During the latter part of the Crimean campaign, Sir Colin Campbell, now a Major- General, was placed in charge of the position at Balaclava. His biographer[1] tells us that even 'in the worst times of that weary winter, the experienced old soldier had never taken a desponding view of matters. He was quick to recognise Lord Raglan's difficulties, and to see that the work cut out for him was not rendered the less onerous by the fact of England being embarked on such a serious operation as the invasion of the Crimea after a peace of forty years' duration, with her army reduced in numbers, the administrative services calculated for peace and colonial requirements, and a total deficiency of that organisation which can alone ensure success in war. In spite of the murmurs and complaints, which Sir Colin Campbell never suffered in his hearing without rebuke, he felt confident that ultimate success would crown the endeavours of the Allied Armies. Above all, he had unbounded confidence in Lord Raglan whom he served with single-hearted devotion.'
Taking leave of the Highlanders just before his final departure for England, after the proclamation of peace, Sir Colin said: — 'I am now old, and shall not be called to serve any more, and nothing will remain to me but the memory of my campaigns and of the enduring, hardy, generous soldiers with whom I have been associated, whose name and glory will long be kept alive in the hearts of our country-
- ↑ Shadwell's Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde.
