The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-10-17

TOR paJrIe, out condemned by the red tape
system of the English service to routine
staff duty. He bore the fourth order of
| the day to Lord Lucan and that officer,
smarting under the humiliation of re-
peated prodding, refused to understand
the meaning Of his chief. The order was
for Lucan's cavalry to advance and pre-
vent the enemy from removing the guns
of the captured redoubts on the heights
south of the valley. Lord Lucan COZ
demned the order and aroused Nolan to
somewhat pithy, not to say indignant re-
sponses. He was finally led to say, Lord
Raglan's orders are that the cavalry should
attack Immediately"
"Attack, siri Attack WHAT What guns,
siry" demanded the irate lord.
Nolan pointed, as Lucan insisted, toward
the left hand corner of the valley, where
lay the discounted Russian squadrons be-
hind frowning battery of twelve twelve
Founders, and said: There, my lord, is
your enemy; there are your guns"
Lord Lucan, accompanied by Nolan, then
went to Lord Cardigan, who was at the
head of his Light Brigade, facing down
the valley toward those menacing twelve
FOUNDERS Handing to him Lord Rag
lan's written order to advance and save
the guns in the captured redoubts, he OBJ
served to Cardigan that the advance be
made steadily with his men well in hand"
Cardigan demonstrated, saying: Certainly,
sir; but allow me to point out to you that
the Russians have battery in the valley
in our front and ri1emen on each flank"
Struggling his shoulders, Lucan said that
there was mo choice but to obey" Turning
quietly to his people the chief of the Light
Brigade said: THE brigade will advance"
Taking the estimate of Cardigan's mill
tary character as given by the English his-
torian, Kinglake, whose narrative is here
followed, the tragedy that befell the Light
Brigade was to have been expected from
the result of this interview between the
division general and the brigadier. Says
Kinglake of Cardigan: eff ordered to hold
position he might think himself planted
as fast as a sentry at the gate of palace.
If ordered to advance down valley with
out being told where to halt he might
proudly abstain from supplying the onis
sion, and lead his brigade to destruction"
And that is precisely what he did do. His
column consisted Of the Thirteenth Light
Dragons and the Seventeenth Lancers in
the first line, the Eleventh Hussars in the
second and the Fourth Light Dragons and
Eighth Hussars in the third. The stolid
leader rode about five horses lengths in
front of the center, and the whole moved
off at trot.
Promptly Capt. Nolan, who was near
the head of the brigade, obliqued to the
right toward the captured guns, and while
he was waving his sword and shouting to
have the command follow him his heart
was torn out by shell. Cardigan saw his
gestures and heard his shouts and his dy-
ing yell, but he only rode silently on, and
the Six Hundred followed him. As soon
as the Russians saw this persistent adj
vance toward their twelve gun battery
they opened from the heights on both
sides of the valley upon the devoted col
umn. So orderly was the ride of the En-
glish, however, that when falling steeds
jostled their neighbors out of file line the