Chevalier L. W. Desanges.] [In the Victoria Cross
Gallery, Crystal Palace.
COL. BELL, OF THE ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS,
Obtained the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the Battle of the Alma, when he seized upon, and captured, a gun which the enemy was carrying off the field.
With pardonable emulation historians of both nations have claimed the chief glory of the day for their own people, nor does it profit now to weigh out the laurels to each with scrupulous precision. The brunt of the fighting no doubt fell to the English share; that was their good luck in what Mr. McCarthy has termed a “heroic scramble”; theirs too was the heaviest loss. One thing is certain that the day was won by the Allies, not by the skill of their generals, but by the valour and endurance of the troops, and that the two qualities which ensured success were those which chiefly distinguished the two nations respectively—the resolute steadiness and courage of the one, and the brilliant dash and fury of the other.
Chevalier L. W. Desanges.] [In the Victoria Cross
Gallery, Crystal Palace.
COL. LLOYD LINDSAY, OF THE SCOTS FUSILIER GUARDS
(now Lord Wantage, K.C.B.), seized the colours and rallied his men when thrown into disorder in the Battle of the Alma. For this act, and for gallantry at Inkermann, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The Battle of Alma was won, but the fruits of victory—where were they? The English had lost 2,000 men in two hours’ fighting, including twenty-six officers killed; the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers having suffered worst, with eight officers killed and five wounded and nearly 200 casualties in their ranks. |A Fruitless Victory.| The French returned their loss at 1,200. What was to be set to the credit of the account? Menschikoff was in full retreat with his army in great confusion, which required only the pressure of pursuit to convert into a hopeless rout. Raglan, the pupil of the Great Duke, surely had learned a sounder lesson than to allow the enemy time to reorganise his disordered divisions. Raglan, of course, was for pursuit, but Saint-Arnaud, physically and mentally shattered, objected for the reason that he was weak in cavalry; the English commander hesitated, perhaps on good grounds, to proceed alone, and the opportunity was lost.
The news of victory caused a great revulsion of feeling in England. People had become impatient during the summer months of inaction at Varna, and disheartened by the failure of Sir Charles Napier to carry all before him in the Baltic. Bomarsund, it is true, had been taken, but Cronstadt and Sweaborg had proved impregnable. Complaints were general about the want of vigour displayed in carrying on the war, and dissatisfaction not only prevailed among the uninformed public, but even found expression from the lips of Cabinet Ministers.