Part 8

=Officers' Gold Crosses.=--King John VI also instituted, on July 26th, 1816, an officer's cross for bestowal upon those officers who had participated in all or any of the six campaigns which were fought during the Peninsular War. The cross of gold was awarded to all who fought in at least three campaigns, crosses of silver being given to those who had only been engaged in one or two. The cross illustrated was given to Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Brunton, for service in four campaigns. It has four ornamental arms, 1¹¹⁄₂₀ in. long, resting upon a green enamelled laurel wreath. In the centre of the obverse are the arms of Portugal in gold on a convex ground, surrounded by a blue enamelled circle, with the inscription GUERRA PENINSULAR. On the reverse is a continuous gold wreath of laurel, enclosing the pierced Roman numerals indicative of the total campaigns in which the recipient was engaged. The loop to carry the broad red blue-edged ribbon is attached to the cross by means of an inverted husk of gold. The gold cross, awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edward Brackenbury, differs somewhat from that awarded to Colonel Burton. The arms on the obverse of the cross are 1⁷⁄₂₀ in. long, and the coat-of-arms is of a somewhat different character, and is not surmounted by a crown. On the reverse the single gold pierced figure 4 is within a blue enamelled circle. A gold ball and swivel bar are used for attachment to a blue watered ribbon 1⅗ in. wide.

=Officer's Silver Cross.=--This was of the same size as Lieutenant-Colonel Brackenbury's, and suspended from a gold swivel bar, but the ribbon for suspension was blue silk ribbed, with broad pale yellow borders; the width 1⅗ in.

=Crosses for Ciudad Rodrigo.=--These were instituted on December 6th, 1819, for bestowal upon those who had distinguished themselves at the sorties on July 10th, 1810. They were given in gold to officers and in silver to privates who comprised the garrison. The cross has four arms, with blue enamelled edges tipped with gold beads. On the obverse is a gold tower, with rays issuing therefrom, upon a red enamelled ground enclosed by a white enamelled oval band. On the reverse is an inscription in gold letters upon a white enamelled ground, VALOR ACREDITADO EN CIUDAD RODRIGO. (See facing page 36.)

=Medal for Brunswick Contingent.=--On October 30th, 1824, Duke Charles II decided to award a medal to those who formed the Brunswick Contingent, which came to England in 1809 with the Duke Frederick William, and took part in the Spanish and Portuguese war against Napoleon. The Contingent fought in nearly all the battles between 1810-14. The officers received a silver medal, and sub-officers and privates one of bronze. The medal, 1³⁄₁₆ in. in diameter, has a plain double border, and is suspended from a crimson ribbon by means of a loop and ring. On the obverse is a wreath of laurel and oak and PENINSULAR; on the reverse is a military trophy with a studded shield, arranged sideways, on which the Duke's initials, C. C., are arranged in monogrammic form.

=Medal for British German Legion.=--King Ernest Augustus founded, on May 11th, 1841, a medal for distribution to the survivors of the British German Legion, who had served in the Peninsular War between 1803-14. The medal, having a double rim, was of bronze made from captured cannon. One and seven-twentieths inch in diameter, it bears on the obverse a cross _patée_ with double raised edges, in the centre of which is the King's monogram, E. A. R., surmounted by a crown; on the reverse within a laurel wreath is the inscription TAPFER UND TREU (Brave and Loyal), and within the rim KÖNIGLICH-DEUTSCHE LEGION (Royal German Legion). The medal is suspended from a 1⅖ in. white ribbon, with yellow stripe near the edge, by means of a ring and loop. I have in my possession one without the inscriptions, a laurel wreath and 1813 entirely filling the reverse. (See facing page 58.)

=Eve of Waterloo.=--On February 27th, 1815, Napoleon, untamed by adversity, escaped from Elba, and on March 1st landed at Cannes in Provence with 1,000 determined followers, but so rapidly did the people rally to his standard that by the 20th he had reached Paris with an army of such proportions that Louis was compelled to retire to Ghent, and the Bourbon dynasty was again forgotten. Early on the morning of June 12th Napoleon quitted the capital, on the 14th joined the army collected on the frontier, and commenced his last campaign, which was to terminate on the 18th at Waterloo. Wellington had been sent to take charge of an army which he described in a letter as "very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced staff," but we now know that, though it was "a green army," the right material was there, and only required the moulding of opportunity to make good form. Wellington's army comprised British, Hanoverian, and Belgian troops, with contingents of Nassau and Brunswick Oels. Of the 78,500 men comprising it, only about 43,000 were British, German, or Hanoverians. By the 18th it had been reduced to 74,040. The Prussian army was 115,000 strong. The French army, estimated at not less than 154,370, with 296 pieces of cannon--and variously at 127,000, 122,000, and 115,000, with 350 guns--was mainly composed of men "whose trade was war, and whose battles were as many as their years"; so that against the heterogeneous mass of men of various tongues commanded by Wellington, his great opponent was to hurl an army of veterans who could well be called upon to repeat the deeds of Marengo, of Friedland, and of Austerlitz. As it happened, the raw levies of Britain were to emulate the deeds of their brethren at Badajoz and Albuera.

On June 15th Napoleon's army crossed the Sambre, and on the morning of the 16th at Ligny he forced back the Prussians, but Blucher--falling back upon Wavre instead of Ligny--upset the French General's calculations. Meanwhile Wellington, having made arrangements with Blucher, was with his officers in the celebrated ballroom of the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels. Two hours after midnight the gaiety of the brilliant ballroom was subdued, and following the "sound of revelry by night" came "the cannon's opening roar" at Quatre Bras.

=Quatre Bras.=--By 8 o'clock the British had left Brussels, the 42nd and 92nd Highland Regiments having assembled to the sound of the pibroch, "Come to me and I will give you flesh"--an invitation to the wolf and raven, for which, as Forbes relates, the coming day did in fact spread an ample banquet. At 2 o'clock, after a march of 20 miles in sultry weather, they arrived at the hamlet of Quatre Bras, to find the Prince of Orange pluckily but feebly endeavouring to check the enemy, who had already gained Le Bois de Bossu. There, at the intersection of the Charleroi-Brussels and Namur-Nivelle roads, 7,000 Dutch-Belgians with 16 guns and no cavalry stood against Marshal Ney with 16,000 infantry, 1,700 cavalry, and 36 guns. It was, indeed, an unequal contest until the arrival of Pack's and Kempt's brigades. Wellington at once decided the wood must be taken, and then ensued an exceedingly sanguinary conflict ere, with the ultimate arrival of the Guards, the French were forced to retire. The Guards (mostly young soldiers) had arrived from Enghein after a march of 27 miles, having started at 3 o'clock in the morning to join the main body. They had halted at Nivelles to rest and feed, but the arrival of a Staff officer, urging them to hurry on, induced them to abandon their meal, and resume their march. They arrived on the field of battle at an opportune moment, and then, despite their fifteen hours' march without food or drink, the first brigade of Guards, having loaded their muskets and fixed bayonets, pushed their way into Le Bois de Bossu, and within half an hour regained possession of it, but they could do no more than hold it. Meanwhile a series of splendid struggles had been taking place. When the 95th had been ordered to clear Le Bois de Bossu, the Royals and the 28th (Gloucesters) were severely engaged on the left, while the 44th, the 42nd and 92nd Highland Regiments were hotly assailed on the right.

The 28th, after gallantly standing its ground under a furious cannonade, was suddenly, and on three different sides, assailed by French cavalry. Two faces of the square were charged by the lancers, while the cuirassiers galloped down upon another. It was, as Maxwell states, a trying moment. "There was a death-like silence; and one voice alone, clear and calm, was heard. It was their colonel's (Sir Philip Benson), who called upon them to be 'steady!' On came the enemy! The earth shook beneath the horsemen's feet, while on every side of the devoted band the corn bending beneath the rush of cavalry disclosed their numerous assailants. The lance-blades approached the bayonets of the kneeling front rank--the cuirassiers were within forty paces--yet not a trigger was drawn; but, when the word 'Fire!' thundered from the colonel's lips, each face poured out its deadly volley--and in a moment the leading files of the French lay before the square, as if hurled by a thunderbolt to the earth. The assailants, broken and dispersed, galloped for shelter to the tall rye, while a stream of musketry from the British square carried death into the retreating squadrons."

=42nd and French Lancers.=--The 42nd were not so fortunate, although their difficulty gave them the opportunity of again demonstrating the stern stuff of which they were moulded. The 42nd and 44th, the two foremost regiments posted in line on a reverse slope on the top of the Charleroi road, were suddenly and unexpectedly attacked in the rear by the French lancers under Wathier. The 42nd had almost formed square in the tall rye grass, all but the two flank companies having run in to form the rear face, when the leading squadron of lancers drove in the incompleted square, carrying along with it, by the impetus of their charge, several men of these two companies, and by spearing a number created considerable confusion, during which those who had been detached in the _mêlée_ fought back to back until the fire of their comrades drove off the cavalry, and enabled them to rejoin the ranks, where the body of the Black Watch, coolly standing firm, gradually closed up its faces, and bayoneted the daring lancers who had penetrated their square. These brave fellows, however, died hard; they killed the commanding officer, Sir Robert Macara, and wounded the three officers upon whom the command had devolved in the space of a few moments. The 42nd lost at Quatre Bras 298 officers and men killed and wounded.

The 44th were still more unfortunate, for, like the 42nd, they had found a difficulty in forming up in the corn, which was up to their shoulders, and having less time faced their ranks about and waited for the French lancers to get in close before firing a volley. The foremost went down, but those lancers were veterans who did not easily pale before the leaden storm, and individual troopers dashed on; they were, however, repulsed by the rear of the 44th, and galloped away eastward under a fire from the left company of the line. As a result of the cavalry attacks the 42nd and 44th were so reduced in numbers that at 5 p.m., when the first main attack had concluded, the remnants of the two regiments formed in a single square. Pack's Brigade, formed of the 42nd, 44th, 92nd, and 95th, lost in this strenuous engagement 800 out of 2,000 men.

The next cavalry charge fell upon Halkett's division, from which, in response to an appeal from Pack, whose men were out of ammunition, the 69th Regiment had been dispatched to assist. The 69th were later ordered by Halkett's aide-de-camp to form square to receive the advance of Kellerman's cavalry, which had trotted in from Charleroi, but the Prince of Orange unwisely countermanding the order, Kellerman and Guiton, leading the 8th Cuirassiers, passed round the flank of the 42nd and 44th square, and charging the unfortunate 69th in line, completely rolled them up; and within a few moments, of the 580 composing the 69th, 150 were dead or dying. During this unfortunate episode, Mr. Clarke, a volunteer, fought with remarkable desperation, killing three cuirassiers and preserving the colours he was carrying, although he had received twenty-six sabre cuts. Kellerman's success was short-lived, for the British artillery fire had begun to play havoc with his cavalry, while the fierce charge of the squadrons of cuirassiers upon the square of the 28th was repelled by deadly discharges of musketry, and the French cavalry were compelled to flee, and in their wild course, 2 miles from the field, they swept 2,000 dismounted horsemen into the stampede. Another incident should be recorded: the 92nd, having repulsed an attack of cavalry and infantry in an advanced movement, were retiring to the wood, when a French column halted and fired upon the Highlanders; already assailed by a superior force, this notwithstanding they held their ground until relieved by a regiment of the Guards, when they retired to their original position, but not before the regiment had lost 28 officers and nearly 300 men.

=Losses at Quatre Bras.=--Night compelled the cessation of hostilities, as at Ligny, and the French, having retired to their position held in the morning, left the British in possession of Gemioncourt and the southern end of the Bois de Bossu. The allied army lost at Quatre Bras 3,750 men, and of these 327 killed and 2,156 wounded were British; the French losses were at least 4,500. All those who took part in this battle, where the bull-dog tenacity of the British soldier was shown at its best, were awarded the Waterloo medal. In his dispatch Wellington stated, "I must particularly mention the 28th, 42nd, 79th, and 92nd regiments and the battalion of the Hanoverians." In addition to these the following British regiments were present at Quatre Bras: 2nd and 3rd Batts. 1st Foot Guards; Royal Scots; 32nd, 33rd, 44th, 69th, and 95th Regiments.

WATERLOO

After Quatre Bras Marshal Ney fell back upon Frasnes, and the wearied British, with their allies, piled arms, lighted their camp fires, and laid down to rest upon the field which they had so hardly held. The Prussians, after an intensely obstinate struggle, had been forced to retire to Ligny, when Blucher determined to unite with his 4th Corps and concentrate on Wavre. Wellington, recognising the importance of keeping in communication with the Prussian General, decided to fall back upon a position fronting the village of Waterloo, which, by the way, had already been selected by the British commanders as a suitable battleground. In retiring from Quatre Bras, the British cavalry were attacked by the French, and the 7th Hussars and squadrons of the 11th and 23rd Light Dragoons charged without success. The Life Guards, however, under Lord Uxbridge, compelled the enemy to retreat, and the British were allowed to quietly take up their position, which they did in decidedly inclement weather, rain falling heavily most of the day, and the night closing wild and stormy. Violent winds, heavy rain, thunder and lightning added to the discomfort of the cheerless bivouac of the allies. The Duke of Wellington and his staff occupied the village of Waterloo, while Napoleon with his brother Jerome and his generals passed the night of the 17th in a farm-house half a league from the Château de Hougomont, which, in advance of the right centre of the British, was held by detachments of the Brigade of Guards and about 300 Nassau Riflemen. This was considered by Wellington to be the key to the position, and how well the Guards maintained it is a matter of glorious history. It is estimated that the allied forces numbered 74,400, and the French 90,000, when just before noon Joseph Bonaparte directed the 2nd Corps to advance against Hougomont. "The British batteries opened on the French masses as they debouched--their own guns covered their advance--and under the crashing fire of 200 pieces of artillery--a fitting overture for such a field--Waterloo opened, as it closed, magnificently."

=The Guards at Hougomont.=--The Nassau light troops were soon forced from the wood surrounding the Château by overwhelming numbers, and the enemy pressed on to the Château, but the vigorous and disconcerting fire of the Foot Guards arrested them while daring charges compelled the French to give up possession of part of the wood. They were not, however, to be denied, and with great determination repeatedly assaulted the Château. During one of these attacks so closely did they press that the Guards not only lost their position in the garden, but falling back rapidly on the main building could not securely close the gate of the yard, and a number of daring French soldiers entered; the fire of the defenders, however, followed by a courageous sortie from the Château forced the French from the yard, but only after a most gallant struggle between the combatants. Then Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir James) Macdonnell, with the assistance of Captain Wyndham, Ensigns Gooch and Hervey and Sergeant Graham of the Coldstream Guards, closed the gate, but not until, as Captain Siborne relates, the French soldiers had fallen "a sacrifice to their undaunted and conspicuous gallantry." Failing to take the Château by assault, the French artillery was turned upon the old building; soon the tower was in a blaze, and, the fire reaching the chapel, a number of wounded--friend and foe--perished in the flames, which strangely enough are stated to have ceased at the feet of a wooden image of Christ. But when the shades of evening fell, the Coldstreams and Scots Guards still held Hougomont, despite the repeated attacks of 30,000 men, and when the day had been decided it was found that in the sanguinary conflict which had raged so long around this advanced position 6,000 men had been killed. 1,500 were killed within half an hour in the four-acre orchard; 600 French fell in the attack on the Château and farm; 1,100 British were killed in the orchard and meadow; 400 near the farm-garden; 25 in the garden; and 2,000 of both armies behind the great orchard. Opposite the gate of the Château 300 British soldiers lie buried.

=The Death of Picton.=--The second attack was made by D'Erlon, with the whole of his corps, against the left and centre; fortune favoured them temporarily when they obtained possession of Papelotte and La Haye Sainte. In repelling this attack the gallant Picton fell. The 5th division, waiting until the heads of the enemy's columns were within 40 yards, delivered a terrible volley, which annihilated the leading sections and put the main body into confusion. Picton, seizing the opportunity, called upon the men to "Charge!" but the word had hardly thundered from his lips ere a bullet pierced his forehead, and he fell from his saddle mortally wounded. The loss of a commander frequently means defeat, but "as he fell he heard the Highland lament answered by the deep execrations of Erin, and while the Scotch slogan was returned by the Irish hurrah his fading sight saw his favourite division rush on with irresistible fury. The French column was annihilated, and 2,000 dead enemies told how desperately he had been avenged. This was probably the bloodiest struggle of the day; when the attack commenced--and it lasted not an hour--the 5th division exceeded 5,000 men; when it ended they reckoned scarcely 1,000!"

=Charge of the Union Brigade.=--Following this affair, the famous charge of the Union Brigade took place. Lord Anglesea, observing that the French lancers and cuirassiers were preparing to make a flank attack upon the British infantry, wheeled the Royals, Royal North British Dragoons (Scots Greys), and Enniskilleners into line, charged and overwhelmed the French cavalry, and falling upon the disorganised infantry completed the brilliant work of the 5th division. It was in this charge that Sergeant Ewart of the Scots Greys captured the Eagle of the 45th Regiment. The Eagle of the 105th Regiment was captured by Captain Clarke of the Royal Dragoons--securing the right for these regiments to wear the Eagle badge--and 2,000 men were taken prisoners. The impetuosity of the British Dragoons carried them into the rear of the French position, and they were driven back by the French horsemen, their brave leader, Sir William Ponsonby, being killed in the retirement. Meanwhile the incessant attacks which Napoleon commanded had played havoc with several of the British regiments, necessitating the bringing into action of Wellington's reserves--indeed, the position had become so serious that the left wing of the army, though only partially engaged, had suffered so severely that it could not afford to send assistance to the right or centre.

=Great Regimental Losses.=--The loss in individual regiments was awful. Four hundred men of the 27th were mowed down in square without drawing a trigger (their medals in fine condition have fetched as many pounds as the number of the regiment represents). The 92nd, reduced to 200 men, made a daring attack upon a French column 2,000 strong, and with the aid of their countrymen, the Scots Greys, routed it. The 33rd, reduced to a skeleton, asked for support, and the commanding officer was told to "stand or fall where he was," and of the 28th and 73rd it is related that Wellington asked, pointing to a mass of killed and wounded men of these regiments, "What square is that so far in advance!" But the impoverishment of the regiments by incessant attacks and murderous artillery could not break the indomitable tenacity of the British; in vain had Milhaud's Cuirassiers, forty squadrons strong, thrice attacked the British squares. In vain did the remnants of these valorous squadrons, assisted by Kellerman and Guyot--making a total of seventy-seven squadrons, make a desperate effort to pierce those stubborn and thinning squares of British infantry. In vain did Ney repeat his attack upon the centre, even though he annihilated what remained of the German Legion, which had with such admirable courage held the farm of La Haye Sainte, and broke the formation of the British troops, causing Wellington to ask the question relating to the 28th and 73rd. In vain did the ten battalions of the Imperial Guard, led by Marshal Ney, push their way up the slopes between Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, for the Foot Guards--with the 52nd, 71st, and 92nd Regiments--offered such a murderous reception that "the Guard turned and fled." No wonder Napoleon ejaculated, "_A present c'est fini--sauvons nous!_" for, Wellington ordering the whole line to advance, the weary, hungry, and even wounded soldiers rushed forward with a joyous cheer and forced the retreat, which, as the British leader, with the 42nd and 95th, threw himself on Ney's flank, and the allied cavalry charged the enemy's columns, became an utter rout.