Semi-weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1852-1853, 1852-02-25
Correspondence of the Commercial AoSei"''''1
THE FIELD OF WATERLOO.

18th June, 1878. The French !Clc E"oI;sb forcf
r,,oably about $4,000 men, an" Which had ragged
iii a. nnch violence during the nlgn' uu "'1 ,
un,;i the morning. The rain descenueu !" I;ri;n"
s,.cssled as the morning advanced ny u.;I :;
$3.50 Tn the early part OF the night IN 'he MS
- s,oru, the respective armies bVouacKeo On INC
t o,r,b for rest. BonapdrIe Plicheu ms te"' M
49,. farm of Gallon, about FIVE miles distant nc
field where the great action was lousn' In was
"ndnlatinp plain and the day in quesuon was
covered with splendid crops OF rye "hea'' odIoy
lover and oats some of the grain was OF gTed'
height Two slightly elevated seml.circu'al I'uso'
o, stones rise upon the plain about nall ".!o y
-uyvino gently forward, somewhat IN the TOT" VI
,,,sn,hesis On the summit Of one OF those Slopes
sis,ed the French, and the other the E'nshsn o'
ne allies. The English position res'eG upon III
.trong points Of support, which may Dc p'opI .,S
,,lled forts viz Hougomont old Flemlsh cdS',o'
=. IT, Sainte a stone farmhouse, and the mamie.
i Mont St. Jean ITSELF composed OF ouuoIngs o
one This position was admirably strengthened
Nv AR, and here the Duke of Wellington oe.e ~
r,ont,in his defence, until the arrival OF inc rus
~ sI,ho French had no supports OF this nature
~ f,ll back upon the ground occupied by tnem' al
t5ouqh unduIatng, was quite clear and open: De-
;vsen and 10 the Duke passed along the line ol
lis command and was loudly ceeereG. nc was
looms hessan boots and tasses, blue rocK coax WIN
short cloak of the same color white cravat and s"oru'
olain low-cocked hat without plume or ornament 10
which was attached the large black cockade OF D,
"A
Netherlands. In his right mana ne ca!rieu '0s
telescope drawn out for ready use.
About the same time, Napoleon rode forth 10 re-
view the French line. He was mou ned on daPPieo
horse and wore grey surtout' WIN green u'''o'
Goa, and volet-coIored wastcoat and Pantaloons OF
hs same and as he passed along the ranks was sd
lu,cd with shouts of enthusiasm
few minutes after eleven, the action commenced
nv a vigorous attack on Hougonont by body OF
p 600 LIGHT troops under Prince Jerome. ms at
ali med a a dreadful SdCrl0C6
!fe was not productive of any decided result Mon'
ST. Jean and La Haye Sainte were then assaled win
great impetuosity, and the battle became general
the entire line The French gained possession OF LA
Have Sante and retained this post for some tlme'
till they were last driven out OF by Shells Cav
alry charges were then made against the BRUSH
squares, but at length abandoned by the French win
great loss. II seven O'Clock, and the ac'l"n
had lasted for eight hours Napoleon had MOI con-
ouered nor had he been defeated: meanwhile the
Prussians had arrived in great strength and were pre-
pairing TO take signal part in the affairs OF The day.
Al this uncture, Bonaparte determined 10 bring up
his reserve, the old guard, and t. form 1t In two col
umns under his own eye, the bottom oil The dec
liyty of La Belle Alliance, and put forth despe-
rate and final effort recover his sinking fortunes
Nsy led the charge il failed, and w aeroo was lost
In this great battle the French had 246 guns on the
field, the English I56, and the Prussians lO4; ma
king total of sos. The noise of these pieces eX-
ceeded every thing Of the kind the oldest soldiers
had ever heard and made the very earth to shake fol
miles around The field. After the action the gunners
could hear nothing that said TO them. The guide
pointed out spot where, during the heat of the fir
ing, one of the powder tumbrs exploded, threw the
arllerymen into the air. and shook the horses to pie
ees The echoes of the cannonade OF this awful bat
tie are said have been heard the Southern bor-
ders of the British Upwards of $4,000 men fell
in the strife 20 900 the side OF the allies, and
10000 on the French. The losses Of this day put
Europe in mourning. England sand France wept like
mothers together. visitor. who passed over the
field the following day, states that as he approached
il, the first thing that struck him at distance was the
quantity of caps and hats strewed the ground.
II appeared if it had been covered with crows.
The field itself seemed flooded with blood. The
number of dead horses and men bafled computation.
The 7easantry employed in burying the dead gener-
ally stripped the bodies first, and thereby gained vast
booty. The track which the guard moved, and
which they fled, was still covered with their
SPOIL and marked by the traces of horses, The wheels
Of and the deeper burrows OF bombs and sheels
thousand French lay dead on thsspot and the guam
tty of holsters standard holders brides, straps and
Rrths denoted fearful conflict OF cavalry. The
ground seemed quite cut pieces with the struggling
Of the horses feet. The well known caps of the
grenaders of the French guard lay yet in consdera
BILE numbers, with the rags of the uniforms, and pie
Of tartan, and black ostrich feathers, the paiJs
and plumes of Scotland.
A peasant told me that he was at Waterloo on the
hatteday he then only II. and at that time
a servant at the farm Of La Have Sainte, and that
himself and three fellow servents were busy all day
in making lint for the wounded He afterwards as
sisted in burying the slain, and engaged week
in putting them in their graves.
In Brussels all the rope walks, converts. and bar
racks besides many private houses, converted in
TO hospitals for the wounded and beds, bandages lint
and crutches, were in high demand. l asked an old
Belgian physician to describe the that passed
under his professional observation in these places
and he shook his head and answered that they were
too heart rending for description.
enqulred OF veteran warrior what he thought of
the battle; he replied that it was Pandemonium on
earth.
Wherever the st1ife ragged, the grain was not only
tsodden down but beaten into CLAW.
highland seaHgent left the ranks with the basket
ht ofhis sword bruised that he could not get his
hand out of it until relieved by blacksmith and
one OF the English officers received "a sabre wounds
Napoleon took for his guide, on the morning of the
battle, DeCoster, Flemish peasant, who, being
very timid man, kept bending down his head upon
horse as the balls whistled him, expecting eve
~ moment to be killed. The Emperor observing it.
turned to him with smile and said " Hold yourself
up, DeCoster; when you hear the balls. they
are tar of from you when ball comes to kill YOU
you are dead before you hear it,
As soon as the action began, the inhabitants Of
Hougomont, Mt. St Jean, and Waterloo, fled to the
forest OF Solgnes, where they ared until the contest
was over. Hougomont became strongly invested by
the British, and all its inmates, with the exception OF
one old woman, Immediately deserted it. She how
ever, had an idea that somebody ought to remain to
take care of the poultry, and resolved tary for that
purpose all enreaty to the contrary Notwithstanding
When the cannonade became furious she became ex-
eeedlngy alarmed and descended for safety into the
CELLAR where she endeavored keep herself quiet
possible until the danger was past. This faithful old
creature died only a short time ago, and her solicit
'ude for the poultry has passed into proverb in the
village of Waterloo.
During the engagement British artillery oa;cer