History of the Campaign of the British, Dutch, Hanoverian, and Brunswick armies, under the command of the Duke of Wellington; and of the Prussians under that of Prince Blucher ... in ... 1815: with a plan of the battle of Waterloo ... by C. de M [i.e. Baron F. C. F. von Müffling] . Together,...

Front matter

JiM,^/in/ ,Iii</"i'"iI>ii>~ fi.i Bjfmtm Milii.trr /.i/,isitr.H'*itr/ia/L HISTORY OF THE CAMPAIGN OF THE BRITISH, DUTCH, HANOVERIAN, AND BRUNSWICK ARMIES, UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON; AND OF THE PRUSSIANS, Q UNDER THAT OF PRINCE BLUCHER OF WAHLSTADT, J 0 IN THE YEAR 1815 : WITH C* - A PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO; OR, LA BELLE-ALLIANCE. BY C. DE M. TOGETHrP. WITH \. j \ty AN ACCOUNT OF THE ofttCIN- OF THE PUBLICATION, A77D SOME PARTICULARS REGARDING BONAPARTE'S CONDUCT DURING THE BATTLE OF f/'ATERLOO; OF THE DEFENCE OF HUGOMONT, AND LA HAYE SAINTE; OF THE PROGRESS OF GROUCHY'S ARMY, &c. BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, BART. " La critique est aisfie, mais 1 art est difficile." LONDON: PRINTED FOR T. EGERTON, MILITARY LIBRARY, WHITEHALL. 1S16. lorutoli Printed by R M'MilUn, J V-nr-ttrwt, Cev-uit-Cudcn. $ INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS, GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN O* THIS PUBLICATION.

BY SIR JOHN SINCLAIR. It appears to me, that the battle of Waterloo, is the greatest event recorded in history. We all know the important results which have already taken place, in consequence of the victory we there obtained. Had it been the reverse, it is impossible to calculate the mischief that would have followed. It is not easy keeping together an unsuccessful alliance ; and the expences of a protracted war, might have proved ruinous to the financial system of Great Britain, which at present experiences such difficulties, notwithstanding the immense savings which were effected, in consequence of the successful termination of that dreadful conflict*. * Many poetical effusions, by the justly celebrated Walter Scott and others, have appeared on the battle of Waterloo, but in no poet, whether ancient or modern, can passages be found, more applicable to that battle, than the following from the poem of Fingal, as translated by the Rev. Doctor Ross.

" As roll a thousand waves to the shore, the troops of Swaran advanced : as meets the shore a thousand waves, so firm stood Erin's jons. There were the groans of death ! The hard crash of contending arms: shields and mails iu shivers on the ground: swords like light ning gleaming in the air : the cry of battle from wing towing: the loud, bloody, hot encounter : chief mixing his strokes with chief, and man with man. a The battle of Zama is the only event in ancient his tory, that can be put in comparison with that of Waterloo. There, two disciplined armies, under two great Generals, were opposed to each other, and the conflict, it may be said, terminated the rivalship between Rome and Car thage. But the results of even that great battle, were greatly inferior to those of Waterloo, on which depended, not only the fate of two rival nations, but of Europe, and of the world at large.

Appendix

. No. I. Return of the Troops serving in Flanders, un- -j der His Grace the Duke of Wellington, in > 85 June 1815, * Order of Battle of the Army under Field- ) Marshal the Duke of Wellington, - 3 II. Order of Battle of the Prussian Army, under •% the command of Field-Marshal Prince Blu- > 91 cher of Wahlstadt, on the 15th June, 1815, J III. Composition, or " Order of Battle," of the~> French Armies of the North, and of the Mo- J selle, under the command of Napoleon Bo- I iiaparte, at the opening of the Campaign, on f the 15th of June, 1815. Translated from I an Official Document, - - . J IV. The London Gazette Extraordinary, - 111 V. Field-Marshal Blncher's Official Report of the^ Operations of the Prussian Army of the > 118 Lower Rhine, ... J VI. The Duke of Wellington's Order of the Day,^» June 20, 1815 ; and Proclamation, June 21, ? 127 1815, * X rASE No. VII.

Letter from Prince Blucher to Marshal Davoust, 129 VIII. Convention of St. Cloud, - - 130 IX. A State of the Armies of the North, and of \ the Moselle, with which Bonaparte com- V 133 men ted the Campaign, in June, 1815, ™ On the Organization of the French Armies, 134 X. Information collected by Sir John Sinclair, re-) .„? garding the Battle of Waterloo, - J Narrative of the Conduct of Napoleon Bona--s parte on the lSthof June, 1815, during i and after the Battle of Waterloo; from s. 137 the evidence of John Baptist De Coster, i who served him as a Guide on that day, J Account of the Defence of Hugomout - 143 Account of the Attack on the Farm-house of "\ La Haye Sainte, during the Battle of Waf terloo; of its defence; and the circum- C stances which led to its being abandoned, j Particulars regarding Marshal Grouchy'sArmy, 150 On the Conduct of the Scotch Corps, at the -\ Battle of Waterloo, and during their stay > 152 jn the Netherlands.

By Sir John Sinclair, ■» Sergeant Evvart's Letter to his Father, - 155 Sir Henry Torrens'& Letter to Sir John Sin- ) clair, on Sergeant Ewart's Promotion, - ) Extract of a Letter from an Officer in the *\ British Army, regarding the Battle of Wa- > 157 terloo, - - - J ERRATA. The Translation being written in a German hand, and the Author of the original being at so great a distance, that it was impossible to procure his assistance in correcting the proofs, in any reasonable time, errors in printing were unavoidable; and the reader is requested in particular to correct the following. Page viii, line 1G, for elite, read noyau, or kernel. — x, — 11, for 1803, read 1813. — xi, — 8, far Saon, rearfLaon. — — — 19, for the 12th, read the 1st of July. Page 1 1 , at bottom, read, but the correctest movement was, to march with the whole army, (including the Guards, consisting of 6 corps), in two columns, so as to separate ihe English army from the Prussian.

Page 15, line 3, for Colville's British Division, read 1st British Brigade, and 1st Hanoverian Brigade of I olville's Division. — - 16, line 25, for Herbes-le-Braine, read Merbss-le-Braiae. PLAN OF THE BATTLE. TTT, the Duke of Wellington's Attack, at half past seven o'clock. U U, arrival of the 2d Prussian Corps, under Major-General Pirch, at half past seven o'clock. V V, attack of the 4th Prussian Corps, conjointly with the 1st Corps, at seven o'clock. W W, *he French Army routed, with exception, X X, of the 2d Corps, (but which shares the same fate near Rossomme), of the Sth Corps, and of the Young Guards; which, Y Y, by the 2d and 4th Corps united, are driven out of Planchenoit, and from the environs, at nine o'clock. Z Z, the 6th French Corps, and the Young Guards, on their retreat, equally routed.