fields of rye, which grows in Flanders to an unusual and gigantic height.

In this situation it became the principal object of the French to secure the wood, from which they might debouche upon the Brussels road. The Prince of Orange made every effort to defend it; but, in spite of his exertions, the Belgians gave way, and the French occupied the disputed post. At this critical moment the division of Picton, the corps of the Duke of Brunswick, and shortly after the division of guards from Enghien, came up and entered the action.* 'What

gan to arrive, and the melancholy spectacle of these poor sufferers increased the general despondency. The streets were filled with the most pitiable sights. We saw a Belgic soldier dying at the door of his own home, and surrounded by his relations, who were weeping over him; numerous were the sorrowful groups standing round the dead bodies of those who had died of their wounds in the way home. Numbers of wounded, who were able to walk, were wandering upon every road; their blood-stained clothes and pale haggard countenances, perhaps, giving the idea of sufferings much greater than the reality.'

* Extract of a Letter from an Officer to his Friend in Cumberland.

At two o'clock on the 15th of June, we arrived at Genappe, from whence we heard firing very distinctly; half an hour afterwards we saw the French columns advancing, and we had scarcely taken our position when they attacked us. Our front consisted of the 3rd and 5th Divisions, with some Nassau people, and a brigade of cavalry. The business was begun by the first battalion of the 95th, which was sent to drive the Enemy out of some corn-fields, and a thick wood, of which they had possession: after sustaining some loss, we succeeded completely; and three companies of Brunswickers were left to keep it, while we acted on another part of the line: they, however, were driven out immediately; and the French also got possession of a village which turned our flanks. We were then obliged to return, and it took us the whole day to retake what had been lost. While we were employed here, the remainder of the army were in a much more disagreeable situation: for in consequence of our inferiority in cavalry, each regiment was obliged to form a square, in which manner the most desperate attacks of infantry and charges of cavalry were resisted and repelled; and when night put an end to the slaughter, the French not only gave up every at

soldiers are those in the wood?' said the Duke of Wellington to the Prince of Orange. Belgians;' answered the Prince, who had not yet learned the retreat of his troops from this important point; 'Belgians!' said the Duke, whose eagle eye instantly discerned what had happened, they are French, and about to debouche on the road; they must instantly be

tempt on our position, but retired from their own, on which we bivouacked. I will not attempt to describe the sort of night we passed-I will leave you to conceive it. The groans of the wounded and dying, to whom no relief could be afforded, must not be spoken of here, because on the 18th it was fifty thousand times worse. But a handful of men lying in the face of such superior numbers, and being obliged to sleep in squares for fear the Enemy's dragoons, knowing that we were weak in that arm, might make a dash into the camp, was no very pleasant reverie to soothe one to rest. Exclusive of this, I was annoyed by a wound I had received in the thigh, and which was become excessively painful. I had no great coat, and small rain continued falling until late the next day, when it was succeeded by torrents. Boney, however, was determined not to give us much respite, for he attacked our piquets at two in the morning; some companies of the 95th were sent to their support; and we continued skirmishing until eleven o'clock, when the Duke commenced his retreat, which was covered by Lord Uxbridge. The Blues and Life Guards behaved extremely well.'

Extract of a Letter from an Officer in the Guards.

'We were suddenly moved from Enghien, where we had remained so many weeks in tranquillity, on the night of the 15th instant, or rather the morning of the 16th, at three o'clock. We continued on our march through Braine-le-Comte, (which had been the Prince of Orange's head-quarters,) and from thence on to Nivelles, where we halted, and the men began making fires and cooking. 'During the whole of this time, and as we approached the town, we heard distinctly a roaring of cannon; and we had scarcely rested ourselves, and commenced dressing the rations, which had been served out at Enghien, when an Aidede-Camp from the Duke of Wellington arrived, and ordered us instantly under arms, and to advance with all speed to Les Quatre Bras, where the action was going on with the greatest fury, and where the French were making rapid strides towards the object they had in view, which was to gain a wood, called Bois de Bossu; a circumstance calculated to possess them of the

driven out of the wood.'. This task was committed to General Maitland, with the grenadiers of the Guards, who, after sustaining a destructive fire from an invisible enemy, rushed into the wood with the most determined resolution. The French, who were hitherto supposed unrivalled in this species of warfare, made every tree, every bush, every ditch, but

road to Nivelles, and to cut off the communication between them and the other forces which were coming up. The order was, of course, instantly obeyed; the meat which was cooking, was thrown away; the kettles, &c. packed up, and we proceeded, as fast as our tired legs would carry us, towards a scene of slaughter, which was a prelude well calculated to usher in the bloody tragedy of the 18th.

We marched up towards the Enemy, at each step hearing more clearly the fire of musquetry; and as we approached the field of action, we met constantly waggons full of men, of all the various nations under the Duke's command, wounded in the most dreadful manner. The sides of the road had a heap of dying and dead, very many of whom were British: such a scene did, indeed, demand every better feeling of the mind to cope with its horrors; and too much cannot be said in praise of the Division of Guards, the very largest part of whom were young soldiers, and volunteers from the Militia, who had never been exposed to the fire of an enemy, or witnessed its effects. During the period of our advance from Nivelles, I suppose nothing could exceed the anxiety of the moment, with those on the field. The French, who had a large cavalry and artillery, (in both of which arms we were quite destitute, excepting some Belgian and German guns,) had made dreadful havock in our lines, and succeeded in pushing an immensely strong column of tirailleurs into the wood I have before mentioned, of which they had possessed themselves, and had just began to cross the road, having marched through the wood, and placed affairs in a critical situation, when the Guards luckily came in sight. The moment we caught a glimpse of them, we halted, formed, and having loaded, and fixed bayonets, advanced; the French immediately retiring; and the very last man who attempted to re-enter the wood, was killed by our grenadiers. At this instant, our men gave three glorious cheers, and, though we had marched fifteen hours without any thing to eat and drink, save the water we procured on the march, we rushed to attack the Enemy. This was done by the 1st brigade, consisting of the 2d and 3d battalions of the first regiment; and the 2d brigade, consisting of the 2d battalion of the Coldstream and third regiment, were formed as a reserve along

more especially a small rivulet which run through the wood posts of determined and deadly defence, but were pushed from one point to another until they were fairly driven out of the wood. Then followed a struggle of a new and singular kind, and which was maintained for a length of time As often as the British endeavoured to advance from the skirts

the chaussee. As we entered the wood; a few noble fellows, who sunk down overpowered with fatigue, lent their voice to cheer their comrades. The trees were so thick, that it was beyond any thing difficult to effect a passage. As we approached, we saw the Enemy behind them, taking aim at us: they con tested every bush, and at a small rivulet running through the wood, they attempted a stand but could not resist us, and we at last succeeded in forcing them out of their possessions. The moment we endeavoured to go out of this wood, (which had naturally broken us,) the French cavalry charged us; but we at last found the third battalion, who had rather skirted the wood, and formed in front of it, where they afterwards were in hollow square, and repulsed all the attempts of the French cavalry to break them. Our loss was most tremendous, and nothing could exceed the desperate work of the evening; the French infantry and cavalry fought most desperately; and after a conflict of nearly three hours, (the obstinacy of which could find no parallel, save in the slaughter it occasioned,) we had the happiness to find ourselves complete masters of the road and wood, and that we had at length defeated all the efforts of the French to outflank ùs, and turn our right, than which nothing could be of greater moment to both parties. General Picton's superb division had been engaged since two o'clock P. M., and was still fighting with the greatest fury; no terms can be found sufficient to explain their exertions. The fine brigade of Highlanders suffered most dreadfully, and so did all the regiments engaged.

Extract of a Letter from a Private of the 42d Regiment to his

Father:

On the 15th, about twelve o'clock at night, we turned out, and at two in the morning marched from the city of Brussels to meet the enemy, who were advancing in great force on that city. About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 16th, we came up with them. Our whole force did not exceed 12,000 men, who were fatigued with a long march of upwards of twenty miles, encumbered with knapsacks and other luggage. The day was uncommonly warm and no water to be had on the road; however,

of the wood, they were charged by the French cavalry, and compelled to retire. The French then advanced their columns again to force their way into the wood, but were compelled to desist by the heavy fire and threatened charge of the British. And thus there was an alternation of advance and retreat with very great slaughter on both sides, until

we were brought up in order of battle. The French being strongly posted in a thick wood, to the number of 40,000 men, including cavalry and lancers, gave us very little time to look round us ere the fight commenced on both sides, in an awful anddestructive manner, they having every advantage of us, both as to position and numbers, particularly in cavalry, as the British dragoons had not yet come up. The French cavalry charged the British line of infantry three different times, and did much execution, until we were obliged to form squares of battalions, in order to turn them, which was executed in a most gallant manner, and many hundreds of them never returned. Still they sent up fresh forces, and as often we beat them back. The battle lasted until it was quite dark, when the Enemy began to give way, our poor fellows who were left alive following them as long as they could see, when night put an end to the fatigues of a well-fought day. Thousands on both sides lay killed and wounded on the field of battle; and, as the greater part of the action lay in corn fields along a vast track of country, many hundreds must have died for want of assistance through the night, who were not able of themselves to crawl away. I was wounded by a musket-ball, which passed through my right arm and breast, and lodged in my back, from whence it was extracted by a surgeon in the hospital of this place. Captain M. is most severely wounded, having several shots through his body, and his regiment in general are mostly cut off. We have heard, since we came here, that our fine brigade, which entered the field on that eventful day, consisting of the 3d battalion Royal Scots, 42d, 44th, and 92d regiments, are now formed into one battalion, not exceeding in the whole 400 men.'

The 928 Highlanders while rushing to the charge had their gallant Colonel Cameron killed. Lieut. Col. Mitchel then took the command of the regiment, was soon wounded, and carried off the field, resigning the command to Capt. Holmes, the senior officer present. Capt. Holmes was soon after wounded, and carried off. Capt. Dugald Campbell then took the command, and he was soon wounded and carried off; the command thus devolved on the next senior officer present. The first regiment of guards lost 500 men in this battle.