The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-11-21 00:00:00

ing a little to their left, so as to meet the Russians,
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 Ennis-
killeners pierced through the dark masses of Russians.
The shock was but for a moment. There was a clash of
steel and light play of sword blades in the air, and then
the Greys and the red coats disappear in the midst of the
shaken and quivering columns. In another moment we
see them emerging and dashing on with diminished num-
bers, 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 Ist 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 Greys and their companions, put them to
utter rout. This 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, aid-de-camp, to con-
vey 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, They pulled up
rather too eoon. Their lose was very slight, about 35
killed and wounded in both- affairs ; (the second will be
detailed subsequently.) There were not more than four
or five men killed outright, and the most material loss
was from the cannon playing on our !teary Dragoons
afterwards, wheucovering the retreat of our Light Cavalry.
"After the charge, Capt. the Hon: Arthur Hardinge
came galloping upto•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
foined the Greys and' dashed 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 Gaards and Highlanders of the Ist
Division were seen moving towards the- plainfrom their
camp: The Duke of Cambridge came up- to Lord Raglan
for orders, and his lordship, ready to give the honours of
the dayto Sir Colin Campbell, who commanclirat
told hie Royal Highness to place himself under the direction
of the Biigadier. At 10.40' the 4th 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, echelon in reserve, with
guns on' the right. The 4th Dragoons and sth Dragoons
and Greys on:the left of the brigade ; the Enniskiliens and;
3rd Dratc;oons. on the right. The 'Fourth Division tooksup
ground in the-centre. The Guards and Highlanders 'filed
off towards the extreme right, and faced the rednnbts,
from which the Russians opened on them with such' guns
as had not been spiked.
"At 10.50 General Canrobert, attended by his staff;'
and-Brigadier-General Rose, rode upto 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 Rus-
sian's cavalry, follinved by our shot, had retired in confu-
sion, leaving the-ground covered with. horses and men.
And now occurred'.the melancholy catastrophe which fills
us.'all with sorrow:- _ _ _

"It appears that-the Quartermaster-General, Brigadier
Alrey, thinking that' the Light Cavalry had not gone far
encirgh in front when the enemy's horse had fled, gave an
order in writing to Capt. Nolan, 15th Hussars,lo take to
Lord Lucan, directing his lordship ' to advance' his cavalry
nearer the enemy. A' braver soldier than Captain Nolan
the army did not possess. He was known twall his arm of
the service for his entire 'devotion to his profession, and
his name mist 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. Properly
led; the British Hussar and Dragoon could,. in his mind,
break square, take batteries, ride over columns of infan-
try, and, pierce any other cavalry in the world; as if they
were made of straw. He 'thought they hadnot had the
opportunity of doing ail that was in their povver,..and that
they had' missed even such chances as they had offered to
them; that, in fact, they were in some • measure dis-
graced. He rode off' with his orders to Lord Lucan.
As the Russian cavalry retired, their infantry fell back
towards the head of the valley, leaving men inthree of,the
redoubts they had taken; and abandoning the fourth.
They had also placed some guns on the heights orer their
position, on the left of the gorge. Their cavalry joined
the reserves, .and drew up in six solid divisiOns, .in an
oblique line, across the entrance to the gorge.- Six bat-
talions of infantry were placed behind them, and about 30
guns were- drawn up along their line, while -masses of
infantry were also collected on the hills behind the re-
doubts 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. When Lord Lucan re-
ceived the order 'from Captain Nolan, and had. Read it, he
asked, we - are - told, "Where are we to adVance to ?"
Captain Nclan 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, con-
ceiving that his orders,compelled him to do so. The noble
earl, though4he -did not shrink, also saw the fearful odds
against him. It is a maxim of Decker, that ' cavalry never
act without a., support,' that infantry should be close at
hand when cavalry carry guns, as the effect iamb, instan-
taneous,' 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 half in length. At 11.30
our light-cavalry brigade rushed to the front. They num-
bered as follows :

4th Light Dragoons

Bth .114-sh Hussars

llth, Erinee Albert's Hussars ..... 130
18th Light Dragoons .... ..... ... . 110

17th Lancers

Total 607 sabres
The whole brigade scarcely made one effective regiment,
according to the numbers of continental armies; and yet
it was all we could spare. As they. passed towards the
front, the Russians opened on them,ftem the guns in the
redoubts-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 now by those who, without the power to aid, beheld
their heroic countrymen rushing to the arms of death.
At the distance of 1,200 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.. The
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 that 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 carcases of horses. They were exposed
to an oblique fire from the batteries on thehills 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, cut-
ting down the gunners as they stood. We saw them riding
through the guns ; 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 bat-
tery on the hill swept them down, scattered and broken as
they were. Wounded men and dismounted troopers flying
towards us bold 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 cf
Lancers was hurled on their flank. Colonel Shewell, of
the Bth 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 civilised 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 mis-
creants 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 11.35 not a British soldier, except the
dead and dying, were left in front of these bloody Musco-
vite guns. Our loss, as far as it could be ascertained, in
killed, wounded, and missing at two o'clock to-day, was as
follows

Bth Hussars ..-.
11th Hussars ...
13th Light Drag

Went into action. Returned from
Strong. action.

17th Lancers

.00ns 130
145

hat all these were killed, wounded, or
many may still come in, and about eighty
have already _ returned. Captain Nolan _ was

" It is not certai

Hussars

Lord Lucan was slightl

cerrea a lanc

Morning Herald's

The following is the ve
mespondent appears that when the attack first
muneneed Lord Raglan sent off Captain Nolan, of the
th Hussars, with a written order to Lord Luean, telling

aanceuvre was practicable." Captain
olan was wounded before he arrived with this dispatch,
and merely gave a verbal mmage t 9 149rcl Lucan; in