Brussels having been described a thousand times over by pens far abler than mine, I conceive it to be quite unnecessary to enter upon a lengthened eulogy of the fascinating squares, parks, and walks, of that celebrated city, and therefore shall proceed to describe the country sixteen miles to the south of it, as it appeared to me on the memorable 16th, 17th and 18th days of June 1815. Before doing so, however, I shall lay before my readers a state, shewing the distribution of the British and Hanoverian troops on the day preceding the battle of Quatre Bras, and also a few particulars illustrative of our proceedings, and that of our great Leader, from the time that the latter received the first intelligence of Bonaparte's movement across the frontier, down to that hour in which we quitted the capital of Belgium to meet our antagonists on the plains of Quatre-Bras.
Cavalry.
The whole were under the orders of Lieutenant-General
The Earl of Uxbridge.
1st Brigade,—Major-General Lord Edward Somerset,
The 1st and 2nd Life Guards, Horse Guards (Blue) and
1st Dragoon Guards.
2nd Brigade,—Major-General Sir William
Ponsonby, k.c.b.
The 1st, 2nd (Scot's Greys) and 6th Dragoons.
3rd Brigade,—Major-General Sir W. Dornberg, k.c.b.
The 1st and 2nd Light Dragoons, King's German Legion
and the British 23rd Light Dragoons.
4th Brigade,—Major-General Sir Ormsby Vandeleur, k.c.b.
The 11th, 12th, and 16th Light Dragoons.
5th Brigade,—Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, k.c.b.
The 2nd, 7th, and 15th Hussars.
6th Brigade,—Major-General Sir Richard Hussey
Vivian, k.c.b.
The 1st, 10th, and 18th Hussars.
7th Brigade,—Col. Baron Sir F. De-Arentscheldt, k.c.b.
The 3rd Hussars and 13th Light Dragoons.
Infantry.
1st Brigade,—Major-General Peregrine Maitland,
The 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 1st Foot Guards.
2nd Brigade,—Major-General Sir John Byng, k.c.b.
The 3rd Battalion of the Coldstream, and 2nd Battalion of
the 3rd Foot Guards.
3rd Brigade,—Major-General Frederick Adam.
The 1st Battalions of the 52nd and 71st, and 2nd Battalion
95th Rifle Regiment.
4th Brigade,—Colonel H. Mitchell,
The 3rd Battalion 14th, the 23rd and 51st Regiments.
5th Brigade,—Major-General Sir Charles Halket, k.c.b.
The 33rd and 2nd Battalions of the 30th, 69th, and 73rd
Regiments.
6th Brigade,—Major-General Johnson,
The 54th, 2nd Battalions of 35th and 59th, and 1st Battalion
of the 91st Regiment.
7th Brigade,—Major-General Du Plat,
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions King's German
Legion.
8th Brigade,—Major General Sir James Kemp, k.c.b.
The 28th, 32nd and 1st Battalions 79th and 95th Regiments.
9th Brigade,—Major-General Sir Denis Pack, k.c.b.
The 3rd Battalion Royals, 2nd Battalion, 44th, the 42nd
and 92nd Regiments.
10th Brigade,—Major-General Sir John Lambert.
The 1st Battalions 4th and 27th, the 2nd Battalion, 81st
and 40th Regiment.
1st Division,—Major-General George Cook,
The 1st and 2nd Brigades.
2nd Division,—Lieutenant-General Sir Henry
Clinton, k.g.c.b.
The 3rd and 7th British Brigades, and 3rd Hanoverian
Brigade.
3rd Division,—Lieutenant-General Baron Sir Charles
Alten, k.c.b.
The 5th British 1st Hanoverian, and 1st Brigade King's
German Legion.
4th Division,—Lieutenant-General Sir Charles
Colville, k.g.c.b.
The 4th and 6th British, and 6th Hanoverian Brigade.
5th Division,—Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas
Picton, k.g.c.b.
The 8th and 9th British, and 5th Hanoverian Brigade.
1st Corps of Infantry,—General, His Royal Highness the
Prince of Orange, k.g.c.b.
The 1st, 3rd and 5th Divisions.
2nd Corps,—Lieutenant-General, Lord Hill, k.g.c.b.
The 2nd and 4th Divisions.
The 10th Brigade being composed of troops just arrived from America, only joined us on the morning of the 18th, and at that date were not, I believe, placed in any division.
Artillery.
Colonel Sir George Wood.
The exact number of guns in the field I cannot positively state, but they were estimated at from 140 to 160.