The Waterloo Roll Call. Charles Dalton
sev. wnded. and taken prisoner. When he escaped from prison, Pack was appointed to the command of a provisional battalion stationed at Colonia. His fidgety and irascible temper somewhat tried those who had to serve under him. One morning there appeared written in chalk on the door of a barn the following distich:—
“The devil break the gaoler’s back
That let thee loose, sweet Denis Pack.”
For his services at Waterloo he was made Col.-in-Chf. of the York Chasseurs. M. 10th July, 1816, Lady Eliz. Beresford, youngest dau. of George, 1st Marquis of Waterford, and had issue. His 2nd son was Lord Beresford’s heir, and assumed the surname of Beresford. Sir Denis d. 24th July, 1823.
AIDE-DE-CAMP.
Maj. E. L’Estrange, 71st Foot, K.
Edmund L’Estrange was a hero in every sense of the word. He was eldest son of Capt. Anthony L’Estrange of the 88th Regt.—one of the Irish representatives of the ancient family of Le Strange, of Hunstanton, co. Norfolk. Was A.D.C. to Sir Denis Pack in the Par. War, and his especial gallantry, on several occasions, attracted the notice of Wellington. Made a brevet maj. at the early age of 26. His right leg was shattered by a round shot at Waterloo, and he died soon after suffering amputation. Had he lived, a great future was in store for him. A pension was granted to his mother whom he had supported.
MAJOR OF BRIGADE.
Bt.-Maj. Chas. Smyth, 95th Foot, K.
Bn. 8th Jan., 1786. Distinguished himself in the Par. War, and was promoted brevet maj. in 1815. D. from wounds received at Quatre Bras. 4th son of the Rt. Hon. John Smyth, of Heath Hall, near Wakefield, by Lady Georgiana Fitzroy, eldest dau. of 3rd Duke of Grafton.
MAJOR-GENERAL.
Lord Edward Somerset, K.C.B.
Commanded the 4th Lt. Dns. in the Par. War. In the first Cavalry charge at Waterloo, Lord Edward Somerset lost his cocked hat, and went to the charge bare-headed. On his return, whilst looking for his hat, a cannon-ball took off the flap of his coat and killed his horse. He donned a Life Guard’s helmet and wore it during the battle. Bn. in 1776. 4th son of Henry, 5th Duke of Beaufort. M., 1805, Louisa, youngest dau. of 2nd Visct. Courtenay. G.C.B., K.T.S. Col.-in-Chf. 4th Lt. Dns. 1836. D. 1st Sept., 1842, leaving issue.
AIDE-DE-CAMP.
Lt. H. Somerset, 18th Hussars.
Afterwards Lt.-Gen. Sir Henry Somerset, K.C.B. and K.H. Col.-in-Chf. 25th Foot. Bn. 30th Dec., 1794. Eldest son of Lord Charles Somerset, by 4th dau. of Visct. Courtenay. M., 1st April, 1817, Frances, dau. of Adml. Sir H. Heathcote, and had issue. Served in the first Kaffir War, and was afterwards C.-in-C. at Bombay. D. 15th Feb., 1862, leaving issue.
MAJOR-GENERAL.
Sir John Lambert, K.C.B.
2nd son of Capt. Robert Lambert, R.N. (2nd son of Sir John Lambert, 2nd Bart.), by Catherine, dau. of Edward Byndloss, of Jamaica. Succeeded to the command of the British troops before New Orleans, in Jan. 1815, on the deaths of Generals Pakenham and Gibbs, who nobly fell whilst heading an attack on the “Crescent City.” The disorganised state of the British troops, and the utter impracticability of forcing the American entrenchments, induced General Lambert to retreat, which he was able to do without meeting with any opposition, having captured Fort Bowyer. With their natural love of exaggeration, the Americans magnified both their victory and our defeat:—
“The English had ten thousand,
Jackson only one;
But what was that to Jackson
When him they turned their backs on?”
By a forced march from Ostend, Lambert’s brigade arrived at Waterloo just as the battle was commencing. G.C.B. Col.-in-Chf. 10th Foot, 1824. M., 19th Oct., 1816, a dau. of John Mount, of Brocklehurst, in the New Forest. D. at Thames Ditton, 14th Sept., 1847, leaving issue.
AIDE-DE-CAMP.
Lt. T. Baynes, 39th Foot.
Promoted capt. in 1824, and placed on h. p. 20th Nov., 1828. D. at Brussels, 27th May, 1847.
MAJOR OF BRIGADE.
Maj. H.G.W. Smith, 95th Foot, W.
Afterwards the renowned Sir Harry George Wakelyn Smith, Bart., G.C.B. and Col.-in-Chf. Rifle Brigade. Bn. at Whittlesea, Isle of Ely; son of a local surgeon. Entered the 95th Rifles in 1805. Was present at the capture of Monte Video. Served at twelve general actions in the Pa. and was afterwards A.A.G. in America. Served at Bladensburg and the destruction of Washington. Sent home with despatches. Went out again under Sir E. Pakenham, and was present at the attack upon the enemy’s lines near New Orleans. Promoted brevet lt.-col. for his services at Waterloo. Commanded a division in the Kaffir War of 1834–5. In 1840 was A.-G. in India. K.C.B. for battle of Maharajpore. G.C.B. for the Sutlej Campaign. Created a baronet for his victory at Aliwal. C.-in-C. at Cape of Good Hope in Kaffir War of 1848. He m., in 1816, a young Spanish lady, Juana Maria de los Dolores de Leon, who had appealed to him for protection on the day after the assault on Badajoz in Apr. 1812. D. in London, without issue, 12th Oct., 1860, and was buried at Whittlesea. M.I., in St. Mary’s Church.
MAJOR-GENERAL.
Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., W.
“Descended from the Grants of Gartenbeg.” In order to show the antiquity of the great “Clan Grant,” one of the name asserted that the verse in the Old Testament, saying, “There were giants in the earth in those days” had been wrongly translated, and that it ought to read: “There were Grants in those days.” This genealogical flight reminds one of the story of a negro servant, Deemers by name, who, hearing his Yankee master everlastingly talking of his ancestors, cut into the conversation one fine morning when waiting at table with the following: “Massa, an ancestor of mine is mentioned in de Bible; I heard de minister read out last Sunday a chapter about a coloured man—one nigger Deemers!”
Colquhoun Grant commanded the 72nd Regt. in the expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, under Sir David Baird, in 1806, and on 8th Jan. was wounded in the action with the Batavian army. In Sir D. Baird’s despatch, announcing the victory of the British troops, occurs this passage: “Your lordship will perceive the name of Lt.-Col. Grant among the wounded; but the heroic spirit of this officer was not subdued by his misfortune, and he continued to lead his men to glory as long as an enemy was opposed to the 72nd Regt.” The following is an authentic anecdote:—
Sir Colquhoun Grant, being in command of a regt. at Clonmel, he gave offence in some way to an honest shopkeeper, named Mulcahy, who struck him on the parade, in presence of his whole corps. The officers rushed forward to seize the delinquent, but Sir Colquhoun interposed, declaring that he had been the aggressor, and as the gentleman thought proper to resent his conduct in so gross a manner, it remained for him to seek the usual reparation. “Oh!” exclaimed Mulcahy, “if it’s for fighting you are, I’ll fight you; but it shall neither be with swords nor pistols, nor anything else but my two fists” (and fine big mutton fists they were, sure enough). “Well, then,” replied the gallant officer, “with all my heart. By insulting you, I have put myself on a level with you, and of course cannot refuse to meet you on your own terms. Come along, sir.” The men were dismissed; and Col. Grant, accompanied by his adversary and some mutual friends, repaired to the mess-room, where he very speedily closed up Mr. Mulcahy’s peepers, and sent him home perfectly satisfied. That was the proudest day of Mulcahy’s life, and many a time has he boasted of the black eye he got from a K.C.B., as if it were an honourable ordinary emblazoned upon his escutcheon. “Ever since that morning,” would he say, “let me meet Sir Colquhoun Grant, where I might, in town or country, among lords or ladies, dressed in plain clothes or dizened out in gold and scarlet, he would give me his hand and say,‘How are you, Billy?’ ”
In Aug., 1808, Grant was appointed lt.-col. of the 15th Lt. Dns., and served in the Pa. Had five horses shot under him at Waterloo. G.C.B., G.C.H. Col.-in-Chf. 15th Hussars, 1827. Lt.-Gen. Succeeded to a large property at Frampton, co. Dorset, 1833, M. Marcia, dau. of Rev. J. Richards, of Long Bredy, co. Dorset, and had an only surviving child,