Heat of Battle

"Although the infantry lost several men as they passed us, yet on the whole the cannonade, began to slacken on both sides (why, I know not), and, the smoke clearing away a little, I had now, for the first time, a good view of the field. On the ridge opposite to us dark masses of troops were stationary, or moving down into the intervening plain. Our own advancing infantry were hid from view by the ground. We therefore recommenced firing at the enemies' masses, and the cannonade, spreading, soon became general again along the line. Whilst thus occupied with our front, we suddenly became sensible of a most destructive flanking fire from a battery which had come, the Lord knows how, and established itself on a knoll somewhat higher than the ground we stood on, and only about 400 or 500 yards a little in advance of our left flank. The rapidity and precision of this fire were quite appalling. Every shot almost took effect, and I certainly expected we should all be annihilated. Our horses and limbers, being a little retired down the slope, had hitherto been somewhat under cover from the direct fire in front; but this plunged right amongst them, knocking them down by pairs, and creating horrible confusion. The drivers could hardly extricate themselves from one dead horse ere another fell, or perhaps themselves. The saddlebags, in many instances, were torn from the horses’ backs, and their contents scattered over the field. One shell I saw explode under the two finest wheel-horses in the troop-down they dropped. In some instances the horses of a gun or ammunition wagon remained, and all their drivers were killed. The whole livelong day had cost us nothing like this. Our gunners too – the few left fit for duty of them – were so exhausted that they were unable to run the guns up after firing, consequently at every round they retreated nearer to the limbers; and as we had pointed our two left guns towards the people who were annoying us so terribly, they soon came altogether in a confused heap, the trails crossing each other, and the whole dangerously near the limbers and ammunition wagons, some of which were totally unhorsed, and others in sad confusion from the loss of their drivers and horses, many of them lying dead in their harness attached to their carriages. I sighed for my poor troop-it was already but a wreck."

Much as Mercer's written description,  the above battle scene painted by Langlois shows how chaotic the clash of humanity could be in warfare during the age.  In the scene, a group of cavalry are attempting to break through an infantry line.  In the lower right corner of the painting you will see the rubble of what remains of an artillery piece already smashed - along with its gunners - into an unusable heap.  In truth, the whole area would have been shrouded with a thick smoke from the discharge of the black-powder guns of the time.  But of course, that detail would not have made for a very good painting!