Letters from the Light Brigade

The British Cavalry in the Crimean War

Anthony Dawson

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781783030279
• eBook ISBN: 9781473838222
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

"Dozens of graphic first-hand accounts of the Charge of the Light Brigade emerge to shed new light on the military blunder immortalised by Tennyson's poem" (The Telegraph (UK)).

The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of the most famous, controversial and emotive small-scale actions in military history. Over 160 years since the event, and since it was immortalized in Tennyson's poem, it has generated a stream of writing and debate. Yet, as this new book by Anthony Dawson shows, the subject is far from exhausted. His selection of previously unpublished letters and journal accounts of the two cavalry charges at the Battle of Balaklava is a notable addition to the literature on the Crimean War. It offers a direct insight into events on the battlefield as they were seen and understood by those who witnessed them and by those who took part. In their own words, and in the language of the time, the men who were there recorded what they knew and felt.

"Anthony Dawson's Letters from the Light Brigade offers us a rich source of authentic, very telling soldiers' experiences from the Crimean War. He presents this new collation with a concise, authoritative commentary on the deployment of the Light Brigade and its major actions in Crimea. Of course, that formation's famous charge at Balaklava is given due prominence, but not exclusively so. There are real gems of insight here, both historical and modern: much to fascinate and a great deal to learn. I for one, will never look at or describe the battles and battlefields of the Crimea again in quite the same way. Hence I am delighted to introduce and commend this work as a very valuable and compelling addition to the literature of the Crimean War." —From the foreword by Mungo Melvin, Major General (retired), President, British Commission for Military History

As featured in the Yorkshire Post, Huddersfield Examiner, Yorkshire Standard and on BBC Radio Manchester.

"A startlingly intimate view of war, showing all perspectives. . . . A book worth reading, if only to remind readers how much things have changed since the 1850s, yet how much people have remained the same." — Galveston County Daily News (USA)

CHAPTER 1

Going to War:
1 May–1 September 1854

Preparing the Cavalry for War

British cavalry regiments had seen little or no active service after 1815, being mostly employed in a policing role, such as at the ‘Peterloo Massacre’ or the Bristol Riots.¹ The Scots Greys, for example, hadn’t seen active service since 1815 whilst the 8th Hussars had not served outside mainland Britain since 1823. Four regiments of light cavalry, however, served in India during the first and second Anglo-Sikh Wars: the 3rd and 14th Light Dragoons and the 9th and 12th Lancers. The 14th Light Dragoons fought at Ramnagar (22 November 1848) and famously charged at Chillianwallah (13 January 1849) where they were nearly destroyed; and the 14th together with the 16th Lancers fought at Aliwal (28 January 1846). Lack of service abroad made the cavalry highly attractive to rich flâneurs, who merely ‘played’ at soldiers and spent more time hunting and socialising than with their regiments, and when their regiments went on active service went on half pay or sold-out.² Officers who had seen active service or were promoted on merit were considered inferior to those officers ‘born’ to rank.³ Because of this, many subaltern officers in the cavalry were totally ignorant of drill or their duties in garrison or in the field and worse, had no desire to learn.⁴ Lieutenant-Colonel Hodge (4th Dragoon Guards) despaired that his subalterns and even his Adjutant displayed ‘such ignorance’ even with regards to equitation: ‘not one of them knew by sight the lower part of the breastplate [part of the horse harness]’ and they certainly did not how to pitch their tents or live in the field.⁵ Lack of education and basic horsemanship was common amongst cavalry officers because they were accustomed to having grooms and servants do that work for them; they also had little interaction with the men they commanded which further widened the social gulf.⁶ This lack of education was not just due to apathy, but due to a lack of any educational material.⁷ General Sir Charles Napier considered that education for cavalry officers was vital. They had to be more educated than infantry officers because they were more often called to act independently. He thought that an uneducated officer could not lead his men or inspire confidence; badly led cavalry was not effective on the battlefield and could end in disaster. Bravery and chivalric conduct were no replacement for education.⁸ The British cavalry officer came in for much criticism in the press during the 1840s because of the various scandals of the Earl of Cardigan;⁹ cavalry officers were much ridiculed for their noble birth, fanciful uniforms and mannerisms (such as speaking with an affected lisp or pronouncing Rs as Ws¹⁰) most notably by The Times newspaper,¹¹ Punch Magazine¹² and the social reformer Charles Dickens in Household Words.¹³

In order to augment those regiments being sent to the East, men and horses had to be begged, borrowed or otherwise. Hodge records how his regiment received fifteen horses transferred from the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards and a further five from the 3rd Dragoon Guards. The twenty Hodge gave them in return were ‘young ones – a great set of brutes as ever I saw. I felt quite ashamed of the transaction’. In the following month he received an augmentation of 100 men and had an order to ‘buy fifty more horses’.¹⁴ Similarly, the Scots Greys purchased 3,000 tons of forage from merchants in Leeds in March 1854 and 150 ‘dark bay, brown and chestnut’ horses at the York Horse fair for remount purposes.¹⁵ The problem faced by most commanding officers, however, was the dramatic increase in the price of horseflesh following the declaration of war. At the Drogheda Horse Fair ‘first class cavalry horses’ sold for £80–£100, double their usual price,¹⁶ and at Doncaster:

two or three army agents, who it is said have a commission to purchase 1,000 horses for cavalry and artillery purposes [were present]. Only about 50 could be picked up, and those at very high prices. Good nags and roadsters were also scarce, and realized from 30L to 60L each . . .¹⁷

Amongst the private soldiers of the cavalry division was a mix of recruits, experienced men and those who had joined up in the New Year of 1854 on the surge of patriotism generated by the ‘Great Russian War’. Private Brookes (13th Light Dragoons) had served from 1842 and had fought during the Sikh Wars (1845–6 and 1848–9) whilst Trumpeter Smith (11th Hussars) had been in the ranks from 1836 and fought in Afghanistan (1839). Amongst those who had enlisted out of patriotic fervour was Private Thomas Tomsett, a former bricklayer, who enlisted in the 4th Light Dragoons 25 January 1854 or George Wootton, a baker, who enlisted two days later in the 11th Hussars.¹⁸ Private William Henry Pennington (11th Hussars) had only been with his regiment for a few months by the time he was ordered to the East. His father, Albert, wrote on 23 December 1854:

. . . my son, a youth of 21 years of age, who last spring, in a military fit, enlisted in the 11th Hussars, and in the incredibly short time of six weeks has passed through all the rough riding and other drills in to his troop as a competent soldier, though the extent of his horsemanship before was a pony ride on Blackheath!¹⁹

Mobilisation for war also led to desertion: two bandsmen from the 17th Lancers (the brothers Deakon) absconded from their regiment and joined the orchestra at the fashionable Argyle Rooms in London.²⁰

The Voyage Out

Overall command of the cavalry was vested in the Earl of Lucan. The Earl of Cardigan was to command the Light Brigade and Sir James Yorke Scarlett the Heavy Brigade. Captain Lewis Nolan (15th Hussars) was to superintend all the ‘cavalry arrangements’ and left Manchester on Monday 13 March 1854 for that purpose. He also carried ‘special instructions’ to purchase 1,000 cavalry remounts in Constantinople.²¹

The 11th Hussars and 4th Dragoon Guards departed Dublin on 11 March 1854, accompanied by Captain Maude’s troop of Royal Horse Artillery.²² The 1st Royals were barracked in Manchester and sailed for Turkey from Liverpool, ‘where nothing could exceed the hospitality and kindness’ of the inhabitants.²³ According to Lieutenant-Colonel Yorke, they were to sail in five vessels: forty-eight horses and men on board The Gertrude (1,300 tons); fifty on board The Coronetta (850 tons); sixty-eight on board Rip Van Winkle and a final forty-eight on board The Pedestrian. In addition there was a small ‘luggage steamer’ which accommodated a further thirty horses.²⁴ They sailed for Boulogne from ‘London Dock’ on 12 May 1854.²⁵ From Boulogne the regiment was to sail to Marseilles and thence ‘for such a destination as deemed advisable. This route . . . is said to be determined for keeping the horses in condition ready for action.’²⁶

Getting the horses on board the transports was no easy matter. Albert Mitchell (13th Light Dragoons) described how:

Each horse was led up the ship’s side . . .; a sling was placed beneath the horse’s belly, and fastened to the tackle on the main-yard. The order was given to ‘hoist away’, when about a hundred convicts manned a large rope, and running away with it, the poor Trooper was soon high in the air, quite helpless.²⁷

Sergeant-Major Smith (11th Hussars) notes it took four hours to embark all forty-six horses of his troop on their transport because ‘some of the horses resisted violently’.²⁸ The horses were next lowered into the hold – which had been well padded – where each one was ‘provided with a separate stall. They were placed with their heads towards the ship’s side, and heads towards each other, with a passage between them.’ The animals had no means of laying down and had to stand throughout the voyage.²⁹ This method of transporting horses proved controversial, however. Retired cavalry officer W.J. Goodwin suggested that during the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15) horses had been transported ‘with their heads to the side of the ship’ and, crucially, had larger stalls, which allowed the horse to lie down to rest and also to lie down during storms at sea. Most importantly horses, which had ‘stood for six weeks’ were in much worse condition than those which had had room to move and lay down.³⁰

The 17th Lancers embarked at Portsmouth between 18 and 25 April. Headquarters, under Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrenson were on board the Eveline, one troop under Major White onboard Pride of the Ocean with the remaining troops on board Ganges, Blundell and Edmunsbury. Captain Godfrey Morgan records that the Edmunsbury had on board forty horses, four of which belonged to him, and eighty men of his troop and their horses. Also on board was the paymaster and an Irish doctor and his wife. The ship was dirty, the food poor and Morgan reported that he soon tired of the company of the doctor. In the Bay of Biscay they sailed into a gale: ‘My first real gale at sea truly awful sight, with 40 horses on board kicking and plunging and dashing themselves to pieces.’³¹

Morgan’s troop lost one horse on 1 May from sea sickness and others quickly followed: Morgan’s second charger, ‘Atheist’, died on 4 May; one troop horse died on 5 May and another on 9 May. By the time the 17th Lancers arrived at Constantinople at the end of May, they had lost twenty-six horses and, whilst camped at Varna, lost four more.³²

Lieutenant-Colonel Hodge and the 4th Dragoon Guards embarked at Kingstown 25 May on board five transports; The 5th Dragoon Guards, quartered in Ballincollig under Sir James Yorke Scarlett, left for Dublin at the end of March and sailed from Kingstown in the Himalaya.³³ Hodge had forebodings about things to come: he insured his horses ‘pretty largely, as I fear we cannot help losing some’ and was very concerned about how the horses were to be fed and quartered once in Turkey, fearing that they would ‘soon fall off’ in condition.³⁴

All was not plain sailing. On 14 May the transport Harkaway carrying fifty-six cavalry horses had a ‘narrow escape’ after getting in to a strong current and drifting toward rocks on the Portuguese coast. With the aid of ‘two boats and thirty men’ she was refloated.³⁵ But worse was to come. The Inniskillings sailed from Plymouth on Tuesday 30 May on board five transports: tragedy struck just one day later when the Europa carrying the HQ, ‘portions of each of the four troops and 13 officer’s chargers and 44 troop horses’ caught fire ‘about 200 miles from Plymouth’.³⁶

The Scots Greys and the 4th Light Dragoons were the last cavalry regiments to sail for the East. The Greys were quartered in Nottingham Cavalry Barracks. The barracks had been built in 1819 due to fears of civil unrest from unemployed silk weavers. The regiment consisted of three squadrons, each squadron consisting of two troops. One squadron was quartered in Loughbrough Cavalry Barracks (built in 1839 as a conversion from the former workhouse); one troop was quartered in Mansfield and the remainder were in Nottingham.³⁷ The order to Prepare to Embark was received at Nottingham on Monday 3 July 1854: the Greys were to proceed to Manchester via Chesterfield, Matlock and Buxton prior to embarking at Liverpool for Turkey.

In Manchester they were quartered in Preston and in the Hulme Cavalry Barracks along with the 3rd Light Dragoons. Due to lack of stabling for the horses, ‘wooden sheds’ were erected ‘on the gardens’ at Hulme Barracks for the horses of the Light Dragoons as the horses of the Greys had priority for stabling. They left Manchester at 8 a.m. on Monday 23 July, ‘played out of the yard’ by the band of the 3rd Light Dragoons and they were accompanied out of Manchester by Colonel Unnett of the 3rd Light Dragoons along Regent Road. They rested on Monday evening in Prescot before resuming their march to Liverpool on the following morning.³⁸

The Greys embarked 299 men, 14 officers and 294 horses on board the Himalaya in ‘12 minutes under the hour’ on 26 July and got under way on the 27th.³⁹ By all accounts the Greys had an uneventful voyage to Turkey, often with the band playing to entertain officers and men alike on the quarterdeck, with dancing organized on the forecastle.⁴⁰ They passed Gibraltar on 30 July and arrived at Malta on 4 August to take on coal and water. Sadly, whilst at Malta one man fell overboard and drowned. So comfortable were the officers of the Greys that upon arrival at Scutari (7 August) they presented Captain Adam Kelloc and the Purser Daniel Lane with engraved silver plate and a handsome purse. They were barracked at the cavalry barracks at Kullalie, which were in a filthy condition. For a time the Greys had to share them with a battery of Royal Artillery, commanded by Major Townshend, and a squadron of Turkish lancers.

Letter from Lieutenant Robert Scott Hunter,⁴¹ Scots Greys, to his sister Helen Carnegy Hunter.⁴²

H M S Himalaya⁴³

At Sea, July 27th 1854

My dearest Holly

We got away all right yesterday & are having beautiful weather. This is a most splendid ship, & the best idea I can give you of her size is that she is 80 feet longer than the “Duke of Wellington”.⁴⁴ We are now getting near the Bay of Biscay, & the ship as you may see by my writing is rolling a few, besides our screw makes such a thumping that it really is not easy to get the letter straight.

We shipped all our horses in 12 minutes under the hour. They are all right as yet & none of them have been sea sick nor any of us but Miller the Adjutant.⁴⁵ We had a very rainy night and the decks this morning were very wet but now (11.40) the sun is coming out & the officers of the ship say that they think the afternoon will be fine. I don’t suppose I shall get this finished today, as such there is no use in doing so as we do not touch anywhere till we get to Malta where we are to be 12 hours. Andrew came out as a far as the “Bell Buoy” with us whence the Pilot left us. I was very glad as it gave me two hours more of his company. He dined with me on board the ship the day before & will be able to tell you how we...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Plates
• List of Maps
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Letters Home
• 1. Going to War: 1 May–1 September 1854
• 2. Invasion of the Crimea: 14 September–1 October 1854
• 3. Prelude to Balaklava: 1–24 October 1854
• 4. Charge of the Heavy Brigade: 25 October 1854
• 5. Charge of the Light Brigade
• 6. Winter in the Crimea: 1 November 1854–1 March 1855
• 7. Remounts and Reinforcements: March–June 1855
• 8. Mopping Up: September–December 1855
• Notes