Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 11.djvu/363

 11 S. XI. MAY 8, 1915.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

353

LONDON, SATURDAY, M AY 8, 1915.

CONTENTS. No. 280.


 * NOTES: The Battle of Waterloo, 353 Webster and

1 Overbury's Characters,' 354 John Camden Hotten, 357 The German Emperor : Another View Wordsworth's Ideal Woman, and Burke's " Goodwill." 358 -Custody of Ecclesiastical Archives " The Bell and Horns," Brompton, 359.

QUERIES : Sir James Kennedy's '.Eneas Britannicus ' Flag of the Knights of Malta, 359-Authors Wanted Gramger's ' Sugar-Cane ' Mary Woff ington's Marriage Early Volunteering : "Plan II." Alt Ofen : Sarajevo M. McDonnell Madame Thiebault-Zichary Macaulay's Marriage Hemborow, 360 Terrace in Piccadilly

"Myriorama" Tomb of Alexander the Great Derwentwater Memorial " Imraorigeris " " Clyst " Cream-Coloured Horses, 361 Horncastle Dedication of Preston Parish Church Lists of Nonconformist Ministers Mont St. Michel-Peter Walker, 362.

REPLIES : Pack-horses, 362 St. Edmund Rich Electro- Plating and its Discoverers, 365 Mary Elizabeth Braddon Heraldic Queries: Maler Sherren Family "Cyder Cellars," 366 The Royal Regiment of Artillery : Fauquier

The Zanzigs Saltzburgers sent to Georgia, 367 Anstruther, Fife Printers' Work, 368 Alphabet of Stray Notes Roses as Cause of Colds and Sneezing London Spas, Baths, and Wells Mankinholes, 369-" Well ! of all and of all ! " Physiological Surnames : Laugher Duck's Storm : Goose's Storm Charles Manning The Banner of Sir Philip Francis, 370.

NOTES ON BOOKS :' Records of the Worshipful Com- pany of Carpenters 'Reviews and Magazines.

^Notices to Correspondents.

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO: HOUSSAYE AND THE MIDDLE GUARD.

WHEN Houssaye published his book on Waterloo some " years ago, I noticed certain what I considered inaccuracies in his account of the Imperial Guard's attack on Wellington's line at the end of the day. I thought these inaccuracies would be pointed out by future writers, but, instead of that, authors seem blindly to follow Houssaye's lead, and his errors, as I conceive them to be, are becoming (if they have not already become) stereotyped as actual facts. I trust I may be allowed to submit the following criticisms.

Houssaye makes Napoleon's Middle Guard attack Wellington's line with five battalions in four Echelons, the first echelon on the French right being, he says, the 1st bat- talion of their 3rd Grenadiers. Now it is only with this one echelon that I propose to deal, and I select it because I think he makes a, great mistake in trying to prove that it was defeated by Dutch-Belgian troops. In

my opinion Ditmer's troops had nothing to do with its defeat. I will show in detail Houssaye's peculiar way of dealing with evidence and jumping to erroneous con- clusions.

According to Houssaye, this is what happened :

1. This first French battalion repulsed a corps of Brunswickers.

2. It then seized the batteries of Cleeve and Lloyd.

3. It then changed its direction slightly and advanced against Halkett's left.

4. Whereupon Halkett's left (30th and 73rd) gave \vay and fell back in disorder.

5. Van der Smissen's battery being brought up on the right of the 30th and 73rd, the 1st bat- talion of the 3rd French Grenadiers was mowed down.

6. General Chasse" then brought forward Dit- mer's brigade of Dutch-Belgians, 3,000 strong, on the left of the 30th and 73rd. Ditmer's troops made a bayonet charge and utterly defeated and crushed the French battalion, driving the fugitives down the slope.

Let us now take these points seriatim and examine them.

1. The French Guard never attacked the Brunswickers. Siborne years ago exploded this error, which originated with General Alava. He, in his dispatch to the Spanish Government, made the mistake of saying that Napoleon at the head of his Guards drove back the Brunswickers. The Duke of Wellington afterwards wrote :

" General Alava's report is the nearest to the truth of the other official reports published, but even that report contains some statements that are not exactly correct."

It misled, among others, Craan, who in his well-known plan of the battle has placed the Brunswickers much too far in advance of Wellington's line. If, in fact, the Bruns- wickers had been where Craan has placed them, they would have found themselves surrounded by the enemy and in the middle of Donzelot's and Allix's forces ; for it was these troops that were opposed to the Brunswickers, not any portion of the Middle Guard. When Siborne constructed his cele- brated model of the battle-field, the truth came to light ; but even such a distinguished historian as Charras, years after Siborne 's discovery, put the Brunswick and Nassau troops in front of Maitland an altogether impossible position and placed Chasse's troops (both brigades) on Maitland's right.

2. This particular battalion may have got possession of Lloyd's abandoned guns, but I do not think it seized Cleeve 's as well.