Alexander Cavalié Mercer
Encyclopedia
Alexander Cavalié Mercer (28 March 1783 – 9 November 1868) was a British artillery
officer. Although he rose to the rank of general
, his fame is as commander of G Troop Royal Horse Artillery
in the thick of the fighting at the Battle of Waterloo
, and as author of Journal of the Waterloo Campaign.
Mercer's six-gun horse artillery
troop
arrived too late for the Battle of Quatre Bras
, but it fought with the cavalry
rearguard
covering the army's retreat to Waterloo. The troop fought on the extreme right wing of Wellington's army at Waterloo, before being moved into the thick of the fighting nearer the centre of the line. There it beat off repeated charges
by French heavy cavalry
, disobeying orders to abandon the guns and retire inside nearby infantry square
s as the enemy closed. The location of this action is marked by a memorial on the Waterloo battlefield. After the battle, Mercer's troop marched on Paris with the Allied armies, and formed part of the army of occupation.
Mercer's Journal is an important source for historians of the Waterloo campaign, as well as a detailed description of the landscape and people of Belgium
and France
in the early 19th century. It is one of the few accounts of the period written by an artillery officer.
Mercer remained in the peacetime army, twice serving in Canada
. He was a painter of some merit, and a number of his watercolours of Canadian landscapes were purchased by the National Gallery of Canada
in the 1980s.
in the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1799 at the age of 16. He served in Ireland
in the aftermath of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
. He was promoted to second captain
(a rank unique to the Ordnance
) in 1806. Promotion in the Royal Artillery was very slow, especially in peacetime, as it relied solely on seniority. Unlike in the rest of the British Army of the time
there was no opportunity for purchase of commissions
in the Ordnance. Mercer was not breveted
as a major until 1 March 1824, though this was then backdated to 12 August 1819.
Mercer was posted to G Troop Royal Horse Artillery
around 1806 and joined Whitelocke's
ill-fated Buenos Aires expedition in 1807. He did not serve in the Peninsular War
and next saw war service in the Waterloo Campaign.
. Its modern successor is G Parachute Battery (Mercer's Troop) Royal Horse Artillery, part of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
, which currently serves in the field artillery
role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun
.
G Troop served on the 1807 Buenos Aires expedition, but the G Troop of Waterloo was formed from the amalgamation of two other RHA troops before leaving Colchester
for Belgium
. It had the pick of the horses from each, and was therefore regarded as an exceptionally fine unit. When reviewing the cavalry at Grammont
on 29 May 1815, Blücher
is supposed to have said "there is not one horse in this battery that is not fit for a field marshal". The troop had five 9-pounder guns (which had recently replaced some of the RHA's 6-pounders) and a 5½" howitzer, 80 gunners, 86 drivers and 226 horses.
on 11 April 1815, a few days after hearing of Napoleon
's escape from Elba
. From 1 May until the French invasion on 15 June it led a quiet life in the small village of Strijtem, west of Brussels
. G Troop rode all day on 16 June, but arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Quatre Bras
. It covered the retreat from Quatre Bras on 17 June, narrowly escaping capture by French cavalry. It was in action later the same day at Genappe
with the cavalry rearguard.
Arriving on the field of Waterloo, Mercer's Troop briefly took up a firing position on the famous knoll behind the sandpit, which would feature in the fighting the following day. Mercer was still acting as rearguard for Wellington
's army, not realising that the entire army had halted on the ridge immediately behind him. His troop exchanged fire with arriving French batteries before retiring.
After a miserable, hungry night in the mud and rain in the orchard of Mont St Jean farm, where Mercer is fabled to have drunk port from a chicken shaped goblet, Mercer found himself without orders in the opening phase of the battle, as d'Erlon's infantry
attacked Wellington's left. He was about to lead his troop into action on his own initiative when he was ordered to the extreme right of the line. That was a quiet sector, but in common with much of Wellington's artillery, Mercer disobeyed orders to refrain from counter-battery fire. He engaged enemy guns, attracting heavy fire from superior enemy artillery in return.
In mid-afternoon Mercer's Troop was suddenly ordered into the hottest part of Wellingtons' line, between the crossroads and Hougoumont, where its position is now marked by a memorial. It deployed immediately behind the ridge road, which was on a low embankment
. The bank provided excellent cover from enemy artillery and increased the effectiveness of Mercer's case-shot. The troop was between two squares of Brunswick
infantry, whom Mercer regarded as unsteady. He was ordered to lead his men into the squares as cavalry closed, but decided they would be safer at their guns. Unlike all the other batteries in the sector, the troop's gunners never abandoned their guns to take refuge in the infantry squares.
Massed French heavy cavalry
attacked repeatedly from about 3.15 pm. The Grenadiers à Cheval of the Imperial Guard were already emerging through the smoke at the trot as Mercer's guns deployed, so the troop opened fire with case-shot at close range, causing terrible casualties. The French hesitated, then the front ranks attempted to retreat as the rear ranks pushed forward, causing them to mill about under the execution of Mercer's guns before they eventually withdrew.
Before the second charge of the heavy cavalry, Mercer's Troop was harassed by close-range carbine
fire from mounted French skirmisher
s, while Mercer held fire to conserve ammunition. To steady his men, Mercer promenaded across his troop's front on horseback, goading the enemy in French and attracting aimed but inaccurate carbine-fire in return.
The second main attack came on in columns
, led by cuirassier
s. Mercer's Troop waited for them, double-loaded with case-shot over ball
, and fired at 50 or 60 yards. Mercer reported that the whole front rank of the enemy went down, with the round-shot tearing through the column behind. The ground became virtually impassable with dead and wounded horses and men, so the enemy could not close the gun-line. Under the rapid fire of Mercer's Troop and the Brunswick infantry, the enemy fell like "grass before the mower's scythe". The greatest danger to Mercer's men came between the charges, from French skirmishers and artillery.
The third and final charge stood little chance of reaching the guns. On each occasion individual cavalrymen passed between the guns, but only so as to escape to the British rear. As the third attack withdrew, the troop had to cease firing to allow the Duke of Wellington
to pass along the road. Shortly afterwards Wellington's infantry advanced, leaving the guns on the ridge to engage masses of French troops in the valley below.
Towards the end of the action a battery established itself on the ridge to Mercer's left and fired into the flank of his troop, causing devastating casualties amongst the limber-horses. This battery was eventually driven off by fire from a newly-arrived Belgian battery. The hostile battery may well have been Prussia
n but Mercer did not believe it, despite being told so by a Brunswick cavalry officer.
Due to its shortage of horses, the troop was unable to move when the general advance was ordered, and Mercer slept under a limber, amongst the dead and wounded.
The troop had 5 killed and 15 wounded and lost 69 horses at Waterloo. It expended 700 rounds of ammunition. Sir Augustus Frazer said, "I could plainly distinguish the position of G Troop from the opposite height by the dark mass of dead French cavalry which, even at that distance, formed a remarkable feature on the field."
and talking to the wounded. Once it had been rejoined by its ammunition and supply wagons, the troop moved off towards Nivelles
, leaving some guns and carriages behind for lack of horses. It rejoined the Army near Mons
on 21 June, and marched with it to the gates of Paris
without seeing further action. It was ordered into cantonment
s at Colombes
early in July 1815. Apart from two months of leave in England, Mercer spent much of the rest of the year enjoying tourist pursuits in Paris.
Mercer was transferred to command D Troop RHA at Stains
, also near Paris, in July 1815 and he returned with it to England in January 1816.
After the campaign Mercer was put on half-pay
from 31 July 1816 until 1821. Recalled to the peacetime army, he served twice in British North America
, first as commander of the 6th company of the 5th battalion Royal Artillery
at Quebec
from 1823. He was breveted major in 1824, backdated to 1819. He returned to England in 1829 and held commands at Woolwich
and Devonport
. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 5 June 1835. He served again in British North America from 1837 to 1842, commanding the artillery in Nova Scotia during the 1837 border dispute with the United States
which became known as the Aroostook War
. He was promoted to colonel on 2 April 1846, to major-general
on 20 June 1854 and to lieutenant-general on 29 August 1857. He was commandant of the Dover
garrison before he retired from active service, but he was appointed Colonel Commandant
9 Brigade Royal Artillery on 16 January 1859, and as such he was never officially placed on the retired list. He was promoted to full general on 9 February 1865.
During his service in Lower Canada
(1828–29) and Nova Scotia
(1840–42) Mercer painted the watercolours which were acquired by the National Gallery of Canada
in the 1980s.
Mercer married Frances (or Fanny) Rice on 10 November 1813 at Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire, while he was stationed in Woodbridge, Suffolk ; she travelled with him to France after his leave in November 1815. They had one son, Cavalié A. Mercer, who edited the Journal after his father's death. Mercer and Fanny lived in Berkshire
at the time of the Waterloo campaign, but in later life Mercer lived at Cowley
Hill near Exeter
. He died there on 9 November 1868 and is buried at St. David's Church, Exeter.
His Journal of the Waterloo Campaign kept throughout the campaign of 1815 was published in 1870, after his death. It was written some 30 years earlier, from the original notes Mercer wrote contemporaneously, with additions and verifications from correspondence and other sources. It covers the period from April 1815 to January 1816, when Mercer returned to Canterbury with D Troop, with an interlude for his leave in England from September to November 1815. By Mercer's own admission he had little time to write his journal in the hectic few days before and after Waterloo, so his account may not be entirely reliable. The Journal is notable for its lengthy descriptions of the countryside and its people, and especially of Parisian life under the Allied occupation. Very little of it is devoted to military matters, and indeed Mercer does not seem to have devoted much time to command, spending most of his days in country walks, riding or tourism in Paris.
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
officer. Although he rose to the rank of general
General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
, his fame is as commander of G Troop Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
in the thick of the fighting at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, and as author of Journal of the Waterloo Campaign.
Mercer's six-gun horse artillery
Horse artillery
Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support to European and American armies from the 17th to the early 20th century...
troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
arrived too late for the Battle of Quatre Bras
Battle of Quatre Bras
The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815.- Prelude :...
, but it fought with the cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
rearguard
Rear guard
A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...
covering the army's retreat to Waterloo. The troop fought on the extreme right wing of Wellington's army at Waterloo, before being moved into the thick of the fighting nearer the centre of the line. There it beat off repeated charges
Charge (warfare)
A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
by French heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
, disobeying orders to abandon the guns and retire inside nearby infantry square
Infantry square
An infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:The formation was described by Plutarch and used by the Romans, and was developed from an earlier circular formation...
s as the enemy closed. The location of this action is marked by a memorial on the Waterloo battlefield. After the battle, Mercer's troop marched on Paris with the Allied armies, and formed part of the army of occupation.
Mercer's Journal is an important source for historians of the Waterloo campaign, as well as a detailed description of the landscape and people of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the early 19th century. It is one of the few accounts of the period written by an artillery officer.
Mercer remained in the peacetime army, twice serving in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was a painter of some merit, and a number of his watercolours of Canadian landscapes were purchased by the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
in the 1980s.
Before 1815
Mercer was born in 1783 at Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, into a military family: his father was General Alexander Mercer of the Royal Engineers. He went to the Military Academy at Woolwich and was commissioned as a lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1799 at the age of 16. He served in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in the aftermath of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. He was promoted to second captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
(a rank unique to the Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
) in 1806. Promotion in the Royal Artillery was very slow, especially in peacetime, as it relied solely on seniority. Unlike in the rest of the British Army of the time
British Army during the Napoleonic Wars
The British Army during the Napoleonic Wars experienced a time of rapid change. At the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, the army was a small, awkwardly administered force of barely 40,000 men. By the end of the period, the numbers had vastly increased. At its peak, in 1813, the...
there was no opportunity for purchase of commissions
Sale of commissions
The sale of commissions was a common practice in most European armies where wealthy and noble officers purchased their rank. Only the Imperial Russian Army and the Prussian Army never used such a system. While initially shunned in the French Revolutionary Army, it was eventually revived in the...
in the Ordnance. Mercer was not breveted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
as a major until 1 March 1824, though this was then backdated to 12 August 1819.
Mercer was posted to G Troop Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
around 1806 and joined Whitelocke's
John Whitelocke
-Military career:Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in San Domingo. In 1805 he was made a lieutenant-general and inspector-general of recruiting, and in 1807 he was appointed to command an expedition to seize Buenos Aires from the Spanish Empire, which was in disarray due...
ill-fated Buenos Aires expedition in 1807. He did not serve in the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
and next saw war service in the Waterloo Campaign.
G Troop
In 1815 Mercer was acting commander of what was officially G (Dickson's) Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, but is usually referred to as Mercer's Troop or Mercer's BatteryArtillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
. Its modern successor is G Parachute Battery (Mercer's Troop) Royal Horse Artillery, part of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun.- History :...
, which currently serves in the field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun
L118 Light Gun
The L118 Light Gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer, originally produced for the British Army in the 1970s and widely exported since, including to the United States, where a modified version is known as the M119A1...
.
G Troop served on the 1807 Buenos Aires expedition, but the G Troop of Waterloo was formed from the amalgamation of two other RHA troops before leaving Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
for Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It had the pick of the horses from each, and was therefore regarded as an exceptionally fine unit. When reviewing the cavalry at Grammont
Geraardsbergen
Geraardsbergen is a city and municipality located in the Denderstreek and in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen proper and the following towns:...
on 29 May 1815, Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
is supposed to have said "there is not one horse in this battery that is not fit for a field marshal". The troop had five 9-pounder guns (which had recently replaced some of the RHA's 6-pounders) and a 5½" howitzer, 80 gunners, 86 drivers and 226 horses.
Waterloo Campaign
Mercer's Troop embarked for BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
on 11 April 1815, a few days after hearing of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's escape from Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. From 1 May until the French invasion on 15 June it led a quiet life in the small village of Strijtem, west of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. G Troop rode all day on 16 June, but arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Quatre Bras
Battle of Quatre Bras
The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815.- Prelude :...
. It covered the retreat from Quatre Bras on 17 June, narrowly escaping capture by French cavalry. It was in action later the same day at Genappe
Genappe
Genappe is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Genappe had a total population of 14,136...
with the cavalry rearguard.
Arriving on the field of Waterloo, Mercer's Troop briefly took up a firing position on the famous knoll behind the sandpit, which would feature in the fighting the following day. Mercer was still acting as rearguard for Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's army, not realising that the entire army had halted on the ridge immediately behind him. His troop exchanged fire with arriving French batteries before retiring.
After a miserable, hungry night in the mud and rain in the orchard of Mont St Jean farm, where Mercer is fabled to have drunk port from a chicken shaped goblet, Mercer found himself without orders in the opening phase of the battle, as d'Erlon's infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
attacked Wellington's left. He was about to lead his troop into action on his own initiative when he was ordered to the extreme right of the line. That was a quiet sector, but in common with much of Wellington's artillery, Mercer disobeyed orders to refrain from counter-battery fire. He engaged enemy guns, attracting heavy fire from superior enemy artillery in return.
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
. The bank provided excellent cover from enemy artillery and increased the effectiveness of Mercer's case-shot. The troop was between two squares of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
infantry, whom Mercer regarded as unsteady. He was ordered to lead his men into the squares as cavalry closed, but decided they would be safer at their guns. Unlike all the other batteries in the sector, the troop's gunners never abandoned their guns to take refuge in the infantry squares.
Massed French heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
attacked repeatedly from about 3.15 pm. The Grenadiers à Cheval of the Imperial Guard were already emerging through the smoke at the trot as Mercer's guns deployed, so the troop opened fire with case-shot at close range, causing terrible casualties. The French hesitated, then the front ranks attempted to retreat as the rear ranks pushed forward, causing them to mill about under the execution of Mercer's guns before they eventually withdrew.
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
fire from mounted French skirmisher
Skirmisher
Skirmishers are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to harass the enemy.-Pre-modern:...
s, while Mercer held fire to conserve ammunition. To steady his men, Mercer promenaded across his troop's front on horseback, goading the enemy in French and attracting aimed but inaccurate carbine-fire in return.
The second main attack came on in columns
Column (formation)
A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation...
, led by cuirassier
Cuirassier
Cuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
s. Mercer's Troop waited for them, double-loaded with case-shot over ball
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
, and fired at 50 or 60 yards. Mercer reported that the whole front rank of the enemy went down, with the round-shot tearing through the column behind. The ground became virtually impassable with dead and wounded horses and men, so the enemy could not close the gun-line. Under the rapid fire of Mercer's Troop and the Brunswick infantry, the enemy fell like "grass before the mower's scythe". The greatest danger to Mercer's men came between the charges, from French skirmishers and artillery.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
to pass along the road. Shortly afterwards Wellington's infantry advanced, leaving the guns on the ridge to engage masses of French troops in the valley below.
Towards the end of the action a battery established itself on the ridge to Mercer's left and fired into the flank of his troop, causing devastating casualties amongst the limber-horses. This battery was eventually driven off by fire from a newly-arrived Belgian battery. The hostile battery may well have been Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n but Mercer did not believe it, despite being told so by a Brunswick cavalry officer.
Due to its shortage of horses, the troop was unable to move when the general advance was ordered, and Mercer slept under a limber, amongst the dead and wounded.
The troop had 5 killed and 15 wounded and lost 69 horses at Waterloo. It expended 700 rounds of ammunition. Sir Augustus Frazer said, "I could plainly distinguish the position of G Troop from the opposite height by the dark mass of dead French cavalry which, even at that distance, formed a remarkable feature on the field."
After Waterloo
Mercer's Troop stayed on the battlefield until 3 pm the following day, and Mercer spent the day touring the field, visiting HougoumontHougoumont
Hougoumont was a fortified farm held by Wellington's army in the Battle of Waterloo. It may also refer to:* Hougoumont , a convict ship;...
and talking to the wounded. Once it had been rejoined by its ammunition and supply wagons, the troop moved off towards Nivelles
Nivelles
Nivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
, leaving some guns and carriages behind for lack of horses. It rejoined the Army near Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
on 21 June, and marched with it to the gates of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
without seeing further action. It was ordered into cantonment
Cantonment
A cantonment is a temporary or semi-permanent military or police quarters. The word cantonment is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district, as is the name of the Cantons of Switzerland. In South Asia, the term cantonment also describes permanent military stations...
s at Colombes
Colombes
Colombes is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 13 March 1896, 17% of the territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of Bois-Colombes ....
early in July 1815. Apart from two months of leave in England, Mercer spent much of the rest of the year enjoying tourist pursuits in Paris.
Mercer was transferred to command D Troop RHA at Stains
Stains
Stains is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Heraldry:-Transport:Stains is served by Pierrefitte – Stains station on Paris RER line D...
, also near Paris, in July 1815 and he returned with it to England in January 1816.
After the campaign Mercer was put on half-pay
Half-pay
In the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, half-pay referred to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service....
from 31 July 1816 until 1821. Recalled to the peacetime army, he served twice in British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
, first as commander of the 6th company of the 5th battalion Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
at Quebec
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
from 1823. He was breveted major in 1824, backdated to 1819. He returned to England in 1829 and held commands at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and Devonport
Devonport, Devon
Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889...
. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 5 June 1835. He served again in British North America from 1837 to 1842, commanding the artillery in Nova Scotia during the 1837 border dispute with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which became known as the Aroostook War
Aroostook War
The Aroostook War was an undeclared nonviolent confrontation in 1838/1839 between the United States and Great Britain over the international boundary between British North America and Maine. The compromise resolution win a mutually accepted border between the state of Maine and the provinces of...
. He was promoted to colonel on 2 April 1846, to major-general
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
on 20 June 1854 and to lieutenant-general on 29 August 1857. He was commandant of the Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
garrison before he retired from active service, but he was appointed Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels...
9 Brigade Royal Artillery on 16 January 1859, and as such he was never officially placed on the retired list. He was promoted to full general on 9 February 1865.
During his service in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
(1828–29) and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
(1840–42) Mercer painted the watercolours which were acquired by the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
in the 1980s.
Mercer married Frances (or Fanny) Rice on 10 November 1813 at Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire, while he was stationed in Woodbridge, Suffolk ; she travelled with him to France after his leave in November 1815. They had one son, Cavalié A. Mercer, who edited the Journal after his father's death. Mercer and Fanny lived in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
at the time of the Waterloo campaign, but in later life Mercer lived at Cowley
Cowley, Devon
Cowley is a hamlet in the parish of Upton Pyne in Devon, England. It is chiefly notable for a fine three-arched bridge of classical design, built over the River Creedy in 1813-14 by James Green, pupil of John Rennie and surveyor to the county of Devon...
Hill near Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. He died there on 9 November 1868 and is buried at St. David's Church, Exeter.
His Journal of the Waterloo Campaign kept throughout the campaign of 1815 was published in 1870, after his death. It was written some 30 years earlier, from the original notes Mercer wrote contemporaneously, with additions and verifications from correspondence and other sources. It covers the period from April 1815 to January 1816, when Mercer returned to Canterbury with D Troop, with an interlude for his leave in England from September to November 1815. By Mercer's own admission he had little time to write his journal in the hectic few days before and after Waterloo, so his account may not be entirely reliable. The Journal is notable for its lengthy descriptions of the countryside and its people, and especially of Parisian life under the Allied occupation. Very little of it is devoted to military matters, and indeed Mercer does not seem to have devoted much time to command, spending most of his days in country walks, riding or tourism in Paris.