Chapter V: Waterloo

Mercer's account of Waterloo has much less of literary art and skill in it than other parts of his book. He plunges the reader, without warning and without explanation, into the roar of the great fight. His description of the ground and of the position of the army is thrust, as a sort of parenthesis, into the middle of the story of the actual struggle. Mercer's troop was stationed till long past noon in reserve on the British right. The battle to Mercer was nothing but an incessant and deep-voiced roar of guns, a vision of drifting smoke, in which would appear at times dim figures of charging horsemen, or outlines of infantry squares, edged with steel and flame, and out of which flowed tiny processions of wounded, trickling backwards over the ridge in front. About three o'clock, however, the troop was suddenly brought up to the battle-line, at a point where it was in imminent peril of giving way. From that moment Mercer was in the smoky, tormented, thunder-shaken vortex of the great fight, and his description of it is graphic and impressive in the highest degree.

This is how the morning of Waterloo dawned for Mercer and his gunners:--

"_June 18._--Memorable day! Some time before daybreak the bombardier
who had been despatched to Langeveldt returned with a supply of
ammunition.

"With the providence of an old soldier, he had picked up and
brought on a considerable quantity of beef, biscuit, and oatmeal,
of which there was abundance scattered about everywhere. Casks of
rum, &c., there were, and having broached one of these--he and his
drivers--every one filled his canteen--a most considerate act, and
one for which the whole troop was sincerely thankful. Nor must I omit
to remark that, amidst such temptations, his men had behaved with
the most perfect regularity, and returned to us quite sober! The
rum was divided on the spot; and surely if ardent spirits are ever
beneficial, it must be to men situated as ours were; it therefore
came most providentially. The oatmeal was converted speedily into
stirabout, and afforded our people a hearty meal, after which all
hands set to work to prepare the beef, make soup, &c. Unfortunately,
we preferred waiting for this, and passed the stirabout, by which
piece of folly we were doomed to a very protracted fast, as will be
seen.

"Whilst our soup was cooking, it being now broad daylight, I mounted
my horse to reconnoitre our situation. During the night another troop
(I think Major Ramsay's) had established itself in our orchard, and
just outside the hedge I found Major Bean's, which had also arrived
during the night, direct from England. Ascending from the farm
towards the ground we had left yesterday evening, the face of the
slope, as far as I could see, to the right and left, was covered
with troops _en bivouac_--here, I think, principally cavalry. Of
these some were cleaning their arms, some cooking, some sitting
round fires smoking, and a few, generally officers, walking about or
standing in groups conversing. Many of the latter eagerly inquired
where I was going, and appeared very anxious for intelligence, all
expecting nothing less than to recommence our retreat. I continued
on to the position we had occupied last, and thence clearly saw the
French army on the opposite hill, where everything appeared perfectly
quiet--people moving about individually, and no formation whatever.
Their advanced-posts and vedettes in the valley, just beyond La Haye
Sainte, were also quiet.

"Having satisfied my curiosity I returned the way I came,
communicating my observations to the many eager inquirers I met with.
Various were the speculations in consequence. Some thought the French
were afraid to attack us, others that they would do so soon, others
that the Duke would not wait for it, others that he would, as he
certainly would not allow them to go to Brussels; and so they went on
speculating, whilst I returned to my people. Here, finding the mess
not yet ready, and nothing to be done, I strolled into the garden
of the farm, where several Life Guardsmen were very busy digging
potatoes--a fortunate discovery, which I determined to profit by.
Therefore, calling up some of my men, to work we went without loss of
time."

It is amusing to notice that Mercer was so busy digging potatoes that he quite failed to observe that the battle had actually commenced! His senses were buried in the potato-hillocks! So the regiments fell into line, the batteries moved off to their assigned places, the French guns began to speak, and Waterloo had begun; and though Mercer stood on the very edge of the field, he took no notice of the rise of the curtain on the great tragedy. He says:--

"Whilst thus employed I noticed a very heavy firing going on in
front, but this did not make us quit our work. Shortly after, to my
great astonishment, I observed that all the bivouacs on the hillside
were deserted, and that even Ramsay's troop had left the orchard
without my being aware of it, and my own was left quite alone, not a
soul being visible from where I stood in any direction, the ground
they had quitted presenting one unbroken muddy solitude. The firing
became heavier and heavier. Alarmed at being thus left alone, when
it was evident something serious was going on, I hastened back and
ordered the horses to be put to immediately.

"Away went our mess untasted. One of the servants was desired to hang
the kettle with its contents under an ammunition waggon. The stupid
fellow hung the kettle as desired, but first emptied it. Without
orders, and all alone, the battle (for now there was no mistaking it)
going on at the other side of the hill, I remained for a few minutes
undecided what to do. It appeared to me we had been forgotten. All,
except only ourselves, were evidently engaged, and labouring under
this delusion, I thought we had better get into the affair at once.
As soon, therefore, as the troop was ready I led them up the hill on
the high-road, hoping to meet some one who could give me directions
what to do."

The tragedy of the battle soon made itself visible, in very dramatic shape, to Mercer:--

"We had not proceeded a hundred yards, when an artillery officer
came furiously galloping down towards us. It was Major M'Lloyd, in
a dreadful state of agitation--such, indeed, that he could hardly
answer my questions. I learned, however, that the battle was very
serious and bloody. Their first attack had been on that part of our
position where his battery stood; but now the principal efforts
were making against our right. All this was told in so hurried
and anxious a manner, that one could hardly understand him. 'But
where are you going?' he added. I told him my plan. 'Have you no
orders?' 'None whatever; I have not seen a soul.' 'Then, for God's
sake, come and assist me, or I shall be ruined. My brigade is cut
to pieces, ammunition expended, and, unless reinforced, we shall be
destroyed.' He was dreadfully agitated, and when I took his hand
and promised to be with him directly, seemed transported with joy;
so, bidding me make haste, he darted up the hill again, and went
to receive that death-stroke which, ere long, was to terminate his
earthly career. I trust before that termination he heard the reason
why I never fulfilled that promise; for weeks elapsed ere he died,
no doubt--otherwise he must have set me down for a base poltroon. My
destiny led me elsewhere. My tutelary spirit was at hand: the eternal
Major M'Donald made his appearance, and, giving me a sharp reprimand
for having quitted my bivouac, desired me instantly to return to the
foot of the hill, and there wait for orders.

"Sulkily and slowly we descended, and forming in line on the ground
opposite the farm of Mont St. Jean, with our left to the road, I
dismounted the men that they might be a little less liable to be hit
by shot and shells which, coming over the hill, were continually
plunging into the muddy soil all around us. This was a peculiarly
dismal situation--without honour or glory, to be knocked on the head
in such a solitude, for not a living being was in sight.

"It was while thus standing idle that a fine, tall, upright old
gentleman, in plain clothes, followed by two young ones, came across
our front at a gallop from the Brussels road, and continued on
towards where we supposed the right of our army to be. I certainly
stared at seeing three unarmed civilians pressing forward into so
hot a fight. These were the Duke of Richmond and his two sons. How
long we had been in this position, I know not, when at length we
were relieved from it by our adjutant (Lieutenant Bell), who brought
orders for our removal to the right of the second line. Moving,
therefore, to our right, along the hollow, we soon began a very
gentle ascent, and at the same time became aware of several corps
of infantry, which had not been very far from us, but remained
invisible, as they were all lying down. Although in this move we may
be said to have been always under a heavy fire, from the number of
missiles flying over us, yet were we still so fortunate as to arrive
in our new position without losing man or horse."

Now Mercer at last got a glimpse of the whole landscape of the great fight. But even when looking at Waterloo, and to an accompaniment of flying lead, Mercer has an eye for the picturesque, not to say the pastoral:--

"In point of seeing, our situation was much improved; but for danger
and inactivity, it was much worse, since we were now fired directly
at, and positively ordered not to return the compliment--the object
in bringing us here being to watch a most formidable-looking line of
lancers drawn up opposite to us, and threatening the right flank of
our army.

"To the right we looked over a fine open country, covered with crops
and interspersed with thickets or small woods. There all was peaceful
and smiling, not a living soul being in sight. To our left, the main
ridge terminated rather abruptly just over Hougoumont, the back of
it towards us being broken ground, with a few old trees on it just
where the Nivelle road descended between high banks into the ravine.
Thus we were formed _en potence_ with the first line, from which we
(my battery) were separated by some hundred yards. In our rear the
14th Regiment of infantry (in square, I think) lay on the ground. In
our front were some light dragoons of the German Legion, who from
time to time detached small parties across the ravine. These pushed
cautiously up the slope towards the line of lancers to reconnoitre.

"The corn, down to the edge of the ravine nearer the Nivelle road
and beyond it, was full of French riflemen; and these were warmly
attacked by others from our side of the ravine, whom we saw
crossing and gradually working their way up through the high corn,
the French as gradually retiring. On the right of the lancers, two
or three batteries kept up a continued fire at our position; but
their shot, which could have been only 4-pounders, fell short--many
not even reaching across the ravine. Some, however, did reach their
destination; and we were particularly plagued by their howitzer
shells with long fuses, which were continually falling about us, and
lay spitting and spluttering several seconds before they exploded,
to the no small annoyance of man and horse. Still, however, nobody
was hurt; but a round-shot, striking the ammunition boxes on the body
of one of our waggons, penetrated through both and lodged in the
back of the rear one, with nearly half its surface to be seen from
without--a singular circumstance! In addition to this front fire, we
were exposed to another on our left flank--the shot that passed over
the main ridge terminating their career with us.

"Having little to occupy us here, we had ample leisure to observe
what was passing there. We could see some corps at the end near us
in squares--dark masses, having guns between them, relieved from a
background of grey smoke, which seemed to fill the valley beyond,
and rose high in the air above the hill. Every now and then torrents
of French cavalry of all arms came sweeping over the ridge, as if
carrying all before them. But, after their passage, the squares were
still to be seen in the same places; and these gentry, who we feared
would next fall on us, would evaporate, nobody could well say how.
The firing still increased in intensity, so that we were at a loss to
conjecture what all this could mean.

"About this time, being impatient of standing idle, and annoyed by
the batteries on the Nivelle road, I ventured to commit a folly, for
which I should have paid dearly, had our Duke chanced to be in our
part of the field. I ventured to disobey orders, and open a slow
deliberate fire at the battery, thinking with my 9-pounders soon to
silence his 4-pounders. My astonishment was great, however, when our
very first gun was responded to by at least half-a-dozen gentlemen
of very superior calibre, whose presence I had not even suspected,
and whose superiority we immediately recognised by their rushing
noise and long reach, for they flew far beyond us. I instantly saw my
folly, and ceased firing, and they did the same--the 4-pounders alone
continuing the cannonade as before. But this was not all. The first
man of my troop touched was by one of these confounded long shots. I
shall never forget the scream the poor lad gave when struck. It was
one of the last they fired, and shattered his left arm to pieces as
he stood between the waggons. That scream went to my very soul, for
I accused myself as having caused his misfortune. I was, however,
obliged to conceal my emotion from the men, who had turned to look at
him; so, bidding them 'stand to their front,' I continued my walk up
and down, whilst Hitchins ran to his assistance.

"Amidst such stirring scenes, emotions of this kind are but of short
duration; what occurred immediately afterwards completely banished
Gunner Hunt from my recollection. As a counterbalance to this
tragical event, our firing produced one so comic as to excite all
our risibility. Two or three officers had lounged up to our guns to
see the effect. One of them was a medico, and he (a shower having
just come on) carried an umbrella overhead. No sooner did the heavy
answers begin to arrive amongst us, than these gentlemen, fancying
they should be safer with their own corps, although only a few yards
in the rear, scampered off in double-quick, doctor and all, he still
carrying his umbrella aloft. Scarcely, however, had he made two
paces, when a shot, as he thought, passing rather too close, down he
dropped on his hands and knees--or, I should rather say, hand and
knees, for the one was employed in holding the silken cover most
pertinaciously over him--and away he scrambled like a great baboon,
his head turned fearfully over his shoulder, as if watching the
coming shot, whilst our fellows made the field resound with their
shouts and laughter."

At this point Mercer indulges in some reflections which illustrate, in a striking fashion, the confusion of a great battle, and the difficulty with which even those who are actors in it can describe what took place. It is not merely that a battle-field, by its area, and the fashion in which the all-obscuring smoke drifts over it, evades clear vision and description. The actors in the fight are themselves in such a mood of excitement, and are so passionately preoccupied by their own part in the combat and the scenes immediately about them, that no brain remains sufficiently cool and detached to take in the battle-field as a whole:--

"I think I have already mentioned that it was not until some days
afterwards that I was able to resume my regular journal, consequently
that everything relative to these three days is written from
memory. In trying to recollect scenes of this nature, some little
confusion is inevitable; and here I confess myself somewhat puzzled
to account for certain facts of which I am positive. For instance,
I remember perfectly Captain Bolton's brigade of 9-pounders being
stationed to the left of us, somewhat in advance, and facing as we
did, consequently not far from the Nivelle road. Bolton came and
conversed with me some time, and was called hastily away by his
battery commencing a heavy fire. Query--Who, and what was he firing
at? That he was himself under a heavy fire there is equally no doubt,
for whilst we were not losing a man, we saw many, both of his men
and horses, fall, and but a few minutes after leaving me, he was
killed himself--this is a puzzle. I have no recollection of any
troops attempting to cross the ravine, and yet his fire was in that
direction, and I think must have been toward the Nivelle road.

"A distressing circumstance connected with this (shall I confess it?)
made even more impression on my spirits than the misfortune of Gunner
Hunt. Bolton's people had not been long engaged when we saw the men
of the gun next to us unharness one of the horses and chase it away,
wounded, I supposed; yet the beast stood and moved with firmness,
going from one carriage to the other, whence I noticed he was always
eagerly driven away. At last two or three gunners drove him before
them to a considerable distance, and then returned to their guns.
I took little notice of this at the time and was surprised by an
exclamation of horror from some of my people in the rear. A sickening
sensation came over me, mixed with a deep feeling of pity, when
within a few paces of me stood the poor horse in question, side by
side with the leaders of one of our ammunition waggons, against which
he pressed his panting sides, as though eager to identify himself as
of their society--the driver, with horror depicted on every feature,
endeavouring by words and gestures (for the kind-hearted lad could
not strike) to drive from him so hideous a spectacle.

"A cannon-shot had completely carried away the lower part of the
animal's head, immediately below the eyes. Still he lived, and seemed
fully conscious of all around, whilst his full, clear eye seemed
to implore us not to chase him from his companions. I ordered the
farrier (Price) to put him out of misery, which, in a few minutes he
reported having accomplished, by running his sabre into the animal's
heart. Even he evinced feeling on this occasion.

"Meantime the roar of cannon and musketry in the main position never
slackened; it was intense, as was the smoke arising from it. Amidst
this, from time to time, was to be seen still more dense columns
of smoke rising straight into the air like a great pillar, then
spreading out a mushroom head. These arose from the explosions of
ammunition waggons, which were continually taking place, although the
noise which filled the whole atmosphere was too overpowering to allow
them to be heard."

By this time the great French cavalry charges were in full course. Some 10,000 of the finest cavalry in the world were being flung on the stubborn British squares, which, as the French horsemen swept round them, seemed swallowed up in a tossing sea of helmets and gleaming swords and heads of galloping horses. The spray, so to speak, of that fierce human sea, was flung on the spot where Mercer and his gunners stood:--

"Amongst the multitudes of French cavalry continually pouring over
the front ridge, one corps came sweeping down the slope entire, and
was directing its course straight for us, when suddenly a regiment
of light dragoons (I believe of the German Legion) came up from the
ravine at a brisk trot on their flank. The French had barely time to
wheel up to the left and push their horses into a gallop when the
two bodies came into collision. They were at a very short distance
from us, so that we saw the charge perfectly. There was no check,
no hesitation on either side; both parties seemed to dash on in a
most reckless manner, and we fully expected to have seen a horrid
crash--no such thing! Each, as if by mutual consent, opened their
files on coming near, and passed rapidly through each other, cutting
and pointing, much in the same manner one might pass the fingers of
the right hand through those of the left. We saw but few fall. The
two corps re-formed afterwards, and in a twinkling both disappeared,
I know not how or where.

"It might have been about two o'clock when Colonel Gould, R.A., came
to me--perhaps a little later. Be that as it may, we were conversing
on the subject of our situation, which appeared to him rather
desperate. He remarked that in the event of a retreat there was but
one road, which no doubt would be instantly choked up, and asked my
opinion. My answer was, 'It does indeed look very bad; but I trust in
the Duke, who, I am sure, will get us out of it somehow or other.'
Meantime gloomy reflections arose in my mind, for though I did not
choose to betray myself (as we spoke before the men), yet I could
not help thinking that our affairs were rather desperate, and that
some unfortunate catastrophe was at hand. In this case I made up my
mind to spike my guns and retreat over the fields, draught-horses and
all, in the best manner I could, steering well from the high-road and
general line of retreat.

"We were still talking on this subject when suddenly a dark mass of
cavalry appeared for an instant on the main ridge, and then came
sweeping down the slope in swarms, reminding me of an enormous surf
bursting over the prostrate hull of a stranded vessel, and then
running, hissing and foaming up the beach. The hollow space became
in a twinkling covered with horsemen, crossing, turning, and riding
about in all directions, apparently without any object. Sometimes
they came pretty near us, then would retire a little. There were
lancers amongst them, hussars, and dragoons--it was a complete
_mêlée_. On the main ridge no squares were to be seen; the only
objects were a few guns standing in a confused manner, with muzzles
in the air, and not one artilleryman. After caracoling about for a
few minutes, the crowd began to separate and draw together in small
bodies, which continually increased; and now we really apprehended
being overwhelmed, as the first line had apparently been. For a
moment an awful silence pervaded that part of the position to which
we anxiously turned our eyes. 'I fear all is over,' said Colonel
Gould, who still remained with me. The thing seemed but too likely,
and this time I could not withhold my assent to his remark, for it
did indeed appear so.

"Meantime the 14th, springing from the earth, had formed their
square, whilst we, throwing back the guns of our right and left
divisions, stood waiting in momentary expectation of being enveloped
and attacked. Still they lingered in the hollow, when suddenly loud
and repeated shouts (not English hurrahs) drew our attention to
the other side. There we saw two dense columns of infantry pushing
forward at a quick pace towards us, crossing the fields, as if they
had come from Merke Braine. Every one both of the 14th and ourselves
pronounced them French, yet still we delayed opening fire on them.
Shouting, yelling, singing, on they came right for us; and being now
not above 800 or 1000 yards distant, it seemed folly allowing them
to come nearer unmolested. The commanding officer of the 14th to
end our doubts rode forwards and endeavoured to ascertain who they
were, but soon returned assuring us they were French. The order was
already given to fire, when luckily Colonel Gould recognised them as
Belgians. Meantime, whilst my attention was occupied by these people,
the cavalry had all vanished, nobody could say how or where.

"We breathed again. Such was the agitated state in which we were kept
in our second position. A third act was about to commence of a much
more stirring and active nature."

Now came, and in a dramatic fashion, the summons which brought troop G into the very front of the fight; and from this point Mercer's story is clear, sustained, and vivid:--

"It might have been, as nearly as I can recollect, about 3 P.M. when
Sir Augustus Frazer galloped up, crying out, 'Left limber up, and
as fast as you can.' The words were scarcely uttered when my gallant
troop stood as desired in column of sub-divisions, left in front,
pointing towards the main ridge. 'At a gallop, march!' and away we
flew, as steadily and compactly as if at a review.

"I rode with Frazer, whose face was as black as a chimney-sweep's
from the smoke, and the jacket-sleeve of his right arm torn open by
a musket-ball or case-shot, which had merely grazed his flesh. As we
went along he told me that the enemy had assembled an enormous mass
of heavy cavalry in front of the point to which he was leading us
(about one-third of the distance between Hougoumont and the Charleroi
road), and that in all probability we should immediately be charged
on gaining our position. 'The Duke's orders, however, are positive,'
he added, 'that in the event of their persevering and charging home,
you do not expose your men, but retire with them into the adjacent
squares of infantry.' As he spoke we were ascending the reverse
slope of the main position. We breathed a new atmosphere--the air
was suffocatingly hot, resembling that issuing from an oven. We were
enveloped in thick smoke, and, _malgré_ the incessant roar of cannon
and musketry, could distinctly hear around us a mysterious humming
noise, like that which one hears of a summer's evening proceeding
from myriads of black beetles; cannon-shot, too, ploughed the ground
in all directions, and so thick was the hail of balls and bullets
that it seemed dangerous to extend the arm lest it should be torn off.

"In spite of the serious situation in which we were, I could not
help being somewhat amused at the astonishment expressed by our
kind-hearted surgeon (Hitchins), who heard for the first time this
sort of music. He was close to me as we ascended the slope, and
hearing this infernal carillon about his ears, began staring round
in the wildest and most comic manner imaginable, twisting himself
from side to side, exclaiming, 'My God, Mercer, what is that? What
is all this noise? How curious!--how very curious!' And then when a
cannon-shot rushed hissing past, 'There!--there! What is it all!'
It was with great difficulty that I persuaded him to retire; for a
time he insisted on remaining near me, and it was only by pointing
out how important it was to us, in case of being wounded, that he
should keep himself safe to be able to assist us, that I prevailed
on him to withdraw. Amidst this storm we gained the summit of the
ridge, strange to say, without a casualty; and Sir Augustus, pointing
out our position between two squares of Brunswick infantry, left us
with injunctions to remember the Duke's order, and to economise our
ammunition.

"The Brunswickers were falling fast--the shot every moment making
great gaps in their squares, which the officers and sergeants were
actively employed in filling up by pushing their men together, and
sometimes thumping them ere they could make them move. These were the
very boys whom I had but yesterday seen throwing away their arms, and
fleeing, panic-stricken, from the very sound of our horses' feet.
To-day they fled not bodily, to be sure, but spiritually, for their
senses seemed to have left them. There they stood, with recovered
arms, like so many logs, or rather like the very wooden figures which
I had seen them practising at in their cantonments. Every moment I
feared they would again throw down their arms and flee; but their
officers and sergeants behaved nobly, not only keeping them together,
but managing to keep their squares close in spite of the carnage
made amongst them. To have sought refuge amongst men in such a state
were madness--the very moment our men ran from their guns, I was
convinced, would be the signal for their disbanding. We had better,
then, fall at our posts than in such a situation.

"Our coming up seemed to re-animate them, and all their eyes
were directed to us--indeed, it was providential, for, had we not
arrived as we did, I scarcely think there is a doubt of what would
have been their fate. That the Duke was ignorant of their danger
I have from Captain Baynes, our brigade-major, who told me that
after Sir Augustus Frazer had been sent for us, his Grace exhibited
considerable anxiety for our coming up; and that when he saw us
crossing the fields at a gallop, and in so compact a body, he
actually cried out, 'Ah! that's the way I like to see horse artillery
move.'"

Then follows perhaps the most spirited description of a duel betwixt guns and horsemen--from the gunner's point of view--to be found in English literature:--

"Our first gun had scarcely gained the interval between their
squares, when I saw through the smoke the leading squadrons of the
advancing column coming on at a brisk trot, and already not more than
one hundred yards distant, if so much, for I don't think we could
have seen so far. I immediately ordered the line to be formed for
action--case-shot! and the leading gun was unlimbered and commenced
firing almost as soon as the word was given; for activity and
intelligence our men were unrivalled.

"The very first round, I saw, brought down several men and horses.
They continued, however, to advance. I glanced at the Brunswickers,
and that glance told me it would not do; they had opened a fire
from their front faces, but both squares appeared too unsteady,
and I resolved to say nothing about the Duke's order, and take
our chance--a resolve that was strengthened by the effect of the
remaining guns as they rapidly succeeded in coming to action, making
terrible slaughter, and in an instant covering the ground with men
and horses. Still they persevered in approaching us (the first round
had brought them to a walk), though slowly, and it did seem they
would ride over us. We were a little below the level of the ground
on which they moved, having in front of us a bank of about a foot
and a half or two feet high, along the top of which ran a narrow
road--and this gave more effect to our case-shot, all of which almost
must have taken effect, for the carnage was frightful. The following
extract, from a related account of a conscript, translated from the
French and published by Murray, is so true and exact as to need
no comment: 'Through the smoke I saw the English gunners abandon
their pieces, all but six guns stationed under the road, and almost
immediately our cuirassiers were upon the squares, whose fire was
drawn in zigzags. Now, I thought, those gunners would be cut to
pieces; but no, the devils kept firing with grape, which mowed them
down like grass.'

"I suppose this state of things occupied but a few seconds, when I
observed symptoms of hesitation, and in a twinkling, at the instant
I thought it was all over with us, they turned to either flank and
filed away rapidly to the rear. Retreat of the mass, however, was
not so easy. Many facing about and trying to force their way through
the body of the column, that part next to us became a complete
mob, into which we kept a steady fire of case-shot from our six
pieces. The effect is hardly conceivable, and to paint this scene
of slaughter and confusion impossible. Every discharge was followed
by the fall of numbers, whilst the survivors struggled with each
other, and I actually saw them using the pommels of their swords
to fight their way out of the _mêlée_. Some, rendered desperate at
finding themselves thus pent up at the muzzles of our guns, as it
were, and others carried away by their horses, maddened with wounds,
dashed through our intervals--few thinking of using their swords, but
pushing furiously onward, intent only on saving themselves. At last
the rear of the column, wheeling about, opened a passage, and the
whole swept away at a much more rapid pace than they had advanced,
nor stopped until the swell of the ground covered them from our
fire. We then ceased firing; but as they were still not far off, for
we saw the tops of their caps, having reloaded, we stood ready to
receive them should they renew the attack.

"One of, if not the first man who fell on our side was wounded by his
own gun. Gunner Butterworth was one of the greatest pickles in the
troop, but at the same time a most daring, active soldier; he was No.
7 (the man who sponged, &c.) at his gun. He had just finished ramming
down the shot, and was stepping back outside the wheel when his foot
stuck in the miry soil, pulling him forward at the moment the gun was
fired. As a man naturally does when falling, he threw out both his
arms before him, and they were blown off at the elbows. He raised
himself a little on his two stumps, and looked up most piteously in
my face. To assist him was impossible--the safety of all, everything,
depended upon not slackening our fire, and I was obliged to turn from
him. The state of anxious activity in which we were kept all day,
and the numbers who fell almost immediately afterwards, caused me to
lose sight of poor Butterworth; and I afterwards learned that he had
succeeded in rising, and was gone to the rear; but on inquiring for
him next day, some of my people who had been sent to Waterloo told me
that they saw his body lying by the roadside near the farm of Mont
St. Jean--bled to death. The retreat of the cavalry was succeeded by
a shower of shot and shells, which must have annihilated us had not
the little bank covered and threw most of them over us. Still some
reached us and knocked down men and horses.

"At the first charge the French column was composed of grenadiers _à
cheval_[7] and cuirassiers, the former in front. I forget whether
they had or had not changed this disposition, but think, from the
number of cuirasses we found afterwards, that the cuirassiers led
the second attack. Be this as it may, their column reassembled. They
prepared for a second attempt, sending up a cloud of skirmishers,
who galled us terribly by a fire of carbines and pistols at scarcely
forty yards from our front."

Betwixt the cavalry rushes came little intervals of waiting, while the broken squadrons re-formed in the valley below, and the breathless gunners on the ridge renewed their ammunition. These pauses gave the French skirmishers--who had crept close up to the guns--their chance, and which were more trying to the British gunners than even the wild onfall of the horsemen:--

"We were obliged to stand with port-fires lighted, so that it was
not without a little difficulty that I succeeded in restraining the
people from firing, for they grew impatient under such fatal results.
Seeing some exertion beyond words necessary for this purpose, I
leaped my horse up the little bank, and began a promenade (by no
means agreeable) up and down our front, without even drawing my
sword, though these fellows were within speaking distance of me.
This quieted my men; but the tall blue gentlemen, seeing me thus
dare them, immediately made a target of me, and commenced a very
deliberate practice, to show us what very bad shots they were, and
verify the old artillery proverb, 'The nearer the target, the safer
you are.' One fellow certainly made me flinch, but it was a miss;
so I shook my finger at him and called him _coquin_, &c. The rogue
grinned as he reloaded, and again took aim. I certainly felt rather
foolish at that moment, but was ashamed after such bravado to let him
see it, and therefore continued my promenade. As if to prolong my
torment, he was a terrible time about it. To me it seemed an age.
Whenever I turned, the muzzle of his infernal carbine still followed
me. At length bang it went, and whiz came the ball close to the back
of my neck, and at the same instant down dropped the leading driver
of one of my guns (Miller), into whose forehead the cursed missile
had penetrated.

"The column now once more mounted the plateau, and these popping
gentry wheeled off right and left to clear the ground for their
charge. The spectacle was imposing, and if ever the word sublime
was appropriately applied, it might surely be to it. On they came
in compact squadrons, one behind the other, so numerous that those
of the rear were still below the brow when the head of the column
was but at some sixty or seventy yards from our guns. Their pace
was a slow but steady trot. None of your furious galloping charges
was this, but a deliberate advance at a deliberate pace, as of men
resolved to carry their point. They moved in profound silence, and
the only sound that could be heard from them amidst the incessant
roar of battle was the low, thunder-like reverberation of the ground
beneath the simultaneous tread of so many horses.

"On our part was equal deliberation. Every man stood steadily at his
post, the guns ready, loaded with a round-shot first and a case over
it; the tubes were in the vents; the port-fires glared and spluttered
behind the wheels; and my word alone was wanting to hurl destruction
on that goodly show of gallant men and noble horses. I delayed this,
for experience had given me confidence. The Brunswickers partook
of this feeling, and with their squares--much reduced in point of
size--well closed, stood firmly with arms at the recover, and eyes
fixed on us, ready to commence their fire with our first discharge.
It was indeed a grand and imposing spectacle. The column was led on
this time by an officer in a rich uniform, his breast covered with
decorations, whose earnest gesticulations were strangely contrasted
with the solemn demeanour of those to whom they were addressed. I
thus allowed them to advance unmolested until the head of the column
might have been about fifty or sixty yards from us, and then gave the
word 'Fire!' The effect was terrible, nearly the whole leading rank
fell at once; and the round-shot, penetrating the column, carried
confusion throughout its extent. The ground, already encumbered with
victims of the first struggle, became now almost impassable. Still,
however, these devoted warriors struggled on, intent only on reaching
us. The thing was impossible.

"Our guns were served with astonishing activity, whilst the running
fire of the two squares was maintained with spirit. Those who pushed
forward over the heap of carcasses of men and horses gained but a
few paces in advance, there to fall in their turn and add to the
difficulties of those succeeding them. The discharge of every gun was
followed by a fall of men and horses like that of grass before the
mower's scythe. When the horse alone was killed, we could see the
cuirassiers divesting themselves of the encumbrance and making their
escape on foot. Still, for a moment the confused mass (for all order
was at an end) stood before us, vainly trying to urge their horses
over the obstacles presented by their fallen comrades, in obedience
to the now loud and rapid vociferations of him who had led them on
and remained unhurt.

"As before, many cleared everything and rode through us; many came
plunging forward only to fall, man and horse, close to the muzzles of
our guns; but the majority again turned at the very moment when, from
having less ground to go over, it was safer to advance than retire,
and sought a passage to the rear. Of course the same confusion,
struggle amongst themselves, and slaughter prevailed as before, until
gradually they disappeared over the brow of the hill. We ceased
firing, glad to take breath. Their retreat exposed us, as before, to
a shower of shot and shells: these last, falling amongst us, with
very long fuses, kept burning and hissing a long time before they
burst, and were a considerable annoyance to man and horse. The bank
in front, however, again stood our friend, and sent many over us
innocuous."

Here is a picture of what may be called the human atmosphere of the battle in its later stages, the high-strung nerves, the weariness, the exhaustion of passion, the carelessness of close-pressing death, the fast-following alternation of deadly peril and of miraculous escape:--

"Lieutenant Breton, who had already lost two horses, and had mounted
a troop-horse, was conversing with me during this our leisure moment.
As his horse stood at right angles to mine, the poor jaded animal
dozingly rested his muzzle on my thigh; whilst I, the better to hear
amidst the infernal din, leant forward, resting my arm between his
ears. In this attitude a cannon-shot smashed the horse's head to
atoms. The headless trunk sank to the ground--Breton looking pale
as death, expecting, as he afterwards told me, that I was cut in
two. What was passing to the right and left of us I know no more
about than the man in the moon--not even what corps were beyond the
Brunswickers. The smoke confined our vision to a very small compass,
so that my battle was restricted to the two squares and my own
battery; and, as long as we maintained our ground, I thought it a
matter of course that others did so too.

"It was just after this accident that our worthy commanding officer
of artillery, Sir George Adam Wood, made his appearance through the
smoke a little way from our left flank. As I said, we were doing
nothing, for the cavalry were under the brow re-forming for a third
attack, and we were being pelted by their artillery. 'D--n it,
Mercer,' said the old man, blinking as a man does when facing a gale
of wind, 'you have hot work of it here,' 'Yes, sir, pretty hot;' and
I was proceeding with an account of the two charges we had already
discomfited, and the prospect of a third, when, glancing that way,
I perceived their leading squadron already on the plateau. 'There
they are again,' I exclaimed; and, darting from Sir George _sans
cérémonie_, was just in time to meet them with the same destruction
as before. This time, indeed, it was child's play. They could not
even approach us in any decent order, and we fired most deliberately;
it was folly having attempted the thing.

"I was sitting on my horse near the right of my battery as they
turned and began to retire once more. Intoxicated with success, I was
singing out, 'Beautiful!--beautiful!' and my right arm was nourishing
about, when some one from behind, seizing it, said quietly, 'Take
care, or you'll strike the Duke;' and in effect our noble chief,
with a serious air, and apparently much fatigued, passed close by me
to the front, without seeming to take the slightest notice of the
remnant of the French cavalry still lingering on the ground. This
obliged us to cease firing; and at the same moment I--perceiving a
line of infantry ascending from the rear, slowly, with ported arms,
and uttering a sort of feeble, suppressed hurrah, ankle-deep in a
thick, tenacious mud, and threading their way amongst or stepping
over the numerous corpses covering the ground, out of breath from
their exertions, and hardly preserving a line, broken everywhere into
large gaps the breadth of several files--could not but meditate on
the probable results of the last charge had I, in obedience to the
Duke's order, retired my men into the squares and allowed the daring
and formidable squadrons a passage to our rear, where they must have
gone thundering down on this disjointed line. The summit gained,
the line was amended, files closed in, and the whole, including our
Brunswickers, advanced down the slope towards the plain.

"Although the infantry lost several men as they passed us, yet on
the whole the cannonade began to slacken on both sides (why, I know
not), and, the smoke clearing away a little, I had now, for the first
time, a good view of the field. On the ridge opposite to us dark
masses of troops were stationary, or moving down into the intervening
plain. Our own advancing infantry were hid from view by the ground.
We therefore recommenced firing at the enemy's masses, and the
cannonade, spreading, soon became general again along the line."

Mercer, so far, had been fighting sabres with 12-pounders, and all the advantage had been on his side. He had inflicted enormous damage on the enemy, and suffered little himself. But now the enemy's guns began to speak, and Mercer's battery was smitten by a cruel and continuous flank fire, which practically destroyed it:--

"Whilst thus occupied with our front, we suddenly became sensible of
a most destructive flanking fire from a battery which had come, the
Lord knows how, and established itself on a knoll somewhat higher
than the ground we stood on, and only about 400 or 500 yards a little
in advance of our left flank. The rapidity and precision of this fire
were quite appalling. Every shot almost took effect, and I certainly
expected we should all be annihilated. Our horses and limbers being
a little retired down the slope, had hitherto been somewhat under
cover from the direct fire in front; but this plunged right amongst
them, knocking them down by pairs, and creating horrible confusion.
The drivers could hardly extricate themselves from one dead horse
ere another fell, or perhaps themselves. The saddle-bags, in many
instances, were torn from the horses' backs, and their contents
scattered over the field. One shell I saw explode under the two
finest wheel-horses in the troop--down they dropped. In some
instances the horses of a gun or ammunition waggon remained, and all
their drivers were killed.[8]

"The whole livelong day had cost us nothing like this. Our gunners,
too--the few left fit for duty of them--were so exhausted that they
were unable to run the guns up after firing, consequently at every
round they retreated nearer to the limbers; and as we had pointed our
two left guns towards the people who were annoying us so terribly,
they soon came altogether in a confused heap, the trails crossing
each other, and the whole dangerously near the limbers and ammunition
waggons, some of which were totally unhorsed, and others in sad
confusion from the loss of their drivers and horses, many of them
lying dead in their harness attached to their carriages. I sighed for
my poor troop--it was already but a wreck.

"I had dismounted, and was assisting at one of the guns to encourage
my poor exhausted men, when through the smoke a black speck caught my
eye, and I instantly knew what it was. The conviction that one never
sees a shot coming towards you unless directly in its line flashed
across my mind, together with the certainty that my doom was sealed.
I had barely time to exclaim 'Here it is, then!'--much in that
gasping sort of way one does when going into very cold water, takes
away the breath--'whush' it went past my face, striking the point of
my pelisse collar, which was lying open, and smash into a horse close
behind me. I breathed freely again.

"Under such a fire, one may be said to have had a thousand narrow
escapes; and, in good truth, I frequently experienced that
displacement of air against my face, caused by the passing of shot
close to me; but the two above recorded, and a third, which I shall
mention, were remarkable ones, and made me feel in full force the
goodness of Him who protected me among so many dangers. Whilst in
position on the right of the second line, I had reproved some of my
men for lying down when shells fell near them until they burst. Now
my turn came. A shell, with a long fuse, came slop into the mud at my
feet, and there lay fizzing and flaring to my infinite discomfiture.
After what I had said on the subject, I felt that I must act up to
my own words, and, accordingly, there I stood, endeavouring to look
quite composed until the cursed thing burst--and, strange to say,
without injuring me, though so near. The effect on my men was good."

But was it really a French battery which was wrecking Mercer's guns? Or, in the mad inevitable distraction of a great battle were the Allied gunners destroying each other? Mercer's story leaves this point in a state of very disquieting doubt:--

"We had scarcely fired many rounds at the enfilading battery, when
a tall man in the black Brunswick uniform came galloping up to me
from the rear, exclaiming, 'Ah! mine Gott!--mine Gott! vat is it you
doos, sare? Dat is your friends de Proosiens; an you kills dem! Ah!
mine Gott!--mine Gott; vil you no stop, sare?--vil you no stop? Ah!
mine Gott!--mine Gott! vat for is dis? De Inglish kills dere friends
de Proosiens! Vere is de Dook von Vellington? vere is de Dook von
Vellington? Ah! mine Gott!--mine Gott!' &c., &c., and so he went on
raving like one demented. I observed that if these were our friends
the Prussians, they were treating us very uncivilly; and that it
was not without sufficient provocation we had turned our guns on
them, pointing out to him at the same time the bloody proofs of my
assertion.

"Apparently not noticing what I said, he continued his lamentations,
and, 'Vil you no stop, sare, I say?' Wherefore, thinking he might
be right, to pacify him I ordered the whole to cease firing,
desiring him to remark the consequences. Psieu, psieu, psieu, came
our 'friends'' shots, one after another; and our friend himself had
a narrow escape from one of them. 'Now, sir,' I said, 'you will be
convinced; and we will continue our firing, whilst you can ride round
the way you came, and tell them they kill their friends the English;
the moment their fire ceases, so shall mine,' Still he lingered,
exclaiming, 'Oh, dis is terreeble to see de Proosien and de Inglish
kill von anoder!'

"At last, darting off, I saw no more of him. The fire continued on
both sides, mine becoming slacker and slacker, for we were reduced
to the last extremity, and must have been annihilated but for the
opportune arrival of a battery of Belgic artillery a little on our
left, which, taking the others in flank nearly at point blank, soon
silenced and drove them off. We were so reduced that all our strength
was barely sufficient to load and fire three guns out of our six.

"These Belgians were all beastly drunk, and, when they first came up,
not at all particular as to which way they fired; and it was only
by keeping an eye on them that they were prevented treating us, and
even one another. The wretches had probably already done mischief
elsewhere--who knows?"

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 7: These grenadiers _à cheval_ were very fine troops, clothed in blue uniforms without facings, cuffs, or collars. Broad--very broad--buff belts, and huge muff caps, made them appear gigantic fellows.]

[Footnote 8: "The field was so much covered with blood, that it appeared as if it had been flooded with it," &c.--Simpson's "Paris after Waterloo," &c., p. 21.]