Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/376

 354 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. chap, which deprived us of the Turkish redoubts and ' the English guns which had armed them did much to destroy what was left of the ascendant obtained on the Alma. XIII* Lord In general, there is but little disposition on the Cardigan. ° r part of the world to analyse any great feat of arms with the notion of seeing exactly how much was done by the troops, and how much by their leader. Under the ordinary and popular aspect of warlike conflicts, the actions of the chief and his soldiery are blended into one glowing picture; and since it is easier, and even more interesting to contemplate the prowess of one man than the compound deserts of a thousand, the result most commonly is that, without truly learning what guidance was given by the commander, mankind are content to assign him an enormously large share of the glory which he and his people have earned. In the instance of the Light Cavalry charge, this was the more especially likely to be the case, because the General in immediate com- mand of the assailing troops was their actual, bodily leader. I imagine that if Lord Cardigan had remained silent, no painful scrutiny would have been ever applied to the actions of the man who rode the foremost of all between two flanking no alteration has heen made since its original publication in 1868.
 * In the text of what follows, down to the close of the chapter,