Left Wing History (2):
Waterloo 1815

Corrections and Clarifications

by Gary Cousins, Germany

In my article in First Empire 76 (May-June 2004) I wrote that when the Prussian 6th (2nd Silesian) Hussars met Captain Taylor of the Brit-ish 10th Hussars at 10 a.m. on the 18th June, Taylor was told that Bülow’s IV Corps was trois quarts de lieue distant. As the exchange was conducted in French, the French league was assumed, and Bülow’s distance equated to 3 km: from Chapelle St Lambert (where Bülow was assembling) it is 3 km to the Bois de Paris (on the other side of which the encounter occurred).

A league was originally the distance a man could walk in one hour: but leagues of different lengths existed: Webster’s Dictionary of 1913 gives a range of from 2.4 to 4.6 miles (3.9 to 7.4 km), with 3 miles (4.8 km) as average. If the precise measure intended is unclear, the order of magnitude is not: if this information was given at 10 a.m., IV Corps might have been expected to begin to arrive by midday.

I also wrote, concerning the attack by D’Erlon’s I Corps, that “…neither Vivian nor Vandeleur ever mentioned having a discussion with Müffling during this episode” - meaning that they never mentioned specifically discussing any intervention during this period with Müffling.

In fact, Vivian wrote (BL. Add. MS 34706-209) that he did not see D’Erlon’s attack, as at the time he was reconnoitring on the far left, and that while doing so he met Müffling near Papelotte and was with him for some time – but he does not state what was discussed. If Müffling met Vivian, he may also have met Vandeleur, although Vandeleur (Letters, no. 51) does not mention it.

Müffling’s presence on the left wing is not doubted: whose recollection was at fault or selective remains open.

Finally, I asked questions about an order supposedly written by Wellington, but my final words on this point were “lost in the edit”: they were:

“It seems more likely that this order was not for Vivian but for someone with responsibility for cavalry patrols both east and west of Wellington’s position – perhaps for Uxbridge or a member of Wellington’s staff.”

Left Wing History (2) Prussian I Corps

Left Wing History (1) Waterloo 1815: Vivian's 6th Cavalry Brigade

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