BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 255, 11 April 1855, Page 3

BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA.

I7(From the Times' Special Correspondent.) The Charge o_ the Light Cavalry.—■ id now pccuried the melancholy catastrophe lich fills us all with /'sorrow;' It appears that ; Quartermaster-General^ Brigadier Airey, winking that the Light Cavalry had not gone ir enough in front when the enemy's horse had ed "-aye an order in writing to Captain Nolan, sth 'Hussars, to take to Lord Lucan, directing is lordship " to advance his cavalry nearer to he enemy." A braver soldier than Captain Sfolan the army .did not possess. He was known to all his ar,n °f tne service for his entire devotion to his profession, and his name must be familiar to all .who take interest in our cavalry for his excelbj«_t work, published a year ago, on our drill and system of remount and breaking horses. I had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and I know he entertained the most exalted opinions respecting the capabilities of" the English horse soldier. Properly led, the Biitish Hussar and Dragoon could in his mind break square, take batteries, ride over columns of infantry, and pierce any other cavalry in the world as if they were made of straw. He thought they had not had the'opportunity of doing all that was in their power, and that they had missed even such chances as they had had offered to them ; that, in fact, they\vere in some measure A matchless horseman, and a first-rate swordsman,"he held in contempt, I am afraid, even grape and canister. He rode off with his orders to Lord Lucan. He is now dead and gone. God _forbid I should cast a shade on the brightness of his honour, but I am ' bound to stale what I am told occurred when he reached his lordship. I should premise that »v- -d ;__..„._i ;._—;_____■_■ » - -____

„o .m, X.HMWU cavairy reurea, tiieir miantry fell back towards the head of the valley, leaving men in three of the redoubts they had taken, and abandoning the fourth. They had also placed some guns on the heights 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 battalions of infantry were placed behind them, and about 30 guns were drawn up along their line, while masses of infantry were also collected ou-the .hills behind the redoubts on our right. Oar cavalry had moved up to the ridge across the valley_on our left, as the ground was broken in front, and had halted in the order I have already mentioned. When Lord Lucan received the order from Captain Nolan, and,had read it, he asked, we are told, " Where are we to advance to ?" Captain Nolan pointed with his finger to the line of 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 reluc- ! tance, gave the order to Lord Cardigan to advance upon the guns, conceiving that his orders compelled him to do so. The noble earl, though ; he. did not shrink, also saw the fearful odds : against hi in. Don Quixote in his tilt against the windmill was not near so rash and reckless as the gallant fellows who prepared without a. ■ thought to rush on almost certain death. It is a maxim of war, that " cavalry never-act without a support," that '• infantry should be close at hand when cavalry carry guns, as the effect is only instantaneous," 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 oar light cavalry had was the resetve'of heavy cavalry at a great distance behind them, the infantry aud 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 spins were reached, of a mile and a half "in ►length. At 1 1.10 our Light Cavalry Brigade rushed to the front. They numbered as : follows:— 4th Light Dragoons 118 Bth Irish Hussars 104 11th Prince Albert's Hussars ... 110 13th Light Dragoons 130 17th Lancers... 145 1 „ Total 607

The whole brigade scaicely made one effectjve leguneut, aicniding to the numbei of continental .unites ; andfyet^ was-'moie 'than we ; o»uld sp,»re.f 'As the* passed towards the fmnt the Russians opeued&HLthem fiotn-tbe^uns in the ledoubt on the,right,iwttlit vollevs^of innsketiy and nfles. 4 _'4.hey r sw.ept proudly past, ghttenng in the mowing sua in all the pude

and splendour of war. We could scarcely be-: lieve the evidence of our senses! : Surely that handful of men are not going to charge an1 army in position ? Alas! it was but too nue—their desperate valour knew ,no bounds, and far indeed was it removed from its so-called better part—discretion. They advanced in two lines/ quickeningtheir pace as they closed towards the enemy. A more fearful spectacle was never witnessed thavi by those who, without the power to aid, beheld ..their heroic countrymen rushing to the arms of death. At the distance of 1200 yards the whole line of the enemy belched forth from 30 iron mouths, a'''flood of smoke and flaihe through wliicli hissed the deadly balls. Their flight was marked by instant gaps in our ranks,; by/ dead rneh^nd horses, by steeds flying wounded or riderless across the plain.: The first line/is: broken, it r is joined by, the second, they/ never halt or check their speed an instant; with diminished ranks,7thinned by those/:30 guns, which; the Russians had laid with the most deadly accuracyj with a halo of flashing steel above their heads, and with a cheer which; 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 carcasses of horses. They were exposed to/an oblique fire from the batteries on the hills/ on zbpthAsides, as well as to a direct fii-e of musketryj7 Through the 7 clouds of smoke we could see their sabres flashing as they rode up to the guns: and dashed between them, Cutting down,the gunners as they stood. We/ saw them riding through the guns, as I have ; said ;to bur delight Avesaw them retiiiT.irig, after breaking through a column of Russian infantry, and scattering them like chaff, when the flank tire of the battery /on fho b;n "»—-v-> - I-".;;,..*.- .-.- 7.

7 7: /.7 : .7 ...;; o..c^i idem aown, sea tiered and broken as they were; /Wounded in en" a rid dism oun ted ti-oo pers fly iiig to wards us told ihe /sad/tale—-demi-gods could not7have done what we had: failed to do: 7At the very .moment when they were about to retreat an enormous mass of "Lancers was hurled on their flank.: Coldhel7Shewell,7;of the S th .Hussars, saw-; the danger,and rode his few men straight at themi cuttin"; 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 theii'-wayrthrongh the columns which enveloped: them, when there, took place: air act of atrocity vvithout parallel in ihe modern 'warfareof civilised nations. 'The.'..Russian gunnersj when the storm of cavalry/passed, returned to their 'guns. They saw their own cavalry mingle with the troopers who had just ridden oyer them, aud, to the eternal disgrace of the Russian name,the miscreants poured a murderous volley of grape and canister oh 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, was Jeff in front of these bloody Muscovite guns. Our loss, as far as it could be ascertained, in killed, wounded, and missing; at 2 o'clock to day was as follows:—

It is not certain that all these were killed, wounded, or missing; many may still come in, and about 80 wounded have already returned. Captain Nolan was killed by the first shot fired, as he 1 ode in advance of the Hussars, cheering them.on.-' Lord Lucan was slightly wounded. Lord Cardigan received a lance thrust through his clothes. - Major Halkett, of the 4th Light Dragoons, was killed. Lord Fitzgibbon, of the Bih Hussars, was desperately wounded, and has since, I fear,.[died. Cornet Houghton, of the 11th Hussars, is-killed. Captain Goads and Oldham and Cornet Montgomery, of the 13th Light Dragoons are killed.7 Captain White and Lieutenant Thomson of the I7lh Lancers, are killed. Captain Charteris, 92nd foot, aide-de-camp to Lord Lucan, is killed, Captain Morris, who was in command of tlie 17th Lancers, and whose reputation as a. gallant'officer and good swordsman is known to the army, has received several dreadful wounds, and -has/ been carried

on board ship. The other wounded officers are —Captain Maxse, aid-de-camp, slightly! Cap-, tainHutton, 4th Light Dragoons: Lieutenant, Sparke, 4th Light .Dragoons.; Captain Cook, 11 th Hussars: Lieutenant Trevelyan, Hth Hussars; Captain Lockwood, of the cavalry staff, is missing. Mr. Wombwell, of the 17th, had a narrow escape. He was dragged off his ; horse by the cap, and taken prisoner by some Cossacks.. A Russian officer addressed him and told him not to be afraid, for that he would be well taken care of, though cesgensla were rather rough in their manners. However, they were saved the trouble of guarding him, for in the last charge he made his escape, and got back to his lines.

While our affair was going on the Frenchcavalry made a most brilliant charge at the battery on our left, which was firing on our men, and cut down the gunners; but they could not get off the guns without support, and had to retreat with the loss of two captains and 50 men killed and/ wounded out of their little force of .200 Chasseurs. The Heavy Cavalry,in squadrons bl squadrons, moved ; slowly backwards, covering the retreat of the broken men. The ground was left covered with our men and with hundreds of -Russians, and we could see the Cossacks busy searching the dead. Our infantry made a foreward movement towards the redoubts after the cavalry came in, and the Russian infantry in advance slowly retired towards the gorge; at the same thne^lhe^^eucfrcavali7 pushed^JpjA¥aTfbron"their right, and held jiß_rirFclieck, pushing out a line of skirmishers, and forcing them to withdraw their guvs. The Russians from the redoubt still harassed us very much by shell and shot, and our infantry

(first i/ivision) were oruereu to ne oovvn in iwo lines to escape their effect. The Fourth Division, covered by the rising ground, and two regiments of French infantry, which had arrived in/thevalley jfollowed by strong artillery, moved, onwards to operate oh the Russian right, already threatened by the French cavalry. The Russians threw but skirmishers to meet the French skirmishers, and, as it would be madness to attack them as our light horse had done, the French contented themselves with keeping their position. At 11 a.m. the Russians feeling alarmed at our steady advance and at ihe symptoms of bur intention to turn or cut off their ri gli t, reti red fro Hi No. 17 reddub t, which was .taken possession of by the allies. At 11.15 they abandoned the- redoubt No. 2, blowing up the magazine; andj.as westill continued to advance they blew up and abandoned -.No. 3 at 11.45, but, to our gredtregret, we werenot in time nor in force to prevent their taking off seven'out of nine guns/in these earthworks.,' ■■ At 11.41: the Russian line of infantry all began to retire slowly, and a strong portion of it crept up the hills behind the Ist redoubt'which still belongs to them, in the hope that we would attack them in. that position ; but it was not oiir desire to risk a battle, and we bad already found out that our position was too large to be readily defended. We made up our minds therefore to let the Russians have the redoubts Nos. 1, 2, and 3 and even 4 il they liked, and to content ourselves with keeping Balaklava and the communication 'wilh-.it' open by ihe westerly and sotitheily heights behind our camp. The artillery at the right of the First Division fired shot and rockets at the Ist redoubt; but could not do much good, nor could the [heavy guns of the batteries near the towii carry so far as to annoy vthe Russians. At 12 o'clock the greater portion ! of the French and English moved on more rapidly, and an accession to the strength of our artillery was made by two French batteries; who 'pushed on 'towards the front of our left in support of «>ur cavalry. The First Division remained still in line along the route to Baiaklava; From 12 to 12.15 not a shot was fired on either side, but the-Russians gathered in their forces, towards the heights over the gorge, and, still keeping the ct.valry on ' the plain, manoeuvred in front on our right. General Canrobevt, who had gone off a short time previously to inspect the position of his troops from a telegraph sta-tion.near.-us, returned, and bad an.animated conversation with Lord Raglan. At ibis moment the bugles of the French below sounded, and Genei.il Caniobeit, shouting to ilieZotnives m the liench, asked what this u<nnerie signified: " OeU guide a iious, moti General ?" was the ieply.* .iW^Vll"!*}^! foi a renewal of action. " 'fr^~si'\f A.^*^'* At 1228tlie7„whrtle f of-Ihe allies again got into motion to^ij^Sf theeliem}, with the exception vof ttie/^H^3i*|^n/ which moved ''en

echelon towards the opposite hills, keeping their right wjhg well before Balaklava. 7 At 12.40 ; Captain Colthorpe was sent by Lord Raglan with orders to the troops, which sefeined to have: /the effect of altering the disposition of onr front, Wfdr the French at 1 p.m. showed still further up 7o» our left. When we, got to the ridges they / took possession of 7re_oubts, .'Nos. 1, 2, and 3. But the Russians evidently intended to keep No.; V and to draw us after them if possible into the gorge, where they bad retired their guns. As our object waspfolely7 to keep Balaklava, this was not our game;; and as the Russians would not advance, but kept their cavalry in front of the approach to the mountain passes, it became evidentjthere would. be no further engagement to-day.; The cannonade which began again at 12.15 and was continued with little effect,/ ceased altogether at 1715, and the two armies retained their 'respective positions. Our men and/horses were: alike tired and hungry j and the French were no better. 7/~'Lord Raglan /continued on the hill-side all day, watching' the"enemy. About 4 o'clock, Sir Colin Campbell and Sir G. Catbcart and Lord Gardigan,: had 'interviews with Lord Raglan, who evideutly listened to their recitals with great interest. Generalßosquetjbihed General Ginrobert, and there was a long conversation between the French and English generals, after which all moved down: to the valley together, and examiued the enemy's positibu. It; was ere"SS?r iS&glaavreturned to:his' quarters. / Wiili the 7ba^ gleaihTo^ 7;slieen of the enemy's: lances in their olupoo*T = 7 tion in; tlie valley, and- their infantry/gradually / crowned theheights pti theifleft, and occupied.

t_e road to tne village which is beyond. _»aisi_-~ lava to the southward. Our Guards were moving back, as I passed them, and the tired troops, French and English, were being replaced by a strong French division, which was marched down to the valley at 5 o'clock. All our operations in the trenches were lost sight of in the interest of this melancholy day, in" which our Light Brigade was annihilated by their own rashness, and by the brutality of a ferocious enemy. 4 p.m—ln our cavalry fight to day we bad 13 officers killed or missing, 156 men killed or missing, total 169: 21 officers wounded, 197 men wounded, total 218 ; total killed, wounded, and missing, 387. Horses killed or missing, 394 ; horses wounded, 126 ; total 520. Nearly 200 men were not present wilh the cavalry, as they were sick and had not turned out, being engaged in the camp.

' TheTu_:_ish;Contingent ATBAtA__AVA.— The greatest indignation; was/expressed7by our sailors and soldiers at the extraordiiiary cowardice displayed by;the Turks; /7 It was vydh [difficulty that the former could harebrained: from: giving vent to their feelingsman: unpleasant mariner; The Turks, who had fled in the morning into Balaklava, \veres summarily ejected from that place, and they now occupy a piece 7df ground Outside/of 7 the port./ These scamps did no t toon fine thems'el yes to actual co wardice, but had the viUariy to plunder many of the tents ofth« Scots Greys, vvhilst the latter'were absent fighting. They were also seen despoiling alike the British and Russian dead of their boots and clothing. The sooner this Turkish contingent is shipped back toNarha, or Constantinople, the better—their further:presence here is certainly undesirable. It is said that the officer who commanded the first redoubt, and who,,it would seem, was the very first to fly, has been tried by court-martial, and shot. This, if true, is an: excellent innovation on Turkish military customs. ■ * * * These brutes have been kicked and cuffed by some of our soldiers and the French. Whenever-during the day you saw any of ihe Turkish soldiers, you saw the people hooting them and calling them cowards and runaways. I witnessed two -Irish women actually drivino four of these chivalrous gentry before them 0, making them carry some things for them, probably to their own wounded husbands, and saying. "Eh! ye cowardly divils, this is all you're fit for, to be our servants: sure, you are afraid to fight!" and on our return I saw a young middy drawn up-before some 50 of them abusing them,.must heartily for their having run away. One of^-them made a sign as if he was going to draw his\w^%s¥Ai^w^l&iir middy sang -out, "Oh," saiM-^«J'i»,i|brafr_id of you, such a set of co\var<l^iosiJtftfS^g| his. arms a-kimbo, ami tb'-ir Hti^^l^p^e^^f d young lion, aud, I should s'dyf^mJhUß^ '. . .

Our sailors could be seen beating the Turkish soldiers with sticks on the 25th, arid becalling them lustily for running away. The word now is "No Bono Turk " with Jack. Tlie lazy tas-/ cals might'be seen in troops smoking by the road-side, while English lives were being sacrificed. So premeditated did it appear to he with some of them, that they brought away all their cooking utensils ; they are now in great nninbers occupied in removing commissariat stores.

Went into action. Returned. Loss. 4th Light Dragoons...... 1 IS ... 39 ...... 79 8th Hussars ............... 104 .. 38 66 ":1.1th Hussars .............. .110 ... 25 ...... 85 1.3th Ligh* Dragoons......: 130 ... 61 v.....69 17th Lancers ............... 145 ... 35 .......11.5' ■7--''.:,6p7;' : '"':-i98- < - 402.