LORD LINA WS DIVISIONAL ORDERS AND CORRESPONDENCE. * Orianows may differ

touching the capabilities of Lord Lucan as a cavalry general, and still more as to his fitness for a commander ; but there are few men connected with the late war who are regarded with a more indulgent feeling by the public at large. There is a notion, that be his general merits what they may, he was rather hardly treated in the Balaklava business—made, as it were a scapegoat. His personal qualities inspire a sort of liking for the man. There is no fine nonsense or conventional humbug about him ; but a frank straightforward bluffness, which says pl ninly what is meant, whatever the meaning may amount to. There is also a pertinacity in standing up for his rights, which reminds one of the oldfashioned stinginess. Altogether, he looms upon the mind "a fine old Irish gentleman all of the olden time."

It would seem from an advertisement prefixed to these "Divi- sional Orders," that Lord Lucan contemplates assuming the office of a military historian and composing a Narrative of the Ser- vices of the English Cavalry in the Crimea." This work, it ap- pears, is delayed ; for the advertisement continues—" Circum- stances have made it desirable that their publication [that of the documents] should be no longer postponed " ; the " circum- stances " pointing, we imagine, to the charges of the Commis- sioners, the late Chelsea Inquiry, and the discussions thereupon so far as Lord Lunn is concerned.

The perusal of these Divisional Orders and the official Corre- spondence, with a few private or semi-private letters will un- doubtedly remove from Lord Lucan the stigma of inattention or neglect. From the day of his arrival to the day of his enforced departure, his attention to the condition of the horses, the sup- plies of the men and the preservation of discipline, appears to have been constant, and reaching to the minutest particulars. The indirect evidence which the documents furnish seems to throw much of the failure of the cavalry and its eventual mi- serable condition upon the inexperience of the men in actual campaigning, the insouciance (to say no worse) of the officers, and to the want of readiness of resource and willingness in all. We are quite aware that it is easy to sit down and write orders that shall read well at a distance or in the ab- stract, yet be unnecessary or inapplicable on the spot. We can also comprehend a fussy activity., taking the form of unwearied direction, but practically less useful than mischievous by the irri-

• English Cavalry in the Army of the East : 1851 and 1855. Divisional Orders

and Correspondence whilst under the command of Lieutenant-General the Earl of Lacan, LaB. Published by Routledge. tation which needless interference always creates. At the same time, the documents so far as they go, and their internal evi- dence, . do not support these last doubts. The orders of Lord Lucan point to details of practical importance for the preservation of the-hoises against escape, or the result of accidents, neglect, or over-work. They refer to the comfort of the men or the mainte- nance of discipline, and very often call attention to the ill effects of laxity, foolhardiness, want of thought, or self-will. It seems im- possible to avoid the conclusion, that be Lord Lucan's merits or demerits what they may, he received very little support from those under him, and that the uselessness of the cavalry in the war (for Balaklava was scarcely an exception) was owing to the sort of " devil-may-care " feeling in the men, and that indisposition to do nothing but what they engaged to do, which is, sooth to say, a characteristic of Britons ; while a similar feeling, taking the some- what more polished form of self-will or the via inertice of indiffer- ence, was displayed among the officers. Once, at all events, it appeared in a more discreditable form, and that within two days of the battle of Balaklava, when another Russian attack was supposed to be imminent.

"Before Sebastopol, 30th October 1854.

"The Lieutenant-General, learning that an advanced cavahy picket close to the enemy had returned to the camp without being relieved, and of corn-se, in his ignorance' without proper authority, has had the matter in- vestigated by a Court of Inquiry. It is with extreme regret that he finds that Captain —, when in command of a picket of his own regiment, the —, should have conducted himself on the occasion in question in a way to deserve the severest punishment that a general court-martial can award. The Lieutenant-General feels that he is taking a great responsibility upon himself in not preferring charges against that officer. It has appeared be- fore the Court of Inquiry, that Captain — did, on the night of the 27th October, when in command of a most important post close to the enemy, placed there to watch the enemy's movements, and so provide for the safety of the army against surprise, without any proper authority whatever, and so far from being overpowered by superior force without any hostile demon- stration whatever, but solely on the trifling excuse of hearing shouts from the enemy's camp, relinquish that post, bring his picket into camp, and dis- miss it : nor did that officer have the Lieutenant-General informed of his extraordinary proceedings, by which the cavalry camp and the army were left entirely without any picket of observation. It is true that Captain — alleges that he acted on the authority of a general officer : that officer denies ever having given any such authority • and, moreover, it should be well known to an officer of Captain —'s standing, that the General could give no such authority; for a.picket placed by a divisional general cannot receive orders from any inferior officer whatever, but solely from the divi- sional general himself, his staff, or the field-officer of the day. By order, (Signed) W. PAULET, Col. A.A.G."

Three months later, Lord Lucan writes a semi-official letter to the Adjutant-General in answer to communications from him, which shows the laxity that had obtained. It is true, the matter only refers to forms, but forms in military discipline are of great importance. The date is the 2d February 1855, when the worst sufferings of the array were over.

"Within the last few days I have given out a strong division order, re- quiring the officers to salute all general officers, French and English, and the noncommissioned officers and men to salute all officers of both nations. I am glad that the Guards are to turn out to French generals. I regretted the Scutari order ; -it has, I believe been the foundation of a laxity which must, I think, prove very prejudicik to discipline. I always consider it ha- zardous to give up what in all armies and for ages has been held to be ne- cessary to secure good feeling, respect, and discipline. From my position in this army, I trust it will not be thought unbecoming in me to state that at present no officers salute general officers,. and that the officers are not ac- knowledged by the men, however distinct is their dress and however well known their position. You are saluted by neither officers nor men ; and it frequently happens that the men scarcely leave you room to pass them on the road. To some it may appear immaterial ; my opinion, it becomes far more difficult to secure obedience and discipline when all outward signs of respect are abandoned. I cannot doubt that the character of this army is suffering in the eyes of our Allies from the very loose system which has established itself. I hope that Lord Raglan will require the rules of the ser- vice to be adhered to on these points, and the turning out of guards to gene- ral officers should be reverted to ; they never accept the compliment, and consequently it proves no trouble. I am determined, so far as I can, to in- sist upon all officers, French or English, being saluted by the men, and the generak by the officers : but when it is neglected in the other divisions it makes it difficult."

The "Divisional Orders," and such parts of the Correspondence as refer to the regulations, wellbeing, and discipline of the ca- valry, are frequently dry, and derive their interest from their bearing on the mooted questions to which they relate. They have: however, an extrinsic interest, from the light they throw on the interior economy of an army, especially the mounted force, and the minute and varied knowledge that a cavalry commander should possess ; in which knowledge Lord Lucan does not seem to have been deficient. The full impression must be obtained by the perusal of the book. We take a few of the most remarkable bits, with dates and place.

WASHERWOMM■7.

Varna, 28th Iuly 1854.—The Major-General observes that women belong- ing to the regiments of cavalry under his command wash in the troughs near the different fountains. When it is recollected how indispensable these troughs are, and how precious is every drop of water for the use of the horses, it is a matter of surprise to him that such a thing should be done or tolerated. The particular attention of all commanding officers is directed to this subject ; and if it cannot be otherwise checked, sentries must be placed over the fountains.

SORDLD APPEARANCE OF THE CAVALRY.

Camp, Adrianople Road, 30th August 1854.—The Major-General com- manding the division, although undoubtedly less dissatisfied with some corps than with others, is not satisfied with the cleanliness of any of the regiments composing the Cavalry division. The men are not cleanly in their appear- ance or in their persons ; their clothes are unnecessarily dirty and stained ; their arms, such as have come under the Major-General's observation, are not as clean as they ought to be ; their belts, leathers, and appointments both of horse and man, are rusty and dirty ; nor can it well be otherwise When, as it appears, the ommanding-officers of regiments are dispensing with the use of soap, oil, pipe-clay, blacking, chrome, and everything else, without which it is unreasonable to expect a dragoon to make a decent ap- pearanee. It would really appear as if the object were that every soldier on service should look as unsoldierlike, slovenly, and dirty as possible. In the infantry., no such mistaken idea appears to kreyail. In tho French cavalry, which it should be our object to emulate in every way and on every occa- sion, no such notion is entertained. They do not attempt to dispense with those requisites for cleanliness and appearance, but approach the cleanliness of home service as near as they can. The Major-General, well knowing the difficulties which exist in the occasional absence of water, is not so unrea- sonable as not to make allowances for camp life ; but he cannot excuse the laxity which appears to prevail, and he will not admit that every rule for cleanliness and order is to be abandoned on service. Commanding officers of regiments will at once provide themselves in this country, or from England or elsewhere, with all that is necessary for the cleansing and preservation of their arms, appointments, and their kits.

ECONOMIZE FODDER.

Balaklava, 1st Oct. 1854.—The Lieutenant-General is most apprehensive, that unless much more regularity, arrangement, and economy- are practised in the consumption of fodder, that the cavalry will fall into great want. He must insist upon officers commanding regiments themselves giving their at- tention to what is not only their duty but is so essential to the interests of their regiments. They must on no account allow more forage to be drawn from the stacks than the horses can eat up clean ; and they will be good enough to name hours once only in the day for the drawing of fodder, when the regimental quartermasters and the troop sergeant-majors are invariably to attend. The attention of the general officers commanding brigades is earnestly desired to the carrying out of these instructions.

WANT OF SOLDIERLY KNOWLEDGE.

Balaklava, 2d Oct. 1854.—The Lieutenant-General has been dissatisfied today at finding an advanced picket of the — Light Dragoons, commanded by Cornet —, without any belts on, and as unprepared for action as if they were at Hounslow Barracks. It is to be remembered, that on picket, no man i ever, under any pretence whatever, to be allowed to take oil any part of his appointments ; that one-half the horses only are to be allowed to feed at a time ; that by day, there is to be always at least one sentry, by night two, mounted or dismounted, as the case may be. The Lieutenant-General also found videttes out of sight of their pickets. When it is right to post videttes at a distance from the picket, or in a position where they cannot be easily seen by the sentry of the picket, then a non-commissioned officer's party should be posted between them, so as to keep up a most perfect communica- tion. This party by day, and under ordinary circumstances, may be dis- mounted; but prepared to mount instantly, and always to have one man with his eye on the videttes.

NEGLECT OF HORSES.

Balaklava 17th and 20th Oct. 1854.—The Lieutenant-General is exceed- ingly displeased at hearing that the horses going on picket this morning had not been previously watered. The regiments concerned are the -- and the —. He requests that the Major-General commanding the light brigade will express to the commanding officers of those corps the Lieute- nant-General's displeasure at such neglect of his orders, and such total inat- tention to that which is so necessary to the health and efficiency of the horses.

The Lieutenant-General has observed horses feeding off the ground with- out nose-bags. He requests the attention of the generals commanding bri- gades to eveiy horse being furnished with a nose-bag, corn-sack, and forage- cords. The Lieutenant-General attaches much importance to these articles being always in good condition, and being quite complete.

HOW TO GET GREASE.

Cavalry Camp, Head-Quarters, 7th Dec. 1854.—It must now be evident to all, that one of the greatest wants during the campaign has been that of oil and grease : the arms have suffered much from their want; saddlery has very much deteriorated from it ; and the men's boots and the leather on their overalls would have been much benefited by their use. The Lieutenant- General is very anxious to call the attention of the division to a valuable practice in the French army ; viz, they collect all the marrow-bones, and, after breaking them between stones, boil them in a pot, skimming off the fat. In this way they find no difficulty in providing themselves with the best grease for all purposes. The Lieutenant-General desires that the divi- sion butchers do immediately adopt this valuable practice; and the regimen- tal quartermasters will be prepared to receive and pay for any quantity of grease, at a price to be fixed.

SHIFT FROM WET GROUND.

Head-Quarters 1st 1855.—It is with much concern that the Lien-

tenant-General has to observe that commanding-officers of regiments do not give that immediate and constant attention to the changing of the ground. of the lines of the troop-horses as is necessary to their health and preservation. When it is not totally unavoidable, a troop-horse is not to be allowed to re- main any time (however short) where it is muddy or wet. Undoubtedly, there has been a smaller proportion of loss amongst officers' chargers than troop-horses; and in Lord Lucan's opinion, it is very much, though not en- tirely, to be attributed to the greater facility which exists in the changing of the ground of the one to the other. His Lordship hopes that he will receive from commanding officers their attention to what he attaches the greatest importance.

REGIMENTAL DRAUGHT.

Head-Quarters, 2d Feb. 1855.—Officers commanding brigades will be pleased to direct, that when lime-juice is issued by the commissariat, it is always mixed as follows—five pints of lime-juice, eight pints of rum, eighteen pinta of water, and four pounds of sugar for 100 men and by the

general orders of the Army, ' my, it is the duty of an officer, previous to the issue, to see that the lime-juice is properly mixed in these proportions. Again it is ordered, when preserved vegetables can be issued, they should be cooked according to the following directions—" The mixed vegetables should be boiled in a little water for about half an hour; cabbages to be boiled with sufficient water for about half an hour ; carrots and turnips to be soaked in cold water for an hour, and then boiled for about fifteen minutes ; potatoes to be boiled in sufficient water for half an hour."

SORE BACKS.

Head-Quarters, 11th Feb. 1855.—There are horses in the division with backs and withers as unaccountably bad as they tare disgraceful to the regi- ments to which they belong. The Lieutenant-General cannot account for such backs. There has been no march of long and successive days ; and ex- cept on such marches there can be no excuse for very sore backs. Com- manding-officers have themselves occasioned them by allowing horses to be sent on duty with backs which required care. It is not in one or six days such backs are created. The Lieutenant-General considers, and always will consider, that sore backs denote absence of all proper care. He desires that veterinary surgeons and troop-officers will examine all the horses, and that the number of sore backs in each regiment may be reported to him.

REVOLVERS FOR CAVALRY.

Balaklava, 23d Jan. 1855.-1 have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and to thank the Field-Marshal for allowing me the perusal of the confidential letter from the War Department of the 4th instant, and by which his Excellency is informed that 6000 revolvers are about to be fur- nished for the use of the army, and chiefly, for the cavalry. In my humble opinion, but entertained, I believe, by very many cavalry officers in this army, it is not desirable that revolving pistols should be given to the dragoon. In his hands, I should apprehend that such an arm would be not only useless but positively mischievous : he has always been taught when in the ranks to trust to his sword and lance, and no man could approve of his exchanging either for a fire-arm.

In our late encounters with the enemy, how would revolvers have saved the cavalry soldiers It is solely when the dragoon's horse has fallen, or that he is wounded and dismounted, that I can conceive a revolver would be of use to him to prevent his capture or possibly save his life : with this view, the revolver must not be carried in a holster, but be attached to his person. On the present opportunity, I mud express my anxiety that a more effi- cient carbine should be given, especially to the four light regiments in the held: the unwieldy, cumbersome, and unmanageable arm now in use, is simply an annoyance : when skirmishing, it is impossible to hit any object. At. Bulganak, where the skirmishing continued some time, not one of' the enemy was struck, although the distance was moderate.

ESSENTIALS IN ROOM.

Cavalry Camp, 30th Jan. 1865.—From the experience we have had of Turkish boots, we little desire them ; they give no protection against wet, and don't last at all.

In respect to the supply you propose calling for from England, I wish to observe, that for the cavalry soldiers the boots should be strong, large in the feet, and also large in the leg. In a wet camp, it is most desirable that they should be large enough in the leg to admit of the dragoon slipping his overalls inside.

From what we have seen, for winter campaigning, outside boots coming up to the knee are the best and the only serviceable ones.

-In cavalry boots it is important that the heels should be perfectly well secured, as they are apt to be pulled off by the spur.

For much of the preventible evil that undoubtedly took place, it is not clear that a remedy could be found were the events to take place again under the same circumstances. Inexperience cannot possess the qualities of experience ; it requires time or very bitter necessity to get rid of our rather general feeling of being "above one's business." As long as cavalry regiments are officered and even recruited so as to deem themselves (as socially they are) the elite of the army less the Guards, neither officers nor men will readily turn to the hard and often very dirty work of campaign- ing, till severe experience convinees them of its necessity. The evil that sprung from antagonistic command in the "differences" between Lord Lucan and his second, Lord Car- digan, must have been obvious from the beginning ; and the two appointments reflect great: discredit upon the authorities. The fact of the actual mischief does not appear, but it WEIR impossible for such perfect antagonism to exist without producing mischiefs of the gravest kind. The difference began at the beginning, by a military slight, not to say insubordination, on the part of Lord Cardigan, who applied "direct to the Deputy-Quartermaster- General [an officer of the Commander-in-chief] for instructions respecting the embarkation " of himself and his staff, instead of through Lord Lucan. When Lord Cardigan was at Devna, "sent forward in advance," he considered this an independent command, and that he "was not bound to anybody except the general officer in command of the forces "; and though he furnished the reports demanded from him by Lord Lucan, he did it under remonstrance. The services of the cavalry were not remarkable at Alma, but the battle of the cavalry commanders raged vigor- ousl3r. -On the very day after the batfle, when Lord Raglan had his hands full of the wounded and the d.ead, the state of his own army, and the impulsive " susceptibilities " of the French, Lord Cardigan writes him a long letter of complaint, from which we quote.

"It would be difficult to state the number of written and verbal orders sent to main the course of each day, and these referring to the details of the brigade, without any previous inquiry having been made as to the steps taken by me upon the points referred to. I have orders, &e., sometimes, too, attempted to be carried out through my aide-de-camp, without the sub- ject being previously submitted to me. The surveillance over me, too, is carried to such a degree, that last Sunday, when I was ordered to march the brigade to Stneakci village, about five miles from the place of disembarka- tion, an officer of the Lieutenant-General's staff was sent out to see that the orders with regard to encampment which I had received in writing were properly carried out by me. "The day before yesterday, having been appointed to command the two regiments comprising the advanced guard, soon after the march commenced, I received an order from the Lieutenant-General to march in columns of squadrons at quarter-distance. I received subsequent orders from the Quar- termaster-General as to the position of the columns ; and when, under your Lordship's direct orders, I received further orders from the Lieutenant- General in the rear. I have since been directed, whenever your Lordship gives me orders in the field, to send an officer, under all circumstances of distance or position, to inform the Lieutenant-General of it. When the squadrons I commanded were immediately before the enemy, the Lieute- nant-General came up and gave a great deal of advice, orders with regard to the disposition of the troops, &c., and concluded by giving me a positive order not to attack, but which, I beg to state, I had no intention of doing without your Lordship's positive orders under the circumstances. Yester- day I received a message by a staff-officer to say I might command the bri- gade, but that I must take care and pay exphcit obedience to any orders I might receive from the Lieutenant-General. After being on the ground a few minutes, I got an order to move the brigade by threes. I received at least a dozen orders afterwards on this small detail of the movements ; and when the battle began I was completely deprived of the command of the brigade- • • • • • "There are many other details of this sort which I could communicate to your Lordship, but which I shall not now trouble you with here. I beg to add, that I cannot but think that all the details I have described are part of a grinding and humiliating system of discipline on the part of one general officer to another, which may be within the limits of military authority carried to the extreme letter of the law, but that such a system cannot be the custom or usage of the service."

This letter was sent through Lord Lucan; who accompanied the transmission with explanations and denials. Lord Raglan,

who had already tried by private or semi-offieial communications to compose the strife, or at least prevent insurbodination, admi-

nistered

this dignified rebuke.

" Balaklava, 28th September 1854.

"I have perused this correspondence with the deepest regret ; and I am bound to express my conviction that the Earl of Cardigan would have done better if he had abstained from .making the representation which he has thought fit to submit for my decision.

"I consider him wrong in every one of the instances cited. A general of division may interfere little or much with the duties of a general of brigade, as he may think proper or see fit. His judgment may be right or wrong; but the general of brigade should bear this in mind, that the lieutenant- general is the senior officer, and that all his orders and suggestions claini obedience and attention.

"The Earl of Lucan and the Earl of Cardigan are nearly. connected. They. are both gentlemen of high honour and elevated position the coun- try, independently of their military rank. They must permit me, as the Commander of the Forces, and I may say the friend of both, earnestly to re- commend to them to communicate frankly with each other, and to come to such an understanding as that there should be no suspicion of the contempt of authority on the one side and no apprehension of undue interference on the other. RAGLAN."

It is known from the Chelsea Inquiry and other sources that, the recommendation of Lord Raglan was not successful, and that the " difference " continued to the end. On this occasion Lord Lucan cuts the best figure, as indeed he does throughout, so far as we have the means of judging. There is no sign of ill temper or animus in his letters ; and if he entertained either, he is not, we fancy, the man to conceal his thoughts by means of words.

Lord Cardigan had written a letter of complaint against a "di- vision order" of Lord Lucan ; the order having for its object to enable officers in command to shift their horses to drier ground,

without, it would seem, going through the regular forms.

"Before Sebastopol, 29th November 1854. "My dear Lord Cardigan—I have heard nothing from any officer of your brigade on the subject of the shifting of the tents or horses ; indeed, I am never in communication with any of them,. nor do I wish that the order you referred to should trench upon your authority, or be at all obnoxious to you. This order has been practically carried into effect in the Heavy Brigade ever since the state of the weather and ground have become so bad.

"I think that the commanding-officers of regiments should at the earliest moment always have it in their power, by moving a little to the front, rear, or flanks, to ameliorate the position of their horses or men, or, unless the brigadiers are constantly present, such opportunities may be lost. If you will propose any change of the order that will make it more palatable to you, and at the same time.unobstructive to the great object I have in view, I shall cheerfully adopt it.

"Tows faithfully, Lueeis, Lieut.-Gen."

To this Lord Cardigan replies coldly, and through his imme- diate commander's Assistant-Adjutant-General.

" Balaklava 29th November 1854. " Sir—I have the honour to request that you Will state to the Lieute- nant-General commanding the diviaion, that I feel obliged to him for his private letter of today. As, however, I should not know how to alter the wording of the division order referred to in his letter, and as I have re- quested to be reported sick on board ship and no longer commanding the brigade, I have sent the division order to Lieutenant-Colonel Doherty, in command of the brigade, requesting him to insert it in brigade orders to- morrow.