The National Register.
London, England, 1816-06-24 00:00:00

BATTLE OF WATERLOO.

Last Tuesday was the anniversary of the battle of
IVaterloo ; an event that stands unrivalled in our mili-
tary annaLs. If it ha ye nut produced the political results
which were expected, no blame is to be attached to tl:c
great man, by whose genius, or to the warriors, Ly whose
Invincible braver•, this immortal victory was achieved.
They su glassed th e sanguine ex pectat ions oftheir coon t ry—
they did infinitely mere than tbe rest of Europe, long a
witness of their unrivalled exploits, expected. In one day
they destroyed that military system, which, for more than
twenty years, had been the terror of Europe ; and tram-
pled upon the fertunes of a man, whose destinies were
supposed to be superior to the attacks of fortune. Let
us recollect, that never did France send forth such an
army, so complete in equipment, so confident in its
strength, so confiding in the genius and fortune of its
Leader. It marched to certain victory ; and this per-
suasion did not arise from vain glory, or inexperience.
The troops scaled their confidence with► glorious death;
and they deserved the crown for which they so nobly
struggled. They raised on that immortal day the glory
of the French arms; and the Chief, who led these men
into battle, had only to complain of fortune, and of the
invincible constancy of his opponents. Any other army he
would have dcfeated—frem any other host he would
have torn the bloody wreath of victory. On the me-
morable days of the i sth and Kith he :Attained an almost
bloodless triumph over the brave Prussians ; elated with
the events of those days, he made his preparations to fight
the British army ; and, had he succeeded, to decide the
chances of the war. Our troops Lad only arrived the
day before on the field ; they were unprepared for being
attacked; they expected to attack ; and the most intrepid
of men are affected by a circumstance of this kind. Even
the elements too conspired against them ; for it was after
a night of drenching rain that they were brought up in
the morning of the 18th to maintain the glory of the na-
tional arms, and to decide the greatest interests that were
ever settled by the chances of war. The general results
of that immortal victory are too fresh in recollection to be
forgotten ; but to describe adequately the genius that se-
cured, and the bravery that achieved, these results is a
task that far exceeds our humble powers. It is enough,
for the present purpose, to say, that Wellington foresaw
every combination of the enemy—anticipated every
movement ; his eye overlooked the dreadful field ; his
moral presence was every where ; and he alone, to use
the language of the best judges, could snatch the victory
from such valorous and determined opponents. Never
was a battle so hardly fought—never was such resolution
displayed on all sides to conquer or perish ; and never,
also, was a triumph purchased with so much blood. It
is in proportion to the courage manifested by the conquer-
ed, that victory is valued ; and it was the daring valour
of the French troops, their constancy, their generous
seat and noble fortitude, that enhanced the triumph of
our countrymen ; and when the political passions and
prepossessions of our time shall be extinct, the glories of
Waterloo wal shine with brighter effulgence than those
of any other military achievement in our own or the an-
nals of any other country. Its anniversary should, there-
fore, be observed by us as a day of national exultation.
That ever-memorable battle decided, in one day, a war,
which the most sanguine calculated would last many
months ; it has thus saved us front an adtlitiomd burthen
of debt and taxes—it has moreover placed our national
security beyond the each of external denger,—it will
have the effect of preventing, for many years, an attack
from foreign Powers, who will tremble at the idea ef
encountering in battle the warriors who achieved it ;
and in a word, it has raised the glory of the British arms
to an unlaralleied eh•• ation.