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 - Phillis Wheatley

Black History Month: 11 October 2020

 

Phillis Wheatley was the first African American and the second woman to ever publish a book of poems. She first began to write poetry when she was fourteen and published her first poem in 1767. However, it was with her publication of 'An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine George Whitefield' in 1770 that brought her great fame. Wheatley travelled to London in 1773 to publish her first collection of poems, 'Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral' which became the first book written by a black woman in America. Shortly afterwards, she was emancipated from her role as a slave for the Wheatley family.

 

Her many poems reflected several influences in her life, including well-known poets that she studied, pride in her African heritage, and religion, leading Protestants in both America and England to enjoy her work. Wheatley's opposition to slavery was evident in her several letters to ministers and others about liberty and freedom. Although she praised George Washington in a well-received poem, she believed that slavery was the issue that prevented colonists from achieving true heroism. In December 1784, Wheatley died, due to complications from childbirth. Her literary and artistic talents helped to show that African Americans were equally capable, creative and intelligent and benefited from education, aiding the abolition movement.

 

Want to find out more about Phillis Wheatley? Click here for more information, or here to read her poem 'On Being Brought from Africa to America'.