The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1870-07-08
THE BATTLE MONTH.
Battle Eoocr,!s Of tho EcN;h Of June,

The "lcsry month" has mclanchc
! !y record in history. The Cincinnati
E"gnircr reminds Us that the ISL
iust.was the hity-Gflll anniversary O
, the battle Of Waterloo, which Wa:
fought on tic 18Th of June, 1915. !
WA: the most remarkable conflict 0
modcrn times. We say remarkable
because il was the most decisive az,
important III is results. Tho wor,
Waterloo las passed not only int
history b;:L into tic language itself
1t dcsiCnatcs CT Ovcrti:rowal that i.
Enal in its character, and from which
there is no appeal. The 18th Of JUNO
1915, viii ever figure one Of tho great
landmarks Of time. 1t is Ike The sea
fight cf Antony and Lcpidus with Oc
tavius Caesar, which decided the fGol.
tunes Of the world. There is much
in the history Of Waterloo which j.
not understood by the masses or the
people. AS is we'll Known, the arri
val Of Eluc;icr and his PrussiAns to
the aid Of Wellington decided the VIC
tory, which otherwise would have
been with the French. He arrived at
6 o'clock in the evening. The 18th
OF June is among the longest days OF
the year, and it had been determined
by tho French Emperor. Napoleon,
to open tho contest at the break OF
day, which is before four o'clock.
But for two or three days previous
there had been heavy falls of rain.
Waterloo, which was a whcat field in
the ncighborhood Of Brussels, was
converted almost into a morass. Ma
roleon had large prcpondcranco in
the number Of his great guns, 23O
against ITO. lie was strongly in IA
vor Of the artillery service, in which
he had entered as 4 youth in tho Col
lcgc of Bricnnc. Tho advantage
which he had in it he was not in ia
vor OF surrcndcring by commencing
the action when the field, from the re-
cent rains, was unfavorablc TO his can
non. lie, therefore, waited until tho
rays of tho hot sun had dricdup tho
field, and made it passablc for artillo
ry. The action did not commence un
til eleven o'clock in the morning.
when otherwise it would have COM
mcnccd before six o'clock, five hours
previous. This delay was fatal to
Napoleon. The Prussians arrived at
six o'clock in tho afternoon, and
changed tho fortunes of the day.
Had it not been for tho delay Of five
hours on tho morning Of the 18th, Of
juno, the British would have been de-
fcatcd and in full and irrcparablo re-
treat before the arrival of their allies.
AS Victor Hugo aptIy observes in
his remarkable and eloquent work,
"Lcs Miscrablcs," IA few drops Of
rain, moro or less, changed tho for
tunes Of tho Continent of Europe"
But this was not the only mishap Of
Napoleon in this extraordinary cam
paign. In its very outset one Of his
Generals, Bourmont, deserted to the
enemy and carried with him all his
knowledge of the military projects Of
tho Emperor. There was q surprise
but it would have been far greater had
it not. been for tins unforeseen and
unexpected dcscrtion. Wellington
and his leading generals wcrc attend
ing q brilliant ball ut Brussels. The
troops vera scattered and cartoncd
all over the country when tho news
was brought that Napoleon, at the
head of 120, 0,OQ0 mon, had ma,lo his ap
pcarancc in belgium. The scene
that cnsucd is beautifully described
by Lord byron in "Chillc Harold"
i'll which he says:
"Ticre waa n fourt! of rcv.lry bv night
And Bclgium's Capital i.ad gathered then
Her bcanty and her chivalry, and bl icht
The lamps shonc Ter fair women and brave
mcn"
Tho Duke of Wellington was
caught nappiag. lie had made az
engagements with tho distinguished
French traitor and hero Of many rev.
o!utions, Fouchc, then tho Minister Of
Politcncss under Napoleon, to COM
municate to him tho movements Of
the great Emperor. IIc sent them
but with doublcd-faced duplicity stop
ped them on the frontier, so that in
case Of either reverse or success he
was to havo q plea in his defence.
The accession of Bourmont to tho al
lied councils explained the whole, and
then thcro was mounting IN hot haste
and tho mastering far and widc of
tho stecds Of war. Tho celebrated
Marshall Ncy was directed to occupy
the four roads of Quarto Bras, which
done would have rendered q junction
Of tho armies Of Bluchcr with Wcl-
lington impossible. During an inclc.
mcnt rainy season tho gallcnt Mar
shall had proceeded to within two or
thrco miles of tho point designated.
His troops were greatly fatigucd, and
rs his scouts reported that tho place
was unoccupied by the enemy, he des-
patched courier to Napoleon inform.
ing him that they wcro already in
possession Of tho French troops,
When morning dawned and Ncy pro
cccdod onward he found tho whole
French army in possession of Quartre
Bras, which was unoccupicd several
hours before. This was the direct
and fatal cause Of tho loss of tho bat
tlo which ensucd.
On the day itsolf Noy brought cut
tho cavalry for an attack on the Bri-
tish lines several hours too soon, and
before tho infantry squares had bccn
broken. Napoleon observed it with
great distress, and accused Ney of
destroying his cavalry. But where
was Murat, the brothcr-in.law of the
Emperor, who would have commend.
ed it? On account of personal
quarrel with the Emperor, he was