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Alfred, Lord Tennyson, immortalized the Charge of the Light Brigade in his great poem, but in fact the charge was a disaster caused by two aristocratic brothers-in-law who hated one another, and a temperamental officer who hated them both.

The legendary charge took place on October 25, 1854, at Balaclava. From his hilltop position, George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, in overall command of the cavalry, sent out orders for his brother-in-law, Thomas James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan and commander of the Light Brigade. He chose a fine horseman, Captain Lewis Edward Nolan, to ride down the hill and deliver the order to Cardigan. The order was intended to have Cardigan move his troops nearer to the Russian positions But Cardigan, sitting down in the valley and unable to see the Russian positions along both sides of the mile-long valley and failing to understand the logic behind the orders, hesitated.

Captain Nolan, infuriated when Cardigan asked, 'Where are we to advance to?', threw out his arm in the general direction of the valley. "There, my Lord!" He then rode away to join one of the units preparing to advance.

The only guns Cardigan could see from his position were those at the end of the valley. He ordered his troops and began advancing at a trot, but moving in a direction slightly different than the one Lord Lucan had supposed he would go. Suddenly, Captain Nolan charged ahead of the advancing troops, shouting something and waving his sword wildly. Perhaps he was trying to redirect the troops, or, as some believe, his impatience and temper had gotten the better of him. In either case, he set off a pell-mell charge through the valley toward the waiting guns.

Russian soldiers and gun emplacements lined the valley and took a massive toll of men and horses as they charged through. Nolan himself was killed almost immediately, and the valley floor was littered with wounded and dying men and horses. The officers had lost control of their men, and the people watching the battle from the hills surrounding the valley could not help but see that the brigade was doomed. An officer of the Scots Greys, Cornet Montgomery, nearly made it to the mouth of one of the cannon when he was literally cut in two as the gun fired at point blank range. Lord Cardigan himself was almost captured by a squad of Cossacks but managed to ride away off the field, leaving his troops to fend for themselves.

The survivors attempted to retreat, but were cut off by Russian lancers. Mercifully, however, the retreating men were permitted to pass by with little trouble, and the Russians chose not to follow them as they struggled back down the valley to the relative protection of the Heavy Brigade, which had been ordered to hold its position.

Of the 673 men who had charged down the valley less than two hundred returned. History has placed the blame for the slaughter on two officers who held their positions as commanders because of their aristocratic titles rather than their military competence, and a captain whose hatred of those officers led directly to the tragedy. But the heroic sacrifice of the men who made the ill-fated charge has inspired historians and poets alike. The famous lines of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's epic poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," has forever enshrined their heroism in popular memory.

Sources:

http://www.pinetreeweb .com/13th-balaclava2.htm
http:/ /www.uea.ac.uk/edu/learn/brays her/charge.htm
http://www.victo rianweb.org/history/crimea/cha rgelb.html

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