BATTLES OF QUATRE-BRAS, LIGNY, WAVRE,

AND

WATERLOO.

New, revised, and cheaper edition, complete in 1 vol. 8vo. uniform with
General Napier's History of the War in the Peninsula,
and the Wellington Dispatches.

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION,

TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, THE QUEEN.

WAR IN

HISTORY OF THE

FRANCE AND BELGIUM,

IN 1815,

FROM THE TESTIMONY OF EYE-WITNESSES AND OTHER SOURCES, EXCLUSIVE AND AUTHENTIC.

BY CAPTAIN WILLIAM SIBORNE,

CONSTRUCTOR OF THE “WATERLOO MODEL.”

THIRD EDITION.

BEAUTIFULLY EMBELLISHED WITH MEDALLION PORTRAITS, ENGRAVED ON STEEL, OF

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON,
PRINCE BLÜCHER VON WAHLSTadt,
NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE,

THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK,

THE PRINCE OF ORANGE,
THE MARQUESS OF ANGLESEY,
LORD HILL,

SOULT, DUKE OF DALMATIA,

A FOLIO ATLAS,

NEY, DUKE OF ELCHINGEN,
COUNT ALTEN,

SIR THOMAS PICTON.

OF ANAGLYPTOGRAPHIC ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL, FROM MODELS, CONTAINING

2 PLANS OF QUATRE-BRAS, shewing different Periods of the Action.

WITH MAPS OF BELGIUM AND PART OF FRANCE,

Illustrative of the above, sold separately.

IN announcing a History of the War in 1815, by the Constructor of the celebrated Model of the Battle of Waterloo, the Publishers feel confident that the undeniable proof which the latter work of art affords of the most indefatigable perseverance and industry in the collection of materials for the accurate repreentation of an event so fertile in glorious achievements, and so decisive in its influence upon the destinies f Europe, as also of the professional skill with which those materials have been arranged for the comlete development of that ever memorable conflict, offers a sufficient guarantee for a similar application f the author's unwearied zeal and research in the task he has undertaken of supplying what still remains desideratum in our national history and military records-a true and faithful account of that last ampaign in Europe, comprising the crowning triumph of the British army, and, at the same time, the losing chapter of the military life of its illustrious chief, the Duke of Wellington.

Numerous as are the accounts already published of this great conflict, the information which they onvey is generally of too vague and indistinct a nature to satisfy either the military man who seeks for rofessional instruction, or the general reader who desires to comprehend more clearly, in all its details, nat gorgeous machinery, if it may so be termed .which was put in motion, regulated, and controlled by

PROSPECTUS.

the greatest masters of their art, who, in modern times, have been summoned forth to wield the mighty engines of destruction wherewith nation wars against nation. How just is the observation of Jomini one of the most talented military writers of the day-"Jamais bataille ne fut plus confusément décrite que celle de Waterloo." On consulting these accounts the public glean little beyond the fact that at Waterloo the allied army stood its ground during the whole day, in defiance of the reiterated attacks by the French, until the Duke of Wellington led it forward to crown its exertions with the most splendid victory. They afford us but a faint idea of those strategical movements and combinations upon which the grand design of the campaign was based by the one party, and with which it was assailed by the other; and we seek in vain for the development of those tactical dispositions by which the skill of the commanders and the valour of the combatants were fairly tested. From the want of due consecutive arrangement in the details, and the tendency too frequently manifested to compensate for this deficiency by mere anecdotic narration, the motives by which, in the great game of war, the illustrious players are actuated, are left out of view, while circumstances which especially call forth the skill of subordinate offi cers in command, as also the courage, the discipline, and the prowess of particular brigades, regiments, or even minor divisions of the contending masses, are either imperfectly elucidated, or, as is often the case unhesitatingly set aside to make way for the exploits of a few individuals whose deeds, however heroid they may be deemed, constitute but isolated fractional parts of that great sum of moral energy and physical force combined, requisite to give full effect to the application of the mental powers of the chieftains under whose guidance the armies are respectively placed. These remarks have reference more or less, not only to the generality of the accounts of the Battle of Waterloo, with which the public have hitherto been furnished, but also to those of Quatre-Bras, Ligny, and Wavre; the first of which, brilliant as was the reflection which it cast upon the glory of the victors, became eclipsed solely by the more dazzling splendour of the greater, because more important, triumph of Waterloo. T endeavour to remedy these deficiencies, through the medium of the evidence of eye-witnesses, mos willingly and liberally supplied, as well as carefully collated, examined, and, at the same time, proved wherever practicable, by corroborative testimony-every component piece of information being made to dovetail, as it were, into its adjacent and corresponding parts-is the chief object of the presen publication.

The opportunities which Captain Siborne has enjoyed of collecting the data requisite for this highly important work, have been peculiarly favourable. Having commenced his large Model under the autho rity of the government, he received permission to address himself to the several officers who might have it in their power to communicate valuable information; and, with a view to render such information a complete as possible, and to substantiate it by corroborative testimony, he forwarded his applications to almost every surviving Waterloo officer-not limiting his inquiries to any one particular period of the action, but extending them over the whole of the Battle of Waterloo, as also of that of Quatre-Bras, and of the entire campaign. In this manner he has succeeded in obtaining from the combined evidence o eye-witnesses a mass of extremely important matter; and when the public are informed that Captain Si borne has also been in unreserved communication with the governments of our allies in that war, con cerning the operations of the troops they respectively brought into the field, it is presumed that the extraordinary advantages he possesses for a satisfactory fulfilment of his design will be at once acknow ledged and appreciated.

In reverting, however, to the Model, as connected with the present history, it may not be unimpor tant to add that some objections were raised against the position thereon assigned to a portion of the Prussian troops. These objections induced Captain Siborne to investigate more closely the evidence he had received relative to that part of the field; and the result of such re-consideration has been a perfect conviction that an error of some importance, as regards time and situation, did exist. When the Model is again submitted to the public, which it will be very shortly, that error will no longer appear, and the circumstances under which it arose will be fully accounted for and explained in the forthcoming work.

One remarkable defect which is manifested, without a single exception, in the existing histories of this campaign, consists in the want of good plans upon scales sufficiently comprehensive to admit of the positions and movements being duly illustrated. By the application of the anaglyptograph to accurately executed models, Captain Siborne has succeeded in producing plans of the different fields of battle which afford so striking a representation of the features of ground-a representation which has all the appearance of the subject being shewn in relief-that not only the military man who is accustomed to examine plans, but the civilian who has never studied any thing of the kind, will be enabled thoroughly to comprehend them even in the minutest details.

To respond to the interest felt in the record of that glorious contest by the relatives and friends of the combatants, correct lists will be appended to the work, of the names of all officers who were present distinguishing those who were killed or wounded. Marginal notes will also be introduced wherever officers' names are first mentioned in the course of the work, explaining, if surviving, their present rank and if dead, the date of their decease, and the rank which they then held.

A work brought out under such favourable auspices, and grounded upon materials which, considering the advanced age of the principal contributors, would at no remote period have been placed beyond our reach, cannot fail to excite, in a considerable degree, the attention of the public; for which reason no pains have been spared in rendering the illustrations fully commensurate with the value and importance of the design. The new edition is complete in 1 vol. 8vo. embellished with beautifully executed medallic portraits, and accompanied by a folio volume, (to be had separately), containing military maps and exquisitely engraved anaglyptographic plans from models expressly made by Captain Siborne, of the elds of battle of Quatre-Bras, Ligny, Wavre, and Waterloo.

PROSPECTUS.

SUBSCRIBERS.

HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, THE QUEEN.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT, K.G.; G.C.B.

HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, QUEEN ADELAIDE.

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCHESS OF KENT.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, K.G.; G.C.B.; G.C.H.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCE GEORGE OF CAMBRIDGE, K.G.

HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, THE KING OF HANOVER, K.G.; G.C.B.; G.C.H. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE CROWN PRINCE OF HANOVER.

HIS MAJESTY, THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

HIS MAJESTY, THE KING OF SWEDEN.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCE OF SWEDEN.

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SAXONY.

HIS SERENE HIGHNESS, THE REIGNING DUKE OF BRUNSWICK.

HIS SERENE HIGHNESS, THE PRINCE BERNHARD OF SOLS-BRAUNFELS.

The Officers marked with an asterisk (*) were at Waterloo.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

"It is written in a free and impartial manner, is lucid in its descriptions, surprisingly correct details, and many important features of the campaign, which have hitherto remained either wholl unnoticed, or else kept too much in shadow, are now brought forward into proper relief; whilst th grand military operations of the period are delineated with the pen of an enlightened soldier. In word, by separating, with much discrimination, the gold from the dross, he has turned to exceller account the materials for his undertaking, which seem to have flowed to him from every quarter; an the consequence is, that a standard history has been produced, remarkable for its spirit and vigour, a well as for its truth."-U. S. Journal.

"We hail this work as a standard history of the Battle of Waterloo and of the Campaign c Flanders-a worthy companion and sequel to the Peninsular Campaigns of Napier. A compilation from the testimonies of eye-witnesses (as this is) had they been dressed up for publication, and subjecte individually to the public judgment, would have been cold and lifeless; here all is freshness, vivacity unaffected truth; and thus is explained the very superior style of the writer, who possesses a nerv and spring of thought and a brilliant colouring of phrase, combined with a transparent clearness o expression, such as is rarely attained by the purely literary writer, and seldom, if ever, found in con nection with profound, professional, and practical knowledge, as in this work. The most intimately acquainted with the scenery and incidents of the days of June, 1815, are loudest and most decided in their admiration of the plans and portraits which embellish these volumes. The ground is engraved by a peculiar progress, which represents in relief the slightest elevation, and sinks the smallest depression by the peculiar curve and measure of the line. Thus, the spectator looks down upon the ground of the battle itself with the clear perception of all its undulations, and its every variety of form and aspect. A second, and very different process, to which the plate is then subject, places in their positions the troops exactly as they occupied the field. These speaking plans have an accuracy hitherto unimagined, with an effect which is unequalled by any previous attempt. There are portraits of the Heroes of the campaign, which have as much merit as novelty-being engraved medallions-perfect portraits in high relief."-Naval and Military Gazette.

"The eventful victory which these two splendid volumes are intended to commemorate has had many historians, but none so good or comprehensive as Captain Siborne. His facility of access to official documents, both English and foreign, the assistance which he has received from the surviving Waterloo heroes of all ranks, and the zeal, energy, and talent, which he has displayed in the construction of his materials, have produced a record, not only of the battle itself, but of the whole Waterloo campaign, which is likely to be as enduring as it is creditable to his talents as a writer, and his reputation as a soldier. For ourselves we heartily thank Captain Siborne for his spirited volumes, and sincerely do we hope they will meet their due reward. Of this we are certain, they cannot be too soon in the hands, not only of every Officer of the Service, but also of every civil member of the community."-United Service Gazette.

"We cannot feel our debt acquitted to Captain Siborne for the pleasure and instruction his work has afforded us, if we did not bring our unqualified testimony to the minute accuracy of detail, the highly honourable and soldier-like spirit, and the admirable candour and fairness by which it is everywhere characterized. When the work was first announced for publication, we conceived great expectations from a history compiled by one whose access to every source of information was favoured both by interest in the highest quarters, and the circumstances of an official appointment on the staff. We were not disappointed. Such are the volumes before us-a Military Classic-and they will remain so while Waterloo is a word to stir the heart and nerve the arm of a British soldier.”—Dublin University, May.

"This work is precisely what such a publication should be, a fair, impartial compilation of well authenticated testimony relative to the great events to which it has reference, interspersed with such reflections as have appeared to the author to be needful for the guidance of his unprofessional readers." Morning Post.

"The accounts already published vary so much, and so little reliance is to be placed upon some of the details that we feel no apology to be requisite for noticing a work so faithful and excellent as that which has been recently published by Captain Siborne.- -Of all the accounts we have yet seen, that recently published by Captain Siborne is the fullest, the fairest, we believe the most accurate the best." Times, Jan. 1845.

"We can declare in all sincerity that we have perused his narrative of marches and onslaughts with infinite satisfaction. He tells his tale with singular clearness. He is at home in all the varied movements and changes of position, &c.; and his account of Cavalry Charges, especially in the affair of Quatre Bras, the advance of columns and cannonading, sweep you onwards as if the scene described were actually passing under your eyes. His Plans and Charts too are excellent, and every way worthy of the modellist of the Field of Waterloo. We thank Captain S., not only for the amusement we have derived from his performance, but for the opportunity with which the appearance of a genuine English History of the Battle of Waterloo supplies us, of refuting some of the errors regarding it into which other historians have fallen."-Fraser's Mag.

PUBLISHED BY T. &. W. BOONE, 29, NEW BOND STREET, LONDON ;

AND SOLD BY

OLIVER AND BOYD, AND FRASER AND CO. EDINBURGH.

PUBLISHED BY T. & W. BOONE,

29, NEW BOND STREET.

MAJOR-GENERAL W. F. P. NAPIER'S HISTORY OF THE WAR IN THE PENINSULA AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.

NOW COMPLETE, IN

6 vols. 8vo. containing 4104 pages, and 55 Plans, price £6. The Volumes sold separately, price 20s. each.

"THE FAITHFUL, IMPARTIAL, AND ELOQUENT HISTORIAN." Sir Robert Peel's Speech.

"The great work of General Napier does undoubtedly record it, (national tribute to those engaged in the Peninsular War) and will continue to do so as long as the English language shall last."-Times.

ALSO, BY MAJOR-GENERAL NAPIER.

A REPLY TO LORD STRANGFORD'S " OBSERVATIONS" on some passages in Colonel NAPIER'S History of the War in the Peninsula. Second Edition, 8vo. price 1s.

A REPLY TO VARIOUS OPPONENTS, particularly to "Strictures on Colonel Napier's History of the War in the Peninsula," together with Observations illustrating Sir John Moore's Campaign. 8vo. price 2s.

MAJOR-GENERAL NAPIER'S JUSTIFICATION OF HIS THIRD VOLUME, forming a Sequel to his Reply to various Opponents, and containing some new and curious facts relative to the BATTLE OF ALBUERA. 8vo. price 1s. 6d.

A LETTER TO GENERAL LORD VISCOUNT BERESFORD, being an Answer to his Lordship's assumed Refutation of Colonel Napier's Justification of his Third Volume. 8vo. price 1s. 6d.

COUNTER-REMARKS TO MR. DUDLEY MONTAGU PERCEVAL'S REMARKS upon some Passages in Colonel Napier's Fourth Volume of his History of the Peninsular War. In 8vo. price 1s. 6d.

The above Pamphlets are required to complete the early Editions.

Second Edition, complete in 1 vol. 8vo. with Plans,

THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE,

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE MILITARY TRANSACTIONS AND BATTLES OF
Major-General Sir Charles J. Napier in that Country.

BY MAJOR-GENERAL W. F. P. NAPIER,

Author of "History of the War in the Peninsula."

"As a commentary upon some remarkable political events, and daring military achievements, this volume will rapidly find a place in every soldier's library.' -Atlas. "The Author is the historian of the Peninsular War, whose connection by blood with the gallant conqueror of Scinde affords a security for the authenticity of his sources of information-some of which are the letters of Sir Charles himself-and whose high character, as an author, as well as a soldier, is a guarantee for his fidelity in the use of his ample materials. We may add to the Author's other qualifications, an unflinching intrepid honesty, which makes him speak out, and utter the plain truth without considering whether it be unpalatable."-Asiatic Journal.