The Charge of the Light Brigade was led by Lord Cardigan on 25 October 1854 at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The Earl of Cardigan led the cavalry in the charge against the Russian Artillery. Orders for the battle were not communicated clearly and as a result hundreds of soldiers died or were injured.
After the battle Lord Cardigan said, 'The whole affair, from the moment we moved off until we reformed on the ground from which we started, did not occupy more than 20 minutes. On the troops forming up, I had them counted by my Brigade-Major, and found that there were 195 mounted men out of about 670.'
It was the first battle where the media played a part in influencing public perceptions of war: only 3 weeks later people were reading versions of what happened in the newspapers. The Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, commemorated the charge in a narrative poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'. The event itself became a symbol of both heroic failure and the Victorian devotion to duty.
Want to read the poem? See it at http://poetry.eserver.org/light-brigade.html
Why not visit the record office to find out more about the Brudenell family? Or visit Deene Park, the home of the Brudenell family?
