The Press.
London, England, 1854-11-18 00:00:00

1087

strong and compact. They evidently despised their insig-
nificant-looking enemy ; but their time was come. The
trumpets rang out again through the valley, and the Greys
and linniskilleuers went right at the centre of the Russian
cavalry. as lightning flashes through • 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 alight play of sword-blades in the air,
and then the Greys and the redcoats disappear in the
midst of the skaken and quivering columns. In another
moment we see them emerging and (hulling 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 ex-
clamation 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 lied off
at one flank and towards the centre, were coming back to
swallow up our handful of men. By sheer steel and courage
Enniskillener and Scot were winning their desperate way
right through the enemy's squadrons, and already grey
hurees and redcoats had appeared right at the rear of the
second mass, when with irresistible force, like one bolt from
a bow, the let Royals, the 4th Dragoon Guards, and the
sth 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 lire).
and their companions, put them to utter rout. This
Russian horse in less than five minutes after it met our
dragoons was tbiug with all its speed before a force certainly
not half its strength. A cheer burst from every lip—
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 Cumin, aide-de-camp, to
convey his congratulations to Brigadier 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.
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 ten o'clock the Guards and Highlanders of the first
division were seen moving towards the plains from their
camp. At 1'1.40 the fourth division also took up their
position in advance of lialaklava. 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 4th Dragoons and sth Dragoons and Greys
on the left of the brigade, the Enniskillens and 9rd
Dragoons on the right. The fourth division took up ground
in the centre; the Guards and Highlanders filed oft towards
the extreme right and faced the reduubtr, from which the
Russians opened on them with such guns as had nut been
spiked.
At 10.50 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 toge-
ther 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 Lucius
interpreter, and son of our Consul in Thessaly, had a
narrow escape. His horse was killed ; he seized a Rus-
sian 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 num-
ber of frightened 1 arks who were praying to Allah on
their bellies. I should mention here that the Turks who
had been collected on the flanks of the 93rd fled at the
approach of the Russians without tiring a shot I At 10.55
a body of cavalry, the Chasseurs d'Atrique, 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 new occurred the melancholy catastrophe which
rills us all with sorrow. It appears that the quarter-
master-General Brigadier Airey, thinking that the light
cavalry had net gone far enough in front when the enemy's
horse hail fled, gave an order in writing to Captain Nolan,
15th Hussars, to take to Lord Lucan, directing his lord-
ship "to advance " his cavalry nearer to the enemy. A
braver soldier than Captain Nolan the army did not pos-
sess. A matchless horseman and a first-rate swordsman.
he held in contempt even grape and canister. He rode off
with his orders to Lord Lucan. 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 re-
doubts they had taken, sod abandoning the fourth. They
had also placed some guns on the heights over their posi-
tion on the left of the g.:rge. Their cavalry joined the re-
serves, 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
sere 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.
When Lord I,ucan received the order from Captain Nolan
and had rend it, he asked, we are told, " Where are we to
advance tor' Captain Nolan pointed with his finger to
the line of the Russians, and said, "'There are the enemy,
and there ale the guns, sir, before them; it is your duty
to take them ;" or similar words. Lord Lucan, with re-
luctance, gave the order to Lord Caftan to album arm