“Our position being, as I have already observed, without any cover from the fire of the enemy, we were commanded to retire to the rear of the farm, where we took up our bivouac on the field for the night.
“Six privates fell into the enemy’s hands; among these was a little lad (Smith Fyfe) about five feet high. The French general, on seeing this diminutive looking lad, is said to have lifted him up by the collar or breech and exclaimed to the soldiers who were near him, ‘Behold the sample of the men of whom you seem afraid!’ This lad returned a few days afterwards, dressed in the clothing of a French grenadier, and was saluted by the name of Napoleon, which he retained until he was discharged.
“The night passed off in silence: no fires were lit; every man lay down in rear of his arms, and silence was enjoined for the night. Round us lay the dying and the dead, the latter not yet interred, and many of the former, wishing to breathe their last where they fell, slept to death with their heads on the same pillow on which those who had to toil through the future fortunes of the field reposed.”
The principal loss sustained by the Highlanders was at the first onset; yet it was by no means so severe as might have been expected. Lieutenant-colonel Sir Robert Macara, Lieutenant Robert Gordon, and Ensign William Gerrard, 2 sergeants, and 40 rank and file were killed. Including officers, there were 243 wounded.
In the battle of Waterloo, in which the regiment was partially engaged, the 42d had only 5 men killed and 45 wounded. In these last are included the following officers, viz.: Captain Mungo Macpherson, Lieutenants John Orr, George Gunn Munro, Hugh Angus Fraser, and James Brander, and Quarter-master Donald Mackintosh. “They fought like heroes, and like heroes they fell—an honour to their country. On many a Highland hill, and through many a Lowland valley, long will the deeds of these brave men be fondly remembered, and their fate deeply deplored. Never did a finer body of men take the field, never did men march to battle that were destined to perform such services to their country, and to obtain such immortal renown.”
The Duke of Wellington in his public despatches concerning Quatre Bras and Waterloo paid a high compliment to the 42d. “Among other regiments, I must particularly mention the 28th, 42d, 79th, and 92d, and the battalion of Hanoverians.”
The word “Waterloo,” borne on the colours of the regiment, by royal authority, commemorates the gallantry displayed by the regiment on this occasion; a medal was conferred on each officer and soldier; and the privilege of reckoning two years’ service, towards additional pay and pension on discharge, was also granted to the men. It may not be uninteresting to give here a list of the officers of the regiment who were present at the battle of Quatre Bras and Waterloo. It will be seen that while only 3 were killed, few escaped without a wound.
| OFFICERS AT WATERLOO—1815. | ||
| Lieut.-Col. | Sir Robert Macara, | Killed. |
| Major | Robert Henry Dick, | Wounded. |
| Capt. | Archibald Menzies, | Wounded. |
| “ | George Davidson, | Died of Wounds. |
| “ | John Campbell. | |
| “ | Mungo Macpherson, | Wounded. |
| “ | Donald M’Donald, | Wounded. |
| “ | Daniel M’Intosh, | Wounded. |
| “ | Robert Boyle, | Wounded. |
| Lieut. | Donald Chisholm, | Wounded. |
| “ | Duncan Stewart, | Wounded. |
| “ | Donald M’Kenzie, | Wounded. |
| “ | James Young, Adjutant, | Wounded. |
| “ | Hugh A. Fraser, | Wounded. |
| “ | John Malcolm, | Wounded. |
| “ | Alexander Dunbar, | Wounded. |
| “ | James Brander, | Wounded. |
| “ | Roger Stewart, | |
| “ | Robert Gordon, | Killed. |
| “ | James Robertson, | |
| “ | Kenneth M’Dougal, | |
| “ | Donald M’Kay, | |
| “ | Alexander Innes,[337] | |
| “ | John Grant, | |
| “ | John Orr,[337] | Wounded. |
| “ | George Gunn Munro, | Wounded. |
| “ | William Fraser, | Wounded. |
| Ensign | George Gerard, | Killed. |
| “ | Andrew L. Fraser, | |
| “ | Alexander Brown, | Wounded. |
| “ | Alexander Cumming, | |
| Adjutant James Young, Lieut., | Wounded. | |
| Quarter-Master Don. M’Intosh, | Wounded. | |
| Surgeon Swinton Macleod, | ||
| Assistant Surgeon Donald M’Pherson, | ||
| Assistant Surgeon John Stewart, | ||
It has been observed, as a remarkable circumstance in the history of the Royal Highlanders, that on every occasion when they fired a shot at an enemy (except at Ticonderoga, where success was almost impossible), they were successful to such an extent at least, that whatever the general issue of the battle might be, that part of the enemy opposed to them never stood their ground, unless the Highlanders were by insurmountable obstacles prevented from closing upon them. Fontenoy even does not form an exception; for although the allies were defeated, the Highlanders carried the points assigned them, and then, as at Ticonderoga, they were the last to leave the field.[338]
As the battle of Waterloo terminates a period of active service and hard fighting in the case of the 42d, as well as of other regiments, and as it had a rest of many years during the long peace, we shall here give a summary of the number of men that entered the regiment, from its formation down to the battle of Waterloo, and the number of those who were killed, wounded, died of sickness, or were discharged during that period.