ally in the possession of the French! This was corroborated by fugitives from Brussels, who affirmed they had seen the French in the town; and one gentleman declared he had been pursued by them, half way to Malines. It was even asserted, that the French had entered Malines: later accounts tended to confirm these disastrous tidings, and Antwerp was filled with consternation and dismay. Many people set off for Holland, thinking Antwerp no longer safe. Through the whole night, carriages filled with the wounded— heavy waggons loaded with military stores-trains of artillery and ammunition-Hanseatic troops to garrison it, in case of a siege, continued to pour into the town. It was then, when fear almost amounted to certainty, when suspense had ended in despair, after a night of misery-that the great, the glorious news burst upon us that the Allies had gained a complete victory-that the French-defeated-routed-dispersed-had fled from the field of battle-pursued by our conquering troops. No words can describe the feelings of that moment-no eloquence can paint the transport which filled every breast and brought tears into every eye. An express arrived at eight in the morning, bringing a bulletin to Lady Fitzroy Somerset, dated from Waterloo, the preceding night, merely containing a brief account of the victory.. The tumults, the acclamations, the rejoicings which ensued the voluble joy of the Belgians, the more silent heartfelt thankfulness of the British, the contending feelings of triumph, pity, sorrow, anxiety, gratitude, and admiration, may be conceived, but they cannot be described. A party of wounded Highlanders, who had found their way on foot from the field of battle, no sooner heard the news, than, regardless of their sufferings, they began to shout and huzza with the most vociferous demonstrations of joy; and those who had the use of their arms, threw their Highland bonnets into the air, calling out in broad Scotch, " Boney's beat!-Boney's beat! -huzza!-huzza!-Boney's beat!" These Sketches of the Field on which the glorious battle of the 18th of June was fought, were taken on the spot, from the summit of a perpendicular bank, immediately above the high road from Brussels to Genappe, in the front of the centre of the British position. The First Plate represents the view as it appeared to the British Army, when drawn up in order of battle, on the morning of that memorable day, looking directly forward to the hamlet of La Belle Alliance, fig. 1 and 2; and the heights occupied by the French, fig. 3, 4, 5, and Plate 2nd, fig. 6. The Second Plate, taken from the same spot, looking the contrary way, represents the ground occupied by the British, with the farm-house of La Haye Sainte, fig. 7, in front, and backed by the Forest of Soignies, fig. 8 and 9, Plate 2. Each plate forms a semi-circle, comprizing the whole view which the eye can take in at once. The two Plates join together at each end, as marked; (A joining to A, and B joining to B,) forming a complete circle or panoramic view of the Field of Battle. Every house, every bush, every tree, every undulation is distinctly copied from nature. There is not a spot on which the eye can rest, that was not immortalized by some heroic deed of British valour, and scarcely a clod of earth that was not covered with the wounded, and the dead bodies of our countrymen, and their vanquished foes. The ground on which the battle was fought, cannot at most exceed two miles from North to South, including the whole from the rear of the British to the rear of the French position. Vide plate and sketch, fig. 3, 4, 5, and 6, was the height occupied by the French, and plate 2, fig. 12, 13, 14, 15, the height occupied by the English. From East to West, from the extremity of the left to that of the right wing of the contending armies, is scarcely a mile and half in extent;* the smallness of the space on which they fought, and the consequent intermixture of the two armies, might have occasioned in some degree the sanguinary result of the battle. The French position was decidedly the best; the eminence they occupied was higher, and the ascent steeper than ours, and better adapted both for attack and defence. The battle took place at some distance from the village of Waterloo, which is situated behind the skirts of the Forest of Soignies, and is not seen from the field. It was occupied on Saturday, the night preceding the battle, by the Duke of Wellington, the principal officers of his Staff, the Prince of Orange, Lord Uxbridge, Sir Thomas Picton, Sir William De Lancey, and other general officers; their names, written in chalk, were yet visible on the doors of the cottages in which they slept. After the battle, those houses were filled with the most severely wounded of the British Officers, many of whom died, and are buried there. The following is an accurate statement of the combined British, Hanoverian, German and Belgic Army, under the command of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, K. G. and K. G. C. B., upon The ground had not been measured; this computation is merely intended to give an idea of its extent; it does not profess to be correct. the authority of returns made from the army serving in Flanders, to the Adjutant-General's Office, dated TOTAL OF TROOPS IN the line of operation at QUATRE- Į BRAS, OR WATERLOO 68,221 74,040 Total Army opposed to the French The French Army amounted to 130,000; and after the losses of the 15th and 16th, and the detachment of two corps under Marshal Grouchy, there must nave remained at least 90,000 men, with which Napoleon took the field on the 18th of June; while, after allowing for our own losses on the 16th, which were very serious, it must appear there was a great disparagement in regard to numbers, as it appears from the above statement, which is founded upon the latest returns to the Horse Guards, previous to the battles of 16 and 18th, that our extreme force, British and German was 46,221 men, under the Duke of Wellington, to which add 22,000 for Brunswickers and Dutch, together, not exceeding 68,221 men. The English, Vide Documents in Vol. II. as also for the names of every officer present in the campaign. Germans, and Hanoverians, were divided into two Corps d'Armée. DIVISIONS.. 1st. Maj. Gen.. George Cooke 3d Lt. Gen. Baron, Sir C.. Alten, K. C.B. 1 Br. B. M.-G. P. Maitland Gds. 1 & 3 Bat. 1st Rt. 2d Corps, Lt. Gen. Lord Hill, K.G. C. B. Men.+ 2054 2074 2322 1901 2472 2d Lt. Gen. Sir H.Clinton, K. G. C. B. 3 Brit. Brig. Maj. Gen. F. Adam 52 71 95 2617 1979 2235 4th Lt. Gl. Sir, C. Colville. 4 Brit. Brig. Colonel Mitchell . 14 23 51 1761 35*54*59*91* 2153 5th L. Gl. Sir 6 Han. Brig. Maj. Gen. Lyon. 2778 2502 K. G. C. B. Thos. Picton, 9 Do. Maj. Gen. Sir Dennis Pack 1 42 44 92 5 Hanoverian Brigade, Col. Vinke 2275 2260 6th 10 Brit. Br. M. Gen. Sir J. Lambert 4 27 40 81* Commanded by Lt. Gen. Earl of Uxbridge, K.G. C.B. 1. Maj. Gen. Lord Edward Somerset, 1 & 2. Life Guards, Horse Gds. Blue, 1 Drag. Gds. 2. Maj. Gen. Sir W. Ponsonby, 1. 2. 6. Dragoons. 3. M. G. Count Sir W.Dornberg, 23. L. D. 1 & 2. K. G. L. 4. Maj. Gen. Sir Ormsby Vandeleur, 11. 12. 16. Lt. Drag 5. M.-Gen. Sir Colquhoun Grant, 7. 15. Hus. 2* Hus. K.G.L. 6. M.-G. Sir R. Hussey Vivian, 10. 18. Huss. 1 Hus. K.G.L. 7. Col. B. Sir F. de Arentschildt, 13. Lt. Drag. 3 Hus. K.G.L. Col. Estorff, Prince Regent, and Bremen Verdun, & C. Hus.§ Artillery, &c. 5,434 German ditto 625 Infantry as above enumerated 36,140 Total of British, German, and Hanoverian Army in Flanders, which includes those in Observation, &c. 52,040 The 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th divisions were on the right, the 5th and 6th on the left of the Genappe road. For the effective force of each regt. vide Vol. II. This division was employed as a corps of observation, and was not therefore in action on the 18th of June, excepting Col. Mitchell's brigade, which was on the left of this division. § This regiment run away, *Not in the Battle of Waterloo. |