Hell Riders : The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade

by Terry Brighton

• ISBN13: 9780805077223
• ISBN10: 0805077227
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781466859678
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-11-02
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
• More Book Details
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Summary

On the 150th anniversary of the world's most famous cavalry charge comes a revisionist retelling of the battle based on firsthand accounts from the soldiers who fought there In October 1854, with the Crimean War just under way and British and French troops pushing the tsar's forces back from the Black Sea, seven hundred intrepid English horsemen charged a mile and a half into the most heavily fortified Russian position. In the seven minutes it took the cavalry to cross this distance, more than five hundred of them were killed. Celebrated in poetry and legend, the charge of the Light Brigade has stood for a century and a half as a pure example of military dash and daring. Until now, historical accounts of this cavalry charge have relied upon politically motivated press reports and diaries kept by the aristocratic British generals who commanded the action. InHell Riders, noted historian and Crimean War expert Terry Brighton looks, for the first time, to the journals recorded by survivors-the soldiers who did the fighting. His riveting firsthand narrative reveals the tragically inept leadership on the part of the British commander in chief, Lord Raglan, whose orders for the charge were poorly communicated and misinterpreted, and an unfathomable indifference on the part of British officers to the men who survived the battle and were left to tend their wounds and bury the dead in the freezing cold. While the charge overran the Russians, it gained nothing and the war continued for another two years. In finally capturing the truth behind the charge of the Light Brigade, Brighton offers a stirring portrait of incredible bravery in the service of a misguided endeavor.

Author Biography

Terry Brighton is the curator of the Queen's Royal Lancers Museum, the direct descendants of the 17th Lancers who led the charge of the Light Brigade. He is a member of the Crimean War Research Society and an authority on the Crimean War. He lives in England.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xi
List of Maps	xv
Acknowledgements	xvii
Introduction	xix
ONE - The Invasion of the Crimea
The Bear Hunt The Light Brigade prepares for war	3	(15)
The Ruling Asses Their lordships Lucan and Cardigan take command	18	(13)
Journey into Hell Three trials en route to the Crimea	31	(15)
The Invasion of the Crimea From Kalamita Bay to Balaklava	46	(17)
Reconnaissance and the Cossacks The secret intelligence that could have saved the Light Brigade	63	(18)
TWO - The Charge of the Light Brigade
Towards the Valley of Death The Russian attack, the thin red line and the Heavy Brigade	81	(24)
The Charge Seven minutes into hell with the Light Brigade	105	(37)
Behind the Guns The Light Brigade pursues the Russian cavalry	142	(28)
The Return The survivors fight their way back	170	(19)
Experience and Observation Death in the valley and glory on the heights	189	(16)
THREE - The Last of the Light Brigade
The Miserable Remains The Light Brigade in winter	205	(18)
After the Crimea 1. From the battlefield to the workhouse	223	(6)
After the Crimea 2. From the facts to the legend	229	(10)
FOUR - Investigating the Charge
Finding Fault Did Captain Nolan -- or one of their lordships Raglan, Lucan and Cardigan -- lose the Light Brigade?	239	(23)
The Balaklava Bugle Controversy Did Henry Joy or Billy Brittain -- or no one at all -- sound the charge of the Light Brigade?	262	(16)
Lord Cardigan's Retreat Did Cardigan desert the Light Brigade at the Russian guns?	278	(12)
Not the Six Hundred Counting them out and counting them in	290	(5)
Death or Glory? Did the charge succeed or fail?	295	(8)
The Truth about Scutari Was Florence Nightingale -- or Mary Seacole -- the true nursing heroine of the Light Brigade?	303	(13)
Light Brigade Scandals Murder, suicide and the Victoria Cross	316	(9)
Conclusion	325	(6)
Appendix 1. Researching the Light Brigade Did your ancestor ride in the charge?	331	(5)
Appendix 2. Roll of the Light Brigade An alphabetical list of officers and men	336	(25)
Bibliography	361	(4)
Index	365