CHECK & CLARIFY the 2013 discussion (Roy Mills, Larry Crider et al) that took place on the CrimeanWar group.
Roy Dutton, Forgotten Heroes, gives a brief description, with a map [source?], p.321. But check this map.
CHECK & CLARIFY the 2013 discussion (Roy Mills, Larry Crider et al) that took place on the CrimeanWar group.
Roy Dutton, Forgotten Heroes, gives a brief description, with a map [source?], p.321. But check this map.
While at Devna Cardigan was given his first independent command. Sent out with the express purpose of ascertaining the Russian whereabouts, Cardigan and his two squadrons (from the 8th Hussars and the 13th Light Dragoons) covered 350 miles in 16 days.
[How many men?]
The strain imposed on the men, and more especially on the horses, gave rise to much disparagement of the "Sore-backed Reconnaissance" as his critics called it.
Relations between Lord George Paget (commanding the 4th Light Dragoons) and his [Cardigan's?] second-in-command) were soured by the fact that the latter [who? George?] was the [half-?]brother of William Paget, whose wife had been concerned in the "criminal conversation piece" case in 1843.
[PB: Clarify who's who and what happened above.]
Robert Portal, Lord George's Aide-de-Camp and friend, thought that Cardigan had "no more brains than his (Portal's) boot" and that "two such fools as Lucan and Cardigan could hardly be found elsewhere in the British Army."
The order to cross the Black Sea to the Crimea proper, finally convinced him [Cardigan?] that the Light Brigade was his own separate command and he continued to oppose Lucan by every means in his power, although this was mainly by angry letters. In a reply to one of these Lucan reminded him that although his rank was that of a Major-General "his position as commander of the Light Brigade was only that of a Brigadier and that there were many such Brigadiers in the six Divisions of the Army of the East..."
On the Danube reconnaissance in July of 1854, the relationship between Lord Cardigan and Lord Lucan prior to going to the Crimea proper and the embarkation...
"Lord Cardigan has knocked up two of his five horses completely — but is still all for a brush with the Cossacks — We have been out on a long patrol (8 days) with two squadrons of cavalry to find out where the Russians are — Cardigan roughs it very well indeed..."
(He makes no mention of the feelings of the whole army as to what actually happened during this.)
8TH LD
On the 20 of June a squadron of the 8th, composed of four officers and 121 men and some 80 men of the 13th Light Dragoons accompanied Lord Cardigan in the hope of discovering what the Russians were contemplating on the river Danube. Returning on the 9th of July, they had not met with a single Russian. The horses had a very hard time of it, 80 of the 121 troop horses had remained on the sick list until well after the 1st of August.
13TH LD
While at Devna two troops of the 13th, with other troops of the Brigade, and with Lord Cardigan in command, went out on a patrol with the idea of getting as close as possible to Silestria [sic?], which the Russians were besieging and to find out if any of the Cossack troops had crossed the Danube. The siege had been ended three days before, it appearing that the patrol had been magnified into an advance by the Allies to the relief of the place. During the duration of this patrol the two troops underwent many experiences and privations and on their return, "they were in a poor condition indeed, both men and horses. They had started out on robust health, but returned mere shadows of their former selves..."
Lancelot ARMSTRONG ... took part in the reconnaissance of the Danube under Lord Cardigan
Extract from the Regimental History
Lancelot ARMSTRONG ... accompanied the patrol to the Danube with Captain Tremayne and Lieutenant Phillips, who later told of the following incident:
Food being scarce, advantage was taken to capture and kill some pigs that were wandering around loose, their owners unknown. Like the others, I saw the pigs killed, then after helping to collect wood for a fire, I was so cold that I fell asleep. I was awakened by a savoury smell, and found that Armstrong had run a long skewer through a piece of pig's liver and was grilling it over the fire. I said, "Oh, you good chap, to get our dinner ready for us." To which he answered, with the gravest of faces, "I'm sorry to say the liver isn't fit for you to eat. It's all covered with anchylosed cysts." I promptly woke Jennings, who was asleep close to us, and we decided that the Doctor must not risk his valuable life by eating food he knew to be unwholesome, so we took it away and ate it ourselves...
Paymaster Edmund Bentley FRITH, 13LD
Campaign Service
Paymaster Frith served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the reconnaissance of the Danube...
Soame Gambier JENYNS
Major Jenyns served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the reconnaissance of the Danube under Lord Cardigan (in command of the squadron of 13th Light Dragoons)
Major Johnson [formerly 1300 Thomas George JOHNSON] served during the whole of the Crimean War, as Hart's "Army List" for 1867 referring to the 13th Hussars testifies:- He was in the reconnaissance of the Danube under Lord Cardigan
"Served during the Eastern campaign, including the reconnaissance on the Danube under the Earl of Cardigan, battles of Balaclava and Inkerman, Siege of Sebastopol and the Expedition to Eupatoria...
Henry Fitzhardinge Berkeley MAXSE [?]
1228 Harry Powell of the 13th L.D. refers to him in his memoir, "Recollections of a Young Soldier." for an incident during the reconnaissance of Silestria and the Danube river... During this, Lord Cardigan and a young subaltern, Lieutenant Percy Smith, went out on a separate patrol. On the return journey some of the horses were so knocked up that after examining them Lord Cardigan ordered Lieutenant Smith to remain behind with twelve of the worst of them and come on the next morning to rejoin the main party etc etc etc
Mentions " Lord Burghersh (Lucan's DC), also Lieutenant Smith...
Captain Tremayne served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the reconnaissance of the Danube under Lord Cardigan..."
ROY's LIST
1300 Thomas George Johnson 13LD
Officer's services record: "was in the reconnaissance of the Danube under Lord Cardigan...
Paymaster Edmund Bentley Frith, 13LD
Officer's services record: "Paymaster Frith served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the reconnaissance of the Danube..."
Lieutenant Phillips 8H (Chetwode commanded this troop)
1253 John Levick 8H:
"P.S.- I forgot to say that we embarked at Devonport, England, on board the sailing vessel, "Wilson Kennedy" in April 1854 and landed at Varna, staid there only a short time, when we marched to Devna, about 12 miles from Varna, from there to Yeni Bazar, where we were reviewed by Osman Pasha. From the latter place we went on an expedition to Shumia [Shumla?] and Silistria. We landed at Eupatoria, Crimea, on Sept. 12th 1854."
684 John Atkins PICKWORTH 8H
His "Record of Officer's Services" (WO 25/842) shows him as having been "Recommended by the Commanding Officer for the Victoria Cross for his distinguished conduct during the Light Brigade Charge at Balaclava..." and also credits him with having served on the Bare [PB: ?] Back Reconaissance)
I did a small study a few years ago of this, concentrating on the 13th Light Dragoons; two troops were present, namely B and E. It's another one of the rolling projects we all have!
B Troop
Captain Jenyns
Lieutenant Jervis and
Asst Surgeon Armstrong
E Troop
Captain Arthur Tremayne,
Lieutenant Percy Shawe Smith
For individual men of the 13th I have for certain:
1140 Joseph Malone
Officer's accession book for the 6th Dragoons at WO25/824 pt 1, dated 1st April 1871, credits him with serving on the Sore Back Reconnaisance).
1264 Alfred Hook
Batman to Major Tremayne in the Crimea. From this, it is likely that Hook accompanied Tremayne on the famous "sore back reconnaissance" with his troop of the 13th.).
1228 Harry Powell
refers to the expedition in great detail in his memoir, Recollections of a Young Soldier, pp.11-14.
But if one can ascribe membership of particular troops to individual men, then it could be done with say 90% accuracy. Same would apply to the 8th Hussars. If one can isolate which officers were on the Reconnaissance, then consulting the medal roll for the 8th (which is arranged by troop), again a degree of accuracy could be had, I would have thought?
Unfortunately the original regimental returns I have begin only at September, so actual numbers are unknown. But most troops had no more than 48 men average, so an idea of the numbers involved can be had._
LAURENCE CRIDER
The Soreback Reconnaissance has received scant mention in the literature on the Crimean War. I don't recall anyone ever even summarizing the dates during which it took place (though, as usual, I may be wrong in this). From Fanny Duberly's Journal we learn the reconnaissance spanned from 25 June to 11 July 1854:
Fanny Duberly's Journal (Sunday, June 25) notes:
Sunday, 25th. — Was awoke at four o'clock from a profound sleep, by the words, "A general order for the regiment to be prepared as soon as possible to march thirty miles." All the camp was alive No tents were to be struck, but every one was to move. We could make nothing of the order, until we heard that a courier had arrived to say that the Russians had abandoned the siege of Silistria, and had crossed the Danube. We still dressed in hot haste, wondering at the order, when an aide-de-camp came up to say that only a squadron of the 8th and a squadron of the 13th were to go; and that they were to march towards Silistria to make a reconnaissance of the Russian army. The order to "bridle and saddle" was given, and all was ready for a start, when a counter-order arrived — "The squadrons are to wait until three days' provisions are cooked;" so that of the whole regiment roused at four, two troops went away at half-past ten."
Her next relevant entry (Thursday, June 29) notes:
"We had no news of Lord Cardigan's patrol until after dinner, when Bowen rode into the lines on Captain Lockwood's roan horse, who bore him feebly to the picket ropes, and then fell down. For many minutes he appeared dying of exhaustion, but eventually we revived him with brandy and water. Bowen tells us that the squadrons will not return for some days; that their fatigue has been excessive, and their hardships very great. They appear to have been marching incessantly, for which hard work neither men nor horses are fit."
[There were three men named Bowen in the 8th Hussars (Captain Lockwood's regiment) though only two were with the service troops : 965 Pte George Bowen and 933 Pte William Bowen. Neither is listed as being on "Outpost Duty" at the time [Relevance to be explained later].
Her next relevant entry (Sunday, July 2) notes:
"Sunday, July 2nd. — Captain Tomkinson returned to-day from Silistria, whither he had been sent to ascertain the best road for marching troops. He described the whole Russian force, although they have lately raised the siege of Silistria, as being still in sight of the town, and speaks much of their numerous field pieces. He brought back a Russian round shot, and told me he had seen two of the enemy, but lying cold and still."
Her next relevant entry (Thursday, July 6) notes:
"The party which returned to-day from Silistria inform us of the good feeling shown by the Turks to their Russian prisoners. They feed them with their meat and rice, and treat them with every mark of kindness and consideration." [From this we learn that not all of the expedition returned at the same time, but again, no names are mentioned].
Her last relevant entry (Tuesday, July 11) marks the return of the expedition:
"The reconnaissance, under Lord Cardigan, came in this morning at eight, having marched all night. They have been to Rassova, seen the Russian force, lived for five days on water and salt pork; have shot five horses, which dropped from exhaustion on the road, brought back an araba full of disabled men, and seventy-five horses, which will be, as Mr. Grey says, unfit for work for many months, and some of them will never work again. I was out riding in the evening when the stragglers came in; and a piteous sight it was — men on foot, driving and goading on their wretched, wretched horses, three or four of which could hardly stir.
There seems to have been much unnecessary suffering, a cruel parade of death, more pain inflicted than good derived; but I suppose these sad sights are merely the casualties of war, and we must bear them with what courage and fortitude we may. One of these unfortunate horses was lucky enough to have his leg broken by a kick, as soon as he came in, and was shot. There is an order that no horse is to be destroyed unless for glanders or a broken leg."
Confirmed names from Duberly:
Bowen . . . unable to confirm which of 2 privates.
Captain Tomkinson (8th Hussars)
Lord Cardigan
Implied names from Duberly:
Captain Lockwood
Checking the copies of the Muster Rolls I have for both the involved regiments for the time period involved, and nowhere are the words "reconnaissance", "patrol" or "Silistria" used. Ponting (2009) stated of Cardigan and the expedition:
"He took 190 men of the 8th Hussars and 13th Light Dragoons and a troop of Ottoman lancers."
I have no idea where Ponting got his information. I believe I read somewhere that there were around 200 men on the reconnaissance (sorry, forgot where).
Looking at the Musters I noticed that around 200 men and officers were listed as being on "Outpost Duty" at the time of the reconnaissance; using my book "In Search of the Light Brigade" for a quick check, I compiled what I thought was a complete list of the men on "Outpost Duty" on the Muster Rolls.
Every officer of the 13th Light Dragoons listed as on "Outpost Duty", as well as a couple not listed, were confirmed by other sources to have been present on the reconnaissance.
Similarly I was able to corroborate that 50% of the officers of the 8th Hussars that I was able to confirm as present via other sources, also were listed on "Outpost Duty"; I have therefore concluded that presence on "Outpost Duty" for the 3rd Muster 2nd Quarter of 1854 carries a very high likelihood of indicating presence on the reconnaissance.
I therefore developed the following system for rating the likelihood of being present on the reconnaissance . . . not scientific, but at least a good way to rank order the probability:
100% — Corroborated by an unbiased source (in most cases, the Army List) and on "Outpost Duty".
95% — Corroborated by an unbiased source and NOT on "Outpost Duty" (suggestive of a possible clerical oversight by the man recording Muster entries).
90% — Corroborated by a biased source (i.e. Private Rawlins — whose source of corroboration is his own journal and not that of an outside, unbiased observer)
80% — shown on "Outpost Duty".
60% — Slightly better than a 50% chance of going (Pte Hook — long association with Captain Tremayne / Pte Powell — wrote an account of the expedition, but may have been told to him).
I will be glad to share the spreadsheet with any interested parties, but for convenience, the only names I am ALMOST positive about are listed below:
Jenyns, Capt Soame Gambier
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
HAL 1870 55 Note 2
Tremayne, Captain Arthur
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
AAL 1894 766 Note 332
Longmore, Cpt Charles Joseph
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
Military Obituary (1853) 45; "was highly spoken of by the Earl of Cardigan for his conduct when commanding the 8th in the reconaissance to the Danube."
Jervis, Lt Edward Lennox
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
HAL 1869 135-6 Note 3
Smith, Lt Percy Shawe
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
HAL 1858 47 Note 6
Glyn, Ct (later Major) Riversdale Richard
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
NAL 1 Jan 1860 (Rifle Bde) 247 Note 35
Armstrong, Asst Surg Lancelot
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
HAL 1864 153 Note 9
Johnson, (1300) Sgt (later Lt) Thomas John George
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
United Service Magazine, 1857 Part II 126-7 [Recommendations for French Military Medal]
"13th Light Dragoons--Regimental Sergeant-Major Thomas G. Johnson--served the Eastern Campaign including the reconnaissance on the Danube under Lord Cardigan, battles of Balaklava and Inkerman, siege of Sebastopol and expedition to Eupatoria."
Lockwood, Cpt George
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
Fanny Duberly's Journal 29th June notes:
"We had no news of Lord Cardigan's patrol until after dinner, when Bowen rode into the lines on Captain Lockwood's roan horse, who bore him feebly to the picket ropes, and then fell down. For many minutes he appeared dying of exhaustion, but eventually we revived him with brandy and water. Bowen tells us that the squadrons will not return for some days; that their fatigue has been excessive, and their hardships great. They appear to have been marching incessantly, for which hard work neither men nor horses are fit." From common sense implies that Lockwood would not have sent his horses without being present, from which there is a strong inference that he was on the reconnaissance.
Pickworth, Sgt John
Not listed on Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
"Record of Officer's Services" (WO 25/842)[RM]
Bowen, nfi. Could be either 965 Pte George Bowen or 933 Pte William Bowen.
Not listed on Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
Fanny Duberly's Journal 29th June notes:
"We had no news of Lord Cardigan's patrol until after dinner, when Bowen rode into the lines on Captain Lockwood's roan horse, who bore him feebly to the picket ropes, and then fell down. For many minutes he appeared dying of exhaustion, but eventually we revived him with brandy and water. Bowen tells us that the squadrons will not return for some days; that their fatigue has been excessive, and their hardships great. They appear to have been marching incessantly, for which hard work neither men nor horses are fit."
From this testimony, we can be reasonably certain someone named Bowen, of the 8th Hussars (since an officer of that regiment allowed him to use the horse), was on the reconnaissance. As neither was listed on "Outpost Duty", there is no means using this evidence, of determining which "Bowen" was being referred to.
Frith, Paymaster (later Major) Edmund Bentley
Not shown on Outpost Duty on Muster Rolls
NAL 1 Jul 1861 Note 11
Towers, Vet Surg Thomas John
Not shown on Outpost Duty on Muster Rolls
NAL 1 Jul 1861 Note 11
Malone, 1440 Pte Joseph
Not listed on Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
Officer's Accession book for 6th Dgns WO25/824 Pt 1 (1 Apr 1871`) credits presence on reconnaissance [RM]
Rawlins, 1265 Pte James Bray
Outpost Duty 3rd Muster
One Hussar (Horton, ed.) 9:
"we were away eight days (sic) on three days rations. We went up to the Danube and Silistria where we stopped in the town for about six hours . . ."
Cheers,
Lawrence W. Crider, Resident pedant
[6]A force, consisting of two troops of the 8th Hussars, two troops of the 13th Light Dragoons, viz., B troop, Captain Soams [Soame Gambier] Jenyns and Lieutenant Jervis, E troop, Captain Arthur Tremayne and Lieutenant Percy Smith, Assistant-surgeon Armstrong; the other troops of the 13th had not landed, the former went without tents. Lord Cardigan was the General in command.
They [PB: why does he not write "we"? Did he go on it, or was he reporting what he heard? Yet it reads as though was there.] marched from Devna to Bazargik, a large village, deserted, having been plundered both by Bashi Bazouks and Cossacks; another halt was made at Karasi. I must here state that the object of the expedition being to discover whether the Russian army besieging Silistria had any detached parties about the country. The weather was very hot, the water bad, the country entirely deserted, very short of forage, and the horses suffered very much.
From Karasi Captain A. Tremayne was sent out with fifty Turks to patrol over the whole source of the Danube into the Dobritcha, to feel for Cossacks
[7]
supposed to have crossed the river. After the siege of Silistria was raised, they were out from 1 a.m. to 10 p.m. and saw nothing of the enemy.
Lord Cardigan had 200 Turks under his command at Rassova. The river is very wide here. Saw Cossacks on the other side; Lord Cardigan was rather cross at the unsoldierlike behaviour of the officers and men; the facts of the case is this, the officers and men were very hungry, they tried to catch some pigs but did not succeed in doing so. Any one knows what a tractible [sic] animal that is, so the officers took out their revolvers, and as the pigs would not be caught they shot them, like wise men of the east. Notwithstanding the Brigadier's censure, he was glad to sup off little piggy that night.
From there they marched to Silistria; arrived a few days after the Russians had raised the siege; found the town in a most deplorable state. The work called "Arab Tabia" was much damaged by the Russian fire; the town a perfect wreck. They remained two or three days at Silistria. The main body of the Russians were in retreat.
Now I am going to begin with another officer of the 13th, by name Lieut. Percy Smith, the same officer I introduced to your notice in Belturbert, in Ireland, and you must strongly bear in mind this officer had a crippled hand — his right hand. I shall have to speak of him further on. Lord Cardigan after receiving the different reports brought to him, and not hearing or seeing anything of the enemy, he made up his mind to go on himself the following morning, taking with him twenty men and a subaltern, that subaltern was Lieutenant Percy Smith who volunteered to go with the party. They started at day-break, marched some distance beyond Trajan's
[8]
Wall; seeing no enemy, turned back to join the main body, halted at a deserted village to feed and water the horses. The order came to mount. Lieut. P. Smith found the horses so knocked up that he thought it prudent and right to report the same to Lord Cardigan. His Lordship looked the horses over, and told him he had better stay where he was with twelve of the worst of them, he would take the remainder with him, adding that he should come on the next morning, and appear between nine and ten.
When Lord Cardigan left, Lieut. P. Smith took possession of the deserted Khan, that is a coffee house, or a sort of rough hotel, in the middle of the village; made the horses fast round the yard, was about to close the gate and bar up the same when Lord Burghersh (Lord Raglan's senior Aide-de-Camp), who had been with Lord Cardigan in the reconnaissance, rode in, he was asked what was the matter, he answered, "My horse is so done up, " Lord Cardigan had given him leave to remain with the other done up horses that night and rejoin his lordship next morning. The gates were then closed.
The officer in command, viz., Lieut. P. Smith, 13th Light Dragoons, went round the building to see how it could be best defended in case of attack. After telling the men off to their different posts, in the event of an alarm, the men set to work to light a fire; before it was well alight, the sentry reported hearing a drum in the distance. By this time it was pitch dark, the horses were so done up that it would be useless to try to escape. The Lieutenant posted the men at the places already chosen, and ordered them to put the fire out, and not even to whisper for the chance of remaining undiscovered. In a short time, however, the village was
[9]
filled with mounted men of some kind or other; a strong party rode up to the Khan and tried to get in; they were very angry at the gate being closed; some went away, while others formed across the gate. A fire was lighted in an open space not far off, men sitting round it. Lord Burghersh looked at them through his glasses and said, "It's all right, they are Turks."
Another attempt was afterwards made to force the gate of the Khan. Two men had got up into the minaret of a small Mosque; they could see from the latter into the yard, and would have been able to shoot all the horses. Lord Burghersh said it was madness to think of holding the Khan against so strong a force, he would go out and explain to the Turkish officer in command who they were. Lieutenant P. Smith insisted on going with him.
They made their way to the fire. Neither officer at that time knew much of the Turkish language, and were only just able to explain they were English officers. Lord Burghersh wearing a cocked hat was recognised as a British officer, the other officer was taken to be a Russian. They cried out, "Russ! Russ!" and separated him from Lord Burghersh, forcing him to sit some distance off; a giant of a negro was placed over Lieutenant P. Smith with a drawn sword muttering, pointing to his schako "Russ."
Lord Burghersh made another attempt to explain; he forgot the Turkish word for Lieutenant, and made use of the word Captain, literally in Turkish, as I believe in Scripture, "the head of a hundred." "Not a hundred," several called out, "only twelve."
This made matters worse; the giant negro became very excited. Lord Burghersh was with the Turkish commanding officer. They brought him
[10]
bread and salt and a cup of coffee; he partook of a little, jumped up to take the remainder to his brother officer, but was prevented. Ominous sounds of drawing swords all round. Lord Burghersh refused to return to his seat, forced his way to his comrade and companion, and made another attempt to explain, this time more fortunate and successful; bread and salt were then offered to both. Lieut. P. Smith's friend, the negro, ordered to return swords; no doubt, that officer would not be ashamed to acknowledge, to his great relief.
The following day, Lord Cardigan picked that detachment up, and marched to Rassova on the Danube, that was about six miles from the village in which the above occurred. The Turks who came into the village were a regiment of Bashi Bazouks, about six hundred strong. Apparently only three of their officers belonged to the regulars, so it could not be expected their discipline was first-class, or anything bordering on it.
The expedition remained two or three days at Silistria. The enemy on the opposite bank, that was the rear guard, the main body being in retreat, they marched to Schumla, where Omar Pacha was in command of a large Turkish force; the Pacha lent tents which were very acceptable, after so many nights "al fresco;" they marched back to Yani Bazar and Devna, reaching the latter place after travelling nearly all night through a tremendous thunder storm.
The patrol was done by horses who had only been a few days out of the transport. In starting, the horses were burdened like pack horses, having to carry three days' forage, and three days' provision; hence the sore backs. The men's health was good, except that many of them suffered from sore eyes from the hot weather and dust; discipline all that could be wished. Lord Cardigan arrived at Devna in time to order dismiss to be sounded, on that wet and gloomy morning.
[Source: Recollections of Young Soldier During the Crimean War, Oxford, 1876, pp.6-10, by 1228, Trumpeter Harry Powell, 13th Light Dragoons.
Christine Kelley, in a footnote to Mrs Duberly's War (Oxford, 2007), which she edited, summarises it as follows:
"'The sore-back reconnaissance', as it became known, was soon notorious throughout the army because of Cardigan's martinet approach to discipline and lack of consideration for both men and horses. The men were in complete marching order, which meant they weighed about twenty stone, and in addition carried another five or six stone in food, fodder and ammunition, so that each horse carried about twenty-seven stone.
Their three-pint kegs of water were soon drunk but as there were few springs or fountains in the area the daily marches in the relentless heat were often prolonged in the search for water. Despite the cold nights and the heavy dew, they had no tents, except for Cardigan, and for seventeen days none of them took off their clothes except for Cardigan, once."
Excerpts from Mrs Duberly's War:
Sunday, 25th June 1854
Was awoke at four o'clock from a profound sleep, by the words, 'A general order for the regiment to be prepared as soon as possible to march thirty miles.' All the camp was alive. No tents were to be struck, but every one was to move. We could make nothing of the order, until we heard that a courier had arrived to say that the Russians had abandoned the siege of Silistria, and had crossed the Danube.
We still dressed in haste, wondering at the order, when an aide-de-camp came up to say that only a squadron of the 8th and a squadron of the 13th were to go; and that they were to march toward Silistria to make a reconnaissance of the Russian army. The order to 'bridle and saddle' was given, and all was ready for a start, when a counter-order arrived 'The squadrons are to wait until three days' provisions are cooked'; so that of the whole regiment roused at four, two troops went away at half-past ten. If it takes six hours and a half to get two squadrons under weigh, how long will it take to move the whole British force?
At least we had the satisfaction of seeing the poor old creature (pitiable old Cardigan) ride away at the head of a squadron of 8th & a squadron of 13th without having, as I believe, the smallest idea of where he was going or what he was going for.
Cardigan, who commands us, Lord Lucan, who commands the whole cavalry, & Sir George Brown, who commands the Light Division are three of the greatest fidgets and most pitiable old women you ever heard of. The very privates scoff at them and they drive the officers wild...
Does it not seem wonderful that we have been disembarked nearly a month and have made no attempt to get near the Russians in any way? Everything seems to be done to delay and clog. No conveyance, no food, and the Army arriving up by driblets as slowly as it can.
Should we march to Silistria, of which I suppose there is no chance now, we shall have to go 40 miles without water in one day's march at the rate of about 3 miles an hour about 16 or 17 hours in the saddle...
Thursday, 29th June
Two troops of the 11th Hussars joined us today. We had no news of Lord Cardigan's patrol until after dinner, when Bowen rode into the lines on Captain Lockwood's roan horse, who bore him feebly to the picket ropes, and then fell down. For many minutes he appeared dying of exhaustion, but eventually we revived him with brandy and water.
Bowen tells us that the squadrons will not return for some days; that their fatigue has been excessive, and their hardships very great. They appear to have been marching incessantly, for which hard work neither men nor horses are fit...
Frday, 30th June
...Meantime our unfortunate squadron which went out on 25th June under Lord Cardigan ... have never turned up. Cardigan started the morning after the news reached us that the Russians had raised the siege of Silistria & taking two squadrons went to 'try & discover the movement of the enemy', the wildest goose chase that ever was undertaken.
Lord Raglan sent after him to stop him and we heard yesterday that the aide-de-camp had traced them to Schumla by the dead horses on the route!
I hope and trust Cardigan will get his head into such a jolly bag that he will never get it out again. They of course have seen nothing of the Russians who are far enough away from Silistria by this time...
Tuesday, 11th July
The reconnaissance, under Lord Cardigan, came in this morning, at eight, having marched all night. They have been to Rassova, seen the Russian force, lived five days on water and salt pork; have shot five horses, which dropped from exhaustion on the road, brought back an araba [cart] full of disabled men, and seventy-five horses, which will be, as Mr Grey says, unfit for work for many months, and some of them will never work again.
I was out riding in the evening when the stragglers came in; and a piteous sight it was men on foot, driving and goading on their wretched, wretched horses, three or four of which could hardly stir.
There seems to have been much unnecessary suffering, a cruel parade of death, more pain inflicted than good derived; but I suppose these sad sights are merely the casualties of war, and we must bear them with what courage and fortitude we may.
One of these unfortunate horses was lucky enough to have his leg broken by a kick, as soon as he came in, and was shot. There is an order that no horse is to be destroyed unless for glanders or a broken leg.
I will not disgust you by detailing reports just sent in by Cardigan saying that the 90 horses will be reported to Head Quarters as fit to work in 3 days tho' most of them have the whole surface of the saddle raw — flyblown & green...
Thursday, 13th July
A long morning was spent in investigating the state of the horses by Colonel Shewell, Lord Cardigan, and Mr Grey.
...Three more of the reconnoitring party's horses are lying in the shadow of death. I had been pained by all this, and Henry and I, ordering our horses, rode out, in the cloudless summer evening, to a quiet little villagenestled among the hills, to a quiet little village nestled among the hills, where the storks build their nests on the old tree-tops that shade the trickling fountain where the cattle drink...
[Source: Mrs. Duberly's War: Journal and Letters from the Crimea, 1854 — 1856. Edited by Christine Kelly. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 26-35.]
[PB, Feb 2014: To follow up: there are a number of references to this in Albert Mitchell's Recollections, e.g. p.14ff.]
SORE-BACK RECONNAISSANCE, extract from DONALD THOMAS, Cardigan, Hero of Balaclava, 1974
[before?]
towards Raglan's headquarters at Varna with news that the Russian army under Gortchakoff, 30,000 strong, had moved off from Silistria, after an unsuccessful siege of forty-five days. The resistance of the Silistria garrison, the courage of the Turkish soldiers and the resourceful leadership of Captain Butler and Lieutenant Naysmith, the two British officers present, offered welcome news to Raglan. Less welcome was the prospect of 30,000 Russian troops who might have retired towards Bucharest, but who might equally well be moving towards Vamp.
Raglan acted at once. Late though it was, he sent Lord Burghersh to ride to Devna with urgent orders for Cardigan. Cardigan was to set out at first light with two squadrons of cavalry and three days' rations. He was to scout towards Silistria and, in the shortest possible time, ' ascertain the movements of the enemy'. At four o'clock in the morning, a squadron of the 8th Hussars and another of the 13th Light Dragoons were already prepared for reconnaissance. They then had to wait until half-past ten, while their three days' rations were cooked. 'If it takes six and a half hours to get two squadrons under way, how long will it take to move the whole British force?' inquired Fanny Duberly suspiciously.' [note 17] It was hoped that further supplies could be sent after the column, but to provision the regiments adequately proved quite impossible.
The patrol, with one tent for Cardigan and inadequate rations for everyone, set out to search an area of about 1,000 square miles. It was an arduous reconnaissance, but Cardigan, who had been frustrated by lack of action, described the ordeal as "by no means unsatisfactory to me'. His description of the northward march towards the Danube was succinct and vivid. [note 18]
"We might have come at any moment upon the Russian army; upon the Russian outposts. We travelled over the country, which I may call a perfectly wild desert, for a distance of 800 miles . . . and marched 120 miles without ever seeing a human being. There was not a single house in a state of repair or that was inhabited along all this route, nor was there an animal to be seen except those that exist in the wildest regions."
If the Russian army had indeed been advancing upon Varna, then Cardigan's two squadrons of cavalry would probably have met it head on. During the next four days, accompanied by a detachment of Turkish horsemen, the British column rode across the great plain of
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the Danube delta. With Cardigan at their head, they moved as nearly as possible to the regulation British cavalry speed for Bulgaria, which was 3.2 miles an hour. They had no clothes, other than the uniforms in which they set out, no tents except one, 'just large enough to cover a spring sofa bed' , in which Cardigan slept. There was no food except the three-day supply of salt meat and biscuit. The reconnaissance was to last seventeen days. In the hazy stillness and heat of the plains it was, as Captain Jenyns of the 13th Light Dragoons remarked, ' No joke.' [PB: Source?] In the cold nights and under thick dew, men and horses slept side by side upon the ground, except when the troopers were required to ride all night to reach their next destination.
For three days the two hundred men of the column scouted along the southern bank of the Danube, riding as much as fourteen hours a day. Then they began a two-day march to Silistria itself. At last the main body of the Russian army, under the veteran General Lüders, was sighted on the opposite bank of the great river. The soldiers of England and Russia had come as nearly face to face as the broad sweep of water would permit. What followed was part of the etiquette of war.
A Turkish officer was sent over under a flag of truce, in a manner reminiscent of Cardigan's leaving his card upon a new arrival in town.
Lüders inquired whether the cavalry was French or British. He was told that they were British. There was time for Lüders to survey Cardigan and for Cardigan to survey Lüders through their respective spy-glasses. The spy-glasses were put away, the Turkish officer returned, the British patrol and the mass of the Russian regiments moved off in opposite directions. Not a shot was fired. The formalities of war had been observed.
Before Silistria, the exhausted patrol rested for a day. Cardigan sent back regular reports to Raglan by his best riders. The first rode into the Light Brigade camp at nightfall on 29 June, both horse and man so spent that brandy-and-water was needed to revive them. From the banks of the Danube, Cardigan's own aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Maxse, was sent back at full speed to report the situation to the Commander-in-Chief. While the solitary dispatch riders galloped across the wide, deserted plains towards Varna, the rest of the column struggled back from one fresh-water spring to another. Five horses were dead and seventy-five more unfit for duty. Some of the cavalrymen themselves were too weak to ride and completed the journey in a commandeered Turkish cart, or _araba_, drawn by bullocks. Yet those
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who accompanied Cardigan on the patrol, as opposed to his critics who did not, thought him 'a capital fellow to be under at this work', not least because of the 'tremendous praise' with which he encouraged his men. This reputation spread beyond the cavalry to the Brigade of Guards, where George Higginson remarked, ' They say he is very quiet and attentive, and that he explains his wishes and gives his orders most clearly." [note 19]
After marching all night through a thunderstorm, the bedraggled column reached the Light Brigade camp soon after dawn on 11 June. Half the horses were no longer fit for active service but were herded towards the camp by their dismounted riders who appeared like so many drovers behind a herd of cattle. Awarding to Cardigan's second-in-command, Lord George Paget (brother of Lord William Paget of the criminal conversation case), no more than 80 of the 200 horses were fit for further cavalry duties." [note 20]
Sergeant Mitchell of the 13th Light Dragoons watched his regimental comrades return and was shocked to find them 'mere shadows of their former selves', after the seventeen days of reconnaissance. Lord George disapproved of Cardigan's misuse of the soldiers; Fanny Duberly was appalled by the treatment of the horses, and Colonel Daniel Lysons deplored the expense incurred by the expedition. Yet none was so heated in his criticism of Cardigan as Captain Lewis Edward Nolan, a thirty-four-year-old prodigy of cavalry skill, aide-de-camp to the Quartermaster General, General Airey. The son of the British consul in Milan, Nolan had passed through the Viennese Military College with distinction, served with the 10th Hungarian Hussars on the Polish frontier, and then been commissioned in the British army as Cornet in the 15th Hussars. While serving in India, he had acquired a dazzling reputation as a horseman and swordsman, as well as being the author of two standard books on cavalry training and tactics. lmpetuous, and impatient of his elders, he regarded both Lucan and Cardigan as fools. Even William Howard Russell of The Times, who was no admirer of either of the brothers-in-law, was astonished at the heat of Nolan's anger against Cardigan after the patrol, which was becoming known as 'the sore-back reconnaissance' . [note 21]
Raglan, at least, acknowledged that Cardigan had found out the most important thing, that 'the Russians have withdrawn' and that there was no immediate threat to the base at Varna. 'I hope'. added Raglan, ' that the fatigue that you and the squadrons have undergone
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[more?]
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In June, while Cardigan was still at Devna, he was given his first important and independent command. The Russians had
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withdrawn from Silistria, but Raglan, with unknown country ahead of him, had no idea as to their next probable move. The might be planning an attack on Varna, or a further withdrawai: Were they following a route that would take them to the right bank of the Danube and into the district known as the Dobrudscha? Cardigan was ordered to take a patrol and to ascertain their whereabouts.
The patrol, consisting of one squadron each of the 8th Hussars and the 13th Light Dragoons, with some Turkish cavalry, set off on 25th June. It might have been known, from the start, that whatever information was gained would be clearly purchased, since they took no more than could be carried on the horses, which were pitifully overburdened for travel through marshy and sandy country, which made heavy going, and tortured by a blinding sun that dazed and blinded the eyes.
Each horse carried its rider in average full marching order, weighing some 20 stone; extra ammunition; two blankets, 36 pounds of barley, two hay nets filled with hay, 3 pounds of meat, as many pounds of biscuit, and a keg holding 3 pints of water.
They were on the move from sunrise to sunset, riding through a country entirely treeless and without roads. They bivouacked in the open, for the few villages they passed had been ruined and plundered by the Bashi-Bazouks. The first halt was at Bazargik, where they encountered a handful of inhabitants, one of whom was called the mayor, and where dogs and cats attacked them so fiercely, and in such numbers, that they had to be repelled with swords. Then came Karasi, and a march along the banks of the Danube that brought them to Rassova. There were more ruins, and more half-wild stray animals, including pigs, nosing and rooting among them. Shots were heard; Cardigan went to investigate, and he came upon a scene that caused him to explode with fury. "Cavalry officers shooting pigs with pistols? Disgraceful!" That night, however, he sat down to a supper of pork without inquiring as to its origin.
They turned westward to Silistria, riding through a thunderstorm that covered the earth with a pall of darkness. Horses stumbled, several fell, and the men rode at funeral pace glimpsing no more than the yard or so of earth that each step covered.
What was left of the town, which marked the limit of the Russian advance, bore signs of the recent siege, and as Cardigan's patrol
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again followed the line of the Danube they came within a mile or so of a large Russian force encamped on the opposite side. The hussars and dragoons were well within range of the enemy guns; but when a Turkish officer, bearing a flag of truce, was sent forward by Cardigan, the Russian general was content to take long looks at the cavalry through his telescope, and inquire if they were French or English.
Having completed his mission by locating the whereabouts of the nearest Russian force, Cardigan started back by way of Shumla, a hill village overlooking the Bulgarian plain, and YeniBazaar (New Market). The patrol reached Devna at three o'clock on the morning of 11th July, after being absent sixteen days and having covered some 3 30 miles. One who watched the stragglers come in was Mrs. Fanny Duberly, and she thought it a sorry sight, with exhausted men on foot driving and goading the wretched horses, some of which could hardly stir.
The strain imposed upon the men, and more especially the state of the horses, gave rise to much superficial disparagement of this 'Sore-back Reconnaissance' as Cardigan's critics still call it. But the move into dimcult and unknown country, to probe for an enemy whose numbers and position were unknown, was one of the many hazards of war that, although strictly necessary, yield little in the way of practical accomplishment. It was still believed that the coming campaign would be in that part of the Balkans; and only the most hare-brained commander could anticipate going forward without having reconnoitred the terrain.
Cardigan thanked all ranks of his patrol for the zeal and activity they had shown throughout. They had home themselves well except for "a few irregularities at Shumla", of which, he said, he would take no further notice; while Raglan was "very much obliged" to Cardigan for the pains he had taken to ascertain the direction of the Russian withdrawal, and also that the countryside was deserted. "These are very important facts which it is very desirable I should be made acquainted with, and I hope that the fatigue that you and the squadrons have undergone in obtaining the information will not prove injurious to your health, and that of the officers and men under your orders."
Senior officers have always come in for a great deal of criticism from their juniors, and Cardigan, having figured so much in the public eye, was especially open to hostile or derogatory remarks
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from those he commanded. One spoke of Cardigan as "a dangerous ass". The unsavoury case brought by Lord William Paget against Cardigan had naturally caused bad feeling between the Earl and Lord George Paget, William's brother and second in command of the Light Brigade; and this in turn was reflected by an officer of the 4th Light Dragoons, Captain Robert Portal, who was Lord George's aide-de-camp and friend. In one of his letters, Portal referred to Cardigan being equalled only by Lucan in want of intellect. Cardigan, Portal went on, had no more brains than his boot, and two such fools as the brothers-in-law could hardly be found in the British Army.
There were, of course, contrary opinions of Cardigan that are seldom, if ever, repeated by those who endorse the popular case against him. A serious judge of men and events, such as Captain the Hon. Henry Clifford, V.C., was to tell his relatives in a letter that everyone who met Cardigan had the highest opinion of him as a soldier and a very brave man. Captain George Higginson, who was temperamentally opposed to Cardigan, wrote of him, at the time of the 'Sore-back Reconnaissance', "they say he is very quiet and attentive, and that he explains his orders most clearly".
Later on he spoke of Cardigan as "a chivalrous cavalry leader"; while Captain Jenyns of the 13th Light Dragoons, who had taken part in the patrol, told a friend, "We got tremendous praise from Lord Cardigan, who is a capital fellow to be under at this work."
http://cwrs.russianwar.co.uk/cwrs-R-jbarham-chapter04.html
[ We left Lord Cardigan faced with the reconnaissance assignment given him by Lord Raglan at Varna on 24th June. ]
Sore Backs
Lord Raglan's order was in writing and intended to be specific. Cardigan was to take two squadrons and "to patrol as far as he could in order to discover what the enemy's left was about." Already at this early stage we find room for interpretation in a Raglan written order. His intention was for the Cavalry to reconnoitre due north as far as the junction of the Dobruja Marshes with the Danube and to report straight back - Cardigan was to see his task as much wider in scope. Nor did Lord Burghersh, Raglan's senior ADC, who went along on the reconnaissance, see any reason to correct him.
The orders arrived late on Saturday night at the Cavalry camp at the beautiful valley of Devna, some 12 miles from Varna, and Cardigan had the whole Brigade stood to at 4am on Sunday morning. After a while all units were stood down except a squadron of the 8th Hussars (121 horse) and one from the newly arrived 13th Light Dragoons (75 horse). After hanging about for some time, they were told to fall out and cook rations for three days. A typical military scenario in the field throughout the ages. The party finally set off at 10.30am, headed by His Lordship in full regimental dress uniform. Fanny Duberly, at the camp sharing a tent with her husband, was unimpressed though: "If it takes six and a half hours to get two squadrons under way," she wrote pointedly, "how long will it take to move the whole British force?"
Cardigan was anxious to test the men's battle fitness, and set daily mileage objectives based on the standard 3.2 miles per hour laid down in General Orders. The speed demanded a brisk rate of march, achievable enough along the Sussex Downs, but severely challenging given the hard going in the heat. And importantly he neglected to allow for the fact that the horses were not acclimatised, only twelve days after disembarking from an always traumatic sea voyage. Additionally they were burdened like pack horses with three days forage and provisions - this was to cause their sore backs right from the start.
Some fodder was lost when the hay bags were abandoned when the force prepared for action on a sighting of Cossacks which proved to be false. The idea had been to resupply as they went along, but the Bashi-Bazooks had laid waste the entire countryside, burning the villages. Somehow a family of pigs had escaped, but being pigs managed to evade the best efforts of officers and men to catch them, the chasers finally lost patience and shot them with revolvers. Cardigan expressed displeasure at this 'unsporting' conduct - one suspects with tongue in cheek, as he tucked into roast pork with the best of them that night!
A brush with Bashi-Bazooks nearly resulted in tragedy. Cardigan had led a detachment of twenty men with Lieutenant Percy Smith of the 13th on an advanced reconnaissance some distance beyond Trajan's Wall. Having seen no enemy, they turned back, and stopped to feed and water the horses at a small village. Smith reported to Cardigan that he was worried about the condition of some of the horses. After an inspection, Cardigan reckoned that twelve were unfit to travel further without resting overnight, and told Smith and their riders to stay put until the following morning, while he rode off to camp with the remainder. Smith selected the khan, a sort of basic hotel, as a defensive base, and tethered the horses around the inner courtyard. He was later joined by Lord Burghersh whom Cardigan had suggested to rest over with them. They barred the gates and settled in for the night, lighting a fire. Later, they heard the sounds of a considerable number of horsemen approaching, and they went to action stations, quickly dousing the fire. The new arrivals sounded angry when they found the gate closed, and gathered in groups on the village square. Burghersh identified them as Turks, but obviously hostile as they tried again to force their way in. When the British officers saw that some Turks had scaled the minarets of the adjoining mosque and could shoot down into the yard, they decided to make themselves known and left the enclave.
There were 600 or so Bashi-Bazooks commanded by only three regular officers, and discipline did not appear to figure highly on their agenda. The British spoke no Turkish, the Turks no English. They recognised Burghersh from his cocked hat, and brought him bread salt and coffee, but Smith's shako was too close to the Russian pattern and with cries of "Russ! Russ!" they took him prisoner, in the charge of a huge dark skinned guard who waved a massive sword perilously close to his neck. Luckily Burghersh managed to make them understand in the nick of time. After the initial excitement the night passed peacefully enough, and they left to rejoin the main body the following morning.
The patrol reached the Danube at Rassova, sighting a group of real Cossacks in Sotnya strength on the far bank without incident. Here they were joined by two hundred Turkish lancers, and the now sizeable force followed the river south west to Silistra where they observed the sea of white tents where the Russian Army which had withdrawn three days before, was camped beyond the far bank. They rested for two complete days in the battered town. The officers were entertained by the Turkish defenders who took them on a tour of the defences at one stage pointing out General Luders on the far bank, with members of his staff. The Russians were obviously interested by the new arrivals, and had glasses trained on them. However, although well within artillery range, their guns stayed silent.
The reconnaissance group next swung in a long loop south to Schumla, where Cardigan was received by Omar Pasha whom he briefed on his findings, Omar lent the column tents, a welcome gesture; they had slept rough for most of the period. The effect of their rest at Silistra had soon worn off, as their route took them through continuous barren countryside. The sore backs which the horses had suffered in the early stages had developed into raw suppurating sores, and made it impossible for them to be ridden. As they neared Devna, staggering along under the weight of their saddles and accoutrements, it was decided by popular assent that they would travel all night in order to reach camp earlier. Unluckily a heavy thunderstorm raged for the entire night. By the time they limped into Devna Camp on the morning of 11th July, the whole scene only needed snow (how that would have been welcome) to resemble engravings of the Retreat from Moscow. They had covered 300 miles in seventeen days.
Cardigan's enemies were quick to deride the patrol as a fiasco; they coined the catchy title the 'Sore Back Reconnaissance' and it was destined to go down in history as such. But the truth was that it had achieved its object in confirming that the Russian invasion force had retreated to the north side of the Danube and that there was no immediate threat to the camps. Obviously mistakes had been made, some serious, but that was to be expected, considering that no one on the patrol had seen active service previously. It must have taken considerable courage to set off into the unknown, knowing that they might encounter a vastly superior enemy force at any moment. Raglan expressed his thanks and, perhaps feeling guilt for the open ended nature of his order, trusted that, "the fatigue that you and your squadrons have undergone in obtaining the information will not prove injurious to your health and that of the Officers and men under your orders." Contrary to Cardigan's detractors who had not taken part in the patrol, we have the written opinion of Captain Soames Jenyngs, who had. "We got tremendous praise from Lord Cardigan, who is a capital fellow to be under at this work." Jenyngs had commanded 'B' Troop of the 13th Light Dragoons during the operation, reporting directly to Cardigan, and well placed to give a valid opinion. The London Press was also congratulatory, reckoning that the patrol rated as the first praiseworthy exploit of the war.
A valuable lesson learnt was that the Cavalry and their mounts clearly had some way to go to become battle fit - the Turks accompanying them had not suffered at all in the same way. In the end five horses died and at least seventy five were unfit for duty for up to a month. Captain Nolan, the headstrong and unconventional cavalry staff officer later to figure prominently at Balaclava, had just returned from the exceptionally hard task of finding cavalry remounts in the war theatre. Although he had gone as far as Syria, he had returned with barely enough horses to replace those put out of action by Cardigan, and whilst he was understandably furious, he was recklessly indiscreet in his vitriolic criticism.
Mentions
VARNA
DEVNA - 12mi to - JASYTOPE
A long march to TURK TEHILAR [sp?]
12 hours to KAINARDJIK
TOWIL TAHILAR [sp?]
to
SILISTRA
[PB: Using Google, I could find Varna, Devnya and Silistra (all in modern Bulgaria), but none of the other places. They might be found if I reduced the scale, but it is perhaps probable that the names have been de-Turkished.][DATE?]
Now I must let out my greatest news, concerning my great luck in having had a nice trip instead of being here all the time. Last Sunday week we were all turned out of bed at 3 o'clock and told to get on our horses immediately and go up country for some reason or other. There was a precious bustle I can tell you, and when I had got what things I wanted packed to my great disgust another order came to say only one Squadron was to go of ours, and one of the 13th, so mine being junior was left behind.
However, when we heard more about it, we found there were no Russians near, but they were to go with Lord Cardigan on an expedition a short way up the country. However, we were very much disappointed at being left behind. The next day there in order came to send one of our captains (who has been up the country before in search of water), as far as he could go towards the Danube, and not to come back before we had seen the Russians, and found out where they were. And he was told to take a Subaltern with him. Then there was great excitement amongst the Subalterns who was to go, though it was supposed to be amongst the Lieutenants. To my astonishment however, I was ordered to go, so we started at 2 o'clock on Monday afternoon. I took both my horses, (which by the way were both lame with cracked heels), and one baggage pony, which was to carry both our things. Indeed we had nothing to take except one change of
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[IMG 6366]
clothes and some cooking utensils not being allowed to take our tents, and we could not have carried then if we might have done so, We went to Jasytope the first night which is about 12 miles from here and got an enclosed place to put our horses in. We then made a fire and bought a goose for dinner which we boiled. Then bedded down on the ground amid a host of fleas. We each had a rug to sleep in. The next day we had a long march to a place called Tourk Tehilar, we left at half past five in the morning and did not get in till three in the afternoon, and a very hot day. I was much disappointed with the country. I saw nothing pretty about it, it is all the same, scattered with little oak trees and not a single stream of water in the country, nothing but wells and small fountains to water at. There is no water between here and the Danube anywhere along the country, and I do not now how we shall manage to march from here. We shall have to go in small detachments or we shall never be able to water the horses.
At Tourk Tahilar we got a very nasty farmyard to sleep in and packs of wild dogs making an awful row around us all night. I had a bag of biscuits for my pillow and was seriously disturbed in my slumbers by one hungry animal trying to run away with it. I had to collect a pile of stones, and whenever they awoke us to half kill one of the nearest. But 'they gut too sharp at last and directly they saw me move
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were off like a shot. We left this place early the next morning determined to go to Silistra or as near as we could, and marched for 12 hours to Kainardjik, where we arrived pretty well beat, both men and horses. We found all the villages around burnt to the ground by those brutes, the Bashi Bazouks, the inhabitants having deserted them since the Russians had been there. Kainardjik itself was saved as a Turkish Colonel had been sent there to prevent them pillaging. However it was utterly deserted. We heard to our astonishment from this man that the last of the Russians had that day recrossed the Danube so we might walk into Silistra with a bold face.
We started early the next morning for Silistra, it being only four hours journey from Towil Tahilar, and got there about half past eleven in the morning. It was a curious scene when we got on the hills just above the town and saw the immense Russian camp on the other side of the river, about a mile off, and the little poky town with one ditch round it that they had been unable to take. All outside the town was a nice mess. It had been all orchards and gardens, but now it was a mass of zigzag approaches, blown up field works, a few shot, and remains of shells, and here and there a dead Russian, which our Turkish escort immediately galloped off to see, and grinned over like dogs. When we got into the town we were crowded
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round by wondering Turks, who rejoiced in the idea of how astonished the Russians would be at us. We were marched off to Hasson Pasha, who was commanding there. He was a jolly old bird, We had great fun with him, and splendid pipes and coffee. We found staying in the same house with him two English engineers, who had been there as volunteers during the siege, and to whose exertions entirely they owe the saving of the town, and defeat of the Russians.
They took the affair into their own hands, having the rank of Colonels given them, and would not allow the Turkish officers to give any orders but through them. Poor Captain Butler who was shot while looking through one of the loop holes was one of the party. They got a highly complimentary letter from Lord Raglan, and two splendid gold medals from Omer Pasha for their services. They are both quite young men, and are pretty sure of some promotion for it. They told us the Turks were very hard-working soldiers, but that the officers were no use at all, and never did anything. They said though that the Turks were great savages. They committed all sorts of atrocities on the dead Russians and paraded about the streets with the heads of the Russians they killed strung on a stick over their shoulders.
[PB: who were these two young men? And Captain Butler? [not LB]]
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[CLOWES'S DIAGRAM]
This is just to show you how Silistra was attacked. Half the Russians were left on the other side in the place we saw them in, the rest crossed by bridges to the Island marked 2 (as I forget the names), and from there again to the main-land, and pitched their camp at D. close to the Turkish forts B. and C. but sheltered from their fire by encamping in a hollow. After they had made their approach they began attacking the fort C. a little mud fort with about 6 guns in it, butt could not take it, and never did. They placed Minie Riflemen all round it, so that the Turks could not use their guns, but they waited lying down, till the Russians thought they could get in and when they tried to get in licked them like fun every night. The Russians lost 2,000 there in one night. The fort is called Arab-Tabia.
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Fancy their holding out this little thing against treble the number of Russians. It was blown up twice by the Russians, and the Turks stuck with extraordinary pluck to the ruins, and the Russians never drove them out. Meanwhile the town was bombarded from the other side of the river (it being only a quarter of a mile across) with shells which did make a rare pepper box of the town. They all had to shelter in bomb proof houses, the shells fell so thick. Fifteen fell in the Pasha's courtyard, a place about 20 yards long, and 10 broad, made it something like a ploughed field. I never saw such an odd sight. The Turks lost about 4,000 men and the Russians about double. The Russians managed so badly that the Turks had communication to them all the time except the last five days, provisions coming in constantly. We left that same afternoon and got back here in four days. I do not know when we shall leave this as the Commissariat know no way of moving baggage. Omar Pasha has been and we had a Review for him. He is a fine looking man. Lord Raglan ordered some grog to be served out to the men and officers, who were very glad to get it, in commemoration of his visit.
July 7th. I hope Isabel received my congratulations. I drank her health and long life and happiness to the pair of them in the march back from Silistra. The 29th was the
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day after we left Silistra. I filled my flask with brandy at Silistra and kept it till our march was over on the wedding day to drink her health and thought as I munched a tough old goose that I would not mind being at the breakfast instead. How jolly it must have been. I have got all letters from home that came in Raglan's bag very quick. That is decidedly the best way of sending them, as all letters must go to headquarters first. I would have written to Edith to-day, but one letter is as much as I can manage.
Your most affectionate son,
GEORGE G. CLOWES.
[PB: Notice GGC has no complaints or criticisms. And he does not refer to it as a reconnaissance, let alone a "sore-back" one. Did he write any other letters on this subject?]