Daily globe., 1879-02-09
A Balaklaya Hero.

among the group seated around the
tire which blaged brightly in the office Of
the Continental hotel, at Saratoga, on ar
intensely cold day last week. was George
Aldridge, who was in the famous charge
of the Six hundred at Balaklava, which
Tennyson has celebrated in deathless
verse. Aldridge is tall, powerful, jovial
looking Englishman, who, though at least
fifty years Of age, stands times attacks
so we'll that he scarcely looks more than
forty. There is not the slightest trace OF
bravado about the man who saw sixteen
years of service in the British army, and
bears the honorable scars of many we'll
fought field, but he has the natural
pride of an old soldier, and will occas-
ionally flight his battles DER again." So,
in answer TO some questions, he said:
"Ihere were not exactly six hundred in
the Light Brigade, but six hundred and
forty altogether, in detachments taken
from the Eighth and Eleventh hussars,
Seventeenth lancers, and the Fourth and
Thirteenth light dragons, and two troops
OF horse artillery: all under the command
of the Earl of Cardigan. The Light Brig
ade did reconnoitring duty. 1t was gen
orally formed about 2 o'clock in the
morning, and there were different de-
tachments made every once in while.
"Our camp was little town called
Kitekoi, net very far from Balaklava.
On the morning of the 25th of October,
1854, 1 happened to be in the Light Br1-
gade. 1t had been reported that the
Russians were coming down from the
north in considerable force, and the Light
Brigade, at about 2 A. NJ, started out to
reconnoitre. After securing the country
in different directions for many hours we
finally turned toward Balaklava, which
was held by our forces under the Earl Of
Lucan.
''There were Notifications near Bala-
klava, which had before been held by the
Turks, who were our allies, you remem-
Der. We had got within two miles of
these redoubts when we halted. We
had as yet seen no Turks, nor sign of
any of our troops stationed at Balak!ava.
We had aismounted, and were chatting
very sociably together, not dreaming that
there was any fighting ahead"
''What was your first intimation that
there was fighting aaead2"
sWell, as say, we were standing be-
side our horses, joking and laug ching
among ourselves. when we saw a horse
man coming down from the direction of
nalaklava. We paid no particular atten-
tion, supposlng that it didn't concern US,
but was some messenger going to camp {;
and he did appear going that way, when
he saw our brigade and bore down upon
rs. Old Earl Cardigan, or Jim Crow as
he was called by the soldiers. was at the
front, and the rider, who was Capt. Nolan,
Went up and handed Cardigan a slip of
paper. Old JIM gave queer look when
he read it, as If he doubted his eyes.
The Russians, some $4,000 strong, it ap-
reared, had driven the Turks from the
redoubts near Balaklava, and were now
in possession. The orders were to retake
them. The old earl turned around to
Us after we had jumped into our saddles
and said, pointing towards the redonb1s,
'5len, we've got to have those guns over
there! and ordered an advance. We
~ere then about two miles off. First we
vent at walk, then the trot was sounded,
later tt trumpeter called the canter, and
in this way we moved up the plain to
within about l,5O0 yards of what was
known as the Turkish redoubt, or French
hill. The charge was now sounded,
and our $40 men moved for
ward at full gallop. The first
few rounds from the Turkish redoubt
showed that the Russians were firing at
random. One discharge would plow up
the ground in fro1t of us-and I tell you
it made my hair stand right up-and the
next would go over our heads. The
Turkish redoubt was on our left. AS we
drew nearer the artillery on Sugar Loaf
hill, to our right, opened on US, but didn't
do much damage. When we got up to
within about one thousand yards the
twelve-gun battery in the centre OF the
Russian position opened fire, and the first
round dismounted two guns of our G
troops OF horse artillery. Wenow began
to catch it. 1t literally was cannon to
the right, cannon to the left, and cannon
in 'front.' and the slaughter was frightful.
Whole lines of men and horses would
be moved down like swaths of grass by
the fire of those batteries. We kept
ahead just as ever for the centre, and
sabred the gunners that stuck to their
guns, as many of them did. Some of the
Russian gunners crawled under their guns,
where we couldn't reach them with our
sabres, but the Seventeenth lancers, who.
of course, could reach them. made it hot
for 'em. The Russians fell back and we
held the guns.
"Just then the heavy brigade came up
from the right on the other side Of Su-
gar Loaf hill, and, coming around in the
rear of the batteries, they charged the
enemy with success. The other batteries
both ceased firing when we took the 12-
gun battery in the centre. The heavy
brigade followed up the Russians, and
we formed ranks again in front Of the
centre battery. There we're only 14O of
us left. Earl Cardigan afterwards cried
like child over the loss Of his men. Our
engagement lasted, perhaps, twenty-five
minutes, between nine and ten in the
morning, and in that time we lost above
five hundred men,"
"Were you wounded in the famous
charged"
'Yes; I was hit in nine different places
in my right leg by grape and fragments
of shells, but in the excitement of the
thing I didn't know it till l tried to get
off my horse after the fight was over.
| found l couldn't bulge my right leg.
We went back to camp and I was taken
IN Son1ari r moo -, ~