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formed of the result. Lord Aberdeen and Mr. Sidney Herbert state that it was the general belief that Sebastopol would fall by a coup de main. Sir John Burgoyne was in | hopes we should have taken it 'at once' until he saw it, and then he 'altered his opinion.' And according to Admiral Dundas, twothirds of the people expected to be in Sebastopol in two or three days.""

On the arrival of the allied troops at Balaklava the investment of Sebastopol was commenced by the formation of a line of earthworks, those of the English being in charge of Sir Colin Campbell with the 93d Highlanders and 3000 Turkish irregulars. The French works were more extensive, of greater strength, since they occupied better ground, and the possession of the Woronzoff road gave more facilities for constructing them. The English batteries overlooked Sebastopol, those of the French were level with its defences, and the lines had to be extended from the inlet of the sea called the harbour of Balaklava, where the English vessels lay (the French anchoring in the Bay of Kamiesch), to the encampment of the allied forces, a high bare plateau sloping gradually on the north to Sebastopol and on the west to Cape Chersonese. From our shipping at Balaklava harbour, all the provisions, ammunition, and military stores for our army had to be conveyed to the camp, an operation which took some days, especially as the great siegeguns had to be got into position, and the Russian batteries were already at work pouring a heavy fire upon the besiegers. On the 17th of October (1854) the allies made a tremendous and simultaneous attack by sea and land, but without any very successful result. The attempt to enter by the mouth of the harbour was partly frustrated by the shallowness of the water on each side which prevented the ships from acting in concert. The fortifica-. tions, too, were so strong that they resisted even the tremendous fire brought to bear upon them, and such damage as was inflicted was speedily repaired. It was much the same with the land attack. The system of earthworks, which was now for almost the first time brought into operation, gave remarkable facilities for rapid repairs and changes of position,

while, though the batteries of the allies poured upon the town such a dreadful hail of bombs, rockets, and heavy balls as had never before been known in any siege, the Russians replied with almost equal vigour. At an early period of the day the explosion of a powdermagazine in the French works crippled the attack from that line, and left the Russian batteries free to concentrate their fire on the British, who were engaged in an attempt to demolish one of the batteries called the Redan, which they eventually exploded though without entirely silencing it. It was evident that the Russians did not intend their apparently impregnable fortress to be taken; but they had evidently less confidence since their recent defeat and the obvious determination of the allies. A striking proof both of the caution of the Russians and of their intention to present an obstinate resistance had already been witnessed. At the entrance to the harbour they had sunk five ships of the line and two frigates, and these added to the shallow water formed an obstacle with which the vessels of the allied fleet were unable to contend. When the seven vessels weighed anchor it was thought that they were about to go out and try conclusions with the investing fleet; but while the English were looking on, the ships began slowly to sink at their moorings, and within half an hour they lay at the bottom with nothing visible but the tops of their masts, effectually barring the entrance for many a month to come.

Our attempts to storm the Russian stronghold had failed, and it was necessary to continue the siege, and to continue it with insufficient means for making any effectual demonstrations. Two English and six French ships of the line had been so damaged by the fire from the Russian forts that they had to be sent home for repairs. Our losses were 44 killed and 266 wounded; that of the French 30 killed and 164 wounded; while it was estimated that the enemy had lost 500 The allies had plied their batteries with vigour, but with little effect, except to strike fortifications which resisted the light ordnance with which we were alone provided. Our artillery was inferior in calibre to that of

men.

BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA.

the enemy; the guns had to be taken from our ships in order to complete our batteries; the supplies of gunpowder ran short, provisions were scarce, and could only be obtained at a high price. The troops, who, on their landing were still suffering from dysentery and other diseases, had found some relief by partaking of the fruit of the vineyards and orchards which they passed on their march; but privations, wounds, and incessant toil had so thinned their ranks, that out of our 35,000 men not more than 16,500 rank and file were fit for service. Large contingents of the Russian army continued to arrive, and though they too suffered greatly in the long march, and numbers fell on the way, there were countless detachments to fill their place. The battalions of their army of observation had been joined by the force under General Liprandi, who had come from the Danubian Principalities. For some days the Russian commanders had been reconnoitring the position of the allies, and now 30,000 men were ready to bear down upon our lines, cut us off from the harbour and its supplies, and place us between the fire of the land force and that of Sebastopol. That portion of the British line held by the Turks was the weakest, and there the Russians began their attack. On the night of the 24th of October they brought against four hillocks of earth, each defended by 250 men and two or three heavy ships' guns, a battery of heavy artillery placed on an opposite ridge. On the morning of the 25th, while this battery opened fire, it was seen that, at the eastern end of the valley, Liprandi's corps d'armée was drawn up in order of battle with a strong reserve on the Simpherophol road, while a large body of Russian cavalry was advancing steadily down the valley, and a column of Russian infantry moved along the foot of the hill towards the first Turkish redoubt. The Turks, dismayed, fired a few rounds and fled, leaving their guns to be turned against them by the enemy. If the Russians reached the ground overhanging the harbour our shipping and stores would be lost. There were but a few minutes in which to decide-but there was time for an orderly to leap into the saddle and gallop to the head

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quarters of Sir Colin Campbell to warn him of the advance and the attack on the redoubts. Sir George Cathcart and the Duke of Cambridge were ordered by Lord Raglan to lead their divisions to the scene of action; the division of General Bosquet was ordered to the aid of the British in holding the valley. What would become of the town of Balaklava, where the 93d Highlanders alone had to hold the approach against an overwhelming force, which consisted of two light batteries of guns playing upon the redoubts, immense bodies of cavalry and a body of infantry; while a mile behind these, coming up the valley, were six large masses of infantry marching in regular order, and in their front a regular line of artillery? The Turks, who had fled towards the Highlanders, recovered themselves and formed into companies, and the Russian cavalry in pursuit reached the high ground, and seeing the Highlanders half a mile beyond, checked the advance until the squadrons behind them had come up. About 3500 men then went thundering on in a charge towards Balaklava, the Turks fired a second volley and again fled. To oppose the impending mass there stood alone the thin red line of the 93d, who had been drawn up only two deep. It was a terrible moment. It seemed that the tremendous charge must annihilate them. The Russians approached within 250 yards, and then in front of the red line of the 93d shone a line of fire. A close volley from the Highlanders' rifles emptied scores of the saddles of the nearest Russian cavalry, who pulled up, wavered, opened their files, and fled. A shout went up from the troops who stood and watched the 93d, but there was another mass of cavalry advancing down the hill. The Scots Greys and the Inniskillen Dragoons had moved from their quarters under the command of Lord Lucan, and saw the approach of the enemy, who outnumbered them four to one, and came on confidently down the hill. Another moment and the word of command was given; the Greys and Inniskillens charged straight at the centre, broke it, and were lost in the mass. The spectators were breathless, but again there was a wild cry of victory, our troops had crashed through the first line

of the Russians, and though many of them had fallen, were already hurling themselves against the second. If the first line had had time to rally and close upon them they must have been overwhelmed, but the 4th and 5th Dragoons were already tearing onwards, and in a single charge broke again the line through which their comrades had swept their way. The defeat was complete. But there followed another charge, the story of which has been told again and again, and not only in despatches and histories of the battle, but in those lines of the poet laureate which have become a part of our popular literature, and, if rightly read, should provoke detestation of war even while they fire the imagination and cause us to admire the daring courage which they so vividly commemorate.

"Somebody blundered!" and long afterwards the "Charge of the Light Brigade" continued to be a subject for acrimonious discussion. It had, however, furnished a fresh proof of what no one had ever denied, that Englishmen would fight against overwhelming odds, and rather than yield, would face any danger, or would obey an order to go forth and meet almost certain death.

The enemy was in retreat, but it seemed as though the guns were being taken from one of the redoubts which had first been captured, and this it was necessary to prevent if possible.

A rapidly written order from Lord Raglan to Lord Lucan to advance and pursue the retiring foe was carried by Captain Nolan of the 15th Hussars, an officer of ardent courage and great ability. Before the message had reached its destination, however, the disposition of the Russian troops had so changed, that, instead of having merely to follow and charge a hastily retreating body of men, encumbered as they appeared to be with the guns which they had seized, the Light Brigade would have found itself engaged in a rapid onslaught upon the main body of Liprandi's corps d'armée drawn up ready to receive it at the bottom of the valley, with the batteries of the two redoubts in advance, with another battery on the Tchernaya ridge, and with the steep hill sides lined with riflemen supported by columns

of infantry. It was 600 light horsemen against an army occupying a regular defensive position. The order of Lord Raglan was, “Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns; troops of horse artillery may accompany. French cavalry is on your left. Immediate." Was this order to be obeyed under all conditions—at any hazard? Lord Lucan thought that it was,-that the message was imperative. In his despatch afterwards Lord Raglan said, "From some misconception of the instruction to advance, the lieutenant-general considered that he was bound to attack at all hazards." But there the order was, and the aide-de-camp spoke (or so it was afterwards said) in an authoritative and, if not in a disrespectful, in a significant manner, when Lord Lucan stated the objections—in which he concurred with Lord Cardigan-to an attack which would then expose the brigade to probable destruction. It was Lord Raglan's orders that the cavalry should attack immediately. "Where and what to do?" was the question, for neither the enemy nor the guns were in sight. "There, my lord, is your enemy and there are your guns," was Nolan's retort, as he pointed to the further end of the valley. There was no more to be said but "forward;" and the Light Brigade, summoned hastily to the charge, swept on towards the "valley of death," with Captain Nolan at their head. The shout by which he cheered on those who followed him was turned into a death cry. The fragment of a shell had struck him to the heart. His uplifted arm dropped to his side, but his horse, unchecked, galloped forward, and for some seconds the charge was led by a dead officer who still sat in the saddle. Yet onward sped that devoted force, till at 1200 yards from the enemy the fire from thirty cannon and a murderous hail of bullets from the Russian infantry opened upon them. Without drawing rein, but with the grim determination of men who see their comrades falling around them, they plunge at the rampart of steel that lies in front—a rampart of steel amidst a volcano of fire. Breathlessly the French and English troops watch them

LORD CARDIGAN AND HIS QUARRELS.

from the ridges. They are lost in the vortex, and men groan and clench their hands. How is it possible that they can come out alive? Yet at that moment it is seen that they have hewn their way through the serried ranks of the enemy, have cleft the Russian army from front to rear, and those who still live emerge on the other side. Their sabres, hacked and bloody, still flash in the air, as with renewed cheers the men wheel round, and again with desperate valour plunge into the Russian masses, to come out, few indeed in number, fighting hand to hand with the cavalry sent to intercept them, or falling from the cannon shot of the Russian gunners, who are now firing upon them, indiscriminately mowing down friend or foe in the determination to destroy the remnant of opponents whose terrible courage may well have caused them to fear, as they certainly cannot comprehend it. "It is magnificent, but it is not war," said Bosquet, as he gazed with surprise and admiration at the returning horsemen. All that remained of the 607 who had gone to that unequal, and, so far as the material result was concerned, useless encounter, were 198, the rest having been killed, wounded, or made prisoners. Even this remnant would not have reached the British lines alive but for their return being covered by the Heavy Brigade-which was to have followed them in the charge, but which had been halted, as a support, beyond the reach of the enemy's fire, -and for the prompt action of the French general, Bosquet, who ordered his Chasseurs d'Afrique to go and silence the battery that was pouring destruction from the ridge of the Tehernaya. Only one squadron of the brave fellows could be spared to charge the Russian artillerymen, but they went at their work with a fierce determination and an activity which swept the battery of its gunners, and maintained the position against all odds, till the British Light Brigade had passed.

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this he retorted, that each commander had to do only with his own men, and his only duty was to obey orders as promptly as possible.

Lord Lucan was so little satisfied with the reference made to his misconception of the orders given him, that he afterwards brought the matter before the House of Lords, and Lord Raglan then declared that a previous order had been given, saying, that the cavalry was to advance and would be supported by infantry, that this order was not attended to, and that the second was only dependent on the first, and was not intended to be separately obeyed at all hazards. Lord Lucan demanded an inquiry by court martial, but the contention ended in recriminations, and the death of Lord Raglan, no less than the events which engrossed public attention, caused the dispute to sink into the long catalogue of grievances of which the war was so fruitful a source.

The Earl of Cardigan had shared the blame for the misdirection of the light cavalry under his command. What was worse, he had been accused of neglecting to lead his men in that desperate charge, and imputations were whispered of a want of courage, which were altogether unfounded. But Lord Cardigan was a man who, by his arrogant bearing, quarrelsome temper, and unnecessary and unequal strictness to his men, had caused a widely spread dislike and suspicion. It was true that when he had succeeded to his title he spent large sums of money in completing and perfecting all the arrangements connected with his regiment, but he was popular neither with his own officers and the men under his command, nor with the world outside military discipline. It was not forgotten that at an earlier part of his career, when he was Lieutenantcolonel James Thomas Brudenell of the 8th Hussars, he had left his regiment because a captain, whom he had charged with insubordination on a more or less private quarrel, was acquitted after trial by court martial; that when, as Lord Cardigan, he commanded the 11th Hussars, he had fastened another quarrel on a Captain Tuckett, in resentment of an alleged insult, consisting of the appearance on the mess table of a "black bottle" when the wine should have been in a decanter.

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This led to a duel, and he was tried before the House of Peers and acquitted. years afterwards, in 1840, he had fallen foul of another of his officers, a Captain Reynolds, charging him with writing an improper and intemperate letter, which it appears was one strongly remonstrating against Lord Cardigan for using language at a party reflecting on the captain's character, and implying that his conduct had excluded him from visiting his superior officer. This caused much adverse comment, since Captain Reynolds was dismissed the service, and almost directly afterwards, by order of the commander-in-chief, the adjutant-general read a memorandum to the officers of the regiment, in which it was distinctly said of Lord Cardigan, "he must recollect that it is expected from him not only to exercise the military command over the regiment, but to give an example of moderation, temper, and discretion. Such a course of conduct would lead to far less frequent reference to his lordship from the 11th Hussars than has been the case in the last few months."

This did not prevent the agreeable officer and gentleman from causing a hundred lashes to be inflicted on one of the soldiers of the regiment in the riding-school at Hounslow immediately after divine service on a Sunday morning, before the rest of the men could return to barracks. Such were the antecedents of the officer whose conduct in the Crimean war was impugned, whose character was regarded with dislike and distrust, and who, though he had certainly kept up a high degree of efficiency in his regiment, was scarcely likely to be either loved or trusted by those over whom he had control. A man of violent temper and overweening pretensions, he was perhaps justly regarded as a tyrant whose own conduct was unworthy of respect; but it was probably a still greater injury to his pride to be stigmatized as a coward. This charge was afterwards abandoned, for there was nothing to sustain it, and if he suffered for the want of that self-control which is necessary for a commander, he did not go altogether unrewarded, though it is possible that he felt himself shelved when he came to be appointed inspector-general of cavalry.

The attacks of the Russians were constantly directed against the British position, and the enemy seemed to possess singularly accurate information of our weak points. On the very morning after the battle of Balaklava a sortie was made from Sebastopol by a force of about 6000 men, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, in another attempt to take the town, where they expected the co-operation of the Russian army outside. It appeared as though their intention was to join the force of General Liprandi by the road through the Inkerman valley, or as its name implies, "the fortress of caves," but they suddenly turned to the right towards a weak part of our defences approached from the ravines of the Tchernaya and overlooking the valley. This was held by the division under Sir de Lacy Evans, who had long seen the need of a stronger force at that particular spot, and had made representations to headquarters that it was not sufficiently secured. But the general was on the alert, and though the Russians came rapidly down the hill, the pickets, on whom their first onslaught was made, opposed their advance until Sir de Lacy had time to draw up his lines in advance of the camp. At the sound of the cannonade the Duke of Cambridge with the brigade of guards and General Bosquet with five French battalions came rapidly to support the division; but before they could render any decided assistance eighteen of our guns had been placed in position and opened a fire which drove back the Russian artillery and then ploughed through their infantry. This was followed by a charge with the bayonet, which utterly routed them. They fled, pursued by our men, over the ridges, and hurried back to the shelter of the citadel, losing 600, who were dead or wounded. This success, achieved by one division of only about 1200 men, was one of the most decisive achievements of the campaign, and for that and his subsequent services Sir de Lacy Evans afterwards received the thanks of parliament. But the Russians still contemplated a grand coup. The allies, unable to take the citadel, were scarcely capable, with the diminishing force at their disposal, to hold the position which they had

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