WATERLOO - HOUGOUMONT AND PARIS Manuscript first-hand account of the battle of Waterloo by Col. Alexander George Woodford, commander of the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, signed ("Colonel Woodford") at head, beginning "...The Battle of Waterloo which has decided the fate of France & of Europe for half a Century to come, was fought under disadvantages arriving from tempestuous weather, and an insecure position...", on Quatre Bras ("...he [Bonaparte] ought to have thrown his whole force upon us instead of attacking the Prussians, he wd so far have found us unprepared..."), the morning of the battle ("...a ridge of eminences, intersected by two great roads from Namur and Nivelles to Brussels. The other great road by Halle... The Duke was particularly anxious about that road... the Post of Hougoumont (a Farm House with a Square of Buildings, walled Garden and Wood) was in front of our right... About 10 o'clock the torrents of rain subsided, the ground dried very quick. Buonaparte was surprised to find us in Position... determined to make a furious attack..."), the battle ("...Buonaparte desperate, with troops dedicated to him, against inferior numbers... Wellington seemed to feel & everyone seemed to share the feeling that we must conquer or perish... the Enemy was repulsed with slaughter several times..."), at Hougoumont "...hemmed into the house..." and holding out in the burning building ("...The French continually advanced upon the farm, but the tiraillerie from the walls and windows was too much for them... a shell fell into the great barn & we were instantly enveloped in a most tremendous and suffocating conflagration. As our orders from the Duke were positive to stand to the last we had the comfort of being roasted for half an hour fully expecting the Enemy wd make a rush for get round us in the smoke..."), the infantry forming into impenetrable squares ("...the fortune of the day wavered...") and Wellington's decision to attack ("...a great crisis and a great decision..."), holding back the advance of the French ("...the rout became general, Buonaparte who had come within a few yards remounted his horse, took another look & was off..."), describing heavy losses including the death of his cousin ("...many sensations of regret...") but reflects that "...these feelings give way to sentiments which every soldier knows...", the entry into Paris ("...when the British Troops came, the Prussian Line turned out & cheered the bands striking up "God save the King"..."), on looting and destruction by the Prussians ("...our system of discipline & commissariat regulations do not admit similar measures..."), the haste to get Louis into Paris without further sacrifice ("...but the good people of Whites and Boodles do love a Butcher's bill..."), on the Parisians ("...All are brutalized... démoralises... The Women do not have beauty, or elegance or good manners... The men are Ruffians..."), and the King ("...his benevolence borders upon weakness his bodily infirmities take off from the éclat of a sovereigns appearance..."), ending by expecting the army will go into Normandy due to the shortage of provisions and that the French will desert ("...They talk of conspiracies, but I do not believe in them..."), each bifolium docketed, 12 pages on 3 bifolia, watermarks 'J. Rump/ 1814' and Britannia, dust-staining, slight discolouration and marks, creased at folds, small tears, folio (322 x 200mm.), Paris, 4 August 1815; in a dark red solander box, gilt title on spine 'WE WERE INSTANTLY ENVELOPED IN A MOST TREMENDOUS AND SUFFOCATING CONFLAGRATION': A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, THE DEFENCE OF HOUGOUMONT AND ENTRY INTO PARIS, FROM ONE OF WELLINGTON'S PALL BEARERS. Our vivid account, written shortly after his arrival in Paris for the restoration of the monarchy, comes from Colonel Alexander Woodford of the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, someone who experienced the thick of the fighting and in particular the spirited defence of Hougoumont farmhouse: "...smoke and matters generally cleared up..." he comments with typical insouciance. During the closing stages of the battle, Byng had sent three companies of Coldstream Guards, led by Woodford, to relieve the beleaguered Macdonell and his troops who were penned in by the French. It is noted that whilst Woodford outranked Macdonell, he allowed him to retain the command and they fought together for the remainder of the day (Project Hougoumont website). With great precision he here describes the ebb and flow of battle, of attack and counter-attack, all the time speaking of his admiration for Wellington and his legendary calmness under fire, writing of his "...composed & cheerful air...", "...the calmness & precision with which he made his dispositions...", and the "...mutual confidence between the capital commander & his capital soldiers...". It was the leadership of Wellington, he writes, that won the day. Colonel Alexander George Woodford (1782-1870) received a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his crucial part in the defence of Hougoumont, by taking command when Wellington ordered a general advance on the French. Prior to Waterloo he served in the major battles of the Peninsular Wars and afterwards went on to become Lieutenant Governor and Brigade Commander at Malta and Corfu, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar. He ended his career as the Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Such was the esteem in which he was held, Woodford had the honour of joining Henry Hardinge and Charles Napier as one of Wellington's eight pallbearers at his state funeral on 18 November 1852. Two of his letters written long after the battle are published in Siborne's, The Waterloo Letters, 1891 (nos. 114 & 115), but ours, written less than a month after the battle, remains apparently unpublished.