The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-01-17
DIR. LIEBER AT WATERLOO.


DR.. LIEBER AT WATERLOO.
A Vivid Personal Narrative of the Great
Battle.
In 1927 / arrived in New York on the
same day. and put my foot on land in
the same hour (June 20) and in 1915 a
ball prostrated me- Some time ago Won
asked me to give You sketch of nv
adventures Ill that Waterloo battle. /
determined to compl y with your wish,
and searched among my papers for a
copy, which my mother gave me once.
OF my own letter, the first that was
able to write after that eventful day of
battle. II did not succeed in finding it,
but here is the sketch.
Boys, clear your rifles" said nv
old and venerable father, entering NV
room, where l was studying LOder's
Anatomical Tables, ''He is loose again
-NapoleOn-he has returned from
Elba."
My heart beat high; it was glorious
news for boy of sixteen years-really
In his sixteenth year-who had often
heard with silent envy the account of
the campaigns of 1S13-14 from the lips
of his two brothers, vino had marched
In 1913, IN common with most Young
men OF good family, as volunteer rifle
men, and returned as wounded officers.
| One of these, cured of his wounds, re-
| joined his regiment; another of nv
| brothers and myself followed the call
! of government to enter the army as
! volunteers, though our age would have
have exempted us from all obligation.
Which regiment should we choose?
| OF course, one which was garrisoned
near the enemy's frontier, so that we
should be sure not to have peaceable
! campaign in a distant reserve. There
was regiment among the troops near
| the frontier of France which enioyed a
| particularly high and just reputation
its name was "COlberg," bestowed in
honor of its valiant defence of the for
tress of COlberg in the year 1S06-the
only Prussian fortified place in that
wretched time which did not surrender
to the French. 1t was composed of
brave and steady POmeranians, a short,
broad-shouldered healthy race; in more
than twenty ranged engagements
during the campaign had they shown
themselves worthy of their honorable |
name. Ny brother and myself selected
this regiment When the day of the
enlistment of the volunteers arrived, |
we went to my father and said : "WeIl, |
then, we are going; is it with your con-
sent?, =" GO. to your mother" he re
piled. We went to her, our hearts were
full, she had suffered SO much during
the first campaign. With a half-chOked
voice l said Mother, we are going to
be enrolled-shall we?" She fell into
our arms, that noble woman, and sob
bed aloud. " Go y was all her bleed !
ing heart allowed her to utter and, |
had she been the mother of twenty |
sons, she would have sent them ali. |
We had to wait from ten to one o'clock |
before we could get chance to have
our names taken down, the throng was
so great.
In the beginning of May we were
marched from Berlin to our regiment.
On the morning of the 18th the gene
rale was beaten.
HOSTILITIES HAD BEGUN
on the 14th. We marched the whole |
day and the whole night in the morn
ing we arrived not far from the battle
field of Ligny, and halted. Before us
was a rising ground on which we saw
nnumerable troops ascending from the
plain, with flying cOlors and music play
ing. 1t was a sight a soldier likes to
look at. l cannot say, with Napoleon,
|
many brave men; but we were proud
to belong to these. brave and calm
masses. Orders for charging were given:
the pressure of the coming battle was
felt more and more. Some soldiers
who carried cards in their knapsaclzs
threw them away, believing that they
bring bad luck. | had never PLAYED
cards and carried none; but this poor
instance of timid superstition disgusted
me so that | purpOsely picked up pack
and put it in my knapsack. Our whole
company consisted of very young men,
nearly all lads, who We're impatient for
battle, and asking thousand questions,
in their excitement, of the old, we'll
seasoned sergeant major, who had been
given to us from the regiment. His
imperturbable calmness, which neither
betrayed fear nor excited courage, but
took the battle like a muster, amused
as much.
We now marched again up the sloping
plain, and by one o'clock in the after
noon arrived on the battle ground. For
tune held us first on harrassing re-
serve; the French field-pieces played
hard upon us, shells fell around us, and
took several men out of our column.
We were commanded TO lie down, and l
when balls or shells were flying over us.
Behind us stood some cavalry. One of
their officers had been a near neighbor
to us in Berlin; he rode up to me and
asked me to write home should he fall
he would do as much for me should | :
he shot down. He soon after fell. We
longed most heartily to be led into the
fire, when our officer, a well-tried sol I
dler, spoke these few words: Nv friends,
it is easier to fight than to stand inactive
exposed to'tire. You are tried first bv
the severest test; show, then, that You
can be as calm as the oldest soldiers,
Ny honor depends upon your conduct
Look at me, and | promise You shall
not have a bad example," At length,
about two o'clock, our column was
ordered to drive the enemy out of the
left side of the village. Our Colonel
rode up to us and said, 8 Rifiemen, you
are young, am afraid too ardent; calm
ness makes the soldier; hold yourselves
in order" Then he turned around.
" March - and
THE DULL, HALF-MUFFLED DRUM
from within our column was heard beat
ing delicious music. When the bugle
gave the signal to halt we were in front
of the village of Ligny, The signal
was then given for the riflemen to march
out to right and left of the column and
to attack. Our ardor now led us en-
tirely beyond proper limits; the section
to which belonged ran madly, without
firing, toward the enemy, who retreated.
My hindman" FELL 1 rushed on, hear
ing well but not needing the urgent
calls of our old sergeant. The village
was intersected with thick hedges, from
behind which the grenadiers fired upon
S u; but we drove them from one to the