Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1836-12-02
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE FIELD or WATERLOO.

THE FIELD or WATERLOO.
(r,o, the European Correspondence tie Portland DAILY
.3dcertiScr)
...... BRussELs, April 6, 1886.
T h,ve bccn IN Waterloo which is but twelve miles
from Brussels where the ables nations OF Europe
came into conct-wEere neither oi Mcm can De justly
said to nave conquered the other but where ta party,
ooportunely inerering settled the DAY, ana peat OIL
and drove into exile of the most astonishing men
that the world has Produced have noW:,oiioW.
ed out the progress Of that mighty n, from his first
triunphs on the ARDT1ine SUBMITS, the Britge Of
LODI ihuthc bloody field of Marengo-and with delight
have gone over the n"tie roads mat ne mas ou anu
seen the bridges and harbors, and cathedrns ana g'i
leres of ART and schools that came up under ms com
mand so that my mind is suspended IN DOUBT whether
his rood will acqu him Of his eTi and thus II was not
without interest apart from that created by the hoTr!oc
slaughter on this memorable field, that came here,
and witnessed the going down OF his sun ihe
battle fields Of Hannibal in Italy, and OF the 40;
man Generals, ! have been over. but Carthage ana
Rome we're not in nv day. andI had no living guide to
non ont where the contendng Generals stood, and OPP
posinp battaons met, and 90 tell me what nc saw wh
his own eyes and heard with his own ears lie Story
of Waterloo is 50 fresh that, apart from lis being the
field where Napoleon lost his empire you can see and
study out all the incidents Of the battle ITSELF ana
learn those little details Of the slaughter that touch the
heart Every that stands there, IN It's branches
and in its body, bears witness OF Tue strife. Da',
lets are buried in them here or their torn sides tell
that the cannon balls passed there. RUINED houses
and shattered walls attest the progress OF destruction
1--WE buried four Thousand here, and SIX thousand
there" says the guide, sand you walk over the green
under which they The dead were three feet deep
in this place. and you could not pass on over the piles Of
men and horses san lie continues, and again you walk
the green grass where I'LL inns was "aleiioo ~
short is almost as it then, RUNS except created ny
the cannon and the musketry OF the day, when upon
the morning Of the 18th of Jane ISIS, Napoleon and
wellington the two greatest Generals OF The age ar
rayed the best troops OF the age one against the other
We took carriage in the morning at Brussels, and
rode Waterloo, where we were IN couple OF "urs,
way passing through the forest OF SognHe' INTO
which the men, and children of the villages OF
Waterloo and Of Mont ST. Jean fed for preservation on
the morning OF the battle This forest in yelling
tons rear in which he probably intended to find pro.
lection in Napoleon drove him from The held AT
Waterloo, guide volunteered his services, anu as lie
WINS the one recommended to u.s. We took him TO Mont
ST. JEAN some distance from Waterloo where the battle
was in reality fought, though Waterloo has given II t
the name as from Waterloo Wellington, the night at
ter the battle dated his dispatches to the English TO-
yernment. ,,,
Our Guide who was peasant about Is years old The
day of the battle and who then taken the guide OF
one of the French Generals of Division took US over Inc
ground and upon the several positions OF the Ehg'sh
and the French soldiers and explained TO US their vur-
Gus struggles for particular points; but, military men
and tourists have often related all these things 80 much
in detail and much better than can, Will not Ieca'
ptuate the oitold story. Will remark, however, upon
the battle that the great fault of Napoleon seemed TO be
the too great confidence he reposed in the vaio OF his
ever hitherto successful egions lie mad been defeating
the Prussians but day two before; and ogettu tina!
the English were Prussians he had not doubt that
he should heat the English in the manner. Thus
over confident he yielded 10 the English the superiority
OF position and neglected TO provide for his retreat.
The right of the English army was posted in position
impregnabe to muSkery or infantry and yet he SEEM
ed TO be ignorant Of the strength Of the poslon and or
Gered his men there to certain slaughter, when but
few pieces of cannon would have knocked down The
castle upon their heads and beat the wall that defended
them into millions of pieces Again, be had The disao.
vantage of being the attacking party and again lie mis-
took the English character in surprising that his little
Frenchmen, valorous they were could with the bayo-
net, or with his cavalry, drive off from the field the
English soldier, who equally vaorons, ind twice
stout, with cavalry, IN all probability Tar better
horsed than the French.
The French soldier is probably quicker than the En-
glsh and this rapidly Of movement il was, that gave
NAPOLEON many Of his victories the Austrans,
Prussians and Russians; but The English that stood now
upon the 6eld impenetrabe wall to the
French cavalry; and without this defence the En-
gsh guickerfooted than the Aus.rlans any
of the German nations whom have seen. Neverthe-
less the unprecedented who carefully goes this
great field Of battle that if Butcher had
rived with his prussians the English must have been
driven from the lcld-perhaps not with slaughter but
certainly with defeat; but if, instead of Blucher Gtuu
chy had GENE, as Napoleon intended and planned, the
defeat would have been Slaughter aud the forest alone
could have saved an English soldier Napoleon had d
reced all things with his usual Skill but treason or mis-
fortune disappointed him. The Russians he knew,
were approaching. and the English, lie also knc
be cut up before they could unite If he would preserve
himself Hence he resolved upon attack spite of dis.
advantages The PruSsians he tiiongh were provided
with an enemy; hu, the Prussians gaopcd in upon him.
and force that he had beaten but few days before now
proved his ruin The three positions that Napoleon took
during this day are clearly pointed OUT 2le last was
not fat from the English line and directly in front of
Wellington The more doubtful the battle became the
more he exposed his own life. But the friendly h,ll
which should there have finished his career wonid NOT
come to take his life.
l will venture to say, thai no American ever stood
upon this battle. ground without debating in lis own
mind whether the world would have gained or LOST Inv
the triumph over Napoleon that day. AS the sons Of
Enolapd-as men OF the tongue, and the same
snew we feel proud of the valor of countrymc but
vet the Englshman has often been enemy, and
his tuuns have often fallen hcsy upon us, that
deeply sym pathze with the defeated French. A gain,
that mighty bad man, Napoleon, steals upon hearts,
and here upon the spot of his downfall, following out
as we do in minds: the gnobie exile, where the Eng
lsh incarcerated him, and almost murdered him. we al
most wish the triumph had been the other way. lie
who has with his owneyes what Napoleon has done
for the people, from Naples to Hamburger, upon the
Alps and the Apprentices along the rivers and by the sea-
what breath of life he bteathed into torpid man; and
has forgotten his conscrptions the bloody slaughter
of his battle fields and the havoc he wrought in thou.
sands of families will painfully his fate and
r-eret. that it had not been all otherwise An Aneri.
can who thinks considerably alone properly balance
these contending emotions upon The plains of Waterloo
Frenchn,an goes over the ground with tears in his
eyes, cursng the traitors who, he believes sold his be-