WATERLOO 1815

ACCOUNTS OF THE 95TH RIFLES

composed by Geert van Uythoven

“(…) Our lines were formed behind a hedge, with two companies of the 95th extended in front, to annoy the Enemy’s approach.(…)”

[Letter from an officer]

“(…) We have but six companies in the country, and after the battle we were only 255 privates; 2 colonels, 1 major, 15 officers, 11 serjeants, and 1 bugler, were killed; my first-rank man was wounded by part of a shell through his foot, and he dropt as we was advancing; I covered the next man I saw, and had not walked twenty steps before a musket-shot came side-ways and took his nose clean off; and then I covered another man, which was the third; just after that, the man that stood next to me on my left hand had his left arm shot off by a nine-pound shot, just above his elbow, and he turned round and caught hold of me with his right hand, and the blood run all over my trowsers; we was advancing, and he dropt directly. After this, was ordered to extend in front of all our large guns, and small arms was firing at the British lines in our rear, and I declare to God, with our guns and the French guns firing over our heads, my pen cannot explain any thing like it; it was not 400 yards from the French lines to our British lines, and we was about 150 yards in front of our’s, so we was about 250 yards from the French, and sometimes not 100 yards; so I leave you to judge if I had not a narrow escape of my life: as I just said, we now extended in front; Boney’s Imperial horse guards, all clothed in armour, made a charge at us; we saw them coming, and we all closed in and formed a square just as they came within ten yards of us, and they found they could do no good with us; they fired with their carbines on us, and came to the right about directly, and at that moment the man on my right hand was shot through the body, and the blood ran out at his belly and back like a pig stuck in the throat; he dropt on his side; I spoke to him; he just said, ‘Lewis, I am done!’ and died directly. All this time we kept up a constant fire at the Imperial guards as they retreated, but they often came to the right-about and fired; and, as I was loading my rifle, one of their shots came and struck my rifle, not two inches above my left hand, as I was ramming down the ball with my right hand, and broke the stock, and bent the barrel in such a manner that I could not get the ball down; just at that time we extended again, and my rifle was no use to me; a nine-pound shot came and cut the serjeant of our company right in two; he was not above three file from me, so I threw down my rifle and went and took his rifle, as it was not hurt at the time. We had lost both our colonels, major, and two eldest captains, and only a young captain to take command of us; as for Colonel Wade, he went to England about three weeks before the battle. Seeing we had lost so many men and all our commanding officers, my heart began to fail, and Boney’s guards made another charge on us; but we made them retreat as before, and, while we was in square the second time, the Duke of Wellington and his staff came up to us in all the fire, and saw we had lost all our commanding officers; he, himself, gave the word of command; the words he said to our regiment were this, ‘95th, unfix your swords, left face and extend yourselves once more, we shall soon have them over the other hill;’- and then he rode away on our right, and how he escaped being shot God only knows, for all that time the shot was flying like hail-stones. (…)”

[Letter from John Lewis, private, 95th Rifle Regiment].

© Geert van Uythoven