the charge of the light brigade
Lord Alfred Tennyson
Published: 1854
Birth – Death: 1809 - 1892
Monarch: Victoria
Prime Minister: George Hamilton-Gordon (Peelite)
Nationality: English
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British light cavalry (600 people) led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. According to A D Harvey, the charge, on 25 October 1854, incurred fewer casualties than its bloody reputation suggests, and was a key incident in helping Britain to victory.
who is lord alfred tennyson?
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Alfred Tennyson was a Poet Laureate (1850-1892).
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Tennyson was born on August 6th in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England.
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He was born into a middle-class family. His father raised a large family and "was a man of superior abilities and varied attainments, who tried his hand with fair success in architecture, painting, music, and poetry. He was comfortably well off for a country clergyman and his shrewd money management enabled the family to spend summers at Mablethorpe and Skegness on the eastern coast of England". His mother and father were both heads/leader of parishes across England.
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Tennyson and two of his elder brothers wrote poetry in their teens and a collection of their works were published locally when Alfred was only 17. One of those brothers, Charles Tennyson Turner, later married Louisa Sellwood a younger sister of Tennyson’s future wife. The other brother was Frederick Tennyson.
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Another one of Tennyson’s brothers, Edward Tennyson was placed in a private asylum.
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Tennyson was a student of King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth from 1816 to 1820. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1827, where he joined a secret society called the Cambridge Apostles.
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At Cambridge, Tennyson met Arthur Hallam and William Henry Brookfield, who became his closest friends.
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His first publication was a collection of poems he and his elder brother Charles wrote, called Poems by Two Brother which was published in 1827.
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In 1929, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor’s Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first poems.
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He published his first solo collection of poems were Poems Chiefly Lyrical in 1830.
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In the spring of 1831, Tennyson's father died, requiring him to leave Cambridge before taking his degree. He returned to the rectory, where he was permitted to live for another six years and shared responsibility for his widowed mother and the family.
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In 1833 Tennyson published his second book of poetry, which notably included the first version of The Lady of Shalott. The volume met heavy criticism, which so discouraged Tennyson that he did not publish again for ten years, although he did continue to write.
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Also, in 1833 his sister’s husband, Arthur Hallam died. This had a significant impact on Tennyson as he wrote several poems on this.
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In 1850, Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate, succeeding William Wordsworth.
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Also, in 1850 he married Emily Sellwood, who he had known since childhood. They had two sons Hallam Tennyson (named after Arthur Hallam) and Lionel Tennyson.
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Tennyson is the Laureate that has held that position for the longest amount of time.
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In 1884, Tennyson was declared Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of White. He took his seat in the House of Lords on 11 March 1884.
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Tennyson continued writing into his eighties. He died on 6 October 1892 at Aldworth, aged 83. His last words were, "Oh that press will have me now!".
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He was succeeded as 2nd Baron Tennyson by his son, Hallam, who produced an authorised biography of his father in 1897.
politics & society
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Tennyson’s family were Whigs and Alfred followed that tradition. Tennyson believed that society should gradually progress stably rather than a revolution. This attitude was reflected in his attitude to the original suffrage (Right to vote). He wasn’t fully against it but recommended it to happen only after the public had a proper education and adjusted to a self-government.
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Tennyson revealed that his "religious beliefs also defied convention, leaning towards agnosticism and pandeism".
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Pandeism is the idea that the creator of the universe became the universe and so ceased to exist as a separate and conscious entity.
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Tennyson had a deep interest science and a peculiar version of the Christian faith. His son's biography confirms that Tennyson was an unorthodox Christian.
What is the Charge of the Light Brigade?
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The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War.
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It was sent to prevent the Russians from removing captured guns from overrun Turkish positions.
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However, there was a miscommunication and instead, the charge of the light brigade was sent on a frontal assault against a different artillery battle. This battle had a lot of impressive defensive fire.
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The Light Brigade were forced to retreat, and the assault ended with a high number of British casualties.
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Tennyson wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade was published 6 weeks after the said event and emphasises the bravery the soldiers had carrying out their orders.
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The Light Brigade were a light British cavalry force.
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They rode light, fast horses which were unarmoured. Men were armed with lances and sabres, they were optimised for scouting out areas and to make the soldiers in tactical positions or to scare the opposing army by looking like a big crowd.
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They were also ideal for cutting down infantry and artillery units as they attempted to retreat.
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The British commander, Raglan, wanted the Light Brigade to prevent the Russians from getting weaponry from the buildings they had secured. These buildings were located on the south side of a valley. The Light Brigade would be the best group for this task, as they would be quick enough to force the Russians to either abandon the weaponry or be killed while taking them.
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Louis Edward Nolan carried an instruction for the cavalry to immediately attack. When asked what guns the cavalry was after, Nolan answered with referring to he mass of Russian guns at the end of the valley, rather than the path to their buildings. His reasons for the misdirection are unknown.
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In response the order, Cardigan ordered the 670 troupers of the Light Brigade straight into the valley, or as Tennyson dubbed, “The Valley of Death”.
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The opposing force had 20 battalions (300-800 soldiers) of infantry, supported with 50 artillery pieces. These were deployed from all sides of the valley.
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The Heavy Brigade followed and was better armoured than the Light Brigade but not remotely equipped for a frontal assault.
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The Light Brigade had set off down the valley, with Cardigan in front, leading the charge. Almost at once, Nolan rushed past Cardigan. It was perhaps then when he realized the charge was aimed at the wrong target and was attempting to stop or turn the Brigade. However, Nolan was killed by an artillery shell and the cavalry continued.
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The Light Brigade faced withering fire from three sides which devastated their force on the ride, yet they were able to engage the Russian forces at the end of the valley and force them back from the building.
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The Heavy Brigade did not provide any support for the Light Brigade, they only entered the mouth of the valley but did not advance any further. The French light Cavalry did help and provided cover from some battalions.
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In 2016, a letter was found in the British Library who was one of Lord Ragland’s staff. It said that Raglan sent the order with 36-year-old Captain Louis Nolan, who passed it on to Lucan orally instead of handing over the written orders. He said, "There, my lord, is your enemy! There are your guns!", and he added the word "attack", whereas Raglan had intended merely a show of force.
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Nigel Kingscote was another of Raglan's staff officers, and he agreed that the fault was Nolan's.
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The brigade was not completely destroyed, but did suffer terribly, with 118 men killed, 127 wounded, and about 60 taken prisoner. After regrouping, only 195 men were still with horses. This meant 335 horses were killed in total.