THE SCENE AFTER THE BATTLE.
“The desolation which reigned on the scene of action cannot be described. The fields of corn were trampled down, and so completely beaten into the mire that they had the appearance of stubble. The ground was completely ploughed up, in many places, with the charge of the cavalry; and the horses’ hoofs, deep stamped into the earth, left the traces where many a dreadful struggle had been. The whole field was strewed with the melancholy vestiges of devastation: soldiers’ caps, pierced with many a ball,—eagles that had ornamented them,—badges of the legion of honor,—cuirasses’ fragments,—broken arms, belts, and scabbards, shreds of tattered cloth, shoes, cartridge-boxes, gloves, Highland bonnets, feathers steeped in mud and gore,—French novels and German testaments,—scattered music belonging to the bands,—packs of cards, and innumerable papersof every description, thrown out of the pockets of the dead, by those who had pillaged them,—love-letters, and letters from mothers to sons, and from children to parents;—all, all these, and a thousandfold more, that cannot be named, were scattered about in every direction.”
The total loss of the allies, during the four days, was sixty-one thousand and five hundred, and of the French forty-one thousand.
For my own part, I was fortunate enough to reach Brussels on the following day; but it was not till the 20th that my wounds could be attended to and dressed. So great was the number requiring surgical attendance, that, although the utmost diligence was used by every surgeon attached to the army, yet many died who might perhaps have been saved, could immediate attention have been given to their wounds. On this morning, the surgeon came to me, and, having examined my arm, declared that it must be amputated. To this I stoutly refused my consent. He still insisted upon it, saying that it would surely mortify, and cause my death; but I said to him that, if I must die, it should be with my arm attached. My readers may perhaps wonder at my obstinacy; but their astonishment may possibly diminish, when they learn that forevery jointamputated the operating surgeon obtained an enormous price from the government; and I was confident, in my own mind, that, in my wound, the fee lay at the foundation of his judgment. He persisted, but I was firm; and thuskept my arm, which has since, to my great joy, done me much good service. Others of my comrades in arms were not so fortunate. All day long the business of amputation went on, and at night three carts, laden with legs and arms, were carried away, leaving many hundreds of poor fellows on the invalid list for the remainder of their lives.
RECOVERY FROM WOUNDS.
I remained in the hospital at Brussels until September, when orders came that all the invalid soldiers able to be removed should be transported to England. There were four hundred and ninety shipped with myself on board the Tiger, and on the 17th day of September we arrived in Chatham. When our ship came into the harbor, we were welcomed with military honors, as soldiers deserving well of their country, and a national salute of sixty-two guns from Fort Pitt heralded our safe arrival in port. I was immediately carried to the hospital, for I was not yet recovered from my wounds, although able to be about part of the time.
Here I remained until the 3d of December, when I was pronounced cured by the surgeons of the hospital, or so far recovered from my wounds as not to require hospital treatment. My wounds at this time were so nearly healed that I could dress them myself, and I began to feel that I was a man again. I was now ordered to return again to the barracks, and wait until the board should meet to decide upon the disabled soldiers. I was ordered to Chelsea, into the garrison, under the command of Colonel McCabe,who treated me with great kindness and attention. Here I remained until the 17th of the following May, when orders were received for the invalid soldiers to go before the board for inspection. They did not meet, however, until the 5th day of June, when his Grace the Duke of York, commander-in-chief of the armies of England, convened the board.
Our whole regiment was called, and every man examined; and, reader, how many do you suppose there remained? We were one thousand strong, when we commenced our Peninsular campaign. Only seven men, with our colonel, who had lost one arm, were now alive! Nine hundred and ninety-two had fallen upon the field of mortal strife, and only seven men, beside myself, could be found, in less than one year after the bloody battle of Waterloo! Such, reader, are some of the horrors of war. Nine hundred and ninety-two men, in the prime of life and spirits, out of one thousand, sacrificed to gratify the ambition of kings and nobles!
We passed the board; and what do you think, reader, was the compensation we received for the service we had rendered our country during those years of carnage and blood? One shilling sterling per day! Less than one dollar and fifty cents per week was to be my pay for life, if I remained in Great Britain. Yet even this I was thankful to receive.
I returned, and remained in the garrison at Chelsea, with Colonel McCabe, until March, 1818, when I left to visit Ireland. I was then regularly musteredout of the British army, and returned again to my home, to visit the loved scenes of childhood days, and my ever dear parents, after an absence of eight years.
CONCLUSION.
For twelve years—that is, until 1830—I remained near my home, when, in consequence of certain things in which I was engaged, I was advised to leave the country with all possible haste. I accordingly petitioned government to commute my pension,—that is, give it up under certain conditions,—and settle in the American provinces. The officers whose duty it was to attend to such business answered that I could receive four years’ pay in advance, and two hundred and eighty acres of land in Upper Canada, upon the relinquishment of my pension. These terms were at once accepted by me, and drawing two years’ pay in Dublin, I sailed for Quebec. Here I received the remainder of my pay. I immediately proceeded to Montreal, where I took out the deed of my lands, which I now hold. Not feeling perfectly safe in the British provinces, I immediately started for the United States; on entering which, I felt that I was again a free man, and am determined to remain such as long as I live. I came into the immediate vicinity of Worcester, where I have ever since remained; and, by persevering labor, have supported thus far a large family of children. I expect to remain near or in this city, where I shall be happy to see any of my readers, and relate to them any of the incidents of my military lifewhich it was not possible for me to include in the preceding narrative.
In thus closing this brief history of my adventures, I can but look back with regret upon the scenes of strife and bloodshed in which I have been a participator; and if my description of the horrors of these scenes, faint and imperfect though it be, should add but one particle to that broad tide of influence that must be exerted ere the nations of this world shall learn to make war no more, I shall indeed have reason to rejoice, and to pray, with my readers, that that blessed time may soon come, when all this bloody array shall be changed into the peaceful implements of husbandry, and universal love and good-will shall everywhere prevail.
ERRATA.
The following paragraph should have been inserted on page 28, after the sentence ending on the 7th line:
Orders came to Dublin for militia volunteers. Knowing that I was in as great danger, as a deserter, whilst in the militia as at home, and being proud of the opportunity of volunteering, we were called by a general order to Phœnix Park, where I volunteered from the Lowth militia into the 28th regiment of foot, for foreign service, and received eighteen guineas, as volunteer’s pay,—being the fourth time I received the same sum.
Orders came to Dublin for militia volunteers. Knowing that I was in as great danger, as a deserter, whilst in the militia as at home, and being proud of the opportunity of volunteering, we were called by a general order to Phœnix Park, where I volunteered from the Lowth militia into the 28th regiment of foot, for foreign service, and received eighteen guineas, as volunteer’s pay,—being the fourth time I received the same sum.
FOOTNOTES:
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using the original cover as the background and is placed into the public domain.The sidenotes in this eBook appear in the original as page headers on odd numbered pages and have been moved to the beginning of the paragraphs to which they refer.The paragraph mentioned in the Errata should go between youth. and Preparations on page 28.Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using the original cover as the background and is placed into the public domain.
The sidenotes in this eBook appear in the original as page headers on odd numbered pages and have been moved to the beginning of the paragraphs to which they refer.
The paragraph mentioned in the Errata should go between youth. and Preparations on page 28.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.