of the old _genre_ of French Generals as depicted at Versailles,
followed, with his staff and a small escort of Hussars, at a
gallop. Faint white clouds rose here and there above the hill from
the cannonade below. Never did the painter’s eye rest on a more
beautiful scene than I beheld from the ridge. The fleecy vapours
still hung around the mountain tops, and mingled with the ascending
volumes of smoke; the patch of sea sparkled freshly in the rays of
the morning sun, but its light was eclipsed by the flashes which
gleamed from the massess of armed men below.
Looking to the left towards the gorge, we beheld six compact masses
of Russian infantry, which had just debouched from the mountain
passes near Tchernaya, and were slowly advancing with solemn
stateliness up the valley. Immediately in their front was a regular
line of artillery, of at least twenty pieces strong. Two batteries
of light guns were already a mile in advance of them, and were
playing with energy on the redoubts, from which feeble puffs of
smoke came at long intervals. Behind these guns, in front of the
infantry, were enormous bodies of cavalry. They were in six compact
squares, three on each flank, moving down _en échelon_ towards us,
and the valley was lit up with the blaze of their sabres, and lance
points, and gay accoutrements. In their front, and extending along
the intervals between each battery of guns, were clouds of mounted
skirmishers, wheeling and whirling in the front of their march like
autumn leaves tossed by the wind. The Zouaves close to us were
lying like tigers at the spring, with ready rifles in hand, hidden
chin deep by the earthworks which run along the line of these
ridges on our rear, but the quick-eyed Russians were manœuvring
on the other side of the valley, and did not expose their columns
to attack. Below the Zouaves we could see the Turkish gunners in
the redoubts, all in confusion as the shells burst over them.
Just as I came up, the Russians had carried No. 1 redoubt, the
farthest and most elevated of all, and their horsemen were chasing
the Turks across the interval which lay between it and redoubt
No. 2. At that moment the cavalry, under Lord Lucan, were formed
in glittering masses--the Light Brigade, under Lord Cardigan, in
advance; the Heavy Brigade, under Brigadier-General Scarlet, in
reserve. They were drawn up just in front of their encampment,
and were concealed from the view of the enemy by a slight “wave”
in the plain. Considerably to the rear of their right, the 93rd
Highlanders were drawn up in line, in front of the approach to
Balaklava. Above and behind them, on the heights, the Marines were
visible through the glass, drawn up under arms, and the gunners
could be seen ready in the earthworks, in which were placed the
heavy ships’ guns. The 93rd had originally been advanced somewhat
more into the plain, but the instant the Russians got possession
of the first redoubt they opened fire on them from our own guns
which inflicted some injury, and Sir Colin Campbell “retired” his
men to a better position. Meantime the enemy advanced his cavalry
rapidly. To our inexpressible disgust we saw the Turks in redoubt
No. 2 fly at their approach. They ran in scattered groups across
towards redoubt No. 3, and towards Balaklava, but the horse-hoof
of the Cossack was too quick for them, and sword and lance were
busily plied among the retreating herd. The yells of the pursuers
and pursued were plainly audible. As the Lancers and Light Cavalry
of the Russians advanced they gathered up their skirmishers with
great speed and in excellent order--the shifting trails of men,
which played all over the valley like moonlight on the water,
contracted, gathered up, and the little _peloton_ in a few moments
became a solid column. Then up came their guns, in rushed their
gunners to the abandoned redoubt, and the guns of No. 2 redoubt
soon played with deadly effect upon the dispirited defenders of
No. 3 redoubt. Two or three shots in return from the earthworks,
and all is silent. The Turks swarm over the earthworks, and run
in confusion towards the town, firing their muskets at the enemy
as they run. Again the solid column of cavalry opens like a fan,
and resolves itself into a “Long spray” of skirmishers. It laps
the flying Turks, steel flashes in the air, and down go the poor
Moslem quivering on the plain, split through fez and musket-guard
to the chin and breast-belt. There is no support for them. It
is evident the Russians have been too quick for us. The Turks
have been too quick also, for they have not held their redoubts
long enough to enable us to bring them help. In vain the Turkish
gunners in the earthen batteries which are placed along the French
entrenchments strive to protect their flying countrymen; their
shot fly wide and short of the swarming masses. The Turks betake
themselves towards the Highlanders, where they check their flight
and form into companies on the flanks of the Highlanders. As the
Russian cavalry on the left of their line crown the hill across
the valley, they perceive the Highlanders drawn up at the distance
of some half mile, calmly awaiting their approach. They halt, and
squadron after squadron flies up from the rear, till they have a
body of some 1500 men along the ridge--Lancers, and Dragoons, and
Hussars. Then they move _en échelon_ in two bodies, with another
in reserve. The cavalry who have been pursuing the Turks on the
right are coming up to the ridge beneath us, which conceals our
cavalry from view. The heavy brigade in advance is drawn up in two
lines. The first line consists of the Scots Greys, and of their old
companions in glory, the Enniskillens; the second of the 4th Royal
Irish, of the 5th Dragoon Guards, and of the 1st Royal Dragoons.
The Light Cavalry Brigade is on their left, in two lines also. The
silence is oppressive; between the cannon bursts one can hear the
champing of bits and the clink of sabres in the valley below. The
Russians on their left drew breath for a moment, and then in one
grand line charged in towards Balaklava. The ground flies beneath
their horses’ feet; gathering speed at every stride, they dash
on towards that _thin red streak topped with a line of steel_.
The Turks fire a volley at eight hundred yards and run. As the
Russians come within six hundred yards, down goes that line of
steel in front, and out rings a rolling volley of Minié musketry.
The distance is too great; the Russians are not checked, but still
sweep onwards through the smoke, with the whole force of horse
and man, here and there knocked over by the shot of our batteries
above. With breathless suspense every one awaits the bursting of
the wave upon the line of Gaelic rock; but ere they come within
two hundred and fifty yards, another deadly volley flashes from
the levelled rifle, and carries terror into the Russians. They
wheel about, open files right and left, and fly back faster than
they came. “Bravo Highlanders! well done!” shout the excited
spectators; but events thicken. The Highlanders and their splendid
front are soon forgotten, men scarcely have a moment to think of
this fact, that the 93rd never altered their formation to receive
that tide of horsemen. “No,” said Sir Colin Campbell, “I did not
think it worth while to form them even four deep!” The ordinary
British line, two deep, was quite sufficient to repel the attack
of these Muscovite cavaliers. Our eyes were, however, turned in a
moment on our own cavalry. We saw Brigadier-General Scarlett ride
along in front of his massive squadrons. The Russians--evidently
_corps d’elite_--their light blue jackets embroidered with silver
lace, were advancing on their left, at an easy gallop, towards
the brow of the hill. A forest of lances glistened in their rear,
and several squadrons of grey-coated dragoons moved up quickly to
support them as they reached the summit. The instant they came
in sight the trumpets of our cavalry gave out the warning blast
which told us all that in another moment we should see the shock
of battle beneath our very eyes. Lord Raglan, all his staff and
escort, and groups of officers, the Zouaves, French generals
and officers, and bodies of French infantry on the height, were
spectators of the scene as though they were looking on the stage
from the boxes of a theatre. Nearly every one dismounted and sat
down, and not a word was said. The Russians advanced down the hill
at a slow canter, which they changed to a trot, and at last nearly
halted. Their first line was at least double the length of ours--it
was three times as deep. Behind them was a similar line, equally
strong and compact. They evidently despised their insignificant
looking enemy, but their time was come. The trumpets rang out again
through the valley, and the Greys and Enniskilleners went right at
the centre of the Russian cavalry. The space between them was only
a few hundred yards; it was scarce enough to let the horses “gather
away,” nor had the men quite space sufficient for the full play of
their sword arms. The Russian line brings forward each wing as our
cavalry advance, and threatens to annihilate them as they pass on.
Turning a little to their left, so as to meet the Russian right,
the Greys rush on with a cheer that thrills to every heart--the
wild shout of the Enniskilleners rises through the air at the
same instant. As lightning flashes through a cloud, the Greys and
Enniskilleners pierced through the dark masses of Russians. The
shock was but for a moment. There was a clash of steel and a light
play of swordblades in the air, and then the Greys and the redcoats
disappear in the midst of the shaken and quivering columns. In
another moment we see them emerging and dashing on with diminished
numbers, and in broken order, against the second line, which is
advancing against them as fast as it can to retrieve the fortune
of the charge. It was a terrible moment. “God help them! they are
lost” was the exclamation of more than one man, and the thought
of many. With unabated fire the noble hearts dashed at their
enemy. It was a fight of heroes. The first line of Russians, which
had been smashed utterly by our charge, and had fled off at one
flank and towards the centre, were coming back to swallow up our
handful of men. By sheer steel and sheer courage Enniskillener and
Scot were winning their desperate way right through the enemy’s
squadrons, and already grey horses and red coats had appeared
right at the rear of the second mass, when, with irresistible
force, like one bolt from a bow, the 1st Royals, the 4th Dragoon
Guards, and the 5th Dragoon Guards rushed at the remnants of the
first line of the enemy, went through it as though it were made
of pasteboard, and dashing on the second body of Russians as they
were still disordered by the terrible assault of the Greys and
their companions, put them to utter rout. The Russian Horse in
less than five minutes after it met our dragoons was flying with
all its speed before a force certainly not half its strength. A
cheer burst from every lip--in the enthusiasm, officers and men
took off their caps and shouted with delight, and thus keeping up
the scenic character of their position, they clapped their hands
again and again. Lord Raglan at once despatched Lieutenant Curzon,
Aide-de-Camp, to convey his congratulations to Brigadier-General
Scarlett, and to say “Well done.” The gallant old officer’s face
beamed with pleasure when he received the message. “I beg to thank
his Lordship very sincerely,” was his reply. The cavalry did
not long pursue their enemy. Their loss was very slight, about
thirty-five killed and wounded in both affairs. There were not more
than four or five men killed outright, and our most material loss
was from the cannon playing on our heavy dragoons afterwards, when
covering the retreat of our light cavalry.
In the Royal Horse Artillery we had a severe, but I am glad to say
a temporary loss. Captain Maude, who directed the service of his
guns with his usual devotedness and dauntless courage, was struck
in the arm by a shell which burst at his saddle bow and killed his
horse. 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.
At ten o’clock the Guards and Highlanders of the First 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 forty minutes after ten,
the Fourth 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 échelon_ in reserve, with
guns on the right; the 4th Dragoons and 5th Dragoons and Greys on
the left of the brigade, the Enniskillens and 3rd Dragoons on the
right. The Fourth 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 fifty minutes after ten, General Canrobert, attended by his
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 in 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 into a
redoubt among a number of frightened Turks who were praying to
Allah on their bellies. At fifty-five minutes after ten, 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 melancholy 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, 15th Hussars, to take to Lord Lucan, directing his
Lordship “to advance” his cavalry nearer to the enemy. A braver
soldier than Captain Nolan the army did not possess. He 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 in 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 that 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, even 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 I am bound to state what I am told occurred when he
reached his Lordship. I should premise that as the Russian cavalry
retired, their infantry fell back towards the head of the valley,
leaving men in three of the redoubts they had taken, and abandoning
the fourth. They had also placed some guns on the heights over
their position on the left of the gorge. Their cavalry joined the
reserve, and drew up in six solid divisions, in an oblique line
across the entrance to the gorge. Six battalions of infantry were
placed behind them, and about thirty guns were drawn up along their
line, while masses of infantry were also collected on the hills
behind the redoubts on our right. Our cavalry had moved up to the
ridge across the valley, on our left, as the ground was broken in
front, and had halted in the order I have already mentioned. When
Lord Lucan received the order from Captain Nolan and had read
it, he asked, we are told, “Where are we to advance to?” Captain
Nolan pointed with his finger to the line of the Russians, and
said, “There are the enemy, and there are the guns, sir, before
them; it is your duty to take them,” or words to that effect,
according to the statements made since his death. Lord Lucan, with
reluctance, gave the order to Lord Cardigan to advance upon the
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 a 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 reached, of a mile and a half in length.
At ten minutes past eleven, our Light Cavalry brigade advanced.
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 rushed 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 1200 yards the
whole line of the enemy belched forth, from thirty 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 or check their speed an instant; with diminished ranks,
thinned by those thirty 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 were. Wounded men and
dismounted troopers flying towards us told the sad tale--demi-gods
could not have done what we had failed to do. At the very moment
when they were about to retreat an enormous mass of Lancers was
hurled on their flank. Colonel Shewell, of the 8th 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 place an act of atrocity without
parallel in the modern warfare of civilized nations. The Russian
gunners, when the storm of cavalry passed, returned to their guns.
They saw their own cavalry mingled with the troopers who had just
ridden over them, and, to the eternal disgrace of the Russian name,
the miscreants poured a murderous volley of grape and canister on
the mass of struggling men and horses, mingling friend and foe in
one common ruin. It was as much as our Heavy Cavalry brigade could
do to cover the retreat of the miserable remnants of that band of
heroes as they returned to the place they had so lately quitted in
all the pride of life. At thirty-five minutes past eleven not a
British soldier, except the dead and dying, was left in front of
these bloody Muscovite guns.
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.
Major Halkett, of the 4th Light Dragoons, was killed. Lord
Fitzgibbon of the 8th Hussars, was desperately wounded, and has
since, I fear, died.
In our cavalry fight we had 13 officers killed or missing, 156
men killed or missing: total 169; 21 officers wounded, 197 men
wounded; total 218. Total killed, wounded, and missing, 387.
Horses killed or missing, 394; horses wounded 126; total 520.
BALKAN, PASSAGE OF THE.--This adventurous experiment was deemed
impracticable by a hostile army, until effected by the Russian
army under Diebitsch, whose march through the Balkan mountains
is a memorable achievement of the late great Russian and Turkish
war. The passage was completed July 26th, 1829. An armistice was
the consequence; and a treaty of peace was signed at Adrianople in
September following.
BALLINAHINCH, BATTLE OF.--This sanguinary engagement was fought,
June 13th, 1798, between the Earl of Moira, afterwards Marquis of
Hastings, and a large body of insurgent Irish. In this battle a
large part of the town was destroyed and the royal army suffered
very severely.
BALTIC EXPEDITIONS.--There were three--1st, under Lord Nelson and
Admiral Patton, April 2nd, 1801, when Copenhagen was bombarded and
28 Danish ships taken or destroyed. 2nd, under Admiral Gambier
and Lord Cathcart, July 27th, 1807, where 18 sail of the line, 15
frigates, and 31 brigs and gunboats surrendered to the British.
3rd, during the Crimean war, under Admiral Sir Charles Napier,
accompanied by a French fleet, the bombardment of Bummersund
and burning Abo were some of the more important actions of the
expedition.
BALTIMORE, BATTLE OF.--Fought September 12th, 1814, between the
British army, under General Ross, and the Americans; the British
in making an attack upon the town were unsuccessful, and after a
desperate engagement were repulsed with great loss. The gallant
General who led the enterprise was killed.
BANGALORE, SIEGE OF.--This siege was commenced by the British,
under Lord Cornwallis, March 6th, and the town was taken March
21st, 1791. Bangalore was restored to Tippoo, in 1792, when he
destroyed the strong fort, deemed the “Bulwark of Mysore.”