The National Register. — London, England, 1815-11-05 00:00:00

TAE NATIONAL REGISTItt. io Hougooniont, the buildiggs uc . nn which had been embat &led by the English soldiers,'who defennetl them with exces sive nbstinac). Bscaliotis and squadrons ',laved at the same tient agd. st lie Maio army, which•was po,ied in the rear of this farm. and continually sent reinforcements thither. After fighting abu'ut an hour, the English seemed to give way a lit tle, and the Ft ench pressed forward. A stro"g force was soon afterwards sent to carry Mont Saint Jean at the point of the bayonet, while the cavalry of the ayit tg s J.+ lied, and made a charge at the places which aptt. pcared to he least defended. The result of the manccolite was aw, ted with impatience, its successbeint considered cer tain ; but !his was re •arded by the obstinate c. fforts which the tuglish made to hold the s ..lages that covered their wings. The incessantly sett battalions towards the farm of Ilougoto moot and 'hat of the Ilaye Sainte, which our cavalry several times disperied but these villages, 11100 assailed without itoertnission, and with a vigour never equalled, were still de teqtled loiroient at not being able to drive the troops 'out of Hougoinuout, which occupied the buildings, Buonapirte determined to direct his main fire thither. At the same time he sent (testi troops against the Haye Sainte, which seized it after a telly long arid sanguihary contest: At every point the me fought against the ot:ier with equal ardour, and the aren't,' y made frightful havoc. The point, at Wh!th the t*o English wings had taken their Vatiolt, having been writ d, the Fientli army passed the . ravine, and approached the positions, which vomitted a de- Ingc of halls and grape-shot upon them. The charges, which had been ordered, were immediately executed I A most for midable colhmn advanced towards Mont Saint Jean, where a de-perate struggle ensued. The French cavalry darted for iinat d at the same time, to seize the artillery, but was assailed to its turn by the cavalry of the enemy, and the carnage on I both sides was horrible. Neither one side nor the other would yield an inch of ground. Fresh columns advanced, tire charges were renewed, and the position was thrice on the point of being forced, but thrice, after performing prodigies of valour, the French were arrested in their progress. They now began to exhibit symptoms of hesitation and inquietude. Several dismounted batteries were put into retreat. A consi derable number of wounded soldiers wete detached from the main body, and spread alarm as to the issue of the battle. Profound silence had succeeded to the acclaruations and cries of joy, with which soldiers, certain of marching to victory, had before been rending the air. With the exception of the Efan , ry of the guard , all the troops wer e engaged and ex posed to a most destructive fire. The action continued with bnahating violence, yet without any decisive result. It was near seven o'clock when Buonaparte, who had till then remained on the hill, from which he clearly saw all that vias passing, tontertiplated with a look of ferocity the h4leous scene of butchery beneath him. The more numerous the difficulties which occurred, the more obstinate did he appear. Ile was indignant at obstacles which he had so little foreseen, and far from thinking that it was wiring to sacrifice an army, otliich placed unbounded confidence in him, he incessantly tent fresh troops, with orders to charge and forte their way in spite of every resistance. He wits several times told that appearances were bad, and that the troops were exhausted; but his only answer was, " Forward, forward I" A General sent information, that he could not Maintain Iris position, on account of being dreadfully annoyed by a batteryiand asked what he was to do. "To tdke the battery," said Buonaparte, turning his back on the aide-de-catnp. An English officer, who was wounded and made a pri- Saner, was brought to him. He trade teVeral in4tiii - lesi and ;listing OA Mt. *tat Milt the btrtostb of the litiolish army. The officer told him that it was very strong, and would al most Immediately be reinforc ed b y sixt y thousand me " 44 ail most much the better," said he. " The more we meet, the more we shall conquer." He dispatched several messengers with dispatches,' stitich he dictated to a secretary, and repeated many times, in a tone of distraction, " The victory is mine— remember to say that." It was at this period, when all his attempts had been abor tive, that information was brought to him of Prussian co debouchlng on his right flank, and thicatening his rear; but he would not believe these reports, and constantly answered, that these pretended Prussian ti cops were no other than those of General Grouchy. It was not long, however, before be was undeceived by the violence of the enemy's attack. Part of the 6th corps was sent to sustain this new shuck, till Grouchy's corps arrived, which was every minute expected. The Prusiian corps which now appeared in the field at so critical a juncture, was that of General Bulow: tuonaparte, without altering his resolution in any degree, was of opinion, that the moment was come to decide the day. He formed, for this purpose, a fourth column, almost entirely composed of the raids, and directed it at the pas de charge on Mont St..leau, after having dispatched instructions to every point, that the movement, on which he thought victory to depend, might be seconded. The veterans tnarched up the hill with the intrepidity wl ich might he ex pected of them. The whole army restimed its vigour, and . the combat Was resumed throughout the line. The guards made repeated charges, and were as often repulsed. Over , powered by an irresistible discharge of artillery, which seemed every moment to increase, these invincible grena diers caw their ranks constantly thinned: but they (1 , sed together With perfect coolness, and advanced into the heat of the fray without intimidation. Nothing arrested their progress but death, or the severest wounds. The hour of their defeat, however, was come. Enormous masses of infantry, supported by an immense force of cavalry, to which the Prench fool& oppose no resistance, as their own was entirely destroyed, poured down upon them from all sides with a degree of fury which made all idea of quarter, on either part, out of the question. It was in vain that nuonaparte attempted to make a final effort by bringing into action some battalions of the guards, which had not yet been employed, and which he himself headed°. All was useless. Intimidated by what passed around them, and overpowered by numbers, this feeble re serve soon 3 ieldecl, and with the rest fled back like a torrent, The al tillerytnen abandoned their cannon ; the soldiers of the waggon-train cut the traces of their horses; the infantry, the cavalry, and every other species of soldiery, formed one confused intermingled tnass, partly fl log along the roads, and partly across the fields. The Generals were lost in this crowd ; the corps bad no longer any regular commander, and not a single battalion existed, behind which the rest could attempt to rally. Etn the guards, who had hither Id been the very bulvvar k of the army and the terror of the enemy, were dispersed among the multitude, the disorder G E which was increased by the darkness of night. The fugiti...es, painfully pressed by an overwhelming foe, ran rapidly over the two leagues which separate Genappe from the field of battle, and at length reached this small place, where the greater number trusted that they should be able to pats the night. In order to oppose some obstacles (6 the enemy, they collected carriages on the road, and bar ricadoed the entrance to the principal street. A few cannon were collected into the form of a battery; birouacs were fottard in'the town and its coil - uni t and the soldiefs went - rw'R* 4 .;4 4 ti w~.-a.~.~,:.~a~: NOV. it , I.