1191. Benjamin Robert Haydon to EBB
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 7, 26–28.
London
March 28 1843
Consider the genius opposed to Wellington, & the poverty of talent opposed to Napoleon–
Wellington had no Beaulieu’s[,] Melas’ & Wurmsers [1] to fight—but Soults, & Massenas, & Junots, & Marmonts, [2] & all the men who had risen by their Genius from the ranks–
Napoleon was never fairly opposed—& when he was—he was beaten—Acre [3] & Waterloo– No words can do justice to that energy of mind, that patient reliance, that inspired confidence, that modest unboasting foresight, with which he opposed, thwarted, & drove before him Massena at Torres Vedras [4] —you must be too young to recollect, his first appearance[—]never shall I forget my wonder at his crossing the mondego, & taking up a position in front of the French! [5]
At Paris 1815– Sir Walter said to the Duke suppose Blucher had not come up– I could have kept my ground till next day was his reply– [6] Granting you had been obliged to fall back– I could have kept all the armies of Europe at bay in Soignies—— [7] Suppose Grouchy [8] had come first– Blucher was close behind him, & we would not have left Napoleon an army next day–
These are word for word—the words of the Duke—from Sir Walter to me–
I met Lord Hill at Lord Palmerston[’]s [in] 1833—he lived at Westbourne house & he put me down, as my house was on the road—finding myself alone with him in the Carriage—I said was there ever a time at Waterloo your Lordship desponded?—desponded said he never a moment—there was no panic[—]we were in advance towards the afternoon—no rear guard was formed– I never had any doubt– [9]
To Halle on the right, a strong division was sent—to guard against surprise– To Ohain on the left, another was placed to be ready for Blucher–
Neither of these was moved all day till the pursuit—and the first thing (if in danger) would have been the movement of these divisions, to form a rear guard–
When Blucher arrived—had a single regiment been broken?—no– Were we not in advance in the morning? yes—Buonaparte said our Centre was forced because La Haye Sainte was taken—but La Haye Sainte was not our centre but a farm 100 yards in front—and did he keep it?—no—he was driven out– [10]
When Desaix arrived at Marengo from Novi, [11] he found Napoleon, with one wing ruined—& in full change of position[.] Did Blucher find the Duke so?—Blucher was a part of the Duke’s force as Desaix was Napoleon[’]s, and it is perfectly absurd to say the Duke ‘owes his safety to Blucher,[’] any more than that he owed his safety to British troops– Blucher was a part of his combinations, and all that Blucher did was to perform his portion & complete the Destruction, the Duke had prepared for him.
Napoleon said the Duke shewed no genius because he fought the battle with one defile in his rear—but what Genius did Napoleon shew who fought it with three defiles in his rear[?] [12] The fact is Napoleon was forced to fight where the Duke chose, & was fairly & honestly & compleatly beaten– Now am I not justified in my admiration of Wellington?
You will be quite a General after this lecture–
Ever yours
B R Haydon
Miss B Barrett
Address: Miss B. Barrett / 50. Wimpole St.
Publication: EBB-BRH, pp. 52–54.
Manuscript: University of Vermont.
1. Baron Jean Pierre de Beaulieu (1725–1819) was an Austrian general in command of the army of Italy opposing Napoleon in 1796. Baron Michael Friedrich Benedikt Mélas (1729–1806) commanded the Austrian forces at the battles of Novi (1799) and Marengo (1800). Count Dagobert Siegmund von Würmser (1724–97) took over command of the Austrian forces in Italy in 1797.
2. Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult (1796–1851), Marshal of France, fought in many of Napoleon’s campaigns and was later (1830–34 and 1840–44) Minister of War. André Masséna, Duke of Rivoli and Marshal of France (1758–1817), for a time commanded the forces opposing Wellington in the Peninsula and was defeated at Fuentes d’Onoro in 1811. Jean Andoche Junot, Duke d’Abrantès (1771–1813), Governor of Portugal, was defeated by Wellington at Vimiera in 1808. Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, Duke of Ragusa and Marshal of France (1774–1852), was with Napoleon in Egypt and at Marengo and succeeded Masséna in command in Spain; he opposed Wellington at Ciudad Rodrigo.
3. St. Jean d’Acre in Syria was the site of an unsuccessful 60-day siege by Napoleon in 1799, during the Egyptian campaign.
4. Masséna’s forces were repulsed in an onslaught against Wellington’s defensive position at Torres Vedras, north of Lisbon, in 1810.
5. On 1 October 1810, the allied forces crossed the river Mondego from Coimbra to join the main Lisbon road; when the French attempted pursuit, they were driven back.
6. Sir Walter Scott’s interrogation of the Duke is recounted in Haydon’s letter to Colburn’s United Service Magazine (see letter 1185, note 4). The arrival of additional forces under the command of the Prussian Prince Gebhardt Lebrecht von Blücher (1742–1819) was held by many to have saved the day for Wellington; this was strongly disputed by the Duke.
7. A forest near Waterloo.
8. Marquis Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marshal of France (1766–1847), was in command of 33,000 men in pursuit of Blücher’s force at Waterloo; he was held down by Blücher’s rearguard and never joined the main battle.
9. Rowland Hill (1772–1842) was created Baron Hill in 1814 for his services in the Peninsular War. He commanded an army corps at Waterloo, where his horse was shot from under him. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865), statesman, served at the War Office and as Foreign Secretary in various administrations before becoming Prime Minister in 1855–58 and 1859–65. This conversation was also repeated in Haydon’s letter to Colburn’s and is recorded in Haydon’s diary on 17 October 1833 (Pope, IV, 133).
10. La Haye Sainte was the site of some of the fiercest fighting during the battle of Waterloo. It was repeatedly attacked by the French under Marshal Ney and finally taken when the King’s German Legion ran out of ammunition, but the French were unable to hold the position and it was re-taken by Wellington’s forces.
11. Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux (1768–1800), who commanded Napoleon’s Egyptian expeditionary force, was killed during the battle of Marengo, 14 June 1800. At the battle of Novi, 13 August 1799, the French forces were defeated by those of Count Alexander Vasilievich Suvarov Rimniksky (1729–1800).
12. Wellington’s defile was at Soignies; Haydon says Napoleon’s three were at Charleroi, Gemappe and Quatre-Bras (Pope, IV, 644). Haydon’s letter to Colburn’s quoted Napoleon’s Memoirs, in which he said “The first requisite of a field of battle, is to have no defile in your rear.”
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