Charge of the Light Brigade--Lord Lucan | Military papers, mostly from the Crimean War, chiefly 1820s-80s

George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan--Charge of the Light Brigade

An archive of letters and papers:

i) Early Military Career: Letters and documents relating to Lucan's military career prior to the Crimean War, including one by his aunt Lady Lavinia Spencer (upbraiding him for "Martinet Zeal", 4 pages, 2 October 1827), Lord Hardinge, and others; file of correspondence and papers relating to his duel with Major Fitzgerald (1828-31);

ii) The Crimean War: Two documents concerning Lucan's appointment to the Crimea: Lord Hardinge, Commander in Chief, autograph letter signed, to Lucan, announcing his "Command of the Cav[al]ry Div[isio]n ... with Lord Cardigan as Brigadier Gen[era]l", 3 pages, 10 February [1854]; letter of appointment, 24 March 1854

Regulations for Encampments. 1853, small 4to, marbled wrappers, with Lucan's ownership inscription, 1854

James, 7th Earl of Cardigan, two autograph letters signed, to Lord William Paulet, adjutant to Lucan, noting the independence of his command from Lucan's cavalry division ("....I am not bound to report to anybody except the General Officer in Command..."), the second with a retained copy of Paulet's reply, altogether 11 pages, folio, Crimea, 15 June-11 September 1854

Henry, 5th Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of War, autograph letter signed, to Lucan, promising cavalry reinforcements, 4 pages, 4to, Downing Street, 3 July 1854

Printed orders on the landing in the Crimea, 1 page, 31 August 1854

Sir Richard Airey, autograph memorandum on behalf of Lord Raglan, to Lucan, ordering the Cavalry to advance and reconnoitre during the advance following the Battle of Alma, in pencil, 2 pages, 8vo, 25 September 1854

Brigadier James Yorke Scarlett, commander of the Heavy Brigade, autograph letter signed, to Lucan, requesting that two of his officers be mentioned in despatches; together with a retained copy of Lucan's refusal, altogether 7 pages, 8vo, 13-18 December 1854

Fitzroy, Lord Raglan, autograph letter signed, to Lucan, conveying the thanks of Parliament "for your distinguished conduct in the brilliant operations in which you have taken part in the Crimea", 1 page, folio, before Sevastopol, 4 January 1855

Lucan, autograph draft letter signed, to George Berkeley, MP, justifying himself through a combination of self-pity ("...I do not believe that in the military history of England a general officer was confronted with so much injustice as I have been...") and a minimisation of the disaster ("...The Light Brigade really lost less than was supposed..."), 16 pages, 8vo, before Sevastopol, 9 February 1855

Raglan, two letters relating to Lucan's recall, the first being his official notification and the second a private letter transmitting the recall and hoping that he can "acquit myself of this task with most regard for you feelings", 5 pages, 4to and folio, before Sevastopol, 12-13 February 1855

iii) Subsequent career and struggle over his reputation:

Queen Victoria, two documents signed, one also signed by Prince Albert, appointing Lucan to the Order of the Bath, 1855-69, with five similar documents

Bundle of letters by various correspondents to Lucan concerning his role in the Charge of the Light Brigade and his vociferous and intemperate defence of his reputation, including letters by Duke of Newcastle and others warning him against public criticism of Raglan (1855), a manuscript copy of his affidavit giving his version of Cardigan's behaviour after the Charge of the Light Brigade with related maps and printed documents (1863), and two autograph letters signed by George, Duke of Cambridge, Commander in Chief, concerning Lucan's outrage at not being promoted to Field Marshal, with a related letter, July-November 1886

Kingslake, Invasion of the Crimea, Vol. 8. 1881. Galley proofs with note "No abstract to be made or copy to be taken", signed and dated by Lucan, December 1884

AN IMPORTANT AND SUBSTANTIAL ARCHIVE OF ONE OF THE KEY FIGURES IN THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. George, Earl of Lucan (1800-1888), commanded the British cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava: on 25 October 1854 he gave the order to the commander of the Light Brigade, Lord Cardigan, to attack the heavily fortified Russian guns at the far end of a valley. This was the wrong target, and the result was the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade. Lucan thoroughly detested Cardigan, who was his brother-in-law, and gave the Light Brigade little support once the attack commenced. Lucan subsequently blamed the disaster on ambiguously drafted written orders from the overall commander, Lord Raglan, exacerbated by poor verbal instructions from the man who delivered them, Captain Nolan, who was subsequently killed in the Charge.

Lucan had shown his ill-tempered and aggressive nature on many occasions before the Crimea, from minor acts such as raging against the swans on the Thames for trespassing to his unforgivable eviction of tenants in Co. Mayo during the Great Hunger. The current archive, which provides a vital context for events at the Battle of Balaclava, includes ample evidence of Lucan's disputatious and arrogant character. There are exchanges with Cardigan disputing the chain of command between them, right through to angry exchanges in later life with the Duke of Cambridge when he was not promoted to Field Marshal.

The archive includes an earlier order on behalf of Lord Raglan which foreshadowed the disaster during the Battle of Balaclava. This order, written by Sir Richard Airey, gave the cavalry precise reconnaissance instructions, but Lucan took a wrong turning and got lost whilst Raglan, leading the infantry, stumbled upon the Russian Army when he was expecting his own cavalry. Raglan blamed Lucan for the loss of the Light Brigade, whilst Lucan's campaign of self-defence began whilst still on active service, and there is no doubt that - whatever he may have said in his letter to Lucan enclosing his recall to Britain - his commanding officer was delighted to see Lucan return to Britain. Lucan refused to accept any blame, however, and continued to press his self-serving interpretation of events at the Battle of Balaclava for the rest of his life.

PROVENANCE:

Phillips, 17 November 2000, lot 428 (part lot)