noon
While Nivelles and Charleroi were exposed to him on one side , Namur lay open on the other ; and he could either march upon Brussels , by Mons or Halle , or , as he subsequently attempted , by Quatre Bras and Waterloo . No sooner , however , were his intentions unmasked , and the line of his operations manifested , than Lord Wellington , with an energy equal to the mighty occasion that demanded it , poured down with the whole force under his command to meet him . The march was a most distressing one ; upward of three-and-twenty miles , with deep and cut-up roads , in hot , oppressive weather , in a country almost destitute of water . Still the troops pressed forward , and by noon came within hearing of the heavy cannonade in front , which indicated the situation of the battle . From this time aide-de-camp followed aide-de-camp in quick succession , who , from their scared looks and hurried gestures , seemed to bode but ill-fortune to the cause we cared for . What the precise situation of the rival armies might be we knew not ; but we heard the French were in overwhelming numbers ; that the Dutch troops had abandoned their position ; the Hanoverians being driven back , the Duke of Brunswick -- the brave sovereign of a gallant people -- fell charging at the head of his black hussars . From one phrase which constantly met our ears , it seemed that the Bois de Bossu was the key of the position .