They “succeeded to the utmost & overthrew every thing” – Uxbridge and the “heavies” at Waterloo 27 WATERLOO – UXBRIDGE, Henry William Paget, first earl of.
In two lengthy letters that crackle with character and detail, Lord Uxbridge, the future Marquess of Anglesey, commander of allied cavalry during the Waterloo campaign, discusses the withdrawal from Quatre Bras, and the day of Waterloo itself. Written within six months of the battle, these are perhaps Uxbridge’s earliest accounts. Such autograph material by any of the Allied commanders is vanishingly rare. Uxbridge (1768–1854) had been Wellington’s brilliant and inspiring commander of cavalry in the Peninsular War. At Waterloo his high-water mark came at perhaps the most critical moment of the battle: Picton’s allied infantry was threatened by overwhelming numbers and Uxbridge threw himself into action, organizing the British heavy cavalry and personally leading two brigades. “Thus, 2000 ‘heavies’ swept 15,000 French soldiers in wild disorder before them, destroying two field batteries and taking more than 2000 prisoners and two eagles. The enemy’s casualties numbered about 4500, but the cavalry lost 700 men and 900 horses” ( ODNB ). During the rest of the battle Uxbridge was constantly on the move, galloping from unit to unit – he had eight or nine horses shot from under him – rallying and cajoling. Then, as the battle was ending and with night coming on, his right knee was shattered by a grapeshot that had passed over the neck of Wellington’s horse. In one of the most famous exchanges of that day it is claimed that he remarked, “By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg!” to which Wellington coolly replied, “By God, sir, so you have!” John Morewood quotes from both letters in Waterloo General: The Life, Letters and Mysterious Death of Major General Sir William Ponsonby 1772–1815 (2016); and they are cited by Edward Owen in The Waterloo Paper: 1815 and Beyond (1997). Owen identifies the recipient as Colonel James Allan of the 57th Foot, who followed Fitzroy Somerset as military secretary to Wellington; he was at the storming of Seringapatam in 1799, and in the Peninsula from 1810 until the end of the war. Written in December 1815 from Uxbridge’s home at Beaudesert, Staffordshire, the letters are addressed to “My dear Sir” (the earlier signed off to “My dear Colonel”). In the first (10-pages, 9 December), Uxbridge discusses his actions on the day before Waterloo, when he covered the Anglo-allied withdrawal from the bruising encounter at Quatre Bras. He writes: “All was quiet until 1 p.m. when a very large body of the Enemies Cavalry & Artillery made its appearance upon the high ground on the left of Quatre Bras & which had come from the pursuit of the Prussians [defeated at Ligny]. After a short pause, it advanced & the necessary dispositions having been made & the light Battalions withdrawn, the Cavalry began its retreat in 3 Columns over the River Genappe”. In telling detail he describes the cavalry action at Genappe, as the harrying French troops “became so troublesome that it was necessary to check their impetuosity. For this purpose our Hussars were ordered to attack their Advanced
Album including two autograph letters signed giving a detailed commentary on the Waterloo campaign; and three from the Duke of Wellington to Sir Alexander Allan concerning East India Company and parliamentary affairs.
1806–45 £25,000
[ 154762 ]
Folio (300 × 245 mm). Black half morocco- grain skiver album, green pebble-grain cloth boards, linen hinged mounting leaves; contains an archive of 17 letters, 55 pp., various sizes, letters gummed direct to the leaf or with paper tape. Expected folds and minor toning to most letters, generally very good, the volume presenting handsomely. ¶ The Marquess of Anglesey, One-Leg: The Life and Letters of Henry William Paget, First Marquess of Anglesey 1768–1854 , 1991; David Howarth, Waterloo: A Near Run Thing , 1974.
Guard consisting of Lancers & a very spirited attack being soon after made by the Life Guards. It had the desired effect”. The second letter (9-pages, 18 December) covers the day of Waterloo itself, Uxbridge opening his remarks by commenting, “I wish I cd furnish you with what you want for the 18th, but I feel, if I undertook it, as if I shd be writing a history of my own exploits!” He then goes on to describe the famous charge of the British heavy cavalry: “The most destructive attack was made perhaps about 2 o’ck. upon 2 very large masses of Infantry & Cavalry that tried to force our Center. I ordered Sir W. Ponsonby (that most gallant officer & excellent fellow) to fall upon them with his Brigade, nearly at the same moment when I took down Ld Ed Somerset with the Household Brigade for the same purpose. Both succeeded to the utmost & overthrew every thing before them. 2 Eagles & above 2500 prisoners were taken in their Charges. They overthrew the Cavalry & penetrated into the squares of Infantry & really destroyed an immense number of men. They followed too far & suffered most severely principally from the enemys Artillery”. He goes on to mention the actions of brigade commanders Sir Wilhelm von Dörnberg, Sir Colquhoun Grant, and Colonel Friedrich von Arentsschildt, as well as those of Sir Ormsby Vandeleur and Sir Hussey Vivian. He concludes: “if you want more interesting details & individual exploits I know no one to whom you can better apply that to my Aid de Camp Captn Wildman of the 7th . . . He is at Steven’s Bond St.”; this is a reference to Captain Thomas Wildman and Stevens’s Hotel, fashionable with army officers and men about town.
SIXTY FINE ITEMS
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