No quarter was given that day; we fought in houses and gardens, in barns
and lanes, with muskets and bayonets. Those who fell were lost. At one
time fifteen of us were in possession of a barn, and the Prussians, for
a time outnumbering us, drove us up a ladder. They fired up at our
floor, and finally, when it seemed we were lost, and were all to be
massacred we heard the shout of "Vive l'Empereur!" and the Prussians
fled. Out of that fifteen only six were left alive, but Zébédé and Buche
were among the survivors.

The battle still raged in the village streets, dead and dying were
everywhere. Towards nightfall it was plain we were the victors; Ligny
and St. Amand were in our hands, and the Prussians had moved away. On
the plateau behind Ligny, where our cavalry had been at work, the
slaughter had been terrible.

The dozen or so remaining of our company rested for a few hours that
night in the ruins of a farmhouse, and next day came the roll-call of
our battalion, and the sending off of the wounded. More than 360 of our
men, including Commandant Gémeau and Captain Vidal, were disabled, and
we were busy all day over the wounded.

It was wet and muddy that evening, and we were hungry and dispirited
when we reached Quatre Bras, about eight o'clock. We were not allowed to
halt here, but marched on to a village called Jemappes, and at midnight
we settled down in a furrow to wait for morning.

The red coats of the English were visible before us when we awoke next
morning; behind their lines was the village of Mont St. Jean, and they
had also the farmhouses of La Haie-Sainte and Hougomont. At six o'clock
I looked at their position, with Zébédé, Captain Florentin, and Buche,