October 25 - The Charge of the Light Brigade

This Day in History: 25 October 2020

 

25 October 1854

 

166 years ago, today, the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred. This was a failed military mission involving the British light cavalry, led by Lord Cardigan, against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. A miscommunication in the chain of command caused the Light Brigade to instead be sent on a frontal assault instead of their original task of removing captured guns from overrun Turkish positions. They reached a different artillery battery under withering direct fire and were forced to retreat immediately. The assault ended with very high British casualties and hardly any decisive gains. Nevertheless, Lord Cardigan was hailed as a national hero in Britain.

 

The events of the incident were the subject of Alfred Lord Tennyson's narrative poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', that was published only six weeks afterwards. The verses of the poem emphasise the honour and valour of the cavalry when they bravely carried out their orders, despite the nearly inevitable outcome. Tennyson also wrote this while he was acting as Poet Laureate for Great Britain. This was not Tennyson's only patriotic poem, however, as he wrote several under various pseudonyms, such as 'Riflemen Form!'.

 

Want to find out more about the Charge of the Light Brigade? Click here for more information, or here to read Tennyson's poem.

Black History Month - Mary Seacole

Black History Month: 12 October 2020

 

Mary Seacole was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. Her father was a Scottish soldier, and her mother a Jamaican. Mary learned her nursing skills from her mother, who kept a boarding house for invalid soldiers. In 1850, she nursed victims of the Kingston cholera epidemic. She travelled to Panama in 1851 as the town of Cruces was suffering its own outbreak of the disease. In 1853, Mary returned to Kingston, caring for victims of a yellow fever epidemic.

 

In 1854, Seacole travelled to England, and went to the War Office, asking to be sent as an army nurse to the Crimea where there was known to be poor medical facilities for wounded soldiers. However, she was refused. Despite this, Seacole funded her own trip to the Crimea where she established the British Hotel to care for wounded soldiers. Unlike Florence Nightingale's hospital, Mary's hotel near Balaclava was much closer to the fighting. Mary was able to visit the battlefield, sometimes under fire, to nurse the wounded. Indeed, she nursed sick soldiers so kindly that they called her 'Mother Seacole'. When the war ended, Mary went back to Britain with very little money. Soldiers wrote letters to newspapers, praising what she had done. In 1857, a fund-raising gala was held for her over four nights on the banks of the River Thames and over 80,000 people attended.

 

Her legacy is continued by the Mary Seacole Trust (MST) which, as well as maintaining her statue, aims to educate and inform the public about her life, work and achievements, ensuring that her contribution to history is never forgotten.

 

Want to find out more about Mary Seacole? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Mary Seacole Trust.

September 20 - The Battle of the Alma

This Day in History: 20 September 2020

 

20 September 1854

 

166 years ago, today, the Battle of the Alma was fought during the Crimean War, between an allied group of French, British and Egyptian forces and defending Russian forces. Almost a week prior the battle, the allies had made a surprise landing in Crimea, then marched towards the strategically important city of Sevastopol. Afterwards, they made a series of disjoined attacks, and eventually, British rifle fire forced the Russians to retreat. Their position collapsed and they fled once they realised that both flanks had been turned. Little pursuit occurred due to lack of cavalry. Roughly, the battle cost 1,600 French causalities, 2,000 British, 503 Egyptian, and the Russians 5,000.

 

The Crimean War, that began in October 1853, was a complex conflict that had its roots in the continuing decline of the Ottoman Empire, that had become known as the 'sick man of Europe'. The alliance of France, Britain and the Ottomans fought against Russia as they did not want them to gain land from the fallen empire. After the Battle of the Alma, the Russians commenced a counterattack at the Battle of Balaclava, where the famous Charge of the Light Brigade took place. Ultimately, the Russians admitted defeat in Crimea. However, the war served as the catalyst for them to start reform in their military and society to keep pace with other developing European nations.

 

Want to find out more about the Battle of the Alma? Click here for more information, or here a video with more about the Crimean War.