The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-28 00:00:00

THE CRIMEAN INQUIRY AT CHELSEA

and mules of the Sappers and Minors was merely formed by
a house and three other walls ; there were three dwarf walls
forming an enclosure of a courtyard against the house, and
one end of a sail was stretched as it might be against that
wall [the witness pointed to the wall of the court], and the
other end was brought down, and with a rope fastened to
the dwarf wall on the opposite side ; that was all the cover-
ing that we used for the shelter of the baggage animals ; but
a shelter of that sort is totally different from what would
have been required by the cavalry in a place like the plateau;
it is not a parallel case at all ; what can be done in one place
where there are walls cannot be done in another where there
is nothing of the sort."
We completely concur in this opinion ; and, with regard to
the general charge of " want of promptitude or energy,". as
attaching to the cavalry under the command of Lieatenant-
General the Earl of Lucan, it appears by the statement made
to us by Col. Tulloeh, and by the whole course of his exami-
nation of witnesses, to have been founded on the assumption
that tools and materials (including canvass) and htbour. were
either at hand or might have been proeared from the fleet or
from Constantinople—an assumption which does not splicer
to be borne out by the evidence.
The uncertainty with regard to the occupation of the
plateau by the cavalry appears to us to form a very ma-
terial element in the consideration of this matter, added
to which the difficulty of transport to that place was such
that, even if it had been possible to have procure: the before-
mentioned tools and materials (including canvass), they could
not have been there made available.
It further appears that aster the cavalry arrived at liadikoi
the Earl of Lucau was unceasing in his eudeavours to erect
shelter for the horses.
With regard to digging pits as a means of shelter for the
cavalry horses the Earl of Lucan stated—
"ln that country, with that soil—a soil that puddles after
three or four hours' rain, consistiug chiefly, as it dill on the
plateau, of a strong brick clay—l say that, without a roof,
or unless you could pave, any such trench as is talked of
would have been totally useless ; and it would have been
mischievous, because it would very much have obstructed
you in what is far more essential—namely, the constant
removal of your horses. When yon talk of a pit, a pit is
not only useless, but it is perhaps the most mischievous
thing into which you can possibly put a horse. It was
attempted—and there is an officer in this court now who
could establish the truth of what I say if he were examined
upon the subject—with the Land Transport ; they did make
pits for their horses, and those pits were dug on the side of the
hills. Still, it was found impossible to drain them sufficiently,
and the horses suffered so much that the Turks, who had
charge of them, could not be got to use the pits after they were
dug. In short, a pit that is neither roofed nor paved would
be more appropriately called a grave than a pit."
This is borne out to a certain extent by the evidence of
other offieers, and we are of opinion that, unless materials
existed for paving or covering those pits, they would have
been attended with no advantage to the cavalry.
With regard to so much of the passages as is referred to
in objection 7, the question therein raised seems to relate
to the motive which induced the Earl of Lucan to threaten;
to put the officer commanding the Scots Greys (Colonel
Darby Griffiths) under arrest.
We were informed by Colonel Tulloch that the commis-
sioners did not consider it consisent with their instruc-
tions to examine any of the officers who were stated to have
been present on the occasion referred to, and we have not
Lad an opportunity of doing so.
Colonel Griffiths, by his answer to question 66, does not
appear to have ever contemplated erecting any shelter for his
horses, but merely the digging of a drain in front and rear of
them, provided he could obtain a guarantee from the Earl of
Lucan that his camp would not be moved.
Whatever may have been the misunderstanding between
the Earl of Luca!' and Colonel Griffiths, it does not appear
by the evidence adduced that any officers were influenced by
it. It is therefore to be regretted that such an inference has
been sought to be established reflecting on Lieut.-General
the Earl of Lucan.
Upon the whole, we are satisfied by the evidence, docu-
mentary and oral, adduced before us, and by a perusal of the
Earl of Lucau's divisional orders and correspondence that his
Lordship used every exertion to meet the peculiar difficulties
which he had to contend with, and that he is therefore not
chargeable with neglect in the performance of the important
duties attached to his command.
MAJOR-GENERAL THE EARL OF CARDIGAN'S CASE.
The Earl of Cardigan called our attention to the following
passages of the Import of the Commissioners, as se Itaining
the statements of which he complained (p. 198) :
" There is one case, however, from which such serious con-
sequences have arisen that it requires some special notice.
" The Light Cavalry Brigade, which had for some time
previously been stationed in the valley adjacent to Balaklava,
was removed first to the vicinity of head-quarters for two or
three days, and thereafter, on the let Of 2d of November, to
Inkerman, where it was stationed near the Windmill, a dis-
tance of at least seven or eight miles J.rOLll Balaklava. This
change, at a time when the roads were in an extremely bad
state, and where there was great difficulty in obtaiaing the
means of transport, created very serious obstacles to a proper
supply of fora4e being obtained.
" It is alleged by Deputy Assistant Commissary-General
Crookshanks, that there was a certain quantity of hay at Ba-
laklava, but not the means of carrying it to the front ; occa-
sionally he managed to bring up a little, till the 14th Novem-
ber, when the supply failed entirely. After that date the want
of transport affected the supply of barley also, which on seve-
ral days did not exceed lhlb. to 21b. daily per horse, beingall
that they had to keep them alive. The returns of one of the
regiments show that for the last four days they were on the
ground the average was only about 2ilb. for each horse,
previously exhausted as they had been by the want of hay
or straw during the part of the month.
" When the supply began to fail the Commissariat officer
referred to, who appears to have done everything in his power
to meet the difficulties of the case, proposed—as he knew
there was plenty of barley at Balaklava—that if a detachment
of the horses were allowed to go down daily he would engage
to bring up enough for the rest of the brigade.
" This proposition appears to have been brought especially
under the notice r f Lore Cardigan by Lieut.-Colonel Mayon,
assistant-Quartermaster-General of Cavalry, who states that
his lordship declined to accede to it, as he had previously
done when a similar proposition was made to him to send the
horses down for hay/before that supply failed.
" The whole brigade remained in this state till the 2d of
December, when it was directed to return to its previous
position, but by that time the horses were reduced to such
a state from starvation that they could no longer bear the
weight of their riders ; they had to be led down, many were
left on the ground in a dying state, and of the remainder 17
died on the road before they could reach their former station,
a distance only of about six miles.
"It is no part of our duty to enter into the military rea-
sons which may have led to the detention of this brigade on
a spot where the horses could not be foraged by the Commis-
sariat, or which may have induced a refusal to adopt the
only measure by which apparently they could be subsisted ;
we merely call attentieu to the fact, as one of the instances
of a deficiency of supply which formed the special subject of
an inquiry..

The following is the Report of the Board of Gene-
ral Officers appointed to inquire into the statements
contained in the report of Sir J. M'Neill and Col.
Tulloch as to the conduct of operations in the
Crimea :
May it please your Majesty,—ln obedience to your Majesty's
warrant, which bears date the 25th of Feb., 1856, command-
leg us, the general officers whose names are subscribed here-
to, to make strict examination into the statements contained
in the two reports of Sir J. M'Neill and Col Tulloch, dated
respectively Constantinople, June 10, 1855, and London,
Jan., 1856, and into the evidence taken by the said Sir John
M'Neill and Col. Tulloch relative thereto, animadverting
upon the conduct of certain officers on' the general staff and

others in your Majesty's army, and to make a report to your
Majesty thereon, together with our opinion whether the said
officers of yourarmy be, or be not,reaponsible to any, and what
extent, for the unsatisfactory condition of your army, or any.
portion thereof, noticed by Sir J. M‘Neill and Col. Tulloch la
their reports, and evidence thereunto attached :

We have, at several meetings, perused and considered
your Majesty's orders and instructions as transmitted to us
by the Right Hon. Lord Panmure, your Majesty's Fecretary
of State for War, together with sundry letters and ether do-
cuments therewith transmitted, and have, to the best of our
ability, made examination into the statements and evidence
contained into the two reports above referred to, and have
heard such witnesses as the several parties who appeared
before us desired to call, and also such other parties likely
to be able to give information upon the said matters, and
whose attendance could be obtained ; and, in order that
your Majesty may be fully possessed of every circumstance
which has appeared in the course of this inquiry, we beg
leave to lay before your Majesty the whole of our examina-
tions and proceedings to this our report annexed ;
And further humbly to submit to your Majesty the follow-
ing preliminary observations in explanation of the course
which we felt constrained to adopt in our endeavour to give
effect to your Majesty's intentions, as signified in your Royal
warrant, namely :

That the inquiry which we were commanded to institute
appeared to us to be—

First, very peculiar in its nature ; and,

Secondly, to be attended with unusual difficulties.
It appeared to us to be very peculiar in its nature, and
ono with which our military experience had not rendered us
conversant, inasmuch as it was an inquiry in England into
the correctness of conclusions which 'Sir John M'Neill and
Colonel Talloch had founded on information obtained by them-
selves in the Crimea two years previously, whereas the duties
of a Court of Inquiry are ordinarily limited to an original in-
vestigation into certain matters of fact, or into the conduct
of certain persons with reference thereto.

It appeared to us to be attended with unusual difficulties,
inasmuch as some of the statements which were to be inquired
into were founded in part on evidence which we had not the
means of investigating, and the attendance of several witnesses
whom it would have been desirable to examine could net he
obtained.

Under these embarrassing circumstances we felt it our *duty
on the one hand, to give to each and to all of the parties re-
ferred to in your Royal warrant every facility for bringing
their cases under our consideration in such a manner as
seemed most likely to afford opportunity for a full inquiry,
and, on the other hand, to exercise such care and caution in
giving expression to an opinion thereon as the character of
the inquiry and the peculiar difficulties abovementioned seemed
to render especially necessary, as well for the interests of
truth as of justice.
And we do therefore now, in further obedience to your
Royal command, most humbly report to your Majesty—
That having been directed to inquire into the cases sub-
mitted to us by the following officers-
1. Lieutenant-General the Earl of Lucan, K.C.B. ;
2. Major• General the Earl of Cardigan, K.C.B. ;
3. Major-General Sir Richd. Airey, K,C.8., Quartermaster-

General;
4. Colonel the Hon. Alexander Gordon, C. 8., Deputy-Quar-

ter U 3 aster-General.
5. Commissary-General Filder, C.B.

We proceed to inquire into them in the order above given.

LIEUT.-GEN. THE EARL OF LUCAN'S CASE.

The Earl of Lucan called our attention to the following
passage's in the report of the commissioners, pp. 20-21 :

" With reference to the effect of the deficiency of forage,
and the other privations to which the horses of the army
were exposed, we have ascertained the loss among them
from various causes in the cavalry and artillery. A summary
of the returns obtained on that head will be found at p. 193
of appendix, which shows the loss attributable to sickness
to be as follows, for the six months from October to March
inclusive :

Ration per
Died by Cent. of
Strength. Sickness. Deaths.
Heavy Cavalry 1,055 .. 493 ... 47
Light Cavalry
Artillery

Total 5,048 2,122 42
" On referring to the loss sustained by the commissariat ani-
mals during the same period it will be found rather less than
in the cavalry or artillery, the , deaths among them having,
according to a return furnished by Deputy-Commissary-Gene-
ral Adams, amounted to about 889 out of 2,329, origiaally im-
ported into the Crimea, or in the proportion of 38 per cent.
—a result which could scarcely have been expected, consider-
ing the advantages which cavalry horses might be supposed
to have over hard-worked baggage animals, to whom little at-
tention could be paid at such a period."
Pp. 36, 37.- "The date at which the hutting of the cavalry
commenced was in no case earlier than the end of January or
beginning of February, and it was not completed before the
middle of March, by which time the severity of the season had

so far abated that this shelter was of comparatively little im-
portance. Considering that these men were within about a
mile of the store where the wood might be obtained, that they
had no work in the trenches, and that the only duties likely
to interfere with the application both of horses and men to
this important object was the carrying up of their own forage
from Balaklava, and furnishing parties eceasionsdly to bring
down sick and carry up provisions to the front (which seems.
never to have occupied more than about a fifth part of the
whole), it appears strange that more rapid progress was not
made in obtaining the advantage of hut accommodation, par-
ticularly when they aro described as having suffered so much
in their tents.
" Considering, also, the suffering and severe loss of horses
from exposure to the weather in the commencement of the
winter, there appears to be a want ofpromptitude or ingenuity
in devising for them some means of temporary shelter, such
as saved the baggage horses of the Sappers and Miners at Ba-
laklava. Experience has now proved that even a very mode-
rate degree of shelter would have been sufficient to save the
lives of many of the horses, if not to maintain them in service-
able condition ; and it must be presumed that such measures
were considered practicable, for a proposal to erect, with the
assistance of his men, some sort of cover for the horses c f the
corps, appears to have been made by the officer commanding
the Scots Greys, but the manner in which it is stated to have
been received by the Lieutenant-General commanding the
cavalry was calculated to deter other officers from making
any similar proposal "
With reference to these passages th 3 Earl of Lucan proposed
to show that they contained animadversions on him as com-
mander of the cavalry, and that they were unfounded (pp. 8,
21), and his lordship objected, in particular-
1. To the calculation of the commissioners with respect to
the deaths of the cavalry horses (Proceedings, p. 8);
2. To the comparison instituted between the loss of horses
sustained by the cavalry relatively with that of the commis-
sariat (p. 9);
3. To the statement respecting the period of the hutting
the horses (p. 11);
4. To the statement respecting the nature and amount of
the duties to be performed by the cavalry soldiers (p. 17);
5, To the statement respecting the hutting of the men (p.

His Lordship's complaint was—
That the commissioners had here charged him with having
contributed to the ultimate inefficiency of the Light Brigade
by his refusal to adopt a suggestion which, in the opinion of
the commissioners, was calculated to improve the condition
of the brigade—viz., the sending the troop horses down to
Balaklava for forage (p. 198).
He contended that, in not adopting thatsuggestion he had
exercised a sound discretion, and one which was calculated
to enable the brigade, so far as the difficulties permitted, to
continuo to discharge its various duties (p. 198) ;
Inasmuch as, had the horses been sent down, he thought it
very uncertain whether they could have obtained supplies (p,
204) ;
And further, because such a journey, in the then state of
the roads, would, in his opinion, have caused a greater loss
of horses than actually occurred from the inefficiency of the
supplies (p. 205).
He further contended that, had he thought it expedient to
send his horses to Balaklava, he should not have considered
himself at liberty to do so, since the absence of so many as
would have been required to convey the forage from Balaklava
(for an indefinite number of hours) would have been inconsist-
ent with the positive orders of Lord Raglan that the Light
Brigade should, for military reasons, retain that position (pp.
206, 207, 213, 219, 229) •
It appears by Lord Cardigan's statement that his lordship
did not demand an inquiry into his conduct, but that he
gladly availed himself of the opportuuiry of appearing before
the Board, in order to enter more fully into the consideration
of the remarks of the commissioners in their report, which re-
fer to his command while with the Light Brigade of Cavalry
in the Crimea.
It appears that on the 2d of November the Light Brigade
was moved to the Heights of Inkerman, under a special ar-
ramement between Lord Raglan and the Commander-in-Chief
of the French army, and continued in that exposed situation,
for military reascns, until the 2d of December, the Earl of
Cardigan having resigned his command on the 29th of No-
vember.
After the storm of the 14th of November the men and
horses were exposed to inclement weather. The rations of
forage, owing to the diminution of means of Commissariat
transport, were reduced, and towards the end of November
the supplies of bay failed entirely.

19) ;
6. To the statement respecting the providing temporary
shelter for the horses (p. 21);
7. To the statement respecting a proposal made to the
Earl of Lucan by the officer commanding the Scots Greys to
erect temporary shelter for his horses (p. 20).
In reply to these objections on the part of the Earl of Lucan
Col. Tulloch alleged:—
That the commissioners had not animadverted on Lord
Lucan's conduct (see Proceedings, pp. 48, 53, 54, 108, 109,

The commissioners have charged Lord Cardigan with hav-
ing contributed to the ultimate inefficiency of the Light Bri-
gade, by his refusal to adopt a suggestion which, in the opi-
nion of the commissioners, was calculated to have preserved
the Light Brigade from the destruction that threatened it—
namely, the sending the troop horses to Balaklava for forage.
It appears that at the latter end of November the greatest
number of horses in the encampment of the Light Brigade
was 330, of which, owing to so many men being sick and ab-
sent, only 286 could be mounted.

110, 113, 130, 139, 141, 165). - - From this number it would have required 120 horses to
That the statements alleged by Lord Lucan to be orro- have brought up forage from Balaklava ; and to have de-
neous were correct —(see Proceedings, pp. 49, 50, 51, 54, tached so large a proportion of the force would have di-
-55) ; and that, if in some instances the statements were in- ruinished it to such an extent as to have readered it vir-
correct, it was owing to thee commissioners having been fur- tually useless for the purpose for which it had been placed in
the position it occupied.
flashed with incorrect ration by the officers in the
Crimea, and that for this the commisconers were not respon- With reference, therefore, to the military reasons noticed
sible. (See Proceedings, pp. 111, 140, 173.) by the commissioners, it appears to us that Lord Raglan
With regard to the passages above mentioned we are of alone cellist judge of the fitness of a measure and that it
opinion that the remarks of the commissioners therein con- could not have been resorted to without his sanction.
tained amount to animadversions upon the conduct of the He appears to have been made acquainted by the Major-
Earl of Lucan as commander of the cavalry. General commanding the brigade, by the Lieutenant-General
With regard to so much of those passages as is referred to commanding the division, and by Commissary-General Filder
in objection 1, we are of opinion that the mode in which the with the hardships which the cavalry were suffering. But
percentage of deaths has been stated by the commissioners there is no evidence to show that Lord Raglan's attention
is calculated to convey an erroneous impression, inasmuch was particularly called to the proposal of the Assistant-Com-
as, though the figures are Perfectly accurate, neither the rate missary-General that the horses should be sent to bring
percentage of deaths (contained in the table given at page 21 forage from Balaklava. What steps, therefore, might- have
of the Report), nor the percentage of deaths according to the been taken by Lord Raglan hid that proposal been distinctly
average strength given in the summary subsequently fur- brought to his notice can now be only matter of conjecture.
wished by Colonel Tulloch, give the actual percentage of The military reasons for keeping a large proportion of the
mortality. cavalry in the position which they then occupied seem to have
With regard to so much of those passages as is referred rendered the case peculiarly embarrassing; for these reasons
to in objection 2, we are not enabled to offer an opinion there- appear in some degree to have been irrespective of eonsidera-
on, as, on examining the returns which were furnished to us tions of forage.
by the Audit-office relative to the matter in question, wo The opinion, however, expressed by Lord Cardigan., that
found that the difficulties of ascertaining the periods at which to hare sent the horses for tLat purpose to a place so distant
the Commissariat animals arrived in the Crimea, and of diS" as Belaklava would only have augmented the losses of the
tinguishing between those lost or stolen and those that died, brigade, although not in entire accordance with some of
a reference to the difficulties expernenced by the
were so great as to render any comparison of deaths between the opinions offered in evidence before us, appears to be sup-
them and the cavalry impossible. •
at the same Period •
wire on two occasions, between
With regard to so much of those passages as is referred to lerol.;teieldAbiyeillery. , for it is in evidence
the 23d and 27th_i of November, 1854, at great wear and tear,
in objection 3, it appeared that the wcrds " shelter for horses," that the hors!lli-,t_h_t force
as entered in the margin of the passage above set forth (page
ICommissaria , and on their arrival there it was found that'no
36 of the Commissioners' Report), had inadvertently been sNit down
.tot bet a:lelava for hay, at the urgent request of the
annexed thereto, instead of to the following paragraph, to
which they properly belonged. hay was procurable.
This was explained by Co!onel Tulloch, and the Earl of MAJOR-GENERAL Kit RICEARD AIREY'S CASE.
lincan's objection appeared to he thereby obviated (p.:112)t.0 I.N•vßitihehia.ergdaiAdiit•eoytrei
dp,a—ssages which I regard as containing
With regard to so much of the passages as is referredaa_r
in objections 4 and 5, it appeared that after the et. vunitil matters of animadversion, they are intermixed with other
passages involving Po animadversion, so tlua It would be
went to liadikoi the butting was not
u.Lilltioeuswhieh difficult to point out the exact sentence, or parts. and bits of
January or February, owing to delays an.l cdDirrffilee
-11 as, in addition
hiasrnui. , ,sentences, of which I complain; but I can Fay it is the Whole
appear satimiently to explain it ;
to the ordinary duties of a cavalry soldier in the field, the of the London Rei.e)rt, down to the end. .of the sixth line of
from the 12thof
December the 37th page, and to that part 1 invite inquiry."
duties perforaued by the cavalry
At the commencement of his address Sir Richard Airey
to the 19th of January, in conveying. stores to the front
the sick, materially inter- , commented on the circumstances under: which the evidence
and afterwards in transporting
'feredcwith the operation of hutting the men and putting up was taken by the commissioners, and oontended that those
stables for the horses. circumstances rendered it dangerous to draw conclusions
The insufficiency and bad quality of the intrenching tools from that evidence, and scarcely possible to assign a value
added to this difficulty. I to a report founded thereon.
With regard to so much of those passages as is referred, He set forth at length variesis reasons for entertaining
to in objection 6, it was stated in evidence by Colonel Chap- this opinion, which reasons v:ilrbe found in the preweeiings
man, R.E., that— ; (pp. 230-1-2-4-5, 252, 261, 337-8-9).
"The temporary shelter erected for the baggage-herse§ He stated that the evidence, as printed by the, commis-