Blair of Balaclava

A HERO OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
BY
ESCOTT LYNN
Author of ‘When Lion Heart was King,’ ‘Under the Red Rose,’
‘With Robin Hood in Sherwood,’ &c.
WITH SIX COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
by
W. H. C. Groome
LONDON: 38 Soho Square, W.
W & R. CHAMBERS, LIMITED
EDINBURGH: 339 Hight Street
Edinburgh:
Printed by W. & R. Chambers, Limited.
TO MY BROTHER FRED
AND THE OFFICERS
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE ‘DEATH OR GLORY’ BOYS

PREFACE.

Inkermann has been called ‘The Soldiers’ Battle.’ With equal truth the whole Crimean campaign might be called ‘The Soldiers’ War.’ It was the vindication of the regimental officer and the rank and file; it showed to the world the ineptitude of the general staff as it existed at that day. Those entrusted with the conduct of the campaign were mostly old men long past the age when brilliant service in the field could be expected of them. Some had seen war-service in the Peninsula forty years before, the interim being spent doing office-work at the Horse Guards; many had never heard a shot fired in anger in their lives, their services being confined to Hyde Park or the Curragh Camp. Family or political influence procured them their appointments, while younger men who had already rendered splendid war-service in the East were either passed over, snubbed, or relegated to subordinate positions.

The miseries of Varna, the unparalleled sufferings of the troops before Sebastopol, and the awful blunder of Balaclava give testimony to the unwisdom of the selections.