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Show Prussians. Irishmen and Waterloo. ''The Kaiser's Version of Waterloo," as if U termed in the English jingo press, is undoubte.iiv-correct, undoubte.iiv-correct, says the Dublin Freeman. "Tho Gorman Legion," he told the Hanoverian regiment, ''in eon- a junction with Blucher and the Prussians, rescued V the English army from destruction at Waterloo ' 1 It i9 somewhat . remarkable ihat , the true Irishmen who were in the service of France at that period were not present at Waterloo, where their presence might hav reversed the fortunes of the dav and inflicted in-flicted on England yet another Fontenoy. There was an Irish legion, the relics of '!. as the old brigades were the relics of Limerick. In thi; legion, le-gion, of which Allen, itilos, Byrne. Corbetr, Lawless Law-less and many brave and devoted Irishmen were officers of-ficers .centered the military renown of the Irish race. The legion, however, at the time of the final struggle strug-gle on the plains of Belgium, wa- stationed at Montreuil, on the shore of the British channel. ! After the battle of AVaterloo the officers and soldiers sol-diers of the Irish legion wen- allowed at firt to retire on half pay. It is, however, mortifving to learn that through the influence of Cast'ierengh f with the new French government these exiles wer persecuted with a mean malignity worthy of the'vut-throat the'vut-throat statesmen of the union,' and that orders at. his peremptory request were given, on the diband-nient diband-nient of the Irish legion, to' deface and destroy all the insignia and memorials of service. The efher- of the legion wyre almost all restored subsequently to active service in the French army. Corbett became be-came a major general, and Allies Bvnte a chef .i-battalion .i-battalion iu the Fifty-sixth refrimentof tho line. Of the armies who trinmnho.l Waterloo- only one-fourth consisted of British troops, and of these "British troops nearlv one-half one-half were Irish Irish Catholic peasants, "wh.. I j staying. powers saved the day for England till , Blucher and his Germans came to the rescue. They I fought under a commander who always, as tar .i'-j .i'-j he dared, was a foe to the Irish people and an insolent in-solent opponent of Irish rights and liberties. Th" i "British victory" at Waterloo retarded the can j j : of Irish Catholic emancipation and of parliamentary parliamen-tary reform. It, however, taught the Duke of Wei- I lmgton one lesson that Irish soldiers who had fought with such pluck in the cause of their hr-rcdi- j tary tyrants and oppressors would be redoubtable j ; foemen in striking a Idow for their own country- i It was the cheers of the soldiers of an Irish regi- I ment at Limerick for O'Connell and Cathoi ic eman- ' J cipation that impressed upon Wellington, who was r ' then prime minister, that he had to choose between i t 1 CaUiolie emancipation and civil war. and his ex- ' perience of what Irish soldiers could do at Water- : loo and elsewhere convinced the duke that in this case discretion war? the better part of valor. "Blessings "Bless-ings on you, Wellington and Peel." said O'Connell in one of his speeches. "We have wrung emancipation emancipa-tion from you and no thanks to you for it sinco you could not help yourselves." |