Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/41

THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 19 division which was likely to come first into the chap. presence of the enemy ; and accordingly Lord ' Cardigan, though commanding the Light Brigade, had over him his divisional general, and was therefore in a measure annulled. Lord Cardigan was not a man who would have Lord car- ° . digan's consciously suffered himself to become at all in- attitude of " , , antagonism subordinate; but, whilst writhing under the tor- to Lord ° Lucan: ture inflicted by the annulling presence of his divisional general he brought himself to imagine that the custom of the service set something like bounds to the overruling authority which should be exercised by a divisional general over his brigadier, and that in some matters at least — as, for instauce, in the arrangements of his camp — the brigadier had a right to expect that he would be left to his own discretion. Accordingly, and at a period of the campaign when it might be imagined that the eternal claims of self would, for a time, be superseded by the warlike ardour of a cavalry leader, Lord Cardigan applied his mind to the object of protecting him- self from the interference of his commanding officer. He drew up in writing a lengthy string his con.. of complaints on this subject, and submitted them to Lord Raglan. Lord Raglan judged it his duty to answer this Lord Rag- appeal with some severity. In a paper which answer to was addressed, it seems, to Lord Cardigan, but meant to be communicated also to Lord Lucan, the Commander of the forces thus wrote : —