A NEW ACCOUNT OF WATERLOO: A LETTERHOME FROM PRIVATE GEORGE HEMINGWAYOF THE THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT OF FOOT

DANIEL WALEY

ACCOUNTS by participants of the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo are not numerousand most of those written by British ones were elicited some twenty years after the eventsby the questionnaire of the enterprising Captain Siborne.^ Surviving accounts of Waterloowritten by private soldiers must be very rare indeed. The Department of Manuscripts hasrecently acquired a vivid description of the battle, written two months later by GeorgeHemingway of Halifax; the letter (Add. MS. 59892 G) is a gift from Mrs. K. Dibnah ofHollym, Withernsea, a relative of the sender and recipients. George Hemingway was anuncle of Mrs. Dibnah's grandmother and the letter had been in her family since 1815.

The Thirty-third Regiment of Foot (from 1853 the Duke of Wellington's) was one ofthose units present at Waterloo which had not seen service in the Peninsula. It had been inIndia from 1797 till 1812, then undertaken garrison work at Hull at a time when muchrecruiting was needed to bring the regiment up to strength. It crossed to the Netherlandsin 1813, saw some action there in the following year, then experienced garrison life in anumber of towns—ultimately at Soignies, where Private Hemingway takes up the story on15 June 1815.

Hemingway's letter requires little by way of commentary, though it may be useful tomake it clear that he describes the events of 16 June (the battle of Quatre Bras) in the firsthalf of the letter (up to 'the drum was beating all that night'), those of the 17th in the nextquarter (up to 'wich caused a great number of prisnors and others killed'), and those ofthe day of Waterloo itself (18 June) thereafter. The deprivations endured by the soldiersare emphasized by Hemingway; as he explains, they went three days without food andwere exposed also to heavy rain. The Thirty-third suffered considerable losses both atQuatre Bras and Waterloo. Of a strength of 561 at the opening of the campaign (16 June)they lost fifty-four killed in action and 177 wounded, many of whom died later of theirwounds. Ninety-three of these casualties were suffered at Quatre Bras and 135 atWaterloo.^ Private Hemingway's wound must have occurred at about seven in the eveningof 18 June, during the last attack by the French Imperial Guard. Ensign Howard of thesame battalion, the author of another vivid description of Waterloo, reports that when theThirty-third, formed in a square, faced the final French charge, 'we could scarcely send

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our wounticd officers to the rear and much less men'.^ But Hemingway must have beenlighih wouiulc'd, perhaps in the arm, and was able to leave the field in the very hour ofvictory, a weary sursivor, 'wilh thousands of balls after me\ That his wound was a lightone is also sugt^ested by the fact that he survived. A iarge proportion of the woundeddied—many of them weakened by the medical treatment they were given—and some unitssiiftcrcd more deaths in the following months, as a consequence of wounds, than on theday of Waterloo.**

The regimental Muster Books-̂ preserve some information about the military careers ofGeorge Hemingway and his friend (and scribe ?) William Illingworth. They joined theThirty-third on i October 1812 (Illingworth) and 10 December 1813 (Hemingway)respectively. After their letter was written (16 August 1815) they remained at Paris forsome time. On 23 December of that year they embarked at Calais and on Christmas Daymarched into Canterbury. They reached Colchester on i January, marched to Hull, andreceived their Waterloo medals at Sunderland, where they arrived in April. Hemingway(the name is normally spelled 'Hummingway' in the Muster Books) suffered a good deal ofill health in the following years, but served in the Thirty-third Regiment until 2 February1820. By then he ranked as having served more than seven years (two years' extra servicewas credited to every soldier who fought at Waterloo) and was drawing thirteen pence aday. Briefly he again served beyond the sea (in Guernsey), but the Thirty-third was mainlyemployed on garrison duties in England during these years. William Illingworth stayed onin the same regiment. He too drew pay for seven years' service and (from 1817) for being abandsman. He was discharged ('service expired') on 9 October 1819, some four monthsbefore his friend. Neither man rose above the rank of Private.

Since Hemingway was and is a not uncommon name in Halifax it is not certain—thoughit is likely that the George Hemingway whose account of Waterloo is printed below wasthe George Hemingway who in 1845 kept a shop at 15 Clark Bridge in his home town.^ Hewas probably still alive on 3 December 1853, when a handsome (but inaccurate) copy ofthe letter was made on vellum bv 'a Friend'.

HEMINGWAY'S LETTER"^

Paris August i6th. 1815

Dear Mother

1 know sit down to relate a little of the circumstances wich happend with us on the i6th 17th& 18 of June wich on the 15th in the afternoon whe was lying at Soignies in good quarters and whegot orders for to march hearing that the French was within a few miles of the town but however whewas praded and marched into the Church 30th 33rd 69th 73rd and 4 annovarians Regiments andwhe [remained in the church until 2 o clock in the morning and then we were] fallen in the marketplace and marched of and at 10 oclock that day we arrived at a large town the name of Neuvel wherewhe aulted for a few minutes then marching of a gain and kep on till 12 oclock when whe turnd offthe road into the fields and auited and piled our amns before that whe had been sat down a nour wheheard the repeat of a great number of cannon wich remaining on in that state whe fell in and

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marched of again whe had not gone but a verry little before whe met broken faces legs and arms andothers lying dead on rhe ground whe kept on in advancing till [whe] came into the engagementsourselves. Before [whe had been in the field half an hour we got it pretty hotj the officer of myCompany I believe was the first that was killd in the Company but immidiatly after their was plentylying on the ground. The enemy got a fair view of our Regiment at that time and they [send] cannonshot as thick as hail stones immidiatly whe got up on our ground and seen a large colum of theFrench cavelry named the French Curiseres advancing close upon us whe immidiatly tried to formsquare to recieve the cavelry but all in vain the cannon shot from the enemy brook down our squarefaster then whe could form it killed 9 and iomenevery shot the balls falling down amongst us just atthe present and shells bursting in a hundred pieces whe count not be accountable for the number ofmen that whe lost their and had it not been for a wood on our right about 300 yards whe should haveevery every man been cut in pieces with the cavelry and trampled upon by their horses but whe gotin the wood as quick as possible and the cavelry been all amongst made us squander and whe putthem nearly every man of both them and their horses then whe went to the far end of the woodwhere we got out and formed up and numbered of but whe mustred very [small. We off again thesame road. We marched then about] a mile and a half that night where whe then alted and send out ascrimingin partys and advance guards and the French made big fires that night and the drum wasbeating all that night in the morning at daylight our tlank companys and the German rifles wentout and massed close upon their lines and engaged them they kept up a very hot and tiniours fireingon both sides for about 4 hours and they drove the enemy about 2 miles and then Duke ofWellington withdrew his whole army on purpose to get [Bonaparte] and his army out of the woodsand [Bonaparte rejoiced at this and followed us verry] close the whole of that day at about 4 oclockwhe made a halt and formed up in line wich marched above 2 miles then our English cannon begunand played upon them for a half a nour as they was advancing to us but our cannon soon mowed themdown like gras and they ly on the groun by thousand in a half a nour they was oblidged to reatreat asfast as possible that been on the 17th at night and if ever it rained or ever poeple was exposed to thebad weather since the memory of man the poor fellows was that day and the whole of that knightand marchd that most part of our road was fast to the knees in mud wich caused a great [number of]prisnors and others killed but however on the morning . . . whe was glad to see daylight been laidtrembling . . . and water allmost drowned but the sun begun [to shine] about 7 oclock. That wasthen 3 days that whe . . . hard fiting day and night and not put a morsel [of anything to eat into our]mouths nor none could whe get pounds were offer[ed for] a mouth full of water and at eight oclockwe fell in formd line our whole army and whe [had a great field fight that day and you may thinkwhat a deal we had] to do that day whe advanced the whole of the day [and we were with] them quiteover the plains of Waterlow just [before] that I received my wound whe advanced so quick [that]whe was oblidged to run over the poor wounded and thousands of men that was killed and lay on theground whe [came] trampling upon them whe got close up to the [French] about 7 oclock just whenI received my wound whe [were in square] I immidiatly run out of the square and made [the best ofmy] way out of the field with thousandsof balls after [me. I got] out at last making the best of myway to Brussells. [I went so far as I could] that night and then I was done I got into a old housea door and their I lay till next morning at dayhght appearing I rose up on my feet and persuded mvway to Brussells where I reached at some time that day and remained their till I became well andthen joined my regiment. Our regiment was 800 strong when whe took the field and now whe canmuster 200 men the English army lost 13865 killed and wound out of 73000 wich was the stringth ofthe english the French army consisted of 135000 brave fiting soldiers they never was known to fight

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so hard since the mimory of man and they had lost 57000 killed and wounded besides whe took13000 prisncrs wilh 211 pieces of cannon.

11 hope I this letter w ill Hnd you all well at home as [for myself I am as well as ean be expected] andI should wish tor u)u to iinswcr us this letter immidiatly . . . in it and has for my wife I left her atBrussells after t h e . . . rear with the rest of the women and . . . in the field the most part of our women. . . now ih(.-\ plunderd them and then late them go again . . . regards lighting of our baggage and ithappend to be the w aggons . . . cl()sc in and they took all the waggons away** b u t . . . well and heartyand dom^ verry well at present and . . .

[Love] to my mother and you and your wife and likewis young William . . . and whe hope to be athome \ erry soon . . . as our Regiment is verry weak now. Dear Brother W. Illingworth . . . that youwill excuse our bad inditing of this letter but . . . arrive at Hallifax whe shall be able to explain it toyou . . . of our hardships and our hard tatigues that whe have gone through this late few monthsback.

Dear Brother William Illingworth wishes to be remembered to my sister Martha and he willbring her something fine when he comes home she been is old favourite when he was at home giveour love to all enquiring Friends and . . . us have an answer back again . . . must conclude and stillremain your . . . and tricnd W . Illingworth untill Death.

Direct for me in the Grannadiers Company of 33'"'' Regiment lying at Paris in France.

1 The letters to Captain Sibornc arc B.L., Add.MSS. 34703-34708. Some arc pubhshcd in H. T.Siborne (cd.), W'alerinn Letters (London, Paris,and Melbourne, TSqi); Icticrs from survivingofficers of the Thirt)-third Regiment are onPP-332 7

2 A. Lee, History ofthejjrd. Foot {Norwich, 1922),pp. 243 5, 447-51. These figures, the best avail-able, must be regarded as approximate.

3 A. Lcc, op. cit., prints Knsign Howard's letter,pp 245 N.

4 j . Kecgan, The Ftue ul Baltic (Harmondsworth,IQ78), pp. 204-5. The chapter on Waterloo in thiswork (pp 117 206) is the best recent treatment.

5 Public Record Office, \\ .O. 12, vols. 4809-12 (un-paginated).

'1 W jlkcr's Dtrectory oJ the Piinsli nj Hiiltjax(Halifax, 1S45), p. 25.

7 Passages in square brackets are illegible in theoriginal letter, the text being supplied by the 1853fair copy, also presented by Mrs. Dibnah (and alsoAdd. MS. 59892 G). Unfortunately the fair copy is

an abbreviated and 'gentrified' version of theoriginal, in which spelling and wording have beenaltered. Hence it cannot be relied upon for anaccurate text of the illegible passages.

The text after the first paragraph is on the coverof the letter and has been much rubbed, so that alot of it is undecipherable; moreover much of thismaterial was omitted in the fair copy, presumablybecause it was illegible in 1853. It will be notedthat part of the message on the cover is directed toGeorge Hemingway's brother. One paragraph isnot from Hemingway but from William Illing-\\orth, I'hc entire letter is in the same hand and theformulae used nithcr suggest that Illingworth wasthe scribe. The cover contains an address: 'Georgeand Elizabeth Hemmingway' (originally begun as'Eming', this being cancelled) and the front isfranked by the Thirty-third's commanding officer,Lt.-Col. W\ K. Elphinstone.

8 For the plundering of the Thirty-third's baggageat Antwerp see Lee, op. cit., p. 248.