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    November 18, 1854.] THE LEADER. 1085. "i

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    By The Last Mail From Sebastopol, We Fin...

    To the joy of all the army it is ascertained that he is doing well on board ship . After the charge , Captain the Hon . Arthur Hardinge came galloping up to Lord Raglan with the news of "what the cavalry had done . He had been sent with orders to Lord Lucan , and at the moment of the charge he had joined the Greys and dashed with them into the Russian columns . He was an object of envy to all his friends on the staff while he described in animated language the glorious events of those brilliant five minutes . _ At 10 o'clock the Guards and Highlanders of the 1 st division were seen moving towards the plains from their camp . The Duke of Cambridge came up to Lord Raglan for orders , and his Lordship , ready to give the

    honour of the day to Sir Colin Campbell , who commands at Balaklava , told his Royal Highness to place himself under the direction of the Brigadier . At 10 40 the 4 th division also took up their position in . advance of Balaklava . The cavalry were then on the left front of our position , facing the enemy ; the light cavalry brigade was on the left flank forward ; the heavy cavalry brigade en echelon in reserve , -with guns on the right ; the 4 th Dragoons and 5 th Dragoons and Greys on the left of the brigade , the Enniskillens and 3 rd . Dragoons on the right . The 4 th division took up ground in the centre-, the Guards and Highlanders filed off towards the extreme right , and faced the redoubts , from which the Russians opened on them with such guns as had not been spiked .

    At 10 50 General Canrobert , attended by liis staff , and Brigadier-General Rose , rode up to Lord Raglan , and the staffs of the two generals and their escorts mingled together in praise of the magnificent charge of our cavalry , while the chiefs apart conversed over the operations of the day , which promised to be one of battle . The Russian cavalry , followed by our shot , had retired in confusion , leaving the ground covered with horses and men . In carrying an order early ia the day , Mr . Blunt , Lord Lucan ' s interpreter , and son of our Consul in Thessaly , had a narrow escape . His horse

    was killed ; he seized a Russian charger as it galloped past riderless , but the horse carried him almost into the Russian cavalry , and he only saved himself by leaping him into a redoubt among a number of frightened Turks who -were praying to Allah on their bellies . I should mention here that the Turks who had been collected on the flanks of the 93 rd , fled at the approach of the Russians without firing a shot . At 10 55 a body of cavalry , the Chasseurs d'Afrique , passed down to the plain , and were loudly cheered by our men . They took up ground in advance of the ridges on our left .

    And now occurred the inelanqholy catastrophe which fills us all with sorrow . It appears that the Quartermaster-General , Brigadier Airey , thinking that the light cavalry had not gone far enough in front when the enemy ' s horse had fled , gave , an / order in -writing to Captain Nolan , 15 th Hussars , to take to Loid Lucan , directing his lordship " to advance" his cavalry nearer to the enemy- A braver soldier than Captain Nolan the army did not possess . Ho was known to all his arm of the service for his entire devotion to his profession , and his name must be familiar to all who take interest in our cavalry for his excellent work , published a year ago , on our drill and system of remount and breaking horses . I had the pleasure of his acquaintance , and

    I know he entertained the most exalted opinions respecting the capabilities of the English horse soldier . Properly led , the British Hussar and Dragoon could , his mind , break square , take batteries , ride over columns of infantry , and pierce any other cavalry in the world as if they -were made of straw . He thought they had not had the opportunity of doing all that was in their power , and that they had missed even such chances as they had offered to them , —that , in fact , they were in some measure disgraced . A matchless horseman and a first-rate swordsman , he held in contempt , I am afraid , oven grape and canister . He rode off with his orders to Lord Lucan . He is now dead and gone- God forbid I should cast a shade on the brightness of his honour , but 1 am bound to state what I am told occurred when ho

    reached his lordship . I should premise tliat as the Russian cavalry retired , their infantry fell baok towards the head of the valley , leaving men in three of tlio redoubts they had taken , and abandoning the fourth . They had also placed some guns on the heights over their position , on the loft of the gorge . Their cavalry joined the reserves , and drew up in nix . solid divisions , in an obliquo lino , across the ontranco to the gorge . Six battalions of infantry wero placed behind thorn , and about 80 guns were drawn up along their line , while masses of infantry were oIho collected on the hills behind

    the redo ubt * on our right . Our cavalry had moved up to the ridgo ncroaa the valley , on our loft , as the ground was broken in front , and had halted in tho order I have already montionod . When Lord Lucan rocoived tho ordor from Captain Nolan and hurt read it , ho asked , wo ftro told , " Whoro aro wo to advance to ? " Captain Nolan pointed with hia linger to tho lino of tho Russia ™ , anfl Haul , " There » ro tho enemy , and there aro tho g < inn , elr , before thorn j it in your duty to tnke thorn , " or words to that ofFuat , according to tho statements inudo since has death . Lord Lucan , with reluctance , gave tho order to Lord Cardigan to advance upon tho guns , conceiving

    that his orders compelled him to do so . The noble Earl , though he did not shrink , also saw the fearful odds against him . Don Quixote in his tilt against the windmill was not near so rash and reckless as the gallant fellows who prepared without a thought to rush on almost certain death . It is the maxim of war , that " cavalry never act without a support , " that " infantry should be close at hand when cavalry carry guns , as the effect is only instantaneous , " and that it is necessary to have on the flank of a line of cavalry some squadrons in column , the attack on the flank being most dangerous . The only support our light cavalry had was the reserve of heavy cavalry at a great distance behind them , the infantry and guns being far in the rear . There were no squadrons in column at all , and there was a plain to charge over , before the enemy's guns were leached , of a mile and a half in length . At 1110 our light cavalry brigade rushed to the front . They numbered as follows , as well as I

    can ascertam : — Men . 4 th Light Dragoons . . . 118 8 th Irish Hussars . . . . . 104 11 th Prince Albert ' s Hussars . . . 110 13 th Light Dragoons . . . . 130 17 th Lancers . 145 Total . . . . 607 sabres . The whole brigade scarcely made one effective regiment , according to the numbers of continental armies ; and yet it was more than we could spare . As they passed towards the front , the Russians opened on them from the guns in the redoubt on the right , with volleys of musketry and rifles . They swept proudly past , glittering in

    the morning sun in all the pride and splendour of war . We could scarcely believe the evidence of our senses ! Surely that handful of men are not going ; to charge an army in position ? Alas ! it -was but too true—their desperate valour knew no bounds , and far indeed was it removed from its so-called better part—discretion . They advanced in two lines quickening their pace as they closed towards the enemy . A more fearful spectacle was never witnessed than by those who , without the power to aid , beheld their heroic countrymen rushing to the arms of death . At the distance of 1 , 200 yards the whole line of the enemy belched forth , from 30 iron mouths , a flood of smoke and flame , through which

    hissed the deadly balls . Their flight was marked by instant gaps in our ranks , by dead men and horses , by steeds flying wounded or riderless across the plain . The first line is broken , it is joined by the second , they never halt nor check their speed an instant ; with , diminished ranks , thinned by those 30 guns , which the Russians had laid with , the most deadly accuracy , with a halo of flashing steel above their heads , and with a cheer which was many a noble fellow's death-cry , they flew into the smoke of the batteries , but ere they were lost from view the plain was strewed with their bodies and with the carcasses of horses . They were exposed to an oblique fire from the batteries on the hills

    on both sides , as well as to a direct fire of musketry Through the clouds of smoke we could see their sabres flashing as they rode up to the guns and dashed between them , cutting down the gunners as they stood . We saw them riding through the guns , as I have said ; to our delight we saw them returning , after breaking through a column of Russian infantry , and scattering them like chaff , when the flank fire of the battery on the hill swept them down , scattered and broken as they wore . Wounded men and dismounted troopers flying towards us told the sad tale—demj-gods could not have done what we had failed to do . At the very moment when they wero about to retreat , an enormous mass of Lancers was hurled on their flank . Colonel Shewell of

    the 8 th Hussars , saw the danger , and rode his few men straight at them , cutting his way through with fearful loss . The other regiments turned and engaged in a desperate encounter . With courage too great almost for credence , they were breaking their way through the columns which enveloped them , - when there took placq an act of atropity without parallel in the modern warfare of civilispd nations . Tho Russian gunners , when tho storm of cavalry passed , returned to their guns . They saw their own cavalry mingled with tho troopers who had just ridden over them , and . ii a v «* _ _ - . 7 1 to tho eternal

    . disgrace of tho Russian name , tho miscreants pourqd a murderous volley of g ; rape and canister on tho mass of struggling mien and horses , mingling friend and foo in one common ruin . It was ns much an our heavy cavalry brigade could do to cover tho retreat of tho miserable remnants of that band of heroes as they returned to tho pluco they lind ho lately quitted in all the pride of lifo . At 11 85 not a British soldier , except tho dead and dying , wnt > left in front of tlioao bloody Muscovite guns . Our Iohh , an far « b it could bo ascertained , in killed , wounded , and missing at two o'clock to day , was m follows : ¦—

    Wont into Returned Action . from I , osa ... T . ,, _ , -Strong . Action . 4 th Light Dragoons ... llfi ... jiq t 79 81 . 1 ) IluHHitrH ... ... J 04 ... 1 ) 8 '" e ' e 11 th Hussnro HO ... 2 ft "" Hf > 18 th Light Dragoons ... l ! 10 ... < ji "" (; j ) 17 th Lancers 140 ... Of ) ... 110 C 07 " lM lo _

    It is not certain that all these were killed , wounded , or missing ; many may still come in , and about 80 ¦ wou nded have already returned . Captain Nolan was killed by the first shot fired , as he rode in advance of the Hussars , cheering them on . Lord Lucan was slightly wounded . Lord Cardigan received a lance thrust through his clothes . At 11 a . m . the Russians , feeling alarmed at our steady advance and at the symptoms of our intentio . to turn or cut off their right , retired from No . 1 redoubt , which was taken possession of by the Allies . At 11 15 they abandoned the redoubt N " o . 2 , blowing up the magazine ; and , as we still continued to advance , they blew up and abandoned No . 3 at 11 45 , but , to our great regret , we

    were not in time nor in force to prevent their taking off seven out of nine guns in these earthworks . At 11 48 the Russian line of infantry all began to retire slowly , and a strong portion of it crept up the hills behind the 1 st redoubt , which still belongs to them , in the hope that we would attack them in that position ; but it was not our desire to risk a battle , and we had already found out that our position was too large to be readily defended . We made up our minds , therefore , to let the Russians have redoubts Nos . 1 , 2 , and 3 , and even 4 if they liked , and to content ourselves with keeping Balaklava and ' the communication with it open by the westerly and southerly heights behind our camp . The artillery oa

    the right of 1 st division fired shot and rockets at the . 1 st redoubt , but could not do much good , nor could the heavy guns of the batteries near the town carry so far ~ as to annoy the Russians . At 12 o ' clock the greater portion of the French and English moved on more rapidly , and an accession to the strength of our artillerywas made by two French batteries , who pushed ori towards the front of our left in support of their cavalry . The first division remained still in line along the route to Balaklava . From 12 to 12 15 not a shot was fired on either side , but the Russians gathered up their forces towards the heights over the gorge , and , still keepingtheir cavalry on the plain , manoeuvred in front on our right .

    The ' Morning Herald publishes a letter from an , officer of the light brigade , who was in the charge : We all knew that the thing was desperate before we started , and it was even worse than we thought . Incur front , about a mile and a half off , were several lines of Russian cavalry and nine guns—to get at which we had to pass along a wide valley , with the ground a little falling , and in itself favourable enough for a charge of cavalry 5 but the sloping hills on each side gave the enemy an opportunity ( which they used ) of placing guns on both our flanks as we advanced ; and not only guns , but infantry with Minie * rifles .

    However , there was no hesitation , down out fellowa went at the gallop—through a fire in front and on both flanks , which emptied our saddles and knocked over our horses by scores . I do not think that one man flinched in the whole brigade—though every one allows that so hot a fire was hardly ever seen . We went right on , cut down the gunners at their guns ( the Russians worked the guns till we were within ten yards of them)—went on still , broke a line of cavalry in rear of the guns , and drove it back on the third line . But here our bolt was

    shot ; the Russians foimed four deep , and our thin and broken ranks , and blown horses , could not attempt to break through them , particularly as tho Russian cavalry had got round our flanks , and were prepared to charge our rear ( with fresh men . ) We broke back through them , however , and then had to run the gauntlet through the cross fire of artillery and Minid rifles back to our own lines , with their cavalry hanging ; on our flank . Tho heavy brigade , which had made a good charge of its own in the morning , covered our coming out of action , and lost some men from tho artillory .

    There is no concealing the thing—the light brigado was greatly damaged , and for nothing ; or though wo killed tho gunners and the horses of nine 12-pounders , wo could not bring them away . Nolan ( who brought the order ) is dead . The first shell that burst hit him in tho breast . Ho gave a loud cry , his horse turned , trotted back ( with him still in tho saddle ) between tho first and second squadrons of the 18 th , and carried him so for aomo way , when ho fell dead . lie was hit in tho heart . In tho two loading regiments , including Lord Cardigan ( who led in person ) and his staff , wo had li ) officers . Only three enmu out of action untouched both man and horse j all tho others -were killed , wounded , or priflonorfl , or had their horses hurt . The 17 th had no field ofitaern ,

    but five captains . They came out of action commanded by the junior captain , I boliovc . Morris in severely woundqd ; Winter h mipposed to bo killed ; Webb is shot through tho thigh ; White through tho log ; Thompson is nupposcd to bo killed , & a . Ono <> f Lord Cardigan ' s aides-de-camp i » wounded—Muxho ; tho other , Lookwood , in iniHflinpf , nn < l nuppoBad to h < i killed . Wo have lost about 131 ) 5 homes ( exclusive of ofllccrH * homes ) , out of little more than 000 , which we ( tho light brlgudo ) had in llio Hold ; boni < loH that , a groat number arc wounded with ffim-Hh « t wouihJh , uud ahout 25 havo already boon dcstroyc-d , and inoro will . It wan a bitter moment after wo bwho through tho lino of cavalry in roar of their guna , when 1 looked round and Haw there waa no support beyond our own brigado , which , loading

    November 18, 1854.] The Leader. 1085. "I

    November 18 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 1085 . "

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 18, 1854, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18111854/page/5/