-Gen., dated 3 July, 1815. making a total of 123 pieces of ordnance, and over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, with which the army marched on Paris. The collapse of any opposition, and the ultimate occupation of that city by the Allies, are facts well known to the reader. There were, however, some Artillery operations against the French fortresses, in which some brigades of Artillery, under Sir Alexander Dickson, were engaged. Maubeuge surrendered on the 12th July, and was taken possession of on the 14th, after three days’ open trenches, and firing. Landrecy surrendered on the 21st, and was taken possession of on the 23rd July, after two day’s open trenches, Sir A. Dickson, to D.-A.-G., dated 12 Aug. 1815. and about two hours’ firing. Marienbourg surrendered on the 28th, and was taken possession of on the 30th July, after one day’s open trenches and heavy bombardment. Philippeville was taken possession of on the 10th August, having surrendered on the 8th, after one day’s open trenches and heavy bombardment. Sir Alexander Dickson spoke in the highest terms of the officers and men under his command; he attributed to their energy the fact that at every place he was able to collect, previous to commencing operations, sufficient ordnance and ammunition to have reduced it, as he said, by main force. At Maubeuge, he had 60 guns—30 of which were 24-pounders,—20,000 round shot, and 26,000 shells. At Landrecy he had 60 guns, 24,000 round shot, and 22,000 shells. At Marienbourg, he had 15 mortars, with 3000 shells; and 6 24-pounders arrived, just as the place surrendered. At Philippeville, he had 66 pieces of ordnance, with 17,000 round shot, and 23,000 shells. During these operations, the Artillery was attached to a corps of the Prussian army, by which the sieges of the fortresses were conducted. The terms on which the duties were performed Sir A. Dickson to D.-A.-G., dated 12 Aug. 1815.were somewhat peculiar. “Our line of duty,” wrote Sir A. Dickson, “is to move the battering-train, keep it in order, fix the shells, fill the cartridges, and, in short, do every individual thing except fighting the guns: which my instructions neither authorize me to do, nor would it be pleasant to do, if they did; for we should not get the credit we ought, when working in competition with the Prussian Artillery: whereas, as the duty is conducted now, every fair and just credit is allowed for our exertions, and the service goes on with the utmost cordiality. Prince Augustus of Prussia is chief of the Artillery of that kingdom, and he takes into his own hand very much the application of the artillery; which is very pleasant for me, as I receive all the arrangements and instructions, direct from his Royal Highness. An application is given in every morning at the park during a siege, expressing the ordnance and ammunition required for the next day; and in the evening the Prussian Artillery come to receive their demands. I have, however, a few officers and men of the Royal Artillery in the trenches, to afford any assistance when required; and also to watch the practice, report about the fuzes, &c.”