The Charge of The Light Brigade-Eyewitness Account

An old uni mate of mine had an ancestor who was a cavalry officer in the Crimea, and he still had his diary, complete with pen and ink sketches. He was always going to have it published, but haven't seen him for years.
"They are remembered as the 'noble six hundred' who rode 'into the mouth of Hell' with unwavering valour in Lord Tennyson's poem commemorating the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Now a remarkable account from one of the soldiers who survived the carnage has emerged, providing a graphic insight into one of the most glorious failures in British military history.
Sergeant William Butler, who was 29 at the time of the Crimean War charge, described how he fought on as comrades were mercilessly cut down by Russians all around him.
Some 673 cavalrymen headed into what became known as the ‘Valley of Death’ in October 1854. There were 245 casualties, including 118 dead.
Sgt Butler self-published his account of his military service in a small pamphlet in retirement. A rare surviving copy is now being auctioned by a private collector.
The account, titled 'A Descriptive Account of the Famous Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava', begins with the march from London to Portsmouth in March 1854.
The 17th Lancers, which formed part of the Light Brigade of the British cavalry, was then deployed overseas.
On the voyage to Constantinople in Turkey, 15 horses were lost overboard, included Sgt Butler's. He was so affected by its death that he contemplated jumping in the sea, he wrote.
In September 1854 a 'skirmishing' party of 400 men was sent out at Alma in the Crimea. They encountered 11,000 Russian cavalrymen but were able to disperse the enemy.
Sgt Butler wrote: 'The Russians made several attacks but their pluck was not good enough. Had they been more courageous we should not have been more than a mouthful for them.'
The British then rode over the ground they had left.
Cpl Butler wrote: 'We could scarcely get along for dead bodies. I never saw such carnage.'
The Russians clashed with the Brits at Balaclava on October 25, attacking the brigade on the right flank of the Light Brigade. It was then Sgt Butler and his comrades were sent into action."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3823093/We-scarcely-dead-bodies-never-saw-carnage-bloody-chaos-disastrous-Charge-Light-Brigade-laid-bare-rare-account-penned-soldier-survived-Valley-Death.html#ixzz4MDKYg3cg

 

Interesting stuff. One historian (I don't recall who) remarked that since the British army hadn't seen any major warfare for a generation, everyone was chomping at the bit to make headlines or get mentioned in dispatches, thus foolish decisions were made. Promotion among the professional (Indian) soldiers was at a standstill, leaving inexperienced aristocrats in charge. That opinion, whether true or not, stuck with me. I suppose it applies to every army at different points in history, with political favored officers replacing aristocrats in modern times.

 

Yeah, can see the logic in that actually. Waterloo would have been the last European campaign a lot of senior officers had served in.