Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/525

WATERLOO 505 stages of development. In South America the seeds are called water maize ; they are very farinaceous, and are roasted and eaten. WATERLOO, a village in Belgium, on the out- skirts of the forest of Soignes, 8 m. S. by E. of Brussels; pop. in 1871, 2,935. Near this vil- lage was fought, June 18, 1815, the battle be- tween the allied English, Netherland, and Ger- man troops under Wellington, and the French under Napoleon, which resulted in the com- plete overthrow of the French emperor. On June 14 the forces of Wellington, comprising about 92,000 British, Hanoverian, Brunswick, Nassau, and Netherland troops, were cantoned between the river Scheldt and Nivelles, the duke having his headquarters and reserves at Brussels; while Blilcher, with three corps of Prussians, about 90,000 men, occupied Namur, Charleroi, and the adjacent country on both' sides of the Sambre. Napoleon decided to attack the Anglo-Prussian troops before the other contingents of the coalition could reach the frontier, and on the evening of the 14th advanced from Beaumont toward the point of junction between Blucher and Wellington, with 124,000 men. On the 15th he drove in the Prussian outposts S. of the Sambre and entered Charleroi, which was evacuated by the Prussians, who by 2 A. M. of the 16th were concentrated to the number of 80,000 at Ligny, between St. Amand and Sombreffe, facing the Sambre. At 5 P. M. on the 15th Welling- ton issued orders to the outlying divisions of his forces to concentrate at Quatre-Bras, an important strategic point where four roads meet, from Brussels, Charleroi, Nivelles, and Namur. At 4 o'clock next morning the whole army was moving in the same direction, fol- lowed by Wellington, who, for the purpose of allaying public fear, had attended a ball given at Brussels by the duchess of Eichmond. Napoleon, having sent Ney with 40,000 men to occupy Quatre-Bras and prevent the junc- tion of the English with the Prussians, moved with the rest of his army toward Fleurus, and at half-past 2 in the afternoon of the 16th attacked Blucher at Ligny. Ney, after fatal hesitation, engaged the Anglo-Netherland forces under command of the prince of Orange at Quatre-Bras, 7 m. from Ligny, whither Wel- lington had ridden to confer with Blucher. After an engagement of five hours, the Prussians were defeated at Ligny, and retreated toward Wavre ; but at 'Quatre-Bras the allied forces held their ground until the British divisions of Picton and Cooke arrived, when the French retired, having failed to carry the position, but succeeded in hindering the junction of the Eng- lish with the Prussians. Wellington's troops passed the night of the 16th on the field near Quatre-Bras, and at 10 A. M. of the 17th, the defeat of the Prussians and their line of retreat having been ascertained, moved toward Water- loo, where they arrived in the evening. By arrangement Blucher, if defeated, was to join Wellington at Waterloo with the least possible delay. On the morning of the 17th Napoleon, having directed Marshal Grouchy with 84,000 men and 96 guns to " follow up the enemy," proceeded with the main body of his army toward Waterloo, hoping to defeat Welling- ton's army before it could be reenforced by Blucher. He arrived too late in the day to give battle, and both armies bivouacked on the field. The allied forces occupied a semi- circular ridge a mile and a half in length in front of the village, and the French an oppo- site ridge, the two being separated by a val- ley from 500 to 800 yards in width. About 400 yards in front of the British right centre stood the stone chateau of Hougoumont, oc- cupied by a strong force; and fronting the left centre, near the hamlet of Mont Saint- Jean, was the farm of La Haie Sainte, also strongly occupied. Napoleon's army was drawn up in three lines on both sides of the road from Charleroi to Brussels. In his first line were the infantry corps of Reille and Drouet, with Pire's cavalry ; the second line consisted of cavalry in the rear of the wings, and the third line of the sixth corps under Lobau. Behind the whole was the imperial guard, constituting the reserve. Napoleon's head- quarters were at the farm of La Belle Al- liance on the Charleroi road, near his centre. The armies were nearly equal ; the French numbered about 72,000 men, mostly veterans, of whom 15,000 were cavalry, and 240 guns; and the allies about 70,000 men, including 13,- 500 cavalry, and 159 guns. The English con- tingent was a little over 25,000 men, mainly new recruits, the Netherlanders about 17,500, and the rest were Brunswickers, Hanoverians, and other Germans. Rain from noon on the 17th until the next morning impeded move- ments, and Napoleon, confident that Grouchy would prevent the arrival of the Prussians, deferred the attack on the 18th until the ground should be dry enough for manoeuvres of artillery. His intention was to turn the allied left, force it back upon the centre, and gain possession of the highway leading through the forest, Wellington's only line of retreat. To draw off the duke's attention to his right, the divisions of Jerome Bonaparte, Foy, and Bachelu moved at half -past 11 o'clock upon the chateau of Hougoumont. The surround- ing wood was taken and retaken several times, remaining at last in the hands of the French ; but the building defied every effort of cap- ture, and at 2 P. M. was still in possession of its defenders. Shortly before this time the advance of the Prussian corps under Billow, which had not participated in the battle of Ligny, was seen at a distance on the French right, approaching from Liege. Napoleon de- tached 10,000 men under Lobau to watch the Prussians, and sent new orders to Grouchy to march upon St. Lambert and take the enemy in the rear. The weakening of his centre by the loss of Lobau's troops necessitated a change in his plan of battle, atid about half past 1