Letter from a private soldier of the 44th regiment to his family in Heybridge, East Essex.
Chateaux of Hougoumont, Braine-l'Alleud, 19th June 1815.
My dearest mother, father, and young Thomas,
I hope this letter finds you well and with it that you are all in good health. I am uncertain as to whether you are yet to receive the most wonderful news; the battle is over; we are victorious in our quest. It felt only right given the circumstances I would inform you of the proceedings of recent days.
I endured watch duty the night of Saturday the 17th. Alongside my brothers in arms, I stayed in a shallow ditch on the upper side of an orchard separated from an enemy close at hand. In the midst of a terrible storm the air was growing cold. We suffered terribly that night, unbeknownst to the day that lay ahead.
Soon enough dawn broke. All being quiet on the morning of Sunday the 18th, we acquired fuel from the farm of Hougoumont and lit a fire, the embers of which warmed our bodies to the core. Bread rations were distributed throughout the unit – It’d be deceiving were I to suggest we were content with our portion.
Captain summoned a butcher from within our ranks whom proceeded to slaughter and forage meat from the bones of a pig. I placed my portion straight from the head of the swine over the fire to roast, shortly thereafter gorging on my smoke blackened portion – my appetite now unsatiated. Raw and unsavoury, I added the rest to my havresac for later.
Prompt whispers soon instructed us to march in the direction of Hougoumont, known amongst the men as the farmhouse. Canon fire in the distance offered quite the spectacle, an uneasy one at that. Coupled with approaching heavy footfall, it became apparent that it was the French soldiers whom were advancing. We were vastly outnumbered, the conditions were dreary... and so, began the day long onslaught of battle.
Whilst fighting in earnest, I took the retrospectively poor decision to ascend the adjacent slope on which the exterior farm wall was built. Viewing this as a favourable vantage point, my intuition soon proved flawed. I found myself, a discernible red coat amidst the otherwise hazy terrain, a principal enemy target. Naively, I maintained my position and continued an exchange of shots. The pace of enemy fire soon became overwhelming. In failing to reload my musket in time, a sudden force like no other I have ever experienced impacted my right shoulder and breast. An unexpected and momentary feeling of numbness and tranquillity engulfed me. Unfortunately, momentary it was. Within seconds a searing and insufferable pain endured – I had been shot. The gunfire failed to diminish, and I knew that I had to carry on. This battle was not yet over.
It must have been past noon when I entered the courtyard to see the doors, or rather gates, were riddled with bullet-holes. The moisture and sludge overwhelming, the obstacle of boundless enemy corpses in the entrance.
The enemy’s artillery having forced the upper gates, a division of them hurtled in but were just as quickly driven back. No one left inside but a drummer boy without his drum. I felt an evanescent compassion towards the young boy and lodged him in a stable. He was about the same age as our Thomas and I could not help but see a child; a son, a brother. Not an enemy. I would not subject him to the slaughter of the battle.
Not having succeeded in gaining an entry, the gates were again secured although much shattered, the enemy’s attacks became less frequent as the action was drawing to a close and it was approaching evening; the firing shortly after ceased, and our complete victory being announced in our little garrison, we had a look around and saw the sad havoc the enemy had made of our fortress. There was a fire raging in the buildings, due to the rain of shells earlier from the enemy.
As the battle had finished I went to the yard, taking the opportuning of cooking the remaining portion of park which I had stored away in my havresac this morning, and after having placed it upon the fire and quietly awaiting its being cooked, discovered that the glow of fire arose from the half consumed body of some party who had fallen in the contest; my meat which was unsavoury in the morning, became much more so by its re-dressing.
The evening now closing upon us, we were ordered to take a supply of fuel and to proceed up the hill in the rear of the farm. On arriving at a bank, being heavily loaded and nearly exhausted, we had very great difficulty in passing over it. There were the sounds of Prussians fighting our common enemy in the distance, becoming increasingly fainter as they moved further from us.
This morning on the 19th of June, we were aroused by the accidental discharge of a musket, in a sitting posture I contemplated for some minutes on the scene before me. Being on a hill, we had extensive view of the field of action, of which the Chateaux of Hougoumont was a complete picture of destruction, the fire having continued its ravages during the night.
There is a feeling of sombre and soberness in the wake of the battle. I am hopeful that I will be home soon, however I was called upon to aid in the clean up of the desolate ruins of what is left of the farm.
Sincerely,
Your son Walter
