Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1852-04-01
The Battle of Waterloo.

Inc baCC1e OF waterloo.
The battle Of Waterloo took place on Sun
day, the 18th June, 1915. Yhe French force
consisted Of probably about $4,000 men, and
the English force did not exceed it. The tenn
pest which had ragged with 50 much violence
during the night did not abate until the NOM
ing. The rain descended in torrents, succeed
ed as the morning advanced ny drlzzling
shower. In the early part of the night. in the
midst of the storm, the respective armies blv-
ouaked on the wet earth for rest Bonapane
pitched his tent near the farm of Cailou, about
five miles distant. The field where the great
action was fought is an open, undulating plain,
and on the day IN question was covered with
splendid crops Of rye, wheat, barley, clover and
oats; some of the grain was of great height
Two slightly elevated semicircuIar ridges or
slopes rise upon the plain about half mile a.
part, curving gently forward, somewhat in the
form Of parenthesis On the summit of Ole
of these slopes rested the French, and on the
other the English and allies. The English po
sition rested upon three strong points of sup
polt, which may be properly called fort viz -
Hougomont, an old Flemish castle, La Ilaye
Sainte, stone farm house, and tile hamlet OF
Mont ST.. Jean itself, composed Of buildings of
,.,tora T21s position wac admirably strength
ened by art, and here the Duke of Wellington
determined TO MAINTAIN his defence, until the ar
rival of the Prussians. The French had no
supports of this nature to fall back upon the
ground occupied by them, although undulatlng,
was quite clear and open. Between 9 and 10
the Duke passed along the line Of his command
and was loudly cheered He was dressed in
his usual field costume; while buckskin panta-
looms, hessan boots and tassels, blue frock coat
with short cloak of the same color, white cravat
and sword, plain low cooked hat without plume
or ornament, to which was attached the large
black cockade of Britain, with three smaller
ones OF Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands
In his right hand he carried long telescope
drawn out ready for use.
About the same time, Napoleon rode forth to
review the French line. He was mounted on
dappled horse and wore grey surtout, with
green uniform coat and violet-colored waIstcoat,
and pantaloons of the same and as he passeu
along the ranks, was saluted with shouts OF en-
thusasm.
A few minutes after eleven, the action COM
menced by vigorous attack on Hougomont Oy
body of 10000 light troops under fflnce
Jerome. This attack, although maintained at
dreadful sacrifice of life, was not productive OF
anv decided result. Mont st. Jean and La
Have Sainte were then assaied with great i'm
ne,uositv. and the battle became general along
the entire line. The French gained possession
Lof La Haye Sainte and retained this post for
some time, till they were at last driven out Of
it by shells. Cavalry charges were then made
against the British squares, but at length aban-
doned by the French with great loss. 1t was
now seven o'clock, and the action had lasted Tor
eight hours. Napoleon had not conquered nor
had he been defeated meanwhile the Prussans
had arrived in great strength, and were pTepar-
ing to take signal part in the affairs of the
day. At this jucture, Bonaparte determined to
bring up his reserve, the Old Guard, and to
form it IN two columns uuder his own eye, near
the bottom of tie declivity of La Belle Alliance
and to put forth one desperate and final effort to
recover his sinking fortunes. Ney led the charge,
it failed, and Waterloo was lost.
In this great battle the French had 246 guns
on the field, the English 1856, and the Prussians
IO4; making total of SOC. The noise OF these
pieces exceeded every thing of the kind the old
est soldiers had ever heard, and made the very
earth to shake for miles around the field, Afe
the action the gunGers could hear nothing thai
was said to them.
The guide pointed out spot where, during
the heat of the firing, one Of the powder tum
brils exploded, threw the artillerymen into tht
air, and shook the horses to pieces. The echoes
of the cannonade of this awful battle are saiC
to have been heard on the Southern borders o
the British coast. Upwards of fifty thousant
men fell in the strife 90 900 on the side of tht
allies and $4,000 on the side Of the French
The losses of this day put Europe in mournlng
England and France wept like mothers together
visitor, who passed over the field on the fol
lowing day, stated that as he approached it, th'
frat thing that struck him at distance was the
quantity ofcaps and hats strewed over the ground
II appeared as if it had been covered with crow
The field itself seemed flooded with blood. Th'
number of dead horses and men baffied compu
tation. The pessanty employed in burylng tn