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The Charge of the Light Brigade . My 50th Creation! . The poem is based on an actual historical event: the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava (which happened during the Crimean War). This went down in Crimea in 1854, which took place between 1853 and 1856. This was essentially a battle between Britain (with its allies) and Russia for control over the territory occupied by the crumbling Ottoman Empire. In late 1854, the allied troops tried to capture the Russian city of Sebastopol, and the Battle of Balaclava was one of several fights in that campaign. During this battle, the British commander, Lord Raglan, ordered a disastrous charge by the Light Brigade, which took many casualties. The charge itself was a miscommunication, but the Light Brigade charged without hesitation. Captain Louis Edward Nolan, who had carried the order, rode to the front of the brigade, possibly in a attempt to stop them, since it was a miscommunicated order. Unfortunately, Nolan was hit by an artillery shell before reaching the brigade commander. The light brigade continued on, charging the Russian Cannons, which were on every side of them. As they rode, they faced heavy fire from the cannons themselves. Upon reaching the battery, the Light Brigade scattered some of the gunners, while still under direct gunfire. The badly mauled brigade retreated back to their own line, while still being fired upon. This charge produced no decisive gains, and high British casualties. This charge is well known all because of a poem, written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
The main part of the poem that caught my eye was that even though the Light Brigade knew that they were riding to their deaths, they still charged.
Here is the poem I based my creation on:
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
The overturned grass behind the Light Brigade is trampled down.
The Noble Six Hundred.
The Russians.
…
Honor the Light Brigade!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Matthew
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