Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/273

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 251 in command of the 17th Lancers, was advancing chap in front of his left squadron, and thence it resulted '_ that the portion of the regiment which outflanked the battery fell specially under his personal leadership.* As soon as Morris had ridden so far through Forces the smoke as to be able to see beyond it, he b> Moms .- found that he had before him — with no line of guns intervening — a body of regular cavalry, and he seems to have understood that the force thus immediately opposed to him consisted of not less than two squadrons ; -f* though he could not ap- parently see whether these two squadrons stood isolated or were acting in conjunction with other bodies of horse. We now know, however, that the body of horse Morris had on his front was one overlapping the battery, and connected with the right wing of that great body of Kussian cav- alry which stood posted across the valley in rear of the guns. On the other hand, the portion of the 17th Lancers which was thus confronted regiments of the first line to two, the centre of the 17th Lancers was the centre of the line ; and, Lord Cardigan's proper position being then in front of that centre, Captain Morris thought it right to avoid being unduly near the general of the brigade by placing himself in front of his left squadron. Hav- ing once taken that place, he kept it, notwithstanding the change. + In words, so far as I know, Morris spoke only in general terms of the force as a ' body of cavalry ; ' but whilst lying in bed ill from his many wounds he contrived (though his arm was fractured) to sketch a little plan of the combat ; and in this the Russian force immediately opposed to him is repre- sented in a way which indicates the presence of not less than two squadrons.
 * Before the change by which Lord Lucan reduced the three