[H]From the similarity of sound, the names of Gerard and Girard have been frequently confused. The latter commanded a division of the reserve (2nd corps) under Vandamme; Gerard had the 4th corps, or army of the Moselle. Girard was killed in the attack on St. Amand: Gerard survived the campaign, and subsequently was general en chef at the siege of Antwerp.
[I]The French cavalry followed up their success, and then it was that Blucher so narrowly escaped captivity,—a fate that, to him, would have been worse than death itself. His horse, a beautiful grey charger, the gift of the Prince Regent of England, had been wounded: it broke down, and fell just as the lancers turned to fly from the pursuing enemy. “Now, Nostitz, I am lost!” said the gallant rider to his aide-de-camp, at the moment that he sunk beneath the dying steed. Count Nostitz, who, in the confusion, had alone remained by his side, instantly leaped to the ground, and, sword in hand, stood over his fallen chief, while the whole body of the French cavalry passed on, totally unmindful of the group. Before, however, the count could take advantage of the calm, and extricate the general from beneath the dead charger, the Prussians had turned upon their pursuers, and forced the cuirassiers to retrograde as fast as they had come: so that the whole of the broken rout again rushed by the fallen marshal. As soon as the Prussians (who knew nothing of what had happened to their leader) arrived, Nostitz seized the bridle of a non-commissioned officer’s horse, and, with the aid of the soldier, placed the bruised and almost insensible commander in the saddle, and hurried him from the field.
[298] “The wounded who had been collected during the night, were early in the morning sent off to Brussels. Every attention was bestowed upon them by the inhabitants. Wellington had taken the necessary precautions to secure them rest and relief; and the reception of the British wounded at Brussels, formed a striking contrast to the abandonment of the French sufferers at Charleroi. Napoleon left them to their fate; and such as escaped death among the ruins of Ligny and St. Amand, perished, for want of assistance, in the deserted streets of Charleroi.”—Stories of Waterloo.
[299] Napoleon passed the night of the 17th in a farm-house which was abandoned by the owner, named Bouquean, an old man of eighty, who had retired to Planchenoit. It is situated on the high road from Charleroi to Brussels. It is half a league from the château of Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, and a quarter of a league from La Belle Alliance and Planchenoit. Supper was hastily served up in part of the utensils of the farmer that remained. Buonaparte slept in the first chamber of this house: a bed with blue silk hangings and gold fringe was put up for him in the middle of this room. His brother Jerome, the Duke of Bassano, and several generals, lodged in the other chambers. All the adjacent buildings, gardens, meadows, and enclosures, were crowded with military and horses.—French Detail.
[300] The eminence on which Buonaparte was while he gave his orders during the battle is part of the territory of Planchenoit. It is called the Field of Trimotio, and is the property of several individuals: it is not far from the farm of Caillou. Buonaparte retired to this house for a moment during the battle. After he had lost it, endeavouring to avoid the crowd in the great road, he threw himself into the orchard opposite this farm-house to get the start of the mass of fugitives. A part of these, being closely pursued, sought refuge in the buildings of the farm; they were set on fire, and several of them reduced to ashes.—Letters of a French Officer.
[301] “Hougomont[J] is comprised of an old tower, a chapel, and a number of offices, partly surrounded by a farm-yard. It had also a garden, inclosed by a high strong brick wall; and round the garden, a wood of beech, an orchard, and a hedge, by which the wall was concealed; in another part, there was a pond, serving as a moat. Steps were taken to strengthen these means of defence by loop-holing, or perforating the walls, for the fire of musketry; and erecting scaffolding, to give the troops within an opportunity of firing from the top of the wall. The enemy’s cannon could only be brought to bear upon the upper part of the walls and buildings, and the great damage it received was by shells.”
[302] The loss of the guards, in killed and wounded, in the defence of Hougomont, amounted to twenty-eight officers, and about eight hundred rank and file. The foreign corps (Nassau and Brunswickers) lost about one hundred.
[J]Its name, according to ancient tradition, comes from the circumstance, that the hill on which is at present the neighbouring plantation, was covered with large pines, the rosin of which was in great request. The place was hence called Gomont, for Gomme Mont, or Mont de Gomme. This château has existed for ages, and belonged to the family of Arrazola Deonate.
[303] The proprietor of the ruins of the château of Hougomont has caused all the woods to be felled. Those trees, torn by a thousand balls, and that observatory, all the silent witnesses of so much glory and so much suffering, have vanished for ever.
[304] The attack against the position of Hougomont lasted, on the whole, from twenty-five minutes before twelve until a little past seven at night.