ROYAL ARTILLERY.

2.Afterwards Col. Dansey, C.B. Served in the Pa. Sev. wnded. at Waterloo. D. 21st July, 1853.

3.Afterwards Maj. Ord. K.H. Placed on temporary h. p. 1st April, 1817, and again from 1st Feb., 1819, to 1823. D. 4th Dec., 1828.

4.Was attached to the Swedish army in 1813–1814, and saw much service. Recd. a gold medal from the Prince Royal of Sweden for the siege of Gluckstadt, and made a Knt. of the Rl. Order of the Sword in 1814. Retd. on f. p. as maj. 15th June, 1840. D. at Malta, 27th Sept., 1840.

5.Afterwards Brig.-Gen. in the Crimea, where he met a soldier’s death at Inkermann by the bursting of a shell. Served as a subaltern with the Rocket Troop sent to Germany, and was present at the battles of Goerde and Leipsic in 1813. K.St.A. of Russia, and the Swedish Order of the Sword. Dangerously wounded at Waterloo, and his recovery was miraculous. Eldest son of the Hon. Charles Strangways, by Jane, dau. of Rev. Dr. Haines. Bn. 28th Dec., 1790. M., 20th July, 1833, Sophia, eldest dau. of Benjamin Harenc, and had issue.

6.Lost a leg at Tarbes. D. in Dublin, 28th Feb., 1827.

1.Came of a military race. 2nd son of Gen. Mercer, R.E. Bn. 1783. Served in South America in 1807–1808. His troop came in for the hottest part of the battle on Waterloo Day, and suffered considerably in loss of men and horses. Sir George Wood, R.A., paid the battery a visit on that memorable afternoon, and was surprised to find so many cannon balls whizzing round his ears. “D——n it, Mercer,” he exclaimed, “you seem to be having a hot time of it here.” Hot it was for all parties concerned, but the gallant way in which the gunners worked their guns kept the French cavalry from reaching the infantry squares behind Mercer’s battery. In after years Gen. Mercer published hisJournal of the Waterloo Campaign, which is a delightful book in every respect. Attained the rank of gen. and col.-comdt., and d. at Cowley Cottage, Exeter, 9th Nov., 1868.

2.Retired by the sale of his commission 5th April, 1831.

3.Of Herringfleet Hall, Suffolk. 3rd son and eventual heir of Maj. George Leathes, by Mary, dau. of J. Moore. Served in the Pa. Resigned his commission in 1819. Was distinguished through life for his benevolence and philanthropy, and was equally beloved by rich and poor, young and old, soldiers and civilians. He d. at Lowestoft, 16th Dec., 1864. An interesting obituary notice appeared in theGentleman’s Magazinesoon after his lamented death. He left issue by his marriage with Charlotte, dau. of Thos. Fowler, of Gunton Hall, Suffolk.

4.2nd son of Capt. Thos. Hincks, of Marfield, co. Leicester, by Joanne, eldest dau. of Lt.-Col. Roger Morris, of York. Retd. as capt. on h. p. 1826. M., 31st May, 1826, Henrietta, dau. of Henry Pulleine, of Crake Hall, co. York and d. s. p. 14th Oct., 1842.

5.The following anecdote is taken from Gen. Mercer’sWaterloo Journal: “Lt. Breton, who had already lost two horses and had mounted a troop horse, was conversing with me during a leisure moment. As his horse stood at right angles to mine, the poor jaded animal dozingly rested his muzzle on my thigh; whilst I, the better to hear amidst the infernal din, leant forward, resting my arm between his ears. In this attitude a cannon ball smashed the horse’s head to atoms, and the headless trunk sank to the ground!” Retd. on h. p. 1st Oct., 1820, and d. at Lyndhurst, 17th March, 1852.

1.This officer’s name has been immortalised by Napier in hisPeninsular War. He came of a Scottish family, and was the eldest of three sons of a retired naval officer who resided in Edinburgh. He was the pride and glory of the branch of the army to which he belonged, and the beau-ideal of what a Horse Artilleryman should be. He served with great credit in Maj. Bull’s troop of R.H.A., in the Pa., from 1811 to 1813. It was in the campaign of 1811 that he performed the brilliant action which Napier’s facile pen has so strikingly illustrated. This happened on 5th May, 1811, when, the British cavalry out-guards being far outnumbered near Fuentes d’Onor, were driven in upon their supports, and Capt. Ramsay found himself cut off. It is a matter of history how Ramsay, at the head of his battery, charged like awhirlwind through the French squadrons who intervened between his handful of men and the British troops, and rejoined the latter in safety when given up for lost. And at the battle of Vittoria, Ramsay again distinguished himself, but, by an unfortunate act of disobedience to Wellington’s orders, he incurred the Iron Duke’s iron displeasure. The story has been told as follows by a well-known author, and differs somewhat from the account given by Col. Duncan in hisHistory of the Royal Artillery:—“I remember hearing a striking instance of what, perhaps, might be called severe justice, which he exercised on a young and distinguished officer of artillery in Spain; and though one cannot help pitying the case of the gallant young fellow who was the sacrifice, yet the question of strict duty, to the very word, was set at rest for ever under the Duke’s command, and it saved much after trouble, by making every officer satisfied, however fiery his courage or tender his sense of being suspected of the white feather, that implicit obedience was the course he must pursue. The case was this: The army was going into action. The Duke posted an officer, with his six guns, at a certain point, telling him to remain there until he had orders from him. Away went the rest of the army, and the officer was left doing nothing at all, which he didn’t like; for he was one of those high-blooded gentlemen who are never so happy as when they are making other people miserable, and he was longing for the head of a French column to be hammering away at. In half an hour or so he heard the distant sound of action, and it approached nearer and nearer, until he heard it close beside him; and he wondered rather that he was not invited to take a share in it, when, pat to his thought, up came an aide-de-camp at full speed, telling him that Gen. Somebody ordered him to bring up his guns. The officer asked, ‘Did not the order come from Lord Wellington?’ The aide-de-camp said ‘No,’ but from the gen., whoever he was. The officer explained that he was placed there by Lord Wellington, under command not to move unless by an order from himself. The aide-de-camp stated that the general’s entire brigade was being driven in, and must be annihilated without the aid of the guns, and asked, ‘Would he let a whole brigade be slaughtered?’ in a tone which wounded the young soldier’s pride, savouring, as he thought it did, of an imputation on his courage. He immediately ordered his guns to move, and joined battle with the general; but while he was away an aide-de-camp from Lord Wellington rode up to where the guns had been posted, and, of course, no gun was to be had for the service which Lord Wellington required. Well, the French were repulsed, as it happened; but the want of those six guns seriously marred a pre-concerted movement of the Duke’s, and the officer in command of them was immediately put in arrest. Almost every general officer in the army endeavoured to get this sentence revoked, lamenting the fate of a gallant fellow being sent away for a slight error in judgment while the army was in full action; but Lord Wellington was inexorable, saying he must make an example to secure himself in the perfect obedience of officers to their orders, and it had the effect.”—Mr. Lover’sHandy Andy. To a man of Norman Ramsay’s highly honourable and sensitive nature the circumstances of his arrest, coupled with the omission of his name from the Vittoria despatches, and the loss of a brevet he had well earned, may be said to have inflicted a wound which neither time nor subsequent honours could heal. Three weeks after his arrest he was restored to the command of his battery, to the great joy of the whole army in Spain, and after the battle of the Bidassoa he was promoted bt. maj. At Waterloo he commanded the H Troop R.H.A., and his forward gallantry in that battle attracted the fatal bullet which put an end to his noble life. He was buried on the field by his great friend Sir Augustus Frazer, during a momentary lull in the battle, but three weeks later was disinterred and his body sent to Edinburgh, as the onlyconsolation to his aged father, half-demented with grief, who was fated to lose his three gallant sons in the short space of eight months. Norman Ramsay m., 14th June, 1808, Mary Emilia, eldest dau. of Lt.-Gen. MacLeod, of Macleod. Sir Augustus Frazer erected a monument to Ramsay’s memory on the field of Waterloo. The hero’s remains were subsequently interred in Inveresk Churchyard.

2.Brother to Gen. Sir John Macdonald, Adjt.-Gen., and to Col. Robert Macdonald, 1st Foot. Aftds. Lt.-Gen., C.B., and K.St.A. Served at the capture of the in 1806, and was taken prisoner at Buenos Ayres in 1807. Served in the Pa. and distinguished himself at Busaco and San Sebastian. Was sev. wnded. at Waterloo. Bt. Maj. D. at Aix-la-Chapelle, 31st May, 1856.

3.Aftds. Lt.-Gen. and K.C.B. Also K.H. and col.-comdt. R.A. Served in the Pa., and was sev. wounded at Waterloo (bt.-maj. in Jan., 1819.) Served as maj.-gen., and was second in command of the expedition under M.-Gen. D’Aguilar, who assaulted and took the forts of the Bocca Tigris in the Canton River. Served with the fleets off Sebastopol in Oct., 1854, and directed the rockets fired from theBritanniaagainst the city and forts. D. 27th July, 1864.

4.Retired on f. p. 23rd June, 1846. D. as lt.-gen. at Hythe, Oct., 1869.

5.Son of Col. Sir Wm. Robe, R.A., a distinguished officer. He obtained his first commission 3rd Oct., 1807, and in the same year accompanied the expedition to Gothenburg. Served throughout the Par. War with much distinction. “He had the singular honour, as a subaltern, to be mentioned for his distinguished conduct by Wellington, and in consequence the gold medal and clasp for the battles of Nivelle and Nive were forwarded to his family after his death.” An account of his death at Waterloo is given in a letter from Capt. Alex. Macdonald, of Ramsay’s battery, to Sir Wm. Robe. (SeeAppendix.)

(The historical “Chestnut Troop.”)

1.Afterwards F.-M. and G.C.B. He was grandson of Alexander Ross, of Balkail, co. Wigtown, and cousin to Capt. Sir James Ross. R.N., the distinguished Polar navigator. Commanded the A Troop, A Brigade, R.H.A., during the Par. War, and was dangerously wounded at the siege of Badajoz. K.C.B. and K.T.S., also the gold cross and two clasps. K.St.A. of Russia for Waterloo. He was the first artilleryman who was made a F.-M. D. lt.-gov. of Chelsea Hospital in Dec., 1868, aged 90.

2.Afterwards maj.-gen. and C.B. Served in the Pa. and at Walcheren. Lost his left leg at Waterloo. Bt. lt.-col. 18th June, 1815. Was lt.-gov. of the R.M.A. at Woolwich, from 1st April, 1848, up to the time of his death in March, 1851. He was 2nd son of Adm. Sir Hyde Parker, by Anne, dau. of John Boteler, of Henley. M., in 1814, Anne, dau. of Adm. Home Popham, and had issue.

3.Brother to Henry, Viscount Hardinge. Was not at Waterloo, being otherwise employed that day, but was present both at Ligny and Quatre Bras on the eventful 16th June, 1815. Had served in the Pa. Aftds. maj.-gen. and K.H. Bn. 14th April, 1790. D. 20th July, 1864. He was twice md., and left issue by both wives.

4.Served in the Pa. Retd. on h. p. as 2nd capt., 3rd Feb., 1828, and d. in Jersey, 1st Aug., 1843.

5.3rd son of the Rev. Arthur Onslow, Archdeacon of Berks and Dean of Worcester, by Frances, dau. of Constantine Phipps. He was distantly related to the noble family of Onslow, one of whom was satirised in the lines:—“What can Tommy Onslow do?He can drive a curricle and two.Can Tommy Onslow do no more?Yes, he can drive a curricle and four.”Retd. on h. p. as lt. 9th Dec., 1824. D. 10th May, 1867. He was twice md., and left issue.

“What can Tommy Onslow do?He can drive a curricle and two.Can Tommy Onslow do no more?Yes, he can drive a curricle and four.”

“What can Tommy Onslow do?

He can drive a curricle and two.

Can Tommy Onslow do no more?

Yes, he can drive a curricle and four.”

Retd. on h. p. as lt. 9th Dec., 1824. D. 10th May, 1867. He was twice md., and left issue.

6.Afterwards Gen. Sir Francis Warde, K.C.B., col.-comdt. R.A. D. at Winchfield, 4th May, 1879. He was 4th son of Charles Warde, of Squerryes Court, Kent. M. Annabella, eldest dau. of Robert Adeane, of Babraham, Cambs. D. at Reading in May, 1879.

MAJOR BEANE’S TROOP.

(Reduced in 1816.)

1.This officer was appointed to the command of D Troop R.H.A. in 1813. Capt. Mercer succeeded to the command after Waterloo. Served in the Pa., and was present at Corunna, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Orthes, and Toulouse.

2.Was present at the capture of the colony of Surinam in 1804. Served through the Par. War, and saw active service in Canada in 1814. Bt.-maj. 21st Jan., 1819; Maj., h. p., unattached, 1826; Lt.-col., 1837. D. at Hexworth House, Cornwall, 1st March, 1847.

3.Retired on h. p. as 2nd capt., 1826. D. 20th Nov., 1869.

4.Afterwards Sir James Robertson Bruce, Bart. 2nd son of the Rev. Sir Henry Bruce, Bart., by Letitia, dau. of the Rev. Dr. Henry Barnard. Retd. on h. p. as 1st lt., 16th June, 1820. M., 20th Sept., 1819, Ellen, youngest dau. of Robert Bamford Hesketh, of Gwyrch Castle, co. Denbigh, and had issue. D. 1836.

5.Had both his legs taken off by one shot, and d. two days after, while undergoing amputation.

ROYAL ARTILLERY.

P.This and all the other Field Brigades were each armed with five 9-pounders and one 5–1/2-inch howitzer.

1.The name of Sandham has been a household word in the Artillery for nearly 140 years. The above Capt. Sandham came of the Sussex family of this name, who have for long been landholders in that county. “The first shot fired by the allied artillery at Waterloo was fired by Sandham’s brigade.” Retd. on h. p. as bt. maj., 7th June, 1822. D. at Rowdell, Sussex, Feb., 1869.

2.Third son of Lt.-Gen. the Hon. Edward Stopford. Assumed the additional surname of Blair on succeeding to the Penninghame estate, co. Wigtown. Retd. on h. p. as bt. col., 20th Dec., 1841. Col. Stopford-Blair m., in 1823, a dau. of Col. R. Bull, C.B. He d. 23rd Sept., 1868, and was succeeded by his eldest son.

3.Retired on h. p. as 2nd capt., 13th Nov., 1826, and d. 26th Oct., 1874. In 1814 he served at the attack on Merxem, and the bombardment of the French shipping at Antwerp.

4.Served in the Pa. Retd. on h. p. as 2nd capt., 25th Sept., 1834. D. in Guernsey, 28th Oct., 1874. He was nephew of Sir John Macleod, R.A., and brother to Capt. H. Baynes, Bde.-Maj., R.A., at Waterloo.

5.Retd. on h. p. as 2nd capt., 6th Jan., 1836. D. 22nd Dec., 1850.

1.This officer was killed towards the close of the battle, when directing the fire of his battery against the Imperial Guards in their historical advance.

2.Succeeded Capt. Bolton in the command of the battery, and by Wellington’s orders gave the advancing French column “a salvo of grape and canister” which did terrible execution among their devoted ranks. A few minutes afterwards Capt. Napier recd. eight wounds from the bursting of a shrapnel shell. On 21st Jan., 1819, recd. a tardy bt. of maj. for his services at Waterloo. Retd. by the sale of his commission, 20th March, 1827. D. at Lisburn, 20th June, 1849.

3.Retd. on f. p. as bt. maj., 16th May, 1839. D. in Edinburgh, 23rd March, 1842.

4.Afterwards maj.-gen. D. in Edinburgh, 30th Aug., 1865.

5.D. at Brussels, 27th June, 1815, of wounds recd. at Waterloo. Eldest son of Charles Spearman, of Thornley Hall, co. Durham, by Sarah, dau. and heir of Samuel Brooke, of Birchington, Kent.

6.Retd. on h. p. 1st July, 1823. D. 23rd July, 1857.

7.Afterwards Gen. Sir Burke Cuppage, K.C.B., and col.-comdt. R.A. Son of Lt.-Gen. Wm. Cuppage, R.A., by the widow of Maj. Cairnes, 39th Foot, whose son’s death has already been recorded. D. 19th April, 1877.

(Reduced in 1817.)

1.This gallant soldier was son of Maj. John Lloyd, 46th Foot, A.D.C. to Sir H. Clinton during the American War, by Corbetta, dau. of the Ven. George Holcombe, Archdeacon of Carmarthen. Bn. 2nd Dec., 1778. D. at Brussels 29th July, 1815, of a wound recd. at Waterloo.

2.Son of Lt.-Gen. Henry Rudyerd, R.E. Attained rank of col. in 1846, and d. at Whitby, 29th July, 1847.

3.Probably son of Adm. Wells, one of whose sons, in 1815, was a subaltern in the R.E. Retd. on h. p. 27th Oct., 1826. D. at Slade, 29th Dec., 1861.

4.Appears to have been the 7th son of Joseph Phelps, of Moyallon, co. Down. Retd. on h. p. 4th Aug., 1822. D. unm., 13th Dec., 1827.

5.Second son of John Harvey, of Mount Pleasant, co. Wexford, by Mary, dau. of Wm. Harrison, of Castle Harrison, co. Cork. “Left his bride (Eliz., dau. of Col. Paulet Colebrooke, R.A.) at the church door to join his battery in the Netherlands.” Lost his right arm at Waterloo. Recd. a pens. of £70 per ann., and was appointed to the Invalid Batt. in 1817. Retd. on f. p. in 1819, and d. at Eltham, 18th Aug., 1826, leaving issue.

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