Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1879-04-09
THE LIGHT BRIGADE.
A Graphic Description of the
Charge BY n Survivor.

the jaws of death gives, in the Boston
| Commercial BuiiStin, the following
graphic picture of the charge:
Lord Cardigan eye glanced us over;
thea, squirting his horse forward a few
PAGES he said:
My men, We have received orders
10 silence that battery
NV CD my brother calculated.
Then grasping my hand, he said:
Fred, my dear fellow, good bye; We
don'tknOw what may happen. God bless
you; keep close to me
"What more he might have said was
lost in Lord Cardigan's ringing shout Of:
"'Chargen
Unto TIE JAWS OF DEATH"
1--WE went in trOt; the trOt changed
10 a canter, and the canter To gallop.
Through the lines could see Lord Car
digan several hOrse-lengths ahead riding
as steady as ii he was on parade. Now,
to tell the plain truth, when we had rid
den a short distance, say one hundred
PAGES, ielt terribly afraid. The truth
flashed upon me in moment that we
were riding into position that would
expose us to fire on both TANKS, as well
as the fire from the battery in front OF
Us, which we had been instructed to ST.
lence. said to myself, This is a ride
% DEATH but | said it loud enough for
nv brother 10 hear, and he answered
and said:
There goes the first
"The first was Lord Lucan's abide
camp, Capt. Nolan, who, after making
slight detOur, was crossing our left To
ioin MS in the charge. A cannon ball
had lust cut him in two rs my brother
spoke. :,
"My heart leaped into my mouth and
almost shrieked with fear, but restrain
ell myself, and setting my teeth hard |
rude on. A moment later the rifle bull
let's from the sharp-shOOters on the hill
side began 10 whistle about our ears.
Saddles were emptied az every step.
Then came the whistling shot and the
shrieking shell and tore through our
suuadruns, mangling men and horses,
and blowing bloody burrows through
our ranks. Then my fear left me. My
whole soul became filled with a thirst
for revenge, and believe the same spirit
animated every man in the ranks.
Their eyes flashed and they ground
their teeth and pressed closer together.
The very horses caught the mad spirit
and plunged forward as il impatient To
lead Us 10 our revenge and theirs. Al
this time there was not much to be seen.
A heavy dense smoke hung over the
valley, but the flaming mouths OF the
guns revealed themselves TO our eyes at
every moment as they belched forth
their murderous contents OF shot and
shell.
"Now a shot tore through our ranks,
cutting red line from flank 10 flank,
then a shell plowed an oblique and
bloody furrow from our right front 10
our left rear; anon a riCOchetting shot
rose over our front ranks, fell into our
center and hewed its way to the rear,
making terrible havoc I'm its passage.
OH that was a ride. Horses ran rider
less. and men bareheaded, and splashed
with the blood of their comrades, pressed
closer and closer and ground their teeth
| harder, and mentally swOre deadller
revenge as their numbers grew smaller.
Unto THE GATES OF HE'LL"
"Alone and IN front rode Cardigan,
still Keeping the same distance ahead.
his charger WAS headed for the center of
the battery. Silently we followed him.
Tn To this time neither my brother nor
myself had received the slightest scratch,
although We were now riding side by
side with comrades who at the start
were separated from us by several files.
We reached the battery at last. Up To
this time We had ridden in silence, but
what a veil burst from Us as We plunged
in among the Russian gunners. Wen
would il have been for them II they had
killed US all before We reached them.
/ They had done too little and too much.
| They had set us on fire with passion.
/ Only blood could quenCh our thirst Tor
revenge. epasSed through the bat
terry like whirlwind sabering the gun
ners on our passage. | don't believe
one of them lived 10 tell the tale ot that
ride out OF the battery and into the
/ briyade-an army IL was-Oi cavalry.
/ Our charge was resistlesS.
oThe Russians fell before our sabers
As corn falls before the reaper. They
seemed 10 have no power of resistance.
And there was no lack of material 10
\ work upon. They closed IN upon us
and surrounded Us on every side, but
We heWed our way through them as
men hew their way through a virgin
forest. and only stopped when We reach
81 the bank of the Tehernaya River
BLOODY "REMINISCENCES
/ s.n-,- L.. -, ,..., f,rnspalai tn cut