The Springfield herald., 1900-02-02
SOMEONE BLUNDERED
FAMOUS CHARGE OF LIGHT
BRIGADE.
Lord Tounvson ImmortaiIxcd 1t by .
stirring Poem-The Britons .are Prone
to BIunder but Always with u Bravery
that Is Even Admirable to Foes.

1t would appear that considerable
portion of the history of active war
fare is record of blunders, says the
Kansas City Star. There was a saw
age little battle down in northern
Arkansas, in the days of the civil war.
and after it was over the story spread
among the union soldiers that one of
their commanders had said of the
days fighting: we blundered in and
we blundered out" Whoever will read
the late Lord Tennyson's spirited poem
on the Charge of the Light Brigade"
will be struck by the lines:
Forward the Light Brigade.
Was there man dismayed?
No! Tho the soldier knew
Some one had blundercd."
The charge of the light brigade was
a palpable blunder, and presumably
the common soldiers who were sent
to their death knew at the time it was
u mistake. That was why the verse
was written:
"TheirS not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the valley of death
Rode the six hundred
Exactly who blundered is no.
known. or has been covered up. BY
some it is supposed that Capt. Nolan
was trying to explain the blunder
when he rode across the front of the
brigade shouting something to Lord
Cardigan, to which that gallant Of
flcer paid no attention, but Nolan was
killed and the brigade rode ahead in
the further execution of its fateful
blunder.
History repeats itself. Forty-four
years after the Balaklava blunder Eng
land is again at war for the first time
with civilized people and there are
more blunders. Gen. White and Gen.
Gatacre and Gen. Lord Methuen and
Gen. Butler have all made blunders of
the same kind-the rushing of, their
men against an unseen, unknown
enemy. with severe loss in killed.
wounded and captured. But there has
not been another poem in gloritication
of blundering, and there has not been
another blunder exactly like the charge
of the light brigade The unfortunate
British detachmcnts which have been
fed, as 1t were. to the enemy in South
Africa have been surprised. They
have marched into the muZzles of the
Beers rifles and field guns without
knowing where they were going. The
great and glorious feature of the
Balaklava incident as sung by the
poet was that everybody knew from
the first that the brigade was going
to useless destruction and nobody was
disappointed. In South Africa this
foreknowledge seems to have been
lacking. Hence. the blunder has been
has been wanting.
1t Is not little singular that an
army should retain the same charac-
,teristics for centuries. or one Of the
old battles in the low countries 1t was
written: "The English officers fought
with their usual ignorance of war and
contempt of death" The ignorance of
war is of the sort that produces blum
ders, and the ignorance keeps up and
the blunders go on. There seems to
be no readiness. no capacity to change
or seize the situation. A trap being
set by the enemy. the brave brigade
rushes into it, and the commander
records with pride that the few who
got away marched off with ranks
dressed and at the regulation step. To
blunder with pertinacity and perfect
courage seems to be the historic ira
dition of the British army.