Research Catalog

Title

Hell riders : the true story of the charge of the Light Brigade / Terry Brighton.

Author

Brighton, Terry.

Publication

New York : Henry Holt, 2004.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xxii, 370 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps; 25 cm

Summary

"On October 25, 1854, acting in defense of their base at Balaklava during the Crimean War, the Light Brigade of the British Cavalry Division made the most magnificent and most brutal charge in military history. Almost seven hundred men armed with sabre and lance charged straight at the muzzles of Russian cannons. In the slaughter that followed, many fell to round-shot and shell fired from the front and from both sides. Those who survived took a terrible revenge on the enemy." "In this detailed account of the charge and the bloody melee that followed, Terry Brighton - a writer with unique access to regimental archives - draws on twenty years of research to tell the story in the words of the survivors themselves for the first time."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Great Britain. Army > History > 19th century
• Balaklava, Battle of, Balaklava, Ukraine, 1854

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [361]-364) and index.

Contents

1. The invasion of the Crimea -- 1. The bear hunt : the Light Brigade prepares for war -- 2. The ruling asses : their lordships Lucan and Cardigan take command -- 3. Journey into hell : three trials en route to the Crimea -- 4. The invasion of the Crimea : from Kalamita Bay to Balaklava -- 5. Reconnaissance and the Cossacks : the secret intelligence that could have saved the Light Brigade -- 2. The charge of the Light Brigade -- 6. Towards the valley of death : the Russian attack, the thin red line and the heavy brigade -- 7. The charge : seven minutes into hell with the Light Brigade -- 8. Behind the guns : the Light Brigade pursues the Russian cavalry -- 9. The return : the survivors fight their way back -- 10. Experience and observation : death in the valley and glory on the heights -- 3. The last of the Light Brigade -- 11. The miserable remains : the Light Brigade in winter -- 12. After the Crimea 1. : from the battlefield to the workhouse -- 13. After the Crimea 2. : from the facts to the legend -- 4. Investigating the charge -- 14. Finding fault : did Captain Nolan - or one of their lordships Raglan, Lucan and Cardigan - lose the Light Brigade? -- 15. The Balaklava bugle controversy : did Henry Joy or Billy Brittain - or no one at all - sound the charge of the Light Brigade? -- 16. Lord Cardigan's retreat : did Cardigan desert the Light Brigade at the Russian guns? -- 17. Not the six hundred : counting them out and counting them in -- 18. Death or glory? : did the charge succeed or fail? -- 19. The truth about Scutari : was Florence Nightingale - or Mary Seacole - the true nursing heroine of the Light Brigade? -- 20. Light Brigade scandals : murder, suicide and the Victoria Cross -- App. 1. Researching the Light Brigade : did your ancestor ride in the charge? -- App. 2. Roll of the Light Brigade : an alphabetical list of officers and men.

ISBN

0805077227

LCCN

2004057583

OCLC

• ocm56065038
• SCSB-5096971

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries