Chapter 10 - Hougoumont
Hougoumont burned for hours.
At first only smoke rose from the trees.
Then darker columns appeared.
Later we could see orange flame.
The farm had become a battle within the battle.
French attacks struck it repeatedly.
Allied troops defended walls, buildings, gates, gardens.
From our position, most details were hidden.
The wounded told us the rest.
“They nearly got through.”
“They did get through.”
“Gate shut again.”
“French everywhere.”
“Guards holding.”
One man swore he had seen a gate forced open, French soldiers enter, then defenders close it behind them.
Another told a completely different story.
Both believed themselves.
Battlefield truth arrived exhausted, bleeding, and contradictory.
Mercer worked without pause.
His sleeves became stained.
I stopped noticing.
At one point a shell burst near the station.
Everyone dropped.
Wood splintered.
A horse screamed.
I found myself flat in mud with both hands covering my head.
There was no dignity in fear.
I remembered William asking me not to make everyone brave.
I understood.
I was afraid almost constantly.
Sometimes fear was sharp.
Sometimes it sat quietly beneath everything else.
A medical assistant named James was struck by debris.
Not seriously.
He sat up and laughed hysterically.
Mercer slapped his shoulder.
“Breathe.”
“I am.”
“Slower.”
James tried.
So did I.
By early afternoon, Hougoumont still held.
But the French were preparing something larger near the center.
We saw columns forming.
Mercer looked toward them.
“There.”
“What?”
“That is not for a farm.”
French guns intensified.
The ground seemed to shake.
Then masses of infantry moved forward.
Thousands.
Flags above them.
Drums.
I climbed slightly higher for a better look.
Mercer shouted:
“Thomas!”
“Ten seconds!”
“You have five!”
From a distance, the French advance looked almost beautiful.
Ordered columns moving across green-brown fields.
Sunlight on bayonets.
Flags bright through smoke.
Then Allied guns fired.
Gaps opened.
Men closed them.
May you like
The columns continued.
I stopped thinking it beautiful.
