This brilliant and eminently successful charge made a deep impression upon the Enemy, who now conducted his pursuit with extreme caution. The 23rd Light Dragoons, which had supported the 1st Life Guards in their charge, became again the last Regiment in the Rear Guard, and continued so during the remainder of the retreat. Ponsonby's Brigade had deployed to the right of the high road, and the guns were so disposed as to take advantageous positions, retiring en échiquier.
The Enemy, after quitting Genappe, tried to get upon the Flanks of the Centre retiring Column, chiefly upon the Right Flank; but the Royals, Greys, and Inniskillings, manœuvred beautifully; retiring by alternate Squadrons, and covered by their own Skirmishers, who completely beat the French Light Cavalry in that kind of warfare. Finding that from the deep state of the ground, there was not the least danger of his being turned by the Enemy, Lord Uxbridge gradually withdrew Ponsonby's Brigade to the high road. He kept the Light Cavalry, protected by the Household Brigade, as the Rear Guard, and slowly retired into the chosen position in front of Waterloo, the guns and rockets constantly plying the Enemy's Advance, which, although it pressed forward twice or thrice, and made preparations to attack, never ventured to come to close quarters with its opponents; and the Column received from it no further molestation.
On arriving at the foot of the Anglo-Allied position, the 23rd Light Dragoons moved off to the (Allied) right of the high road, and into the hollow in which lies the Orchard of the Farm of La Haye Sainte. Here they were drawn up, prepared to meet the French Advanced Guard, should it follow them, or to fall upon its Flank, should it venture to continue its march along the road. The latter, however, halted upon the Height which intervenes between La Haye Sainte and La Belle Alliance, and opened a fire upon the Centre of the Duke of Wellington's Line, above the former Farm, from two Batteries of Horse Artillery.
Picton, who was then upon the rising ground in rear of La Haye Sainte, and who was intently watching the Enemy's advance along the high road, perceived Columns of Infantry advancing from La Belle Alliance. He immediately took upon himself to unite the two Batteries nearest at hand, which were those under Major Lloyd of the British Artillery, and Major Cleeves of the King's German Legion (although not belonging to his own Division), and to place them in position on the high ground close to the Charleroi road. The guns immediately opened a brisk cannonade upon the French Columns, of which they had obtained a most accurate range just as their leading Divisions had entered the inclosed space between the high banks which line the high road where it is cut through the Height before mentioned as intervening between La Belle Alliance and La Haye Sainte. This mass of the Enemy's Infantry suffered severely from the fire, to which it stood exposed about half an hour: for the head of the Column having been unable to retrograde, in consequence of the pressure from its rear, and prevented by the high bank on either side of the road from filing off to a flank, could not readily extricate itself from so embarrassing a situation.
During the whole of this fire, the Allied Batteries were replied to, though very ineffectually, by the two Batteries of French Horse Artillery posted on the Height in question.
It was now twilight: the approaching darkness was greatly accelerated by the lowering aspect of the sky. Picquets were hastily thrown forward by both Armies, and to so great a height had the mutual spirit of defiance arisen, that the near approach of opposing parties, advancing to take up their ground for the night, led to little Cavalry affairs, which, though unproductive of any useful result to either side, were distinguished, on different points of the Lines, by a chivalrous bravery which seemed to require a prudent restraint.
In one of these affairs, Captain Heyliger of the 7th Hussars, made a very brilliant charge with his Troop; and when the Duke of Wellington sent to check him, his Grace desired to be made acquainted with the name of an Officer who had displayed so much gallantry. A very spirited charge was also made by the Right Troop of the 2nd Light Dragoons of the King's German Legion, under Lieutenant Hugo; who was allowed by his Commanding Officer to volunteer for that service, and who, from the vicinity of Hougomont, boldly rushed up the Height intervening between that point and Mon Plaisir, and gallantly drove back a portion of the French Advanced Guard of Cavalry; recapturing at the same time three carriages filled with British sick and wounded.
The manner in which the Duke of Wellington withdrew his Army from the position of Quatre Bras to the one of Waterloo, must ever render that retreat a perfect model of operations of this nature, performed in the immediate presence of a powerful Enemy. Those dispositions which have been described as having been made by him for the purpose of masking the retirement of the main body, of affording perfect security to the passage of the Defile in his rear, and of ensuring the orderly and regular assembly of the several Corps on the ground respectively allotted to them in the new position, evince altogether a degree of skill which has never been surpassed.
In such operations, the covering of the Army by its Cavalry and Light Troops necessarily forms an important feature; and a glance at the manner in which this duty was fulfilled by the Earl of Uxbridge, with the Cavalry, Horse Artillery, and a few Light Battalions, at his disposal, is sufficient to show that the exemplification of such feature on this occasion was exceedingly beautiful. Indeed, so orderly and so perfect were all the arrangements connected with this retreat, from its commencement to its close, that the movements partook more of the appearance of a Field Day upon a large scale, than of an operation executed in the actual presence of an Enemy; and this was particularly observable as regarded the protection afforded by the Cavalry and Horse Artillery, which manœuvred to admiration, and in a style that, combined with the brilliant charge by the 1st Life Guards at Genappe, evidently impressed the Enemy with a due sense of the efficiency of the gallant troops immediately in his front. It may here also be remarked, that the judicious dispositions made by Lord Uxbridge in covering this retreat, and the high degree of confidence with which he inspired the Cavalry, afforded well grounded anticipations of the success likely to attend his measures when conducting that Cavalry in the open battle field, on which, it was foreseen, its prowess would so very soon be tested. The British and German portion of the Cavalry was in excellent order, and seemed already to have imbibed, in a high degree, that gallant bearing and chivalrous spirit, which it beheld and admired in its distinguished Chief.